Lemon Chicken Orzo in Tzatziki

I love me some Greek food. I really do. And, I'm all about Tzatziki sauce! I'm not ashamed to admit that, upon occasion, I but it premade from Costco. I don't remember which brand they carry, but it is tasty! I impulse bought some Tzatziki recently on a Costco trip and wanted to do something different. So, I just combined a bunch of stuff and this is what I got. Pretty yummy if you ask me!

First, I marinated chicken in the Tzatziki for a few hours. To start, I cooked some orzo and steamed some broccoli. (Not a real recipe today, folks- just a play by play!) I heated 2 tsp of oil and 1 tsp of butter in a deep skillet over medium heat. While that was heating, I cut the chicken into bite sized strips. Once the oil/butter was hot, I added 1 tsp of oregano and the chicken, turning the chicken every once in awhile to prevent them from burning. When the chicken was cooked, I deglazed the pan with 1/4 c of white wine and about 3 Tbsp of fresh lemon juice. I then added a few Tbsp more of Tzatziki (not the stuff from the marinade- fresh spoon fulls!) along with the orzo and broccoli. I mixed it and added salt and pepper to taste. Greek inspired dinner in 10 minutes flat= Happiness!

Finally

I'm finally getting around to posting!

Here's what my mother and I worked on for Christmas Day dessert:

Huge spread of mini desserts!

Strawberry shortcakes

Apricot Oat Bars

Chocolate Mousse Cups

 For Valentine's Day, I made my hubby and his friend huge filled cupcakes. I actually made them using a mini bundt pan then cut out a hole in the middle. I filled them with Mocha frosting and put the lid back on. The frosting was a yummy suprise!

 I also made mini cupcakes for his office

Aside from baking, most of my cooking has been for Abby. I'm loving making my own baby food! But, I have managed to get a few new meals into our bellies as well :) I guess I've been thinking Asian lately, I have Thai and Indian below!

Red Curry Chicken and Shrimp over Basmati Rice

Vegetable Dal

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

I'm sure most of you have seen this recipe from Ina Garten. It's one of the episodes of Barefoot Contessa that is always on repeat on the Food Network. I really like this recipe because not only is it delicious, it's pretty easy. It does not require a lot of last minute work. So, it's great for company as I can prepare it ahead of time, and spend the evening with my guests- not in the kitchen. My Great Aunt and Uncle were here on vacation, and we wanted to have them over before they left town. Since weekends are pretty busy, we decided to have them over on a weeknight. Which is great and all, but 7 people for dinner on a weeknight can be a bit stressful. So, I made this recipe the night before! It warmed up beautifully. I served it with salad, a vegetable tian, and an angel food cake with strawberry compote for dessert. A lovely end to a nice visit with my family!



Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic
adapted from Barefoot Contessa, Food Network

3 heads of garlic, separated (not peeled)
chicken (use whatever you want. I like chicken thighs best for this dish, but add breasts as well)
1 Tbsp. Butter
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
2 Tbsp. Heavy Cream
11/2 c. White Wine
2 Tbsp. AP Flour
1 Tbsp. Fresh Thyme
Salt and Pepper

Blanche garlic cloves in a pot of boiling water for 1 minute. Remove from water, peel, then set aside.
Heat butter and oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Liberally season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown chicken in batches to avoid overcrowding the pot. When last batch is browned, remove from the pot. Add the peeled garlic cloves and sauté until they start to brown, about 5 minutes. Add wine and boil mixture for 5 minutes, making sure to scrape up any of the brown bits on the bottom of the pot. Return chicken and any juices that collected at the bottom of the plate to the pot. Add fresh thyme, then cover pot and simmer until your chicken is cooked. Depending on the amount of chicken you are using, this can take anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes. Once the chicken is cooked, take it out of the pot. Remove 1/2 c. of the cooking liquid and whisk in a bowl with the flour. Add the mixture back to the pot and whisk the sauce to make sure that there are no lumps. Add the heavy cream and bring to a boil. Cook for 3 minutes, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the chicken back into the pot and mix with sauce. Serve.

Note: Make sure you plan for your side dishes to be on the lighter side. While the chicken dish isn't too heavy, the cream sauce does give the dish a bit of heft. I wouldn't serve it with pasta or mashed potatoes or anything. Keep it light!

Lemon Butter Chicken

I bought too many lemons. I don't know why I decided I needed a whole bag of them, but I did. So now, I have a ton of lemons in my fridge. And, while I always use fresh lemon juice, that's still a lot of lemons. I decided to try to make something for dinner that would use them up. I didn't have capers, or want to bother frying up chicken, so piccata was out. Enter: lemon butter chicken.

I didn't have a recipe or anything, just an idea that I wanted a quick chicken dinner (with lemons). I sliced my chicken into strips to cut the cooking time and cooked them in a pan with 1 tsp olive oil and 1 tsp butter. Once the chicken was mostly cooked, I pulled it out of the pan and set it aside. I added 2 minced cloves of garlic and the juice and zest of two lemons to the pan, and let that cook for a few minutes. I knew I wanted the sauce to be silky, so I then added a few additional tsp. of butter, one at a time, until I got to the desired consistency. I added a few slices of lemon for color, salt and pepper, and a pinch of herbs de provence. I then returned the chicken and the juices that had collected on the plate back into the sauce and let it all cook for another minute or so, until the chicken was warm. I served it with mashed potatoes and corn.

The chicken was really tasty. I was afraid that the acidity of the lemon would not play well with the amount of butter I added, but I was very happy with the outcome. All in all, it took me about 25 minutes to make the chicken. A very quick and tasty weeknight dinner. And, the hubby has already asked me to make it again-Success!

Adventures in CrockPot Cooking...and an update :)

Well, it's been quite some time since my last post. There are the variety of reasons: I was busy, the holidays, and all of that other garbage. But, the real reason is that I'm pregnant :). I was sick throughout most of the first trimester, so there wasn't much cooking going on. Also, I've injured my leg, so I can't really stand for long periods of time. Suffice to say, I'm dying to get back into the kitchen! I've recently started to get back into my old routine, so be sure to look for more frequent posting. I'm over halfway through my second trimester now, and can't wait to meet our little girl!

Back to food. The Hubby has been sweet enough to be in charge of dinner (takeout) when I wasn't feeling well. But, I've been craving real food. I decided to give the old crockpot another chance. You may remember my Pulled Pork experiment. It turned out awesome, but that has been my only attempt at crock pot cooking. After some research, I decided I wanted to cook a bunch of protein to freeze and use as the base for other meals. During this time, my parents were sweet enough to buy me a new (bigger) crockpot with a digital timer. This made things MUCH easier!

I decided to cook pork, beef, and chicken. For the pork, I followed the same base recipe as the pulled pork. Instead of mixing the cooked pork with BBQ sauce, I froze it into smaller portions with a bit of the cooking liquid. I have since used the pork to make pork stir fry, pork carnitas, and BBQ sandwiches. I just pull a portion out of the freezer the night before to defrost and use it to cook a meal the next day. The cooking liquid is flavorful, but not too strong. So, the pork is easily adaptable.

I went the same route with the beef. For the recipe, go here. While I used a roast, I think it would be perfectly acceptable to use just about any type of beef. Go with whatever is on sale at the supermarket! I've used this beef on its own as pot roast, or in dishes such as beef lo mein and a modified picadillo. I plan on using it again tonight for quick fajitas.

The chicken was a bit more risky for me. I pretty much eat boneless, skinless chicken breast. I know, it's boring, but it's what I like. I do like thigh meat from time to time, so I decided to use 4 huge chicken thighs for my crockpot experiment. I didn't really know what to put into the pot, so I just threw in a bunch of things. For the "recipe", go here. The chicken turned out great. I shredded the chicken and used it in a thai salad and in quesidillas. Next time, I will use more chicken. 4 thighs really wasn't much meat for 2 people to eat 2 meals. Both the pork and beef base recipes made enough for the 2 of us to eat at least 4 meals-I still have some left!

My thoughts on the crockpot: I love this thing. I know I'm the last one to the party on this topic, but I'm glad I finally tried it out! I'm still a little weary of leaving applicances plugged in while I'm away from home, so I just set it to cook overnight. I turn the crockpot off in the morning and leave everything to cool while I'm at work. I usually flip the meat over so that the whole thing gets time to soak in as much of the yummy flavor as possible. I have enjoyed making my regular dinners again, and it has been helpful to have the protein already cooked. On nights where I'm busy or tired, I can use prepare dinner in about 20 minutes. Next up in my crockpot trials: Baked Potato Soup- check back soon!

Note: I will add pictures as soon as I can.

The best damn arroz con pollo ever!!!

...if I do say so myself!


I grew up (and still reside) in South Florida, a melting pot of different cultures and flavors. Out of all of the different ethnic cuisines, Cuban food is my favorite. I make different Cuban recipes at home regularly, and visit local restaurants for the more difficult to prepare dishes. One of my favorite dishes, Arroz con Pollo, is not to be purchased. It is to be made by someone's abuela, who has just the right touch. I am lucky enough to know such a woman, but I don't get to see her too much. Therefore, my arroz con pollo consumption has gone way down.

Last week, I decided that enough was enough. I tackled Arroz con Pollo. And let me just say....oh my gawd, was it good. We could not stop eating it. We ate it out of the pot. We ate it for lunch, dinner, and maybe a midnight snack or two. I made a lot, thinking I would freeze half of it for another night's dinner. How foolish. That stuff was gone before we realized it. And now, we mourn it's absence. I'm not sure, but this may just be the best thing I've made all year. So go and make yourself some Arroz con Pollo. Please. And be sure to save some for me!!

Here is my recipe. I will not say that all of the ingredients are found in authentic recipes. I have no idea. I couldn't find one in English, and my Spanish is a bit rusty these days. But, the outcome was the same as any abuelas' that I've had. So there!

As with almost all Cuban food, Sofrito is the base to this dish. I've seen it frozen at the supermarket before, but never tried it. I just make my own. But, by all means, feel free to purchase some if you wish to do so. Also, I used chicken breast. But, I usually see it being made with a whole chicken. Again- up to you.

Enjoy!

Arroz con Pollo

1 pound of chicken, cut into strips
8 oz of canned tomato sauce
1 onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1/3 c. olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. cumin
3 1/2 c. chicken stock
1 12 oz. bottle of beer (use whatever you have on hand, or substitute in more stock)
1/2 c. white wine (or you could substitute in more stock)
1 1/2 c. Valencia rice
5 threads of saffron
Juice of 1 lime
Frozen peas


Soak rice in water for at least an hour. Drain and set aside.

Liberally coat chicken with salt, pepper, and lime juice. Heat olive oil in a large oven safe pot and brown chicken. Do this in batches as to avoid overcrowding the pot. Set chicken aside.

Add onions, peppers and garlic to the pot and sauté. Cook for 5 minutes, then remove and grind up the veggies in a food processor. This is the beginning of the sofrito. Some people leave the veggies chunky, but I like mine pureed. Return the sofrito to the pot and add the tomato sauce, bay leaf, and cumin. Cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently.

Return the chicken and any juices to the pot, and add the wine and beer. Cook for 7 minutes, then add the chicken stock. Bring the mixture to a boil, then add the drained rice and saffron threads. Bring to a boil once again, then cover the pot.

Bake the mixture at 350° for about 20 minutes. Finally, remove the pot from the oven and the frozen peas. My hubby isn't too fond of peas, so I only added about 3/4 of a cup, but feel free to go wild. Fluff the rice and serve.

I wish I had a wonderful picture to share with you, but I didn't take the time. We really couldn't stop eating the stuff, and I barely grabbed this one before the bowl was empty! I know it doesn't look great, but trust me- this recipe is a keeper!!

Thai Red Curry Chicken

I LOVE Thai curry. But I haven't been able to find a good curry in quite some time. I used to find it at my old favorite haunt, but after a TERRIBLE experience, I decided to part ways. Since then, I've found a few awesome places for Pad Thai, but no decent curries. Time to take matters into my own hands! After a quick stop at the grocery store for supplies, I was ready to tackle Red Curry Chicken.

*Note- This recipe is actually figure friendly (a first for this blog!). I'm sure that more authentic Curry dishes use full fat coconut milk, and all sorts of other goodness. But, I've chosen to go with a lighter dish. Not only will I be more likely to make it again in the future, but I won't gain a few pounds eating it!

Thai Red Curry Chicken

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into strips
2 tsp olive oil
1 c. onion, chopped
1 c. green pepper chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. fresh ginger, grated
3/4 tsp salt
13 1/2 can light coconut milk
1 tsp. Red Curry Paste (available at most grocery stores in the Asian aisle)
1 1/2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp. basil
1 tbsp cilantro, chopped
2 tbsp. corn starch
1 tbsp water
cooked Jasmine Rice

Heat oil over medium high and cook chicken. Remove chicken from pan and set aside. Add onions, green pepper, and garlic to pan. Sautee for 3-5 minutes, until onions are translucent.

In a bowl, combine coconut milk with curry paste and whisk until smooth. Add coconut mixture to the pan, along with the chicken, lime juice, basil, and cilantro. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Allow curry to cook for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine water with cornstarch in a bowl. Once curry is finished cooking, add cornstarch mixture to the curry and bring to a boil. Cook the curry for another minute, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens.

Serve over Jasmine Rice.

Chicken Stock (and soup too!)

A few weeks ago, I decided to make a batch of homemade chicken stock. I had done this a few times before, but I always used it up straight away. I never had the room in the old freezer. Now, I have the room to make a big batch to freeze in small portions.

In the past, I had used whole chickens. But to tell you the truth, it's just too expensive. I generally buy about a 5 pound chicken to make 7 quarts of stock. After cooking the chicken for hours, it's not that great to eat. So you end up tossing the whole bird. This time around I went to the butcher at my local supermarket and asked him if he had any carcasses or gizzards to sell me. He told me that he had just packaged up a few packs of gizzards and necks. For about $3.50 I got 5 pounds of stock worthy chicken. Great!

I used my very tall stockpot to do this job. First I added the following to the pot:
7 carrots, not peeled, chopped
3 onions, quartered
4 head of celery, chopped
1 head of garlic, not peeled, chopped in half
5 pounds chicken (parts or whole chicken chopped up)
3 bay leaves
1 tsp. whole peppercorns

Then I added as much water as I could fit in the pot. For my pot, this was 7 quarts. I then added a ton of fresh herbs from my garden. You can add whatever you like, but I used:

1 1/2 c. flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
4 long stalks of Rosemary
5 stalks of Thyme
1/2 c. of chopped chives

I let the mixture simmer for about 4 hours. Every half hour or so, I would skim off any fat that had risen to the top. After 4 hours, I poured the stock through a strainer into a cheesecloth lined bowl. (You don't have to use the cheesecloth, but I find that it really helps to remove any of the finer particles that may have passed through the strainer.) I then allowed the stock to cool before putting it in the fridge overnight.

The next day, I skimmed off all the fat that had separated from the stock. There will be a lot, don't worry! I then transferred the stock into food storage bags. I put 2 cups of broth in each bag. I then put the bags in the freezer, lying them flat to conserve room. I used 7 quarts of water and ended up with about 6 1/2 quarts of stock. Not bad! Cheap and delicious!

Well, the hubby is feeling a little under the weather this week. Time for soup! I took out 2 bags of broth (4 cups) from the freezer and let them defrost a bit. I then put the stock in a pot over medium low heat to finish defrosting. When the stock was warm, I added a chicken breast that I had cut up into bite sized pieces. I would have normally added carrots as well at this point, but the patient didn't want them in there. I also added 1 cinnamon stick to the pot and a bit of lemon juice to taste. I used about 2 tsp.

I let the soup cook for about 5 minutes before removing the cinnamon and adding a few hand fulls of broken egg noodles. The soup cooked for just another few minutes, until the noodles were done. Soup was delicious!

What I like about making my own stock is that it's easy. Time consuming, but easy. But, I just put the stock on to simmer away while I'm watching TV, cleaning, etc. So, it's not that bad. I also really enjoy getting to control what goes into the broth. It's exactly what I want. And I can alter the ingredients to fit the mood I'm in. Finally, it's really nice having a freezer full of stock! Since I use chicken stock all the time, it's both a cheaper and a healthier option for us. I just pop a bag of broth into the pot and my meal is halfway done! I also use chicken broth to flavor rice and vegetable dishes. I'm getting a ton of use out of $3.50 worth of chicken parts. And when all else fails, a good cup of homemade soup is only 10 minutes away.

Enjoy!