Tangy Yogurt Chicken Marinade

Spring didn’t last long and winter seems to want to linger.  But here’s a great recipe to grill (or broil if you have to) – the tangy yogurt marinade keeps chicken moist and creates a great outer coating with a flavor that zings.  Serve with couscous and citrus chunks for a winter break.

 

Yogurt Dill Chicken:

• 2 cups plain yogurt
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp dry dill, crushed
• ½ tsp thyme
• 4 boneless chicken breasts, pounded*

large shallow covered dish

broiler or grill

 

Mix together yogurt, mustard, dill, thyme.  Place pounded chicken in dish, spoon yogurt mixture over, cover and let marinate for at least 1 hour or overnight.  Grill or broil for 10-15 minutes each side, until fully cooked at center.  If you’re broiling, place rack one level from the top most setting.

 

*The easiest way to pound chicken is to wrap in plastic wrap and pound with the smooth side of a meat mallet.  Keeps meat from splattering.

Testicle Festival

I was cruising through my homepage today, reading the headlines when Testicle Festival Diners Have a Ball appeared.  Gak!  Otherwise known as Rocky Mountain Oysters, this festival features dinner and an open bar.  This is just not a delicacy I’ve ever indulged in.  Along with tongue, brain and squid (I tried octopus once, that was enough).   I’m still stumped what one does with all the pig uteri that are prominently on display at the Asian market, but that’s another post.  Anyway, here’s the article: Oakdale Testicle Festival  and here

And video if you’re so inclined:  Oakdale Cowboy Museum

Comfort Food and Mom’s Recipes

I realized when I was writing the recipe for Oven Fried Chicken, that it is probably my all time favorite comfort food.  My Mom makes it best.  She uses crushed rice crispies and a variety of spices.  It’s mmm, mmm, good.  I loved it every time she made it.  I used to use rice crispies and I don’t remember why I stopped, probably because the cereal gets stale quickly and bread crumbs seem to stay fresh forever.  I usually make a package of thighs and take them cold for lunches.  Really good.

Most of my comfort foods come from childhood: mac ‘n’ cheese made with velveeta, spaghetti with garlic bread, meatloaf, beef stew and pot roast.  These were all great meals my Mom created.  My recipes only vary slightly from hers.  Sometimes to make them a bit lighter, but that’s only when I don’t want the true comfort experience.

Mac ‘n’ cheese:  Mom always made it with Velveeta.  Then she added a dash of onion powder, not onions, not onion flakes, it has to be onion powder.  It adds a little something, a bit of zing.  I make mine with jalapenos and serve with a garnish of diced tomatoes.

Spaghetti:  My Mom’s sauce is the best.  I cannot really duplicate it.  I make good sauce, but it’s not Mom’s.  It’s tomato sauce and tomato paste, spices and hamburger or chicken.  Chicken Cacciatore was my all time favorite Italian meal she made – though her Lasagna is great, too.  Served with butter soaked toasted garlic bread, yummmmeeee.

Meatloaf:  No idea how she makes it, but it’s good.

Beef Stew and Pot Roast: Simple flavors cooked to perfection - vegetables, onion, beef, salt, pepper and a bay leaf,  maybe a dash of wine.

Dinner always had a salad served in a garlic rubbed bowl to round out the meal.

In the summer we always had a garden of some kind.  My love of fresh vegetables began there.  Such a change from the canned vegetables that were prevelant in the late 60’s, early 70’s.   My Dad can grow amazing tomatoes and green peppers.

Family dinners were good times in my house.  Even better were meals with extended family.   Loud and raucous, never a dull moment.  I remember one dinner where dinner rolls were thrown around the table, instead of being passed. I’m sure some adults were mortified, but all of us kids loved it.

Comfort foods are big business, there are websites dedicated to helping people find flavors of their youth.  They might not have even been good food (think 1960 era tv dinners), but they evoke fond memories nevertheless.  I think this may be why I believe so strongly that family dinner time is such an important ritual.  A time to connect and make memories.  And shouldn’t it be around really good food and not another fast food takeout dinner? IMHO

Spring is back, so I’ll look for a recipe to reflect that before the next snow storm.  Until then….

White House Vegetable Garden at Your House

The White House now has a vegetable garden – or at least plowed soil and a plan for one.  It’s probably safe for them to plant cool weather crops, but still a few weeks away from the warmer weather plants.  I wrote earlier how spring fever hits me early and I can’t wait to start a garden. 

We’re going to have a community garden this year, which should be fun.  I’m thrilled that First Lady Michele Obama wants to bring healthy eating to not only the White House, but D.C. students and the homeless.

If you want to start a garden, the variety in the White House plan is a place to start and get good ideas.  Though there’s a complete lack of tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, what’s up with that??  Lose some of that spinach and add tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers and you’ve got a pretty nice garden.  If you’re adventurous, try some hot peppers they’re easy to grow and great in salsa.  Cilantro grows like a weed and tomatillos are pretty care free.  See, I’ve got homemade salsa on my mind again and it’s coloring my whole outlook on my garden.  Green beans (pole beans) are easy to grow, but you’ll need a trestle of some kind to let them climb up.  There is nothing better than fresh green beans and sugar peas from the garden.

You don’t need 1100 square feet, my best garden was only 4×6 and we had a great variety.  You can then plant close together, since you don’t need to walk through a small garden.  Planting close together keeps soil moist and reduces room for weeds.  You can check out library books on Square Foot Gardening and Container Gardening,  perfect for the first time gardener.  Container gardening is great for patios and decks.

Here’s the White House garden layout.  The marigolds help keep pests away and nasturtiums are tasty in salads.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/garden_layout.pdf

Photos here:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/03/20/Spring-Gardening/ 

Story here:

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE52J62H20090320

I hope this inspires you to think about having your own garden this spring.  And it’s a great way to save money.

Snow Day

I got up, did the shower, make-up and hair thing.  Started off to work only to be met with whiteout conditions.  It’s not like I didn’t know it was going to snow (blizzard), it’s all the TV talking heads have been gushing about for 3 days.  But it was suppose to start this afternoon.  Thought for sure I’d get at least a half day in.  My boss said I just didn’t want it enough – LOL.  I told him he would have been very unhappy if we all got stuck in the office fighting over who gets to eat the last of the coffee creamer.  Schools are closed, travel is discouraged and I’m stuck at home.

 

Gives me time to find a recipe.  I really wanted to do something with a spring theme, but not now.  Now I want hot chocolate and a good book.  So let’s go with a recipe that’s good anytime.  Oven-fried chicken.  Serve with baked potatoes and green beans, yum.

 

It’s Not Fried Chicken:                            

• 4 boneless chicken breasts*             
• 2 cups Italian breadcrumbs                    
• 2 eggs, beaten                                         
• 1 tbsp olive oil 
• ¼ cup water**                                    
• 1/8 tsp ea. salt & pepper (or to taste)

large mouth bowl, large plate

baking sheet lined with foil or parchment

 

Wash and pat dry chicken.  In large bowl, add water, eggs, oil, salt and pepper and mix well.  Spread Italian breadcrumbs evenly on large plate. Take chicken pieces one at a time and dredge in the egg mixture* – coating completely, roll in bread crumbs until lightly coated on all sides.  Place on baking sheet.  Bake 30 minutes with foil covering the chicken, uncover and cook 15 minutes.

 

*You can substitute thighs, 2 per breast

** add more if needed

Time Saving Ideas for Dinner

I’ve been very busy.  These are the times I rely on my slow-cooker.  Pulled BBQ chicken, pot roast and chicken tortilla soup.  Slow-cookers are a great time saver.  Recipes are simple to put together and it’s great to come home to a cooked meal.  Add a salad, vegetable,  maybe rolls and dinner is done. 

If you really want to find a way to have the family sit down together there are several tools that can help you reach that goal:

One is a good slow-cooker.  You want one that is large enough to hold a whole chicken and has a removable crock.  You don’t need an expensive one or one with a lot of options.  Three heat settings are more than enough.  Slow-cookers are meant to cook on low, no need for fancy programming or lots of choices.  Invest in a good slow-cooker cookbook, one that has a variety of simple recipes (recipes with more than 5-6 ingredients might be very tasty, but you probably will never make them when the goal is to save time).

Another great piece of cookware is a wok.  Marinated meat, chicken, or tofu and a bag of fresh or frozen vegetables cooked up quickly in a wok, served with rice and you have dinner in 20 minutes.  A variety of marinades, not just Asian flavors, can create a dozen different dinners.  Switch up white rice with brown rice, rice noodles or udon noodles to change things up.

Finally, there’s a pressure cooker.   I have one that is pretty much foolproof.  It has a valve on the top that tells you when it’s reached pressure and when it’s safe to open.  I cook everything in it.  Potatoes in 10 minutes, for mashing or for soups.   Beef stew in 20 minutes that tastes like you cooked it all day.  White rices in 10 minutes, brown rice in 20 mintues.  A variety of soups in less than 30 minutes.  It reduces my cooking time in half or more for many recipes.  Most pressure cookers come with a simple guide to cooking ingredients and some simple recipes.  Once you gain confidence in it, you’ll find yourself experimenting with some of your standard recipes with great success.

Hope that’s helpful information.  Head over to What’s 4 Dinner Solutions for more tips and shortcuts.

I’ll post a new recipe later this week.  It’s officially spring, so I’ll try and find something appropriate.  Until then….

Spicy Potato Soup and Preparing Meals Ahead

Was feeling the need to make some things ahead today, so I didn’t have to bother cooking much this busy week.  I began with this;

 

Spicy Potato Soup:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• ½ lb spicy ground sausage (opt) browned and drained
• ¼ tsp crushed red pepper (opt)
• 1 bay leaf (remove before serving)
• 1 tsp crushed garlic
• 16 oz chicken broth
• 6 potatoes, cubed (peeling opt)
• 4 cups milk
• 4 tbsp flour
• 8 oz shredded cheddar or jack

saucepan

 

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions, celery, salt, and cayenne and cook, stirring, until the onions are soft and lightly golden, about five minutes. Add sausage, crushed red pepper, bay leaf, garlic, broth, & potatoes.  Mix milk & flour, add. Bring to a boil for 1 minute, stirring constantlyReduce heat to medium low, cover and let simmer, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes until potatoes are soft.  If it’s too thick, add water.  With a potato masher, slightly mash a few of the potatoes.  Serve with cheese to garnish.

 

I also chopped up the ingredients for salads and put them in separate containers to combine as needed.  By keeping them separate they stay fresher longer.  A great tip for lettuce is to use a plastic lettuce knife to keep the lettuce from turning brown as it does when it comes in contact with any type of metal.  You can find them most places where you can find other utensils.  Then place the lettuce in an airtight bag.  It should keep for the week.

 

Rice keeps very well in the refrigerator for a week.  I make a double batch and later in the week I’ll stir-fry some marinated beef and snow peas and serve over the reheated rice.  Quick meal, less than 10-minutes to prepare.  I marinated chicken and beef today.  Froze them and when it’s time to prepare I’ll pop them in the refrigerator to thaw and cook up that evening.

Bacon Popcorn and Italian Coffee

I discovered Italian coffee this week. It was in a little Italian Gelato shop – where I had my first real gelato and the best coffee. It was imported from Italy and so good I bought some beans to give myself a treat at home. Mmmm, mmmm. The bacon popcorn I haven’t tried, but I am tempted. It was discovered here and there’s a recipe here. If you try it, let me know how it is.

Fish and Cats

Cooking fish with cats in the house takes on a whole new dimension.  At least in my house, it drives them wild.  There is all manner of misbehavior going on – and begging.  How un-cat like, how undignified.  My favorite way to serve fish is brushed lightly with oil and then broiled or grilled and served with lemon juice.  I like firm white fishes, cod, haddock and meaty fillets like swordfish and tuna. 

 

Here’s a nice light, quick recipe.  Serve with rice and a vegetable.

 

Fish in Lime Sauce

• 4-6 oz fresh white fish
• ¼ cup white wine (non-alcoholic ok)
• ¼ cup chicken broth
• 2 tbsp limejuice
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp honey
• ¼ tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp ground coriander
• salt & pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½ red pepper, seeded and sliced
• ½ green pepper, seeded and sliced

wok or skillet

 

Cut fish into large cubes. Mix together wine, broth, cornstarch, honey & spices, set aside.  Heat ½ oil in wok or skillet and sauté peppers 1 to 2 minutes, remove from wok.  Heat remaining oil, add fish and stir-fry 2 to 3 minutes until fish flakes easily.  Push fish to the sides of the wok, add sauce to middle, cook and stir until it bubbles and thickens. Return peppers to the wok, stir all ingredients together and cook for 1 minute.

Quick Lunch Ideas

I feel like all I do is run these days.  And to add to my busy days, I don’t feel like cooking or packing a lunch, even a salad seems like too much effort.  Wanting to avoid fast foods I have a solution that really helps me get through the afternoon without crashing.  I make a batch of fruit smoothies, freeze them in single serving beverage containers (wide mouth plastic bottles – like sports drinks – work great) and then grab one in the morning to take with me.  They are thawed by lunch and taste great. 

 

Here’s a basic recipe.  Use any fruits you like

 

Fruit Smoothies:

12 to 16 oz vanilla yogurt

8 oz frozen strawberries

8 oz frozen blueberries

2 bananas

2 cups milk

¼ cup shredded coconut or granola

blender

 

Makes 4 servings

 

In blender, add yogurt, fruit, & milk.   Blend until smooth.  You can add ice cubes if you want a thicker mixture, blending until thick and all ice cubes are crushed.  Pour into glasses and top with coconut or granola.  If you’re going to freeze them, leave room for expansion in your drinking containers and save the garnish until they are thawed.  Shake well before drinking.

 

You may need to do this in two batches depending on what your blender can hold.