Spanish Chicken with Rice

This is sort of a fake-out paella. C doesn't eat seafood of any kind, which makes cooking paella a challenge. I tried to adapt it to an easy weeknight meal. I thought it was really good, not as good as paella, but good enough for a Thursday night dinner. C on the other hand was not a fan. He thought there was "some weird spice", at least he is consistent.

Spanish Chicken with Red Bell Peppers and Rice
serves 4

1 pound boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ large onion, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, cut into ½ inch pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon paprika
1 ½ cups white rice
1 cup dry white wine
1 (14-oz) can diced tomatoes including juice
1 ¼ cups chicken broth
¾ teaspoon crumbled saffron threads
1 bay leaf
1 cup frozen peas

Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Using a deep 12-inch heavy skillet, brown chicken in hot oil on all sides. Transfer chicken with tongs to a plate. Add onion, red pepper, and salt to taste. Cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 7 minutes. Add garlic, paprika, and rice, then cook, stirring 1 minute. Add wine and boil, uncovered 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes with juice, chicken broth, saffron, and bay leaf. Nestle chicken in rice adding any juices from plate.

Cook, covered, over low heat until chicken is cooked through, rice is tender, and most of liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the peas, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover skillet and let stand 10 minutes. Discard bay leaf.

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Vanilla Ice Cream

I had been toying with the idea of getting an ice cream maker all summer long. Miss F and C love ice cream more than any other dessert. When Sur la Table emailed out the sale on the colorful Cusinart Ice Cream Maker, I was in Italy. So I sent my parents over to the store to pick me up a blue one. I started with the simple vanilla ice cream recipe in the manual and it was great. I found that if I adjusted my freezer to -2 degrees, it firmed up really nicely. C said he preferred Blue Bell...ugh.  Maybe he will enjoy the next batch more.

Vanilla Ice Cream
makes 1 ½ quarts

1-1/2 cups whole milk
1-1/8 cups granulated sugar
3 cups heavy cream
1-1/2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

In a medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer on low speed to combine the milk and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla. Turn the machine on; pour the mixture into freezer bowl, and let mix until thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer for about 2 hours. Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving.

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Blueberry Waffles

I am down to my last bag of frozen summer blueberries. The blueberries I am finding at the store right now are tiny, tart and just not right. Blueberries are one of Miss F's favorite snacks, especially the plump and sweet summer ones. These waffles were great and would be even better with blueberry syrup.

Blueberry Waffles
makes 6 to 8 waffles

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 ¾ cups milk
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 tablespoon melted butter
2 large eggs
4 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 piches of salt
1 pinch of cinnamon

Separate egg yolks and whites. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.

In a medium-sized bowl, add egg yolks, milk and butter. Stir well.

Sift all dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the yolk/milk/butter mixture and whisk until smooth. Gently fold in the blueberries a Tablespoon at a time. Fold in the egg whites.

Cook in a well-greased waffle iron heated to its medium-high setting.

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Chicken Enchiladas

I made a creamy chicken enchiladas awhile back for my Bunco group and they were a big success. I decided to stock my freezer with traditonal chicken enchiladas for while my parents are here watching Miss F while we take in the sights and food of Italy. Of course, I had to make a pan for us to have straight away. These were another great use of the Crockpot Chicken Soft Tacos recipe, which I still cannot get enough of.

Chicken Enchiladas with Red Sauce

Enchilada sauce:
2 tbsp canola oil
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
14 oz can chicken broth
8 oz can tomato sauce
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp garlic powder

3 cups enchilada sauce (above)
1 recipe Crockpot Chicken Tacos
2 cups shredded Colby Jack cheese
16 six-inch corn tortillas

Heat oil in saucepan; stir in flour and chili powder, cook for 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add ½ cup cheese and ½ cup enchilada sauce with the shredded chicken. Stir to combine. Microwave the tortillas, 15 to 20 seconds, until soft.

Spread 3 to 4 tablespoons of the enchilada sauce in bottom of a 9x13 glass dish. Fill each tortilla with 2 spoonfuls of chicken mixture and roll up. Place seam side down in dish, side by side. Pour remaining sauce over, top with remaining cheeses and bake at 350 degrees F until bubbling- 15-20 minutes. Garnish with sour cream, green onions, and cilantro.

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Chicken and Artichokes with Wine Sauce

I got this fantastic recipe from Proceed with Caution. As soon as I read it, I knew I had to try it.  The recipe was easy and came together super quickly. I made a few small changes, but overall the spirit of the recipe is the same. I love anything with artichokes and mushrooms, in fact, they are my two favorite pizza toppings, so this will go into our regular menu rotation.  The sauce is especially delicious when a green bean is dipped into it.

Chicken and Artichokes with Wine Sauce
serves 4

¼ cup flour
½ teaspoon dried sage, crushed
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1 14.5 ounce can of artichokes
1 tablespoon butter
½ cup dry white wine
½ cup chicken broth
1/8 teaspoon salt

In a shallow dish, stir together flour, sage, ¼ teaspoon salt, pepper; reserve two tablespoons of flour mixture. Coat chicken in remaining flour mixture.

In a large skillet cook chicken in hot oil over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until no longer pink, turning once. Remove chicken from skillet; cover and keep warm. Drain off any excess oil in skillet.

In the same skillet, cook mushrooms and artichoke hearts in hot butter over medium heat for 3 minutes or until artichokes are tender.

In a small bowl stir together reserved flour mixture, wine, broth, and teaspoon salt until smooth. Add wine mixture to skillet. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. Pour sauce over chicken.

Adapted from http://tpox-proceedwithcaution.blogspot.com/2010/05/chicken-and-artichokes-with-wine-sauce.html

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Peach Oat Muffins

Miss F is obsessed with the Banana Applesauce Oat Muffins, so I decided to try another flavor as I was getting bored making them nearly every week. She was not as much a fan of the peach muffins. And she loves peaches. She is a peach monster. I think she ate a whole peach while I was chopping them for the muffins. I thought they were fantastic, but I guess it is back to the old muffins for Miss F.

Peach Oat Muffins
makes 12 muffins

¾ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup whole-wheat flour
¾ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
¾ cup natural applesauce
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
¾ cup white sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
3 peaches, pitted and chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin tin with baking cups.

Combine the flours, oats, spices, baking soda and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the applesauce, oil, eggs, and sugars. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir to combine. Fold in the peaches.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan. Bake for 25 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack.

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Peach Barbecue Sauce

Lesson learned on this one. If your hot pad gets wet, it no longer protects you from the hot. I have a huge burn blister on my thumb...ouch. This barbecue sauce works well on chicken, but it would also be great on pork. The peach isn't overly sweet, the ginger counters it nicely. I am going to be so sad when the summer fruit season is over. I didn't bother to tell C that there were peaches in the sauce, what he doesn't know, won't hurt him (or cause him to turn his nose up!)

Peach Barbecue Sauce
makes 2 cups

¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon onion, minced
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground mustard
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup water
1 cup tomato ketchup
1 peach, peeled and pureed
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon butter

In a medium saucepan, combine all the ingredients except the butter. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. With a whisk, blend in the butter until incorporated.

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Fake Out Chick-fil-a Chicken Nuggets

Chick-fil-a is one of my favorite fast food joints. Whenever I spy a chicken nugget tray at a party, I know where I am going to be hanging out. Chick-fil-a is not open on Sundays, which is when I always end up getting a craving for some nuggets. These nuggets are nearly identical to the real thing and there is no waiting in the drive through line.  The Chick-fil-a by our house has THREE lanes at the drive through, how crazy is that?

Chick-fil-a Chicken Nuggets

½ cup vegetable oil.
½ cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup milk
1 boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces

Heat just enough oil to cover chicken over medium high heat. Stir together flour & salt. Dip chicken in milk, then flour. Dip in milk again, then flour again. Refrigerate chicken for 10-15 minutes. Fry chicken in oil for 10 minutes until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve with your favorite sauce.

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Spicy Pork Stir Fry

This recipe was amazingly easy, the longest part of it was waiting for the brown rice to cook. Oh how I wish there were a quick cooking short grain brown rice, short grain rice is my favorite. I love how it sticks together, making eating it with chopsticks not nearly so hard. I will use this stir fry recipe with other meats and with other vegetable combinations.

Spicy Pork with Vegetables

Pork Marinade
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sherry
1 tablespoon corn starch

Sauce
1 cup chicken stock
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons minced ginger
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 pound pork, sliced thin
2 to 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 small bunch broccoli, chopped into bite size pieces
¼ onion, chopped
5 to 6 mushrooms, sliced
handful of snow peas

2 tablespoons oil
4 slices of garlic
4 slices of ginger

Combine the soy sauce, sherry and cornstarch in a small bowl. Toss the pork to coat and set aside.

Combine the chicken stock, red pepper flakes, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, ginger and garlic in a small bowl and set aside.

In a large skillet or wok, heat the oil over high heat. Once oil comes to temperature, sauté the garlic and ginger slices for 30 seconds. Remove the garlic and ginger from the pan. Add the onion, mushrooms, carrots, broccoli and snow peas, stir fry for 3 to 5 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Remove the vegetables from the pan and set aside. Add the marinated pork and stir fry for 3 to 5 minutes, until the pork is cooked through. Return the vegetables to the pan. Pour the prepared sauce over the stir fry and cook for 1 to 3 minutes longer.

Serve over rice.

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