Recipes for the Ravenous

Juicy Breasts….( Chicken, that is)

traci1 — Mon, 13 May 2013 22:40:07 +0000

Today is Monday, the day after Mother’s Day! Back to business as usual. This year’s Mother’s Day was a little more special because I invited my friend and her family to join us for a cookout. I made a mixed grill of ribs, steak, chicken and sausages. Let us not forget all the trimmings…homemade pickles, potato salad, baked beans, grilled corn and a veggie tray. We had a lot of fun and so did the kids.

Here is my secret for juicy breasts: ( Chicken of course!)

8-10 chicken tenders, defrosted
4 cloves of chopped garlic
2 t. chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 C. of olive oil
1/4 C. of white wine
2 T. lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste.
In a bowl, combine the ingredients and whisk together. Pour the marinade and chicken into a ziploc bag and marinate overnight. Grill or broil.

Honoring our teachers….

traci1 — Thu, 09 May 2013 19:40:55 +0000

Whew! Baking the mini cupcakes, saved my life! And I thought I was making them to use up my ingredients! This morning, my little guy reminded me that it was Teacher Appreciation Week and what could he give his teachers? So, I made up some packages of mini cupcakes to give.
Mini Yellow Cupcakes with Chocolate Glaze
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and spray three mini muffin tins.
In a mixing bowl,
cream together
8 T. of room temperature butter
6 T. of brown sugar
6 T. of white sugar
until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Add in one egg and mix until the egg is well incorporated.
Add in 1 1/2 t. of vanilla extract, 1/4 t. of salt, 1/2 t. of baking soda and 1 1/2 t. of baking powder. Lastly, add in 2 Cups minus 4 T. of flour. MIx well. Stir in 3/4 C. of half and half. Portion into the muffin cups and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
While the cupcakes are baking, make the glaze:
In a glass bowl that is safe for the microwave…combine the following ingredients:
1/2 C. of sugar
1 T. of cornstarch
pinch of salt
1/2 C. of half and half
4 oz. of semi sweet chocolate chips
6 T. of butter
and 1 t. vanilla
Microwave for three minutes. Remove from the microwave and whisk until the mixture is free of lumps and satiny. To glaze the cupcakes…dip the entire top of a cupcake into the glaze.

What the girls ate….

traci1 — Sun, 05 May 2013 18:40:57 +0000

Being a culinary school graduate has its advantages. One of the biggest advantages is that you can cook a restaurant quality meal at home whenever you want. Yesterday, my friend and I got together to hang out. We went to the farmer’s market and Whole Foods, where we bought some yummy stuff! We ended up not going to a restaurant this time, especially after the lackluster food and service. For a fraction of what we spent previously, we enjoyed a scrumptious meal. We had Watermelon Gazpacho, a simple salad with Cara Cara Oranges and Avocado, toasted baguettes with Fig and Fennel Caponata (from the Barefoot Contessa). My friend contributed a nice bottle of Chardonnay and some smoked chicken. We will be going on vacation soon, so I am trying to use up the food we have…

Watermelon Gazpacho
2 C. cubed watermelon, remove the seeds
1 roma tomato, diced
1 small jalapeno, take off the stem
1/2 a hot house cucumber
1 T. of mint
1 T. cilantro
1 T. white wine vinegar
1 T. lemon juice or lime juice
1/2 c. of crushed ice
1/2 c. of orange juice
Salt and Pepper to taste
Place ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend until the mixture resembles salsa or a chunky smoothie. Perfect on a hot day!

Simple Citrus and Avocado Salad
Lettuce, washed and torn or mixed greens
Sliced Avocado
1 Cara Cara orange, peeled and remove all the membranes before slicing.
Dressing:
1 T. olive oil
1 T. white wine vinegar
2 T. orange juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Whisk together and drizzle over salad. Garnish with toasted pumpkin seeds.

The Latest News…

traci1 — Thu, 02 May 2013 19:11:06 +0000

Hi friends and fans,
Not much news to share with you. Our lives are good and we are thriving. I was profoundly influenced by the book “7″ by Jen Hatmaker and so I decided to do a “7″ project of my own. Last month, I addressed food. This month, I’m addressing possessions, and yes, my recipe collection has been reduced by 50%. A really big challenge would be to cook through all those recipes…well, maybe when we come home from our yearly pilgrimage to Washington. Anywho, I have been either giving away or throwing away 7 or more items each day and will continue until May 22, the day before we leave. What was really interesting, was my son getting involved all by himself.
Bless his little heart!

Caesar in Cinco…

traci1 — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 19:32:10 +0000

Good Morning, readers! Yesterday was Earth Day! We had our usual Meatless Monday feast. My little guy even reminded me that we don’t eat meat on Mondays! We did have an awesome Broccoli and Spinach Pizza pie from the Picky Palate cookbook/blog. I also made some quick Caesar Salad Lettuce Cups to go with the meal.

Romaine leaves, separated and washed
Croutons
Parmesan Cheese
Diced tomatoes (optional)
Grilled Chicken, (optional)
Caesar Dressing
Instead of tearing or cutting the lettuce for a salad…Use the whole leaves as a container for the salad fixings. Drizzle the dressing on the lettuce leaf and add the toppings and Enjoy!

Addicted to Arugula…

traci1 — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 20:09:24 +0000

Omg, I so love arugula! Her tender green leaves and peppery bite are like nature’s little black dress! Arugula goes with just about anything! I made another salad with ingredients I already had on hand. So beautiful, healthy and delicious!

Arugula Edamame Salad
1/2 c. of shelled edamame, thawed
2 C. of washed baby arugula
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 blood orange or other citrus fruit, peeled and diced
Sliced toasted almonds…optional
Dressing:
1/2 t. orange zest
1 T. tamari
1 T. maple syrup
1 T. orange juice
1 T. rice vinegar
1 t. sesame oil
Whisk together and season with salt and pepper.
Serve with salad.

Creative Cauliflower…

traci1 — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 20:02:01 +0000

My young man is the number one aficionado of roasted cauliflower, hands down! I find myself buying this cruciferous veggie every week! I found a recipe for cauliflower with pasta on an old Bon Appetit magazine clipping, so I set out to try the recipe and only made one major tweak! Instead of blanching the cauliflower, I opted to roast the cauliflower just like the little man likes it.
Penne with Roasted Cauliflower and Mustard Breadcrumbs

1/2 box of Penne, cooked al dente
1 head of cauliflower, separated into florets, place in a baking dish, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the cauliflower begins to brown at the edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
2 T. butter
1 1/2 C. of fresh breadcrumbs…I used one of my homemade whole wheat rolls and buzzed it in the food processor.
1/2-3/4 C. of shredded Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 T. of Dijon mustard
1/2 C. whipping cream
Zest of 1/2 lemon

In a skillet, melt the butter. Add in the mustard, lemon zest and bread crumbs..saute until the crumbs get crispy. Remove from the skillet. Add in 1 T. olive oil and add in the cauliflower, the pasta and the cream. Heat through. Add in the crumbs and the parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. I promise the kids will eat this!

Curried Egg Salad on the Cheap…

traci1 — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 19:51:41 +0000

Good Morning readers, if you need something inexpensive, but do not want to appear cheap, then this recipe is definitely for you! My basic rule is this, if you have the ingredients to make something already, then you can make it! This whole month has been spent eating less junk, reducing waste and using up what we have. This egg salad is not your blah egg salad!

Curried Egg Salad
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1-2 T. red onion, chopped
1 T. chopped flat leaf parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
2-3 T. of mayonnaise
2 t. Dijon mustard
1 t. curry powder
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Serve with your favorite bread!

Easy as, well, Pie…

traci1 — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 22:57:03 +0000

Have you ever had a pie craving? Does making a pie out of the blue seem intimidating? This recipe for Buttermilk pie is so very unassuming. The crust is so easy, a child could do it by him or herself. The buttermilk filling definitely does not require rocket science. Put the two components together and you have a pie to take to the potluck that you nearly forgot about.

Crust:
Spray a pie plate with Pam
In the pie plate, mix together the following ingredients:
1 1/2 C. of flour
1/2 t. salt
1 t. sugar
1/4 t. baking powder
1/3 C. oil
3-4 T. water
When this mixture looks like crumbs, pat the mixture firmly in the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate.

In a mixing bowl,
Whisk together the following ingredients:
1 scant cup of sugar
1 stick of butter, melted
1/4 C. of flour
1 t. vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
3 eggs
1 C. of buttermilk
Pour carefully into the pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees…40-45 minutes.

Spring has Sprung!

traci1 — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 02:08:34 +0000

Hi readers, finally, a chance to sit and write a little. This past week has been Spring Break for us and yes, I did a fair amount of cooking. Here are a smattering of salads I made this past week. Both are easy to prepare and look amazing!

Basic Mixed Green Salad with Pears, Pecans and Celery
Mesclun greens, washed and drained
1 pear, washed and thinly sliced or diced
1/3 C. of pecans, broken
1 stalk of celery, washed and sliced thinly on the bias
Dressing:
Use what you have, preferably a vinaigrette
or make a vinaigrette from scratch

Spinach and Strawberry Salad
Spinach leaves, washed and drained
Strawberries, washed and thinly sliced..just eyeball the amount you need.
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/3 C. toasted sliced almonds
Dressing:
2 T. balsamic vinegar
1 T. honey
1 1/2 T. olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste. Whisk together in a small bowl.