Spicy Orange Beef

I am not very proficient at cooking beef. I can do pot roast, and of course ground beef features prominently in many recipes that are in regular rotation at our house, but beyond that...I'm clueless. My parents recently gave us a bunch of beef from the 1/4 steer that they ordered this fall, so that made my need to branch out from chicken, chicken, and more chicken even more immediate!

My husband really likes Asian-inspired recipes so I thought he would really go for this - he liked it alright, I guess, but it wasn't his all-time favorite...apparently he's more of a teriyaki person. I was VERY surprised by how much I LOVED it. I thought it was delicious - even though I spaced the red pepper so it wasn't at all spicy - and I even brought it to work for lunch the next day with a Steamfresh bag of brown rice that cooked right in the microwave. Perfect!

SPICY ORANGE BEEF
Serves 4
From allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound round steak, cut into thin strips on the diagonal
1/4 cup orange peel, cut into slivers
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup beef broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sherry
1/4 cup orange marmalade
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a wok or skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add beef strips 1/3 at a time. Stir-fry for 3 minutes or until browned, removing the done pieces to a plate lined with paper towels.

2. Return all the beef to the wok. Stir in orange peel, garlic, and ginger; stir-fry 1 minute.

3. In a medium bowl, combine cornstarch, broth, soy sauce, sherry, marmalade, and red pepper. Pour this mixture into the beef, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook for 1 minute. Serve hot.

NOTES: I didn't use the orange zest because some of the reviews on allrecipes said that it made the orange flavor overpowering. I can see how this is possible, since having the marmalade made it quite orangy enough for me! Maybe you could use a bit for garnish if you were feeling particularly artistic, but unless you are an orange-flavor fiend, you may want to avoid the whole amount.

Chicken Divan

My favorite professor in college used to make Chicken Divan for us when we'd have Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society dinners. It was his specialty - a Southern comfort food recipe that was one of his all-time favorites and probably the thing he made best. Anyway, this isn't his recipe. Actually, I think it's better - but that's because my version is a little more jazzed-up with seasonings etc. And it uses fresh steamed broccoli rather than frozen, which is CRUCIAL. So thank you, Dr. Borders, for the inspiration...and the introduction to a delightful wintertime (or anytime) treat.

CHICKEN DIVAN
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1/2 small onion, finely diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
Seasonings for chicken that you like (ex. garlic salt, lemon pepper, thyme, oregano, marojam, etc.)
1 T olive oil (for sauteeing)
1 lb fresh broccoli florets
1 10.75oz can Chicken & Herbs condensed soup
1/3 C milk
1/3 C lite sour cream
At least 1/2 C shredded sharp cheddar (really as much as you want)
2 T butter
4-5 T breadcrumbs

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 450.

Saute onions and garlic for a few minutes before adding chicken. After you add the chicken, season the chicken with whatever you think sounds good. Saute chicken for 8-10 minutes or until done.

While chicken is sauteeing, steam broccoli until just crisp-tender. Do NOT overcook!

Mix soup, milk, and sour cream together in a small bowl.

Melt butter. Mix breadcrumbs and butter together until the mixture has a nice crumbly consistency. If you need to add more breadcrumbs, do so.

Add broccoli to an oval-shaped casserole dish (or whatever dish you want). Add chicken on top of the broccoli. At this point, you can sprinkle a little of the shredded cheddar on top of the chicken/broccoli. Next, layer the soup mixture on top of the chicken and broccoli. Add the shredded cheddar cheese to the top, and then sprinkle breadcrumbs on top of the cheese.

Bake in preheated oven for about 15 minutes, or until the top is brown and the mixture is bubbling. Let stand for about 10 minutes before serving. Serve with some kind of rolls to soak up the creamy sauce.

YUMMY COMFORT FOOD GOODNESS!

cranberry sauce

Here's a recipe for something I just can't understand why people wouldn't make themselves.  It's so easy, and the alternative jellied cranberry sauce is so unappetizing!  I found this on the Smitten Kitchen and am a big fan.

Whole Cranberry Sauce

Makes 2 1/4 cups

3/4 c granulated sugar

1 c water

12 oz fresh cranberries (rinsed, drained and sorted through, removing any deflated ones or stems)

several julienned strips of orange peel

a few squeezes of orange juice

Combine water and sugar in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil; add cranberries and zest, return to a boil.  Reduce heat and boil gently for 10-14 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add a few squeezes of fresh orange juice.  Cover and cool completely at room temperature.  Refrigerate until serving time.

crême brulée french toast

we've got friends staying over this weekend, and in our tiny apartment that means they get to sleep in the living room.  which also happens to be the kitchen and the dining room.  :-)  i wanted to be able to make breakfast for all of us this morning, but didn't want to bother them with early morning banging around in the kitchen.  this french toast is perfect since you put it together at night and bake it the next morning.  it's super delicious, too!

crême brulée french toast*

1 stick unsalted butter

1 c packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons corn syrup ( i didn't have any, so i used maple syrup)

large loaf of Italian bread (no seeds)

5 large eggs

1.5 cups half and half

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (i might kick this up to a half teaspoon the next time)

1/4 teaspoon salt

in a small, heavy saucepan melt butter with brown sugar and corny syrup over moderate heat, stirring, until smooth and pour into a 13x9 baking dish. cut 1-inch thick slices of bread, reserving ends for another use. arrange bread slices in one layer in baking dish, squeezing them slightly to fit.

in a bowl, whisk together eggs, half and half, vanilla, and salt until combined well and pour evenly over bread. chill bread mixture, covered, at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.

preheat oven to 350 degrees. bring bread to room temperature.

bake bread mixture, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed and edges are pale golden (35 to 40 minutes). flip once halfway through.

*thanks to nestie LaurenK for the recipe! :-)

bacony roasted brussels sprouts

This recipe comes from Ruth Reichl's awesome book, Garlic and Sapphires.  The recipe is sort of a no-brainer, but I wanted to record it here to refresh my memory in case I ever forget.  I'm not a huge fan of cabbagey things in general, but what's not to love about things that are carmelized in bacon grease? :-)

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

2 lbs brussels sprouts, trimmed

3 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper

4 thick slices of bacon, diced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Arrange sprouts on a baking sheet and coat with oil.  Sprinkle salt and pepper and arrange diced bacon on top.  Cook, turning sprouts once, for about 20 minutes or until they are very dark and crisp.

my family's spaghetti casserole

some of the earliest food-related memories that i have involve a hearty spaghetti casserole that is a staple at family events from poker parties to graduations and baptisms to funerals.  cooks in my family can make it by feel, adapting it easily to feed groups of 6 or 36.  purists prepare the casserole over several days - first cooking the sauce and then giving it a day or two to become even more flavorful while resting in the fridge.  

i decided to take my first ever stab at the family casserole today while sitting in church and trying to distract myself from sad thoughts.  catholics celebrate all souls day on nov. 2 each year, and for me the loss of my grandpa this summer has been weighing heavily on my heart today.  i am definitely in need of some major comfort food, and preparing this casserole that my family ate after his funeral has been therapeutic for me.  the sauce is resting in the fridge right now, but i'm looking forward to enjoying it later this evening with a green salad and some crusty garlic bread.  yum!!

my family's spaghetti casserole

brown: 

1 medium diced onion and 

1 lb ground beef (we use ground turkey)

when brown, drain fat and transfer to a large stock pot.  add:

1 tablespoon sugar

dash garlic salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

24 oz. canned tomato sauce (I used two 15 oz cans and one can of drained diced tomatoes)

3/4 c. burgundy (I used beaujolais bc that's what I had)

1/4 t. oregano

1/4 t. rosemary

1/4 t. marjoram

1/4 t. basil

1/4 t. salt

simmer sauce for 1 hr to 1 hr 15 min.  add 1/2 lb. cooked spaghetti cut in 2" lengths (i used a pound bc i had added extra tomatoes) and 3/4 c. mild grated cheddar cheese (i used half a brick of sharp cheddar).  refrigerate for several hours.

heat oven to 325.  transfer pasta to casserole dish and sprinkle top with 3/4 c grated cheddar (i used the other half of the sharp cheddar brick).  bake covered for 45 minutes.  uncover and bake 30 min longer until cheese is brown and bubbly.  serves 8.

butternut squash soup

i've been craving a bowl of squash soup for a few weeks now that the temperatures have been dropping, but i didn't get a chance to try to make some until today.  although i'm pretty happy with the way it came out, i might play around a bit with the seasonings next time to get a richer flavor.

butternut squash soup

20 oz cubed butternut squash (i bought a 2 lb squash and roasted it in buttery/salted/peppered chunks for 40 min at 400 degrees)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 carton chicken or vegetable broth

1 medium onion, chopped (half an onion in my case so that mike will eat it)

3-4 cloves garlic, minced (i used 8 cloves of roasted garlic since i had extra from something i made earlier in the week and i always double the amount of garlic in recipes to make up for the lack of onion)

1 bay leaf

1/4 c sour cream

pinch of thyme

pumpkin pie spice to taste (i decided there was enough after about a teaspoon and a half)

pinch of sugar to taste (i used two pinches)

salt and pepper to taste (geez, can this recipe writer be more specific already?)

heat olive oil in soup pot.  add onion and garlic and sauté until soft.  add squash and sauté for a few minutes.  add broth, seasonings and bay leaf.  if your squash isn't already cooked, cover and cook until squash is tender, about 30 min.  take the bay leaf out and purée it in batches in a blender (or use an immersion blender right in the pot).  let simmer until desired consistency and then remove from heat and mix in sour cream.  enjoy!

yummiest banana bread

okay, okay, you got me.  i'm writing this post for mainly selfish reasons.  this is my very favorite banana bread recipe and i need to record it once and for all so that i won't have to keep bugging my aunt and cousins for it every time my bananas get brown.  i know that everyone seems to have a family favorite banana bread recipe, but if you're ever in the market to shop around for a new one, i think your search might just end here!  there's nothing particularly healthy about this version (although i do use the 50/50 white and wheat flour to make myself feel better), but it's also amazingly moist without being greasy.  yum!  

without further adieu, i give you aunt pat's most amazing banana bread...

1 2/3 c flour

1 t baking soda

1/2 c butter

1 c sugar

2 eggs

1 t vanilla

1 c mashed bananas (i usually use 3 over-ripe bananas, which is probably a little more than a cup)

1/2 c sour cream

preheat oven to 350.  cream butter, sugar, egg and vanilla in mixer.  mix in banana.  alternate adding baking soda/flour combination and sour cream.  bake 1 hr.

Bread + Cheese + Beer = YUM!

I had plans to make White Chicken Chili yesterday, and was extra excited to come across this recipe on Annie's Eats. It sounded like a perfect compliment to the chili, could be prepared in no time, and used ingredients I already had plenty of in my kitchen! We were very pleased with the way this bread came out. It smelled delicious while cooking, came out with a perfect crust all around, had a lovely cheesy/beery/carby flavor and texture, and was very hearty and filling. What a treat for a cold fall night!

Easy Cheesy Beer Bread
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
4 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
12 oz. beer
2 tbsp. butter, melted

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease a 9×5” loaf pan.

In a large bowl, combine flours, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and garlic powder. Whisk to combine well. Add cheese and whisk to combine. Slowly add beer to dry ingredients and stir lightly until just combined, and all ingredients are completely moistened. Place into a prepared loaf pan and pour melted butter over the top. Place in the oven and bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Spinach Fettucine Primavera (a.k.a. Rachael, You Tease!)

When my sister in law shared this recipe on her blog earlier in the week, I took a look at it and thought, "A ha! A tasty-looking, simple recipe, that might have a shot at actually being made in 30 minutes!!" It looked so incredibly simple that I was convinced I'd be able to tackle it in thirty minutes. I even saved making it for a night I knew I'd be staying late at work, because wouldn't it be fun to come home and just throw something quick and easy together? WRONG.

I set my timer for 30 minutes and went to work on this bad boy. 28 minutes later, I was still chopping things! Does Rachael have any idea how long it takes an amateur to prepare strips of zucchini and carrot using a vegetable peeler alone? NO! Do normal people have magical water boiling fairies that start boiling a huge pot full of water at just the right moment so that it is perfectly timed for when the vegggies and pasta need to go in? NO! Alas, I had to set my timer for two 30 minute sessions in order to complete this crazy recipe.

Nevertheless, this recipe was relatively simple and moderately delicious so I thought I'd share. I added an extra three cloves of garlic (a must in our house), sauteed the garlic and shallots with crushed red pepper flakes in the oil (another must) and added a drained can of diced tomatoes and a handful of chopped fresh basil for a little something extra. Although the wine reduction sauce smells amazing while cooking, I found the recipe in general to be a bit lacking in flavor. We did enjoy the way the curls of veggies blended in with the pasta, however, and I'm a big fan of a balanced one-bowl meal, so I have a feeling I might be giving this recipe another shot in the not-so-distant future. I already have my tivo set for 7 a.m. Sunday morning so I can see what exactly this wizard woman does to make this dish magically appear in 30 minutes!

Spinach Fettuccine Primavera
See this recipe on air Sunday Sep. 14 at 7:00 AM ET/PT.

Salt
1 pound spinach fettuccine (I used capellini because Trader Joe's didn't have any fettucine that appealed to me... I can see how spinach fettucine would add more flavor, so I'll give her that)
2 carrots, peeled
2 medium zucchini
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 shallots, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (I used 5 cloves because 1 pound is an awful lot of pasta)
1 cup frozen green peas
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup vegetable or chicken stock Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus some to pass at table
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, a generous handful (I'm not a parsley fan, so I substituted basil)

Bring water for pasta to a boil. Salt the water add the pasta and cook to al dente, about 7 to 8 minutes. Use a vegetable peeler to make ribbons of carrot and zucchini. Keep the vegetables flat on counter and run the peeler the length of the vegetable. Drop the carrots and zucchini into the pasta water for the last 4 minutes of cooking time.

Heat a medium skillet over medium heat with extra-virgin olive oil and butter. Saute the shallots and garlic 3 to 4 minutes then add peas and heat through, 2 minutes, stir in wine, reduce for half a minute and stir in stock. Toss drained pasta and vegetables with the sauce, season with salt and pepper, and combine with cheese and parsley.

pancakes!

i am now in full LSAT studying/law school applying mode, and although 4 years have passed since i left college, i have apparently not lost my amazing talent for finding all sorts of cooking and cleaning projects to help me procrastinate from doing what's most important to my future. ::sigh:: on the brighter side, the good news is that mike and i will be eating awfully well and enjoying life in a sparkling clean apartment for the next few months!! :-)

tonight at 9 pm i decided it would be a good idea to make myself some healthy pancakes to take to work this week for breakfast, and make pancakes i did. i learned a few interesting cooking tricks along the way, so i thought i'd share.

Oatmeal Brown Sugar Pancakes
(look, Kira, you can enjoy oatmeal for breakfast without the mushy texture!)

1/2 c. plus 2 tbsp quick-cooking oats
1/2 c. whole flour
1/2 c. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 c. packed brown sugar
1 egg
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 c. buttermilk

in a small bowl, combine the oats, flours, baking soda, salt and sugar. in another small bowl, beat the egg, oil and buttermilk. stir into dry ingredients until just moistened. pour batter by 1/3 cupful onto a greased hot griddle. turn when bubbles form on top and cook until the second side is golden brown. makes approx 10 pancakes (which i'm not sure i agree with - my batch turned out maybe 7 or so)

and now for the cooking tricks!!

1.) apparently, if you don't have buttermilk, you can substitute by adding 1 tbsp. lemon juice to your regular milk and letting it sit for a few minutes. i was intrigued by this idea since i'm constantly buying buttermilk to use in small quantities and then the rest usually goes bad in my fridge. i tried this lemon juice trick in this pancake recipe, and while i didn't notice a particularly buttermilky flavor (man do these pancakes taste healthy!), i didn't notice a particularly yucky flavor either. i'm thinking i'll give the lemon juice a try in a few more recipes before making up my mind on whether this is a good idea.

2.) if you're like me and never able to use an open bag of brown sugar before it starts to dry up and become crusty, i can confirm that tossing a marshmallow into the bag after opening will keep the sugar nice and moist! hooray! i've heard that a piece of bread works too, but that kind of grosses me out.

better than MCL sauteed apples

I've never been to MCL, but from the way Kira describes it, I can imagine it would be a place where they might offer cinnamon-y apples as an option for dessert. I'm also imagining that their apples might resemble the usual institutional apple-pie filling type served at buffets, and that they'd be kinda thick in consistency and super sweet. Ick.

A few weeks ago, I was looking for a recipe for sauteed apples to use on top of a dutch pancake I was making. When I googled sauteed apples, this was the first recipe that came up (thank you, allrecipes.com!) and I'm so very glad it did! I absolutely loved the way these turned out in texture, in consistency and in flavor! They were so delicious and perfect that they even inspired me to wake up 15 min earlier every day so I could make oatmeal w/these apples and raisins. Impressive!

There's not much to this recipe, but if you're like me and haven't ever sauteed apples before, it's a great first-timer recipe. I had an idea of how sauteeing apples might go, but I would have never been able to guess the proportions of sugar/cinnamon/butter or the need to boil the apples toward the end to achieve the best texture!

Without further adieu, I give you allrecipes.com's recipe for sauteed apples...

1/4 cup butter
4 large tart apples - peeled, cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 teaspoons cornstarch (I used flour because I couldn't find my cornstarch and it worked fine, you just have to make a roux with the butter and flour in order to cook the flour before the apples are added so that you don't end up with a flour-y taste)
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS
In a large skillet or saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; add apples. Cook, stirring constantly, until apples are almost tender, about 6 to 7 minutes.
Dissolve cornstarch in water; add to skillet. Stir in brown sugar and cinnamon. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and serve warm.

world's yummiest granola bars

My sister in law makes the yummiest granola bars EVER. I love this recipe because is super easy, fast and you get to play with the flavorings and textures!! I always seem to have the hardest time finding a store-bought brand that I like because if the texture is great, I'll hate the flavor combination, or vice versa. With these granola bars, you get to decide how crunchy, chewy, sweet, healthy or junky they'll turn out! Here's the base recipe, with notes on ways you can play around to get different results:

4 c quick oats (do not even THINK about using old fashioned oats. you will not be pleased with the outcome! you can, on the other hand, consider substituting a cup or two of a cereal... the finer the texture of the cereal, the better this works.)
1 1/2 c chopped whatever (nuts, raisins, sunflower seeds, chocolate...)
1/2 c firmly packed brown sugar (original recipe calls for 1 whole cup, but that was way too sweet for me since I'm almost always using chocolate or raisins in my chopped whatever)
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 melted butter/canola oil mix (you can play around with this as well, but I find that I like to melt a little less than 1/2 c butter in a glass measuring cup, then pour canola oil in until it reaches 3/4 c. more butter makes the bars have a richer taste, obviously)
1/2 c honey (if you pour in the butter/oil mix first and then reuse the same measuring cup for the honey, the honey will pour right out! much better than having to wait for hours for it to drip into the bowl)
1 tsp vanilla extract (don't worry, Kira, you can't taste a thing! ;-) )

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9x13 glass pan. Mix all of the above ingredients until incorporated and press into pan. Bake about 20 min until golden brown (longer baking will be crunchier, shorter baking will be chewier). Let cool completely before cutting. I usually wrap each individual granola bar in plastic wrap so they're convenient to store and stay fresher. Yum!!

Rosemary Chicken Saute

Yes...I am still eating healthy. Well, healthier. Surprised? Me too. Anyway, this is another modified healthy recipe and it's surprisingly tasty. I'm really proud of myself right now because I am growing a tiny herb garden in pots in my front courtyard and I was actually able to use fresh rosemary from my "garden" in this dish tonight! My mom used to make something like this only it was baked rather than sauteed and it was SO good...I asked her for the recipe awhile ago and she has no recollection of making it. I guess that's okay, because this recipe tastes almost as good as I remember hers - and I think the slight reduction in awesomeness is because this only has the teensiest bit of olive oil in it and no other fat. Snip yourself some fresh rosemary and enjoy!

ROSEMARY CHICKEN SAUTE
Weight Watchers Recipe - Modified by Kira (but still just as healthy!)
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

2 pounds red potatoes, quartered - I used red Yukon golds.
1 chicken breast (approx. 10oz) cut into thin strips
2 medium onions
1 T chopped fresh rosemary (be generous with this) plus extra sprigs for garnish
4 cloves garlic, minced
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1/2 t sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Boil potatoes in salted water for 5-6 minutes. Drain and set aside. In a nonstick skillet, saute chicken in 1/2 t olive oil until just cooked through. Set aside. Add another 1/2 t olive oil to the pan and add onions, sugar, garlic, and rosemary. Saute until onions are soft. Add potatoes and chicken to the skillet and heat through, adding salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with fresh rosemary to serve.

Super-quick and easy comfort food!

"Better Than MCL" Peanut Butter Pie

If you're from Indiana, you are probably familiar with MCL (or as my husband likes to call it, the MediCare Lounge). MCL is a regional chain of old-fashioned homestyle cooking cafeterias that caters primarily to the over-70 crowd. However, my husband and many of my friends here in Indiana absolutely LOVE MCL - they just get carryout. Anyway, I made this peanut butter pie for my boss as her birthday treat and she pronounced it "better than MCL!" Which is a serious compliment. It's also ridiculously easy. The only bad thing about this PB pie is that it is basically terrible for you. But...who cares when it is this delicious???

BETTER THAN MCL's PEANUT BUTTER PIE
Recipe from Allrecipes.com (Peanut Butter Pie XIX)

INGREDIENTS:

1 8oz package cream cheese, softened
3/4 C white sugar
1 1/2 C creamy peanut butter
2 8oz containers frozen whipped topping, thawed
Graham cracker pie crust
Chocolate syrup for drizzling (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Mix cream cheese and sugar with a hand mixer until creamy. Add peanut butter and blend until smooth. Add 1 container of whipped topping and mix using a spoon or spatula until the topping is completely blended into the peanut butter mixture.

Fill graham cracker crust with mixture and refrigerate for minimum 1 hour. If desired, layer chocolate syrup in between layers of peanut butter filling.

Drizzle chocolate syrup (optional) over the top of the pie. Layer as much of the 2nd container of whipped topping as you like on top and drizzle with more chocolate syrup. Refrigerate for at least another hour before serving.

YUM!

(don't ask me for the calorie/fat/etc information on this recipe. You do NOT want to know!)

Baked Won-Ton Wrapper Chips

To go along with my previous post, baked won-ton wrappers are an EXCELLENT alternative to tortilla chips which as we know are much worse for you than the cheese in which you dip them. Baking won-ton wrappers is super-easy and you can season them however you want! These are GREAT with the pico de gallo recipe that you can find on our humble little blog. :)

INGREDIENTS:

1 package of won-ton wrappers
Cooking spray
Whatever spices/salt/pepper you want

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 425. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. Place won-ton wrappers on cookie sheet and bake for 2-3 minutes. Remove from oven, turn over, and spray with cooking spray. Season with spices or dried/fresh herbs of your choice. Return to oven for 4-5 minutes until they are bubbly and as crispy as you want them.

Serve with pico de gallo, other salsa, or just by themselves!

Grilled Chicken and Key Lime Salsa

I've taken a break from posting for awhile - mostly because I am now eating healthfully and so many of my previous recipes no longer qualify as something that I can eat on a regular basis. Sad, but true. However, this new healthy initiative has enabled me to find some truly delightful recipes that taste good and are much better for you. For example, this delicious grilled chicken with salsa. I was even surprised at how awesome the salsa was. In fact, I would recommend just making this salsa and eating it on chips. Or baked won-ton wrappers. Anyway, enjoy the party in your mouth!

GRILLED CHICKEN AND KEY LIME SALSA
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 C Worcestershire sauce
3 T fresh lime juice from Key limes (or if you are lazy, from the plastic lime bottle)
3 medium oranges, sectioned, with pith and seeds removed
2 T scallions, chopped
1 T cilantro, chopped
1 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 tsp chopped green chiles or more to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine Worcestershire sauce, 3 T of lime juice and chicken in a Ziploc bag. Refrigerate up to 4 hours.
2. Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients in a medium-sized bowl to make salsa. Refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour.
3. Preheat grill or broiler. Grill or broil chicken until cooked through, about 4-5 minutes per side. Serve chicken with salsa.

Kira's Notes: No, I did not buy Key limes to juice for this recipe. Because I am (1) lazy and (2) cheap. And guess what? It tasted amazing with lime juice from the lime-shaped bottle. Also, I think I may have added more scallions and cilantro than the recipe called for. I also used cayenne pepper for heat in the salsa instead of the chopped green chiles because again, I am lazy. Marinating this for 3-4 hours would probably be perfect. I only had time to let mine marinate for an hour or so and it was good, but the flavor wasn't as good as it would have been with more time in the sauce and lime juice. I also cut up the orange slices into smaller chunks.

Smoky Sweet Potato Chicken Stoup

Rachael Ray always wins me back eventually. I just happened to catch an episode of 30-Minute Meals last Friday and she made Smoky Sweet Potato Chicken Stoup - it looked so amazing that I wanted to lick the TV. So I looked it up this week on foodnetwork.com and here we are! It looks kind of tricky because there are a lot of ingredients but it really isn't too hard to make. I still think that Rachael relies on her superhuman chopping and dicing abilities to get these recipes done in 30 minutes. However, us mere mortals will still be able to make this "stoup" in 45! I served this with pepperjack grilled cheese sandwiches...quesadillas would be fun too!

SMOKY SWEET POTATO CHICKEN STOUP
Rachael Ray, foodnetwork.com
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

2 T extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium carrots, peeled
2 ribs celery
1 large onion, peeled and halved
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1-2 chipotle chili in adobo sauce, finely chopped, plus a spoonful of sauce from the can
Salt and black pepper
1 t dry thyme
1 bay leaf
1 C dry white wine
5 C chicken stock
1 large sweet potato
3/4-1lb chicken tenders, cut into bite-sized pieces
4 scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced
1/4 C cilantro leaves, a generous handful, roughly chopped
1/2 C sour cream for garnish, optional

DIRECTIONS:

Heat a soup pot over medium-high heat with 2 T of extra-virgin olive oil, about 2 turns of the pan.

While soup pot heats, chop carrots in half lengthwise and then slice into thin half-moons. Add the carrots to the pot while it heats, stirring to coat the carrots in the oil. Chop and drop in celery and onion, chopping them as small as you can without driving yourself crazy. Add the garlic, chipotle, and adobo sauce and stir to combine. Season the veggies with salt, pepper, thyme, and bay leaf. Cook the veggies together for 1 minute. Add the wine and reduce 1 minute. Add the stock to the pot, cover the pot, and raise the heat to high. Bring the stoup to a boil, remove the cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into quarters lengthwise, then thinly slice into bite size pieces, Add the cut chicken and sweet potatoes and simmer for 10 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are tender and chicken is cooked through. Turn the heat off, add scallions and cilantro. Serve each portion of stoup with a dollop of sour cream on top.

Extra-Special Spinach and Artichoke Dip

I can almost file this recipe under "failure," but it went okay the 2nd time around. Let me start at the beginning...

My original intent was to find Outback Steakhouse's Artichoke Dip recipe. Even though the internet is wonderful, it let me down big time and I couldn't find the recipe online anywhere.

I looked around for awhile and eventually found a recipe that sounded pretty amazing, mostly because it (1) contained Alfredo sauce and (2) did NOT contain copious amounts of mayonnaise. Don't get me wrong, I love mayonnaise under the right circumstances, but if I'm making a dip I really don't want to think about how when I'm eating it, I'm really just swallowing a gigantic blob of mayo on a chip.

In reading the reviews of the recipe I found, I noticed that some people said it was fun to use fresh spinach and also that if you followed the exact directions of the recipe, which said to "spread" ingredients in an 8x8 pan, the dip wouldn't turn out correctly. One reviewer said it was NECESSARY to put this dip into a food processor or a blender. So I chopped up a bunch of fresh spinach and threw the whole shebang into my food processor. As it blended, I started to get a very uneasy feeling. When the cream cheese had finally been blended, I was horrified to see that the dip looked alarmingly like that green jell-o fluff you can buy in the grocery store deli and I find to be absolutely disgusting. Or something pistachio-flavored. And I am supposed to bring this dip to a New Year's Eve party tomorrow night!

So my only choice was to drive to the grocery store at 9:20PM and pray that they weren't totally out of artichoke hearts so that I could have a re-do. THANKFULLY it turned out well the 2nd time. At least I think so, because I haven't baked it yet, but it's already better than the 1st time because it's a normal spinach/artichoke dip-y color. And it tastes good. The green one did too, but since people would be expecting it to taste like that green fluffy stuff...yeah. It's just better to make it again!

ARTICHOKE & SPINACH DIP - RESTAURANT STYLE
From allrecipes.com with modifications by Kira

Ingredients:

4 cloves garlic (I used 5)
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (10 ounce) container Alfredo-style pasta sauce (Bertolli's is best)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (6-cheese Italian blend)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened (I used the entire package)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Place garlic in a small baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven 20 to 30 minutes, until soft. Remove from heat. When cool enough to touch, squeeze softened garlic from skins.

In an 8x8 inch baking dish, spread the roasted garlic, spinach, artichoke hearts, Alfredo-style pasta sauce, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and cream cheese.

Cover and bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes, or until cheeses are melted and bubbly. Serve warm.

Kira's directions for step 3: Mix the cream cheese, the Alfredo sauce, and the roasted garlic until it's mostly blended. Squish the roasted garlic until it's fairly well blended with the rest. Add the shredded cheese and the Parmesan. Mix well. Then, add the artichoke hearts and the spinach and take care not to overmix. Place in baking dish and top with a little bit of grated Parmesan.

Green Bean Casserole for the 21st Century

My mom brought this recipe to Christmas and suggested that we give it a shot. It's one of those recipes that doesn't really tell you a whole lot about amounts and times and specific temperatures, which kind of wigged my mom out, but in the end it turned out to be very good! Luckily for her I'm 100% comfortable with a recipe that doesn't tell me anything. It combines that traditional comfort of the old-school green bean casserole but it adds some distinctly modern twists. No cream of mushroom soup, etc. Anyway, it's tasty and fairly easy...sounds like a holiday dinner winner to me! I added a little bit more structure to the recipe for this blog, so the version below is by no means verbatim from the source.


GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE
From Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients:

2 lbs fresh green beans, cut into smallish pieces
6oz fresh button or Portobello mushrooms, sliced
1 sweet red pepper, diced
6oz of goat cheese or cream cheese (or combination of both)
1 large onion, thinly sliced in rings
Dry packaged breadcrumbs
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Boil green beans for 3ish minutes and drain. Add green beans, mushrooms, and pepper to a 9x13 casserole dish. Add olive oil and balsamic vinegar and roast in 350 oven for 10-15 minutes. While green beans etc are roasting, sauté onions in olive oil until tender. Coat with breadcrumbs so they resemble onion rings. Remove green beans etc. from oven. Add goat cheese/cream cheese and mix well to coat. Add onions on top and return to oven for 8-10 minutes or until heated through. Turn on broiler for extra browning effect.