Cashew Chicken

September 30, 2008 at 8:24 pm (Main Dish)
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Back before Rachel Ray had an empire (don’t even get me started), her first cookbook, 30 Minute Meals, was a quaint and handy cookbook with one color printing and simple graphics.  It’s writing style is the tiniest bit annoying and foreshadows her present day total personality exaggeration and saturation, but it has a lot of great recipes.  For example, the real title of this recipe is “Cashew!  God Bless You Chicken.”  Seriously, can you imagine me saying, “Sweetie, do you want me to cook Cashew!  God Bless You Chicken tonight?”  Call it whatever you want, this stuff is good, especially once we took our usual personal liberties with recipe interpretation.

Ingredients and Instructions

1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced
Combine chicken in bowl with:
1 tablespoon (once around the bowl) sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons (a couple of glugs) rice wine, rice vinegar, or dry sherry
A couple of shakes of red pepper flakes
Black pepper, to taste
Set it aside and let it hang out.

1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 large carrot, peeled and diced (we usually use more carrot)
1 medium onion, large dice (we added this to the recipe)
1 can (7oz) sliced water chestnuts, drained and chops (yuck–water chestnuts are gross and we leave them out)
1 red pepper (we use a green pepper, and cook it in a separate pan since Katie won’t eat it)
3 heaping tablespoons hoisin sauce
A couple of handfuls unsalted cashews
3 green onions, thinly sliced on an angle.

Heat oil in wok or large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add carrot and stir-fry for 2 or 3 minutes.  Add the coated chicken and onion and cook another 3 or 4 minutes, or until done.  Add the hoisin sauce and toss to coat evenly.  Serve chicken over rice, and top with cashews and green onions.

Serves at least 4.

Notes:

Don’t get Kikkoman hoisin sauce, even though it’s probably the easiest brand to find– it has WAY too much Chinese Five Spice Powder flavor which we don’t really care for.  Also, sesame oil is awesome, but smokes easily and will taste burned if you go crazy with the heat.

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Cheesy Chicken and Rice Bake

September 23, 2008 at 10:43 am (Main Dish)
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Source:  Campbell’s (with some changes to improve nutrition)

Prep time:  5 minutes.  Bake time:  45 minutes.  Serves 4-6.

Ingredients

1 can (10 3/4 oz) 98% Fat Free Campbell’s Cream of Chicken Soup, reduced sodium
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables or frozen peas and carrots
1 1/3 cups water
3/4 cups uncooked brown rice
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into tenders
1 cup shredded cheddar  cheese

Instructions

1.  Mix soup, water, rice, mixed vegetables, onion powder and black pepper in 2 qt. shallow baking dish.  top with chicken.  Top with additional black pepper.  Cover with foil.

2.  Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes until chicken is no longer pink and rice is done (the substitution for brown rice may require additional cooking time, and simply remove chicken and set aside covered with foil if rice is not done).

3.  Uncover, sprinkle cheese over chicken and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

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Carolina Barbeque

September 22, 2008 at 8:50 am (Main Dish)
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Source:  Katie
Prep time:  less than 5 minutes, plus cooking time for pork in crock pot (10-12 hours on low, hands off)

Eastern Carolina Barbecue is made with a vinegar based sauce instead of a tomato or mustard based one, and it’s my absolute favorite kind of barbecue.  After searching high and low, I came up with a combination of several recipes and liked the results. 

For the meat, I put a pork roast in the crock pot (I just throw it in as is, add some black pepper, and cover with water) and set it to low.  When it’s done, shred meat with a fork, remove extra fat and combine it with the sauce.  

The meat in this recipe won’t have the nice smokiness and crunch you would get a a real barbecue joint (Parker’s in Wilson, NC is the best), but I don’t want to spend a day smoking pork because I would probably burn the house down.  

This barbecue goes best with cole slaw and corn bread, in my opinion. 

Carolina Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients

2 cups cider vinegar
2 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon red pepper
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Instructions

Pour all ingredients together in a jar or bottle and shake until combined.  Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.  Mix with pork.  This recipe will make extra sauce, which helps moisten up leftovers.

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Guapo’s Salsa

September 22, 2008 at 8:34 am (Snacks)
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Guapo’s is a terrific Mexican restaurant in Washington,  DC.  In 2005 or 2006, the Washington Post shared Guapo’s excellent salsa recipe with its readers.  That article (with recipe) is below.

The cook’s at Guapo’s make so much salsa, they’re pros at proportions.  But for those of us less familiar with making the summer essential, Rincon [owner of Guapo’s] offers these guidelines and stressed being flexible.  If you like it chunkier, add more tomatoes and onion.  If you like it hotter, add more jalapeno chili peppers.  The salsa will keep, tightly covered, 2 to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Ingredients

4 to 5 jalapeno chili peppers, stemmed (halve and remove seeds for less heat)
1 quart tomato juice
2 medium white onions, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, cored and chopped
1 cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup vegetable oil

Instructions

Place the jalapeno chili peppers in a food processor and pulse until almost smooth.  Transfer to a medium bowl and add the tomato juice, onions, tomatoes, cilantro, salt, pepper, cumin and oil, stirring to combine.  Taste and adjust seasoning.  Serve with tortilla chips.

Makes about 5 cups. 

My Notes
It seems silly to get out, use, and then have to clean the food processor for just the jalapeno peppers, but it really works and makes the heat go evenly through the salsa.  I’m a wimp and I use less peppers, but don’t bother seeing them.

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Orange Pork with Scallions

September 21, 2008 at 6:56 pm (Main Dish)
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Source:  Cooking Light,  July 2006 (with small changes by Katie)

Ingredients

  • 1  pound  pork tenderloin
  • 2  tablespoons  cornstarch, divided
  • 1/3  cup  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
  • 1/4  cup orange juice (plus some zest if using fresh oranges)
  • 2  tablespoons  low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1  teaspoon  chili garlic sauce
  • 1/4  teaspoon  salt
  • Cooking spray
  • 1 1/2  teaspoons  canola oil
  • 2  cups  matchstick-cut carrots
  • 1/4  cup  water
  • 2  teaspoons grated fresh ginger
  • 2  teaspoons minced garlic
  • 1/3  cup  diagonally cut green onions
  • Sliced green onions for garnish

Instructions

Cut pork into 2 x 1/4-inch-wide strips. Combine pork and 1 tablespoon cornstarch in a bowl; toss well. Combine remaining 1 tablespoon cornstarch, broth, and next 4 ingredients (through salt).

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add pork to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until desired degree of doneness; stir frequently. Remove pork from pan.

Heat oil in pan. Add carrots, 1/4 cup water, ginger, and garlic to pan; cook 1 1/2 minutes, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Return pork to pan. Stir in broth mixture; bring to a boil. Cook 30 seconds. Stir in 1/3 cup onions. Serve immediately. Garnish with sliced onions, if desired.

 Notes

This dish is so good that I remember when we made it for the first time–in our tiny kitchen in Takoma Park, MD.  Cutting the carrots into matchsticks may take longer, but I highly recommend doing it (I also find it fun and relaxing)–they also get cooked to a better consistency more easily when cut into sticks and not discs. 

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Apple and Spice Pork Roast

September 19, 2008 at 7:09 pm (Main Dish)
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Source:  dLife.com
Prep. Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: approx 1 hour, more or less depending on weight (watch temp. instead of time)

Ingredients
3 lb Pork loin
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp vinegar
1 tsp yellow mustard
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 tbsp white all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp black pepper , freshly ground

Instructions
1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Stir together applesauce, brown sugar, vinegar, mustard and clove in small bowl; refrigerate half of the applesauce mixture and set aside remaining applesauce mixture.

2.Combine flour, salt, sugar, garlic powder and pepper in another small bowl.

3.  Rub flour mixture evenly over entire surface of pork. Place pork on rack in shallow roasting pan.

4.  Roast, uncovered, until internal temperature is 140 degrees F. Spoon reserved applesauce mixture over roast. Roast until internal temperature is 155 degrees F., 1 to 1 1/2 hours total cooking time (about 18-20 minutes per pound).

5.  Transfer roast to serving platter; cover with foil and let stand for 15 minutes before slicing. Heat chilled applesauce mixture in small saucepan until boiling; boil for 1 minute. Spoon heated applesauce mixture over pork slices.

Notes

We found this recipe when my parents were coming to visit us in our new apartment in Atlanta, and we wanted something diabetic friendly for my mom and also something special and impressive.  This dish, especially when accompanied by sweet potatoes, tastes like Fall to me.
When pork loins go on sale, we usually buy a couple and then cook a half or a third in a dish like this (we still get a lot of leftovers but not more than we can handle) and then cut some as chops and cut some into stir fry sized pieces to freeze.

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Meatballs

September 19, 2008 at 4:45 pm (Main Dish)
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Source:  Katie

Prep time: 5 minutes. Cook time:  15-20 minutes. Servings: makes approx. 24 meatballs, depending on size

Ingredients
1 pound 96% lean ground beef or 93% lean ground turkey (99% lean turkey wouldn’t work well here)
1 egg
1/4 cup bread crumbs (more if mixture seems too wet shape into balls)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons grated parmesean cheese (or more is great too, and the cheap green can is fine for this)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder

Instructions

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until well combined.  Scoop and roll with hands into meatballs (wetting hands with water before you start helps them not get too sticky).

Bake meatballs on sheet plan at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.  Rotating halfway helps them cook more evenly and with better color, but I usually forget and they are still fine.  Combine with pasta and sauce.

Notes

I’ve never really measured out any of this recipe (something that’s probably not that great to confess on a recipe blog), but I included the recipe in case I’m incapacitated and Rhiannon needs to make meatballs for some reason, or in case anyone else wants to try them out.  I’m freakishly good at estimating the size and amounts of things, so this recipe should be fairly close to the amounts I usually use, but adding more or less of the spices depending on what you have and what you like will work just fine.  Relax, it’s just dinner.

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Cuban Chicken

September 19, 2008 at 3:01 pm (Main Dish)
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Recipe Source:  Cooking Light, March 2005 (with Katie’s changes)
Prep time: 10 Min. Cook time: 20 Min. Serves: 4

Ingredients

8 oz. (1 cup) diced pineapple
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon orange marmalade
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper, divided
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder 
1 teaspoon olive oil
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

Combine the first 4 ingredients in a medium saucepan; add 1/8 teaspoon pepper.   Add extra dash of garlic powder, onion powder if desired.  Bring to a simmer over medium heat; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Keep warm.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Combine the remaining 1/8 teaspoon red pepper, salt, paprika, garlic powder and onion powder and sprinkle evenly over chicken.  Add olive oil to pan. Add chicken to pan; cook 5 minutes on each side or until done.

Chop fresh cilantro and add to bean mixture and sprinkle over chicken.

Meal Notes
Measurements don’t to be exact on the spices at all–it will be good no matter what.  Adding more pineapple is highly recommended.  We like green beans and almonds with this for a complete meal. 

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