Salmon Shocker

I usually cook salmon when I am trying to be healthy and when I am sick of chicken………… Somehow it always ends up that I eat a few bites and give the rest to our great dane Scout (he LOVES salmon).  I don’t know if it’s the texture, the idea of fish, or the color but for some reason I am not swooning over the pink swimmer like everyone else is.  Self magazine sends me healthy recipes every now and then and of course I cringed when I saw that the main recipe was  a salmon dish.  Well, I was trying to be healthy, again, and I decided to try this one out and I actually devoured the entire thing!  I hope you guys try it out, it’s Gwyneth Paltrow’s recipe featured in Self, enjoy!

 

Salmon with Sriracha Sauce and Lime 

• Juice and zest of 1/2 lime
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1 1/2 tsp sriracha sauce
• 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
• 1 1/4 lbs pounds salmon fillet, skin removed
• 2 Tbsp coarsely chopped cilantro

 

Preparation:

Heat oven to 425°. In a bowl, whisk together juice, zest, syrup, sriracha and salt. Place salmon in a baking dish lined with parchment paper; pour lime-maple mixture over top. Roast salmon until cooked through and flaky, 15 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro; serve.

Pantry Pleaser

This next recipe was introduced to me by Laura V. when she and her husband stayed with us this past Fall.  She found this delicious recipe on Pinterest and made it for us as a “thank you” for having them up for the weekend and it was SO GOOD!!  I made this on Sunday for my sister and her family while they were up here and it was perfect “entertaining food.”  The title is a tiny misleading since I do not have a pantry (sigh), but it is one of those recipes where you should have most, if not all, ingredients somewhere in your house.  Wake up, get your bake on, and enjoy!

Best Pancakes Ever 

*recipe found at Coleen’s Recipes

• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 Tbsp white vinegar (see note)
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp white sugar (I used 3)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbsp melted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
  

 

Preparation:

Combine the milk and vinegar in a small bowl for 10 minutes to “sour”.This is an important step and it is called “soured milk” which is much different that sour milk. I guarantee you will NOT taste the vinegar in the final product. Set aside.

 

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk the soured milk, egg, vanilla and melted butter together. Pour into the dry ingredients and whisk until most of the lumps are gone, but DO NOT OVER BEAT!!

 
The batter will be thick, don’t add any more liquid. LET THE BATTER SIT UNDISTURBED FOR TEN MINUTES!! After 10 minutes, you will see bubbles in the batter, very important DO NOT STIR AGAIN.

 
GENTLY dip out (don’t pour out) 1/2 cup of batter and place it on a buttered grill or frying pan. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface of the pancake and then flip with a spatula and brown the other side.

 

Note:

This recipe only feeds about 3 or 4 people, but doubles or even triples nicely

Fresh-fully Fit

This next recipe is from Amazing Pinterest Recipes and is pretty darn good.  I made this for Valentine’s dinner because I wanted to have healthy comfort food.  It tasted more on the healthy side than the comforting side but Will said it’s definitely a “Do Again.”  My favorite part of this dish was that it made 4 servings and I used the leftover chicken breasts the next 2 nights on a fresh spinach salad and it was delicious!  I hope you try this one out, it’s healthy, inexpensive, and easy.  Enjoy!

 

Balsamic Vinegar Chicken with Fresh Tomatoes

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts 
• 4 – 5 garlic cloves
• 1 cup fresh basil
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 package of cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1/2 red onion sliced

 

Preparation:

Preheat oven at 375°. Brown the chicken breasts in a pan. In a blender place the garlic, basil, olive oil, vinegar, water and pulse until pureed.

 

Place the browned chicken breasts in a pyrex and cover with the basil, garlic mixture. Top with mushrooms, tomatoes and onion and bake for about 40 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked. Serve with brown rice and a salad.

 

This was so absolutely delicious and you can eat one chicken breast and freeze the rest. I highly recommend a “good” quality balsamic vinegar. A little more expensive, but worth it.
This recipe is simple, clean and super delicious. It is very easy to prepare. It is also very low carb. Balsamic Vinegar Chicken. This is a great recipe. If you happen to make this please let me know how you like it by leaving a comment below.

Sassy Soup for the Soul

I made this delicious recipe the other night and got two thumbs up from Will.  I had to adapt since I could not find a particular type of pepper at the store and I changed the way the chicken was cooked, but don’t fret I will post the original and my adaption so you can choose what works best for you.  I hope you enjoy and please know that this feeds an army!

 

Eva Longoria’s Chicken Tortilla Soup

* recipe can be found at All The Best

 

• 6 whole Roma tomatoes
• 1/2 cup olive oil, divided
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1/2 bunch celery, diced
• 1 pasilla chili pepper, diced (I used 1 Poblano and roasted it)
• 1 jalapeño pepper, diced
• 1/4 cup garlic, chopped
• 6 cups hearty chicken stock
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tsps chili powder
• 2 tsps ground cumin seed
• 1 Tbsp paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into strips
• 2 Tbsps fresh cilantro leaves
• Tortilla chips, avocado, jalapeños, and sour cream to garnish

 

Preparation:

I slow cooked my chicken because I like shredded chicken in most dishes and I knew for certian that it was cooked through.  If cooking my way place 4 chicken breasts halves in slow cooker with a splach of water, salt, and pepper and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

 

If roasting poblano turn broiler on and place poblano in cracked oven and let skin blacken.  When ready place poblano if dish and cover with plastic wrap and let cool.  Once cool peel skin off and seed.  Dice up and reserve for the soup).  

 

Preheat oven to 350°.  In a bowl, toss tomatoes with half the oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of black pepper.  Spread on a baking pan and roast until light brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

 

While tomatoes are roasting, in a stockpot over medium heat, sauté onion, celery, peppers, and garlic in remaining oil.  Stir frequently until soft and translucent.

 

To stockpot add chicken stock, lime juice, cayenne, chili powder, cumin, paprika, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Simmer 20 minutes.

 

Remove roasted tomatoes from oven (peel should be falling off), and add to broth.

 

Add chicken-breast strips and simmer 10 minutes. (Shred slow cooked chicken and place into soup and simmer for 10 minutes).

C is for Copycat

I found a homemade salsa recipe on Pinterest that promises to be a copycat of Chili’s amazing salsa.  I made this the other night when we had people over and it seemed to be a hit!  I plan on making it again this weekend and I hope I get the same reaction, enjoy!

 

Chili’s Copycat Salsa 

* Six Sisters’ Stuff

• 2 cans (14.5 oz each) whole tomatoes, drained
• 3-4 canned, whole jalapenos (not pickled)
• 1 yellow onion, quartered
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 2 tsps lime juice

 

Preparation:

Place all of the ingredients together into a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Serve with tortilla chips.

Too Ripe Bananas, No worries……….

I eat a banana daily so I have the occasional few that get way too brown for my (and Buddy’s) liking.  Instead of wasting them this time I made some delicious banana bread, but this was not your typical bread that we have had over and over again.  This called for some yummy cinnamon sugar goodness and let me tell you it was good.  Cinnamon is super good for you and you can read some of the health benefits here.  In my crazy mind I can forget about the amount of sugar in this recipe since it has CINNAMON = ) Enjoy!

 

Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread

* recipe can be found at Lovin’ From The Oven

 

For the Bread 

• 3 over-ripe bananas, smashed up
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking soda
• dash of salt
• 1 1/2 cups flour

 

For the swirl:

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 Tbs cinnamon

 

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°.

 

Butter and four a loaf pan (9×5).   Mix bananas, butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla together. sprinkle baking soda and salt around on top of the banana mixture.  Then gently stir in flour. Be careful not to over-mix!

 

In a small dish, mix together the 1/3 cup sugar and 1 Tbs cinnamon.

 

Add 1/2 of the batter to the loaf pan and then sprinkle half, or a little more than half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture all over the batter in the pan.  Add the rest of the batter, and then sprinkle the leftover cinnamon-sugar on top.

 

Bake for 50-60 minutes, but remember, if you’re using a different-sized loaf pan, be careful and keep a close eyeball on it!

Hunter’s Stew to the Rescue

I have only cooked chicken cacciatore once and I was blessed to have a real life Italian chef teach me how to make it.  Needless to say I have not tried it since because I am pretty sure it will never be as tasty and the recipe is in Italian so………..  The other day my girl Rachael Ray made a spicy version of her family’s chicken cacciatore recipe and it looks easy and delicious.  Enjoy!

 

Spicy Chicken Cacciatore 

• 6 to 8 pieces bone-in, skin-on chicken (she uses thighs and small split breasts)
• Salt and pepper
• 2 Tbsp EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/4 lb pancetta, guanciale or bacon, diced 1/4 inch
• 3/4 lb cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 2 fresno peppers or 1 green frying pepper (for a milder version), thinly sliced
• 2 small or 1 medium carrot, very thinly sliced or finely diced
• 4 large garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 large bay leaf
• 2 Tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 1/2 cups dry red wine
• 1 28-ounce can San Marzano whole tomatoes
• 1 14-ounce can puréed tomatoes or 2 cups passata
• A few leaves of basil, torn
• A fat handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1/2 to 1 lb hot red pepper-flavored penne or penne rigate (she cooks 1/2 pound for 2 or 3 people, 1 pound for 4 to 6 people)
• 2 Tbsp butter
• A couple of handfuls freshly grated Pecorino cheese

 

Preparation:

Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides.

 

Heat EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown chicken skin-side down first in 2 batches until crispy, remove to plate. Add pancetta, guanciale or bacon and crisp, drain off some fat if there is more than 5-6 tablespoons. Add mushrooms and brown 7-8 minutes. Add fresnos, carrots, garlic, onions, bay, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper. Partially cover pan and cook 7-8 minutes to soften the vegetables. Stir in tomato paste, cook 1-2 minutes. Add wine and reduce by half. Add tomatoes and basil, break up tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Add chicken back to the pot and simmer 35-40 minutes uncovered to thicken. Stir in parsley near serving time.

 

Bring pasta water to full rolling boil. Season pasta water with salt and cook pasta to al dente.

 

Arrange chicken pieces on platter and cover with some of the sauce. Drain pasta and add back to hot pot and toss with butter, half the remaining sauce and the cheese. Transfer pasta to platter or bowl and top with additional sauce.