Chicken and Rice w/ Cilantro Base

I came across some Goya Recaito which is a cilantro based seasoning good for rice. I had to use it because I like rice and cilantro, so I came up with a simple recipe.

What you'll need:
- 1 cup Basmati Rice
- 2 cups Chicken Broth
- package green onions (chopped)
- 1 can whole corn
- 1 lb chicken breast (cubed)
- 4 heaping tbsp Goya Recaito
- olive oil
- pepper
- chili powder
- garlic clove

Heat oil over medium/high heat. Add chopped onion and cook for several minutes. Add diced/pressed garlic clove and cook for another 30-60 seconds.

Add chicken and cook until no longer pink on the outside.

Add the basmati rice. Continually stir to coat with the oil/juices in the pot. Then add the chicken broth and the corn.

Lastly add the Goya and touch of pepper and chili powder (about 1 tsp of each). Cook until broth is evaporated. Then enjoy!

Quick Sausage Tomato Sauce

This is a really quick and easy sauce that tastes great. Good for 1lb of pasta.

One thing I recently learned is that it's worth it to pay an extra couple bucks for the better tasting tomatoes. It really makes the sauce that much better.

What you'll need:
1/2 sweet onion (chopped)
3-4 cloves garlic (chopped)
2 28-oz cans of large peeled tomatoes - drained - reserve liquid
5 sausage links
salt
pepper
red pepper flakes
Italian Seasoning
Olive Oil
Optional: dash of red wine

1. Put whole sausage on gill pan or grill over med-high heat.


2. While sausage is cooking, add olive oil to large skillet.


3. Add onions and cook until starting to turn translucent - add garlic and cook a minute or two more.


4. Scoop in whole tomatoes and smush into pieces.


5. Add in seasoning and let simmer with top removed.


6. Check on sausage - when it is 90-95% cooked remove from heat and chop into large slices. Add to sauce and bring to high heat to cook sausage the rest of the way through.


7. while the sausage is cooking - add reserved tomato sauce as needed to keep sauce the desired consistency. Keep in mind it thickens up a bit when cooled.

Add to pasta and enjoy.

Can also be made without sausage - but if so be sure to add a little extra oil.

Pork Chops - "Italian" Style

This recipe works for both thick and thin pork chops - but best with thin.

Take a small pad of butter and put in frying pan. Melt over low heat.

Add Pork chop and raise heat to max. If thin, cook 5 minutes on one side, then 5 on the other. Sprinkle with salt. If thick, It'll be something like 10-15 minutes per side - with a lot of extra burned stuff in your pan.

Drain remaining pork chop fat into a bowl or other mixing device. Add a spoonful of tomato paste and a bit of water - just enough to make it pourable.

Put sauce over pork chop. Serve with noodles or bread and a veggie.

Cilantro Chicken And Rice

Fresh cilantro from the garden gives me the perfect excuse to try random cilantro recipes. This one was pretty good. Though might could use a bit more spices.

There's a lot of need to add ingredients in the right order at the right time, so be sure to measure everything out before you start.

1.5 cup basmati rice
1.5 cups water
1.5 cups chicken broth
1 pound skinless chicken breast - diced to 1" pieces
1 onion - diced
1 cup shredded carrots - about 2-3
3 cloves garlic
bunch cilantro
4-5 chopped scallions
1 teaspoon cumin
1.5 teaspoon salt
.5 teaspoon ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

Heat half the oil in pot, then add the onion and cook till translucent

Add the chicken and cook till no longer pink. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or so. Add remaining oil during this step as needed.

Next add the rice and remaining seasoning. Leave some cilantro and scallions for garnish if desired. Cook for another two minutes - be sure to get the rice coated with the oil.

Next add the water and broth. Recipe I used said "Do not stir!" though i'm not sure why. I stirred a bit.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cover. Let sit till water evaporated - about 10-12 minutes.

Remove from heat, fluff with fork, top with remaining cilantro and scallions and enjoy.

Chicken Soup II

Made another batch of chicken soup to enjoy over the winter. This one had some odd ingredients that turned out well.

Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts bone-in
- 2 carrot sticks (cut up)
- 2 celery sticks (cut up)
- 1 yam (cut into chunks)
- 1 - 1.5 cup brown rice
- salt & pepper
- chili powder
- red pepper flakes
- ground ginger
- chopped fresh cilantro
- chopped fresh parsley

Boil chicken breasts with skin on in water seasoned with salt and pepper until cooked - about 1 hour. Remove chicken from the newly created chicken broth. Remove the skin and shred the chicken and add back to the broth.

Add carrots, celery, yam, rice, red pepper flakes (add extra if you want spicy soup) dash of chili powder, dash of ground ginger. Add water if needed to replace water that may have boiled off.

Bring pot to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook until carrots are soft (about 1.5 hours).

Remove from flame and stir in cilantro and parsley. Salt and pepper to taste.

Baked Panko Chicken Fingers

I've been hearing good things about Panko for about a year now. I finally saw it in the store, it was cheap, so I bought it.

I'd heard Panko chicken fingers and fish sticks are the best. I started with the chicken fingers since I had some honey mustard from Chick-fil-a (possibly the best honey mustard sauce ever - with Red Robin honey mustard coming in a close second).

Ingredients are easy:
Panko
Chicken strips
salt
pepper
dash paprika
dash chili powder
Eggs
Oven at 400

1) Depending on chicken, beat 1-2 eggs in bowl (about 2 eggs per pound).
2) Pour panko in another bowl.
3) Dip chicken in egg, dip in Panko, put on baking sheet (if you have a wire rack - use that, else you'll have to flip half way).
4) Sprinkle with seasoning.
5) Put in oven for 10 minutes at 400. Increase temp to 450 and cook another 10 minutes.
6) Serve with honey mustard and a veggie side. Enjoy.

Dill Salmon

This is my go to recipe whenever I want something nice that is also really easy to make.

You'll need the following:
Salmon
Olive Oil
Dill
Salt & Pepper
Veggie (asparagus, broccoli or spinach work best)
Quinoa

Preheat oven to 350.
Coat salmon in olive oil, then pat on dill. Add salt and pepper.
Cook uncovered till done (about 12 minutes)

Prepare Quinoa according to package. Add salt and pepper when done.

Steam the veggies while everything else is cooking. Sprinkle with Cajun seasoning.

If you do it right, everything will be done at the same time. Serve and enjoy.

Chicken Soup

This is great to make if you happened to have made chicken burritos and chicken and rice bowls on the same day and you don't want to throw away all the leftover chicken broth and aren't sure what to do with extra chicken.

Soup is about the easiest thing in the world to make.

Take the leftover chicken broth and put through strainer (if you have one). Be sure not to strain into the sink, but into a pot.

Put some chicken in the broth. Put some veggies in the broth (i used carrots). Put some seasoning in the pot. Lots of pepper, some salt, celery seed, pepper flakes, anything else you think is good. If you have anything else laying around that you want to put in the soup, add it.

Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and let simmer for a while. Right before it's done, bring to a boil and throw in pasta and cook according to package. Remove from heat and enjoy. Goes well with a huge piece of bread.

Chicken and Rice Bowls

The great thing about chicken and rice bowls is that they are a meal in themselves. It contains meat, veggies & grains all in one bowl.

What you'll need:
1 cup brown rice
Broccoli, cut up
Carrots, cut up
3 chicken breasts
Soy Vay

First, place chicken breasts (w/o skin) in boiling water. Cook for about 45 minutes or until done

Next, while Chicken is cooking, start the rice according to package. Be sure to add extra water (about 1/4 cup)

When rice has 10-20 minutes left, add the vegetables on top of the rice. This will steam them. This is what the extra water is for. When rice and veggies are done, if needed, drain extra water and separate veggies from rice.

Pick and pull chicken from bones and put onto frying pan. Add some Soy Vay and mix it up over medium high until you feel good about it. Then remove from flame.

In a serving bowl, add scoop of rice & then some veggies. Top with chicken. Add more Soy Vay if needed to taste. Eat.

Chicken Burritos

Sick of boring lunches at work, I decided to spice things up and make some frozen burritos to eat throughout the week. I already wish I made more...

What you'll need:
Burrito sized tortillas (6-8)
2 chicken breasts, skin removed
1 cup brown rice
1 can tomatoes and jalapeno peppers
shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
1 can non-fat refried beans

- Place chicken breasts in boiling water until cooked (~45 minutes).
- Meanwhile, make brown rice according to package. Add a little extra water and drained can of tomatoes and jalapeno peppers. If desired, add spicy spices like chili powder, cayenne pepper, etc.
- When rice and chicken is done, it's time to build the burrito.

Step 1: Lay out tortilla flat.
Step 2: Spread some beans on the tortilla.
Step 3: Spoon some spiced rice on top of the beans.
Step 4: Pick chucks of chicken off the breast and put on top of rice.
Step 5: Sprinkle cheese on top of chicken.
Step 6: Roll burrito, stick in freezer safe bag, put in freezer.

To thaw, simply put it in a microwave and cook it for 90-120 seconds per side. Chances are you'll burn your tongue at least once.

BLT

Perfect to eat with fresh tomatoes.

Take 4 strips of bacon and put in pan on med-high heat. Make sure the pan isn't too small or cooking the bacon becomes difficult. Cook until med-well done - crispy but with some softness.

Meanwhile, cut 1-2 tomatoes into quarter inch slices. Wash piece of red leaf lettuce. Cut fresh springy white bread to half inch slices. If desired, add a little mayo to one of the slices.

When bacon is done cooking, make sandwich in the following order (bottom to top):
Bread with Mayo
Tomatoes
Lettuce
Fresh ground pepper
Bacon
Other piece of bread

Quick Tomato Sauce

With a large inflow of tomatoes from my garden, I have been eating pasta with tomato sauce 5 out of 7 days of the week. Each time I make it the sauce is a little different. The sauce below is one I made for friends we had over for dinner - it is for 1.5 lbs of pasta.

1 pound chicken sausage, diced
1 can tomato paste
10-12 fresh tomatoes
Italian Seasoning
2 Bay Leaves
4 cloves Garlic
1 Onion
salt/pepper
red pepper flakes
olive oil
Dash of beer

Pour some oil in a frying pan and add sausage. Cook. When mostly done, add half can of tomato paste and a dash of beer to help thin out the paste (could also use wine or water). Mix all together and finish cooking. Remove from heat.

In saucepan, add oil, garlic and onions. Cook until onions are soft. Add the tomatoes, sausage mixture, remaining paste & all seasonings. Mix well.

Bring to a boil and simmer/light boil it to reduce water for 20 or so minutes - until sauce looks a little thicker.

If you have bread on hand, it tastes great sopping up any leftover paste/sausage juice in the pan you cooked the sausage in. So good in fact, that after I run out of tomatoes I may try to make a sauce based on sausage, tomato paste and beer.

Once sauce is done serve over any short pasta with a side of bread and a glass of wine and enjoy.

Sliced Fresh Tomatoes

Freshly grown tomatoes are 100x better than the cheapo ones you can buy at the supermarket. Although, some of the heirloom tomatoes they now sell aren't half bad, they cost 2 arms and a leg.

So if you happen to have some freshly grown, vine ripened tomatoes, or some expensive heirloom tomatoes, use this simple recipe to savor their taste.

Olive Oil
Balsamic or Red Wine Vinegar
Salt (optional)
Pepper
Italian Seasoning
Garlic Powder (optional)
Avocado (optional)
Fresh Mozzarella (optional)
Cucumbers (optional)

This recipe primarily for tomatoes, but can add avocado, fresh mozzarella and/or cucumbers.

Slice tomatoes to quarter inch thick. Lay flat on a plate.

Drizzle olive oil over tomatoes. Drizzle vinegar over tomatoes. Don't put too much of either of these - you can always add more. Add just a dash of salt, some fresh ground pepper and a light sprinkle of Italian Seasoning & Garlic Powder. (goes over avocado, fresh mozzarella, and or cucumbers too).

Can be either eaten warm or cold. If you have cucumbers, i recommend cold. Otherwise the choice is up to you. Simply place in refridge for 20-30 minutes and you're good to go.

Zucchini Bread with Raisins Recipe

I make zucchini bread different nearly every time, just to mix things up. Chocolate chips, raisins, cranberries, other fruit, white flour, wheat flour, cinnamon, and other spices can be changed. For my first loaf of the year, this is what i used:

Ingredients

2 eggs, beaten
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups grated fresh zucchini
2/3 cup melted unsalted butter
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 dash salt
3+ cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup dried raisins

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add zucchini and melted butter. While mixing, sprinkle baking soda and salt over the mixture.

Stir in the whole wheat flour, 1 cup at a time. Add more if looks too thin.

Mix in the cinnamon, nutmeg and raisins.

Pour mixture in one lightly greased 5 by 9 inch loaf pan. Start checking for doneness at 45-50 minutes. Bread is done when a wooden toothpick inserted in to the center comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes then transfer to wire rack.

Zucchini Pie

Zucchini Pie an old favorite of mine. When I was a kid, I used to eat around the Zucchini. I'm still not a huge zucchini fan, but since I plant it in my garden and get 50 or so, I end up eating a lot of it. I'm making this tonight with a side of grilled zucchini, followed up with some zucchini bread for dessert (recipes coming soon).

Zucchini Pie is really easy to make.

Preheat oven to 400

Simply mix 1 cup sliced zucchini, 1 cup sliced tomato, 1/2 onion (sliced) & 1/3 cup parmesan cheese in bowl. Dump mixture evenly over 9 inch pie pan.

In the now empty bowl, whisk together 2 eggs, 2/3 cup milk, 3/4 cup Bisquick, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper. Pour mixture over veggies in pie pan.

Bake 35 minutes or until it passes the toothpick, fork or knife test. Let cool a bit, then eat it - even the zucchini.


P.S. - the great thing about baking a meal is that while it's in the oven, you can clean everything up. By the time this is done, the kitchen can be spotless.

All Purpose BBQ Rub

Got this from a beer magazine. Great for Pork, Fish and Chicken. I've had it on pork and chicken; it was amazing on the pork - decent on the chicken.

Can half recipe if needed:
3/4 cup paprika
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 sugar
3 tbsp ground cumin
3 tbsp ground coriander
3 tbsp mustard powder
2 tsp dried ground sage
2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp ground mixed peppercorns
1 tsp ground cayenne pepper

Mix all in bowl and place in sealed dry container. To use, rub into meat/fish

Hummus

I've tried several different hummus recipes, and I've never made anything better than what I can buy at the store...until today. Below, the best hummus recipe I have yet to find:

2 cans (15.5 oz) garbanzo beans
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (2 lemons)
1/4 cup tahini
2+ tablespoons olive oil
1+ tablespoon coarse salt
2-4 cloves of garlic
parsley
pinch of cayenne pepper

Reserve 1/4 cup garbanzo bean juice, rinse beans.
Blend all ingredients together in a blender.

Eat.

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Oatmeal Raisin Muffins

This is the first baking recipe I have posted on here, I hope to do more. The recipe is a mish mash of 3 recipes that I found. It also originally had buttermilk in it, but it had gone bad by the time I got around to making these.

These muffins can be eaten for pretty much any occasion. I had some for lunch, breakfast and dessert. They were gone in under 24 hours (not including half of which were shipped across country to Arletta in New York).

1.5 cup water
1.5 cup steel cut oats
1/2 cup pastured butter (i used half butter, half veggie oil - I don't know the exact amounts...but less than was suggested)
2 eggs - beaten
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 - 1 cup raisins soaked in 1 tbsp Whiskey
1.5 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup brown sugar (could increase if you want something more desserty)

Preheat oven to 400°F degrees.

Boil water. When boiled, remove from heat and add the oats, butter, sugar and veggie oil. Cool.

Meanwhile mix remaining dry ingredients. Stir in egg and oat mixture.

Spoon into greased muffin tin, cook for 15-25 minutes (until toothpick comes out mostly clean).

Easy as muffins.

Chicken and Peanut Sauce

Every time I think about making this recipe I'm always a little unsure if it will be any good. Every time I make it it's always very good. You think i'd learn my lesson, but for some reason I don't.

Chicken:
Marinate cubed chicken for one hour in the following:
Soy Sauce
Olive Oil
Brown Sugar
Ginger (fresh grated is best)
Garlic (fresh chopped is best)
Dash of red pepper flakes
Sesame Oil

Peanut Sauce:
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon vinegar (or, even better, 2 tablespoons lime juice)
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp cumin
dash salt
cayenne pepper (the more the spicier)
garlic
dash olive oil

Whisk all peanut sauce ingredients together until smooth and put in saucepan.
Sauté marinated chicken in pan.
Once chicken is about halfway done, start heating the peanut sauce.
Finish cooking chicken while keeping an eye on peanut sauce and stir it occasionally. Make sure not to burn.

Serve chicken with peanut sauce on the side. Add veggie and rice if desired.

Extra Lean Turkey Tacos

Yes, extra lean turkey tacos don't sound that good, but they are.

Take extra lean ground turkey and brown in frying pan. Add package of McCormick Original Taco Seasoning. Add onions. Add tomatoes.

Take some tortillas, heat a tortilla up in another frying pan. Heat one side a bit, then flip, then put non-fat refried beans and cheddar cheese on the top side. This will warm them up/melt the cheese. When tortilla is hot/beans are warm and cheese begins to melt, remove from pan and add the hot turkey to finish the job. Top with homemade salsa (if you don't have any canned from the previous harvest season, a simple diced tomato, onion, jalapeno, and cilantro works wonders (either mix or throw in blender)

And enjoy!