Chicken Diane

I wasn't sure what to expect with this recipe. It had all ingredients that I liked and so I figured that I'd like the way the chicken would turn out.

If I make it again I'd actually cut the chicken up in cubes and cook it that way. I'm a fan of bite size chicken pieces instead of trying to cut the chicken after with a fork and knife. I know, I'm weird that way.

Anyhow, this is a super easy recipe and quite flavorful when all is said and done.  I put it over egg noodles, but I think it would be just as good over mashed potatoes.

Chicken Diane
Serves 2

Photo courtesy of cookingyummies.com

Calories: 340 (before the noodles)

1 T canola oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (season with salt and pepper)
1 T unsalted butter
1 T minced shallots
1 tsp minced garlic
3 T brandy
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c half and half (you can use heavy cream, but you don't need to simmer as long because it's already thicker)
1 T minced parsley
Salt and Pepper to taste

For the chicken, heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook 6 minutes; flip cover and cook 6 more minutes.  Transfer chicken to a small plate and tent with foil.

For the sauce, melt butter in same skillet over medium heat. Stir in shallots and garlic; cook 30 seconds.

Off heat, deglaze with brandy, scraping up any browned bits on bottom.  Return skillet to the stove top over medium-high heat and boil brandy 30 seconds. Whisk in Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce.

Off heat, whisk in half and half and parsley. Return skillet to the stove top over low heat to thicken sauce; season with salt and pepper. Return chicken to skillet and coat in sauce. Serve chicken and sauce.

Chicken enchilada Soup

My sinuses are cleared.  Whew...got a little carried away with the chili powder in this soup. Still this was delicious. SUPER easy and quite flavorful. I'd make this again in a heart beat. 

If you love enchiladas, like I do, then this soup is for you. With every bite it tasted a lot like enchiladas. When I make it again, I would certainly make some rice with it and perhaps put it in the soup. It needed just a little bit more umph.

This recipe makes enough for two servings.  I added some extra chicken broth to extend it to at least 4 servings.  I wanted to freeze some servings.

Chicken Enchilada Soup
Courtesy of Cuisine at Home
Serves 2


Photo courtesy of Country Gourmet

2 T unsalted butter
1/4 c minced onion
1 T minced garlic
2 T flour
1 c low sodium chicken broth
2/3 c milk
1 c shredded cooked chicken (I used left over chicken I had from a previous meal)
1/3 c tomato sauce
3 T green chilis
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp oregano
Salt and Pepper to taste
Cilantro for sprinkling on top to serve.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook 2 minutes.  Stir in the flour to incorporate; reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in broth and milk, bring to a boil and simmer until thick, 2 minutes.

Stir in chicken, tomato sauce, chiles, chili powder, cumin and oregano.  Bring to a boil; cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer soup to meld flavors, 10-15 minutes. Remove soup from heat and stir in cilantro. Serve soup with rice and/or tortilla chips.

Sunday Night Stew...on Monday

The weather has changed.  We were slammed directly into fall this past weekend with chilly wind and rain.  This weather immediately makes me want comfort food.  Warm, comforting soups and stews. 
 
I decided I wanted to make chicken noodle soup for dinner on Monday night.  I went to the Pioneer Woman's site, sure she'd have a recipe. Instead I stumbled onto this recipe for Sunday Night Stew.
 
oooo Stew...Yes! That would fill the comfort food hole.
 
This recipe is super easy to make and well worth the time it takes to make the stew.  Stew meat, traditionally, is a tough cut of meat.  Cooking it slowly and over a decent amount of time makes the meat super tender.
 
I made a few adjustments to this recipe. First, I'm not a fan of parsnips so I swapped out potatoes. Which meant there wasn't a need for the mashed potatoes.  Though on a side note, I've made those mashed potatoes before and can I just say, "OH MY GOD" they are delicious.  When I make this stew again, I'll make the mashed potatoes.
 
Sunday Night Stew
Courtesy of Pioneer Woman
Serves 8
 
STEW
3 T olive oil
1 T Bbtter
2 pounds beef stew meat (chuck Roast Cut Into Chunks)
Salt And Pepper
1 whole medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 ounces, tomato paste
4 cups low sodium beef stocksp
Several Dashes Worcestershire
1/2 tsp sugar
4 whole carrots, peeled And diced
2 whole turnips, peeled And diced
2 Tablespoons Minced Fresh Parsley
 
Mashed Potatoes
5 pounds russet potatoes (peeled)
1 package (8 Ounce) cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp seasoned salt
Salt And Pepper, to taste
 

Salt and pepper stew meat. Heat olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add butter, and as soon as it melts, brown half the stew meat until the outside gets nice and brown, about 2 minutes. (Turn it as it browns.) Remove the meat from the pot with a slotted spoon and put it on a plate. Add the rest of the meat to the pot and brown it, too. Remove it to the same plate. Set the meat aside.

 

Add the onion and garlic to the pot, stirring it to coat it in all the brown bits in the bottom of the pot. Cook for two minutes, then add the tomato paste to the pot. Stir it into the onions and let it cook for two more minutes.

 

Pour in the beef stock, stirring constantly. Add the Worcestershire and sugar. Add the beef back to the pot, cover the pot, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer, covered, for 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours.

 

After 1 1/2 to 2 hours, add the diced turnips and carrots to the pot. Stir to combine, put the lid back on the pot, and let it simmer for another 30 minutes. The sauce should be very thick, but if it seems overly so, splash in some beef broth until it thins it up enough. Feel free to add beef broth as needed!
When the carrots and turnips are tender, stir in minced parsley. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve piping hot in a bowl with mashed potatoes, letting the juice run all over everything. Sprinkle with extra minced parsley at the end.

MASHED POTATOES
Cut the potatoes into quarters and cover with water in a large pot. Boil until potatoes are fork tender, about 25-30 minutes. Drain the potatoes, then put them back into the same pot. With the heat on low, mash the potatoes for 2 to 3 minutes to release as much steam as possible.

Turn off heat, then add cream cheese, butter, cream, seasoned salt, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Serve potatoes immediately or spread them into a buttered baking dish to be reheated later. To reheat, put them in a 375 degree oven, covered in foil, until hot.

Hot Bean Dip

As bean dips go, I'm a fan.  All too often though they aren't very flavorful. Super easy recipe, and don't bother doubling it unless you have a big crowd. I doubled it and we had half left.

This was not a spicy dish. You could totally toss in some splashes of hot sauce though to add some spice.  I had some spice wimps who were going to be at the Sunday dinner tonight, so opted to be nice to their taste buds.


Hot Bean Dip
Courtesy of Arizona Cookbook

1 16 oz can of refried beans
1 c canned tomatoes, drained
1/2 c (4 oz) diced green chilies
1/2 lb grated cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Mix together well in a skillet and heat until cheese melts, stirring occasionally. Serve warm as a dip with corn tortillas.

Red Rice

For rice dish #2 for the Rotating Sunday Dinner, I made Red Rice. I wasn't sure if the Poblano Rice would be hot, and we had a few folks that aren't fans of heat. So I made a non hot version. 

Everyday Food was one of my all time favorite magazines for recipes. It's a Martha Stewart magazine, but the recipes were simple and delicious.  Sadly the magazine is no longer.  I have, however, lots and lots of recipes through the years.

Again, I'm having rice making issues and I need to stop. I happen to love rice dishes and not making them well isn't going to work for me. In an attempt to "save time" I put this in a rice cooker. BIG mistake.  Didn't cook all the way through and I didn't have time to add more liquid to cook further.  I'd make this again though. The flavor was good, despite the "a dente" nature of it.



Courtesy of Everyday Food

Red Rice
Courtesy of Everyday Food
Serves 4

2 tsp vegetable oil
1 small white onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T tomato paste
1 c long grain white rice
1 3/4 c low sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp dried oregano
Salt and pepper

In a medium saucepan, heat vegetable oil over medium-high. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to brown around edges, 6 minutes. Add tomato paste and stir to combine. Add long-grain white low-sodium chicken broth or water, and dried oregano; season with coarse salt and ground pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until liquid is absorbed, 15 minutes. Remove pan from heat and let rice sit, covered, 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve.

Poblano Rice

It was Sunday dinner today. Only this time we switched it up a bit. We've started the rotating Sunday Dinners.  PhotoGirl and The Yank hosted tonight. They made some out of this world carnitas.  Since the theme was clearly Mexican I opted to help out by bringing a couple of rice dishes and an appetizer. 

I've had this Poblano Rice recipe for a couple of years now. Saw it on The Food Network and thought it looked delicious. These type of rice dishes are hard to make for one person.  Finally a chance to make it. 

The prep was super easy, the flavor outstanding and not spicy.  I, however, have an issue making rice. Started this in a rice cooker - didn't do well.  Moved it to a pot with a lid and it do ok. Still not the best texture.  I'm not sure where my blocker is on rice, but man I suck at it these days.

Poblano Rice

Photo courtesy of The Food Network

Courtesy of Marcella Valladolid , Food Network
Serves 4-6

3 T vegetable oil, divided
1/2 medium white onion, chopped
2 poblano chiles,stemmed, seeded and chopped
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 c chicken broth, plus more if needed
1 c long grain rice

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a medium, heavy nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the poblano chiles and saute, about 8 minutes. Mix in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Season with the salt and pepper. Add 1 cup broth and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and let cool.

Transfer the mixture to a blender and process until smooth, about 1 minute. Measure the liquid yield from the blender, adding more chicken broth if necessary to yield 2 total cups of poblano liquid. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Meanwhile, clean the skillet, place over medium heat and add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Fry the rice until slightly golden. Pour the poblano puree into the skillet and bring to a simmer. Turn down the heat to medium-low and cover tightly. Cook for 30 minutes, turn off the heat and let rest for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving

Sesame Noodles with Shredded Chicken

The week closes with another really good Chinese type of meal.  While it wasn't WW I still think it could be low cal with whole wheat pasta.  Again, I didn't use the noodles, I used what I had. This recipe assumes you'll actually follow it and use the Chinese noodles. Some day I will have those in my house and can use them.

It should also be pointed out that I'm not a fan of cold noodles. So...since I didn't use the Chinese noodles, I kept the spaghetti warmed and added the sauce and chicken.  I put cucumbers on the side and had them with dinner.

But once dinner was done, I tossed the remaining pasta and cucumbers together and had it as a salad the following day for lunch. I am still not a fan of cold noodles. 

This recipe, like the others, was easy and simply delicious. I didn't do the shredded chicken part because, well, I was too lazy.  Sautéing the chicken seemed easier to me.

Sesame Noodles with Shredded Chicken
Recipe from American Test Chicken

Courtesy of American Test Kitchen

Serves 2

Sauce:
2.5 T soy sauce
1.5 T sesame seeds, toasted
2 T chunky peanut butter
1 T rice vinegar
1 T light brown sugar
1.5 tsp grated or minced ginger
1 clove garlic,minced
1/2 tsp hot sauce
hot water


Chicken and Noodles:
1 (8oz) boneless, skinless chicken breast, trimmed
8-9 ounces fresh Chinese noodles or 1/2 lb spaghetti (I used whole wheat spaghetti)
1 T salt
1 T toasted sesame oil
1/2 red bell pepper, halved and sliced lengthwise (I didn't put this in...blech)
1/2 cucumber, peeled, halved and sliced length wise
1 carrot peeled and grated on the large holes of a box grater (I totally cheated here too and bot already grated carrots. I use them in my salads too)
2 scallions, sliced thin on the bias
1 T chopped fresh cilantro
1 T sesame seeds, toasted

For the sauce: Blend the soy sauce, sesame seeds, peanut butter, vinegar, brown sugar, ginger, garlic and hot sauce together in a blender until smooth, about 30 seconds. With the machine running, add hot water, 1 T at a time until the sauce has the consistency of heavy cream (about 2 T).

For the chicken and noodles: Adjust an oven rack to be about 6 inches from the broiler element and heat the broiler. Set a slotted broiler pan top over a broiler pan bottom, spray the top with vegetable oil spray, and lay the chicken on the top.

Broil the chicken until lightly golden on both sides and the thickest part registers 160-165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 10-12 minutes, flipping the chicken halfway through. Transfer the chicken to a caring board, tent with foil, and let rest for 5 minutes. Shred the chicken into bite size pieces using 2 forks.

Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a large pot. Add the noodles and the salt, and cook, stirring often, until tender. Drain the noodles and rinse under cold running water until cold.

Transfer the noodles to a large bowl and toss with the sesame oil. Add the sauce, shredded chicken, bell pepper, cucumber, carrot, scallions, and cilantro and toss to combine. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

Singapore Chow Mai Fun

According to the Weight Watchers cookbook "mai fun" is a rice noodle.  You soak them and then cook them in the sauce/meat combo.  I, however, missed this in the recipe and ended up using linguini.  Still with linguini this was a delicious dish. 

It's super easy and tasty on top of it. Further more, it's 265 calories and 5 points. I may or may not had to make a couple of changes.  For starters, I had ground turkey in my freezer so used that instead of pork.  I'm sure pork would be so good in this, but the turkey was delicious in this. It really picked up the flavor of the curry.  If you don't like yellow curry you won't like this recipe.  I happen to love it.

I doubled the sauce ingredients. I like things saucy! I would, however, not double up the chili-garlic sauce. I may or may not have burned my lips off.

Despite that, this is a simple and great recipe.

Singapore Chow Mai Fun

Serves 4
PointsPlus 5

6 oz mai fun (rice sticks or rice noodles)
1/2 c low sodium chicken broth
3 T reduced sodium soy sauce
1 T rice vinegar
2 tsp chili-garlic sauce
1 tsp sugar
6 oz lean ground pork
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T curry powder
1 red bell pepper (seeded and chopped) I did not include this... shocking

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Remove from the heat, add the mai fun and soak until softened, 5-6 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Combine the broth, soy sauce, vinegar, chili-garlic sauce and sugar in a small bowl; set aside.

Spray a nonstick wok or large, deep skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium-high heat. Add the pork and stir fry until just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Add the onion, garlic and curry powder. Stir fry until softened and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the bell pepper and stir fry until crisp and tender, about 2 minutes.  Add the broth mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture boils and thickens, about 1 minute. Add the  noodles and cook until heated through, about 1 minute.

Hoisin - Ginger Marinade

Chicken gets really boring to me.  I have several marinades I use to spicy up chicken in an attempt to make chicken taste less bland.  Marinades are usually super quick and super easy for adding flavor.

This marinade is a Weight Watchers one found in The New Complete Cookbook. It's PointsPlus value 1.  57 calories.  That's not very much to add flavor.

I let the chicken marinade for an hour and saved some aside before marinating to baste the chicken on the grill. Really didn't need to do the basting, but it was nice to have some extra flavor.

Hoisin Ginger Marinade
Serves 4
Points Plus 1

1/2 c ketchup
2 T hoisin sauce
2 T reduced sodium soy sauce
2 T rice vinegar
1 piece (about 1" long) fresh ginger; peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced

Stir it all together. Put in the meat of your choice. Voila!

Beef Lo Mein

The one thing I hate about living in Redmond is there are no good Chinese restaurants around.  I'm a fan of Chinese food. Sadly it's usually fattening and can get pricey. 

I have several recipes for Beef Lo Mein and have not tried a single one. The thing I like about making my own Chinese food is I can control the sodium and fat. 

There's a couple of things I'd do differently when I make this again. First off I'd use soba noodles.  I was trying to use up what was in my pantry so opted for linguini.  Soba would have been way better I just didn't feel like driving across town to get them.

I'd also follow the instructions and include the Chili - Garlic sauce. Somehow I missed it in the cooking process. I really like chili garlic sauce and think it would have really enhanced the sauce.

Photo by Jenn Wraspir (me)

Beef Lo Mein
Courtesy of Cooking for Two 2011
Serves 2

3 T hoisin sauce
2 T soy sauce (I use low sodium)
2 tsp sesame oil
8 oz flank steak, trimmed and sliced thin across the grain on bias
1/3 c low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 T vegetable oil
6 oz broccoli florets, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 1/2 T water
1/2 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, sliced into 1/2 inch strips and halved crosswise (As you can imagine I did not include the bell pepper)
1 bunch scallions, white parts sliced thin, green parts cut into 1 inch pieces
6 oz fresh Chinese noodles or 4 oz dried linguine
1 1/2 tsp Asian Chili-garlic sauce

Whisk hoisin, soy and sesame oil together in a bowl. Measure 1 1/2 T of mixture into separate bowl and stir in beef; cover and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes - or up to 1 hour. (I left mine for 1 hour). Whisk broth and cornstarch into remaining mixture; set aside. In separate small bowl, combine garlic, ginger and 1/2 tsp vegetable oil.

Heat 1 tsp vegetable oil in 10" skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add bef in single layer and cook without stirring for 1 minute. Stir beef and continue to cook until browned, about 1 minute; transfer to large bowl.

Wipe now empty skillet clean with paper towels. Add 1/2 tsp vegetable oil, and heat over high heat until just smoking.  Add broccoli and cook for 30 seconds. Add water, cover, steam until broccoli is bright green and begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook until water has evaporated and broccoli begins to brown, about 2 minutes, transfer to bowl with beef.

Add remaining 1 tsp vegetable oil and bell pepper to now empty skillet and cook over high heat until crisp/tender and spotty brown, about 2 minutes. Add scallions and continue to cook until wilted, 2-3 minutes. clear center of skillet, add garlic- ginger mixture into vegetables. Stir in cooked beef and broccoli with any accumulated juices. Stir in broth mixture and simmer until sauce has thickened, about 1 minute. remove from heat and cover to keep warm.

Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package. Reserve 1/2 c pasta water, then drain noodles and return them to pot. Add beef mixture and chili garlic sauce and toss to combine. Add reserved cooking water as needed to loosen up the sauce.

Eat immediately!!!

For the record, I also think if you chilled this and ate it the next day as a noodle salad it would be just as good.

Quick Beef Burgundy

The Pantry Goat was over the other night to help me move my BBQ inside (they were power washing the deck). So in order to help with her "eating" issue I figured I'd fix something that had great leftovers. The weather has also turned into fall-ish rain so I felt comfort food was in order.

Beef Burgundy - in general - is one of my favorites. To do it right it takes ALL DAY. I didn't have all day since I actually had to work, so I selected this "Quick Beef Burgundy" recipe.

Two things I love about it, besides it's delicious. Super easy. Super quick!

Quick Beef Burgundy

Photo courtesy of Cooks' Country

Courtesy of Cook's Country
Serves 4

2 lbs sirloin steak tips, cut into 1" chunks
Salt and pepper
4 slices bacon, chopped
8 oz cremini or white mushrooms, quartered
1 c frozen pearl onions, thawed (I thought I had these in the freezer so didn't buy them. Turned out I didn't. I just quartered and sliced a yellow onion instead)
3 T unsalted butter
1/4 c flour
2 c red wine
1 c low sodium chicken broth (I didn't have chicken broth, but had beef broth. Use what you have.)
2 tsp minced fresh thyme

Pat steak dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Cook bacon in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a paper towel to drain.

Cook steak tips in bacon fat (does it get better than this?) until well browned all over, about 5 minutes. Transfer to plate and tent with foil. You'll want to do this in batches and not crowd your pan.  Crowding causes more moisture to release from the meat and then boils the beef instead.

Add mushrooms and onions to empty pot and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl. Stir in butter and flout into empty pot and cook until golden, about 1-2 minutes.  Stir in wine, broth and thyme.  Add in beef any accumulated juices.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer covered, until sauce is slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Stir in bacon, mushrooms and onions.