Grilled Flank Steak with Hoisin Sauce and Ginger Broccoli

Yum Yum Yum...that's about all I can say about this marinade. It's a heavier, thicker marinade, but so full of flavor.

Broccoli is one of my favorite vegi's...it's also becoming one of the most boring for me. The Ginger Broccoli recipe added a new flare to a boring old vegi.

Grilled Flank Steak with Hoisin Sauce
Serves 4

• 1 pound Flank steak
• 1/2 cup Hoisin sauce
• 3 tablespoons Fresh orange juice
• 3 tablespoons Sherry
• 2 tablespoons Grated fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon Honey
• 1 tablespoon Dark sesame oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Ground pepper

Combine all ingredients except steak together. Reserve 3/4 cup hoisin mixture. Pour remaining hoisin mixture over steak in a ziploc bag.

Marinate in fridge 4-8 hours. Remove steak from bag and discard marinade.

Prepare grill. Place steak on grill and grill for 4 minutes per side for medium rare. Remove steak. Let it stand for 5 minutes.

Cut steak diagonally across the grain. Pour remaining sauce over steak before serving.

GINGER BROCCOLI
Serves 4

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 heads broccoli (about 2 pounds), florets separated, stalks trimmed, peeled, and thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
• 1 piece fresh ginger (1 inch long), peeled and slivered
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• coarse salt and ground pepper

In a large skillet with a lid, heat oil over medium; add broccoli, garlic, and ginger. Cook until broccoli is bright green and ginger is fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Add 1/2 cup water; cover, and cook until broccoli is crisp-tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat; add lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper; toss to combine. Serve.

Chicken with Poblano Cream Sauce

This recipe was surprisingly good. I'm not a huge pepper fan, well bell pepper anyhow. But for some reason that only my brain understands, I really like the flavor of poblanos. I've wanted, for some time, to try a recipe with them. And thankfully I found an easy and tasty recipe.

My biggest thrill was roasting the poblano over my gas stove. I felt like I couldn't do this recipe in the past because I didn't have a gas stove. It was only as I was roasting it I thought, "Huh, I suppose I could have used the BBQ."

The dish sounds like it should be spicy, but roasting the pepper takes some of the heat away. In fact, I was surprised at how sweet the sauce was. I'd actually prefer it to have a bit more of a kick to it. The only thing I'd change about this is I'd use 1/2 and 1/2 next time. The heavy cream made it too sweet. I served this with white rice that I had chopped cilantro and green onions into. It made a nice accompaniment.


Chicken with Poblano Cream Sauce
Serves 4

• 1 poblano chile
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/2 small onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Roast chili over a gas burner or under the broiler, until charred all over. Wrap in paper towel; steam 5 minutes. Rub off skin; remove seeds and ribs. Chop coarsely.

Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in a small saucepan over medium heat; add onion and garlic; cook until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Add chili and cream.

Puree in blender; add water if too thick. Season with salt and pepper.

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Heat remaining tablespoon canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken until golden and juices run clear, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Serve with sauce.

Potato Salad with Sour Cream and Scallions

I have actually cooked since my last post. I just can't remember what I've cooked, which only means it wasn't that memorable.

This recipe however was/is quite memorable. Super simple, very basic flavors, but really a nice twist on potato salad.

Potato Salad with Sour Cream and Scallions
Recipe from Everyday Food

Serves 4

• 2 pounds White new potatoes, quartered, and cut into 3/4" chunks
• Salt and pepper
• 3/4 cup Reduced fat sour cream
• 1/4 cup Light mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup Thinly sliced scallions, plus more for garnish
• 4 slices Bacon, cooked and crumbled

In a large pot, cover potatoes with salted water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer until potatoes are tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp paring knife, 12 to 15 minutes. Drain well.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together sour cream and mayonnaise; add warm potatoes, and gently fold to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Cover; refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

To serve, season salad again with salt and pepper, if needed; fold in scallions. Garnish with bacon and more scallions, if desired.

Thai Rice Noodles

I can always tell when I got into a recipe because the recipe is usually covered with splatters, spills and gunk from the cooking. As simple as this recipe was, I'm shocked to look at the page in my cookbook.

Despite that, it was delicious. I'm a big fan of Thai food in general. But I usually don't like how heavy it can be. This recipe allowed me to have the Thai flavor without the heft.

I use Fish Sauce in so many recipes I cook that I thought it might be good if I described it and what I think about it. It's a Southeast Asian equivalent of Worcestershire sauce. It has a pungent, salt flavor to it and adds a hit of complexity to most dishes. The best part of it is despite it's name it doesn't taste fishy - instead it has a unique, unmistakably authentic flavor to it. Fish sauce actually is derived by fish that has been fermented...great rotting fish. It got an amber, translucent look to it and you can find it in most supermarkets around the Asian food. We have several Asian markets in our area so I usually buy it there. It's way less expensive.

Thai Rice Noodles
Serves 4

• 8-10 ounces medium thick rice noodles
• 3 T Fish Sauce
• 3 T Sugar (I used brown sugar cuz I like it better with these flavors)
• 3 T Soy Sauce
• 4 scallions
• 1 jalapeno
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 T Peanut oil
• 1 cup bean sprouts
• 2 handfuls fresh basil (mint can also be used)
• 1/2 cup peanuts or cashews
• 1 lime

Put the rice noodles in a bowl with hot water to cover. Soak until tender and pliable, about 30 minutes. (Or follow the instructions on the box if you have them).

Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk together the fish sauce, sugar and soy sauce. Set aside.

Thinly slice the white and green parts of the scallions. Set aside.
Roughly chop the jalapeno (seed it first - or leave the seeds in if you want the heat), set aside.
Roughly chop the garlic. Set aside.

Drain the noodles and set aside. Heat the oil in a wok until hot. Add scallions, jalapenos, and garlic. Sauté for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Do not over cook the garlic. Add the sauce mixture; gently swirl around the pan. Add the noodles and toss t ocoat. Remove from the heat and coarsely tear basil (or mint). Sprinkle with nuts and squeeze lime over it if you like.

Pasta and Easy Italian Meat Sauce

I love Spaghetti Bolognese. Love it. I also love to try any and every recipe I can to find one that is easy to cook and doesn't require all day long cooking. Now, don't get me wrong. I do love my all day long Bolognese sauce, but once in a while I'd like a quicker version. I may have found it.

This recipe seems to be styled after the famed Ragu alla Bolognese (sauce in the style of Bologna). Adding the milk to this sauce may seem unusual, but I assure you a real Bolognese has milk in it as it's a traditional ingredient to the Northern Italy classic.

Cook time is about 30 minutes and anyone who can turn on the stove can do this one.

Pasta and Easy Italian Meat Sauce
Note: Reserve some of the pasta cooking water, and add a little to the sauce if it seems too thick. The water is ideal for adjusting the consistency of the sauce, and the starch in the water helps the sauce adhere to the pasta.

Serves 4

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 carrot, grated (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3/4 pound ground beef
• 1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 pound fettuccine
• Grated Parmesan, for serving

Heat butter and oil in a large saucepan over medium. Stir in carrot, onion, and garlic. Add ground beef, and cook until it turns from pink to brown, about 5 minutes.

Add tomatoes and their liquid, crushing them with the back of a large spoon. Stir in milk, bay leaf, thyme, nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Simmer 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook fettuccine until al dente according to package instructions, about 12 minutes. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the cooking water; drain fettuccine, and return to the warm pot. Add meat sauce, and toss. Add pasta water as needed if the sauce seems dry. 

 

To serve, sprinkle with Parmesan.

 

Don't fret about the nutmeg. I've found a lot of Italian recipes call for nutmeg. It adds just a hint of sweet.

Sirloin Beef Burgundy

It seems I took a week off from cooking. It was so blasting hot here last week I just couldn't. So I made salads all week. I'm now addicted to this salad dressing - who's name I can never remember. And so I ate salad after salad last week.

This week, however, we are kicking it off right. This was a deliciously rich and beefy flavored dish. I made it with egg noodles and they fit together like a hand in a glove.

Sirloin Beef Burgundy
Serves 4

• 3 slices Bacon, chopped
• 3 tablespoons Unsalted butter, divided
• 16 White mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 cup Frozen pearl onion, defrosted and drained
• 2 pounds Lean sirloin, cut in 1" pieces
• 3 tablespoons Flour
• 1 cup Burgundy wine
• 1 1/2 cups Beef stock

Heat a large deep skillet with a heavy bottom and a lid over medium high heat. Add bacon to the pan and brown. Remove crisp bacon bits with slotted spoon. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons butter to the pan and melt into bacon drippings. Add mushrooms to the pan and turn to coat evenly with butter and bacon drippings.

Season the mushroom slices with salt and pepper. Sauté mushrooms 2 to 3 minutes and add onions to the pan. Continue cooking onions and mushrooms 2 to 3 minutes longer, then transfer to a plate and return pan to the heat.

Add remaining butter to the pan and melt it, then add meat to the very hot pan and brown evenly on all sides, keeping the meat moving. Add flour to browned meat in the pan and cook the flour 2 minutes. Add wine to the pan slowly while stirring. When the wine comes up to a bubble and you have scraped up the pan drippings, add the stock and bouquet of fresh sage and thyme sprigs to the pot. Cover the pan.

When the liquid boils, reduce heat to medium. Cook covered 5 minutes, remove lid and add mushrooms, onions and bacon back to the pot. Simmer with the cover off until sauce thickens a bit. Adjust seasoning and remove herb bouquet.

Balsamic BBQ Chicken

I know it's been a couple of days since posting a recipe. But I haven't had any opportunity to actually cook the last couple of weeks. I did manage to cook Balsamic BBQ Chicken which is a friends recipe. I can't even remember why she gave it to me, but I'm glad she did.

It's a good recipe. I made rice with it, and any side would go with it. It's like BBQ chicken, but in a pan and with balsamic vinegar. Nummers!

Balsamic BBQ Chicken
Serves 6

• 6 Boneless chicken breasts
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon Olive oil
• 3 cloves Garlic, chopped
• 1 can Tomato paste
• 1 can Low sodium chicken broth (14.5 oz)
• 2/3 cup Balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Honey
• 4 Green onion, sliced

Wash and slice green onions, separating tops from white bottoms. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick skillet. Salt and pepper the chicken to taste.

Add chicken to skillet and brown 1-2 minutes per side. Remove chicken and keep warm. Lower heat to medium-low and allow skillet to cool slightly.

Add garlic and white part of green onions to skillet and sauté for 2 minutes. Stir in tomato pasted and chicken broth and mix well. Increase heat to medium-high; add vinegar and honey and cook to boil.

Reduce heat to low, return chicken to skillet, cover partially and simmer about 30 minutes or until sauce thickens and chicken is no longer pink in the center.

Thai Style Chicken Stir-Fry

This is a recipe from last week. I got a bit behind on my recipe blog. Not that anyone reads it? Is anyone reading this?

In a spur of the moment decision, I had my boss who was here from the UK, over for dinner and made this for her. I had to change it up some because of the ingredients I had on hand but it was quite good. I'd make it again if I ever get around to making a recipe a second time.

Thai Style Chicken Stir Fry
Serves: 4

• 1 1/2 tablespoons Fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon Low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Bottled minced fresh ginger
• 3 tablespoons Fresh lime juice, divided
• 1 pound Skinless boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 tablespoon Canola oil
• 2 cups Zucchini, sliced ( added asparagus too since it was on hand)
• 1 cup Onion, sliced
• 4 cloves Garlic, minced
• 2 Jalapenos, seeded and minced
• 1/4 cup Cilantro, minced
• 1/4 cup Sliced fresh basil
• 1/4 cup Chopped green onion

Combine fish sauce, soy sauce, fresh ginger, 1 1/2 T lime juice in a ziploc bag. Add chicken; seal and marinade in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Remove chicken; reserving marinade.

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; stir fry for 2 minutes or until chicken begins to brown. Add zucchini, onions, garlic and jalapeno. Stir fry 5 minutes or until chicken is done.

Add reserved marinade and cook 1 minute - make sure it boils for a minute. Remove from heat. Stir in the remaining lime juice, basil, cilantro and green onions.

Delux, Devine, Chicken Devan

This is a Rachael Ray recipe that she did on a 30 Minute Meals episode. I am a fan of Chicken Devan, and liked the way she adjusted this to not be so casserole-y. (Yes, that's a word). All the recipes I have for Chicken Devan, while good, make a ton. And as a single girl who's not a fan of left overs, they really don't work too well for me.

It should also be mentioned I didn't make the rice the way she suggests below for two reasons: 1) I didn't have any lemon and 2) making rice on the stove lately has been an issue for me so I resorted to a mini rice cooker. Which doesn't mean I couldn't have made it this way in the rice cooker, I just chose to make plain old rice.

Deluxe, Divine, Chicken Devan
Serves 4

• 1/3 cup Sliced almonds
• 1 quart Chicken stock
• 1 Lemon, zested
• 2 sprigs Fresh thyme
• 4 tablespoons Butter, divided
• 1 1/2 cups White rice
• 8 Chicken cutlets
• 1 teaspoon Poultry seasoning
• 2 tablespoons Plus 1/2 cup flour
• 2 tablespoons Olive oil
• 1 pound Fresh asparagus, trimmed
• 7 large Button mushroom, sliced
• 1/3 cup Half and half
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 Scallion, chopped

Toast almonds in a small skillet until golden. Set aside. Bring 2 3/4 cups chicken stock, the zest of 1 lemon, thyme sprigs and a tablespoon of butter to a boil in a medium pot with a tight fitting lid. Add rice to water, stir. Return the water to a boil then reduce heat to simmer and cove the pot. Cook 18 minutes or until tender, remove from heat. Remove the thyme sprigs, the leaves will have fallen off in the rice.

While the rice cooks, season chicken with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Dredge chicken in about half cup of flour then discard the rest. Heat a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, and 1 tablespoon butter to the large skillet. To the hot butter and oil, add the cutlets and cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Remove the meat to a large platter and cover with foil to keep warm.

Bring an inch or 2 of water to a simmer in a shallow pan and season with salt. Add asparagus and cook 4 minutes until just tender but green. Remove and add to chicken platter to keep warm.

Return chicken skillet to the heat and add 2 tablespoons butter. Melt butter, add the mushrooms and sauté for a couple of minutes. Whisk in 2 rounded tablespoons flour. Cook the flour 1 minute then whisk in 1/3 cup white wine, a couple of glugs. Cook off wine, 30 seconds, then whisk in 1 1/4 cups of chicken stock (remainder of the quart) then the half-and-half. When sauce bubbles, stir in mustard and tarragon and let sauce simmer and thicken 2 to 3 minutes.

Stir scallions into rice and fluff with fork. Make a bed of rice on each dinner plate. Top with a serving of steamed asparagus then 2 cutlets of chicken. Cover the chicken with the tarragon sauce, allowing the gravy to spill over edges into asparagus and rice. Sprinkle the plates with toasted nuts.

Green Curry Chicken with Zucchini

I'm a big fan of curry - generally speaking - only I realized I had only tried red curry and yellow curry. So in order to say I'm a "fan" I figured I should try a few more curry types. I'm not brave enough to try something when eating out now days because of cost, but I can cook and try new things.

The green curry is quite flavorful. Its called green curry because of the profusion of fresh hot green chilies in the curry paste. I've heard it's the hottest of all curries, but I'm not convinced just yet. Next time I'll use more curry and make it a bit warmer and a bit more flavorful.

There are a few things in this recipe I had no idea what it was and/or where to get it. So I didn't use them (aka the wild lime leaves).

Green Curry Chicken with Zucchini
Serves: 4-6

• 2 medium zucchini or 2 long purple Asian eggplants (ick on the eggplant - I used zuc's)
• 1 1/2 cups Unsweetened Coconut milk
• 2 to 3 T Green Curry Paste ( I only used about 1 T so not to overheat it...I'll use more next time)
• 1/4 lb boneless chicken thighs or breasts, cut in big bite sized pieces
• 1 1/2 cups Chicken broth
• 2 T Palm sugar or brown sugar (Yah, I have no idea what palm sugar is, so I went with brown)
• 6 to 8 Lime leaves, torn or cut in half (Optional)
• A handful of fresh Asian or Italian basil leaves, plus basil springs for garnish

Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and then crosswise into 1 inch chunks; set aside. In a medium saucepan or heavy skillet, bring 3/4 cup of the coconut milk to a gentle boil over medium-high heat. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until it begins to thicken and becomes fragrant. Add the curry paste and cook 2 to 3 more minutes, pressing and stirring to dissolve it into the coconut milk. Add the chicken and cook 2 minutes more, tossing to coat it with the sauce.

Add the remaining 3/4 cup coconut milk, the chicken broth, zucchini, fish sauce, palm sugar, and about half the wild lime leaves, if using, and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to maintain a lively simmer and cook, stirring now and then, until the chicken is cooked and the zucchini is tender but still firm, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining lime leaves and the fresh basil leaves. Garnish with a few sprigs of fresh basil and serve hot or warm.

Serve with rice.

Sesame Noodles with Chicken and Asparagus

Yummy Yum Yummersome! This was a super simple dish - ready in the time it takes to boil noodles and very flavorful. When I do it again, I'll go a little less on the peanut butter as I like just a hint of peanut butter more so than the full flavor of peanut butter.

Sesame Noodles with Chicken and Asparagus
Serves 4

• 2 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut crosswise into 1/4 inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon Vegetable oil
• 1 pound Linguine
• 1 pound Asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1" pieces
• 1/3 cup Peanut butter
• 5 tablespoons Rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup Oyster sauce
• 2 teaspoons Chile garlic sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Grated fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Toasted sesame oil

Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a large pot.

Pat chicken dry with a paper towels. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook chicken until no longer pink, 1-2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.

Add pasta to boiling water and cook until just beginning to soften, about 8 minutes. Add asparagus to pot and cook until bright green and pasta is al dente, about 4 minutes. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, drain pasta and asparagus, and return to pot.

Whisk peanut butter, vinegar, oyster sauce, chili garlic sauce, ginger, sesame oil and 1/2 cup pasta cooking water in bowl until smooth. Add peanut butter mixture and chicken to pot and toss to combine, adding reserved pasta water as needed.

Hint: With the asparagus, don't put it in too early. It really doesn't take any time too cook. I slightly over cooked it and I hate mushy asparagus.

Stewed Beef with Rice

So this one I'm not so sure about. I think I may have to do it again and not use so much tomato sauce. Actually I didn't use any tomato sauce, all I had on hand was pureed tomatoes. Which, I think made it too tomato-EE. If you know what I mean...

Stewed Beef with Rice
Serves 2

• 1 small Onion, chopped
• 1 clove Garlic, minced
• 1 T Olive oil
• 1 Beef flank steak (3/4 lb), cut into small pieces
• 2/3 c Tomato sauce
• 2 tsp Red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp Dried oregano
• 2 T Sliced pimiento stuffed green olives
• 2 c Hot cooked rice

In a large skillet, sauté onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add beef; sauté 2-3 minutes longer.

Stir in the tomato sauce, vinegar, oregano and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30-35 minutes or until meat is tender and sauce is thickened. Stir in olives. Serve with rice.

Spicy Pesto Chicken and Pasta

I took a couple of days off from cooking new recipes. Cooked an all time favorite one night and had Spaghetti O's the next. I know, weird right?

Tonight I made a quick little diddy that was ever so good. I'm not a HUGE fan of pesto. I can take it very small quantities. Usually the basil flavor is almost over powering to me. I had some pesto from scratch for some other recipe a couple of months ago. Instead of tossing the left over pesto I froze it. A little bit of pesto goes a long way in my book.

So when I found this recipe that was a spiced up version of pesto I thought I had to certainly give it a try. I only made a few adjustments to the recipe for simplicity and because of the EWWW factor.

Spicy Pesto Chicken and Pasta
Serves 2

• 1/4 package Uncooked farfalle (bow tie) pasta (didn't have bow tie pasta so I used penne)
• 2 1/4 teaspoons Olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon Hot chili paste
• 1/4 pound Skinless boneless chicken breast, cut into 1" pieces
• 1 tablespoon and 1.5 tsp Prepared Basil pesto
• 2 tablespoons Grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons Chopped cilantro

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place farfalle pasta in the pot, cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until al dente, and drain.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Mix in the chili paste and chicken. (Jenn Note: I didn't add the chili paste here. I cooked the chicken first, then when it was cooked I added the chili paste and cooked it for about 30 seconds before adding the pesto from the next step.) Cook and stir chicken 10 minutes, or until evenly browned and juices run clear.

3. Toss the cooked farfalle, pesto, Parmesan cheese, and cilantro (Jenn Note: This is the EWWW factor. I just couldn't mix cilantro with pesto. Ick. If you do, let me know how it was.) into the skillet, and continue cooking just until heated through.

Chicken Enchiladas with Red Chili Sauce

I know. I know. I start almost every post with Wow. But this one was surprisingly delicious. I had a bunch of girls over for brunch and this particular recipe was the winner of all winners.

I cheated, of course, and made my own little adjustments. The recipe calls for cooking/stewing the chicken. I didn't have the time nor the inclinations, so I bought a rotisserie chicken and took all the meat off.

My favorite part of this recipe is the part for making the chili sauce. I've been searching for a good red chili sauce to make from homemade so I didn't have to buy the can version - which is good - but to be able to control the salt and other non healthy stuff in it, it's good to have a solid recipe now for a sauce. That's all I'm sayin'.

Chicken Enchiladas with Red Chili Sauce
Serves: 6-8

Notes: This can be made ahead of time (minus the baking) to save time. It can be refrigerated up to 2 days before baking and frozen for up to 1 month.

Sauce and Filling:

• 1 1/2 T vegetable or corn oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 medium garlic cloves; minced or pressed
• 3 T Chili powder
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp sugar
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 12 oz), trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1/4 inch wide strips (so with regard to the chicken - I used a rotisserie chicken. This recipe would work well for left over chicken too.)
• 2 (8oz) cans tomato sauce
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 (4oz) can pickled jalapenos, drained and chopped (I used the green chilies instead of jalapenos and I used 8 oz instead)
• 8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Tortillas and toppings:
10 6-inch corn tortillas
Vegetable or corn oil spray
3 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
3/4 cup sour cream
1 avocado; diced medium

For sauce and filling: Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until hot and shimmering, but not smoking. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, chili powder, coriander, cumin, salt and sugar; cook stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the chicken (regardless of if your using left over chicken or raw chicken you can add it here) and cook, stirring constantly, until coated with the spices, about 30 seconds. Add the tomato sauce and water; stir. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low; simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally until chicken is cooked through and the flavors have melded, about 8 minutes. (Jenn Note: even with the cooked chicken I let it simmer - because I could. But if you use cooked chicken, you really only need it to simmer for a couple of minutes for the sauce to thicken slightly and the chicken to absorb some of the flavors).

Pour the mixture through a medium-mesh strainer into a medium bowl, pressing the chicken and onions to extract as much sauce as possible; set the sauce aside. (Jenn Note: I did this in two batches to allow more sauce to get through - that and I didn't have a big enough strainer for the whole of the sauce/chicken mixture).

Transfer the chicken mixture to a large plate; refrigerate for 10 minutes for it to cool. You don't want your mixture to be hot or warm even when you start to roll the enchiladas because it'll make the tortillas soggy.

Add to the chicken mixture before you are ready to assemble the enchiladas 8 oz cheese, the cilantro, and the canned chilies. Thoroughly mix.

Adjust the oven rack to upper and lower middle positions and heat the oven to 300F. Place the corn tortillas in a single layer on two baking sheets. Spray both sides lightly with cooking spray. Bake until the tortillas are soft and pliable, about 4 minutes. Transfer the tortillas to your working area. If possible cover them with a towel to keep them warm and pliable.

Increase the oven temp to 400F.

To assemble: Smear the entire bottom of a 9X13 baking dish with 3/4 cup of the chili sauce.

Spread a large spoon full (about 1/3cup) filling down the center of a tortilla. Roll each tortilla tightly by hand and place, seam side down, on the sauce in the baking dish. Repeat for all the tortillas and mixture.

Pour the remaining chili sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Be sure to cover the tortillas thoroughly. Use the back of a spoon to spread the sauce so it coats the top of each tortilla.

Sprinkle with 3 oz cheese down the center.

Cover the baking dish, and bake until hot and the cheese melts; about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Use the sour cream and avocado for toppings for the enchiladas.

Teriyaki Glazed Chicken

I seem to be forever looking for that just right teriyaki recipe. I've found a few close ones, but I like my teriyaki, a glaze especially, to be thick and rich. This recipe was good. I'd make it again.

The fun part of this recipe was I got to use my new peeler. I broke down and bought a Titan peeler that peels things in a julienne fashion. OMG I loved it. A bit complicated at first to figure out how to use it and not cut my knuckles off, but we had success.

Teriyaki Glazed Chicken
Serves 4

• 4 Boneless chicken, cut into strips
• 3 tablespoons Vegetable oil, divided
• 4 medium Carrot, julienned
• 1 medium Sweet onion, julienned
• 1/2 cup Soy sauce
• 1/2 cup Packed brown sugar
• Hot cooked rice

In a large skillet, or wok, stir fry chicken in vegetable oil. Remove chicken once juices run clear and set aside.

Stir-fry carrots. Add onions and stir fry for 2-4 minutes. Combine soy sauce and brown sugar; add to skillet.

Bring to a boil. Return chicken to skillet. Boil for 5 more minutes or until sauce is slightly thickened.

Skirt Steak with Lemon and Chili Roasted Potatoes

The skirt steak of this recipe wasn't anything fancy. Simply seasoned skirt steak - cooked. It says to broil it, but we all know how I feel about broiling when there's a BBQ within the same reach. So I BBQ'd mine - shocking I know.

The potatoes were the real star of this recipe. Super simple way to make your average, everyday potato that much better. They were spicy, but I suspect that's because I tossed in Montreal Steak Seasoning instead of just your average salt and pepper.

The confusing part of this recipe was the lemon part. I had no idea what I should have been doing with the lemon - so I didn't.

Skirt Steak with Lemon and Chili Roasted Potatoes
Serves 4
1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potato, cut into 1" pieces

• 3 tablespoons Olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Chili powder
• Salt and pepper
• 8 sprigs Thyme
• 1 1/2 pounds Skirt steak
• 1 Lemon, quartered

Heat oven to 425F.

Mix the potatoes, oil, chili powder, salt and pepper and thyme in a medium bowl. Transfer to roasting pan and cook, stirring once, until crisp and golden brown, about 40 minutes.

Remove the potatoes form oven, transfer to serving bowl. Heat broiler.

Season steak with salt and pepper. Broil the steak to the desired doneness, 3-4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Slice against the grain. Serve with the potatoes and lemon quarters.

Thai Chicken

You know I must have a dozen versions of "thai chicken" and each one seems to be very unique. This one was quite good and a bit off my normal radar of how I eat chicken. Still it was tasty and quite low on the calorie counter too I might add.

Thai Chicken
Serves: 8

• 1 cup Fresh cilantro, packed
• 6 tablespoons Brown sugar, divided
• 6 tablespoons Fresh lime juice, divided
• 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon Red pepper flakes
• Salt to taste
• 2 pounds Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced 1/4-inch thick strips
• 1/2 cup Creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup Water
• 1/4 cup Shallots, chopped
• 1/4 cup Soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons Fresh ginger, chopped
• 3 cloves Garlic, chopped
• 16 Bibb or Boston lettuce leaves
• Lime wedges for serving

1. Blend cilantro, 4 T brown sugar, 2T lime juice, 1 T curry paste, pepper flakes and slat in food processor until smooth. Pour over chicken, toss to coat and marinate 10 minutes. Preheat broiler to high with rack 6" from heat. Coat broiler pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Process 2 T brown sugar, 4 T lime juice, and 1 T curry paste with peanut butter, water, shallots, soy sauce, ginger and garlic in food processor (its not necessary to wash bowl) until smooth.

3. Transfer to serving dish.

4. Thread chicken into 32 skewers. Arrange 8 skewers on prepared pan; cover ends of skewers with foil to prevent burning. Broil chicken in batches until browned and cooked through, 6 minutes.

5. To serve, wrap lettuce leaf around 2 strips of chicken, remove skewers, then drizzle with lime juice if desired.

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Surprisingly enough I changed nothing on this recipe other than the serving amount. I don't need enough to feed 8 people. Enough for one chicken breast and one person was plenty. Oh actually that's not completely true, I didn't bother with the skewers. It was just me, so I BBQ'd instead of broiled (I hate broiling when a BBQ is available) and then sliced the chicken and put that into the lettuce.

Latin Chicken and Rice Pot

I love it when I come across a recipe that calls for an ingredient I've never used before, but wanted to. This was one of those recipes. It calls for Saxon Seasoning Blend by Goya. You can find it in your Mexican area of a grocery store. They're little flavor packets of goodness. I think they are what made this meal...well that and my subtle changes.

Latin Chicken and Rice Pot
Recipe from Food Network.com
Serves: 4

• 1 T extra virgin olive oil
• 2 T butter
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken tenders, cut into bite-sized pieces
• Salt and pepper
• 2 c white rice
• 3 c chicken stock
• 1 tsp poultry seasoning
• 1 T Sazon Seasoning Blend (recommended: Goya) with Mexican and Spanish foods in market )
• 1 c tomato sauce
• 1/4 c golden raisins

Preheat a medium pot over medium heat, add extra-virgin olive oil and butter. When butter melts into oil, add cut up chicken. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Stir and lightly brown the chicken, then add the rice and cook another 1 to 2 minutes. Add chicken stock, poultry seasoning, Sazon seasoning, tomato sauce and raisins. Bring the stock to a quick boil, 2 or 3 minutes. When the liquid boils, reduce heat to low and cook 13 to 15 minutes, until rice is tender but still a little chewy in the center.

The recipe comes with an additional recipe to add to the finished product. I missed this step altogether, mostly because I didn't have any of the ingredients. Details.

Olive and Pepper Salsa

• 1 cup Spanish olives with pimientos, drained and chopped
• 2 Tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1 small Green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 small White onion, chopped
• Several drops of hot sauce
• 1/4 cup Chopped flat leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup Lemon or lime juice

While the rice and chicken are working, prepare the salsa. Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and adjust the salt and hot sauce, to taste. Next prepare the Avocado and Garlic Sour Cream by adding all ingredients to a food processor and processing until smooth. Adjust seasoning, then transfer to a small bowl.

Stir 1/2 cup of prepared Olive and Pepper Salsa to the chicken and rice mixture. Turn off heat and let stand 5 minutes.

Serve the prepared Latin rice and chicken in shallow bowls with spoonfuls of salsa and avocado cream to garnish. Serve any remaining salsa and sour cream with plantains and corn chips for dipping and scooping.

My "adjustment" to this recipe - cuz you know there would be one - is I added green olives. I just thought it screamed for green olives. And I was right. I loved the raisin(sweet) and green olive (savory) combination.

Best part overall though, this is a stomach filler. Easily can make this for very little $$.

Steak Stroganoff

This recipe was just okay. It wasn't great, but just okay. I'm on the fence about whether I'd do this again or not. I like my stroganoff recipe way better.

This one was easy and could easily be used to make a fancy dinner for a guest.

Steak Stroganoff
Serves: 4

• 4 beef rib-eye steaks (8oz each)
• 3 c small button mushrooms
• 2 c onions, sliced
• 1 T garlic, minced
• 1 T tomato paste
• 3 T all purpose flour
• 1/2 c dry sherry (I didn't have sherry so used dry white wine)
• 1 1/2 c beef broth
• 1 T Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 c sour cream
• 2 T chopped parsley

Season steaks with salt and pepper. Sauté in oil over medium-high heat about 4 minutes on each side for rare (or to desired doneness). Remove and keep warm.

Add mushrooms to pan and sauté for 3 minutes. Stir in onions, and cook 3 more minutes. Stir in garlic and tomato paste and cook 1 minute.

Sprinkle with flour and cook 1 minute. Deglaze the pan with sherry, scraping up browned bits from the pan. Add broth and Worcestershire sauce, and simmer until thickened, 2-3 minutes.

Off heat, stir in sour cream. Pour sauce over steaks, then garnish with parsley.

Sesame Chicken

This was an easy recipe. It's a mom favorite - maybe a mom original - and I think this is one of my favorite, and easy, chicken recipes.

I do think I had a slight typo on my recipe as it says 4 T of black pepper. I'm 100% sure that to 1/4 cup soy sauce marinade I'm not putting in 4T of black pepper. I adjusted it to what I think it should be.

Sesame Chicken
Serves: 4

• 1/4 cup Sesame seeds , toasted
• 3 tablespoons Vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup Soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons Pepper
• 2 cloves Garlic, minced
• 4 Green onion, chopped
• 3/4 pound Chicken, cubed

In frying pan; brown sesame seeds over medium heat. Combine all other ingredients except chicken. Marinade chicken for an hour in liquid. Broil 6 inches from heat for 10 minutes.

Serve over rice.