Ciabatta Chicken Sandwiches

These are so good, especially on homemade ciabatta bread. But, if there's one thing this summer taught me it was that making ciabatta is a little bit of a pain. Not that anything about it is really hard, but you run your stand mixer on high for like 20 minutes. Seriously, just buy some nice quality ciabatta from your local bakery.

Ingredients:
2 ciabatta roles
4 chicken tenders
salt and pepper
1/4 c. pesto sauce
3 to 5 T. mayonnaise
1 avocado, sliced
2 to 3 small Roma tomatoes, sliced

Directions:
1. Split roles in halves.
2. Salt and pepper chicken tenders. In a pan over medium-high heat, cook tenders until juices run clear.
3. In small bowl mix pesto and mayonnaise. Add more mayo if you like, but I like mine pesto-y. Smear onto ciabatta roles.
4. Place chicken one half, avocados and tomatoes on the other.
5. Put halves together and take a giant bite. Enjoy.

Pumpkin Curry Soup

I whipped this up tonight in the amount of time it took me to bake a couple loaves of bread (which, for those of you who haven't made my bread, takes 30 minutes). It was delicious! I could tell my husband was skeptical but one bite and he was sold! SO! Here goes.

Ingredients:
4 large carrots, peeled and chopped
1 can pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
1 can light coconut milk
2/3 c. chicken broth
1 t. ginger
1 t. cinnamon
3/4 t. curry powder
dash salt
feta cheese (optional, but highly recommended)

Directions:
1. Put carrots in a sauce pan with about an 1/8 cup water. Steam until soft enough to mash (about 10 minutes). Use potato masher to mash in pan. (If you don't want any lumps at all, you can puree it in a blender, but I like a little substance personally.)
2. Add pumpkin, coconut milk, and broth. Stir to incorporate. Add seasoning. Turn burner to low and allow the soup to warm completely through.
3. Serve with feta crumbles for a sweet-salty scrumptiousness.

Parmesan Sole

Last weekend we ate out at a little pub in Monterey--sorry, I don't remember the name--but my husband got Parmesan cod. It was excellent, and we figured it couldn't be that hard to recreate, so when I was shopping on Monday I picked up some white fish. This is sole because it was significantly cheaper than the cod, but doubtless you would simply use the same method to cook any crusted white fish. It was melt-in-your-mouth soft and smooth. And the leftovers were pretty great too!

Parmesan Sole
1 stick butter, separated
1/2 c. Italian-style bread crumbs
about 1 c. grated Parmesan cheese, separated
4 fillets sole
1/4 c. milk, half-and-half, or cream
cracked black pepper

Directions:
1. In a large, deep fry pan over medium-low heat, melt 1/2 stick of butter. In a wide, shallow dish, mix bread crumbs and 1/4 c. Parmesan. Pour melted butter into a separate wide dish. There should be enough butter left in the pan to coat the bottom. Return pan to heat and turn up to medium.
2. Coat each sole fillet in butter, then in crumb mixture. Use your finger-tips to lightly pat the mixture onto the fillets. Place in pan and fry until cooked through, carefully flipping once--about 4 minutes on each side. (The muscles should easily separate when touched with a fork and the meat will turn white.)
3. In a small saucepan, melt remaining butter. Add milk and whisk. Continue whisking vigorously while adding remaining Parmesan. Sprinkle in freshly ground black pepper.
4. To serve, spoon some sauce onto each plate. Carefully lay a fillet on top. If desired, top with additional sauce.

Pear and Feta Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

I try to have one meal a week be a nice big salad. Sometimes I just toss whatever is in the fridge that needs to be used onto a pile of leaves and we pour some balsamic vinegar over the top and call it good--I'm not alone here, am I? Other times I actually think it through and try to make something nice, dressing and all. Tonight, I am proud to say, was of the latter kind. This salad could also be served as a side, obviously. Just omit the chicken and make it on a slightly smaller scale (unless you're one of those who eat the way they should--you know, with half the plate being greens.)

Pear and Feta Salad

1 chicken breast

2 T. oil

8 oz. salad greens (I used baby spinach and red lettuce), slightly chopped if necessary

4 or 5 white mushrooms, rinsed and sliced

1 large celery stalk, chopped

3 small Bartlett pears, chopped

1/2 red onion

handful crumbled feta cheese

Directions:

1. Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Place chicken breast in pan and cover. Cook for 4 minutes on each side, or until cooked through. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. 

2. Meanwhile, place all remaining ingredients in salad bowl. Chop cooked chicken and add to the salad. 

Citrus Vinaigrette

1/4 c. olive oil

1/4 c. citrus vinegar, like Trader Joe's Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar (which I just bought, and so far enjoy)

1 clove garlic

1 T. Dijon mustard

dash of salt

dried thyme

dried basil

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together until fully emulsified. Pour over top of salad and toss lightly.

Chicken and Dumplings

• The ultimate in comfort foods from www.food.com.

CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS-- 4-6 servings

1 large broiler/fryer

• 4 carrots, peeled and sliced
  2 celery ribs, sliced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2-1 teaspoon pepper
• water

DUMPLINGS

• 2 cups flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup milk
• 4 tablespoons oil

1 Combine chicken, celery, carrots, onion, chicken broth, parsley, chicken bouillon granules, salt and pepper in a large pan or dutch oven; add enough water to cover chicken.


2 Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer for 2 hours or until chicken is done.

3 Remove chicken and let stand until cool enough to handle.

4 Remove skin and bones from chicken. 

6 Add more salt and pepper to taste, if desired.

5 Return meat to soup.

7 In a mixing bowl, combine dumpling ingredients and mix well to form a stiff dough.

8  Return chicken to soup and return to a simmer.

9 Drop dumplings by tablespoonfuls into simmering soup.

10 Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, then remove cover and simmer 10 more minutes.

11 Serve immediately.

 *SOUTHERN STYLE DUMPLINGS (heavier and chewier) 2 cups flour, 1 cup chicken broth, 2 tsp baking powder, 2 beaten eggs. Combine flour, broth, baking powder and eggs; mix well to form a stiff batter. Drop by tablespoonfuls into simmering soup. Cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

Grilled Greek Tacos by Our Best Bites

I made these the other night for dinner and they were such a hit that I would be remiss in not sharing--WOW! They're good!  In fact, they were so popular with my family that now, 2 days later, my son has requested that we have them again soon. They're a little work intensive in the prep, but as easy to put together as...a taco!
Here's the link:  Grilled Greek Tacos by Our Best Bites and a photo to get you going!

Flautas

My man took the reigns again tonight for dinner. He is something of a connoisseur of all foods south of the border. So he offered to make flautas this week for dinner and I scheduled him for tonight! 

Mmmmmmm...flautas...

Anyway, they're pretty easy to make. Here's how it's done:

Ingredients:

corn tortillas (we use Guerrero) 

oil for frying

chicken

Directions:

1. In a deep fry pan, pour between 1/2 inch to an inch of oil. Turn the burner to medium and allow the oil to heat.

2. Meanwhile, Cook the chicken thoroughly and shred it. Or, if you prefer, shred it and then cook it. We're flexible.

3. Lay a little of the shredded chicken on a tortilla. Roll into a tube (we recommend sticking a toothpick through it to keep it that way, they tend to break easily) and put into the heated oil. Fry until lightly golden.

Enjoy topped with lettuce (or spinach if you forgot this is what you were having for dinner and didn't get any lettuce, but happily found it tasted alright), pevre, and sour cream. We had rice and black beans on the side. Delish! Thanks, hon!

Black Bean Burrito

These were on the menu for tomorrow night, but I got home about an hour too late for what I had planned, so I threw this together instead. I had a rough idea of what I wanted, but I will admit the result is about ten times better than what I expected! They were so good!

Ingredients:
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed
2 t. ground cumin
2 T. oil
1/2 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
about 1/2 jalapeno, seeded and diced
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes, partly drained
1/2 t. ground chile
about 1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese
1 pkg. tortillas (I used Guerrero's Tortillas de Harina Fresquiricas 'cause Mike says they're the best other than homemade)

Directions:
1. In a small sauce pan, heat black beans with a little water (maybe 1/2 can) and cumin over medium-high heat. Bring to a light boil, reduce heat and allow to simmer until water has reduced to a couple tablespoons.
2. Meanwhile, in a large fry pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook until soft and translucent. Add jalapeno and diced tomatoes. Turn up heat and bring to a light boil; reduce heat and allow to simmer until sauce has thickened. Add ground chile. Add beans to tomato sauce. Remove from heat and stir in grated cheese until melted.
3. On a flat griddle, over medium-low heat, lay out tortillas. Cook until light golden color on each side. Fill with bean-and-sauce mixture; roll into burrito and serve with salsa and sour cream (or yogurt if you're Mum).

Quinoa Stir Fry

I don't actually know if this would qualify as a stir fry, but I really just don't care. So that's what I'm calling it. I have cooked with quinoa quite a bit as of late--it's a whole protein with none of the fat or cholesterol you get from meat.

For the record, I am a meat lover. LOVER. But I'm also a life lover, which means I've got to reign in my meat-loving-ness once in a while. Not to mention I'm also poor, though to be honest, quinoa doesn't help too much in that regard.

Back to what I was saying before, I've been cooking with it a lot lately, but nothing has really been great so far. Quinoa is really good for you, and tastes like something fish would eat (i.e. bland). It has very little flavor at all. But last night I had a quinoa revelation! I took random vegetables from my fridge, chopped them up and added some dill and--oh, it was just great! The carrots and baby spinach added some sweetness to it and the rest just gave a nice round flavor. Even Mike liked it, and I have been hard pressed to get him in with the quinoa since I started experimenting with it. Anyway, here goes:

Ingredients:
1 c. quinoa, cooked like rice (literally, just cook it like rice; I did add some tomato-chicken bullion to it while it cooked)
2 T. oil
3 medium carrots, rinsed (I never peel my vegetables, it's just too much work)
2 large cloves garlic, peeled (obviously)
2 celery ribs, rinsed
about 8 ounces cherry tomatoes (or any tomatoes of similar size, these are heirloom 'cause that's what I had)

a handful of baby spinach, rinsed and torn

pinch of salt

about 1/2 T. dried dill

Directions:
1. While quinoa is cooking, put oil in a large pan over medium heat. Slice up carrots and add to oil. Mince garlic and add to carrots. Let cook for about five minutes, tossing occasionally so carrots and garlic don't burn.
2. Chop the celery and slice tomatoes in halves and add to the pan. Again, keep stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
3. As soon as quinoa is finished, add it to the vegetables. (You may need to add a little bit of water to prevent burning. A half-cup should do.) Stir to mix. Turn off the burner and add baby spinach; stir until the spinach is slightly wilted. Add salt and dill.

Note: You could use this as a side dish, but we just ate it for supper with no sides. This was enough for me, my baby daughter, and my manly-eating husband, but there weren't any leftovers.

Mixed Veggie Pasta

On Sunday Mike took the reigns during lunch and whipped this together in like ten minutes--hallelujah to intelligent, resourceful husbands who appreciate both taste and health. (Okay, it's alfredo sauce, but we did get lots of vegetables in there.)





Ingredients:
Alfredo sauce--bought or (way better) the recipe at the bottom of the post
8 oz. fusilli pasta, cooked al dente
1/2 T. oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 tomato, diced
2 handfuls baby spinach, rinsed
1/2 c. frozen peas
1/2 c. frozen corn

Directions:
1. While alfredo and pasta are cooking, saute garlic and onion in oil until onion is soft. Add tomato, peas, and corn; saute until tomato is soft. Add spinach and immediately turn off burner.
2. Drain pasta; add to vegetable mixture. Add sauce and stir until all is combined. Add pepper to taste.

Mama Conner's Wicked Alfredo:
Ingredients:
1 stick butter
2/3 to 1 c. Parmesan cheese
1/2 c. cream (or milk, whatever you normally have in your fridge will do fine, just use a little less)
1 egg, beaten
pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Melt butter over medium heat. Add Parmesan, whisking constantly. Turn heat to low and add milk. Stir in egg and add pepper.

This makes a bunch of alfredo--easily enough to cover a pound of pasta. Mike says he scaled it down by using 2 T. butter, 1/3 c. Parmesan cheese, a drop of milk (however much pours out when you just tip it down then up) and 1 egg, beaten. 

Stuffed Pasta Shells

I first made this a year ago and it was meh. I've made them a couple times since, trying to improve on the recipe and they've been meh every time. Until tonight! I think I added twice as much garlic as I usually do and they came out very nice!

Ingredients:
16 to 20 jumbo pasta shells, cooked part-way
1/2 lb. fresh baby spinach (not frozen)
15 oz. Ricotta cheese
3 large cloves of garlic, minced
Parmesan cheese
ground black pepper
your favorite red sauce

Directions:
1. While shells are cooking, boil spinach in water
     3-5 minutes. Drain well. Mix together with Ricotta, garlic, Parmesan, and pepper.
2. Drain shells and rinse with luke-warm water until cool enough to handle.
3. In bottom of 9-by-9 in. deep-dish baking pan, pour about 1/4 c. red sauce and spread along the bottom. Stuff shells as full as you can and place in baking dish. Cover with red sauce and sprinkle Parmesan over the top.
4. Bake at 350* F. for 15 to 20 minutes. Let sit 3 to 5 minutes before serving.

Chicken Curry

s

Growing up, my mum made foods from all over the world--foods I didn't know were "exotic" until I was in middle school and started sleeping over at friends houses and realizing they had never eaten them before, except maybe at restaurants. Curry is one of them. I've eaten it all my life as a little kid in a rural town in Maine and--lo, and behold--it's actually a Southeast-Asian dish! Who knew?

This is based off of my mum's chicken curry recipe that she got from some cookbook years ago (sorry, I don't recall the name). This recipe though has had some revisions. As good as Mum's curry is, I have now had the pleasure of being patron to many a Thai restaurant and I like to think I have improved upon the original by way of the taste-test-adjust method. I made this one a few nights ago and my husband and I agreed: it is the best curry I have ever made and is on par with curries at gourmet Thai restaurants. (DISCLAIMER: Notice I said gourmet? I am in no way claiming to be authentic. If you have a problem with that, then feel free to send me your authentic curry recipe and I'll try it out. Of course, you would be given due credit.)

Ingredients:
2 T. butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 cube of bouillon
1/4 c. water
1/2-2 T curry powder (more or less according to your love of curry and spiciness)
1 1/2 t. ginger
1/4 t. cumin
1 can coconut milk
1 1/4 c. milk (I use whole, but you can really use whatever)
1 chicken breast, chopped/shredded and cooked (You could also use beef.)

Directions:
1. Sauté onion in butter over medium heat until soft.
2. Add bouillon and water and stir until dissolved. Add curry, cumin, and ginger. Stir until dissolved.
3. Add coconut milk and milk. Stir well. Taste and adjust as necessary.
4. Add chicken.

Serve over rice and top with bananas, tomatoes, pineapple, flaked coconut and soy sauce!

Mama Conner's Pizza Crust

For those of you who have never had it, homemade pizza is to die for. AND it's actually a pretty healthy meal! My mum has made this pizza crust about every week since I was a kid. Since I have a lot of siblings, this pizza crust is designed to make a lot, so you have a choice: (a) you can cut the recipe down to fit what you need, or (b) you can make all of the recipe, divide it into sections, wrap each section and freeze it. It freezes well for up to three weeks I would say. After that, it's certainly usable, but different somehow. (Just so you know, I do option b.)

If you decide to go with option b, do let the dough thaw overnight in the fridge and then set it out on a floured counter (unwrapped so it has room to expand) for a good hour to let it warm up. I'll tell ya, trying to roll out cold pizza dough is not as fun as it sounds--and it really doesn't sound that fun, so that's saying something!

Ingredients:
4 c. flour (plus more, so keep your flour out)
4 c. HOT tap water (most taps will get up to about 120 degrees Fahrenheit, which is right
where you want it)
4 tsp. dry active yeast
2 tsp. brown sugar
1/4 oil (I like to use olive oil when I have it on hand, but any will do)
1 Tbsp. salt

Directions:1. Mix flour and tap water. Stir in yeast. Add brown sugar, oil, and salt. Mix well.
2. Stir in flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough starts to come away from the bowl and form a ball. (If you are using a KitchenAid type mixer, be sure you have your bread hook on and rest assured, the dough will eventually start pulling away from the bowl and clinging to the hook.) Once the dough is fairly easy to handle, pour it from the bowl onto a clean, floured surface.

For THIN CRUST pizza: divide into 4 or 5 loaves. Roll out all the crusts you will be using. Place on a pizza pan or pizza stone and stick it in the fridge for 15 to 30 minutes (this isn't necessary, but it keeps the middle nice and crispy). Top and bake immediately after taking out of the fridge.

For THICK CRUST pizza: Let single loaf rise 15 to 30 minutes. Divide into 3 or 4 loaves. Roll out all you will be using. Allow to rise on pans/stones while oven preheats. Top and bake.

Bake between 475 and 500 degrees Fahrenheit.

Wrap the unused loaves securely but loose enough to allow them to expand a little, because they will do so even in your freezer.

Note: I have this same recipe posted on another blog. To view this version and other recipes, please visit Budget Bites.

Gnocchi (n-yo-ki)

Oh, the most beautiful of pastas! And I really mean that. Ya know, I am not really a homemade pasta kind of woman. I've never made it, but it just looks like a whole lot more work than I'm willing to do, at least at this point in my life. We'll see what happens when I actually have some counter space!

Gnocchi though--oh, gnocchi! It is SOOOOO worth the effort. (Of course, it also helps that Mike's the one who makes it.) Mike has made it a few times, and here is what he says:

Potatoes: some people will say you need to use a certain kind of potato. Truth be told, he's used reds, golds, and russets. It doesn't matter, as long as it equals about one large russet potato.

Directions:

1. Boil in enough water to just cover the potato. (You may need to add more as it evaporates.) NOTE: Don't put the potato into the water after it's boiling. They should heat up together. This prevents the skin from loosening and floating around in the water.

2. The potato is done when it's soft enough to poke a fork into but doesn't break apart. At this point, take it out and with a hand mixer or a potato masher, break the potato up. It should

come out grainy more than whipped. (You can peel it if you want to, but he never does.)

3. Add a beaten egg to the potato and mix it in. Add salt and pepper, and even garlic if you like.

4. Add flour by the handful to the potato until it forms a dough that is soft but not sticky. It takes about two of Mike's handfuls, but just add it and mix until it feels right.

5. Break off a chunk of the dough and put on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a snake about a half-inch thick. With a sharp knife,

cut the snake into pieces about an inch wide. You'll need plenty of counter space so the cut gnocchi don't touch each other. Repeat with the rest of the dough until it's all done.

6. In a pot of boiling water, maintained at medium-high, drop the gnocchi in one at a time, not by handfuls. They still can't touch! Pay attention because the gnocchi will cook quickly--between 30 and 60 seconds. As soon as they rise to the surface, spoon them out into a dish. Repeat until they're all finished.

7. We used pesto for our sauce, Classico was really good, and topped it with freshly grated Parmesan. We sauteed mushrooms, bell pepper, tomatoes, olives, and onion and mixed those in with the finished gnocchi and served it with seasoned chicken, a salad, and bread sticks.

Altogether, there was enough food to easily feed us and our three guests. Without the breadsticks and chicken, it might have been more a three-person meal. You can adjust it as necessary.

Lentil Soup

I never measure this too carefully, but I'll make it as accurate as possible. (The truth is, soups are usually all to taste anyway, so it measurements don't matter all that much.)

Ingredients:
1 medium carrot - diced
about a 1/4 c. of onion - diced
a little tomato sauce/paste/freshly chopped
1-2 c. chicken broth
1 lb. lentils
lime juice
cumin

Directions:
1. In medium sauce pan, saute carrot, onion, and tomato (if fresh) in a little butter until tender. Add chicken broth (and tomato sauce/paste if using).
2. Add lentils and bring to soft boil. Allow to simmer, stirring occasionally. IF AT ANY TIME THE WATER BOILS DOWN BELOW THE TOP OF THE LENTILS, ADD MORE. (This may happen multiple times.)
3. After simmering for a matter of minutes, add a good squirt of lime juice. Allow to continue simmering. Sprinkle cumin over top of lentils and stir. Let simmer continue.
4. The lentils will simmer for about 25 minutes. There should be plenty of liquid still in the pot when you serve.

We like to eat it plain or with sour cream on top. We also eat it with bread or corn bread.

The Jakey--A Sandwich Experience

This is an original creation by our son Jake.

Ingredients:
2 eggs, hard boiled, peeled, and chopped
mayonnaise (as desired)
salt and pepper to taste
pimento-stuffed green olives, chopped
sliced cheese

Directions:
Mix all ingredients except cheese together. With two slices of bread make a sandwich along with a slice or two of cheese (Provolone or Swiss is good). Butter the outsides of the bread and toast in a pan over medium heat until golden brown and cheese is melted. It's yummy!

Fettucine Alfredo (aka "Heart Attack on a Plate")

I found this recipe years ago in an old Italian cookbook. It's delicious, quick, simple, and as long as you don't make it too often it shouldn't shorten your life span by any noticeable amount. :) We love it with spinach fettucine, too.

12 oz. fettucini pasta (Tip: try using spinach fettucini. It is really good.)
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
3/4 cup parmesan, grated or shredded

1/2 cup cream

1 egg, well beaten
fresh ground pepper
olive oil

Cook pasta al dente according to package directions. Drain and toss with a little olive oil to keep from sticking together. In a small heavy saucepan over low heat melt butter. When melted, add the parmesan, stirring until melted and smooth. Slowly add cream while stirring with a whisk. Whisk in the egg and turn off heat. Mixture should be smooth and creamy. Pour over pasta--toss to cover evenly. Add fresh ground pepper to taste. Serve immediately. Heavenly....

Salmon Loaf

This was one of my favorites growing up, and I think it's quickly becoming one of Mike's as well. This isn't Mum's recipe, but it turned out pretty good. They taste pretty much the same, as far as I can tell.

1 (14 oz) can salmon, undrained

1/2 c. saltine cracker crumbs or bread crumbs

1/2 c. milk

1 egg, beaten

salt and pepper to taste

2t. melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all ingredients. Mix well.

Press mixture into a lightly greased 9 by 5 loaf pan.

Bake for 45 min. or until done.