Brazillian Chicken in Coconut Milk

The Story:
I found this recipe on All Recipes. As with most of my recipes, I begin with a base and then adjust based on my family's tastes. We like bold and spicy flavors so I usually punch up the spices a bit more. This is a spicy and flavorful chicken dish. I always pair it with my Gordon Ramsey's Citrus Rice Pilaf, which is also posted on my blog.

Ingredients:
1 T.ground cumin
1 T.ground cayenne pepper
1 T.ground turmeric
1 T.ground coriander
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 (14 ounce) can light coconut milk

Directions:

1.In a medium bowl, mix the cumin, cayenne pepper, turmeric, and coriander. Place the chicken in the bowl, season with salt and pepper, and rub on all sides with the spice mixture.

2.Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Place the chicken in the skillet. Cook 10 to 15 minutes on each side, until no longer pink and juices run clear. Remove from heat and dice into bite size bits.

3.Add the onion, ginger, jalapeno peppers, and garlic 5 minutes, or until tender. Mix in the tomatoes and continue cooking 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk. Serve over the chicken. Garnish with the parsley. 1 bunch chopped fresh parsley
 
Server over Citrus Rice Pilaf also found here in my recipe blog.

Jack-o-Lantern Stuffed Peppers

This is a fun Halloween recipe that we all enjoyed this year.

6 bell peppers, Orange
1 pound ground Turkey
1 egg
4 slices whole wheat bread, cubed
1 small onion, chopped
1 small tomato, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 C. sliced fresh mushrooms
2 T. chili sauce
1/4 cup prepared yellow mustard
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Procedure:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8x8 inch baking dish.


2.Lightly mix together the ground beef, egg, bread cubes, onion, tomato, garlic, chili sauce, mushrooms, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper in a bowl.

3.Wash the peppers, and cut jack-o'-lantern faces into the peppers with a sharp paring or pumpkin carving knife, making triangle eyes and noses, and pointy-teeth smiles. Slice off the tops of the peppers, and scoop out the seeds and cores. Stuff the peppers lightly with the beef stuffing, and place them into the prepared baking dish so they lean against each other.

4.Bake in the preheated oven until the peppers are tender and the stuffing is cooked through and juicy, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Hungarian Spaetzle

This is a Hungarian dumpling. It is a great accompanimant to Hungarian Goulash. The dumplings can be made in advance and sauted later.

Ingredients:
4 cups all-purpose flour
5 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 C. club soda
1/2 C. Milk
1 T. Nutmeg
1 Lg. Onion
1 Stick of Butter
2 Qts. Chicken Broth

Procedure:


1.In large bowl, combine flour, nutmeg, eggs and salt. Add club soda & Milk a little at a time to form a soft dough.

2.Boil 2 quarts of chicke in a large pot. Squeeze dough out into the water using noodle or fruit press or by pressing through a colander with large holes. If you do not have a press, roll out the dough until paper thin and cut into strips with a knife. Place noodles in boiling broth. When noodles float to the top of the water, they are done (3 to 4 minutes).

3. Saute the noodles on a chopped onion and stick of butter before serving.

Hungarian Goulash

This is another recipe that started on All Recipes that I modified to our tastes. The modifications probably make it less Hungarian but we loved it! It can be served with Rice, Egg Noodle, Potatoes or Spaetzle. We ate with Spaetzle and Mushroom Soup. Those recipes can also be found here.

1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 onions, diced
4 tablespoons Hungarian sweet paprika
2 T. Soy Sauce
3 T. White Wine Vinegar
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
3 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 1/2 C. Beef Broth
2 Cans Diced tomatoes & green chiles (drained)
1/4 Brown Sugar
1/4 C. Worchestershire Sauce
1 clove garlic, minced

Directions


1.Heat oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook onions in oil until soft, stirring frequently. Add stew meat and brown Add Paprika, Soy Sauce, Vinegar, Pepper, tomatoe paste, diced tomatoes. brown sugar, worchestershire sauce & garlic.

2.In a crick pot, add broth and ingredients from above, Cook on high for 5 hours.

Taco Soup

The Story:
This is my family & extended family's all time favorite recipe. A girl friend of mine was making this for dinner one night and offered me some. It was so good, I had to have the recipe. Since then, this recipe has changed quite a bit. The core ingredients are still the same but I have added a few more for bolder and spicier flavors. This is a great recipe to take to any pot-luck.

When I  visit my mother-in-law, she will have me make this x 3 so that she can freeze it and eat it all year around in my absense. She is a phenomenal cook so it is a huge compliment to me when she tells me she just cannot get the same flavor.

I do think that the flavor is in the brands used since almost everything comes from a can. This is a quick and simple recipe that can be made in an hour or less. There are a lot of ingredients. Don't let that scare you. It's really quick to make and it is very very good. If you don't like hominy you can subsitute corn.

Ingredients:
· 1 Lg Can Diced Tomatoes (Hunts)
· 1 Can Rotel (hot)
· 1 Can Pinto Beans (Bush's)
· 1 Can Kidney Beans (Bush's)
· 1 Can Yellow/Golden Hominy (Bush's)
· 1 Can of chopped Green Chiles (any brand)
· 1 Bushel fresh Cilantro (chopped)
· 1 Onion
· 2 pkgs of Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing
· 1 pkg Lowrey’s Taco Seasoning
· 1 ½ lbs Ground Chuck

Condiments:
· Sour Cream
· Sharp Cheddar Cheese, grated
· Fritos

Directions:
In one pot (DO NOT DRAIN ANY OF YOUR VEGETABLES!) combine tomatoes, pintos and kidney beans, chiles, Rotel, and hominy. Cook on medium heat.

Take the Hidden Valley Ranch mixes and pour them into a coffee cup or small bowl. Slow stir in water until the coffee cup if full. If you pour too much water too quickly the mix will be lumpy. It’s kind of like mixing cornstarch and water, you have to be careful. Then pour the contents into the pot with the vegetables.

In a skillet fry the a hamburger meat with the onions and cilantro. Drain the grease when meat is brown. Then add the taco seasoning and about 1 ½ cups of water. Cook until seasoning is completely dissolved.

Finally, mix the meat in with the vegetables and continue to cook until nice and hot.

Serving:
Serve over Fritos top with cheese and sour cream.

Hungarian Mushroom Soup

I found a recipe on All Recipes.com, my favorite site. Of course, I cannot leave a recipe alone. We like bold flavors so I find our favorite ingredients and increase them to our taste. Additionally, I added potatoes to give it added texture and flavor. I served this with Hungarian Goulash & Spaetzle. Those recipes will also be posted on my blog.

1 Stick of unsalted butter
2 C. chopped onions
1 pound fresh portabello mushrooms, sliced
3 T. dried dill weed
2 T. paprika
1/4 C. soy sauce
2 C. chicken broth
1 C. Heavy cream
3 T. all-purpose flour
ground black pepper to taste
1/4 C. lemon juice
1/4 C. chopped fresh parsley
1/2 C. sour cream
6 small potatoes diced

1.Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Saute the onions in the butter for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute for 5 more minutes. Stir in the dill, paprika, soy sauce and broth. Add diced potatoes. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.


2.In a separate small bowl, whisk the heavy cream, sour cream and flour together. Pour this into the soup and stir well to blend. Cover and simmer for 15 more minutes, stirring occasionally.

3.Finally, stir in the salt, ground black pepper, lemon juice and parsley. Mix together and allow to heat through over low heat, about 3 to 5 minutes. Do not boil. Serve immediately.

Sesame-Crusted Ahi in Spicy Citrus Soy Sauce

The Story:
Jeff and I love Ahi and I have been on the hunt for the perfect Ahi preparation / recipe. I think after tonight I can officially say that we have stumbled upon the right combination of seasonings and flavors. I ran across this recipe on Texas Monthly's website. This was an easy to prepare and quick recipe that was fantabulous!

The Sauce

The Ingredients:
1 lemon
1 lime
1 orange
4 tablespoons rice vinegar
4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons sugar
1 to 3 small Thai chiles
4 sprigs of rosemary, basil, or other herb (for garnish)


The Preparation:
Halve the lemon, lime, and orange and use a grapefruit knife to remove the seeds and cut the pulp from the skin. Be careful not to include any of the white pith. Discard seeds and skins. In a blender manually pulse the citrus pulp and the other ingredients until thick but not finely puréed. (Alternatively, you can squeeze the citrus fruits and use only the juice, not the pulp, but the sauce will be thinner.) Set aside and keep at room temperature.

Note of caution: Thai Chiles are VERY hot, add one at a time to your taste. I added 3 and ended up doubling the recipe to reduce the heat.

The Tuna

The Ingredients:

1/4 cup white sesame seeds
1/4 cup black sesame
4 six-ounce pieces thick-cut ahi tuna steaks
kosher salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons peanut oil (for frying)

The Preparation:
Mix sesame seeds together in a shallow pan. Season the ahi with salt and pepper, then dredge in the sesame seeds, pressing the seeds into the fish so they stick. In a large sauté pan or a wok heat the peanut oil until almost smoking. Sear the tuna steaks for about 30 seconds on each side; the center should stay rare.

Special Note: My steaks were 1" thick. I pan fried them for 2 minutes and 30 seconds on each side and they were perfect!


The Accompaniments:
This recipe will go good with either the Citrus Rice Pilaf or my Jasmine Rice recipe that I often serve with my Lettuce Wraps.

I also, LOVE micro greens. I always find the freshest organic micro greens at Sprouts. When they aren't available I substitute with spicy sprouts! This is a great compliment to the fish!
This recipe is not a kid favorite, I have to admit. The kids are just not a huge fan of Ahi. I make them a chicken breast in place of the tuna and they love that! My husband on the other hand, gave me a perfect score of a 10 and the Husband Pleasin' Seal of approval with his thumb's up!