Recipe #10 - Cranberry & Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast

_______________________________________________________________________________

I got this recipe off my fab little sista T. Pretty much winged it.

First, I preheated oven to 400. Then I rinsed and butterflied the chicken breasts (organic, free range, grain fed chicken breast). I had to Google "how to butterfly a chicken breast". Lol. I love Google, it makes me more smart everyday. Then I seasoned the breast with salt and pepper.

I then mixed the cream cheese, goat cheese (I used the kind with chives and onions for extra taste), and dried cranberries together in a medium sized bowl. Spoon the cheese mixture into the middle of the chicken breasts and close like a sandwich.

Place into a baking dish and bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes or until done (which I just learned was 190 degrees inside for chicken).

Something I would have done differently is make some sort of marinade and soaked the chicken in it prior. The chicken was a tad bland and a little dry. The cheese mixture was perfect though, it def made the recipe.

Time: 55 mins
Rating: 6.5
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
6 Free range chicken breast
2/3 cup cream cheese
2/3 cup goat cheese (optional: with chives and onions)
1 cup dried cranberries (or to taste)
Salt and pepper

Recipe #9 - Green Beans w/ Almonds

_______________________________________________________________________________

To my defense, I was making this the same night as the sliders when the electricity went out. I, fortunately, was able to complete the sliders, but had to stop in the middle of this recipe.

I started by lightly toasting the almond slivers in a dry skillet, stirring constantly because they can burn easily. This takes 3-5 mins. 

Heat butter in skillet over medium-low heat. cook and stir shallots and red bell peppers until softened, about 8 mins. Sprinkle with sugar, salt and pepper to taste and reduce heat to low. Cover, and cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the shallots caramelize, 5 to 8 minutes.

Place a steamer insert into a saucepan, fill with water to just below the bottom of the steamer, and bring the water to a boil. Add the green beans, cover, and steam until just tender enough to pierce with a fork, 7 to 8 minutes. Drain the green beans, place them into the skillet with the shallot mixture, mix well, and gently stir in the toasted almonds.

Now, I had to refrigerate the beans and caramelized mixture (due to the power outage) before I could mix them together. So the next day in the daylight, still with no power, thank God for gas stoves, I finished steaming the beans and mixed them together. Topped with the almonds. 

It was surprisingly very bland. I added garlic salt and more pepper once they were on my plate and it helped a bit, but something huge was still missing. I can't tell if it was the two part preparation of the food or if it's lacking more seasoning. Anyways, not my favorite. So the search is still on for a good steamed green bean recipe.

Time: Would have been 40 mins.
Rating: 2
Serves: 4
Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup blanched slivered almonds
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 5 small shallots, thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed and snapped

Recipe #8 - Jalapeno Popper Sliders

_______________________________________________________________________________

We had a lot of ground beef in the frig for some reason, so I needed to make a recipe using ground beef. I was in the mood for hamburgers, but didn't want to do the typical mayo, mustard, pickle, cheese thing. I've never made sliders before and began researching recipes. I found this:

"If you're in the mood for the flavors of the southwest, you'll love this pork and beef burger covered with roasted peppers and an avocado, sour cream, cilantro, Fresno chili and line juice dressing."

That was the tag line that hooked me for this recipe. Avocado! Sour cream! On a burger? Yes, please!

Everything but the Worcestershire sauce. Plus my recipe holder aka iPad.

There were a few things I threw out of the original recipe and a few that I added from others. For example, I didn't use pork, replaced it with more ground beef. It called for Pablano peppers (way too spicy for me), but used red peppers. I used Guinness Extra Stout beer instead of Negra Modelo.

I started out pre-heating the oven to broil. I cut up the the peppers into long thin strips and placed them on a cooking sheet. I then placed the pan into the oven (with the oven door ajar to allow steam to escape) to char them all over. Once charred, I quickly removed the peppers from the pan so that they didn't stick. I threw them into a small bowl to cool. Once cooled, using a food processor, I pureed them. Or as I like to say, "mush them up real good like". That's a technical term... Ha.

While the peppers are cooling before you puree them, cut the red onion into then rings and place in a bowl. Add half of the lime juice, salt, pepper, and drizzle with EVOO to coat. 

In another bowl, mash together the avocado, sour cream, cilantro, fresno chili and the remaining lime juice; season, to taste, with salt. This makes a thick sauce to top the slider with when finished. 

In a large bowl, combine the beef, pork, pureed peppers, cumin, coriander, paprika, cinnamon, salt and lots of pepper. Mix in the beer and Worcestershire sauce. 

Form the mixture into eight 3-inch patties (a little thinner in the center and thicker at the edges). Drizzle a little EVOO in a large skillet or nonstick griddle over medium-high heat. Add the burgers and cook, turning once, for about 7 minutes for medium-rare. Top with the pepper jack cheese slice (it's ok if it's much larger, it will melt around the edges of the slider).

Place the burgers on the wheat roll bottoms. Top with the onions and sauce and set the roll tops in place. Wala! You now have fabulous looking and tasting Jalapeno Popper Sliders!

I was impressed by the depth of the flavor. I could pin point the beer and the Worcestershire sauce as well as the broiled peppers. I felt like each item could have been it's own recipe, good enough to be eaten separately. The onions marinated in the spices and EVOO. The avocado, jalapeno and sour cream. Even the cinnamon added to the beef was just superb.

Almost to pretty to eat... almost.

  

Time: ~1 hour

Rating: I'm going to give this a 10. I would def make it again. In fact, I want to make it again right now just writing about them. 
Serves: 4
Ingredients:

2 large red peppers

1 small red onion, thinly sliced into rings

Juice of 2 limes, divided

Salt and pepper

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), for drizzling

1 small ripe avocado

1/2 cup sour cream

A handful of cilantro, finely chopped

1 Fresno or jalapeño chili, seeded and finely chopped

1.5 pounds ground beef sirloin

1/2 palmful each ground cumin, ground coriander and smoked sweet paprika (about 1 1/2 teaspoons each)

A pinch of ground cinnamon

1/3 cup beer, such as Guinness Extra Stout

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Sliced pepper Jack

8 white, potato or whole wheat slider rolls, split

Recipe #6 & #7 - Creamy Basil Parmesan Chicken & Steamed Broccoli

_______________________________________________________________________________

This is a box recipe from Macaroni Grill found at any grocery market. It sold me on the simplicity of the recipe after the last few. I added organic, non-cage feed, steroid free chicken. I set aside the provided noodles and added my own organic ones. I also added fresh parsley and tomatoes. And, of course, a side of fresh steamed broccoli.

I began by boiling the water for the noodle (dash or two of salt and a little olive oil to prevent the sticking). While that was warming up, I melted the butter in the frying pan and added the chicken (cut into 1/4 in chunks). Cooked until all sides were white.

Next added the milk and seasoning. Brought to boil, then simmered on medium heat for 6 mins. Then began to chop the tomatoes and parsley.

About this time, start steaming the broccoli. It should be finished the same time you are ready to serve. I added lemon juice, salt and pepper while it was steaming.

After the 6 or so mins. I added the tomatoes, parsley, and creamy sauce provided. Let simmer for another 6 mins and drain the noodles.

Add noodles to chicken and shiz. Mix and top with grated parmesan cheese. Add the broccoli with light butter and addition salt and pepper to taste. 

This one is extremely simple. By substituting a couple of the boxed ingredients and adding your own, you can make it more healthy than the original Macaroni Grill recipe.

Rating: 7

Time: 35 mins

Serves: 4

Adjusted Ingredients:

1 lb uncooked boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup milk

3 cups linguini pasta (substituted)

1 package provided seasoning

1 package provided creamy sauce

1 package provided sun dried tomatoes (can be substituted for organic sun dried tomatoes)

2 fresh roman tomatoes 

1/3 cup fresh parsley 

Salt and pepper
Grated parmesan cheese

Broccoli recipe:
3 heads organic broccoli
Lemon juice
Salt and pepper
Butter

Recipe #5 - Taco Chili

_______________________________________________________________________________

I originally planned to make Taco Soup, but every recipe I found seemed to be missing something. I looked from Rachel Ray to Paula Dean and even just Googled "Taco Soup". So I decided last minute to make huge changes to the recipe.

I started out browning the Angus ground beef with the two onions over medium heat in a stockpot (apparently those are the tall ones). Since my parents still haven't replaced the automatic can opener, I made dad earn his dinner by opening up ALL the cans for me by hand. Lol. He didn't seem to mind.

Drained excess fat. Then added both types of kidney beans, Mexican tomatoes, niblet corn (frozen then thawed), tomatoes, green chiles, black olives, green olives, Rotel, taco seasoning, and ranch dressing seasoning, to the stockpot.

Simmer over low heat for at least an hour.  Then top with sour cream, cheese and Fritos.

I really didn't think it looked like soup at all. It looked more like chili. So instead of calling this "Taco Soup" I've rightfully renamed it "Taco Chili". I'm happy with the way it turned out. I'm not a huge soup fan to begin. I'd much prefer a thicker chili type dish than a soupy one. I think it's the broth. I don't think I'm a broth person if that makes any sense. Lol.

How I made mine.

How Dad made his.... oh dad...

Time: 1 hour, 15 mins
Rating: 8.5 (I'd def make this one again)
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
2 chopped onion
1 (15 1/2 ounces) cans Dark Red Kidney Beans, drained
2 (15 1/2 ounces) cans Light Red Kidney Beans, drained
2 (15 1/2 ounces each) cans Mexican Tomatoes
1 (15 1/2 ounces) can or frozen Niblet Corn, drained
1 (14 1/2 ounces) can diced Tomatoes
2 (4 ounces each) cans diced Green Chilies
1 small can Black Olives, drained
1/2 cup Green Olives, sliced
2 cans Rotel - original 1 package Taco Seasoning Mix
1 package Ranch Salad Dressing Mix Sour Cream
Grated Cheese
Chopped Onions
Fritos (corn chips)

Recipe #4 - Green Pastitsio

_______________________________________________________________________________

"Pastitsio is a Greek baked pasta dish traditionally made with ground lamb or beef, often with bits of spiced or cured meat mixed in – this is a heavy Greek alternative to Lasagna Bolognese. In this make-ahead recipe, Rach uses an equally traditional phyllo tart filling to lighten up the end result. Though it remains rich, it's not heavy – envision a well-made spinach or vegetable lasagna."

I wanted to make a vegetarian dish this time and I found this recipe off the Rachel Ray website. I bought all the ingredients from Whole Food Market and everything was organic except for the milk and butter. I substituted the Ziti noodles for whole wheat Ziti noodles (which I, personally, like better).

This one took me a lot longer than I was expecting to make. The prep alone took close to two hours. I think that since all the veggies were fresh and I had to cut them all up individually, it made the process a little more difficult. I had three pans going at once: one for the sauce, one for the noodles, and one for the veggies. Then I throw it all together in a casserole dish.

Put all together - before baked in the oven

Since this is a make ahead recipe, I put it all together tonight and will throw it in the oven for lunch tomorrow. Will letcha know the results!

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

The Result:

Put it in for lunch today. Delicious! I had two servings. 

Rating: 8
Time: ~2 hours
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
1 pound ziti or long, hollow pasta tubes, such as Buon Italia or Greek macaroni #2*
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
4 cloves garlic, sliced or chopped
1 large or 2 medium onions, chopped
1 large or 2 medium bundles chard, stemmed and chopped
1 bunch scallions, trimmed and chopped
1/4 cup fresh dill leaves
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
Freshly grated nutmeg
1 brick Greek feta in water, drained (about 1 cup crumbled feta)
1 cup freshly shredded or grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
Salt

Recipe #3 - Pork Lo Mein

_______________________________________________________________________________

I woke up yesterday morning with a email from Teresa in my inbox titled "Your Next Recipe". It was surprisingly simple to make. The not so simple thing was getting the ingredients. Mom and I drove all the way out to Poplar to the Whole Food Market and they were closed due to the snow the night before. Which actually turned out fine because we got Jimmy Johns right next to it. I've been craving JJ since I left Knoxville last. I can sum up my college experience in one bite of the #10 Big John.  

I digress. Mom and I went out again the next day and spent over an hour picking out organic ingredients and staring at the Olive Bar. Lol. 

I started by cutting the tenderloin in half lengthwise. Then each widthwise into 1/4 inch slices. In a plastic ziplock bag, I combined the soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and pepper flakes, then added the pork. Sealed bag, turned to coat, then refrigerated for 20 mins. 

Pork in soy sauce! Yum.

While waiting I began prep on the veggies. I julienned the red peppers. I had to Google what "julienned" meant. It means to cut longwise in very thin slices. I also minced garlic for the first time. I really hate trying to peel the thin layer off each clove. Super annoying. 

Note: After the 20 minutes, start boiling the water for the pasta and then put the meat on the skillet. By the time the meat is done, the water will be boiling and then the pasta is cooked the same time you add the noodles.

In a large non-sitck skillet, I added the sesame oil to coat the pan instead of the cooking spray which was suggested. I read an article saying that cooking spray is in the top ten cancer causing substances that can be easily cut out of our lives. 

So colorful!

Stir-fry pork and marinade for 4-5 minutes or until the meat is no longer pink. Added the snow peas and red pepper; stir-fry for 1 minute. Stir in spaghetti and chicken broth; cook 1 minute longer. Remove from heat. And finished! 

Mom and I were the only ones home to eat it, but it was AMAZING. Mom wants to give a 10 out of 10 and I'm very tempted to agree with her. I really was good. The pork was perfectly tender and the soy mixed with the red pepper, just bursts in your mouth. It was just spicy enough to make my nose run, but didn't have running for for the sink

The End.

Rating: 10
Time: 40 mins
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
1 - 1 pound pork tenderloin
1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh gingerroot
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 cups fresh snow peas
1 medium sweet red pepper, julienned 
3 cups cooked thin spaghetti 
1/3 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons sesame oil

Recipe #2 - Chicken & Dumplings Revisited

I'm counting this as my remake of the Chicken and Dumpling recipe. After a glass or two of wine last night. We were sitting around munching on Buffalo Style Pretzels. My Dad says, "too bad we can't throw in these pretzels to give that soup a kick". Then we all just looked at each other. Well why not?

So for lunch today, I broke out the soup and heated a bowl up. I added Frank's RedHot Buffalo Wing Sauce, more garlic powder, and pepper. Stirred and reheated.

Wow. The difference was surprising. Unusual, yet extremely tasty. By the time we were all finished eating, we were fighting for the tissue box. It friggin cleared out our sinuses. You know, in a really good way. Lol.

I say it definitely moved it up to an 8 out of 10.

Recipe #1 - Chicken & Dumplings

_______________________________________________________________________________

My mother walked in yesterday while I was writing the first post (oblivious to what I was thinking or writing) and said, "You know, we haven't made Chicken & Dumplings in a long while. That would be the perfect winter dinner during the snow storm tomorrow."

So I went to the store this morning and, just as she said, there is already 3 inches of snow on the ground (they are predicting up to 7!).

On my lunch break, I began stewing the organic chicken (on the bones). I put the chicken in a large pot filled 3/4 the way with water. Added fresh cut celery, onions, and carrots. Then brought to a mild boil for 2 1/4 hours.

First time making chicken broth from scratch.

So after the allotted time, I pulled the chicken from the broth and deboned (I don't think that's a word, oh well) it. Deboning took a lot more time than I expected. I had to make sure I removed all the vains, knotted and spikey bones from both the chicken and the broth.

I ran into two problems. Problem one, the broth was very bland. So I looked up a Paula Dean recipe for chicken broth and I was apparently missing an ass load of salt. Added and wala! Yummy broth. That Paula Dean knows her shiz.

Dropped in the dumplings.

Problem two, I didn't have any baking powder. So I Googled it. Apparently, baking soda and baking powder are two completely different things. They both have the chemical that makes dough rise, but they taste different.  If you mix 1 part baking soda and 2 parts cream of tarter you have baking powder. Pretty neat.

With the problems solved, I moved on to making the dumpling batter. Easy enough.... mix flour, baking powder, parsley leaves and salt in one bowl & mix an egg, oil and milk in another. Combine the two bowls. Let them sit for a second.

Now time to thicken the broth. By thickening it, it's not called broth any more, it's called sauce. So. I mixed cold water with 1/2 flour then poured it into the broth through a strainer while mixing (if you don't mix, then it gets lumpy as it's going in).

Next. scoop out the dumplings in tablespoon size portions and drop them in to the sauce. Cover for 15-17 mins without removing the cover.

Not really to be served with red wine. We were out of white!

Complete!

Now after  reviewing it with my colleagues (aka Mom and Dad).  We decided on a 6 out of 10. Still very bland. I think it needs a kick of some sort.

I picked a hell of a first recipe to work with. This one took nearly all day. Whew. Now for that glass of wine...

My Year of 25

I was expecting to have a 1/4 life crisis when I turned 25 or an epiphany of some sort. To be completely honest, I didn't feel a thing. It was just like any other birthday. It was a little disappointing, I wanted to feel something pertaining to this supposedly epic turning point in my life.

So I started digging around in my life. I analyzed my job, my relationship status, my friends, my geographical location and my family. I set questions to each area: Am I happy? If not, what can I do to make the situation better? Those questions led me to other, more complicated questions: What part of my life needs more attention? What part needs less?  How is this year going to be different?

I've been searching and brainstorming for the last two months on how I can make this year different for myself. My friend Lauren is doing 25 things that she has never done before, which got me thinking. I want to do something to further my knowledge, develop a skill and make me a healthier person in the process. But how?

When I was in Knoxville last, Brady cooked dinner for me. He made meatloaf, green beans, red spud mashed potatoes and croissants. It was excellent. The 5 hour drive home and all of last week, I've been inspired to cook. I came back and made Organic Chicken Creamy Basil Parmesan with sun dried tomatoes and fresh steamed green beans one night, pasta salad another, and so on...

Epiphany!

I want to cook 100 recipes this year. That's roughly 2 recipes a week. Out of the 100, I want to choose my favorite 25 and make them my own by changing them up via trial and error. I will be documenting my experience on this blog.

I'm setting some rules for myself:

• At least 60% of ingredients have to be organic 
• I can only use one pre-made ingredient per recipe (such as chicken broth or a seasoning packet)
• I must try, to the best of my ability, to stay away from preservatives (canned goods, etc.)
• Use as many fresh ingredients as possible
• I can only repeat a recipe if I'm changing it up semi-drastically. 
• I have to complete all 100 recipes by January 14, 2012

By doing this, I'm hoping to create a hobby and healthy habit that I can carry with me through the rest of my years. I hope you all join me on my journey! I can't wait to get started!