I put this dish on the menu because my cilantro plant had been thriving. Notice I said "had been thriving." When I went outside to clip some cilantro, I realized my once thriving plant was barely clinging to life. I managed to snip enough cilantro to make this dish, but I think my cilantro plant has finally succumbed to the extreme heat we've been dealing with. And that's a shame because this dinner was fantastic. I can't wait to make it again, even if I have to buy cilantro from the grocery store. (My herb garden is on hold until the weather turns slightly cooler.)
My version of the recipe is below. I did not serve it over cabbage. Instead I threw in some steamed broccoli when I added the soy sauce mixture. I also left out the peanuts, and I don't think I was missing anything.
Cilantro Chicken
8 ounces skinless, boneless chicken-breast halves, cut into 1-inch strips
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Steamed broccoli, optional
3/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
cooked brown rice, if desired
1. In a medium nonstick skillet, cook chicken in oil over medium-high heat 3 to 4 minutes, or until chicken is tender and no longer pink.
2. Mix together soy sauce, vinegar and red pepper flakes. Add to skillet with broccoli, if using. Cook and stir 1 minute more.
3. Remove from heat. Stir in cilantro. Serve over rice if desired.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Crockpot Mexican Chicken
Since I had just made a fresh batch of tortillas, I needed something to stuff them with. This Mexican Chicken fit the bill. Of course, I did make a few changes. I substituted a sweet potato for the butternut squash and left out the rice. I served the chicken with the tortillas and corn on the cob.
Crockpot Mexican Chicken
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into 1- inch pieces
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (frozen is okay)
1 can (14.5 oz) stewed tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup salsa
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1. Place chicken in bottom of crockpot. Add sweet potato and green pepper.
2. Mix together tomatoes, salsa, cinnamon and cumin. Pour over everything in crockpot.
3. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-7. When chicken is done, use two forks to shred the chicken. Mix well.
4. Serve chicken in tortillas if desired.
Crockpot Mexican Chicken
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into 1- inch pieces
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (frozen is okay)
1 can (14.5 oz) stewed tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup salsa
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1. Place chicken in bottom of crockpot. Add sweet potato and green pepper.
2. Mix together tomatoes, salsa, cinnamon and cumin. Pour over everything in crockpot.
3. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-7. When chicken is done, use two forks to shred the chicken. Mix well.
4. Serve chicken in tortillas if desired.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Mexican Tortillas
Last month we took a fabulous vacation to the Cancun area of Mexico. We stayed at an all-inclusive, but we did venture off the resort one day to one of the new wonders of the world, Chichen Itza. It was an amazing experience, and something I highly recommend you see if you vacation in the area. Our tour included lunch at a local restaurant where I ate the best meal of my vacation. The food at the resort was good, but didn't seem very authentic. This meal on the other hand seemed like authentic Yucatan food. The servers brought around baskets of tortillas which tasted nothing like the packaged ones I buy in the store.
Those tortillas inspired me to try my hand at making my own from scratch. I've made these twice now, and they were unbelievably good both times. I don't know if I will ever buy tortillas again. I did make a few changes from the original recipe. I used less whole wheat flour and more bread flour only because I couldn't find any whole wheat bread flour in the stores. I also swapped out the shortening for oil. My dough was a little sticky, so I added more flour (which I didn't measure). I just eyeballed it until the dough came together in a ball. I used the Kitchenaid dough hook to mix and knead the dough. Also, one time I fried the tortillas in oil--not the healthiest option, I know--and we liked those slightly better. They were more flavorful of course, because they were more fattening! Now I just need to perfect my dough rolling technique. My tortillas were shaped more like footballs than circles.
Mexican Tortillas
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1-1/3 cup bread flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 TBL + 2 tsp canola oil
1/2 cup boiling water (might need to add a little more to get dough to come together)
flour for rolling
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix together the flours and salt. Make a well in the center and add the oil and boiling water. Mix until all the liquid is evenly incorporated. Sprinkle with a bit of additional flour, and knead until the dough does not stick to your fingers. The dough should be smooth.
2. Make balls the size of golf balls, about 2 ounces each. Place them on a tray, and cover with a cloth. Let stand for at least 1 hour, or up to 8 hours.
3. Heat a griddle or large frying pan over high heat. On a lightly floured surface, roll out a tortilla to your preferred thinness. Fry one at a time. Place on the griddle for 10 seconds, as soon as you see a bubble on the top, flip the tortilla over. Let it cook for about 30 seconds, then flip and cook the other side for another 30 seconds. Roll out the next tortilla while you wait for that one to cook. Repeat until all of the balls have been cooked.
Those tortillas inspired me to try my hand at making my own from scratch. I've made these twice now, and they were unbelievably good both times. I don't know if I will ever buy tortillas again. I did make a few changes from the original recipe. I used less whole wheat flour and more bread flour only because I couldn't find any whole wheat bread flour in the stores. I also swapped out the shortening for oil. My dough was a little sticky, so I added more flour (which I didn't measure). I just eyeballed it until the dough came together in a ball. I used the Kitchenaid dough hook to mix and knead the dough. Also, one time I fried the tortillas in oil--not the healthiest option, I know--and we liked those slightly better. They were more flavorful of course, because they were more fattening! Now I just need to perfect my dough rolling technique. My tortillas were shaped more like footballs than circles.
Mexican Tortillas
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1-1/3 cup bread flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 TBL + 2 tsp canola oil
1/2 cup boiling water (might need to add a little more to get dough to come together)
flour for rolling
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix together the flours and salt. Make a well in the center and add the oil and boiling water. Mix until all the liquid is evenly incorporated. Sprinkle with a bit of additional flour, and knead until the dough does not stick to your fingers. The dough should be smooth.
2. Make balls the size of golf balls, about 2 ounces each. Place them on a tray, and cover with a cloth. Let stand for at least 1 hour, or up to 8 hours.
3. Heat a griddle or large frying pan over high heat. On a lightly floured surface, roll out a tortilla to your preferred thinness. Fry one at a time. Place on the griddle for 10 seconds, as soon as you see a bubble on the top, flip the tortilla over. Let it cook for about 30 seconds, then flip and cook the other side for another 30 seconds. Roll out the next tortilla while you wait for that one to cook. Repeat until all of the balls have been cooked.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Chipotle Pork--2 Ways
I used to shun recipes that had chipotle peppers in them, thinking they were too spicy for my tastebuds. Then one day I broke down and bought a can of chipotles in adobo sauce. I was hooked. I loved the smoky flavor. Yes, they can pack a punch. Make sure you remove the seeds when you use them. Since one can contains way more peppers than I would use in one recipe, I freeze the remaining peppers and sauce in ice cube trays, pop out when frozen and store them in a Ziploc. Then I can just defrost what I need. I had bookmarked two recipes that would help me use up my stock of chipotle peppers. Both were excellent, and I can't decide which one I like better. I used boneless pork loin chops, but I'm sure they would be good with chicken as well.
Orange and Chipotle Pork Kabobs
1/2 C orange juice
1 T light brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 chipotle peppers in adobo, seeds removed, peppers minced
1 T vegetable oil
2 boneless pork loin chops, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 onion, cut into chunks
1 orange, cut into wedges
1. Mix together orange juice, sugar, garlic, peppers, and oil in a ziploc bag. Add pork to bag and turn so meat is fully coated in marinade. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.
2. Heat grill to medium. Remove pork from marinade. Discard marinade. Thread pork, onions and oranges onto skewers. Cook kabobs, turning often, 10-12 minutes or until pork is fully cooked.
The second recipe came from Prevention magazine. The online version is slightly different from the print version I followed. The recipe with my changes is below.
Mexican Pork Tenderloin
1/2 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 chipotle peppers in adobo, finely chopped and seeds removed
3 TBLSP cider vinegar
2 TBLSP lime juice
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp canola oil
1 tsp chopped fresh oregano
2 boneless pork loin chops
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1. In a dry skillet, cook the onion and garlic over medium-high heat for 7 minutes. Puree in a food processor with the chile peppers, vinegar, lime juice, sugar, oil, and oregano. Reserve half of the mixture and place in a separate container from the pork. Place the pork in a shallow dish and cover with the remaining mixture. Cover and marinate overnight.
2. Preheat grill to high heat. In a small bowl, combine cumin and pepper.
3. Remove pork from marinade; discard marinade. Rub pork with cumin mixture.
4. Grill pork for 10 minutes over high heat. Lower heat to medium. Baste pork with reserved pepper and onion mixture. Grill pork for 10 more minutes over medium heat, or until cooked through. Serve.
I served this with the side dish from Prevention magazine too: Grilled Corn with Lime and Red Pepper. Even though I used frozen corn on the cob (no idea why that was in my freezer!), it was still really good.
Grilled Corn with Lime and Red Pepper
2 ears of corn on the cob, husked
olive oil spray
red pepper
salt
lime, cut in quarters
1. Bring large pot of water to a boil and preheat grill to medium high.
2. Boil corn 5 minutes and remove to plate. Coat lightly with olive oil spray and grill 10 minutes, turning every 2 minutes.
3. Combine salt and pepper in small bowl. When corn is done, rub each ear with lime wedge and sprinkle with salt and pepper mixture.
Orange and Chipotle Pork Kabobs
1/2 C orange juice
1 T light brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 chipotle peppers in adobo, seeds removed, peppers minced
1 T vegetable oil
2 boneless pork loin chops, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 onion, cut into chunks
1 orange, cut into wedges
1. Mix together orange juice, sugar, garlic, peppers, and oil in a ziploc bag. Add pork to bag and turn so meat is fully coated in marinade. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.
2. Heat grill to medium. Remove pork from marinade. Discard marinade. Thread pork, onions and oranges onto skewers. Cook kabobs, turning often, 10-12 minutes or until pork is fully cooked.
The second recipe came from Prevention magazine. The online version is slightly different from the print version I followed. The recipe with my changes is below.
Mexican Pork Tenderloin
1/2 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 chipotle peppers in adobo, finely chopped and seeds removed
3 TBLSP cider vinegar
2 TBLSP lime juice
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp canola oil
1 tsp chopped fresh oregano
2 boneless pork loin chops
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1. In a dry skillet, cook the onion and garlic over medium-high heat for 7 minutes. Puree in a food processor with the chile peppers, vinegar, lime juice, sugar, oil, and oregano. Reserve half of the mixture and place in a separate container from the pork. Place the pork in a shallow dish and cover with the remaining mixture. Cover and marinate overnight.
2. Preheat grill to high heat. In a small bowl, combine cumin and pepper.
3. Remove pork from marinade; discard marinade. Rub pork with cumin mixture.
4. Grill pork for 10 minutes over high heat. Lower heat to medium. Baste pork with reserved pepper and onion mixture. Grill pork for 10 more minutes over medium heat, or until cooked through. Serve.
I served this with the side dish from Prevention magazine too: Grilled Corn with Lime and Red Pepper. Even though I used frozen corn on the cob (no idea why that was in my freezer!), it was still really good.
Grilled Corn with Lime and Red Pepper
2 ears of corn on the cob, husked
olive oil spray
red pepper
salt
lime, cut in quarters
1. Bring large pot of water to a boil and preheat grill to medium high.
2. Boil corn 5 minutes and remove to plate. Coat lightly with olive oil spray and grill 10 minutes, turning every 2 minutes.
3. Combine salt and pepper in small bowl. When corn is done, rub each ear with lime wedge and sprinkle with salt and pepper mixture.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Summertime Grilled Chicken
There is a little elf at work who keeps bringing in bags and bags of mangos and leaving them in the lunch room for everyone to help themselves to. I am forever grateful to this person, because without their generosity, I never would have been introduced to the wonders of mango salsa. First, I made grilled pork chops with mango salsa. Then I made grilled fish with mango salsa. Tonight, I made my favorite protein--chicken--with mango salsa. I marinated the chicken in a combination of citrus juices and various spices. While the chicken was delicious on its own, the mango salsa really made it special. This was a perfect summertime dinner.
Citrus Chicken Breasts
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/2 TBLSP brown sugar
1 TBLSP canola oil
1 TBLSP lime juice
1/8 cup orange juice
2 chicken breasts
1. Combine all ingredients in a plastic bag or glass bowl. Coat chicken with mixture. Marinate in refrigerator for 30 minutes to 2 hours.
2. Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Remove chicken from marinade, discard marinade. Grill chicken, turning often, for 12-15 minutes until cooked through. Serve chicken with mango salsa.
Mango Salsa
1 mango, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 TBLSP lime juice
1 TBLSP red wine vinegar
2 TBLSP olive oil
chopped, fresh cilantro
dash of hot pepper sauce
1. Mix all ingredients together. Cover and let stand for 30 minutes to allow flavors to blend.
Citrus Chicken Breasts
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/2 TBLSP brown sugar
1 TBLSP canola oil
1 TBLSP lime juice
1/8 cup orange juice
2 chicken breasts
1. Combine all ingredients in a plastic bag or glass bowl. Coat chicken with mixture. Marinate in refrigerator for 30 minutes to 2 hours.
2. Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Remove chicken from marinade, discard marinade. Grill chicken, turning often, for 12-15 minutes until cooked through. Serve chicken with mango salsa.
Mango Salsa
1 mango, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 TBLSP lime juice
1 TBLSP red wine vinegar
2 TBLSP olive oil
chopped, fresh cilantro
dash of hot pepper sauce
1. Mix all ingredients together. Cover and let stand for 30 minutes to allow flavors to blend.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Contradicting Myself
So in one post, I'm on my soapbox about eating healthy and avoiding processed foods. Then in the next post, I'm presenting you with a dessert recipe made with a convenience item. I can't say much in my defense aside from the fact that I have a sweet tooth. Actually, not only did this satisfy my sweet tooth, it served as part of my use it up challenge. I liked this, but since I don't plan on buying Bisquick in the future, I searched for an alternative and found this. If I use it, I'll let you know how it turns out. I found the cake to be very sweet. If there is a next time, I will cut back on the sugar in the topping mix. I've made the change below.
Chocolate Chip Crater Cake
2 cups all-purpose biscuit baking mix
1/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
TOPPING MIX
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose biscuit baking mix
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1. Mix all topping mix ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 8-inch square baking pan.
3. Combine biscuit mix, sugar, milk, egg and vanilla in large bowl; beat on low speed of mixer until moistened. Increase speed to medium; beat 2 minutes until smooth. Pour half of batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips over batter. Top with remaining batter, completely covering chips. Sprinkle topping mix evenly over batter.
4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until top springs back when touched lightly. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.*
*I liked this served warm with a scoop of ice cream on top.
Bisquick Substitute
1 cup flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon shortening (or butter?)
1. Mix all dry ingredients together. Cut in butter/shortening using a pastry blender. Makes 1 cup of Bisquick equivalent. Store in the refrigerator.
Chocolate Chip Crater Cake
2 cups all-purpose biscuit baking mix
1/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
TOPPING MIX
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose biscuit baking mix
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1. Mix all topping mix ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 8-inch square baking pan.
3. Combine biscuit mix, sugar, milk, egg and vanilla in large bowl; beat on low speed of mixer until moistened. Increase speed to medium; beat 2 minutes until smooth. Pour half of batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips over batter. Top with remaining batter, completely covering chips. Sprinkle topping mix evenly over batter.
4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until top springs back when touched lightly. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.*
*I liked this served warm with a scoop of ice cream on top.
Bisquick Substitute
1 cup flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon shortening (or butter?)
1. Mix all dry ingredients together. Cut in butter/shortening using a pastry blender. Makes 1 cup of Bisquick equivalent. Store in the refrigerator.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Starting from Scratch
I mentioned yesterday how I am challenging myself to use up the random bits of food in my pantry and freezer. My reasons for that challenge are twofold: one to save money and two to become a more creative/adventurous cook. Once I use up some of the convenience foods I have in the house, I hope to not buy them again. Instead, I'd like to try my hand at making more things from scratch. Obviously the more foods I make from scratch, the more money I'll save and the more aware I'll be of what I'm actually putting in my body. I do have a few convenience type items that I'm considering just throwing away because they're not that healthy (Bisquick, I'm looking at you.).
Chicken stock is one of those items that I used to buy without really thinking. I'd buy the low sodium variety because it's healthier. But have you actually ever read the label? It still contains way more sodium than a human being needs. Once I made a whole roasted chicken, I decided I would try to make my own chicken stock. I saved the chicken carcass in the freezer until I had the time to let this simmer for a good chunk of the day.
Honestly, this was so simple (and cheap), that I don't know if I will ever buy chicken stock again. I got about 6 cups of stock out of my chicken and they are lined up in the freezer waiting for me. I can't wait to use them in my cooking because judging from the little bit that I taste tested, this is really good.
I looked at a number of recipes to get ideas, but this is really my own creation. I didn't want to use strong flavors since I plan to use this in cooking. You can season it with anything you'd like.
Chicken Stock
1 chicken carcass with some meat still left on the bones
water, enough to cover carcass in pot
1 onion, quartered
2 stalks of celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
bay leaf
dash salt
dash pepper
1. Place chicken carcass in a stockpot. Add enough water to just cover carcass. Cover pot.
2. Bring to a boil and then simmer over medium heat for one hour.
3. Skim any fat from the top of the broth. Add remaining ingredients and continue simmering for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove pot from heat and allow to cool uncovered for 30 minutes to an hour.
5. Strain stock into storage containers. Refrigerate overnight, skim the fat from the top and freeze if not using immediately.
Chicken stock is one of those items that I used to buy without really thinking. I'd buy the low sodium variety because it's healthier. But have you actually ever read the label? It still contains way more sodium than a human being needs. Once I made a whole roasted chicken, I decided I would try to make my own chicken stock. I saved the chicken carcass in the freezer until I had the time to let this simmer for a good chunk of the day.
Honestly, this was so simple (and cheap), that I don't know if I will ever buy chicken stock again. I got about 6 cups of stock out of my chicken and they are lined up in the freezer waiting for me. I can't wait to use them in my cooking because judging from the little bit that I taste tested, this is really good.
I looked at a number of recipes to get ideas, but this is really my own creation. I didn't want to use strong flavors since I plan to use this in cooking. You can season it with anything you'd like.
Chicken Stock
1 chicken carcass with some meat still left on the bones
water, enough to cover carcass in pot
1 onion, quartered
2 stalks of celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
bay leaf
dash salt
dash pepper
1. Place chicken carcass in a stockpot. Add enough water to just cover carcass. Cover pot.
2. Bring to a boil and then simmer over medium heat for one hour.
3. Skim any fat from the top of the broth. Add remaining ingredients and continue simmering for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove pot from heat and allow to cool uncovered for 30 minutes to an hour.
5. Strain stock into storage containers. Refrigerate overnight, skim the fat from the top and freeze if not using immediately.
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