Chicken in Tomatillo Sauce

For March’s Secret Recipe Club, I was assigned Chelsey’s Mangia blog. Need a tangy-spicy dinner that comes together in minutes? While the color may be a bit Army-ish green, this is tasty enough to be served mid-week to company for a wonderful TexMex dinner. We love the tang of tomatillos, and I added a chipotle for a hint of smoky heat. Chelsey made it with fish, but it works nicely over chicken breasts like I prepared it.

My impression of Chelsey, a 20-something Italian-American Texan who loves cooking, baking, her family, and fitness, is one high energy young woman. She is an inspiration not only with the amount of wonderful recipes she’s amassed on her blog, some savory and lots of sweets, but I was touched reading her post about her struggles – and good news! – recovery – from an eating disorder. I’m not sure I could speak so outwardly about such, and I found it heartening that she now openly shares her love of food – and her enjoyment in eating healthy, delicious food.

The recipe below reflects the changes I made.

Chicken (or Fish) in Tomatillo Sauce

2 servings

1 cup (or so) coarsely chopped tomatillos

1/2 onion, coarsely chopped

1 large poblano chile, stemmed, seeded, and coarsely chopped

1 chipotle in adobe sauce

1/4 cup packed, coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 to 1/3 cup light sour cream

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 boneless chicken breasts (or mild fish filets)

Combine tomatillos, onion, peppers, chopped cilantro, and sour cream in a blender. Whirl until smoothly pureed. Pour green sauce into a sauté pan; add lime juice.

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Nestle chicken into the sauce, and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 22 to 25 minutes.

With a wide spatula, transfer to plates and spoon sauce over portions, sprinkle with cilantro leaves.

An InLinkz Link-up

Baked Zucchini Fries

This month for Secret Recipe Club I was assigned Jamie’s Cooking with Moxie. Secret Recipe Club is a gathering of food bloggers where bloggers are assigned another food blogger’s recipe site, selects and prepares a recipe, and on the designated day, shares the recipe made. It’s a great way to meet other bloggers and find new recipes. I truly appreciated how many savory recipes Jamie has featured on her blog since some months I’ve struggled finding something interesting that is not a sweet. Maybe it’s because she hails from a large, close-knit Italian family. I enjoyed all her family and friend pics on her About Me page. 

I bookmarked a few things:  chickpea cakes with tzatziki, bake pesto chicken because we have a ton of frozen, homemade pesto from this summer’s basil haul, and tilapia in caper sauce, Roman style since we eat fish at least once a week (and Craig would be thrilled it’s NOT salmon). But we needed a veg one night, and the zucchini fries with roasted garlic aioli caught my eye. These are easy and very tasty. The panko adds more crunch than regular breadcrumbs, and the zuc becomes almost creamy when baked. A great texture contrast. Even though I made it with grocery store zucs, this is a great use of overflowing, summer garden zucs. I cut the recipe in half for just the two of us, and we had it as an appetizer. When I went to roast the garlic for the aioli I realized we were out of a whole head (heresy, I know!) so we dipped them in (homemade, canned) marinara. We ended up eating all that I made, which was THREE zucchinis. Kind of addictive to say the least. Next time I may spice up the seasoning mix and make the aioli. 

Enjoy! The recipe below reflects the changes I've made to the original recipe.

Zucchini Fries

1/2 cup whole wheat panko breadcrumbs, seasoned with Italian seasonings

2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 egg, lightly beaten

3 medium zucchinis

Olive oil cooking spray

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with nonstick foil and drizzle lightly with olive oil cooking spray.

Put panko breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl. Mix in grated Parmesan cheese. In another shallow bowl, add the beaten egg. Season both bowls with salt and pepper. Cut each zucchini into horizontal pieces to make the “fries".

Dip each zucchini piece into the egg mixture first, dripping off any excess, and then into the panko/cheese mixture, coating completely and place on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes, turn. Bake another 15 minutes, until outside is crispy and browned.

We served them with homemade marinara. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Chicken Sausage, Peppers & Onions (Secret Recipe Club)

What makes a great recipe? Use of honest ingredients, time-tested, nostalgic perhaps, foolproof, inexpensive, and simple to prepare – and results in something that tastes great. I made a foolproof recipe recently that meets those criteria: chicken sausage, peppers, and onions (and tomatoes in my dish). It sticks to your ribs, but it’s still fresh, not heavy, and comes together in minutes. Where did I come up with (the base) of this delightful recipe? From Amy’s The Savvy Kitchen where she chronicles her low carb, low calorie, mostly gluten-free cooking, which was the blog I was assigned for this month’s Secret Recipe Club. Do check it out.

I do have a confession, however. I first made her recipe for cheddar, prosciutto, caramelized onions, and apple pizza because it screams “autumn!” to me, but I had a major fail. I’m talking colossal fail, so much so that we threw away the leftovers. And we eat everything. I have no idea what I did, but the apples were dry and lacked the interesting flavor combo Amy describes. Fortunately, her blog is jam-packed with many interesting dishes – appetizers, breakfast, lots of desserts, side dishes, and a plethora of entrees. I easily moved on, and we really enjoyed this dish. The recipe below reflects the changes I made to the original (link above).

Chicken Sausage, Peppers, Onions, and Tomatoes

Serves 4

4 links chicken sausage, sliced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, sliced

1 colored bell pepper, sliced

1 green pepper, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1/2 cup Marsala wine

1 can whole tomatoes, crushed

Chili flakes to taste

Spray a skillet with cooking spray. Add the chicken sausage and cook until browned, turning occasionally for about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the skillet and cool slightly.

Heat the olive oil in the skillet. Add the onions, peppers, garlic, S&P, and Italian seasoning and cook until the vegetable are tender, 5 to 7 minutes. 

Add the tomato paste and stir. Add the Marsala wine, tomatoes, and chili flakes and stir to combine, scraping the bottom of the pan to get any brown bits (fond). Add cooked sausage and simmer until the sauce is warm and thickened. 

Perfect bourbon pork chops

Today is Secret Recipe Club reveal day. Secret Recipe Club is a gathering of food bloggers assigned a blog, select and prepare a recipe, and on the designated day, share whose blog we were secretly assigned and post about the recipe. It’s a great way to meet other bloggers and find new recipes.

This month I was assigned Amy's A Couple in the Kitchen, a site where she chronicles her food adventures with husband, Chris. A couple after my heart who love to cook, eat, and travel, the perfect combination of interests. Her blog has a ton of great recipes, and I appreciated the abundance of non-sweets, something that has challenged me with blogs I've been assigned with SRC in the past.

The bourbon pork chops immediately caught my eye, even thought I mostly have given up beef and pork since my last birthday. It is one of those recipes that stuck with me, and I kept coming back to it. Of course, Craig was delighted and up for the challenge of getting "TV-worthy grill marks," as Chris had barbequed them. Oh goodness, did Craig get it perfect. Not only do these look fabulous, they were melt-in-your-mouth tender, juicy, really - the perfect pork chop. Bon Appetit!

(I forgot to buy the suggested cipollini onions, which look to make a lovely side for these chops, and I used Penzey's smoked paprika.)

Bourbon Smoked Paprika Pork Chops

2 boneless pork sirloin chops

kosher salt to taste

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/4 cup (or so) bourbon

Season the pork chops with salt and pepper and place in a large zip-type bag. In a small bowl, mix together the paprika, brown sugar, bourbon, and additional salt and pepper. Pour the mixture into the bag with the chops and allow to marinate for at least one hour. Place the pork chops on a heated grill. Grill the pork chops on both sides until cooked through, with the length of time depending on size of chops. 

(One of our favorite bourbons)

 

World's Easiest Cookies (2+ Ingredients)

Today is Secret Recipe Club reveal day. Secret Recipe Club is a gathering of food bloggers where we are assigned a food blog, select and prepare a recipe, and on the designated day, share whose blog we were assigned and post about the recipe. It’s a great way to meet other bloggers and find new recipes.

This month I was assigned Jamie’s crafts and recipe blog, Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom blog. I knew July was busy for us so I was looking for something easy but healthy. When I came upon her healthy banana oatmeal cookies, I knew I was set. Nothing can be easier than these simple two ingredient cookies. Yes, you read that correctly:  two ingredients, bananas and oatmeal. She suggests add-ins, and I threw in raisins and cinnamon. Craig was dubious but was surprised that they were good, super healthy.

Not much to the recipe, but do give a try if you find yourself with bananas that need to be used, something we always seem to have as we near the end of a bunch.

Two-Ingredient Cookies

Makes 16 cookies

2 large, very ripe bananas, mashed

1 cup quick oats (do not use regular oats, if it’s all you have grind in the food processor)

Raisins

Cinnamon

Mix everything together.

Scoop about a heaping tablespoon of the dough on a well-greased cookie sheet or silpat, and flatten slightly with a fork.

Bake about 20 minutes or until they look done.

English Muffin Bread and Secret Recipe Club

For April’s Secret Recipe Club, where food bloggers are paired and reveal their partner (and what they prepared) on a designated day, I was assigned Lynne’s 365 Days of Baking and More. She started her blog with the sole purpose of baking for 365 consecutive days. Wow. Craig would love that. (Sorry, babe, it ain’t happenin’.) Lynn continued blogging beyond a year and although she does have an extensive list of all kinds of baked goods, she also has a variety of savory foodstuff as well.

Her English muffin bread, something on my culinary to-do list, caught my eye. Craig eats a Trader Joe’s British muffin every day, and as of late, even though we don’t eat a lot of bread, any thing with yeast is of interest because of the challenge it presents. So baking this was an easy decision. Because I have limited bread baking experience, I cut Lynne’s recipe in half to make one loaf, and I substituted white whole wheat flour for half of the all purpose, and I had to add a quarter cup more water to get the dough smooth. One of her comments suggested increasing the baking soda to get the nooks and crannies typically found in commercial English muffins, which I also did. The recipe below reflects the changes I made.

The result? Success. I even surprised myself how tasty it turned out, and it’s very simple to make. I’m pretty excited to find something else on Lynne’s blog to continue boosting my baking confidence.

English Muffin Bread

Butter and cornmeal
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, divided

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour, divided
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cups milk
1/4  - 1/2 cup water

Prepare an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan by greasing it with butter and cover with cornmeal; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together half the flours, yeast, sugar, salt and baking soda.

In a small saucepan over low, heat the milk and water to very warm, between 120 - 130 degrees F. Add to the flour mixture and thoroughly combine. Gradually add the remaining flour. Place the dough in the prepared loaf pan.

Cover the pan with a towel and place in a draft-free, warm spot to rise for 1 1/2 hours. (I heated the oven to 170 degrees F. and then turned it off and placed the pan in the oven to rise.)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place pan in the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Immediately remove loaf from the pan and place on a wire rack to cool.

It turns out English muffin bread is tasty more than just for breakfast. Craig used it for garlic cheese bread, and it was perfect.

White Pizza with Shrimp, Ricotta, and Veggies

For March’s Secret Recipe Club, I was assigned Rachel’s The Avid Appetite. What a delightful blog full of sooooooooo many wonderful recipes. Rachel states she couldn’t boil water just a few years ago, but she certainly has come a long way. Her inspiration was her grandmother and the desire to ensure she and hubby, Shaun, dine well, whether in their kitchen or in Manhattan. (Check out the great photos from Katz in NYC; we’re heading there next month when we visit Connor in Manhattan). Congrats, too, on the new baby!

It was a challenge to decide what to make with so many healthy and fun choices. I was particularly drawn to some of the appetizers (pear, gorgonzola, and bacon toasts, spinach-bean dip), as well as a few of the chicken recipes (Buffalo chicken lettuce wraps and provolone stuffed chicken with pesto quinoa). Choices, choices. Finally, I settled on the zucchini white pizza, a vegetarian recipe, but since I made it when we were at the south house (Sarasota), I couldn’t resist the addition of local shrimp and other veggies as she suggests.

Of course it was a hit. This is one rich pizza, and we loved the ricotta-based sauce as a nice change instead of a traditional red sauce. It comes together quickly, and definitely bake it until the cheese browns slightly. This will stay on our pizza rotation. It’s a keeper. Thanks for such a tasty pizza recipe, Rachel!

The recipe below is Rachel’s original, and my additions we sautéed shrimp, mushrooms, caramelized onions, red bell peppers, and fresh basil in lieu of dried.

Zucchini White Pizza

Pizza dough

1 C part skim ricotta
1 egg white
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 zucchini, thinly sliced
olive oil
flour, whole wheat or all-purpose
parmesan cheese
mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 450 degrees, or whatever your package suggests. In a bowl, mix together the ricotta, egg white, salt, basil and oregano with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until light and fluffy.

Layer the ricotta mixture, mozzarella cheese, parmesan and zucchini on top. Drizzle the zucchini with just a bit of olive oil.

Bake for 20 minutes, or as directed on your package of dough.

Print here.