A New Homemade Pizza

We have very limited choices for carry-out pizza around here, and while we usually enjoy not having to cook, we really, really like homemade pizza. This is a recipe I found a few weeks ago on a blog, and I thought it sounded  pretty delicious, and it was. Oh, it was…

Of course, I made a couple of changes, which I’ll note at the end of the recipe. Try this one. I mean it.

(Click on the recipe title to see the blog.)

Thin-Crust Chicken Bacon Artichoke Pizza

Thin crispy crust with a light garlic sauce, topped with grilled chicken, turkey bacon, mozzarella, baby spinach, marinated artichokes, and feta cheese

Yield:

8 large slices

Ingredients:

Crust Ingredients:

1/2 cup warm water (115 degrees)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups all-purpose or bread flour
1 teaspoon dry yeast

Garlic Sauce Ingredients:

1/4 cup light or fat free Italian salad dressing
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash black pepper

Toppings:

1/2 cup cubed or thinly sliced grilled or rotisserie chicken breast meat
1 cup (loosely measured) baby spinach leaves
1/3 to 1/2 cup marinated artichoke hearts, blotted dry and cut into bite-size (small) pieces
8 ounces (2 cups) shredded mozzarella cheese
2-3 slices turkey bacon ("fully cooked"), chopped into small pieces
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
Green onion slices, optional
Parmesan cheese, for serving (optional)

Instructions:

1. To make crust, place warm water and salt into a medium mixing bowl. Add a cup of the flour and the yeast, and stir. Add remaining flour (1/3 cup) and stir or knead into a sticky dough, adding additional water if needed. Allow dough to rest, covered with a clean towel, for at least 10 minutes but up to 30-45 minutes.

If you have a bread machine, this first step can be done by putting all crust ingredients into the machine and using the dough cycle to knead for 10-15 minutes, until a soft, sticky dough is formed. Stop the machine and allow dough to rest for at least 10 minutes, or up to 30-45 minutes.

2. Liberally butter a 16-inch round pizza pan, and then with your clean buttery hands, spread dough thinly over the pan. Be gentle and have patience, as this does make a perfectly thin crust!

3. Combine the garlic sauce ingredients and spread the sauce over the dough/crust and allow to rest for 15 minutes or longer (up to 45 minutes).

4. Sprinkle toppings evenly over sauce in order listed.

5. Bake pizza in a pre-heated 450-degree oven for 10 minutes or until top is browned and bubbly, and crust is slightly browned on the bottom. Watch carefully to avoid burning! :)

Cut pizza into 8 slices and serve hot, with parmesan cheese if desired. Enjoy!*My Notes: our crust was not crispy, and I know why. I did not ‘liberally butter’ the pizza pan and use my buttery hands to spread the crust. Next time I’ll use the stone and see if I can stay away from the butter, yet get that crispy crust.

I added sautéed mushrooms. Everything is better with mushrooms. Yes it is!

Only half the pizza got spinach. Some things I just cannot get him to like…

Surprisingly, I had no feta cheese in the house. We didn’t miss it, but it would add a little touch of tang.

I used sliced fresh mozzarella instead of shredded.

No green onions, but next time I think I’ll add thinly sliced red onion.

After she took one bite, Jessica told me, “I keep telling you, we could cater!”  Hmmm… we?

 

Chicken Kebab Salad

One afternoon in March I was watching Food Network while rocking the baby to sleep, and Tyler Florence was making these yummy-looking chicken kebabs.  I’ve had this recipe on my menu plan a couple of times, but couldn’t buy the fresh bay leaves until we were in Lincoln a few weeks ago. Then I needed a good grilling day when the wind wasn’t blowing 300 mph. Finally it happened last week. These were a snap to put together. Here’s the recipe as I took it from the Food Network web site, then I have some notes on what I actually did after that:

Chicken Kebab Salad
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence, 2007
  Prep Time: 15 min
  Inactive Prep Time: 30 min
  Cook Time: 35 min
  Level: Easy
  Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
For the kebabs:
  a.. 8 links sweet Italian pork sausage
  b.. 1 crusty baguette
  c.. 2 to 3 medium, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  d.. 12 fresh bay leaves
  e.. 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  f.. 2 lemons
  g.. Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the salad and dressing:
  a.. 2 anchovies
  b.. 2 cloves garlic
  c.. 1/2 lemon, juiced
  d.. 2 egg yolks*
  e.. 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus shavings for garnish
  f.. 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  g.. 2 tablespoons water
  h.. Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  i.. 2 heads romaine lettuce, chopped
  j.. Flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
  k.. 2 lemons, cut into wedges, for garnish
Directions
Special equipment: 4 large foot-long skewers, metal or thick bamboo work
best, soaked in water for half an hour if using bamboo or wood.
Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
For the kebabs:
Slice chicken thinly, cut the baguette into 1/2-inch rounds, and cut the
sausage links up into chunks, alternating cuts at 45 degree angles for nice
triangular shapes.
Now prepare the kebabs. Take the skewers 1 at a time and begin threading the components alternately. Start with a piece of bread, then chicken, bay leaf, sausage, and bread; repeat this 3 times to fill the skewers, ending with bread.
Lay the prepared kebabs out on your board and drizzle liberally with
extra-virgin olive oil. Squeeze the lemon juice all over and season well
with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place the prepared kebabs onto
preheated grill and cook for about 7 to 10 minutes per side, or until cooked
through.
While kebabs are roasting you can prepare the salad. In a blender combine
the anchovies, garlic, lemon juice, egg yolks and grated Parmesan. Pulse a
couple of times to combine, then add the water and blend again. With the
motor running, gradually pour the oil through the feed tube and continue to
blend until emulsified. Season, to taste, with salt and some freshly ground
black pepper.
In a large mixing bowl add the chopped romaine. When the kebabs are done, remove from the oven and slide the kebab components off the skewers directly into the bowl. Add some dressing and gently toss to combine.
To plate, garnish with parsley leaves, shaved Parmesan and fresh lemon
wedges.

**My notes: For the salad portion of this recipe, I cut up a couple of heads of Romaine, then just used Cardini’s Caesar Salad dressing.

For the kebabs, I added half mushrooms to the skewers after each sausage piece. I think my grill was a little too hot since some of the bread was burned. I did cook them for 7 minutes on each side, though, to make sure the chicken was fully cooked.

This was a light but flavorful supper. I think it could be made without the fresh bay leaves and still taste great. The bread chunks made for large croutons.

This is one I’ll make again when the weather is hot and no one wants a heavy meal.

Menu Monday

Okay, so I braved the Arctic air (the icy wind just takes my breath away) and did a quick inventory of the freezer so I could plan our meals this week. I didn’t purchase any groceries this weekend except for the few things that Greg and Jess each picked up when they were in town, so we’re working out of the freezer and pantry this week.

Sunday – Super Bowl food included steak quesadillas (thinly sliced a leftover grilled rib-eye from the frig), homemade “refried” beans (cooked in the Crockpot, then blended smooth), homemade salsa from the freezer, and tortilla chips. That one steak made enough quesadillas that we all ate our fill for supper, and there was plenty left for Greg and Jess to take for their lunches today.  Jess whipped up some chocolate banana bread pudding for dessert. She got the recipe from a Williams Sonoma Desserts cookbook I picked up at the library.

Monday – Pork-fried rice (leftover pulled pork, plus a couple of pork chops from the freezer that need to be used) using a bag of frozen Asian veggies. I bet Greg would pick up an order of crab rangoons and eggrolls on his way home…

Tuesday – Turkey mignon, baked sweet potato, steamed broccoli, whole grain rolls

Wednesday – Crockpot Chicken w/ Black beans and cream cheese, green salad (I’ll use corn frozen last summer, and homemade salsa)

Thursday – Spaghetti w/ meat sauce (sauce made using homemade tomato sauce from the freezer), green salad, garlic bread

Friday – Southwest Burgers, chips, fresh veggies w/ dip

Cheesy Chicken Vegetable Soup

‘Twas a cloudy, chilly, blustery day yesterday, a good soup day. I had some cooked chicken in the freezer and a bowl full of fresh veggies to use up. The perfect combination!

This recipe came to me from my email friend, Robin. It lends well to improvisation and freezes great, just reheat slowly and stir it well.

Here’s the recipe, then I’ve added my notes at the end.

Cheesy Chicken Vegetable Soup

2 C chicken broth

2 C diced chicken

1/2 C sliced carrots

1/2 C sliced celery

1/2 C frozen mixed vegetables

1/2 C chopped onions

1/4 C each, butter and flour

2 C milk

1 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 C diced, cooked chicken

salt and pepper to taste

In a large pan, cook all prepared vegetables in the chicken broth until tender. DO NOT DRAIN. While vegetables are cooking, melt butter in a smaller pan. Add flour and let bubble for about 30 seconds, then whisk in milk. Let thicken, then stir in cheese until melted. Pour cheese sauce into vegetables and broth. Add chicken and heat through. Season as desired. (Use more veggies and/or cheese if desired.)

My notes: I always double this recipe so we’ll have leftovers. Usually I use a whole bag of frozen Asian veggies in place of all of the vegetables. Last night I had fresh broccoli, cauliflower, and baby carrots that needed to be used up. I simply cut them into small pieces (probably 3+ cups of vegetables) and simmered them in the broth. I used a combination of butter and olive oil and before making the roux, I sautéed the onions in it. There were also mushrooms to use up, so I quartered those and cooked them with the onions before adding the flour.

I used a little Velveeta that was hiding in the back of the frig in place of part of the cheese. I generally always use more veggies and cheese than the recipe calls for, and I always use skim milk.

Flavor-full Burger

While having our lunch on a Saturday afternoon a couple of weeks ago, Greg turned on the TV to Food Network. Giada was making some chicken burgers, which I thought sounded delicious, but she mentioned that this recipe could be made using any kind of meat. Well, Greg's blood is red, so when I decided to make these for supper that night, there was no question that we'd be using ground beef. (I will make these again for lunch when Jessi's here, and I'll use turkey.)

Since it's gardening season here, there is fresh rosemary growing in my backyard (you KNOW I love having an herb garden in the backyard!), so I was able to just step outside and clip a couple of stalks for this recipe. I was out of fresh garlic, but had a jar of roasted garlic in the frig that I subbed in. Oh, and only use real mayonnaise, please. No fat-free or salad dressing - it has too much sugar and tastes very different. Real mayo is made with soy oil which is good for you.

Chicken Burgers with Garlic-Rosemary Mayonnaise

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 15 min
Level: Easy

Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients:

Mayonnaise - 1 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup chopped fresh rosemary leaves

1 clove garlic, minced
Burgers:

1 pound ground chicken
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 sandwich rolls or burger buns

1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup arugula, divided (I used fresh spinach)
Directions:

For the mayonnaise: In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise, garlic, and rosemary; set aside.

For the burgers:

Preheat a gas or charcoal grill or place a grill pan over medium-high heat.

In a large bowl, add the ground chicken, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1/2 of the mayonnaise mixture.

Using clean hands, gently combine the ingredients and form the chicken mixture into 4 patties.

Place the burgers on the grill and cook for about 7 minutes on each side. Transfer to paper towels and let rest for a few minutes.

Brush the cut side of each roll with the olive oil and 1 teaspoon of the mayonnaise mixture. Grill for 1 to 2 minutes until slightly golden.

To assemble the burgers:

Spread a dollop of the remaining mayonnaise mixture on the tops and bottoms of the toasted buns. Place the chicken burgers on the bottom halves of the buns. Top each with 1/4 cup of arugula and finish with the top half of the bun.

Okay, these were SO GOOD they left me craving more. I'm anxious to try them again, using the turkey.

Eating Well on Menu Monday

Eating Well magazine is one of my favorites, and I spent some time last week thumbing through a few old issues. I was looking for a specific recipe, but came across a few others to try this week.

Monday - Chicken and Asparagus w/ Melted Gruyere, whole grain medly
Tuesday - Grilled tuna, cucumber and black-eyed pea salad, focaccia
Wednesday - Stuffed turkey burgers, sweet corn, green salad
Thursday - Loaded Twice-baked potatoes, Ceaser salad
Friday - Jessi's choice - she'll be home by suppertime (yea!)


So tonight I made the chicken recipe and it was so good! If my table manners hadn't been refined by years of maturity, I might have licked my plate. Now I didn't have fresh tarragon, and I checked around town to no avail. I always recommend using fresh if possible.

Chicken & Asparagus with Melted Gruyere
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients
8 ounces asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces


⅔ cup reduced-sodium chicken broth


2 teaspoons plus ¼ cup all-purpose flour, divided


4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1-1 ¼ pounds), trimmed


¼ teaspoon salt


½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper


1 tablespoon canola oil


1 shallot, thinly sliced


½ cup white wine (I buy those 4-packs of tiny bottles of white wine to use in my cooking. There is just a tad more than half a cup in those, and it's pretty decent wine.)


⅓ cup reduced-fat sour cream


1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon or 1 teaspoon dried


2 teaspoons lemon juice


⅔ cup shredded Gruyère cheese (This costs about a zillion dollars a pound, so I think a Swiss or Parmesan would be an acceptable substitute.)

1. Place a steamer basket in a large saucepan, add 1 inch of water and bring to a boil. Add asparagus; cover and steam for 3 minutes. Uncover, remove from the heat and set aside.


2. Whisk broth and 2 teaspoons flour in a small bowl until smooth. Set aside.


3. Place the remaining 1/4 cup flour in a shallow dish. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper and dredge both sides in the flour, shaking off any excess.


4. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes per side, adjusting heat as needed to prevent scorching. Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm.


5. Add shallot, wine and the reserved broth mixture to the pan; cook over medium heat, stirring, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low; stir in sour cream, tarragon, lemon juice and the reserved asparagus until combined.
Return the chicken to the pan and turn to coat with the sauce. Sprinkle cheese on top of each piece of chicken, cover and continue cooking until the cheese is melted, about 2 minutes.


Nutrition Information
Per serving: 306 calories; 15 g fat (6 g sat, 6 g mono); 91 mg cholesterol; 7 g carbohydrate; 31 g protein; 1 g fiber; 298 mg sodium; 343 mg potassium.
Nutrition bonus: Selenium (36% daily value), Calcium (25% dv).
1/2 Carbohydrate Serving
Exchanges: 1/2 starch, 4 lean meat, 1/2 fat

Menu Monday

Another winter/spring week ahead, so I'm using the oven, the crockpot, and the grill depending the weather du jour.
Sunday - grilled bratwurst, baked beans, strawberry/mascarpone tart
Monday - chicken francese, brown rice, steamed broccoli, strawberry tart
Tuesday - Beef tips (crockpot), egg noodles, green beans
Wednesday - Pecan crusted pork chops, baked sweet potato, steamed asparagus
Thursday - Chicken ceasar pita sandwiches, sun chips, fruit salad
Friday - grilled burgers, green salad, cottage cheese, chips

Chicken Francese
Recipe from Once in a Blue Moon

thin cut chicken breasts, pounded flat (I will butterfly two regular breasts, then pound them)
coat in flour, dip in egg, parmesan, and parsley
brown in olive oil, then remove to a warm oven

1/2 C white wine
1 C chicken broth
5 lemon slices
2 Tbs. butter (I'll use half butter, half olive oil)
cook down to thick sauce and spoon over chicken

Edited after I cooked this: The chicken was really good. The sauce, not so much. I don't know what I was thinking, but I cooked it in a cast iron skillet - never make a lemon sauce in cast iron... At least there was enough chicken with no sauce that Greg got a nice sandwich from it - he was happy. :o)

Country-Style Chicken Pot Pie

This recipe came to me from the wife of an interim pastor we had many years ago. I think she got it from a Country Woman magazine or cookbook.
I used the leftover rotisserie chicken from Sunday's lunch, including boiling the carcass to make the broth. (I love having homemade broth in the freezer.)
This makes so much filling that I put about a third of it in the frig for Greg's lunch later.

Country-Style Chicken Pot Pie
3 TBS butter (I used part butter, part olive oil)
3 TBS flour
2 C chicken broth
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2-1 can cream of chicken soup (I use Healthy Request)
3 carrots, cooked and diced
frozen green peas, cooked (I steamed the carrots and peas together in a zip 'n steam bag)
1/8 tsp curry & pepper, mixed
1 tsp salt
2 large potatoes, cooked and diced (I had a can of potatoes, used those)
chicken, cooked and cut up
Melt the butter. Add flour and allow to bubble one minute. Add broth and stir w/ wooden spoon. Bring to a boil and simmer for a few minutes. Remove from heat. Add lemon juice and soup. Drain veggies, add to sauce (by steaming, there was nothing to drain), add seasonings and chicken. Pour into a deep 2 quart casserole. Top with biscuits or crescents.
Bake @ 350 for 45 minutes.

I didn't have any biscuits or crescents, so I dug out an old recipe by Mollie Katzan in a Moosewood cookbook:
Baking Powder Biscuits
3 C flour
scat 1/2 tsp sal
1 TBS baking powder
6 TBS cold butter
3/4 C buttermilk, yogurt, or sour milk
Preheat oven to 450. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
Put dry ingredients in a food processor bowl w/ a steel blade. Cut in butter until uniformly integrated and mixture has texture of coarse meal
Add buttermilk/yogurt/sourmilk and process for a few more seconds (til dough holds together).
Turn out and knead briefly. Roll out to 1/2-3/4" thickness. Arrange close together on baking sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes.
To freeze: Roll dough into a log shape. Wrap tightly in foil and freeze.
To use: Let sit at room temp 5-10 minutes. Slice 1/2-3/4" thick and bake.

Chicken Piccata

It's been several years since I first used capers in a recipe and discovered how much I like them. Chicken piccata makes wonderful use of these flavorful little flower buds.This is a lighter version of the traditional dish and comes from an old South Beach Diet newsletter.
So sorry I didn't get a photo - I wasn't feeling well and was happy to just get supper on the table. :o)

Serves 2

IngredientsNote: Omit the brown rice, and this is a Phase 1 recipe.

3/4 pound whole skinless boneless chicken breast, halved lengthwise

2 tablespoons dry sherry

1 tablespoon capers

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons trans-free margarine

1/4 teaspoon paprika

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Pound the chicken pieces to flatten them slightly. Season them with salt and pepper to taste. Heat an empty pan on high heat, then add the oil and one tablespoon of the margarine and allow that to get hot (but not smoking), then carefully add the chicken, making sure the oil doesn't splatter. Doing this process will prevent the chicken from sticking. If you heat the oil and pan together, or if the pan isn't hot enough, the chicken will stick.

Sauté the chicken pieces for 1 minute on each side, or until they are cooked through. Transfer the chicken with tongs to a platter and cover it loosely to keep it warm.

Pour off any remaining fat and oil from the skillet. Return it to the stovetop and add the remaining 1 tablespoon margarine, the sherry, and the lemon juice, and bring the mixture to a boil. Stir in the capers, the parsley, the paprika, and salt and pepper to taste, and spoon the sauce over the chicken.

Serve with 1/2 cup brown rice per person.

Chicken Paprikash

Okay, I don't know how to pronounce it, but I know it sure tastes good!

This recipe for chicken paprikash is from my email friend, Joanne. It's an old family recipe that her grandmother used to prepare.
Traditionally this dish uses bone-in chicken pieces. The night I made it, I was using what was on-hand, so it boneless, skinless breasts it was. A few other adaptations were made, and I'll note those, but the final dish was delicious.

CHICKEN PAPRIKASH
Chicken pieces (boneless, skinless breasts)

Sweet Hungarian paprika (about 1 to 2 tablespoons) (Spanish paprika - all I had)

Butter (about 1/4 cup) (olive oil w/ little bit of butter)

Onion (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup minced)

Water (about 1 to 2 cups) (homemade chicken stock - no bouillion cube)

Chicken bouillon cube

Flour (about 2 tablespoons)

Sour cream (about 1 cup)
Melt the butter in a pan and brown the chicken parts on both sides.

Add the onion and paprika and turn the chicken pieces to cover all sides with the paprika.

Add the water and the bouillon cube.

Cover the pan and simmer on a low heat until the chicken is very tender (we usually like it when it almost falls apart when you touch it, but that's how my grandmother's always was so it's what we're used to). I think I usually leave it cooking about 20 to 30 minutes.

Add more paprika and salt to taste, and add more water during cooking if it seems to be getting too dry and sticking to the pan.

Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside. Add a small amount of water to the flour to form a paste and add this to the liquid in the pan. Heat and stir until thickened. Add the sour cream and stir to heat.

Add the chicken back to the pan, stir all together, and serve over noodles or rice.

Soup Day! (part 1)

The weather is chilly, blustery, and sometimes a little rainy today. It's perfect Fall weather. For making soup. So I did. Make soup.
I made a few old favorites and some new recipes, all of them destined for the freezer. Today I'll share the chicken recipes.
First up was Tuscan Chicken and White Bean. I got this one from an internet friend who posted it on a Yahoo group. I think it came from the Feb/Mar 2005 issue of Fast and Easy magazine.
This is a quick one to throw together, but it's really important to use fresh sage. I happened to still have quite a bit of sage out in the garden that I cut this morning.
(I know! Fresh herbs still in the garden in NOVEMBER! A little happy dance went on! Hope none of the neighbors were looking...)
If you don't have a fresh sage plant available, try to find it in the grocery. It's expensive, but makes all the difference in this soup.
There are leeks in this recipe, too. Leeks are usually gritty and sandy - make sure you pop those slices into a bowl of cold water for a little while so the icky stuff falls to the bottom.
Here's the recipe:

Tuscan Chicken and White Bean Soup
2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 leeks, white and light green parts, cut into 1/4" rounds (2 cups)
1 Tbs. chopped fresh sage (I use 2 Tbs.), or 1/4 tsp. dried sage
2-14 oz. cans reduced-sodium chicken broth (I used my homemade stock)
2 C water
1-15 oz. can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1-2 lb. roasted chicken, skin discarded, meat removed from bones and shredded

Heat the oil in a soup pot or large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add leeks and cook, stirring often, until soft, about 3 minutes. Stir in sage and continue cooking until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Stir in broth and water, increase heat to high, cover and bring to a boil. Add beans and chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 3 minutes. Serve hot.
6 Servings, 1 1/2 cups each
Per serving: 208 calories; 6 g fat; 15 g carbs; 3 g fiber

The next recipe was easy, but not nearly as quick to put together. This is the first time I've made it, but it's pretty tasty, and I'm sure will freeze great. This is a Paula Deen recipe - that explains the butter...

White Bean Chili
1 pound dried navy beans
5 C chicken stock (again, I used my homemade, but canned is fine)
4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) butter
1 Tbs. minced garlic
3/4 C diced onion
1 1/2 C chopped green chiles (fresh or canned) (I only used 2 small cans since Greg's not a huge fan of green chiles in large quantities.)
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, finely chopped (I used pre-cooked chicken.)
1 Tbs. ground cumin
1 Tbs. dried oregano
1 to 2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. ground white pepper (I omitted - just don't have any)
Pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped (I'll add when I reheat)
Rinse beans well, cover w/ cool water and soak for 2 hours. Drain. Place beans in a large pot w/ chicken stock and bring to a boil over high heat. In a saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, and chiles and saute for 5 minutes. Add chile mixture to pot w/ beans. Add chicken, cumin, oregano, peppers, pepper flakes, and cilantro. Lower heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, for approximately 1 1/2 hours. Serve w/ cornbread, if desired.

The reason I saved the cilantro to add later when I serve this soup is because I've never frozen fresh cilantro in a recipe. My instinct tells me this is best added fresh.
This soup has great flavor even without the cilantro, and I suspect will get better after sitting in the frig for a day.

Okay, so while I typed this, it started snowing outside. I picked fresh herbs from my garden this morning, and now it's snowing. Only in Nebraska...

Chicken with Tarragon Cream Sauce

This recipe came from a South Beach Diet recipe web site so it's healthy and low-fat. Instead of cream I used 2% milk. I wanted to use fat-free half and half, but the store was out of it and I didn't care to drive all over town to buy some. The 2% worked fine.
This was moist and tender, and the sauce was mild, but tasty. Plus, it's easy!

Chicken with Tarragon Cream Sauce
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 2 pounds)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup light or fat free cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon or 3/4 teaspoon dried
Salt
Pepper
Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter with oil. Brown chicken breasts on both sides. Reduce heat and cook, covered, 15 minutes, just until chicken is cooked through. Transfer chicken to a serving platter; tent with foil to keep warm. Add cream to skillet, scraping up brown bits. Stir in mustard and tarragon. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 5 minutes until sauce thickens slightly. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken. (I found it was salty enough just by lightly salting the chicken. The sauce didn't need any.)

Roast Sticky Chicken

Greg wanted to make a rotisserie chicken on the new grill last weekend, and we feasted on this succulent bird one night for supper.

He used a recipe I got from the Busy Cooks Web Site many years ago. It used to be on About.com, in their freezer-cooking section, but I think that is long gone.

I have made this many times in the oven, and whichever way you choose to cook it, you won't be disappointed. It has always made a juicy, tasty bird. (BEN - YOU NEED TO TRY THIS!) Just make sure you put the rub on the day before and let it sit overnight. Trust me. It's much better that way.

Roast Sticky Chicken
4 tsp. salt (we use kosher)

2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. cayenne powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. white pepper (we use black)

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 large roasting chicken

1 C chopped onion

In a small bowl, thoroughly combine all spices. Clean chicken well, and pat dry. Rub spice mixture into chicken, both inside and out, distributing evenly and deep into skin. Place in a zipper bag, seal, and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to roast chicken, stuff the cavity with onions, and place in a shallow baking pan. Roast, uncovered, at 250 degrees for 5 hours (yes, 250 for 5 hours). After the first hour, baste chicken occasionally with pan juices. The juices will begin to carmelize on the bottom of the pan and the chicken will turn golden brown. If the bird has a pop-up thermometer, ignore it. Let chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving.

This is a great way to roast a large chicken ( or 2) for planned leftovers. If your chicken has not been frozen, you can put the rub on, bag and freeze, then thaw and roast. Or you can roast, carve, and freeze the cooked meat.

Fish & Chicken

I've been cooking a little lately, but not much new or exciting, unless you count the chili a couple of weeks ago that was the best I have ever made - I'll tell you about that another day.

Tonight I want to share a couple of recipes from Kalyn's Kitchen that I've been saving to try. The first is for salmon - you know how we like salmon - and was really good. It calls for a mortar and pestle to grind the spices together, and I don't have one, so I did what I could with the bottom of a spoon. It was okay, but I'd recommend the mortar and pestle. I also bought fennel seeds instead of ground fennel. Still tasted good. (Sorry about the photo - I forgot to take one before I started eating...)

Herb-Encrusted Grilled Salmon

(Makes 2 servings, recipe can easily be doubled, recipe created by Kalyn with inspiration from her friends.)

2 salmon filets, thawed in refrigerator if frozen

1 T olive oil, plus more for oiling grill

Herb mixture:

1 generous T Claudia's Fantastic Fish Blend (Fish blend is lemon basil, chives, dill, thyme, and dried celery leaves. To substitute, use equal parts dried basil, dried chives, dill weed, dried thyme, and celery seed.) [I used the equal parts of herbs.]

1/2 tsp. fennel pollen (to substitute, use ground fennel )

1/2 tsp. lemon pepper

1/4 tsp. sea salt
Remove salmon from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature.

In mortar and pestle, grind together Fish Blend (or individual herbs), fennel pollen (or ground fennel), lemon pepper, and salt. Pick out any woody pieces that don't grind up, then add olive oil and mix together. Rub fish on both sides with herb mixture, and let sit for at least ten minutes while you preheat gas or charcoal grill.

Rub grill slats with a piece of paper towel dipped in olive oil (or use nonstick spray), then heat the grill to medium-high. (You can only hold your hand there for 3-4 seconds at that temperature.) Place fish on grill at an angle, top side down, and cook until grill marks start to appear, about 2-3 minutes. Then rotate and cook 2-3 minutes more to get criss-cross marks. Turn fish carefully and cook 2-3 minutes on second side, or until fish feels just slightly firm to the touch, but not at all hard. Total cooking time will be under ten minutes, I cooked my salmon just over 7 minutes, and it was perfect. Fish should feel barely firm when it's done. Serve hot.

***

Now we come to the chicken portion of our program. I wondered about serving this to Greg - he's not a fan of really "tangy" food - but, I have pledged to try new things, so... I bought the Kalamata olives and pitted them by pressing them onto the cutting board with the back of a spoon - easy peasy. When I first tasted the olive caper sauce by itself, I still wasn't sure. Then I grilled the chicken, put on the sauce, and my fears were a thing of the past. (I remember when we were on our cruise and we'd get foods with sauces on the plates, just little dabs of this and that. We enjoyed the food, but then we added the sauces, and they made the appetizer or entree so much better. That's what happened here. The olive caper sauce mixed with the flavors of the poultry seasoning on the hot grilled chicken, it all worked together for a very flavorful dish.)

Sauteed Chicken Breasts with Olive-Caper Sauce

(Makes four servings, recipe for Olive-Caper Sauce adapted from pâté di olive at Briciole.)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

olive oil for sauteeing chicken [I grilled the chicken.]

poultry season to rub on chicken breasts

Sauce: 3/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted

2 T chopped red onion or shallots

2 T capers

1 T fresh thyme (or use 1 tsp. dried thyme) [I used fresh.]

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 T balsamic vinegar

1 T extra virgin olive oil
Trim all visible fat and tendons from chicken breasts. Rub chicken on both sides with small amount of poultry seasoning and let come to room temperature while you make olive sauce.
(I used a food processor, but you could use a blender or chop the ingredients by hand for this sauce if you don't have one.)
Put Kalamata olives in food processor fitted with steel blade and pulse a few times until olives are coarsely chopped. Add onion, capers, thyme, balsamic vinegar, and parsley. Pulse about 20 seconds, until ingredients are well combined. Remove sauce to a bowl and stir in olive oil. (You can add a bit more olive oil if the sauce seems too thick, but I didn't need to.)
Heat a small amount of olive oil in a heavy frying pan over medium-high heat. (Pans which aren't non-stick will give the best browning.) Put chicken breasts into the pan, top side down and cook 5-6 minutes, or until top is well browned. Turn chicken over and cook 2-3 minutes more on second side. Chicken is done when it feels firm, but not hard to the touch.
Serve hot chicken breasts with olive-caper sauce spooned over. The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for about a week if you manage to have any leftovers.

Seriously, try these - they're healthy and tasty and easy to make, and just might broaden your horizons a bit. :o)