chicken and spinach saute

Adam was being inventive awhile back and created this really good recipe. We liked it so much that he hurried to write it all down before he forgot what he did ... which is a good thing, because when I made it tonight for dinner, he'd completely forgotten that he made it at all!

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, diced
1 onion, chopped
spinach - choose your own quantity
sundried tomatoes - choose your own quantity

salt and pepper
1/2 tsp grains of paradise
1/2 tsp lemon extract
1/2 tsp orange extract
1/2 tsp almond extract (you could just leave this out if necessary due to nut allergies)
1 tsp oregano

In skillet with olive oil, saute the chicken, onion, spices and extracts. When the chicken is cooked through, add the sundried tomatoes. Cook until soft. Then add the spinach and stir it around until it's wilted.

You can eat at this stage. OR you can make it into a sauce to put over pasta. We poured straight cream over the whole thing, and added a splash of apple juice. Yum.

Recipes 2016: January

After completing my 100 Recipe Challenge last year, I wasn't sure that I would be eager to do another one right away. But I got my slow cooker for Christmas, and with our current church schedule, we have started having Slow Cooker Sundays.  So I'm at it again.  Instead of doing a separate list for this year, I'll be adding my favorite recipes to our master recipe list, and calling it good.  But so you have an idea of what's going on the list, here's what I made this month.

Our first Sunday meal was Sweet and Sour Sauce on Slow Cooker Ribs. A fabulous meal to break in the new slow cooker.  The meat was amazing and the sauce worked great. We bought a huge can of crushed pineapple (hence all the other pineapple recipes), and made a large batch of sauce, so we froze a lot of it.

Apple Chips - I had apples and was about to return a borrowed dehydrator.  I really need to make these more often, because we were given a dehydrator, and I ate them up fast. Great snack.

Had to use up the pineapple so I made Pineapple Pudding Whip, Pineapple Chicken Salad, Layered Lime Tiramisu (from Company's Coming: Mexican Made Easy), Sweet Carrot Salad, and Pineapple Meatballs (Company's Coming: Slow Cooker Meals).  Pudding was yummy, with a different texture. We made the tiramisu for a friend's birthday and would happily make it again (if you are interested in the recipe please ask).  The salads were alright, but didn't hit the spot for me - maybe in the summer.  The meatballs were okay, but not a favorite.

Greek Yogurt Pizza Crust - we make pizza often at our house, and since our breadmaker died, this is definitely going to be our go-to crust recipe.  Two ingredients (or technically four) is perfect.  And it is delicious. We made some slow cooker pulled pork and it was AMAZING on a pizza.

Almond Milk Pancakes - We found almond milk for cheap and bought a lot, so we were finding ways to use it.  I usually prefer French toast to pancakes, but these were delicious. We made them three times in one weekend.  The small batch is perfect for the three of us.

Avocado Lime Ice Cream - We just happened to have all the ingredients for this (we don't usually have fresh limes), so I was happy to try it out.  MUCH yummier than the plain avocado ice cream recipe from last year. I would happily make this again.  Aaron also made a huge batch of Raspberry Frozen Yogurt, but didn't follow a recipe or write any measurements down, but it included almond milk, greek yogurt, raspberries, and a little sugar.  It goes great with the lime.

Oatmeal Cookie Dough Frozen Yogurt - the first time in forever that I didn't have a banana in the freezer (or anywhere!) so I used an avocado instead and added extra honey.  Didn't turn out horrible, but not amazing either.  I'll eat what I made (with the addition of chocolate chips and coconut) but won't be making it again.

"Tasty" shares a bunch of quick videos with fun recipes on Facebook, and we've tried Apple Fritter Rings and Honey Garlic Chicken.  The apples were deliciously crunchy. Such a fun little dessert.  We enjoyed the chicken too, but I prefer potatoes and carrots with red meat. 

Zapplesauce

After receiving some giant zucchini from Nana's garden last summer, I found this recipe to turn zucchini into apple.  It isn't magic, but it feels like it!  Cook the sliced zucchini in a bit of lemon juice, add some sugar and cinnamon and you have yourself what tastes like apple!  I used it in an "apple crisp" and completely fooled my husband, who hates zucchini.  We called it "deceitful crisp."

So this year, after another crop of zucchini, I had a grand idea - if I can use zucchini in pies and crisps like apples, why not sauce?  It works!  Use the same cooking method, and then blend it smooth.  Done and delicious.  It uses up a lot of zucchini all at once, and the zucchini-haters have no idea.

And in case you are wondering, I am on track for finishing my 100 recipes in the year!  77 recipes as of today, so only two each week for the rest of the year to get it done.

trapani spaghetti

Back to my 50-recipe challenge for myself - here's #13. Adam has made this before, but this was my first shot at it. It's from the "Jamie's Italy" book (the Naked Chef).

ALMOND AND TOMATO PESTO - trapani style spaghetti

5 oz almonds
1 clove garlic
3 handfuls fresh basil
grated Parmesan or pecorino cheese
extra virgin olive oil
1 lb cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1. Crush the almonds in a food processor (or blender - I use the "pulse" setting) until they have a coarse powder consistency. Put them in a bowl.
2. Remove the basil leaves from the stems, and also crush the basil leaves in the food processor the same way. Add the crushed basil to the bowl with the almonds.
3. Crush the garlic clove into the almonds/basil mix.
4. Add the cheese at a balance with the almonds and basil.
5. The original recipe calls for "a good glug of olive oil." You decide what amounts to a "glug." Basically, you want the pesto to not be runny at all, but start thinning it out a bit.
6. Add the tomatoes, and scrunch the whole mixture in your hands to break up the tomatoes and mix the juices all together. If the pesto mixture is still very thick, add more olive oil a little bit at a time until it can spread a bit onto the pasta.
7. Serve with spaghetti.

Notes - you can freeze pesto for later and use it a little at a time. And we didn't have cherry tomatoes so I used one regular large tomato cut to a fairly small dice. YUM!

super easy alfredo sauce

i *know* this isn't how italians do alfredo, but my family loved this every time i made it before we went dairy free. got it from a co-worker.

1 can evaporated milk (not sweetened condensed, just evaporated)
1 tsp garlic powder (or more to taste)
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbs cornstarch
1/3 c grated or shredded parmesan cheese

combine first 4 ingredients in a small sauce pan. cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring frequently. add the cheese and cook for another couple minutes. it'll melt and thicken the sauce more.

there ya go. if you try it, i hope you like it!

marinara sauce

I don't know how real Italians make marinara sauce, but this is how I do it. You can use this on spaghetti or any other kind of pasta, in lasagna, as pizza sauce, whatever. It's the all-purpose "Italian" red sauce for me ...

- one 15-oz can of tomato sauce and one 6-oz can of tomato paste. If you actually make your own sauce (you lucky dog!), use a 2-to-1 ratio of sauce to tomato paste. The paste is what makes it thick.
- Italian seasoning mix used liberally to taste. (I do not "sprinkle." I dump it.)
- just a little bit of salt
- 2 garlic cloves crushed (or however many you like)
- occasionally I add finely chopped onion, depending on what I'm using the sauce for.

Cook in a saucepan until everything is melded together and then use and/or freeze.

Regarding the Italian seasoning ... instead of buying the stuff already mixed together, I usually just use a list of spices and dump it in as I feel like it. One of these days, I'll experiment around with it to get a good balance and make my own "Italian seasoning mix" to keep in a jar so I don't have to buy the prepped stuff. Here are the dried herbs/spices I use:

ITALIAN HERB BLEND - all quantities about even, with extra basil and half the pepper
parsley
basil
oregano
thyme
rosemary
savory
majoram
rubbed sage
black pepper