Chipotle Rice Bowls

Chipotle Rice Bowls 

Lime rice: 1 cup basmati rice to 2 cups water, simmer 20 minutes till water is absorbed then add zest of 1 lime and juice of ½ lime

Black beans

Roasted corn

Sliced black olives

Chop to approx. size of corn and beans:

Orange pepper

Grape tomatoes

Red onion

Avocado

Romaine lettuce, 1 large or 2 small

Juice of ½ lime

Toss together and the dress with:

1.5 oz. Ranch dressing mixed with 1 crushed clove garlic, cumin, smoked paprika

Put rice in bottom of bowl and then top with veges.

Would also be good wrapped in a flour tortilla as a vege burrito.

Pickled Beets

And pink pee.

I won't post a picture of the pee.

Beets seems to be a great divider.
People love them or hate them.

I love them.

Pickling them is super easy.
First roast them, whole or, if they are huge,
cut into halves or quarters.
Place them on a big piece of foil, drizzle with
olive oil along with a quartered red onion
scrunch up the packet and roast at
350 degrees for about an hour.
You want them to get tender.
Then let them cool a bit and peel and slice.

While the beets  are roasting
combine
1 cup apple cider vinegar,
1 cup water and
1 cup sugar
in a sauce pan.
Bring the mixture up to a boil
and then let it simmer for 5 minutes.

Allow the liquid to cool before pouring over sliced beets.

I like them to sit for a bout a week before I start digging in.
And peeing pink.

Chimichurri

Every which way but loose.

So, I started out with equal parts cilantro and parsley.

Chopped it up and set some aside for the potatoes.

The I added, 

2T red wine vinegar

3 cloves garlic,

1/2t red pepper flakes,

1/2t oregano,

salt and pepper

and spun it with 1/4 cup olive oil.

Put that on top of pork tenderloin medallions.

(or a shoe)

Next, add some cut up avocado and put that

on some thick tomato slices and 

WALA!

Chimichurri 

every which way but loose.

It's not often I name a meal.

PS, the one item not 

chimichurri-ized was that

delicata squash.

Not sure it could have saved it. 

Not a fan.

BACON JAM!!!

If anything could make me open this little 

site back up, those two words can.

And did.

And it has been so long, sadly, since I have been in

Blog mindset, that I didn't take a picture

of the final product.

I hang my head in shame.

But this was sooo stinkin' good

and I put it on grilled cheese sandwiches that

I baked!

With three cheeses!

Including Bree!

I gotta share:

The Jam

1 pound bacon cut into 3/4 inch pieces

1 1/2 cups diced onions

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 T. Dijon mustard

In a large heavy pot, cook the bacon till browned and crisp.

Drain on a paper towel. 

Reserve 1 T. of the grease and cook the onion in it

until soft (about 8 min.)

Add 

water,

syrup,

vinegar,

brown sugar

and Dijon.

Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer, add the bacon back in 

and cook, stirring occasionally until thickened.

1-2 hours.

Once it's all nice and thick (mine took all of 2 hours!)

break down mixture with food processor or

immersion blender to get it top a spreadable consistency.

WALA!

You can spread it on a shoe, 

or on toast with a poached egg, 

or on incredible grilled cheese sandwiches.

Here's how to make multiple 

grilled cheese sandwiches at once

AND

have the center get all melty.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

assemble sandwiches as you would to grill them, 

butter and all, 

place on a cookie sheet

and bake 6 minutes,

flip

cook 6 more minutes and

WALA!!

You are welcome.

Cilantro Lime Tilapia

I have found that Tilapia and Salmon

are crazy easy fish to cook

but there is precious little you do to 

alter the fish itself.

Most of the variety in the dishes come from

the side you serve it with or a sauce.

My tried and true method of cooking

both fish is:

brush both sides with oil

(olive or grape seed)

salt and pepper

put under broiler set on low

cook for 8 minutes.

Perfect every time.

No need to flip, just sometimes 

I will turn the pan 1/2 a turn.

I have tried dusting the fish with some other

spices and that usually works nicely.

If I'm doing Mexican I'll dust it with

cumin, 

smokey paprika

or some chiplotle chili powder.

I think some Garam Masala

for Indian flavor would be good.

The only things I would stay away from 

would be the "leafy" dried spices.

I think they would burn.

I have found a new to me blog

that is proving to be a great source of ideas.

Food Faith Fitness

Here is the link to the recipe

http://www.foodfaithfitness.com/cilantro-time-tilapia/

Note:

I cooked the fish by my method

and Honey felt the lime was a bit over powering

so maybe cut it by half.

It's 

TILAPIA,

Shanna.

;)

Bacon Granola

Duh!

Why wouldn't you?

I found a recipe for this but I actually like my

own granola concoction better. 

But the addition of bacon can only help, 

right?

Here is my granola formula:

 3 cups of old fashion oats

2 cups of chopped nuts

1 cup coconut

1/4 cup ground flax seed

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup agave

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. cinnamon

And here's where it gets fun, 

chop some bacon and cook it till almost crisp, 

it's going to crisp up while it cooks in the granola.

Mix the bacon in with the granola, 

spread on 2 baking sheets

and bake at 250 degrees

for about 1.5 hours, turning

every 15 minutes till golden. 

Once it's out of the oven add any dried fruit you like.

Um, 

yum!

Hoisin Pork Salad

In theory it was supposed to be a roast, 

but it just shredded and the salad

I was going to use as a supporting player

got to become the star.

Or at least worked it's way into the credits.

The salad is a mix of;

romaine,

napa cabbage,

celery,

red peppers, 

and golden raisins

tossed with a store-bought Asian dressing.

The pork is another Rachel Ray.

Heads up, Rachel likes her food HOT!

I'll link the recipe, 

the things I "adapted"

were:

I used two pork tenderloins instead of the 

loin roast called for, 

and the 1 tablespoon chili paste

I cut to 1 teaspoon. 

Good call.

http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/dinner-recipes/hoisin-pork-roast

Turkey Pie

Or, Gluten Gullet. 

Right before Mike and I decided to 

try to cut gluten out of our diet

I made this:

It was so good that I have to get this 

down for posterity. 

Or anyone else who might like a 

carbo-loaded piece of heaven.

I used a quiche pan but a deep pie plate would 

work easily as well.

I sprayed it with Pam and then mixed

up 2 cups Bisquick-like baking mix

with one cup water and "lined" the pan with it.

It is very wet so mostly I made a big well

in the middle of it.

Then I browned up some ground turkey with

onions and zucchini, but you could use

any veges you have on hand

(as well as left over turkey).

I mixed in some gravy and poured that

into my dough "well" and then 

a thin layer of cranberry sauce.

I topped all that with Stove Top stuffing that

I mixed according to the directions and put 

it in a 325 oven for about an hour. 

You want the crust to get cooked and nicely browned.

Soooo good!

Curry Chicken Pasta Salad

I had this way cool pasta

and needed something to do with it.

I also had some cooked chicken breasts and time.
So scouring the internet I devised
this little concoction:

Most curry dishes have you add chutney or raisins
or some other sweet component,
I didn't have either but I had some apricot preserves.

I also didn't have any curry powder
but was pretty certain Indra had told me years ago
that curry powder was a misnomer,
there is no ONE curry powder.
Every cook has his or her own blend.

To the internet!

And here you have my creation!

The salad is made up of:
slivered almonds
diced celery
peas
pasta
diced chicken.

The dressing is:
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup sour  cream
1/4 cup apricot preserves
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

The curry powder:
1 tablespoon turmeric
3 bay leaves
2 tablespoons coriander
1 tablespoon cumin seed
2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 whole clove.

You toss this all in a dry skillet
over medium heat and
toast them for 5-10 minutes and then grind it all.

The most surprising part isn't that this turned out great.
The most surprising part is that I
didn't have curry powder
yet had that preceding list of spices!

S'mores Bars

 Michelle sent this recipe to me and I had every intention

of making them Mother's Day weekend 

but things got away from me. 

They do sometimes. 

A lot of times.

But I did manage to make them for

Memorial Day weekend.

In theory they sound great, basically a

Rice Krispy treat make with Golden Grahams 

and chocolate chips on top.

The originator suggested putting the chips on after

it cools a bit so they don't melt. 

The only problem with that is that 

the chips then fall of as you try to bite into them.

I kind of solved that problem by serving them in 

cupcake liners.

The other problem was that they got rock hard

in 24 hours, so make them 

right before you want to eat them. 

Other than that, they were a good

alternative for a bunch of 

people who were not inclined to 

stand out in the rain and toast 

marshmallows for S'mores.

Southwestern Chopped Salad

I've been waiting to write about this until

I could remember to take a picture. 

I finally did!

This is a great salad for the summer.

It's pretty hearty and so goes well

with a simple 

chicken breast or piece of salmon.

In fact you could probably add in some

chopped chicken and call it a meal.

It's black beans,

bell pepper,

corn, 

cherry tomatoes, 

green onions

and a head of romaine.

The dressing is lots of cilantro, 

so if you don't like cilantro

maybe some store-bought 

southwest-type dressing would work. 

Here's the link for the dressing.
She suggests trying avocado instead
of the greek yogurt.
That sounds really great and I may try it next time.

http://www.thegardengrazer.com/2013/04/creamy-cilantro-lime-dressing.html

Cannellini Couscous Salad

In an effort to reduce my cholesterol
and come up with dinners that don't involve the oven,
I have *created* this.
I say *created* because I did start with a
recipe but I think I've changed enough
ingredients that it has become a new thing.

It's:
pearl couscous
red onion
cucumber
grape tomatoes
cannellini beans
tuna fish
fresh corn
jicama
sweet peppers
basil
all tossed together
and dressed with
1 T. olive oil
2T. balsamic
1 T. lime juice.

It was better after it sat for a while.

Also, when chopping multiple ingredients
I think it's always a good idea to make
everything about the same size.
So for this everything was between
 the size of a grain of couscous and a bean.

It will be lunch today.
Along with this:

It's Margarita Friday!

Oh, and I asked the doc about Margaritas.
He says they won't impact my cholesterol numbers.
Besides, he said, you need some vices in order
to give something up.
I told him, more like to have
something to lie to him about.

BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad

Sooo good!

And so easy.

I used the breast of a 

rotisserie chicken that I shredded,

a cup of quinoa,

and then added

black beans,

corn,

jicama,

avocado,

green onions, 

and cilantro.

Toss it all with some BBQ sauce, 

top with a little shredded cheese

and there you have a fantastic dinner.

This one will be going to the top of our 

summer dinner rotation.

Poached Egg

Once upon a time I made a perfect poached egg. 

Mike said to take a picture of it, 

you never know when you'll need a picture of a 

perfectly poached egg.

So here it is. 

I don't really need it but I thought I would share.

I reserve the right to post this picture

again should the need arise for a picture of a 

perfectly poached egg. 

PS, this is how I did it:

I cracked an egg into a small bowl, 

 got a small pan of water to just below a boil, 

swirled the water with a spoon, 

dropped the egg in the middle of the swirl, 

leave it alone for 3 minutes, 

turn off the fire and let it sit for 1 minute.

 WaLa

Perfectly poached egg!

Patitsio (ish)

It's a good Saturday morning 

that I can watch a little 

Food Network and 

get a new recipe to try for dinner

Saturday night.

It's an even better Saturday night

when I can call the fam and 

have a crowd to help eat

said dinner.

The only problem 

is I wind up with food pictures 

that look like this.

Um, it was good. 

It's a Giada recipe

(of course). 

She had me when I heard her say 

cinnamon and allspice.

Lamb helped too. 

I first tried those spices

 in a savory recipe when I tried

Cincinnati chili.

You also find what we consider

sweet spices in savory dishes in

 Indian cuisine.

I like that too. 

I was a little worried about the mint

in it since Mike only thinks mint is

appropriate in toothpaste

so I went a little light on it

and it was just fine.

The other point I'll note is that

this is not one of those 

casseroles that are better the next day. 

The noodles soak up all the

sauciness and it gets a bit dry.

I call this Patitsio-ish because the reviews

say it is not really legit.

That's OK, 

I'm not either :).

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/greek-noodle-casserole-pastitsio-recipe/index.html

Beef Something

This is a little something I concocted one evening.

It was almost lost to the world.

I made it up but neglected to write down even notes

as to what I had done so as to even *think* about

making it again. 

That was about a month ago and then the other night

something was tickling the back of my mind, 

wasn't there some beef thing that

I cooked with carrots and onions

and then blended the veg and juices to make a gravy

that I then put the shredded meat back into and

served over stuffing

but later tried the leftovers over mashed potatoes

and that was better.

Didn't I make something like that?

And where did that recipe come from?

Giada?

Nope.

Rachel?

Nope. 

Paula?

Nope.

Turns out it was inspired by something I saw on

Diner, Drive Ins and Dives.

It all comes back to me.

It was a chuck roast that I browned off

in a dutch oven

then browned carrots and onions

in the drippings, 

put the meat back in with some garlic and

a couple cups of beef broth. 

I put it in a 300 degree oven for 3-4 hours.

I took the meat out and used an immersion

blender to puree the veges and liquid

to make a great gravy and then returned

the shredded meat to the pot.

I served it over a few different things

but the best was white mashed potatoes

with a sprinkling of peas over top. 

Yea!

Now it's written down. 

Maybe I can make it again. 

Without as much strife.

Oh, but I should probably name it.

Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Remember my last post?

Remember Mike's suggestion? 

Well, turns out,

it turned out!

I tried pounding one chicken breast flat

but it just got really big and not really flat.

So, instead I butterflied them, 

opened them like a book,

stuffed them 

and then

secured the the sides together

with a thin metal kind of 

skewer. 

It's resting there on the back of my plate.

They are supposed to be for trussing up a turkey.

I topped the stuffed breasts with

panko, mixed with some grated parm,

mixed with some olive oil.

375 degrees for 35 minutes.

The man may not be able to cook

but he's got some good ideas.

Quinoa and Roasted Sweet Potato Stuffed Portabellas

That's a lot of name!

But I think it needs it. 

I'm still on my vegetarian 

three days a week kick.

I found some beautiful portabellas

the other day and spent a few days soliciting

suggestions and just pondering.

And this is what I cam up with:

It's a sweet potato that I diced pretty small
and then roasted with a red onion
and a few cloves of garlic.

I toasted some slivered almonds,
cooked up some quinoa,
and then tossed everything together
with a bit of grated parm.

I baked the cleaned portabellas
for 10 minutes at 450 degrees
then stuffed them and
topped them with some
panko crumbs tossed with
 olive oil,
baked another 5 minutes
and wound up with dinner!

I have quite a bit of the stuffing left.
I wondered out load at dinner what I
might do with it.
Mike suggested I stuff some
chicken breasts with it.

Me thinks someone is missing
something.....

French Onion Soup

And mini cocottes.

I would call them mini casseroles

but I just GTS and it seems 

part of what makes a 

cocotte

a 

cocotte

are it's two handles. 

Hmm.

I love all things 

mini

as well as all thing

Le Creuset

as well as all things 

Shanna, 

so what a perfect combination.

Mini 

Le Creuset

cocottes

from

Shanna! 

And here is my inaugural 

foray into 

mini cocottes:

French onion soup.

The cocottes came with a cookbook

so I took their recipe, 

Googled recipes, 

and came up with this.

It was great!

Here's what I did;

I sliced up A LOT 

of onions and then sautéed them in 

4 tablespoons of butter for 35 minutes, 

not a minute less!

All the flavor gets developed here so you just can't

skimp on the time.

The I added some dried thyme leaves, 

a splash of red wine, 

a couple of dashes of worcestershire sauce 

and enough beef stock 

to bring it to a nice consistency

and then simmered it a bit to reduce down.

 I transferred it into the cocottes

with a toasted baguette slice 

and grated swiss cheese on top

and put them under the broiler to brown up.

So good!

Cheesy Chicken Tater Tot Casserole

There is not a thing in that title 

not to like.

Oh, and you make it in a slow cooker.

Aces!

My only problem is I neglected to

take a picture of it.

Sorry.

But, honestly, it's not that great a sight.

Tastes great though!

The thing you kind of forget is that since this 

is made in a slow cooker, those tots

don't get crispy, crunchy, wonderful. 

But they do become something 

different. 

But good.

I'll link to the original recipe site but really all you

do is layer 

 tots, 

bacon,

shredded cheese, 

cut up chicken breasts

(raw)

and repeat then pour 3/4 cup

of milk on top and slow cook away.

Comfort food.

Oh, and PS, 

!!!!BACON!!!!

http://www.thecountrycook.net/2012/07/cheesy-chicken-tater-tot-casserole-slow.html