Product Review

Fresh and Easy's Butternut Squash Ravioli
Fresh and Easy is one of my favorite grocery stores. There is one pretty close to my house so I dropped by today and picked up these butternut squash ravioli. These cook up in 3 to 4 minutes and done. I fried some bacon and melted some butter and tossed everything together and topped with Parmesan cheese. The filling is pretty sweet but also cheesey. The bacon gave a nice contrast to the sweetness and also added some texture. Overall I liked these.

Creamy Chicken Piccata

Sorry for another bad picture. I have never made chicken piccata. I love it but have never made it. I got a dozen home grown lemons from a friend. I needed to find things to do with them because they were so good and fragrant. I have everything to make this recipe except the capers and chicken stock. I left the capers out because we don't really care for them. I had heavy cream and figured I could make it work. I noted my changes in red.

Source: Giada De Laurentiis

2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied and then cut in half
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper (I used kosher salt)
All-purpose flour, for dredging
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chicken stock (I used heavy cream)
2 cloves crushed garlic
1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed (left out)
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped (left out but if I had some I would use it)

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess. In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate. Melt 2 more tablespoons butter and add another 2 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the other 2 pieces of chicken and brown both sides in same manner. Remove pan from heat and add chicken to the plate. Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock (I added the cream and garlic here) and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Check for seasoning. Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.

Pioneer Woman Pork Chops

I have never been great with cooking pork. Seems like I always over cook it. This recipe is really easy and the pork is perfectly cooked. Mike said they taste close to his dad's which, to me, is a great compliment.

Source: Pioneer Woman

7 pieces Or 8 Pieces Breakfast Chops (very Thin Bone-in Pork Chops)
1 cup All-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Seasoned Salt
1 teaspoon Black Pepper Cayenne Pepper To Taste
½ cups Canola Oil
1 Tablespoon Butter Extra Salt And Pepper, To Taste

Rinse pork chops. Salt and pepper both sides of the pork chops. Combine all dry ingredients. Dredge each side of the pork chops in the flour mixture, then set aside on a plate. Heat canola oil over medium to medium-high heat. Add butter. When butter is melted and butter/oil mixture is hot, cook 3 pork chops at a time, 2 to 3 minutes on the first side; 1 to 2 minutes on the other side. (Make sure no pink juices remain.) Remove to a plate and repeat with remaining porch chops.

Chicken Satay

Chicken satay is one of our favorite when we go to Thai food. I found this recipe at Big Red Kitchen. It was easy and a good fix for when we crave satay at home.

Source: Big Red Kitchen

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced in long thin strips
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 T. Asian chili sauce or more to taste (I use Sriracha)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro leaves
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 green onions, white & green parts, sliced thin
1 recipe Satay Sauce

Combine the soy sauce, oil, chili sauce, brown sugar, cilantro, garlic, and green onions in a large bowl. Add long strips of the chicken and toss well. Marinate in the refrigerator for one hour. Thread each strip on to a 6 inch wooden skewer. Heat a greased cooktop grill to med-high heat and cook chicken for about 2-3 minutes on each side. You may grill these the same way on an outdoor grill. Serve with Satay Sauce. Serves 6.

Satay Sauce
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup water, hot
1 T. soy sauce
2 T. lime juice, about 1 lime
2 T. Asian chili sauce or Sriracha
1 T. brown sugar
1/2-1 t. curry powder
1 clove garlic , minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 teaspoon)
1 T. chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 green onions, white and green parts, sliced thin

Whisk the peanut butter and hot water together in a medium bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Transfer to a small serving bowl, and put aside to use for dipping the finished chicken.

Ham and Jarlsberg Quiche

I recently had the pleasure of eating a brunch with my sister and my mom, for a little baby shower brunch. It was a surprise to my sister and we got her good! We ate at a place called High Hand Conservatory

If you live near or are visiting near Sacramento, CA make sure to stop by High Hand. It was the best food I had had in a very long time. They also have a nursery you can visit, which we did, that had some great looking plants and flowers.

So I ordered the ham and Jarlsberg quiche. I had never had Jarlsberg cheese but I am glad I did! It was delicious. It also had rosemary sprinkled on top which I had never thought of with eggs but will be doing from now on on a regular basis. So when I got home from my trip I wanted to recreate this quiche for Mike. I think I did well.

1 refrigerated pie crust
6 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1 pound ham or any meat you like
1 cup Jarlsberg cheese- shredded
1/2 tablespoon rosemary

Preheat oven to 425. Place the pie crust in a 9 inch pie pan. Pierce crust with fork for vents. Bake for 8 mins. While the crust is baking beat eggs and heavy cream together. Once the crust is out of the oven place the ham in the pie crust. Sprinkle about 3/4 of the cheese over ham. Pour egg mixture over ham and cheese. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Sprinkle rosemary evenly over the top of the cheese. Bake at 425 for 15 mins then at 350 for 15 mins or until the eggs are set.

Parmesan Roasted Green Beans

Working on getting more vegetables in our meals. This recipe makes it easy. I love green beans and parmesan cheese so this recipe is perfect. Next time I might leave them in for a little longer than 10 minutes, just so they get a little softer.

Source: Tyler Florence

1 pound thin green beans
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Trim off the tough end of the beans and arrange the beans on a nonstick cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil season with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top and bake until the cheese melts and forms a crisp shell over the beans, about 10 minutes. Let the beans sit a few minutes for the cheese to cool slightly. Lift the beans out onto a platter and serve.

Product Review

I recently saw the new Giada De Laurentiis brand of pots, pans, pasta sauce, olive oil and just about all things cooking at Target. I picked up a jar of the pasta sauce to give it a try. It is really good for jarred pasta sauce. We tried the tomato basil and I was surprised to see actual pieces of basil in the sauce. For $2.99 this is definetly a good buy!

Chinese Beef & Broccoli

Sorry for the blurry picture. This is a super easy and extra tasty beef and broccoli recipe. The broccoli is nice and tender but still have a bit of crunch, which I love. The beef is perfect! I make this about twice a month, maybe more.

Source: The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook

3/4 pound flank or sirloin, sliced thinly across the grain
3/4 pound broccoli florets
2 tablespoons high-heat cooking oil
2 cloves garlic, very finely minced or smushed through garlic smusher
1 teaspoon cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

For the beef marinade
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 cup chicken broth

Marinate the beef: Stir together the beef marinade ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the beef slices and stir until coated. Let stand for 10 minutes In a small bowl stir together the sauce ingredients. In a large saute pan add 1 inch of water and bring to a boil. Add the broccoli and cover to steam for 3 minutes. Drain. Heat a large frying pan or wok over high heat. Add the cooking oil and swirl to coat. Add the beef and immediately spread the beef out all over the surface of the wok or pan in a single layer (preferably not touching). Let the beef fry undisturbed for 1 minute. Flip the beef slices over, add the garlic to the pan and fry for an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute until no longer pink, Pour in the sauce, add the broccoli and bring to a boil. Pour in the dissolved cornstarch and cook, stirring, until the sauce boils and thickens, 30 seconds. Serve over rice.

Homemade chicken soup

This picture is strange. I have no idea why. This soup however is yummy! Mike loves soup so I thought I would make a big pot of chicken noodle. This was very simple. I made a few changes to the original recipe.

Source: The Foodie Fashionista

1 (3 pound) roasting chicken
5 large carrots, chopped
4 large celery stalks with leaves, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 parsnip, sliced in half vertically
1 turnip, sliced in half
5 garlic cloves, peeled
several sprigs of parsley and dill
10-12 cups cold water
salt and pepper to taste
4 ounces pasta (optional)
cheesecloth

Place chicken, vegetables, and herbs in a large stockpot. Add enough cold water to cover all the contents of the pot. Bring to a boil and turn down to simmer; cover pot, but vent to allow steam to escape. Simmer for about 90 minutes.After 90 minutes, remove chicken from the soup. Remove as much meat as possible and discard skin and bones. Remove turnip and parsnip and discard. Find garlic cloves (they should be floating near the top) and smash them against the side of the pot and mix the smashed garlic into the soup. Add chicken meat back to soup; season with salt and pepper. Add pasta and bring back to a boil; boil until pasta is cooked through. (I cooked the pasta separate and added in). Remove pot from heat and cover top surface of soup with cheesecloth. Push cloth down into soup until it sits just below the surface. Allow to cool completely, preferably overnight. Slowly lift cheesecloth up, separating the fat from the top surface of the soup. Reheat to serve.

Crock pot Pot Roast

My undying love for my crock pot is going strong. Mike loves pot roast and I have never made one. This was super easy and very yummy.

1 beef roast
1 bag a baby carrots or a few carrots cut up
4 potatoes peeled and cut up
1 envelope onion soup mix

Place roast in crock pot. Sprinkle onion soup mix over meat on all sides. Wrap carrots and potatoes in foil, season with salt and pepper or seasoning you like. Place foil wrapped veggies on top of roast. Cook for 8 hours on low. Remove foil wrapped veggies, plate and enjoy.

Salsa Chicken

This recipe is super easy and really good. Gotta love the crock pot! You can serve it over rice, in a burrito or a taco. We made fried corn tortilla tacos...SO good! Best homemade tacos ever!

4 chicken breast (you can use more or less just adjust the salsa accordingly)
1 1/2 cups salsa (I used this recipe)

You can also add drained black beans or frozen corn kernels.

Place chicken and salsa (and any add ins) in crock pot and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Shred chicken and enjoy!

Homemade salsa

I love restaurant salsa, so does Mike. I have never been able to make it just right. It is always too chunky. This version turned out perfect! I will never buy salsa again! You can adjust the recipe to your liking.

28 oz can (or 2 14.5 cans) diced fire roasted tomatoes
half an onion
1 jalapeno
1 Serrano chili
1 bunch cilantro leaves
4 cloves garlic
lime juice
chili powder
salt
lime juice
pinch of sugar

Using a food processor blend tomatoes, onion, jalapeno, Serrano chili, cilantro leaves, and garlic until smooth. Add lime juice, chili powder and salt to taste. Add a pinch of sugar. The longer it sits together the better it gets.