Beef Rigatoni in an Intensely Tomato-y Cream Sauce

The Meat and Potatoes Foodie, if you have not visited Alisa's site...now is THE time.  I don't know a ton about Alisa, but what I do know is she writes, she loves horses, she loves marinades as much as I do (YAY!), and she has some amazing looking pasta dish on her site. (ok, she's got just a ton of amazing looking dishes...pasta and beyond)!  MMMMMMMM....pasta!!!!  Did I mention this dish is....A-MAZE-ING!?!?  Chris couldn't stop talking about how good it was..and well, my mouth was too full to actually say anything, so I just shook my head and continued to devour what was on my plate.

Now, Alisa calls for transferring the rigatoni into the sauce and then tossing to coat.  I knew I was making more sauce then I was pasta (I didn't have a full pound), so I decided to just mix it once it got in the bowl.  Believe me, either way, this is a must try.  Ok, it might not be extremely healthy, but it's comforting, it's filling and absolutely delicious!

Beef Rigatoni in an Intensely Tomato-y Cream Sauce
Adapted (slightly) from The Meat and Potatoes Foodie 
Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon butter
1/2 a sweet onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
fresh ground black pepper
2-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 lbs ground beef (I used 90% lean)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup chicken stock
4 oz. can tomato paste
1 (14oz) can diced tomatoes, drained slightly
2 oz cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. rigatoni
Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Put a large pot (with lid on) of water on a burner over high heat for your pasta.

Meanwhile, add the butter and olive oil to a large dutch oven and put over low/medium heat. Let the butter melt, then add the onions, 1/4 teaspoon salt and some fresh cracked pepper giving a good stir. Cook for a couple of minutes, then stir in the garlic. Saute, stirring occasionally another 1-2 minutes until the onion is translucent.

Now add the ground beef to the onions and garlic, breaking the meat up gently (but not too aggressively) with your wooden spoon. Season with the additional salt and red pepper flakes then cook, stirring occasionally for about 5-8 minutes or just until the meat is browned. No need to cook it to death at this stage - you're about to boil the hell out of it.

Carefully pour in the chicken stock and raise the heat to high. Once the stock is boiling, give everything a good stir then let simmer away until the majority of the liquid has evaporated and the mixture is almost dry again (about 10 minutes.) While you wait is a good time to cook your pasta, as your pasta water should be boiling by now. Add your rigatoni, cooking ONLY to al dente - about 9 minutes.

Back to your beef mixture - once the majority of the liquid has evaporated, lower the heat to low and stir in the tomato paste, diced tomatoes, cream cheese, salt, and oregano. Combine well and keep over low heat until your pasta is cooked.  (set aside about 1/2 cup of pasta water, just in case you need to thin the sauce out.)

At this point you can either transfer the pasta to the beef mixture and stir to combine, or you can just pour the sauce over the pasta once it's on the plate or in a bowl.  Top with parmesan cheese and ENJOY!  

Pass it On Week 2: Garlic Lime Chicken

Ok, so this is not a Jamie Oliver recipe, but I believe that Jamie would give his approval for using this as my next Pass it On recipe. (If you are unfamiliar with the Food Revolution movement, check out my post from last week here)  If you want simple, if you want light, if you want healthy, if you want DEEE-licious...then you must try this recipe. Four ingredients (all fresh by the way) bring this flavorful dish together.  Other then the marinating time of 1-2 hours, this dish can be on your plate in less then 30 minutes...a perfect weeknight meal!!

The directions in this recipe call for you to run the garlic through a press if possible.  If you do not have a garlic press, then smash the clove first and chop it up as fine as you can...this will help release the oils which will help flavor the chicken.  And, if you didn't have lime or don't like lime, you can always use one small lemon instead.  This chicken is so moist (as long as you don't over cook it) it is perfect just by itself.  That's right, the sauce girl is saying this chicken needs no sauce!!  mmmmmmm....I wish there was just one more piece.....

Did I mention mmmmmmmm?  Oh yea, don't forget to "Pass it On"..........

Garlic Lime Chicken
Ingredients:
2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 limes, zested and juiced
5 cloves of garlic, peeled and pressed through a garlic press
salt & pepper

Directions:
Place chicken in a Ziploc bag.  In a small bowl combine the olive oil, juice, zest and garlic.  Pour over chicken, seal bag, and marinate for 1-2 hours.

Preheat a grill or oven (400 degrees).  Remove chicken from bag and through out marinade.  Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.  Cook chicken 15-20 minutes or until no longer pink in the middle. Enjoy!   

Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Summer is almost here!!  Well, it is here in the desert...but summer is almost here in the rest of the country too ... ALMOST!!  I love ice cream anytime of the year, but in the summer is when I crave it and/or want it the most.  My goal is to make a new ice cream every month this summer.  Let me remind you that summer lasts from pretty much April to October here in the Valley of the Sun....so be prepared!

Like my Peanut Butter Ice Cream post from last week...this was amazingly good!  What I love the most about this recipe and the last one, is that you don't have to use any eggs!  My first attempt at making ice cream about 14 years ago, I didn't temper the egg and it scrambled in my pot...icky!  Ever since then, I have been a bit scared of making homemade ice cream, even though I know what I did wrong.  So when I found these recipes by David Lebovitz, I was ecstatic!!  Also, I learned from my lack of patience last week and this batch turned out incredible.  Chris said it even had the texture and look of mass produced ice cream.  I loved that because I love mass produced ice cream :)  Ok, I love the truly homemade ice cream that my grandma use to make, but let's not go there it will just make me crave something I cannot have!

Anyway...I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!!!!!  Woo Hoo!

Oh.. and in case you don't have an ice cream maker and you still want to make your own...check out David Lebovitz's site for his instructions on how!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream
Adapted from The Perfect Scoop, by David Lebovitz by way of Tracey's Culinary Adventures
Ingredients:
2 cups half and half
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

Directions:
Whisk together the half and half, cocoa powder, sugar and salt in a large sauce pan. Heat the mixture, whisking frequently, until it comes to a full, rolling boil (it will start to foam up). Remove from the heat and whisk in the peanut butter, stirring until thoroughly blended.

Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Makes about 1 quart. 

Buttermilk Marinated Pork Chops w/ South Carolina Mustard Sauce

One thing you must know about this recipe...the mustard sauce needs to be made at least 24 hours before you serve it.  Now, I don't think there is much of a reason other then to let the flavors all blend together, so if you only had 4 hours (you'll want to marinate the pork for at least 4 hours anyway) instead of 24, you should still be ok.  I'm just putting the information out there so you will allow yourself enough time to make this dish.

I have been talking to Stephen over at The Obsessive Chef about brining pork chops.  I once tried a recipe that called for brining and I forgot to rinse off the pork, so it was extremely salty.  Since that little mess, I have been hesitant to try it again.  I realized my mistake and will be brining soon...but for this recipe, I sort of chickened out and just did a buttermilk marinade.  I was actually going to do a buttermilk brine (using salt and sugar instead of cayenne and garlic powder) but decided at the last minute to change it up.  It turned out so moist and delicious...and the sauce.. well, once again, it just adds to the dish. 

Buttermilk Marinated Pork Chops
Ingredients:
4 center cut, boneless pork chops
salt and pepper
2 cups buttermilk
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
South Carolina Mustard Sauce (recipe below)

Directions:
Season pork chops with salt and pepper.  Place pork chops in a resealable bag.  In a bowl, mix together buttermilk, cayenne, and garlic powder.  Pour over pork chops.  Marinate in refrigerator for at least 4 hours, but recommend from 12-24 hours.

Grill pork chops for 5 minutes on each side or until pork reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees (you might want to pull them off before it hits 160, they will continue to cook as they rest).  Serve with South Carolina Mustard sauce... and enjoy!!

South Carolina Mustard Sauce
Adapted from Serious Eats
Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons yellow mustard

2 Tablespoons honey
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 tablespoons ketchup

3/4 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon hot sauce

1 teaspoon mayonnaise

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine all of the ingredients and mix well. Make at least 24 hours prior to usage for best flavor. Store refrigerated in a tightly covered jar for up to two weeks. 

Tilapia with Spiced Mustard Sauce

This dish gets it yellow-orange color, not from the mustard, but from ground turmeric.  If you have never used turmeric, let me give you a little background on it.  Turmeric is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. It is native to tropical South Asia and needs temperatures between 20°C and 30°C, and a considerable amount of annual rainfall to thrive.  It has become the key ingredient for many Indian, Persian, Thai and Malay dishes, not only in curry, but also in masak lemak, rendang, and many more.  In non-South Asian recipes, turmeric is sometimes used as an agent to impart a rich, custard-like yellow color.  And don't forget it's possible health benefits.  Turmeric is currently being investigated for possible benefits in Alzheimer's disease, cancer, arthritis, and other clinical disorders.

Not such a bad little plant huh?  This recipe was good.  I don't know how often I would make it, but it was worth trying, for sure.  Actually, I believe that this mustard sauce would work much better on a nice piece of salmon. I liked the flavor that the comes from the combination of the mustard and turmeric.  And knowing it's health benefits...well, makes me want to use the ingredient more and more!  And a fillet of tilapia with this sauce on it...only 105 calories and 0grams of fat!!  Can't beat that.  Now, if you didn't have turmeric and didn't want to buy it just for this dish, you could substitute ground ginger.  You aren't going to get the color, and the flavor will be a bit different, but, it's something you can use instead in a pinch.

Tilapia with Spiced Mustard Sauce
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 (4 oz) Tilapia fillets
Cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Spray a baking dish or pan with cooking spray.  Rinse the fillets and pat dry.

Combine the first 6 ingredients together in a small bowl, mix well.  Rub the mustard sauce over both sides of the fillets and place in prepared pan.  Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the fish is cooked through.  Serve and enjoy!

(Nutritional Info - 1 fillet:  105 calories; 0g fat; 2g carbohydrates; 0mg cholesterol; 120mg sodium; 21g protein)

Steaks with Balsamic Vinegar, Dijon & Garlic Marinade

It's getting warm here...which means you are going to start seeing a ton of grilling recipes.  When it's 110 here in the valley of the sun, the last thing I want to do when I come home from work is heat up the kitchen.  True, it's hot standing out by the grill, but at least I have a nice cool place to retreat to when I'm finished.  When the kitchen is hot, the entire house is hot!  

Anyway.. you didn't come here for the weather, you came here for the food, right?  Well here's another hit.  This marinade wonderful!!  The steak picks up this amazing flavor that I (mostly due to me not being a good writer) cannot put it into words.  You get all the flavors of the marinade, the balsamic vinegar, the mustard, the garlic, but neither one is overwhelming.  My only suggestion, if you have more then 4 hours to marinate this, do it.  I believe the steak would then be "melt in your mouth" good!!

Steaks w/Balsamic Vinegar, Dijon & Garlic Marinade
Adapted from Aggie's Kitchen
Ingredients:

1.25 lb Chuck Tender Steaks (or any cut of your choice, I used what I had on hand)
1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar
2 TB Dijon mustard
1 TB Worcestershire sauce

3 garlic cloves, minced

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a bowl, combine Balsamic vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic and salt and pepper. Place steaks in a zip lock bag. Pour marinade into bag, making sure to coat and massage the steak with marinade. Place in refrigerator for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight and/or all day. 

Cook steaks on a preheated grill for 12-20 minutes depending on how rare or well done you want them.  Once steaks are finished cooking, allow to cool for 5 minutes before cutting into them.  Then prepare yourself... this steak has a fantastic flavor!  Enjoy!

Pass it On: The Best Barbecued Sticky Chicken with Lemon & Garlic

 

First...Chris and I were fortunate enough to be able to attend an event last night called World of Flavor, Taste 2010.  Thanks to a wonderful kick back from the company I now work for, we got to taste some of the most amazing food and wines.  I mean they had everything from amazingly tasty shrimp tacos, to sushi (my favorite), to ribs, to pizza and pasta, to the best tasting cannoli I've had in a long time (courtesy Grimaldi's Pizzeria). This event benefits the Boys & Girls Club of Metro Phoenix.  If you are unfamiliar with the Boys & Girls Club, they are about inspiring and enabling all young people, especially those who need "them the most", to reach their full potential as productive, responsible citizens.  This event began as a small dinner party and now 36 years later it attracts about 6,000 guests annually. Anyway.... it was AMAZING.  We would have never been able to actually afford to go on our own, so it was a great opportunity and so appreciated!!

Now..it's time.... for my first "Pass it On" recipe!!!  I'm so excited!!!  This dish turned out to be simple and absolutely delicious!  Wanna know another nice thing about it?  The entire meal I made cost only $11!!!  And when I say entire meal I mean, the chicken and all the ingredients (minus the olive oil and salt and pepper), potatoes, zucchini, and bread.  It was a ton of food for very little money (psst, and it actually was enough to feed 4, we had plenty left over).  If you missed Saturday's post, you probably have no clue what I'm talking about.  In short, I'm joining Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution and I'm asking that you join with me.  All you have to do is take this recipe, or any recipe of your choice, for that matter, make it, and then pass it on to someone else.  The object is to get more people not only cooking, but cooking healthy things.

As I was saying, the dish... I believe it's the best chicken dish I've had in a long time.  Honestly!  The thighs got so moist and juicy.  They just sucked up all the lemon and garlic while it roasted in the oven and then again as it quickly browned on the grill.  The flavor was light and zesty and sweet.  The garlic, because of the roasting, was subtle, yet sweet.  The combination was perfect.  So now the goal here is to have you, my loyal reader, re-create this recipe and then pass it on to someone else...have them make it and then pass it on to someone else....and so on and so on.  So, are you up for the challenge?  If you do end up making it, drop me a line letting me know what you think.  If you make it and have a blog, please bog about it and encourage others to...Pass it On!

***Cooks Note:  My mom asked me if you could use chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs...and yes, I believe chicken breasts would work just fine....but you are going to want to make sure it's bone-in, skin on..because what the sauce does to the skin is what makes the dish.  If you choose to use chicken breasts, you are going to want to roast the chicken and garlic and lemon for at least an hour, depending on the size of the breasts.***

The Best Barbecued Sticky Chicken with Lemon & Garlic
Adapted from Jamie Oliver
Ingredients:
4-8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
kosher salt and ground pepper
extra virgin olive oil
1 small bulb of garlic, whole
2 lemons
5 sprigs of rosemary, tied together

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Use a double layer of aluminum foil and place the chicken into the middle of it with the garlic.  Cut one lemon in half and add that too.  Close up the foil and place on a baking sheet or in a shallow baking dish.  Place in the preheated oven and bake for 40 minutes.  Remove from oven.  (COOKS NOTE:  after further reviewing this recipe, you should actually put the bulb of garlic in the foil first, drizzle with oil, and let it roast about 15-20 minutes, THEN add the chicken and lemon to the foil, drizzle with more oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and allow to roast the 40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.)  

Preheat your grill to medium-high.

Carefully remove the garlic from the foil and squeeze the softened bulbs into a food processor.  (for an easy way of doing this, chop the root end part of the bulb off)  Remove the lemons and carefully squeeze the juice into the processor too.  Pulse a few times until the garlic is smashed.  Add about 2-4 Tablespoons of olive oil and pulse a few more times.  You should have a paste.  Add the juice of the other lemon and pulse to combine.

Place the chicken on the grill and baste with the sauce, turning at least twice for about 5-8 minutes or until the skin has browned.  Remove from grill with tongs and enjoy!

Special Weekend Post: Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

I don't know if any of you have noticed the link to Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution that has been added to my side bar, but if you haven't...now's the time to take note. 

Jamie Oliver, also know as the Naked Chef has started a campaign in America ...and the UK.  Jamie's challenge was to see if he could get a whole community cooking again. He worked with school lunch ladies and local families to get everyone back in the kitchen, making tasty meals with fresh ingredients – no packets, no cheating. He has started a Food Revolution: "to get people all over America to reconnect with their food and change the way they eat."

(That's Jamie...picture courtesy jamieolvier.com)

Now I'll admit to you, I knew of his "revolution", but had never seen the actual show.  I was shocked, though, to hear what Andrea (The Kitchen Witch) had to say about it...

"The show takes place in a small town in West Virginia in a town that's been identified as the "most unhealthy place in the world" based on CDC statistics. I've only seen the 1st episode of this program so far but it was very powerful. Poor Jamie, I don't think he really knew what he was getting into - this town has NOT welcomed him. In fact they are quite hostile towards him and his ideals. The saddest part of the show for me was when he brought a bunch of tomatoes into the lunch room and asked kids what they were. No kids could identify fresh tomatoes. One child got close, calling them potatoes. Close but no cigar."

Ouch!!  Well in addition to him trying to change the lunch program, he also has a "pass it on" pledge:  he will teach four people how to cook a dish...those four people will teach four more...and so on and so on.

So I'm joining Jamie's Food Revolution!  I would love to hook up with the pass it on week that Andrea and Megan at Tomato Tots are starting/participating in, but I will say that some of the dishes have things neither Chris or myself will eat.  So, I'm going to do things just a bit different and start my own pass it on month.  Each week, for a month, I will make a special recipe and ask that at least one of you recreate it and then pass it on to someone else.  If you have a blog, I ask that you then blog about it on your site too.  I'll use the freshest ingredients and I promise they will be tasty!  It's simple really....you gotta make dinner for the family, right?  Why not make something that is healthy and nutritious for your family.  If you are gonna spend time in the kitchen, might as well come out of it with something unforgettable, right?

Ok...so here we go...my first recipe will be Jamie Oliver's - the best barbecued sticky chicken with lemon and garlic.  I will make it tonight and post it on Monday.  Then it's up to you, my loyal readers, to "Pass It On".

Oh.. and in case you are interested, Jamie's show is on Friday nights on ABC 9pm/8 central.

Hoisin Chicken & Red Pepper Stir Fry

And yet another simple, speedy, week night meal idea!  Woohoo!  Ok, if you aren't a fan of stir fry this will not make you go woohoo, but if you are...go ahead.... give it a shot.... it feels good.... WOOHOO (In my best Homer Simpson impersonation)!!!  

Hoisin has become another ingredient I've been using a lot lately.  My theory is, if you have it on hand, use it...so I do.  And believe me, if I didn't love it, I wouldn't have it on hand!  It just brings this wonderful sweet, salty, flavor to dishes.  Now I have heard that some people think hoisin is very overpowering...and I guess it can be, in a way, but I never use it by itself, it's always diluted with other ingredients.  If you are unsure of it, add a little at a time.  That's always the best way to handle ingredients you are unsure of.  (because, class, what have I said before??  you can always add more, you can never take it away!!) 
   

Hoisin Chicken & Red Pepper Stir Fry
Ingredients:
For Marinade:
2 Tablespoons Hoisin sauce
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon Sriracha hot chili sauce

For sauce:
3/8 cup fat free, less sodium chicken broth
3 Tablespoons Hoisin sauce
2 Tablespoons raspberry preserves (you can use apricot too)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips or chunks)
1 red pepper, sliced
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions:
Combine ingredients for the marinade in a small bowl.  Place cut up chicken in Ziploc bag, pour marinade over, seal, and rub chicken to coat.  Marinate in refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Combine sauce ingredients together in a small bowl; set aside.

Heat vegetable oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat.  Add chicken and stir fry 2 minutes.  Add the red pepper and stir fry for 3 more minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink in the middle.  Reduce heat; carefully stir in the broth mixture.  Simmer for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce has thickened, stirring to coat.  Serve over rice.  Enjoy!

(Nutritional info: (does not include rice) 186 calories; 6g fat; 26g protein; 7g carbohydrates; 66mg cholesterol; 526mg sodium)

Chicken & Pasta with Creamy Pesto Sauce

First off....anyone here watch American Idol?  If not...skip to the next paragraph, if so... WTF???  What is wrong with America?  They vote big Mike off?  For real?  He's got such an amazingly strong voice.  Chris even picked him to be number 2!!!!  Ok, ok, the judges did vote to save him and keep him another week...but it makes me wonder about the state  of this country...when (sorry if this offends anyone, but it's got to be said) TIM gets more votes then Mike??  AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

Now... let's talk food:  What do you do with leftover pesto...if there is any?  Well, there are so many delicious ideas, like putting it on pizza, pasta, bruschetta, potatoes.....you can even freeze it.  This is a good thing if you have a lot of basil you are trying to find a use for.  Make the pesto and then pour it into ice cube trays and freeze them.  Once they are frozen you can take them out of the ice cube trays and put the cubes in a Ziploc bag.  It should keep up to 3-6 months.  Today, though, we're focusing on turning it into a creamy pesto sauce for pasta.  I'm a pasta girl, so my first choice for leftover pesto, is always pasta :)  It's the Italian in me, what can I say?

One thing I found out about pesto...the more it heats up, the darker it gets.  Fresh pesto has this great bright green color to it.  What I found out when I made the pesto topped fish the other night is that as it baked, the pesto became a dark green color.  It wasn't as if it tasted bad, but the look of it was not that appealing to the eye.  I feel a bit like a dork, because I knew this would happen...deep in my brain, I knew it...but still insisted on trying out the idea I had.  I'm telling you this because, A. it's just a good cooking tip, and, B. so that you make sure you add the pesto in this sauce at the last moment.  My goal here is to make sure you don't make the same mistakes I do.

Anyway.. this recipe was fantastic, if I do say so myself :)  If you are looking for a way to get rid of some leftover pesto, this is the recipe for you.  It's quick, simple, and tasty!

Chicken & Pasta with Creamy Pesto Sauce
Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
garlic powder
1/2 cup half & half
1/4 cup pesto (homemade or store bought)
2 oz. cream cheese
1/2 lb. Angel hair pasta (or dry pasta of your choice)

Directions:
Sprinkle both sides each piece of chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Grill or pan sear chicken until cooked through.  Set aside to cool a bit.  When cooled cut into strips or chunks.

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain.

Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan, heat the half and half and cream cheese until cheese is melted and the half and half is just heated through.  Remove from heat and stir in pesto.  Serve over chicken and pasta.  Enjoy!

Basil Pesto

Pesto... what an amazing little concoction.  There is a pizza place that's close to our house that we like to go to on occasion that has the most delicious pesto pizza I have ever had. We usually order it with bacon...mmmmmmm....what a great flavor combination.  Anyway, pesto is a pretty versatile sauce.  You can use it on pasta, pizza, potatoes, dips, you can even spread it on slices of toasted baguettes.  I actually used it to top baked tilapia, but it didn't turn out the way I wanted, so I'll hold of on that recipe for another time....plus that gives me another reason to make pesto again...YAY!!!

Basil Pesto
- makes 1 cup -
Ingredients:
2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts 
2 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.

Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Makes 1 cup.

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Before you go....check out Aggie's Kitchen blog.  She had a chili contest where I was a runner up :)  I know, I didn't win, but hey, my picture and name got on her site, so I FEEL like a winner, that's gotta count for something, right??!!  Check the site out, there are some really yummy chili recipes!  Thanks Aggie for hosting the contest!

Peanut Butter Ice Cream

After a pretty near disaster, I finally got this ice cream to turn out.  It was well worth what I went through.  Obviously, if you are not a fan of peanut butter (or ice cream for that matter) you are not going to like this...BUT...if you enjoy peanut butter as much as the next guy, you gotta try this!  It is SOOOOOOOOOOO yummy!  I could have eaten the entire thing the first night I made it, but since I no longer live alone and am worried Chris would think I had an eating disorder, or worse yet, that I was a pig, I restrained myself.....but BARELY!  This ice cream has the flavor of Reese's peanut butter.  Pour a little chocolate sauce over it and it's like a frozen Reese's.

Something I learned with this recipe.  Chill the ice cream mixture for as long as you can before you put it into the ice cream maker.  And by all means, make sure the bowl of your ice cream maker has been in the freezer for at least 24 hours.  If it's not frozen solid, this ice cream will not set.  I put it in the ice cream maker and let it go for almost an hour and the ice cream still wasn't setting.  I had to put the bowl of the maker in the freezer for a few hours, the put it back on the machine before it finally set for me.  So be patient with this PLEASE!!  You will not be sorry :)

One thing before I give you the recipe....Michelle over at All Home Cooking. All Year Long. is giving away a few really cool kitchen necessities.  I get extra entry points for talking about her here on my blog (I really want that bench scraper!!)...so go check her out.  I love her blog, she makes as much as she can from scratch...even her own vanilla extract!  While you're there.. enter for a chance to win one of her giveaway prizes!  Thanks Michelle...Happy Cooking/Baking!

Peanut Butter Ice Cream
Recipe courtesy of David Lebovitz by way of Smellslikehome.com
Ingredients:
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter (I used Jiff)
3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
2 2/3 cup half and half
pinch of salt
1/8 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Purée the peanut butter, sugar, half and half, salt, and vanilla in a blender or food processor until smooth.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. 

Sriracha Chicken Strips

Chris and I are kids at heart.  This meal, as Chris said, appealed to the "kids in us".  Nuggets and tater tots (that's right, I made them again.. and I'm not ashamed to admit it!!).  What kid would not like that?  Oh, and don't forget the corn, we make sure to have at least one veggie with our meal, we aren't savages, just kids :)

We do like hot stuff, though, that is for sure!  If you don't like spicy foods, you will not like this dish.  It's not TOO spicy, but it does have a kick from the chicken being marinated in the Sriracha hot chili sauce (another one of my favorite ingredients).  This is a pretty simple dish to throw together.  I made it a little less work because I cut the chicken into strips instead of nuggets like the recipe calls for.  You could cut even more time by not cutting the breasts up at all and just making sriracha chicken breasts.  The panko coating gets nice and crispy when you bake it.  The chicken comes out nice and moist.  It's the perfect combination!  (if you are new to my site and you are unfamiliar with sriracha, check out my post for Mongolian Beef where I talk about it)

Sriracha Chicken Strips
Adapted from Life's Ambrosia
Ingredients:
1/3 cup sriracha
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about a pound or a little more)
1 egg
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

In a bowl combine sriracha, rice vinegar and ginger. Stir in chicken pieces and coat completely. Cover and marinate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place baking sheet you will be using in oven as it preheats. (this will help keep the bottom of the fish crispy).  Spray a wire rack with cooking spray and set aside.

In one bowl beat an egg. In another bowl combine panko, kosher salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Remove chicken from marinade, dip into egg and then dredge into bread crumbs. Place breaded chicken on prepared wire rack. Repeat process until all chicken is coated.

Once all chicken is breaded bake for 20 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for 3 minutes, the bread crumbs will brown slightly.  Remove from oven, allow to cool slightly. Enjoy! 

Tarragon Tilapia

The night that I made this was one of those nights when I had planned on making one thing and by the time I got home from work, it just wasn't what I wanted.  On the fly, I came up with this recipe.  I have made something similar to this with chicken (so, my dear Aunt Pam & Aunt Debbie, you can swap out the fish with chicken..see, I love you!!) I threw the original recipe together one night when Chris wasn't around.  It was so good I wished he had been there to taste it, then I thought if he was, I would have had to share it and, well, I really wasn't in the mood for sharing (hehe)!!!  It was simple to make and oh so tasty!!  So, when I got home the other night, that recipe just happen to pop into my mind...I figured it worked so well with chicken, why not try it with fish... I'm figured right!!

Tarragon Tilapia
Ingredients:
Non-stick cooking spray
4 Tilapia (or other white fish) fillets
Salt & Pepper
1/2 cup low-fat sour cream
2 Tablespoons honey mustard (or Dijon mustard works just fine too)
1 teaspoon, plus 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon

Directions:
Lightly spray a non-stick skillet with cooking spray; place on medium heat until hot.  Sprinkle fish with salt, pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon tarragon on both sides.  Add the fish to the skillet and cook about 5-6 minutes on each side or until fish is cooked through.  Remove to a plate; keep warm.

Turn heat down to medium low.  Stir sour cream, mustard and tarragon into the pan.  Cook about 1-2 minutes or until the sauce is heated through.  Serve sauce over fish and enjoy!

(Nutritional Info for 1 fillet - NO sauce:  100 calories; 1g fat; 21g protein; 55mg cholesterol; 100mg sodium)

Strawberry Chicken

When I saw this recipe on Andrea The Kitchen Witch's website, I immediately thought of summer.  And boy is it beginning to look a lot like summer here...or should I say it's beginning to feel a lot like summer.  The other day we reached our highest temperature of the year so far...88 degrees Fahrenheit.  Don't worry folks, it will be 110 in no time...YIPPY!

Anyway, we were talking summer.. yes, summer and strawberries and Andrea's strawberry chicken recipe.  I love Andrea's blog.  She makes some really amazingly wonderful recipes.  She is dedicated to making her family the heathiest, wholest foods she can. She cooks with out processed foods and makes as much as she can from scratch.  She conjures up some amazing spells in her kitchen.  This recipe is one of many.

Even Chris, who was a bit hesitant about it at first, loved it.  It was so light and fresh and sweet and savory.  Andrea cooked her chicken in a cast iron pan (God love her for her love for cast iron!) but since this dish was so summery to me, I decided to grill it.  I have a feeling that either way, the dish is going to be a hit in your house.

Strawberry Chicken

Recipe courtesy of Andrea, The Kitchen Witch
Serves 2
Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
1 Tablespoons soy sauce
juice and zest of 1 lime, divided
2 green onions
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 pinches kosher salt
few grinds black pepper
1/2 lb strawberries (about 4-5 per person)
1 teaspoon honey

Directions:
Mix lime 1/2 the zest and juice, soy, salt, pepper, onions, garlic and ginger together. Pour over chicken and allow to marinate for 1 hour.

Hull strawberries and dice berries into 1/2 in pieces. Make a dressing for berries out of remaining lime zest and juice and a drizzle of agave nectar (about 1/2 t). Pour dressing over diced berries, stir well to coat. Allow fruit to macerate (fancy word for marinating fruit) while chicken cooks. 

Cook chicken in a heavy bottom pan or on a preheated grill for about 5-7 minutes on 1st side or until deeply golden browned and edges are opaque. Flip chicken, cook on 2nd side until internal temp is 160*. Serve and enjoy (and you will, don't worry)!