Barley Chili

So when the Universe tells you to make something, you just have to go with it.

I watched an episode of Rachael Ray's Week in a Day last weekend and she made this stew that was sort of like a cross between Mexican tortilla soup and a beef and barley soup. I was intrigued, and started thinking about how I could make something similar, but maybe something a little heartier. Well, later that day I grabbed the barley from my pantry and guess what I noticed on the box? A recipe for chili featuring barley.

Bingo!

What I ended up doing was using a scaled down version of my basic chili recipe (here) and bumped up the amount of liquid in the pot so the barley could cook right in the chili mix, soaking up all that flavor.

Barley Chili

Ingredients:
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 Tbs. chili powder
1 Tbs. cumin powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. paprika (sweet or smoked)
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of oregano
salt & pepper, to taste
2 (14.5 ounce) cans of diced tomatoes with green chilies  *the recipe on the box of barley called for a jar of your favorite salsa instead of canned tomaotes
1 (14.5 ounce) can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup pearled barley
4 cups liquid of choice (chicken stock, beef stock, veggie stock, or water)  *you can use more if you'd prefer a soupier consistency
1 cup of corn (I pulled some straight from the freezer)
1 cup of previously cooked chicken breast, diced (I had this leftover in the fridge and thought what the hell, in it goes!)

Directions:
In a large heavy-bottomed pot, saute the onion and all spices in the olive oil over medium heat until slightly softened, about 3-5 minutes. Toss in the rest of the ingredients (except for the corn), bump up the heat to high to bring to a boil before reducing the heat once more. Simmer, partially covered, on medium-low for 35-45 minutes, until the barley has absorbed most of the liquid. Add in the corn (and chicken, if using) and simmer for another 10-15 minutes until it reaches your desired consistency. Top with sour cream, shredded cheddar, or eat it straight up... whatever floats your boat.

Enjoy!

(My) Classic Chicken Noodle Soup

Another comfort food classic, you really can't go wrong with good ol' chicken noodle soup...

(My) Classic Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 ribs of celery, diced
1 bay leaf
1 Tbs. dried parsley
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried dill
1 tsp. garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste
6 cups of chicken stock (and yes, I actually used homemade stock)
2 cups of previously cooked chicken, shredded or diced
1 cup of corn (you guessed it- pulled straight from the freezer!)
8 ounces of egg noodles (I like to use the extra broad kind)

Directions:
In a large soup pot over medium heat, saute the vegs and all spices in olive oil until the vegs start to soften, about 8-10 minutes. Stir in the chicken (this is how I cooked mine, and I used mostly dark meat in the soup while saving the white meat for another dish) and corn, then pour in the chicken stock. Bring the soup to a boil over high heat and dump in the noodles before lowering the heat once more to medium and simmering the soup until the noodles are tender, about 6-8 minutes.

Enjoy!

Easy Tamale Pie

Yet another no-recipe recipe, make as little or as much as you want. (I made enough to fill an 8"square baking dish for 4 generous portions.)

Easy Tamale Pie

Ingredients:
olive oil
onion, diced
bell pepper, diced
ground cumin
chili powder
paprika
salt & pepper, to taste
diced tomatoes with green chilies or jalapenos (salsa would work here too)
beans, drained and rinsed (red kidney, black, pinto- dealer's choice)
cooked, shredded chicken (omit for vegetarian)
corn (frozen or canned, whatever you've got on hand)
shredded cheese (cheddar, pepper jack- again, whatever you've got on hand)

1 (8.5 ounce) box of cornbread mix
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a saute pan over medium heat, cook the onions and peppers in olive oil with all spices until slightly softened, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes (and/or salsa), beans, and chicken and simmer for another 5-7 minutes before adding the corn.

Meanwhile, make the cornbread topping according to box instructions by combining the egg and milk with the cornmeal until it just comes together, being careful not to over mix.

To construct the tamale pie, pour the bean mixture into your baking dish of choice (I used an 8" square glass dish), top with a layer of shredded cheese, then spoon on the cornbread mixture before spreading it out in a single layer. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until the cornbread is golden brown on top.

Enjoy!

Happy Friendsgiving!!!

Thanksgiving is, by far, my favorite holiday of the year. Why? The food, of course!

Having ditched my birth family years ago, I don't have "family obligation" holiday meals to suffer through which means I get to cook everything myself, exactly the way I like it. Now, despite the fact that I had to work on Thanksgiving Day and was too tired to come home and cook anything- let alone the full monty- this year was probably the best Thanksgiving I've had in years because I was able to share it with friends... and my friends are more important to me than pretty much any of the folks out there with whom I share a genetic link. You see, I am of the opinion that family is what you make of it... and I have a pretty cool family, if I do say so myself. And I'm pretty sure Kailan would agree with me since he had an awesome time playing- and begging for food- with his friend Tater Tot. :)

So what did we eat? Well, I spent a chunk of Saturday getting a jump start on the Friendsgiving Day feast I had planned, so to that end, I made a salted caramel apple pie (mostly) from scratch which was a first for me. Because I really don't enjoy making pastry dough, I see nothing wrong with using the pre-made, refrigerated pie dough. However, that doesn't mean I can't make the filling myself (no canned pie filling here!) and it was surprisingly easy.

Salted Caramel Apple Pie

salted caramel apple pie... all that was left

Peel and core 6 cups of apples (I used a mix of granny smith and golden delicious) and slice into 1/4" pieces before tossing them with 2 Tbs. of fresh lemon juice. Meanwhile, in a large heavy bottomed sauce pan over medium-high heat, cook 2/3 cup of sugar until it melts and turns dark amber, swirling occasionally, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from the heat and add 6 Tbs. of butter and 1 Tbs. of heavy cream, swirling to combine. Return the sauce pan to the stove over medium heat and add the apples, stirring to coat in the caramel. Cook the apples until softened, about 3-5 minutes and remove from the heat once more before stirring in 2 Tbs. of AP flour and 1 tsp. of sea salt. Set aside to cool. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Remove the pie dough from the fridge and bring to room temperature while the oven is preheating, about 15-20 minutes. Once the dough is room temperature, press one crust into a 9" glass pie dish before dumping in all of the apple mixture. Top with the remaining crust and cut several slits in the top to allow the steam to escape during baking. Now, I like to put my pies on a baking sheet for easier handling as well as to catch any drips if the pie bubbles over while it's baking... but you don't have to. Although, I'm pretty sure you're an idiot if you don't, but whatever. Put the pie on the middle rack and lower the heat to 375 degrees. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes, until the pie is golden brown. You may need to cover the pie crust with foil in the last 10-15 minutes of cooking to prevent over-browning, but surprisingly, I didn't need to this time. Cool the pie for at least an hour before cutting into it and enjoying the salty sweet goodness. Mmmmm....

In addition to the pie, I also made (vegan) sweet potato gnochi which was a first for me. Because I wanted to make sure they would be a success, I needed to do a trial run with them first so once I made the dough, I cooked up a small batch- definite success!- and ate them for dinner. Again, these were surprisingly easy to make, although I have to admit that I'm not a fan of working with sticky dough and these certainly fell under that heading.

(Vegan) Sweet Potato Gnochi

vegan sweet potato gnochi dough

Bake 2 pounds of whole sweet potatoes (2-4 potatoes, depending on size) in a 425 degree oven for 45-55 minutes until fork tender. Set aside until cool enough to handle then slice the potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out all of the flesh into a large bowl, discarding the skins. While the potatoes are still warm, mash them (I just used a fork) with 1 tsp. of salt, 1 tsp. of nutmeg, and 1/2 tsp. of black pepper. Once the sweet potato mash has cooled, stir in 3-4 cups of AP flour in 1/2 cup increments, stirring after each addition until the dough reaches a rather sticky consistency but comes together to form an actual dough. (I think I used a little more than 4 cups, actually.) Once the dough comes together, divide it roughly into 6 parts. On a floured surface, roll out each part of the dough into ropes about 10-12 inches long and about 1/2 inch in diameter. I can't stress this part enough: Make sure you've got plenty of flour on your work surface AND your hands because this shit is sticky! Flour a knife and cut the ropes into 1 inch pieces, pressing each piece gently with the tines of a (floured!) fork to make decorative ridges.

... sauteed in vegan butter

Once the gnochi are formed, you can either cook them right away or store them in the fridge (for up to 3 days) or in the freezer (for up to 1 month). To cook them, bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Dump in about 20 gnochi at a time and reduce the heat to a simmer, cooking the gnochi until they float to the top, about 4 minutes. Transfer the floating gnochi to a separate pan over medium heat and saute them in butter (or vegan butter as the case may be) with your favorite herbs (I used sage and thyme), turning them every minute or so to brown/crisp all sides. It's a bit of a process having to cook them in batches, but it's totally worth it...

So the rest of the meal, I put together on Sunday. To ease myself into it, I started with my favorite cranberry sauce which is more like a relish or chutney: Bring to a boil 1 bag of whole cranberries + 1 cup each of sugar and water (I actually use apple juice) and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. Once the berries start popping, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until most of the cranberries have popped and the sauce has thickened, about 15-20 minutes. Cool before serving.

roasted turkey breast, already carved

Keeping in mind that I had carnivores, vegetarians, AND vegan guests coming, I only had to make a few small adjustments to keep the majority of the dishes suitable for everyone. Of course, there's no way to veganize actual meat, so the herb roasted turkey breast and whole roasted chicken were the (tasty) exceptions to that rule. Oh, and my traditional sausage-bread stuffing with dried cranberries was the other exception, but I also made a vegan version with mushrooms and pecans which turned out pretty damn good if I do say so myself.

sausage stuffing, green bean casserole, vegan stuffing

In addition to the stuffings (yes, I still call it "stuffing" instead of dressing even though the only thing it's stuffed in is a casserole dish), I also made chunky mashed potatoes (skins still on- I don't peel potatoes) with parsnips, veganizing them with vegan cream cheese and butter, plus a whole bunch of fresh herbs. There was also a green bean casserole (not vegan) as well as the more vegan friendly version of sauteed green beans with mushrooms and onions. To round things things out, I also roasted some chunks of butternut squash and fresh Brussels sprouts, both simply dressed with a little vegan butter and salt & pepper. Nothing terribly difficult to make, but juggling the timing of everything was a little challenging and dinner started about 45 minutes later than I had originally planned.

Eh. No big.

(vegan) sweet potato gnochi, roasted butternut squash

roasted Brussels sprouts, vegan sauteed green beans, vegan mashed potatoes & parsnips

And, because I was feeding a dozen people, it was easier to just put all the dishes out buffet-style so everyone could help themselves before getting comfortable and settling in the living room to eat while watching football. See? And you thought Friendsgiving wasn't the same as Thanksgiving...

vegan mixed berry crisp... again, all that was left...

After food and drink, there was even more drink and games (Apples to Apples and Scattergories) before we dove into dessert: salted caramel apple pie, (vegan) mixed berry crisp, and pumpkin cheesecake (an oft-requested specialty of one of my guests).

A good time was most definitely had by all... the only downside being that there weren't nearly enough leftovers for me to enjoy the rest of the week! ;)

Veggie Pot Pie

Pot pie is another one of those comfort foods that I like to make every couple of weeks. Not only is it yummy, but it's easy to switch things up flavor-wise and make it with pretty much any vegetable and protein combination I've got on hand. Plus, it's pretty hassle-free because I like to use refrigerated pie crust... which also makes it easy to throw together either a full-size dish to share, or a single-size casserole like today's version. Truth be told, I kind of prefer making this smaller version because the crust just seems to turn out better, and you're pretty much guaranteed a bite of crust with each forkful. ;)

Veggie Pot Pie

Ingredients:
1 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. onion, diced (you guessed it- straight from the freezer!)
1/2 tsp. herbes de provence
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
pinch of garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste
4 ounces mixed vegs (again, straight from the freezer)
1 Tbs. AP flour
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
protein of choice, pre-cooked: chicken, turkey, beef, tofu, beans
1 refrigerated pie crust

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Remove pie crust from the fridge and set aside to come to room temperature, about 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large saute pan over medium-low heat, cook the onion and all spices in olive oil until slightly softened, about 2-4 minutes. Stir in the mixed vegs and continue cooking for another 2 minutes or so until defrosted and starting to warm. Sprinkle on the flour and cook for another minute before adding the vegetable stock. Bump the heat up to medium and stir the veggie mixture until thick and bubbly, about 7-9 minutes. Stir in your protein of choice (I went with cannellini beans today) and set aside to cool slightly.

Unroll the pie dough and cut it to fit the casserole dish of your choice. (Because I decided to use an individual-size dish, I cut the rest of the dough into strips, sprinkled it with cinnamon & sugar, and spread them out on parchment paper to bake alongside the pot pie.) Spoon the veggie mixture into the casserole dish, cover with pie dough, making sure to cut several vent slits in the top to allow the steam to escape. Bake at 400 degrees until the crust is golden brown, about 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before breaking into the creamy goodness.

Enjoy!

Chicken, Vegetable, and Lentil Stew

Chicken, Vegetable, and Lentil Stew

Ingredients:
1 quart homemade veggie stock
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 chicken breast  *omit for vegetarian/vegan recipe
3/4 cup dry lentils
carrots, celery, onion, squash, zucchini, green beans (diced)
assorted spices, herbs, salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
Bring the veggie stock, diced tomatoes, and tomato sauce up to a boil and drop in the chicken breast (whole) and the lentils to give them a head start while prepping the rest of the ingredients. Do a basic chop and drop, starting with the root vegs and ending with the squashes. Pull the chicken breast out to shred or chop and add back in. Adjust seasoning as desired and simmer until lentils are cooked through.

Enjoy!

Tofu Parmesan

Tofu Parmesan

Ingredients:
1 lb ground chicken breast
3 links of Italian sausage, removed from casing
1 egg white
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
2 Tbs milled flax seeds
1/4 cup each low fat shredded mozzarella and parmesan
spices (onion, garlic, herbes de provence, thyme, basil)

leftover sauteed tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers
1 sm can tomato sauce
2 cups broccoli slaw

4 slices previously baked tofu
2 Tbs parmesan cheese (from the can is best)
sprinkle each of shredded mozzarella and parmesan

Directions:
Combine all meatball ingredients until well mixed and form into golf ball sized balls. Roast on wire rack on baking sheet in a 400 degree oven for 15-18 minutes, until well browned and cooked through. Meanwhile, reheat sauteed tomato mixture with can of tomato sauce, adding pinch of red pepper flakes. Lightly press the tofu slices in the grated parmesan before crisping up in a saute pan in a little bit of olive oil. Dump any remaining parmesan into the tomato sauce so as not to waste it. Once tomato sauce comes to a slow simmer, stir in broccoli slaw then turn off the heat, allowing the slaw to warm through yet retain it's crunch. Sprinkle the crisped tofu slices with the shredded cheese and move to the oven just until melted. Build as follows: tomato sauce with broccoli slaw on the bottom of bowl, 2 slices of tofu parmesan on top, chicken meatballs on the side. For my vegetarian friends, just skip the meatballs. :)

Enjoy!

Stuffed Meatballs with Sweet Potato & Brussel Sprout Hash

Stuffed Meatballs with Sweet Potato & Brussel Sprout Hash

Ingredients:

1 small onion, finely diced

1 medium carrot, finely diced

1 stalk of celery, finely diced

2 Tbs. yellow bell pepper, finely diced
1 Tbs olive oil

1/2 c. bread crumbs (panko)

1 egg, beaten

1 lb. ground meat (turkey, chicken, beef, meatloaf mix)

2 string cheese, diced into 12 pieces

Directions:

Saute the veggies in olive oil until softened before mixing together all ingredients except cheese. Form into meatballs and stuff 1 piece of diced mozzarella cheese into the center of each ball. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes on a baking rack on top of baking sheet to promote even browning. Once removed from the oven, raise temperature to 425 degrees to roast the diced sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts for 40 minutes, stirring once midway through cooking time.

Enjoy!

Chicken & Rice

An extra long work week and lack of sufficient time in the kitchen led to too many delivered meals at work and subsequently, a tired stomach. (I blame the frequent fast food meals on my co-workers for talking me into ordering with them... oh glorious french fries! Well, there was also my desire to make sure that certain friends were actually eating instead of watching their wallets, but that wasn't the main reason I caved to the lure of fried food. But too much fried food and sugar just makes me feel sick, regardless of how good it tastes.) Anyway, by Saturday night, all I could think about was eating something easy on the stomach, like the bland diet we recommend at work for patients with GI upset; namely, chicken and rice. Knowing me, I couldn't just leave it at just plain chicken and rice, so here's last night's Greek-inspired version of chicken and rice...

Ingredients:

brown rice, cooked (I had this left over from when I made soup earlier in the week)

olive oil

chicken breast, cooked and diced (again, I can't overstate the convenience of pre-cooked chicken breast strips straight from the package!)

spinach (fresh or frozen works equally as well)

oregano

pepper

feta, crumbled

Simply enough, saute the chicken and spinach in the olive oil over medium heat until the spinach has wilted and the chicken heats through. Stir in the oregano and pepper before adding the brown rice to reheat. Stir in the feta and serve.

Enjoy!

Country Hash In The City

So this is my version of a country hash recipe I saw on Food Network last week. Many of my favorite dishes are inspired by something I've seen on Food Network or in any number of foodie magazines I read each week/month. In this case, I made it my own with what I had on hand in my fridge and pantry. Y'all know how much I love a good breakfast/brunch, and this was certainly no exception. It's Sunday after all, so what better day to enjoy it?

Ingredients:

2 red potatoes, diced

mixed veg (I always have a huge selection of frozen veg on hand so this mix included red peppers, corn, and broccoli)

chicken breast, diced (like I've said before, those prepackaged chicken strips are amazingly versatile!)

1 egg, fried or poached (dealer's choice on the preparation, I went with the classic fried egg)

thyme (dried works as well as fresh here)

salt and pepper to taste

I used the same short cut that the semi-homemaker on Food Network used with her potatoes: In a microwave safe bowl covered by a damp paper towel, microwave the diced potatoes for 3 minutes or until barely fork tender. Now, you could of course use left over potatoes if you've got them, but I didn't so I started from fresh. Once the potatoes reach the desired texture, transfer them to a large skillet with some olive oil, and cook over medium-high heat for several minutes until golden brown. Toss in the mixed veg, chicken breast, thyme, salt and pepper and cook for another 2-3 minutes until the rest of ingredients are heated through. Serve with the egg on top and a big glass of iced coffee on the side.

Enjoy!

Noodle Bowl

So I was cruising through my pantry at lunch time today, trying to decide what to fix, when I spotted a package of Ramen Noodles hiding on the shelf towards the back of the cupboard. When in the hell did I buy Ramen Noodles? They must have been left there by my old roommate, Chuck, when he moved out. (Crazy bastard was always teasing me about how I preferred to cook things from scratch, rarely using "convenience" foods.) Anyway, I thought, "What the hell?" and decided to give the noodles a chance. Of course, being me, I couldn't let it go at just a simple bowl of plain noodles... I had to put some of my flair into the dish.

Ingredients:

1 package of Ramen Noodles (these were chicken flavored)

chicken breast, cooked and diced

assorted green vegs (I had a frozen blend of green beans, broccoli, broccoli rabe, snap peas, and cauliflower)

red pepper flakes

basil (fresh or dried, dealers choice)

Prepare the noodles according to package instructions. Toss in the chicken and vegs during the last 2 minutes to heat through. Finish with the red pepper flakes and basil. See? Even the perennial poor college student's favorite meal can be punched up a little if you take a few extra minutes.

Enjoy!

Puff Pastry Pockets

Given that I’m not much of a baker, I must say that I've been slowly making my peace with puff pastry and phyllo dough, learning just how versatile they can be. Starting out slow, I’ve been experimenting with simple pockets, stuffing them with both savory and sweet fillings. I’m learning that they’re a great way to use up leftovers in the fridge or pull together a few pantry basics. Here’s an example of each… my favorites so far:


Ingredients:

1 sheet of puff pastry, defrosted (I buy the frozen kind that comes 2 sheets to a box)
chicken breast, cooked and shredded (those handy dandy prepackage chicken strips are great as well if you don’t have leftover chicken already in the fridge)
fresh spinach (or the good old standby of frozen chopped spinach that’s been thawed and drained)
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 small shallot, diced finely
3-4 dried figs, diced (or you can substitute 2 tsp. of fig preserves if you have it)
1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar (omit if you’re using fig preserves)
1 oz. fontina cheese, diced or shredded (provolone is really good here as well)
pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg + a splash of water, beaten (this is an egg wash in case you didn’t know)

*For the sweet version, all you need is 2 squares of dark chocolate (I always have Ghiradelli dark chocolate squares in the house) and 3-4 dried apricots, diced.
Before starting on the filling, I take one sheet of the puff pastry out of the freezer and loosely wrap it in plastic wrap before sticking it in the fridge to defrost for at least 30-45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and prepare a baking sheet by lining it with foil or parchment paper for easy clean up.

If you’re using fig preserves, go ahead and skip to the next step. If not, what you want to do first is to combine the diced figs and balsamic vinegar in a small microwave safe bowl and heat on high for 45 seconds. Set aside and allow the figs to plump up in the vinegar while cooling.

In the meantime, in a small sauté pan over medium-low heat, cook the shallot in olive oil for 2-3 minutes, until softened. Add in the spinach, nutmeg, salt, and pepper, and cook for another 2-3 minutes until wilted. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.

Now, once you remove the puff pastry from the fridge, you need to work fairly quickly to prevent it from drying out and cracking so I like to make sure I have everything set up and ready to roll. I know this sounds like a lot of steps for something that I said was easy, and really, it is… I promise. So here’s what you need to do next: Lightly flour your work surface (I just use the bare counter since I don’t have a board big enough to work on) and lightly pat out the dough into a rough square. I suppose you could use a rolling pin, but hello?!, remember me?, the non-baker? Anyway, once the dough is to the desired shape, I use a pizza wheel to evenly cut it into 4 squares. Keeping in mind that each square will be folded diagonally to form a triangle, put a small amount of the drained figs and shredded chicken in the center of 2 of the squares, followed by the spinach mixture, and a sprinkle of fontina cheese. Make sure to leave a ¼ inch border and go easy on the total amount of filling so it doesn’t explode out of the pastry. Brush 2 of the 4 edges with the egg wash and then gently fold the dough in half, over the filling, to form a triangle. The dough should be pliable enough to kind of squish the filling into one evenly distributed layer. Crimp the sealed edges with your fingers or the tines of a fork to ensure it sticks together.

On the remaining 2 squares of dough, break up 1 square of the chocolate (I have to resist the urge to be decadent and use 2 squares of chocolate per pastry instead of just 1) on each and sprinkle with the diced apricots. Again, brush 2 sides with the egg wash and fold in half, diagonally, to form 2 more triangles.

Transfer all 4 puff pastry pockets to the prepared baking sheet, brush the tops with egg wash, and sprinkle a pinch of coarse sea salt on each one. To differentiate the 2 savory pockets from the sweet, you may also want to sprinkle on some black pepper or dried basil. A sprinkle of cinnamon on the sweet pockets would be pretty tasty as well. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until the pastry has puffed up and is golden brown and delicious. These are excellent straight from the oven and I’ve discovered that they are just as good when reheated in the toaster oven at work the next day.

Enjoy!

Sunday Afternoon Breakfast

That's right. I said Sunday afternoon breakfast. Breakfast is traditionally the first meal of the day (you know, to break one's fast) and since we all know I'm not a morning person, that usually means well after noon on my days off. Today was definitely no exception after the, um, late night I had last night. I got up around 7:30am just long enough to feed the boys and let Sea outside, then we all went back to bed until just after noon. God I love Sundays! So, allow me to present today's offering of an epicurean adventure, Sweet Potato Hash, best served (in my opinion) with iced coffee:

Ingredients:

1 medium sweet potato, diced into 1/2 inch cubes (and no, I don't peel my potatoes because, hello? a good number of nutrients are in the skin and besides that, I like the added texture and taste and I might just be a little lazy when it comes to peeling potatoes)

3-4 slices of turkey bacon, diced

leftover sauted veg (remember this stuff from earlier in the week? it included shallots, red bell pepper, zucchini, carrots, and celery)

3-4 chicken breast strips, diced (man, those pre-packaged chicken strips are so versatile and convenient!)

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp. dried basil

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

2 Tbs. olive oil

goat cheese (I'm pretty sure blue cheese would be good here too... if you like pungent moldy cheese)

3-4 fresh basil leaves, torn

fresh cracked black pepper, to taste

So this is another easy to prepare dish but packs a real flavor punch. In a large skillet over medium heat, combine the sweet potatoes, salt, dried basil, and red pepper flakes in olive oil and cook, covered, for 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Don't be tempted to jack the heat up any higher than medium because the higher sugar content/lower starch of the sweet potato will burn before cooking all the way through. Once the potatoes are just shy of fork tender, toss in the turkey bacon and leftover veg and continue to cook, uncovered, for another 4-5 minutes or until the bacon starts to crisp and the potatoes turn golden brown and delicious. Add in the diced chicken to reheat in the last minute or so. To serve, remove from the heat and top with the crumbled goat cheese (it's creamy tanginess is fantastic against the salty bite of the turkey bacon), scatter with the torn fresh basil leaves, and crank on some fresh coarse ground black pepper.

Enjoy!

Quick Fix Workday Breakfast

Most workdays, I'm up way before the butt crack of dawn so I can get to work by 6:30am. As such, I'm definitely not interested in trying to fix something to eat before I leave the house because quite frankly, I'm not awake enough to even contemplate it let alone actually prepare something. To get around this situation, I usually make something the night before that's relatively easy to take with me to work. However, on Saturdays, I don't have to be to work until 9:00am so I'm usually mostly coherent and cognizant of my surroundings so I'm able to fix something to eat before I leave the house. Notice I said mostly... give me a break. I've never been a morning person and I never will be. Anyway, today I had what I like to call an "Inside-Out Omelet"... aka loaded scrambled eggs where anything goes. Here's today's version:

Ingredients:

eggs

chicken breast, diced or shredded

diced sauteed veg (shallot, red bell pepper, zucchini, carrot, celery)

spinach

goat cheese

I know, weird combination of ingredients. But I had the sauteed veg leftover from when I made my mini-meatloaf earlier in the week (made for a very moist turkey meatloaf!) and I always have spinach on hand. As for the chicken, if I don't have left over stuff in the fridge, well I always have a package of the pre-cooked chicken strips which are great to toss in salads. Anyway, you can change this up a million different ways... this is just what I had handy this morning.

So in a small saute pan over medium heat, toss all the veggies and chicken in to reheat for 2-3 minutes. Pour the beaten eggs (I used my Garden Vegetable Egg Beaters again, about the equivalent of 2 eggs) over the mixture and continue to cook until eggs are set, another 2-3 minutes. To serve, remove from heat and stir in your favorite cheese. Most importantly, don't forget to share the last few bites with the dog. :)

Enjoy!

Greek Inspired Stuffed Chicken Breasts

This is my version of stuffed chicken breasts using a Greek inspired palate. Sort of. If I liked olives I probably would have thrown some of those in there too. And maybe some oregano instead of the basil. Ooohh... I bet thyme would be fantastic in this too. Oh well, my philosophy on cooking is to do what you like and cook to please yourself with the creation. So give this a try or not... but it's pretty damn tasty if I do say so myself! Just keep in mind that I don't actually measure things when I cook so these are really just guestimations on my part.

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (make sure to trim all the icky bits of yellow fat off)
2 Tbs. olive oil (extra virgin is good but not crucial)
1 medium shallot, diced finely (you could probably throw in a clove of garlic if you wanted to but I prefer to avoid the potential for a migraine)
¼ cup golden raisins
5 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained of excess moisture (this happens to be half a 10 oz box, you could use fresh spinach here, just remember it cooks way down so you'll need alot more than you think)
1 Tbs. apple cider vinegar (I'm sure red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar would be tasty too, I was just trying to play up the raisins)
¼ - ½ cup feta cheese, crumbled (I like it a little heavier on the feta so I used 1/2 cup)
6 - 8 fresh basil leaves, torn (or ½ tsp. dried basil) (my Aerogarden is exploding with basil right now so I put it in practically everything!)
¼ tsp. nutmeg (it really is the perfect compliment to dark leafy greens like spinach)
pinch of red pepper flakes (I like a little heat in most of my dishes, but you can leave this out if you want)
salt and pepper to taste (more so the pepper... feta is salty enough for me)
pan gravy recipe to follow (if desired)*

As all good recipes start, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Yes, I'm sure you could make this on the stove top and and brown the chicken until it's golden and delicious on both sides, but I felt like being lazy and just turning on the oven instead. I was in the middle of reading a pretty good book and didn't want to have to babysit the chicken on the stove so by putting it in the oven, I was able to get back to my book faster. :)

Now, as I was saying, in a small pan over medium-low heat, sauté the shallot, raisins, and spinach in the olive oil until softened, about 4-5 minutes (I gave the shallots a head start of about 2 minutes before throwing the rest in). Stir in the apple cider vinegar but don't stand right over the pan or else you'll get a steaming vinegar facial as soon as it hits the heat and that shit can sting your eyes if you're not careful! Continue cooking until the liquid has been absorbed, another 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the feta, basil, nutmeg, and red pepper flakes. Seriously, you want to wait until you pull this off the heat before adding fresh basil otherwise the leaves will turn black and just look gross. Set aside to cool slightly while you prepare the chicken breasts.

Here's the fun part: You can either cheat and buy the chicken with a pocket already cut into it (and you'll spend an arm and a leg for the privilege) or you can do it yourself. Me, I always cut the pocket myself so I can change it up depending on what I'm going to stuff the bird with. For this particular recipe, because it's a pretty hardy stuffing and not very oozy, I make a fairly wide slit instead of a narrow one and then having to dig out the pocket with my finger. In this instance, I lay the breast on a cutting board and lay my left hand flat on top of the meat. Using my 4 inch utility knife, I keep the blade parallel to my left hand and slice through the mid line of the breast, leaving a 1/4 inch border to create the pocket. Even as clumsy as I can be, I've yet to cut myself using this technique so clearly if I can do it, any idiot can.

Moving on, stuff the chicken breasts with the yummy spinach mixture (you know you've already tasted it... just don't forget about cross contamination and use a clean spoon when you get to this step) and place in a prepared baking dish. Hopefully you thought ahead and got a baking dish out and sprayed it with some non-stick cooking spray. If you didn't, well then, you were probably stupid enough to slice a finger off at some earlier point in this recipe so it's really a moot point, isn't it? Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper to taste (keep in mind that the feta is pretty salty on its own), and maybe a little dried basil. (Here's my super secret element to this recipe: I pour a little less than 1 cup of chicken or vegetable stock into the baking dish as well as another splash of apple cider vinegar. It helps keep the chicken nice and moist as it bakes and if you leave it in the oven a little longer than expected, perhaps because you think timers are for sissies, it helps to prevent it from drying out.) Bake at 400 degrees for 25-45 minutes or until done, depending on the thickness of the chicken breasts. I cooked mine for almost 45 minutes because I kind of lost track of time while reading. Shocking, I know. Fortunately, the chicken was a thicker cut and, in any case, I happen to like my meat well done. (I think my dad just rolled over in his grave at the mention of cooking meat well done... Happy Father's Day Daddy!)

*So here's that quick pan gravy I mentioned earlier: In the same pan used to sauté the spinach mixture, combine 2 tsp. of butter and 2 tsp. of flour to create a roux. Cook over low heat for 2-3 minutes (nobody likes the taste of raw flour!) then gradually whisk in 1 cup of chicken or vegetable stock and 1-2 Tbs. of apple cider vinegar. Raise heat to medium-high and cook, stirring frequently, until thickened to desired consistency. Finish with cracked black pepper to taste. So ok, I didn't actually make this tonight, but as I was eating my dinner, I was thinking about it and it sure sounds good, doesn't it? Maybe next time I make this dish, I'll whip up the sauce to pour over the chicken.

Enjoy!