Eastern Chicken

We are always trying to find new flavours for our chicken.  Change is good!  This time, I found a recipe in my "Company's Coming - Barbeques" cookbook that I thought we should try.  It has grapefruit juice in it, and we happened to have grapefruit juice in the fridge...perfect timing!  It also seemed like a fresh flavour to try...grapefruit juice and chicken...we'll see! 

Here is the recipe:

1 1/2 cups grapefruit juice
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon mustard
2 teaspoons onion flakes
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon thyme
3 lbs chicken (I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts)

In a large bowl, combine the first 11 ingredients.  I like to marinate my meat in ziploc bags, so I then put the chicken into a large ziploc bag and then poured the marinade into the bag.  Do this in the morning (or the night before) and allow the chicken to marinade all day (or overnight).

Preheat your grill to medium.  Place your chicken on the grill, baste with the marinade and turn often.  Grill for about 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked thoroughly.

VERDICT
This was a nice change for us for the chicken.  We don't often have grapefruit juice in the house, but next time we do and have some "extra" then we would likely make this again!

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Baked Chicken Fingers

Chicken fingers...what kid doesn't love them?  I think we've all had our "love" of chicken fingers at one time or another in our lives.  And so often they come to us processed and frozen.  I thought it was time to give it a go to make my own at home.  I did a little searching online and found lots of recipes, and the recipes all called for items that pretty much already had on hand.  Duh! Had I thought about it sooner, then maybe I would have figured it out sooner :-)  I based what I did on the recipe I found over at Smells Like Home .  Here is my version:

1 1/2 cups Panko
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
Pepper (to taste)
2 large egg whites
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon Dijon or whole-grain mustard
1/4 teaspoon thyme
Cooking spray
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 425F.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.

In a shallow dish (I used a pie plate), mix together the flour, garlic, salt, pepper and cayenne.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the egg whites, water, mustard and thyme.

Put the panko into a second shallow dish.

Line up your dishes: 1) Flour mixture, 2) Egg mixture, 3) Panko 4) Cooking sheet.  Working in order, piece by peice (or whatever methods works for you), dredge the chicken in the flour mixture, dip in the egg mixture, coat in the panko, put on the cooking sheet.  Repeat the process until all the chicken is done.  Spray the coated chicken (lightly) with cooking spray.

Bake for 15 minutes, remove the cooking sheet, flip the chicken fingers, and cook for another 10 minutes (or until the chicken is cooked through).

VERDICT:
These were a huge hit, as expected.  And much easier to make than I thought!  Yay!  I did cut the pieces of chicken a little too big for my first try, so next time I will make smaller pieces.  But these were well received by my boys (young and old!). Woohoo!

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Homemade Hamburger Helper

Last month I wrote a guest post over at Everyday Mom's Meals.  Krista was so kind to host me as part of her Weekend Company series.  If you happened to miss my post, I wanted to share it with you here today!  Here it is:

----------

Today I had my LAST duty day of the school year at preschool.  I cannot believe that the school year is nearly OVER.  Where did that year go?  Our oldest will be starting KINDERGARTEN in September!  Didn't I just have him?  Seems like yesterday, not 5 years ago!

Today also happened to be a dreadfully dreary day.  We're caught in some wicked weather system that is dumping rain, rain, rain on us.  It was a homemade chicken noodle soup kind of day, but with my necessity to be at school, I didn't have the time to put it together.  So it became spaghetti night, or so I thought.

Once school was over, I had NO DESIRE to make spaghetti.  But what could I do with the ground beef that I had laid out?  Meatloaf? My boys would LOVE that...me, not so much.  What to do, what to do.  I thought about my Dad's "Hash" recipe (which essentially is a whole bunch of stuff hashed together...with a ground beef base and add in all the leftovers from the fridge) - but we are all out of leftovers.  So then I thought about Hamburger Helper.  I've seen it on TV many times, never tried making it on my own.  A quick little google search, read through some recipes, and found one to base dinner on.  The recipe I used was found at Food.com, and modified to include more vegetables.  Here is the recipe:

Homemade Hamburger Helper

1/2 lb ground beef
1 lb macaroni
1/2 cup onion, diced
1/4 cup green pepper, diced
1 cup frozen peas
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
2 cups tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Cook the pasta according to the box directions.  Drain and set aside.

While the pasta is cooking, cook the ground beef over medium in a large skillet.  Cook until the meat is browned.  Add in all the dry seasonings (including the flour) and stir until combined.

Add in the milk, tomato sauce and peas.  Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.

Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 2 minutes.

Add in the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, stir until melted.  Add in the macaroni, stir to combine.  Serve immediately.

VERDICT:
This was an absolute HIT.  Our five year old had THREE helpings.  And my husband loved it too.  he didn't want to share the leftovers for tomorrow's lunch, he wanted them all to himself. This could easily be a new go-to recpe for us in place of spaghetti!  Yay!!

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Teriyaki Chicken Burgers

I find it funny that I am constantly trying new recipes, and yet I find myself so stumped about what to make for dinner.  Part of the problem is that I didn't make a meal plan for the week.  Had I taken the time to do that, then I wouldn't have been "scrambling" trying to think of something new to do with the chicken that I laid out.  Mostly it was I just didn't want another meal of BBQ chicken (as good as it is, I just needed a change!)...so some quick flipping through a cookbook and I came up with a solution for tonight's dinner, as well as some tags for future chicken meals :-)  Yay!  And yes, I've now made my meal plan for the rest of the week!  Anyways, tonight we went with Teriyaki Chicken Burgers.  Anyone who knows me is making one of those funny, confused faces right now, just like the one my hubby made when I said what I was making.  I don't like teriyaki.  Never have.  Not really sure why, but I just don't care for it.  BUT, he loves teriyaki, so I did it for him :-)

Here is the recipe: (Source: Company's Coming: Barbeques)

Marinade
1/4 cup soya sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ginger, fresh grated
1 clove garlic, minced

3 Chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)

Pineapple (rings or pieces, whichever you prefer)

Hanburger buns, cut, buttered and toasted on the grill
Lettuce
Tomatoes (if desired)
Mayo (if desired)
Cheese (if desired)

Mix soya sauce, brown sugar, ginger and garlic in a bowl.  Using a ziploc bag (or similar) combine chicken and marinade.  Marinate for at least 30 minutes (I had time for ours to marinate for about two hours).

Preheat BBQ.  Cook chicken on grill over medium heat for about 20 minutes, turning as needed.

Prepare your buns as you desire (lettuce, tomato, mayo, cheese, pineapple).

The chicken can also be used as a main course should you wish to go the no-burger route.

VERDICT:
My hubby was in love with these burgers.  He said it was a nice change for burgers and for chicken.  He kept saying how good it was.  That makes me happy!  I am sure he'll be asking to make these again.  I was OK with the burgers, it satisifed my need for something different.  I didn't add the pineapple to mine, which probably helped.  I did add mustard though, that's my favourite condiment.  I know, not really a teriyaki flavour but hey, it was my burger!

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Scrumptious Sunday #9 - Features!

Week #9 of the Scrumptious Sunday Link Party was another great success!  Thank you so much for sharing 89 of your fabulous recipes!  You make it so tough for a girl to choose features!  If you are featured, please grab a button!

<a href="http://iamaddictedtorecipes.blogspot.com"><img src="http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/w519/AddictedtoRecipes/addictedbutton.jpg" width="200" height="177" border="0" alt="I was featured, I was Featured by Addicted to Recipes"></a>

Before I get to the features, just a reminder that I will post the links on my Facebook page...and NEW THIS WEEK, I will also be pinning each featured recipe on my Pinterest board!

Here are this week's features!

Dreami Kiwi Lemonade from Baking with Blondie

Dr. Pepper BBQ Pork with Bleu Cheese Coleslaw from Living Gorgeously

Mini Red Velvet Cupcakes from DJ's Sugar Shack

And because these look just like my favourite Starbuck's treat, Oatmeal Fudge Bars from Close to Home!

Congratulatiosn everyone!
Just a reminder the Scrumptious Sunday Link Party #10 opens on Saturday evening at 8 pm PST. I am really excited to see what you bring to next week's party!

Spaghetti Squash Casserole

My Dad will be so pleased...I made squash for dinner.  Or maybe he won't be once he reads the verdict below.  I guess we'll see!  My Dad is a big squash fan...and everytime it was prepared when we were growing up, we (me, my brother, and I am pretty sure my Mom) all turned our noses.  Ewww, squash.  I painted all squash the same.  If I didn't like one, I didn't like any of them.    But then I grew up, and occasionally at a restaurant one of the vegetable sides would be a squash of some sort.  Sometimes it was spaghetti squash.  And I sometimes tried it.  And I discovered that I like it. Fast forward a few moons and I'm reading through my pile of cookbooks and I come across a recipe for "Spaghetti Squash Casserole"...hmmm...sounds promising.  I think I'll try it.  And we did...here is the recipe:

Spaghetti Squash Casserole - from Taste of Home

1 medium spaghetti squash
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, washed and sliced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 cup cottage cheese or ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350F.

Slice the squash in hal lengthwise; remove and discard the seeds.  Place squash cut-side down in a baking dish.  Bake for 45-60 minutes or until easily pierced.

Increase oven temperature to 375F.

Melt butter in a skillet.  Add in onion, garlic, mushrooms, herbs and seasonings.  Saute until the onion is translucent.  Add in the tomatoes and cook off most of the liquid.  Set aside.

When the squash is cool enough to handle, use a fork to separate into strands.  Combine the squash, tomato mixture, cottage cheese, mozzarella, parsley and crumbs.  Pour into a greased 2 quart casserole.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.  Bake, uncovered at 375 for 40 minutes or until heated through and the top has started to brown.

VERDICT:
Wow, this was so good.  My husband's first reaction was "mmmmm" and he then proceeded to have three servings!  He even took leftovers to work and I think he shared a little there.  We gave some of the plain (baked) spaghetti squash to the baby, he wasn't a fan.  Our oldest son, well, we had to tell him that the spaghetti squash was noodles...which he found acceptable and he cleaned his plate.  My husband is already asking me to make this again!

Mini Pizza Party

Hello to my friends from Okanagan4Kids!  I hope you enjoyed the article on Greening Up Your Grocery Shopping!

Now, on to the PIZZA PARTY!

Recently my oldest son hosted his first sleepover!  His cousin came over last weekend for 24 hours of playing, running, eating and sleeping.  It was a huge success, the boys both had so much fun and our son was pretty exhausted by Sunday evening!

I wanted their Saturday night/sleepover dinner to be a fun time, after all, this was my son's first hosting gig and I wanted it to be extra special.  So I figured, "Hey, what kid doesn't like pizza?"  (Actually I must admit, my brother and I both didn't like pizza when we were kids, but we soon wised up!)  Anyways, I decided that we were going to have a "MAKE YOUR OWN MINI PIZZA NIGHT" for supper, and it was a huge hit!  Here is what we did:

Ingredients:

Bakestone Brothers Multigrain Thin Bun (found at Costco)
Pizza Sauce (in the squeeze bottle = more fun!)
Olives
Red pepper
Green Pepper
Yellow Pepper
Orange Pepper
Onion
Fresh Pineapple
Mushrooms
Fresh Tomatoes
Deli Meats (pack from Costco - Hot Capicolli, Pepper Salami and Hot Salami)

Mozzarella Cheese

Process:

Heat oven to 350F.

Split a thin bun to make two pizza "crusts".  Squeeze on some pizza sauce, spread with a spoon.  Add your toppings, as many as you'd like.  Top with cheese.  Place mini pizzas onto a large cookie sheet and bake in the oven for approximately 7 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.

VERDICT:
As my nephew would say, they were "deeelicious" and both boys gave the pizzas "thumbs up".  My husband and I both really enjoyed them too.  So easy to put together, lots of fresh vegetables, even a little fruit!  Lots of fun colour, and the best thing, the kids had FUN!

The mini pizzas were so popular that my boys asked that we have them for dinner the next night.  So we did.  I happened to have a mango on the counter which we added to our list of toppings, and both my husband and my son loved that addition!

If you would like to read my April article over at Okanagan4Kids, please click here! It's full of tips about greening up your grocery shopping!

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Caramelized Brussel Sprouts

Don't turn up your nose! Give this post a chance...yes, it is about brussel sprouts, and I don't know why they are so disliked :-)  A few weeks back at Scrumptious Sunday #2, The Traveling Spoon posted her recipe for Caramelized Brussel Sprouts.  The recipe caught my eye and I featured it that week.  Well I am here to tell you, I made the recipe and tried a few of her suggestions, and well, you'll have to read on for the verdict :-)

Here is the recipe that I used, based on The Traveling Spoon's eye-catching recipe:

3 slices bacon
1 tablespoon olive oil
12 brussel sprouts, washed and cut
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons brown sugar

Cook bacon in frying pan, set aside to cool. Drain off excess grease from frying pan (don't worry about scraping clean, I figure a little extra bacon flavour is good!)

Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan, warm, and add minced garlic.  Saute for 1-2 minutes.  Add in the brussel sprouts and salt.  Saute for a few minutes until starting to heat through, then add the brown sugar.  Continue to cook and the brown sugar will melt away.  Crumble the bacon and add to the pan.  Serve immediately.

VERDICT:
We are already brussel sprouts fans in our house.  But let's just say...this recipe is awesome!  There was NOTHING leftover.  Nada. Zilch. Empty serving dish!  My husband had THREE helpings, he liked the sprouts that much!  It was a WINNER!  We will be making this again...try this dish and you will become a fan of brussel sprouts!

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Salmon Cakes

Inspired by a post I saw, I decided to shake up our salmon this week.  Rather than our usual baking or BBQing, I decided to make salmon cakes. 

Here is my version of Naked Moxie's recipe:

1 lb salmon
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 yellow pepper, diced
2 green onions, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups panko
Olive oil

Bake salmon at 350F for 15-20 minutes, or until done.  Cool for 10 minutes.

While salmon is baking, dice vegetables.

Flake salmon into a large bowl.  Add in the red pepper, yellow pepper, green onions, garlic, spices, dijon, eggs and panko.  Mix well.  Use your hands!

Form patties from the salmon mixture, approximately 8 (depending on the size you prefer).

In a skillet, heat some olive oil.

Place salmon cakes into the heated olive oil and cook until browned on both sides.

This would pair well with a salad, and we had ours with quinoa.

VERDICT:
My husband and I both enjoyed the salmon, it was a nice change to our usual!  I particularly enjoyed the fresh veggies inside the cakes, added nice crunch and colour.  Our son stuck his nose up at the dinner, more because he was tired than anything because once he tried the salmon, he also liked it.  In fact...I'm going to go eat the leftovers now!


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Savoury Fish

Today's post is straying from my original resolution about trying new recipes...but it's for a very good reason!  This month we will help my parents celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary.  40 years...that is just awesome!  Such an inspiration!

In honour of their anniversary, I asked my Mom to share with me one of her tried and true recipes...one of the ones that has been around for the long haul.  She had a few suggestions, two of which had also come to my mind when I first thought about writing this post.  Her final choice was Savoury Fish.  She has prepared this dish for us forever.  I can remember having it when my brother and I were kids, and there would never be leftovers.  Now that I'm all grown up and married and have my own family, I make this dish for my crew...and still there are never any leftovers.  My husband and oldest son love it that much! (the baby is too young to have it yet) It's funny that my Mom would think of sharing this recipe as I just recently shared this recipe with both of my sisters-in-law...here's hoping that they and their families enjoy it too!

It is a super easy dish to prepare, great for after work when you might be in a rush.  Lots of colour to the dish too, which is nice!

I do make mine slightly different than my Mom (she steams the broccoli first, I don't).  Here is the recipe:

1 pound fish fillets (cod, sole, halibut)

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Broccoli

1/8 cup chopped onions

1 cup chopped tomatoes

1 can Cream of Mushroom soup

¼ cup white wine (optional)

½ cup grated cheese (we tend to use more, we like melted cheese!)

Place fish in shallow baking dish.  Season with salt and pepper.  Arrange broccoli around fish and sprinkle with onions and tomatoes. Cover with mixture of soup and wine. Sprinkle with cheese.  Bake at 450F for 25 minutes.  Serve with rice or pasta.

VERDICT:

We do love this dish.  We have it every few weeks, and never get bored of it!

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Kung Pao Pork

When it rains, it pours.  I've been reading so many old and new recipes lately that I'm getting quite the stockpile of new ones to try.  I'm *almost* getting worried that when I go back to work I won't have the time to be cooking all these recipes.  I guess I covered my bases when I made my resolution to try ONE new recipe a week, and on those weeks that I am able to try more, I will be blogging more.  Plus I'm pretty organized, so I'm hopeful that I'll continue with multiple blog entries each week!

Last night it was time to try Kung Pao Pork.  We love stir fry and trying variations of stir fry...and this one caught my eye.  I've adapted it to suit our taste. 

Here is the recipe:

1 pound pork (I used pork loin), cut into 1-inch pieces

1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 cloves garlic, minced (separated)

1 cup chicken broth (I used organic)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 onion, thinly sliced

½ cup fennel, thinly sliced

1 medium red pepper, seeded, cut into thin strips

Snow peas

Broccoli, chopped

In a small bowl, make marinade by whisking together soy sauce, fresh ginger, cornstarch, 1 clove of the garlic and the chicken broth.  Add the sliced pork to the marinade, toss to coat.  Marinate for 1 hour in the fridge, stir occasionally.

Over medium-high heat, warm the oil in a large saucepan.  Add onion, pepper and fennel; cook, stirring constantly, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.

Add remaining 1 clove of garlic and cook, stirring often, another minute.

Add broccoli and snow peas to the saucepan and cook, stirring frequently, approximately 4-5 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium-low and pour pork and marinade into skillet and cook, stirring often, until pork is no longer pink and sauce is warmed through and thickened, approximately 7-8 minutes.

VERDICT:

LOVE LOVE LOVE. This was delicious! We served the dish over fried rice noodles, which was a nice change from our usual rice.  From the first bite we were all in love.  The pork was soooooo tender, it nearly melted in our mouths.  The flavour was awesome, and my husband said right from the start that there wouldn't be any leftovers.  We liked it THAT much!  His only complaint was that there should be more broccoli (he loves broccoli).  That's an easy addition! I might throw some cashews into the mix next time, just to give it a try, but really, we enjoyed the meal just as it was!

Linked to   A Little Nosh  The King's Court 4     This Chick Cooks     Not JUST a Housewife     Chef In Training     Mom on Timeout     Eat Pray Read Love    Tip Junkie

Salmon with Sundried Tomatoes and Capers

We are a family that loves salmon.  We are always looking for new flavours to add to our salmon dishes.  This week I found a recipe that I found in 2001 (yes, I have had the recipe for 11 years and never made it!).  Yesterday was the day! I picked it because my husband has been on a sundried tomato kick lately. 

My husband came home from work last night to me prepping dinner, to which he commented "Wow, looks fancy!" and "I thnk this blogging thing is the best, we are getting spoiled by all these new meals."  I think my responses were along the lines of..."It's not as fancy as it seems" and "Remember I'm going back to work this summer, we might not be as spoiled once I'm working again".  I think I also asked him to win the lottery for us, then I could stay home and cook "fancy" meals all the time, LOL!

Here is the recipe:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

8 sun-dried tomatoes, oil soaked off, chopped

1 tablespoon capers

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste (freshly ground)

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

4 salmon fillets, about 4-6 ounces each

Preheat the broiler (on high) or grill.  I had the rack in the middle of the oven.

Heat the olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat.  Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes.  Add the sun dried tomatoes and capers, season with salt and pepper and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and cook until it has reduced to a syrup, abour 5 minutes, and set aside.

Meanwhile, season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper.  Broil or grill the fish on each side until it is cooked through, about 4-5 minutes per side.

Please each fillet on a plate and spoon the tomato and caper mixture over it.

VERDICT:
We served the salmon with rice and peas.  We enjoyed the flavour of the salmon with the tomato mixture on the salmon, but not mixed with the rice.  The salmon balanced out the flavour of the sauce, but with the sauce on the rice the flavour was overwhelming.  I made the recipe with 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar (which is what the original recipe called for) but my husband and I both agreed that we would reduce the balsamic to 1/3 cup and I would also add a little more salt and pepper.  It was good, and we will have it again, with our modifications! 

Chicken Asiago Dijon

For dinner tonight I made a pasta favourite of ours that we discovered last summer when we had an abundance of tomatoes in the garden - and I needed to find new recipes for those tomatoes.  Typically we serve this dish with grilled chicken, but my husband was in meetings until late tonight so I had to come up with a "Plan B".  A little digging and I found a new recipe...what a surprise!

Before I get into tonight's new recipe, I have to share.  My oldest son is getting in on this project too.  I have my "binder" of collected recipes out and I have been tagging some of them to try.  This afternoon he called me into the living room as he was going through the binder, tagging all the recipes that he wants me to make for our family.  Sooooo cute and so funny, he was very serious about his choices.  I'll have to take a closer look and see if any catch my eye!

Back to today's new recipe.  I don't BBQ (had a bad experience once when I was much younger...I leave the grilling to our resident grill master, aka my husband!), so the grilled chicken was out.  I found a recipe using Panko, which I adjusted to compliment the pasta dish we were having.  Here is the recipe:

Chicken Asiago Dijon

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup dijon mustard
1/2 cup Panko
1 tablespoon parmesan cheese (dried)
2 tablespoons asiago cheese, grated
1 tablespoon parsley flakes

In a bowl, mix melted butter, garlic and mustard.  Set aside.

In a pie dish, mix Panko, parmesan cheese, asiago cheese and parsley.

Coat chicken in mustard sauce on both sides; dip chicken in crumb mixture to coat (all sides).  Lay chicken in baking pan (I used a foil lined baking pan with a light layer of olive oil).

Bake at 400F for 25-30 minutes or until chicken is cooked.

VERDICT:
What a delightful surprise!  Warning though, if you are not a fan of stronger cheeses, asiago cheese does have a stronger flavour, you may wish to substitute with a less potent cheese.  We all enjoyed the chicken, it was very tasty, crunchy, and yet seemed light.  We were fighting over the lefotver bits!  Unfortunately the picture doesn't do the meal much justice...but at least it's an idea of what it looks like when cooked!

Lobster Fettucine

After his initial "teasings", my husband is quite on board with my resolution to try one new recipe a week, and is even helping with suggestions.  What's funny is that he and I both came across the recipe for Lobster Fettucine within days of each other - he came across it at work and I at home.  Yes, I know, we are meant to be.  So it seemed suiting that I make it for us for Valentine's Day :-)  And...we even hit a sale on lobster, how fortunate was that?! (really...meant to be!).

This recipe is for a dinner for two, so be sure to adjust accordingly.

Here is the recipe:

1 cup thinly sliced fennel

1 tablespoon butter

2 teaspoons flour

1/4 cup dry vermouth

3/4 cup whipping cream (35%)
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 lobster tails, shelled and coarsely chopped
1/2 of a 350 g package fresh fettucine
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Chives, chopped
Fresh pepper to taste

Heat a frying pan over medium.  Add butter and fennel.  Cook, stirring frequently, until fennel is soft, about 4 minutes.

Stir in flour and cook 1-2 minutes.

Add vermouth and cook until completely evaporated, about 2-3 minutes.

Whisk in cream, dijon and salt, stirring constantly until saucy, about 2 minutes.

Add lobster and simmer about 3 minutes.

Cook fettucine in boiling water, following package directions but omitting salt, until al dente, 3-4 minutes.  Drain then stir into sauce along with lemon juice.  Garnish with chives.

Thank you Chatelaine, February 2012 for the recipe.

And THANK YOU Mom and Dad for the vermouth!

VERDICT:
It was delicious!  I had never cooked with fennel (or vermouth) before, so not only was this a new recipe, there were new things that we'd never tried before.  We all loved the smell of the fennel though our oldest son thought it tasted too strong.  Must not have been too strong because he asked to eat the leftovers for supper tonight!  Anyways, this was a relatively easy meal to make, cracking the lobster was the hardest part (and my husband did that for me, thanks hun!).  We all enjoyed the meal, along with the recommended pairing of a pinot grigio (our son had juice, that was a little Valentine's treat for him!).  I did add a little fresh pepper to the dish, but other than that, it was good!

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From Mess Hall to Bistro

Pork Tenderloin

Actually, the full title of this recipe is "PORK TENDERLOIN SALTIMBOCCA ROASTED ON A BED OF BRAISED APPLES"...talk about a mouthful!  And we were hoping the mouthful would be delicious!

Rather than what seems to be our usual "Pizza Friday" I opted to make today "New Recipe Friday", armed with another Whitewater Cooks recipe. The pork tenderloin spoke to me because it's made with apples (my husband loves apple sauce with his pork so this seemed like something he would like) and dijon (another thing hubby likes) and white wine (that was for me, LOL).  And everything is the recipe are things I typically have on hand at home, with the exception of the prosciutto and sage (the sage only because it's February and the garden isn't growing!).  Anyways, it was a fairly easy dish to prepare, I think slicing the apples took the most time.  Here is the recipe...verdict to come.

1 pork tenderloin (about 1 1/2 lbs)
2 tablespoons dijon
1 teaspoon pepper (fresh ground)
1 teaspoon salt
10 sage leaves (enough to cover top of the pork)
4-6 prosciutto slices
4-5 gala apples, thinly sliced, peels on
1 cup white wine (cookbook suggests riesling or gewurztraminer), I used gewurztraminer
1 tablespoon cold butter
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon dijon

Brush dijon on top of pork.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place sage leaves all along the top of the pork.  Lay prosciutto slices on work surface one after the other, slightly overlapping.  Place pork on prosciutto slices, sage side down, wrap it around the pork.  Arrange apple slices in bottom of oven-proof roasting pan and drizzle with 1/2 cup wine.  Put pork on top of apples with sage side up.

Roast in preheated 375F oven for 30-35 minutes.

Remove from oven and set pork aside on platter and cover with tin foil.  Place roasting pan on stove top at medium-low heat and add remaining 1/2 cup wine to apples to deglaze, about 2 minutes.  Add cold butter, maple syrup and 1 teaspoon dijon and simmer for 3 minutes.  Slice the pork and serve it with the warm apples.

VERDICT:
While it was a nice change for pork tenderloin, it wasn't our favourite dish ever.  It was good, but not great.  DH wasn't a big fan of the sage, though I enjoyed the fresh sage flavour. Prosciutto...um, yum! In the apples you could taste the wine and the maple syrup.  But overall it was just OK.  We might make it again, but then again, we might not.  Can't win them all!

That's OK...I have a whack of tagged recipes to try...I've got a few in mind for the next week, perhaps even a special Valentine's dinner!

Hearty Ham & Split Pea Soup

What does one do with leftover ham and the ham bone?  Why, we make soup of course!  I've never tackled split pea soup before, but I figured, no time like the present.  My mother-in-law shared her split pea soup recipe with me and I combined it with the recipe that I found in my favourite cookbook series - Whitewater Cooks - to make my own recipe.  It is a hearty soup, very green, and quite tasty!  I already had most of the items in my kitchen, with the exception of the dried split peas, but a quick adventure to the grocery store and we were all set for soup making!

Here is the recipe:

Part 1

1 ham bone

1 onion (chopped)

2 carrots (chopped)

1 celery stalk (chopped)

2 bay leaves

1 ½ tsp thyme

Simmer ham bone in about 10 cups of water with bay leaves, thyme, onion, carrots, and celery for about 3 hours.  Discard bone, bay leaves and vegetables.

Part 2

1 ½ cups dried split peas, rinsed

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion (chopped)

2-3 carrots (chopped)

1-2 stalks celery (chopped)

1-2 cloves garlic (minced)

¾ teaspoon chilli powder

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Pepper to taste

2 cups chopped ham

2 cups frozen peas, thawed and pureed in food processor

Add peas to stock (add chicken broth if needed to make about 8 cups of liquid) and heat to boiling.  Boil uncovered for about 2 minutes.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Saute remaining vegetables with olive oil for about 5 minutes.

Add sautéed vegetables, ham, chilli powder, red pepper flakes and pepper to stock.  Cover and simmer for about 1-1 ½ hours, or until peas are tender.

10 minutes prior to serving, add pureed peas to the soup.  Increase heat to medium-high and heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.  Do not overcook the soup at this point.

Serve immediately with warm bread (we had three cheese focaccia bread).

VERDICT:

We loved the soup.  Especially my husband and I.  Our four year old ate it but pretended he didn't like it, though we know that he did.  Adding the pureed peas at the end added a little extra oomph to the flavour, as well as a nice greener colour.  The bread was great for dipping in the soup...yum yum!  I'm looking forward to the leftovers!

Ham and Scalloped Potatoes

In my world, Sunday nights are for "Family Dinner."  Typically it is just me and my three leading men, sometimes there are other family members too.  What that means though is on Sundays, we do a "big" dinner so that we have LEFTOVERS for a day (or two...or three!) afterwards.  Gets me out of cooking at least one night a week ;-)

This week we tackled a huge ham and scalloped potatoes.  The ham we jazzed up with a new glaze recipe that we found, and the scalloped potatoes are a recipe that I clipped in 1997 and am finally giving a try.  Yes, you read that right, 1997.  No, I am not a hoarder...I previously said that I love to clip recipes!

Ham & Glaze

Ham (one of the nicer ones)
1 can Sprite, 7UP or ginger ale

1/3 cup corn syrup (I used light)
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/2 cup dark rum
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Place ham in a roasting pan and pour Sprite evenly over it.  Cover (with lid or tin foil) and bake for 1 hour. Combine the corn syrup, maple syrup, brown sugar, rum, pepper and lemon juice in a small mixing bowl.  Mix well. After the 1 hour of baking, evenly spoon the glaze over the ham.  Return the ham back to the oven (covered) and bake for another 20-30 minutes, or until the glaze is brown and bubbly.  Remove the ham from the oven and let rest for about 15 minutes before slicing to serve.

Light & Lovely Scalloped Potatoes (From Homemakers, 1997)

Peeled, thinly sliced potatoes (about 4 medium potatoes)
1 cup chopped onion (or more or less to taste)
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 cups milk (I used 1%)
2 tablespoons flour
Pinch allspice
Salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup cheddar cheese
Paprika

In a large saucepan of boiling, salted water, cook sliced potatoes for 5 minutes ot until slightly tender; drain. 
Meanwhile in large skillet over medium high heat, cook onion in chicken stock for about 4 minutes or until liquid has evaporated.  In bowl, whisk together milk and flour; stir into onions.  Bring to boil, stirring as it thickens; boil gently for 1 minute.  Add allspice and salt and pepper to taste.  Combine sauce and potatoes, mixing gently but thoroughly.  Pour into 8 cup/2 litre casserole.  Cover with lid or foil and bake in 350 F oven or 30 minutes or until potatoes are just tender.  Uncover and sprinkle cheese over top, sprinkle lightly with paprika.  Bake uncovered for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and top is lightly browned.

VERDICT:
Our four year old could NOT stop eating the ham.  He LOVED it.  Hubby and I both enjoyed the ham and the potatoes.  You could certainly taste the different ingredients in the glaze, which I particularly liked.  There was the sweet, the pepper and the rum flavours - all there and all balanced.

Sweet and Spicy Double Cooked Baby Back Ribs

Tonight for dinner we had ribs.  Anyone who knows me, knows that I do not like ribs.  But my husband LOVES ribs and our eldest son now loves them too.  I found this recipe for ribs, and tonight my hubby told me that these were the best ever, and that even Gordon Ramsay would love them.  That says a lot! (and I'm certainly no Gordon Ramsay or MasterChef in the making). 

Note - Even though the recipe calls for garlic (and I normally love garlic), I didn't use any garlic this time for two reasons, one I am out of garlic and two, our baby doesn't like garlic in his milk. 

Here is the recipe:

Sweet and Spicy Double Cooked Ribs

These ribs are a 24 hour process, but they are so worth it!  The meat just falls off the bone, which makes my hubby very happy!

INGREDIENTS

Baby back pork ribs
2-4 garlic cloves, sliced (depending on your garlic preference)

Rub:
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin

Sauce:
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup thai chili sauce
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce (Lea and Perrins)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 clove crushed garlic

DIRECTIONS:

1) Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.  Place ribs on tin foiled shallow roasting pan or cookie sheet(s), bone side down.  Scatter the sliced cloves of garlic over the ribs.  Cover and bake for 2.5 hours.  Cool slightly.

2) While the ribs are baking, in a small bowl, mix together the white sugar, paprika, salt, pepper, chili powder and ground cumin.  After the ribs have cooled, rub the spices all over.  Wrap tightly with cling wrap and refrigerate overnight.

3) Approximately 1 hour prior to serving, in a small saucepan, mix together the brown sugar, cider vinegar, kethup, chili sauce, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, diced onion, dry mustard and one clove of crushed garlic.  Simmer over medium-low heat, uncovered, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.  Reserve enough for basting, the remainder will be your dipping sauce.

4) Preheat grill for medium heat.

5) Place ribs on grill.  Grill, covered, for about 12 minutes, basting with the reserved sauce, until nicely browned and glazed.  Serve with remaining sauce for dipping (and don't forget the finger bowls!).