Fettuccine With Chicken and Onion Cream Sauce: Time Consuming, But Worth It

I had a meeting yesterday and, while I normally don't make dinner on meeting nights, I had to because we didn't have any leftovers.
First, you heat your oil and saute a clove of minced garlic on medium low until it starts to color; I know the temptation will be strong to turn up the heat, but trust me that if you do you risk burning your garlic. Add your chicken breasts, raise the heat to medium, and cook the chicken until it's cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan and cut into slices. Reduce the heat to medium low and add a diced onion; cook it until it's soft. Add a teaspoon of chicken base and half a cup of water; bring to a boil and let simmer for a few minutes. Add a cup and a half of cream, a quarter cup of milk, a half a cup of Parmesan cheese, and six scallions sliced on the bias including the green part; mix well. Let this simmer on medium, stirring frequently, until thickened. Meanwhile, cook your fettuccine according to the package directions. To serve, put your fettuccine on a plate, place a few slices of chicken on it, and spoon a bit of sauce on top.
I served boiled baby artichokes with tarragon-lemon butter on the side. To make this, all you do is trim your artichokes with a pair of kitchen shears so that all the spiky parts are removed and trim the stem and the loosest leaves. Put these in a pan of salted boiling water and cook for fifteen minutes or until tender; if you use globe, or standard size, artichokes, double the time you cook them. To make the tarragon-lemon butter, put half a Tablespoon butter, the juice of half a lemon, and a couple pinches of tarragon in a glass pinch bowl and microwave until melted. To eat, dip your artichoke leaves in the butter.
Will and I really liked this, and only half an artichoke and a little of the fettuccine was left over. I will definitely make this again because it turned out so well.

Lettuce Wraps: Quick and Fun

I was going to make pork chops and then pull the meat to make lettuce wrap, but since I burned one side of the chops while grilling them, I decided to just pull them and make the wraps instead.
First, pull your pork using two forks to pull it apart. Then add a can of rinsed and drained black beans, salsa, a diced tomato, a can of diced green chilies, cumin, salt, lime juice, and garlic powder; mix it all together and refrigerate while you prepare your lettuce. Rinse your Romaine lettuce leaves and tear off the really fibrous ends; discard them because they are useless due to the fact that they are so fibrous. Once your lettuce is rinsed and patted dry, put a scoop of the pork mixture into the center, put a little sour cream or Greek yogurt on top, and fold the leafy end of the lettuce over.
Will was really funny because when he first looked at it, he complained that this meal was a little too experimental for his tastes. Then he bit into and learned that you can't judge a meal by its appearance.  I enjoyed it, but I think next time I will add in some cheese just to add some extra flavor. This is really easy to make vegetarian or vegan simply because all you have to do is take out the meat, maybe add a few extra vegetables, and voila! You have an amazing meal at your fingertips.

Chile Rellenos Con Guacamole: Easy and Tasty

This recipe marked a few firsts for me. It was my first time roasting and peeling chilies and also my first time making rellenos that weren't baked. All in all, this was a good experience and proof positive that homemade doesn't have to be back breaking labor; it can be pretty easy.
First, roast and peel four Anaheim chilies. This is as simple as heating your broiler, putting your chilies on a baking sheet, and leaving them under the broiler until the skins are blistered. Then stick them in a plastic bag and let them steam for fifteen minutes. Finally take them out and peel them. Once all of them are peeled, cut as small a slit as you can, leaving the stem on, and remove all the seeds. Stick them in a bowl of salted water and let them sit for half an hour.
Meanwhile, make your vinaigrette by combining four Tablespoons oil, two Tablespoons white vinegar, paprika, salt, pepper, and fresh parsley; mix well. Make your guacamole by slicing two or three peeled avocados, mashing them with a fork, and adding fresh diced tomatoes, cumin, lime or lemon juice, and salt to taste. Usually when I make guacamole I use lemon juice, but since I have a lime tree with fresh limes less than fifty feet from my back door, I used limes.
By this time your chilies should be ready. Drain them, rinse them, and drain them again. Stick two chilies on each plate, fill them with the guacamole, and drizzle the vinaigrette over the top. If desired, serve with a dollop of sour cream.
Will immediately smelled the vinaigrette, but said that the one bite he did try was not vinegary thanks to the guacamole. Sadly, his stomach was rather bilious from eating leftover curry so he decided not to chance it. I loved it, but forgot that the chilies I purchased were from Hatch, New Mexico. For the record, mild chilies from New Mexico are about the same as medium chilies from California. I am so glad my local supermarket had them due to the Hatch chili festival being this weekend, and that I didn't buy the hot ones!

Minestrone: Not Exactly Quick, But Easy and Tasty

I decided to make my own vegetable stock, since I had a great deal of mire poix vegetables left over from making chicken stock. As a result, I thought making a nice minestrone would allow us to get in more vegetables and make use of some of the stock I prepared.
First, making stock is pretty simple; just use more vegetables than you did when you made chicken stock and don't use any meat. Once your stock is a pretty golden color, you can add your vegetables. The sky is the limit with adding vegetables, herbs, and spices; I personally added canned roasted and diced tomatoes, zucchini, garlic, Italian seasoning, and Parmesan cheese. Once the vegetables are tender, serve piping hot with bread and butter.
Will and I both liked it, but Will did have one complaint to make with this; I forgot that many minestrone recipes include either pasta or beans.

Tofu and Green Bean Curry: Easy and Really Good

Will and I ate at restaurants most of the weekend, so I figured we needed to eat something vegan and cook the mushrooms I got for this recipe. While Will probably disagrees with me, I don't like the taste of reheated tofu, so make sure someone in the house does or else make sure you eat it all.
First, add about a third of a can of coconut milk and heat until you notice an oily sheen on the surface. Then add two Tablespoons of red curry paste, three Tablespoons fish sauce, and two teaspoons of palm sugar or light brown sugar and mix well. Then add 8 ounces of whole button mushrooms and coat them with the sauce. Add the remainder of the coconut milk and bring to a boil. Stir in tofu and fresh or frozen green beans and cook for six to eight more minutes or until heated through. Add sliced fresh red peppers and serve. I used Thai hot peppers or, as my family calls them, boonie peppers, but you could add red jalapenos to it no problem.
Will was not too happy about the boonie peppers in the curry, but it was a good thing that I made a raita with yogurt, a lemon cucumber hybrid, and fresh tomato to go with it. I also served it with a saffron rice. All it takes to make that is to add a pinch of saffron to your boiling water when you make rice, and the result is a fragrant yellow rice.

Beans: Not As Difficult As You Think

I finally remembered to soak my beans and cooked them. This is one of the first times I've made them, and I have to say they didn't turn out half bad.
First, rinse, soak, and make sure you don't have any stones in among your beans. Next, just barely cover them with water, add a diced onion, some garlic powder, and some ground thyme; boil this mixture for three hours, stirring occasionally while also making sure the beans remain covered with water, until the beans are tender. If you want to add meat to your beans, add a couple ham hocks or, better yet, a smoked turkey leg, when you add the onion and spices to the beans. This time, I made it completely vegetarian, but to each his own.
This made a great accompaniment to leftover chilaquiles, and I plan on freezing the leftovers to use in soups, stews, and sides. All in all, it was a good experience.

Chilaquiles: Easy, Fast, and Cheap

Will had Spanish class and was consequently home late. Luckily I keep supplies for this particular recipe on hand in the event that I'm not feeling well or he has a class or work that runs late. This recipe is so simple that even a ten year old could figure it out, and best yet, you can cook it in the microwave or the oven depending on how much of a hurry you're in.
First, know there are two ways of doing this recipe. The first is, you can choose to crumble up the tortilla chips that make up the chilaquiles. The second is to leave the chips intact. I prefer the latter method, and Will grew up with the former. Either way, all you do is put a handful of tortilla chips into a casserole dish, add just enough enchilada sauce to coat the chips (too much and your chilaquiles will end up really greasy) and add a handful of grated cheddar and cotija cheeses, again tossing to coat. Continue layering until the casserole dish is filled. If you're doing this in the microwave, hold off on topping this with cheese until after it's been microwaved for eight minutes, then take it out, add the cheese, and return for another two minutes. Then let it sit for five minutes, as it will be super hot. If you are doing this in the oven, top the chilaquiles with cheese and bake it in a 350 degree oven for twenty minutes or until bubbly and the cheese is melted.
This time, Will added a bit too much enchilada sauce and as a result it had a greasy sheen on the top. Other than that, it was pretty darn good. Usually we serve this with refried beans, but I didn't have anymore canned pinto beans handy and spaced on soaking some dried beans overnight. Even better, if you prefer a meatier option for dinner, just add some leftover shredded chicken or ground beef to each layer in addition to the cheese. In fact, this is why I like to make this dish a couple days after I make my exponentially expanding enchiladas.

Pappardelle With Broccoli: Easy and Tasty

I've had a gastrointestinal virus since Sunday and have been unable to cook or eat anything that isn't on the brat diet. Tonight was my first night off said diet, and while my choice was a mistake, the food was pretty darn good.
Cook your pappardelle in salted boiling water according to package directions. Meanwhile, melt some butter and cook a diced onion for four minutes or until soft. Add a half cup of vegetable stock and simmer. Then add half a cup of cream and half a cup of grated mozzarella. Stir until thickened, and add nutmeg and a pound of broccoli florets. Finally, add the pappardelle and toss to coat.
We both really liked this particular recipe. It wound up giving me heartburn, but that was more that I ate too fast and it was my first non-brat diet meal in four days.

Barbecue Chicken: Easy and Tasty

I had some leftover homemade barbecue sauce in my freezer, and thought, 'why not use it to make barbecue chicken?' While the sauce takes a bit of extra work, it's totally worth it, and freezes really well.
First, make the sauce. This will make a large amount of sauce, so marinate your meat in some of it and freeze the rest for later use. Start by sweating 8 ounces of diced onion and 1 ounce of chopped garlic in 1 ounce of oil until tender. Sweating is a process that means you're keeping it at low heat so that nothing browns but the flavor is still extracted from the foods you're sweating. Once everything's nice and tender, add 6 ounces red wine, an ounce of brown sugar, 2 ounces agave nectar, 8 ounces beef stock, 10 ounces ketchup, 1 ounce dry mustard, a spoonful of apricot preserves, and salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste, and simmer for half an hour.
Then, baste or marinate your chicken according to what you typically do; each person does it a little differently, so I won't interfere with that. Finally, stick it on a hot grill and grill, turning once, until the chicken is cooked through.
I served this with instant mashed potatoes and broccoli. I really don't like to use instant anything, but I only had one potato left, Will doesn't like rice with his barbecue, and we had this packet that my mother in-law brought over while I was sick, so we dealt with it.
Will loves this barbecue sauce, and I like that I know everything that's in it and can get an amazing recipe out of it in the process.

Carrot Casserole: Will Figured Out How To Make It Tastier

This traditional Finnish dish has been a staple food for Will and me for a year; whenever I buy too many carrots and we have a lot of leftover rice, I make this simple and tasty dish.
First, mix together a cup of cooked rice, four cups of grated carrots, a Tablespoon of brown sugar, a Tablespoon of salt, two cups of milk, and two eggs. Pour this into a greased casserole dish, sprinkle a third of a cup of breadcrumbs on top, and place a divided Tablespoon of butter on top of the breadcrumbs. Bake this in a 375 degree oven for forty-five minutes. Serve piping hot.
Will and I love to make this; it's easy to assemble and doesn't take much effort to make. Tonight, Will decided it needed something as we were eating. To be honest, it is a Finnish recipe, which means it can be rather bland, so he was right that it needed something. He added some cinnamon, and it gave the needed pop that was missing. From now on, I will definitely add cinnamon to the recipe.

Taco Salad: Experimented With Some Success

We haven't had taco salad in a couple months, so I decided to make it. This time, I added a few extra bits to try and make it a bit more special. Parts of it worked, while I would change a few things the next time I make this. I know most people will tell you that taco salad is the worst thing to order on the menu at a Mexican restaurant, but just bear with me and you'll see that in this case, homemade is the better route in this case.
First of all, ditch the chalupa (this is the fried tortilla bowl most taco salads come in; it's deep fried, which means excess fat that will kill a diet in its tracks if you're not careful). Your waistline will thank you. Second, most restaurants use iceberg lettuce in their taco salads. Not only is it very low in fiber, the only nutritional value that you can derive from it is water, so you're much better off going with a dark, leafy green like Romaine lettuce. Finally, use a lot of vegetables. Tomatoes are pretty standard, as are avocados, and some members of my family will even use canned peas.
One of the two biggest changes I made in comparison to last time was I added canned jalapeno slices to my ground beef this time. It added a nice zing to the meat; the problem was it was too spicy for my liking, which is a rarity. The other big change was we made our own refried beans, which is to say, we pureed some canned pinto beans and fried them in grapeseed oil with spices and cheese. There were a couple smaller changes, like the fact that I added cotija cheese to the cheese mix and used low fat Greek yogurt as a topping on the salad itself to help cut the heat.
Will and I both agreed that the beans were great, but the beef needed fewer jalapenos. Now I know for future reference and am glad I took the risk and tried something new.

Tomatillo Chicken: Pure Deliciousness

I must admit that I've never worked with tomatillos before, but after this experience, I will definitely work with them again.
First, start your broiler. Put your chicken breasts into a broiler or roasting pan. Once your broiler is good and hot, stick your chicken breasts in the oven about four inches from the broiler. Meanwhile, cook a chopped onion in oil until it's tender. Add six husked and chopped tomatillos and six chopped pickled jalapeno slices. By this time, you should need to turn over your chicken. Add a clove of minced garlic to the pan with your onions and stir. Add some cumin, salt, and pepper, and turn the heat to low. Meanwhile, slice some provolone cheese to put on the chicken breasts once they are cooked through. Once that happens, put the provolone slices on the breasts and cook until melted. To serve, put your tomatillo mixture over some piping hot cooked rice, and serve the chicken breast next to or on top of that. Serve with vegetables of your choice.
This was a pretty simple recipe that turned out fabulous. Will was afraid of it being too spicy for his liking, but he wound up loving it.

Garbanzo Curry With Minted Rice: Really Good and Pretty Easy

I've made the minted rice before, but I've never made the garbanzo curry that usually goes with it. Now I know this is an amazing vegan meal if you don't serve it with the cucumber salad I used as a side.
First, prepare the salad. Cut up your cucumbers, add your tomatoes and jalapeno, and mix in yogurt and salt and pepper to taste. Stick this in the refrigerator while you cook the curry and rice.
You're going to want to start on the rice because that will take the longest. First, toast a cinnamon stick, cumin seeds, and cloves in oil or clarified butter until aromatic. Then add one cup of rice and toast it without burning it. The toasting for the spices and rice lends a richer flavor to the spices and adds a unique texture to the rice. Then add some fresh chopped mint and one and three quarter cups water. Bring this to a boil and then lower the heat and let it simmer. Meanwhile, cook one chopped onion in oil or clarified butter with a cinnamon stick until the onion is tender. Add a small amount of garlic, ginger, and curry powder. I toast and grind my own. The next time I make korma, I will have to grind some more and will gladly share the recipe. Cook this mixture a minute longer and add your drained can of garbanzo beans, tomato sauce, and a cup of water. Let this simmer to thicken. By the time it thickens, your rice should be ready. Fluff it and serve everything.
I've made the cucumber salad before, and it's always a hit. The rice was much better using fresh mint rather than dried, and the curry was awesome. This recipe is a definite keeper.

Fish Tacos: Tasty and Fun

Normally I don't eat fish because I live in a landlocked state, but tilapia was one sale and is a sustainable fish, so I went for it. Sadly it was preseasoned, so I can't take credit for the wonderful flavors that enveloped this dish.
First, take your fish out of the packaging and season it. Again, the fish I used was preseasoned because it was the only frozen sustainable fish I could find that wasn't breaded and deep fried. It had lime zest, cilantro, and salt, so it was seasoned pretty simply, which works well with tacos. Anyway, you then take the filets and cook them any way you like. I pan cooked them without any oil because that's just the way I prefer it. If you want to bread and bake them, that would work, and grilling would make some amazingly flavored fish. While your fish is cooking, cut up some lettuce and tomatoes. If you want to do Baja style fish tacos, use cabbage instead of lettuce; the reason I did is because cabbage is out of season right now, which means I'd have to go with cabbage from Chile or New Zealand, and that's just not eco friendly. Finally, warm up your tortillas. Once the fish flakes when pierced with a fork, it's ready.
Will loved it and now has leftovers for when he goes to work on Tuesday. I enjoyed it and will be playing further with this recipe.

Okra in Yogurt Sauce: Tasty and Quick

Last night I needed to make something vegetarian since my meat hasn't finished defrosting yet. I haven't yet made my vegetable stock, so I didn't want to make carrot casserole until after I did that. Thus, I had two Indian dishes I could have made. I showed Will the two dishes I had planned and he picked this one. I was pleasantly surprised on the flavor, and will definitely be growing okra next year just to make this dish again.
Heat some grapeseed oil or, if you're feeling more authentic, clarified butter. You can either get this premade at a well-stocked grocery store or make it yourself by melting butter and skimming off all the cloudy materials to make a clear substance. In doing so you raise the smoke point because you have pure fat instead of the milk solids and water that is in whole butter. Add one thinly sliced onion and two or three diced green chilies. Cook this until the onions are golden and add two teaspoons of shredded coconut, stirring constantly. Then add sliced fresh or frozen okra and cook until golden brown. Finally, add a Tablespoon of plain yogurt and two quartered tomatoes; cook until everything's warmed through. Serve it over rice.
I undercooked the rice slightly, but the okra turned out fantastic. Will and I agreed this is something worth making again. Also, just for a note, this does not reheat well so don't make extra with the intent of reheating it.