Orange Parsley Porkchops

This past weekend I had the opportunity to go to the butcher that is like a mile from the house (Fergusons). I love this place!!! I know that the meat is fresh and that you can get a great deal. I also like being able to choose the amount of meat that I want. I loaded up on meat for the week and spent less than $30!!! One of the items that I bought were thick boneless pork chops. I figured I would find a recipe when I got home...which I did :-)

One thing that you should know about me is that I don't care for plain chicken or pork...not sure who does?! One of the easiest and quickest ways to add some great flavor to either of these meats is to make a compound butter to put on top. You don't have to marinade the meat for hours...you just grill and top with the butter. Honestly, it sounds pretty fattening but my butter to ingredient ratio only ends up having you eat MAYBE 1/4 T butter. Anyway, I found a recipe that had orange and parsley (which is a staple in my house) so ta-da!!

Ingredients:
2 bonesless porkchops (mind were really thick so I had the butcher butterfly them)
2 T butter, softened
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
1 T orange rind
juice of 1/2 navel orange
1 teaspoon minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Season your pork with SPG (remember I always have a combo of salt, pepper, and garlic powder). Cook pork until done...on medium high for about 5-6 min per side. Use a meat thermometer to indicate doneness (is that a word?)

Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine softened butter, parsley, zest, juice, garlic, salt and pepper. Once pork chops are done put about 1T of mixture on top. Enjoy!!

*Notice the ratio of butter to other ingredients...the butter is pretty much just to combine everything.

** THIS WOULD ALSO BE DELICIOUS ON CHICKEN OR SEAFOOD!!!!

Chicken Noodle Soup with Lemon

When I go to the gym and run on the treadmil I watch the Food Network :-) You'd think watching cooking shows while exercising would make you hungry and un-motivated. For me it gives me ideas of meals to make for my family. I was watching Giada the other day and she made a Chicken noodle soup with lemon and it just sounded delicious! I had all of the ingredients at home from a meal earlier in the week so why not? Its a quick and delicious way to use up leftovers and have a good quality meal. I pretty much followed the recipe exactly...the only thing I didn't have was a cheese rind. Here is the recipe...

Ingredients

• 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1 (2-inch) piece Parmesan cheese rind, optional
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 cup (about 2 1/2 ounces) spaghetti, broken into 2-inch pieces, *see Cook's Note
• 2 cups diced cooked rotisserie chicken, preferably breast meat
• 1 cup grated Romano cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• Kosher salt

Directions

In a large stockpot, bring the chicken broth, lemon juice, bay leaf, and Parmesan rind, if using, to a boil over medium-high heat.

Add the carrots and simmer until tender, about 5 to 8 minutes.
Add the broken pasta and cook until the pasta is tender, for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken and heat through, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and the Parmesan rind and discard. Stir in 1/2 of the cheese and the parsley. Season with salt, to taste. Ladle the soup into serving bowls and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
*Cook's Note: You can use any short pasta from your pantry as a substitute for spaghetti.

Mediterranean Flatbread

I love to try new types of food and recipes! I was shopping at Publix one day and came across one of the Apron simple meals for Mediterranean Flatbread...it sounded just up my alley! I changed it up just a little bit by adding feta cheese and adding the sun dried tomatoes. It was delicious!!


Ingredients
1 pound pork tenderloin, sliced into 1/2 in slices
1 roasted red pepper (in the jar)
1 T sun dried tomato in oil
1 shallot or 1/2 cup onion
2/3 cup cilantro
1/4 cup canola oil
2 T paprika
11/2 teaspoons cumin
1 T minced garlic
1 T tomato paste
1 T water
pinch red pepper
2 flatbread
Feta cheese


Fat free key lime yogurt
1 T fresh lime juice




Place red peppers, sun dried tomatoes, 2/3 cup cilantro, 1/4 cup oil, paprika, cumin, garlic, tomato paste, water, and crushed red pepper into blender; blend until smooth.
Preheat large sauté pan on medium-high 2–3 minutes. Season pork with salt and pepper then place in pan with 1 tablespoon oil; cook and stir 3–4 minutes or until thoroughly cooked.
Reduce heat to low and add sauce; cook 1–2 minutes or until warmed. 


Toast flatbread in toaster. Top each flatbread with pork mixture and feta cheese. Stir juice into yogurt; spoon lightly over top of pork. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup cilantro. Cut into wedges or quarters and serve.

Bang Bang Shrimp

All I can say is "WOW"...these are delicious!!! At one point while I was eating I thought to myself..."I'm pretty full but I need more Bang Bang Shrimp" :-) I love shrimp. I love any shellfish really. I'm not sure where I found the original recipe but I sort of changed it a little and made it my own...served it with coconut rice and steamed edemame. I love coconut rice...I hate coconut...I'm weird. Apparently Bonefish Grille has Bang Bang Shrimp as an appetizer...the recipe that I found was basing theirs off of that, so I guess I am too.

Oh and don't be scared that the sauce starts with mayo...I think I used a total of 2 tablespoons for the entire recipe.

Ingredients

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup mayonaise
3 T sweet chili sauce (you can sort of add as much or as little as you'd like)
1 t sugar
2 t rice vinegar
Sriacha hot sauce (I dipped my shrimp in this mixed with more sweet chili sauce)

Heat 1/4 cup canola oil in skillet. In a large ziplock bag, combine breadcrumbs and cornstarch (I added a little salt, pepper and garlic powder as well). Toss shrimp into bag and toss to coat. Once oil is hot, cook shrimp until done...about 4-5 min. While shrimp cook, mix mayonaise, sweet chili sauce, sugar, and vinegar in a large mixing bowl. TASTE...adjust to your liking** Once shrimp are cooked, put them in bowl with sauce and mix. Serve over coconut rice and edemame.

** My husband can't eat spicy food so I have to adjust my recipes. I like things with a little spice. Feel free to add Sriacha to the sweet chili sauce mixture before tossing in shrimp. I made a dipping sauce with sweet chili sauce and Sriacha to dip my shrimp in...delish!!!

Coconut Rice: I use Jasmine rice...follow directions on box/bag. Substitute coconut milk for about 3/4  of what the recipe calls for water (ie. the recipe called for 1.5 cups of water...I did 1 cup coconut milk and 1/2 cup water) and you will have coconut rice! Add a teaspoon of sugar and a pinch of salt to the milk/water.

Cranberry Pork Roast

Wow this was such an easy dinner...and tasty!! I'm not sure why I love the pork and cranberry combo so much...maybe its the sweetness of the cranberries married with the salty pork (I season it before it goes into the crock pot)...its just good!! I saw a recipe on one of my favorite websites, Recipe Girl, and thought that I would add a few ingredients to my liking. I also love serving corn bread or corn cakes with this meal. I've made a pork tenderloin and served it with a cranberry/pineapple relish before so that's why I added a few ingredients...smoked paprika and pineapple. DELISH!!! And better yet, for about 3-4 ounces of pork its only 250 calories...add some steamed broccoli and a corn cake and you have a nice hearty dinner for under 500 calories!

Ingredients
Pork Roast (you could use thick pork chops, pork tenderloin, pork roast, etc...you shred it in the end)
2 cans whole berry cranberry sauce (low sugar if you can find it)
1 can crushed pineapple (I used a large one because I had a big pork roast)
1 T brown sugar
1 T yellow mustard
1 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional...I wanted a little smoky/sweet flavor...you can leave it out)

There are two ways you can begin this...you can either just throw everything into the crock pot and set OR you can sear the pork roast in 2 T oil to get a nice golden crust before putting it into the crock pot. I typically do sear it because I have time and it adds a little more flavor. Make sure you season roast with salt and pepper. Either way...in seperate bowl mix 2 cans of cranberries, pineapple, brown sugar, mustard, and paprika. Pour over pork and set it on low for 7-8 hrs (Or high for 5). Remove roast carefully to a serving dish (it might start to fall apart)...shred pork and pour sauce from the crock pot over pork. Make sure you get all of the yummy cranberries and pineapple!! I served it with steamed broccoli and corn cakes (recipe on the Jiffy Corn Muffin box). ENJOY!!!

"Good"a Chicken

I have a funny story about Gouda cheese. My husband and I got married in 2007 and went to Jamaica for our honeymoon. We stayed at two different places just to change it up a bit. The second place we stayed was Sandals Ocho Rios. We had an incredible first half of our week relaxing, sight seeing, shopping, and eating/drinking good! We arrived at Sandals and had a frozen drink while we waited for our room. Well it never fails that The Hub has something mess him up on every vacation. This time it must have been the ice in our frozen drink...he couldn't eat ANYTHING for the rest of the week...except Gouda cheese and Jack Daniels! So whenever I think of Gouda cheese...that's where I go.

Anyway, we both love smoked Gouda...I saw a recipe on Recipe Girl that was called Gouda stuffed chicken with apples...BINGO!! Sounded great to me...I just added a little different seasoning to mine. Chicken is one of those meats that you really need to flavor up or else its just boring and flavorless. If you can stuff it with something and make a light sauce to go on top, that really does the trick. Since I also watch my calories (a little bit...I just don't over do it) I thought that this would be pretty healthy. Like I've said before everything in moderation so just a little bit of cheese won't hurt.

The easiest way to stuff chicken is to just cut a pocket into the side of the chicken breast, but not to go all the way through. I sliced a small piece of cheese (maybe an inch and a half), stuffed into the pocket, dusted the chicken with seasoned flour, seared it in a little olive oil and stuck it into the oven while I made the sauce. Voila...dinner served!

Ingredients
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 pieces of gouda cheese
1 cup flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder
2 apples, Golden Delicious or Granny Smith, cored and thinly sliced
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup apple juice/cider
1 clove garlic, minced
few dashes of cinnamon
1 T honey (or you could use pure maple syrup or agave nectar)

Preheat oven to 300. Heat 2 T olive oil in medium saucepan. Rinse and pat dry chicken breast. Cut a pocket into the side of chicken. Stuff with cheese. In separate plate, season flour with seasonings and toss chicken in to cover. Cook chicken until browned on both sides, approximately 5 min per side. Put chicken on a baking sheet and place in oven.

While chicken is in oven, discard oil from saucepan and pour broth, juice/cider, and garlic. Turn to high heat and bring to a boil. Let boil about 10 min or until thick *I typically add a slurry to thicken more (1 T cornstarch and 3 T water, combine in separate bowl and add to sauce...will thicken instantly). Add apples, cinnamon, and honey and cook for 5 minutes. TASTE! Adjust seasoning...you may need some salt or pepper, more honey, more cinnamon, or even a splash of cider vinegar...make to your liking.

Remove chicken from oven and serve with apples and sauce. ENJOY!!

Southwestern Chicken Bowl

This is such an easy recipe to make...and healthy...and in my case cheap!! Most weeks I will make shredded chicken and chicken stock...its so much tastier than the canned stuff. Typically Sunday or Monday I will throw some chicken (this time it was 2 skin on bone in chicken breasts $2.50!), water, 1 celery stalk, 1 carrot, 1 onion, some garlic and salt and pepper into a pot and let it cook for 3 hours. Voila...shredded chicken and chicken stock! You could do this in a crock pot as well. It's always nice to have cooked chicken on hand for the week. There's so many recipes that you could throw together. In my case, I did a chicken bowl. It was great and served 4+! You have all of your food groups in one bowl...veggies, lean protein, a little dairy, and whole grains ** I added Tabasco to mine in my serving bowl since the Hub can't have spicy food...feel free to add cayene pepper and Tabasco

Ingredients

Shredded cooked chicken from 2 chicken breast (maybe 2-3 cups)
1 can corn, rinsed and drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can Rotel, drained
1 teaspoon Cumin
6 oz cream cheese
Brown Rice (I used Uncle Bens 10 min)
Garnish: Avocado, Tomato, salsa, sour cream, cheese, cilantro, lime...

In medium saucepan combine chicken, corn, black beans, cream cheese, cumin, salt and pepper and cook over low to medium heat until warm and cream cheese has melted. TASTE...adjust seasoning. Meanwhile, use the chicken stock that you made and follow directions on package to make brown rice...this adds so much flavor to the rice.

Serve chicken mixture over rice and top with your favorite garnish...I did avocado, cheese, and Tabasco. You can use whatever you'd like!!

Coconut Curry Fish

I actually really enjoy the classic coconut and curry combination! I always heard people saying that "it stinks...smells like curry" so I didn't give it a try until my aunt made something with curry...and I liked it! Its definately its own taste and you may need to have a very mild curry at first but I feel like its light and refreshing!

As you know I read tons of cooking magazines, cookbooks, websites, and blogs to find recipes that my family will enjoy that are easy to make and affordable. There is a website called The Tasty Kitchen where home chefs are able to upload their favorite recipes to share with others and store for themselves. I love it...you can find so many wonderful passed down recipes and so many different cultures.

That's where I came across this recipe for the coconut curry fish. It is a one dish dinner that takes practically no time to put together and bake...you even bake it in the marinade...EASY!!! The recipe called for toasted coconut to go on top but i'm sort of not a toasted coconut fan so I left it off. Anyway, PLEASE try this and I know you'll love it!!

Ingredients

1 whole lime, zest and juice
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 can coconut milk
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound white fish (cod, haddock, tilapia)
Garnish: Cilantro, Toasted Coconut, Lime

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium baking dish mix first 9 ingredients. Add fish and let marinade for 30-45 min. Cook the fish in the marinade for 15 min or until fish flakes easily. Serve with garnish. ENJOY!

Ricotta/Spinach Stuffed Chicken and Cauliflower Fritters

I love spinach! Whether its sauteed, raw in a salad, casserole, or stuffed into chicken...I love it! I like chicken but you have to jazz it up so much for it to have flavor. I've seen spinach stuffed chicken many times before and probably have cooked it before, but didn't blog about it. The recipe is simple and delicious!

Regarding the cauliflower fritters...sounds strange...but oddly enough quite tasty! I can't stand plain cauliflower...I like roasted but thats about it. I was browsing recipes on Skinny Taste and came across this recipe. I thought it sounded pretty good and was healthy. It could take place of the starch (that I always feel like I need to complete my dinner) as well as the vegetable. It uses whole wheat flour which adds a nuttier flavor to the fritter. Anyways, kids liked it and the Hub said it needed a dipping sauce but was good. I'm thinking that you could make a tzatziki sauce for the dip and it would compliment it nicely. Anyway...here's the recipe and I hope you and your family enjoys!!

Ricotto/Spinach stuffed chicken
Ingredients
3 large chicken breasts
1 pkg (10oz) frozen chopped spinach
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
3 T Dijon mustard
1 T Grapseed or Olive oil
Seasoning (whatever you'd like...I used salt, pepper, Tastefully Simple spinach mix)

Preheat oven to 450. Rinse and pat dry chicken breasts. Defrost spinach and squeeze out all excess moisture. In a medium bowl mix softened cream cheese, ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, and seasonings. Cut a pouch into the side of the chicken breast but make sure you don't go all the way through. Stuff the ricotta mixture until its overflowing. Place in greased baking dish or baking sheet. Put 1 T of mustard on each piece of chicken and drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes or until done (I think I did 25 minutes to be safe).

Cauliflower Fritters
1 head of cauliflower, steamed and mashed
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 eggs
1 cup whole wheat flour (i didn't use quite a full cup)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup parsley
1/4 cup hot water
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup olive oil (I used grapeseed oil)

In bowl mix all ingredients except oil. It will be a thick consistacy. Heat oil in non stick pan and use an ice cream scoop for equal portions. Once oil is hot put scoops of 'dough' and flatten slightly. Let cook for 2 min and flip. Once golden brown, remove to paper towel. I sprinkled a little salt and pepper while still hot for added flavor.

Chicken Parmesan Rollotini

I have to say that I love pretty much any Italian food! Pasta, seafood, parmesan, and the list goes on and on. Chicken Parmesan is one of my favorites but not the healthiest to serve your family. I tried finding a better recipe that has the crunch but not the fried. A rollotini pretty much means a "roll" of food...whether its meat or pumpkin roll. I find that taking either chicken cutlets purchased at the store (more expensive) or cutting a chicken breast completely in half and pounding thin works best. This option actually is better on the wallet and makes a lot of food. Regarding the mozzarella cheese, you can use sliced, string cheese, block...whatever! We had a block of mozzarella and cut it up into thin layers. Rolled it up, coated with panko breadcrumbs and baked it! It was great and was fairly inexpensive. Always stock up on chicken breast when they go on sale...there's so much you can do to change it up!

Ingredients
3 chicken breasts (or however many you need...remember you will cut them horizontally in half)
6 pieces of mozzarella (like I said...whatever type you like)
2 eggs
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 T Italian seasoning
1/2 jar marinara sauce
Salt. pepper, and garlic powder (SPG)

Preheat oven to 400. Cut chicken horizontally and pound between plastic wrap til 1/4 in thin. Season with SPG...lay cheese across chicken. Roll lengthwise and secure with toothpick. Dip rolled chicken in egg mixture (eggs and splash of milk or water) and then in breadcrumb mixture (panko, parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning). Complete all pieces of chicken. Put in baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 35 min...remove and cover the tops of chicken with marinara sauce and a little more parmesan cheese. Put back in oven for 10 min. ENJOY!!!

Clams Casino Linguine

I honestly don't really care much for clams...their texture is a little off-putting. I don't care much for Clam Chowder either...so why would I want to make a clam pasta?! I have no idea...it just sort of sounded good. I know, strange :-)

I found a recipe on How Sweet It Is, which is a great food blog. I changed it ever so slightly b/c I don't care much for cooked peppers. It turned out quite delicious and pretty healthy...no cream, small amt of butter, and some cheese. I used whole wheat noodles to pump up the fiber. You could substitue turkey bacon if you'd like to cut down calories. Anyway, here is the recipe. It was fresh and light (and pretty inexpensive)!!

Ingredients

1 shallot. minced
3 cloves of garlice, minced
1 T olive or grapeseed oil
2 cans (6.5oz) clams, including their juice
1/2 cup white wine
2 T butter
3 strips of bacon
1/2 pound whole wheat linguine
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Boil water (add salt to flavor water). Add pasta and cook until al dente. Meanwhile cut bacon into small pieces and cook until crisp. Drain of paper towel. In a seperate pan, saute onion and garlic over medium heat until soft...be careful not to burn the garlic...it will taste very bitter and you'll have to start over. Add wine, both cans of clams with juice. Simmer for 5 min. Add butter, parmesan cheese, cooked pasta, cooked bacon, and parsley. Let flavors combine for 1-2 minutes. TASTE...season with salt and pepper if needed. Top with freshly grated parmesan or romano cheese...use the grated if thats what you have. ENJOY!!!

Chicken N Dumplings

Chicken n' Dumplins is one of those very standard southern dishes. I've always been a little leary of making true dumplings but it actually was pretty easy...a little messy. Normally when I make chicken n dumplings I use Sandra Lee's recipe from the Food Network and use canned buttermilk bisquits as the dumplings. Even though there is nothing wrong with that (they are actually quite tasty) I wanted to make it a little bit healthier. I had some left over chicken from an earlier dish this week...sauteed some carrots, celery, garlic, and onion in a little olive oil...added chicken stock (I had homemade stock on hand from cooking the chicken but store bought is fine too), made the dumplings, dropped them in the pot and let them cook for 15 min...dinner is served! You don't need to add any cream to thicken the sauce b/c the dumplings are tossed in flour and thickens it for you.

All in all it was an easy, inexpensive, and healthy meal. I would imagine that the total cost for a family of 4 was under $5!!!! Can you believe that?!? I purchased 6 chicken breasts on sale for $8...I used only 1.5 breasts for this dish and with the homemade stock, 1 carrot stick, 1 celery stick, and the flour/milk for the dumplings...super cheap!

Ingredients
2-3 cups cooked shredded chicken
1 carrot stick, diced
1 celery stick, diced
1/4 cup onion, diced
2 quarts of chicken stock
2 cups flour
2 T butter, cut into small cubes
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk (to cut calories use lowfat milk...I did and they tasted great)

Saute vegetables in 1 T olive oil over medium heat until soft (5 min). Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Meanwhile in medium bowl mix flour, baking powder, salt together. Add butter and use 2 knives or pastry cutter to cut butter into flour (want the mixture to look crumbly). Add milk and mix until dough forms. On a well floured board/counter roll dough into 1/4 inch. Cut dough into 2x2 squares...it doesn't have to be exact just cut into little bites. Toss individual pieces in flour so it doesn't stick. Drop each dumpling into boiling chicken stock and stir. Let cook for about 15 min and add shredded chicken. Cook long enough to heat up chicken. TASTE (always taste to adjust seasoning). Add salt and pepper if needed. ENJOY!!!

Caprese Pasta with Grilled Chicken

Here's another great recipe from How Sweet It Is...Its just delicious!!! I love caprese salads so when I saw a pasta dish with the same name....OH YEAH!!! And I even used whole wheat noodles and tomatoes from my garden. 


Ingredients

1 pound whole wheat pasta (noodles such as penne work best)

1 cup of your favorite pasta/tomato sauce

1/3 cup heavy cream or half and half

1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese + more for garnish

4 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into cubes

1 pint of grape tomatoes (I cut some in half and left some whole)

1 bunch of fresh basil leaves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Boil water and cook pasta according to directions.

While pasta is cooking, heat tomato sauce over low heat in a large saucepan. Once warm, stir in heavy cream and grated parmesan. Once pasta is done cooking, drain and dump into the sauce, mixing to coat and turning off heat. Fold in mozzarella cubes and tomatoes, then chop 3-4 fresh basil leaves and add them in too. Once combined, spray a baking dish with non-stick spray and pour the entire pasta mixture into the dish. Top with fresh mozzarella rounds. Bake for 25 minutes, or until cheese is golden and bubbly.

Top with additional fresh basil and grated cheese. Serve with garlic bread. You can also add in chicken, steak or seafood for some protein.

Whiskey Peach BBQ Chicken

I love The Pioneer Woman...she is fantastic! She is like the all-time best food blogger...or something like that. She just got her own show on the Food Network that premiers next weekend. Anyways, she makes some fantastic food. I browse her recipes and save them on my iPad and will cook them all at some point. I did come across a BBQ chicken recipe that caught my eye. Anysort of meat that has a whiskey sauce is great to me :-) This one was slow cooked in BBQ sauce, Jack Daniels, peach preserves, and onion. YUM!!! I did make mine with chicken thighs; however, next time I will do skinless, bone-in chicken breasts...you could also do this is a crock pot. Either way is great!

Ingredients

• 12 whole Chicken Thighs, Bone-in, Skin-on
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 whole Yellow Onion, Diced
• 1-½ cup Whiskey
• 12 ounces, fluid Barbecue Sauce
• 1 jar Peach Preserves
• ½ cups Water
• 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
• 4 cloves Garlic, Peeled
• 3 whole Green Onions, Sliced Thin

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Heat oil and butter in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Place chicken thighs, four at a time, in the pot, skin side down. Brown both sides, then remove to a plate and repeat until all chicken is browned.

Pour off half the grease, then return pan to stove. Add onions to pan and stir, cooking for 2 minutes. Pour whiskey into the pot, being very careful if you’re using an open flame. Stir and scrape the bottom of the pan, allowing whiskey to reduce for a minute or two. Pour in barbecue sauce, peach preserves, water, and Worcestershire sauce. Throw in garlic cloves. Stir until combined, then return chicken to the pot, skin side up. Cover and put pot in oven.

Cook for 1 1/2 hours, then remove from oven.

Serve pieces of chicken over a big pile of smashed potatoes. Sprinkle sliced green onions over the top.

Chicken Enchiladas

I love Mexican food...its one of my favorite foods to eat! I do have a hard time making it at home and it tasting like a restaurant. I have tried many different chicken enchilada recipes and they have been good, but not great. One of my new food blogs reads, How Sweet It Is, has this recipe on their blog and I tried it the other day...GREAT!!!! Its easy and delicious. You can make a lot and freeze some to cook later or you can serve a lot of people. I doubled the recipe and made 12 enchiladas but took 8 to a friends house who had surgery. I actually made mine with whole wheat tortillas to add a little extra fiber :-)

Ingredients
1 T butter
1 can Rotel tomatoes and green chilies, drained
1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
8 8" tortillas
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (* pepperjack would be good too)
1/2 cup whipping cream

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Melt butter in large skillet, add Rotel and sauté 1 min. Stir in cream cheese and let melt. Add chicken and cook, stirring for 2 min. Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of chicken mixture down center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese and drizzle cream over entire dish. Cover with foil and bake for 30 min. Take foil off and cook another 15 min or until top is golden. ENJOY!!!

Parmesan Crusted Salmon

One thing that I enjoy doing is reading food blogs, food magazines, cookbooks, and anything food. I really like finding different ways to cook some of my favorite foods. How Sweet Eats is a food blog that I just recently found and they have some really fantastic recipes. This salmon recipe was fantastic, healthy, and quick...serve it up with some roasted veggies and brown rice and call it a meal. I did change up the name because I think I would use parmesan cheese versus asiago (that they used).

Ingredients

1 lb salmon
1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
1 T dried parsley (or fresh)
3 T grated parmesan cheese
1/2 T chopped garlic
1 T chopped shallot
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400

Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper. In a bowl, mix yogurt, parsley, cheese, garlic, and shallot. Spread over top of salmon. Bake until fish flakes...about 15 min.

** Spray bottom of baking dish with cooking spray to keep salmon from sticking

Mascarpone and Lemon Gnocchi...with scallops

As you know I sort of love the Food Network!! I don't get to watch my favorite cooking shows nearly as much as I'd like due to my little loves, but occasionally I'll watch a little while they nap. I watched Giada the other day, who by the way is one of my favorite chefs, and she was making "Mascarpone and Lemon Gnocchi". I love gnocchi but I've never had the courage to make it...until now. This was a light little dumpling with a fresh lemon flavor and a mix of parmesan cheese.  The original recipe called for a sauce of olive oil and basil. I didn't think I would like that very much so I browned some butter and tossed the gnocchi in that afterwards...added a nice nutty flavor.

I decided to serve it with pan seared scallops and roasted asparagus...it was delicious. The recipe calls for quite a bit of parmesan cheese...I think next time I may cut back a little bit (I adjusted the recipe below to reflect less cheese). Don't get me wrong...I LOVE parmesan cheese, but it was almost over powering. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!!!

Ingredients 1 Cup mascarpone, at room temperature (8 ounces) 1 Large egg, at room temperature 1 Large egg yolk, at room temperature 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg 2 Large lemons, zested 3/4 Cup grated Parmesan  1 tsp kosher salt 3/4 Cup all purpose flour, plus extra for forming the gnocchi 1/2 Cup grated Parmesan, for serving Directions For the gnocchi: In a large bowl, combine the mascarpone, egg, egg yolk, nutmeg, lemon zest, Parmesan, and salt. Using a hand mixer, beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Gradually beat in 3/4 cup flour until the mixture forms a soft dough. Sprinkle a pie pan or rimmed baking sheet with flour. Using 2 small spoons, drop 1 teaspoon sized pieces of dough into the pie pan. Shake the pan gently to cover the dough with flour. Gently roll the pieces of dough into oval shapes. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a simmer. In batches, carefully add the gnocchi. The gnocchi should sink and then float to the top. As soon as the gnocchi begin to float, cook for 5 to 6 minutes. Drain and place in a large serving bowl. For the sauce: In a small saucepan, brown 4 T of butter...toss gnocchi in butter before serving. Add the cheese to the gnocchi and gently toss until coated.

Herb Roasted Chicken with a Mushroom Cream Sauce

So yummy!!!! This is something that I derived from about 4 different recipes and made it into one...its easy! I actually used a whole chicken but it would be easier to use SKIN ON and BONE IN chicken breasts. You want to put the herbs between the skin and the breast meat to really give the chicken some flavor. I had all of these herbs in my garden but use what you like. I had a lot of yellow squash that I needed to make so I made a squash casserole to serve along side and some yummy bread. Its a crowd pleaser...you could make this for a dinner party as well and it would be a hit.

Ingredients
1 whole fryer chicken OR 4 skin on, bone in chicken breasts
1 T chopped rosemary
1T chopped thyme
1T chopped basil
1T chopped parsley
2 t olive oil
1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper
1 pint of mushrooms
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup cream
2 T dijon mustard
1/2 T chopped tarragon (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse and pat dry chicken. Separate the skin from the meat by working your fingers under the skin until you've created a pocket to put herbs. In a small bowl mix herbs together with oil, salt, and pepper. Put herb mixture under the skin and spread around on the meat so its distributed evenly. Put some vegetable oil on top of chicken and sprinkle with salt and pepper (the oil will help crisp up the skin). Place on baking sheet and in the oven for about 40 min or until done.
Remove chicken from oven and let rest for 10 minutes (so you let all of the juices redistribute throughout the meat). While the chicken is resting put 1 T butter in saucepan with mushrooms. Cook mushrooms about 8 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed and mushrooms are starting to brown. Add wine and mustard and stir for 1 min. Add cream and let thicken for about 3 minutes. Add tarragon right before removing from heat. Serve mushroom cream sauce over chicken. ENJOY!!!!