Playing with Brie

So recently a firend introduced me to baked brie. I love it and with so many different possiblities for what one could do with this kind of recipe, it got my creative cooking juices flowing. This weekend I decied to play around with a wedge and see what different combinations I could come up with, here are a few.

Basic Recipe

1/4 a wedge of Brie Cheese from a wheel
Toppings of your choice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Use a baking dish that is easy to clean and place Brie and topping in dish, cook for 8-10 minutes until cheese is bubbling.

Topping Ideas -
Carmel Sauce with Pecans (our favorite)
Apricot Jam with Red Peppers
Rosemary, Olive oil, and Walnuts
Roasted Red Peppers and Garlic
Sun dried Tomatoes and Basil

Serve with mini toasts, baguette slices, and fruit. Enjoy!

Cinco de mayo with Uncle Ben's

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a package of Uncle Ben's Whole Grain White Rice. It had been years since I have tried any Uncle Ben's product and I was not sure what to use it for. I decided to save it for today and make some Mexican style rice in honor of Cinco de Mayo. So, here is the recipe and I am happy that I got a chance to try a great new product too. I really did like the flavor of the rice, the nutritional value according to the package is much better than other Uncle Ben's products, but I am not used to the flavor of any rice other than good old white cali rose rice cooked in a rice cooker.  Happy eating and I hope that you give this product a try.

1 package of Uncle Ben's Whole Grain White Rice

1/2 of Jarred Salsa (I like Pace)

1 can of black beans rinsed and drained

1 can of diced tomatoes, drained

1 onion, diced

1 tablespoon of chili powder

1 tablespoon of cumin

Cook rice according to package, add in salsa, chili powder, and cumin, stir and mix well, add in black beans, tomatoes, and onion. Stir well, and serve with chicken, steak, pork, or fish. I recommend either of these recipes: Carne Asada, Tequila Lime Chicken, Mexican Chicken

Quick, Easy, Healthy Side Dish

So over the weekend I had a great group of friends over to help get the house painted. To show my appreciation for all of their hard work I made dinner for everyone after we were done with the painting. One of the things that I made was a great healthy side dish that is really easy and quick to make. I hope that you give it a try.

Wild Rice Salad

1 package of Mahatma Long Grain and Wild Rice
1/4 cup of chopped green onions
1/4 cup of chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup of dried cranberries
1/4 cup of toasted chopped walnuts or pine nuts
4 tablespoons of orange juice
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook rice according to package directions. While rice is cooking mix all other ingredients in a bowl. Let rice cool slightly and mix into the bowl with other ingredients. Serve warm or chilled.

Super Food Day 4 - Game Day Chili

Super Easy Chili


I recently was sent some free samples on Pace salsa and I thought that as a game day chili pace would make this recipe quick and easy. All I needed to do was add some jalapeño, diced onions, and garlic and I was good to go. This makes a great addition to game day as you hardly have to do a thing.

Pace Black Bean Chili

2 pounds of ground beef

2 tablespoons Worecestershire Sauce

1 onion diced

2 gloves of garlic diced

2 diced jalapenos

8 tablespoons of chili powder

1 large jar of Pace Salsa, your choice in heat

1 can of black beans



Heat a large pot on medium high and brown ground beef. Season with Worecestershire sauce and salt and pepper. Once the meat is browned add in onion, garlic, jalapenos, and chili powder, cook for 3 to 5 minutes then add in salsa and beans. Cook on low for about 30 to 40 minutes serve with corn bread and enjoy.

7 Days of Super Food!

It is that time of year and while I could care less about the teams playing, I still love having friends over and sharing great food and fun while watching football and maybe even more importantly for me this year great new commercials. So in honor of the Super Bowl I am doing my first annual super food countdown to game day. Each day for the next seven day enjoy a great recipe that will be sure to score a touchdown with guests at your game day party. Today's recipe is a a spicy red pepper hummus. This is super easy to make and the level of heat can easily be adjusted to suit your taste buds.

Spicy Red Pepper Hummus

 3 cups of canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 tablespoons of Tahini
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup of roasted red peppers, drained and patted dry
2 tablespoons of red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons of cayenne pepper
a dash of paprika

Place all ingredients but olive oil in food processor, turn on and add olive oil until mixture is smooth. Serve with pita chips, slices of cucumber, cheery tomatoes, and baby carrots.

Rena's Spring Frittata

So this is much more of a spring recipe, but with the winter weather wearing on me, I am really in the mood for some food that brings the warmer weather and fresh flavors of spring to mind. This recipe is from my "sister" Rena who has made this for me a few times and after begging for the recipe this has become a favorite in our house. This frittata is great for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a quick snack. Give it a try and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Rena's Spring Frittata:




6 eggs, scrabbled

1 cup fontina cheese - shredded

1 lb small potatoes sliced thinly

1/2 onion, chopped

1/2 bunch of chopped asparagus

1 1 1/2 cups chopped ham



in fry pan cook potatoes and onion on medium/low for 45-60 minutes or till tender, turn up heat to brown for 5-10 minutes - remove potatoes from pan and set aside. Saute asparagus and ham for 5 minutes, add the potatoes mixtures to the pan. In a bowl beat eggs and fold in the cheese - now pour over the potato /asparagus mixture in fry pan and let set for 7-10 minutes, then finish it in the oven at 350 for 5-10 min.

Enchiladas

My family and I are huge fans of chicken enchiladas. I love it because it is an easy meal to make ahead and it is a great use of left over chicken. My kids like all the gooey cheese, and my husband just likes eating some kind of Mexican food. Without further ado, here is the super simple recipe....

2 chicken breasts, shredded
1 or 2 chopped Serranos
2 cans of enchilada sauce
1 brick of Colby jack, shredded
1 package of corn tortillas
1 tomato, diced
2 green onions, chopped
sour cream

Take your shredded chicken and place in a bowl, add in serranos, and pour about 3/4 of can of enchilada sauce over chicken and peppers. Mix and set aside. In a small pan, heat up about 1/4 teaspoon of oil. Pour remaining 1/4 can of sauce into a shallow baking dish (depending on how many enchiladas I am making I use 9x13 or 8x8). Take one tortilla and dip both sides in sauce and place in heated pan until sauce is fired in to tortilla. When the tortilla is fried up, take about 1 tablespoon of chicken mixture, some cheese, and roll up in the tortilla, like making a wrap. Place prepared enchilada back in baking dish and repeat until chicken mixture is gone or baking dish is full. Open the other can of sauce and pour over the top of enchiladas, cover with more cheese and either cover and place in the refrigerator until ready to cook, or cook at 350 for around 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Garnish with sour cream, tomatoes, green onions.

Single Serving Asian Chicken Salad

I am cleaning up my computer, and I found this recipe hiden amount other documents. This was one of my first recipes that anyone ever asked me to share. I hope that you enjoy this easy single serving salad.

Asian Chicken Salad


1 to 2 cups of red cabbage
1 or 2 carrots
1 green onion
1 chicken breast
Soy Vay Cha-Cha Chinese Chicken Salad Dressing
A handful of peanuts
Some sliced almonds
Some chow mien noodles (optional)


Dice cabbage and place in large bowl, wash carrots and peel into the cabbage bowl, cut green onion and add to cabbage. For quick cooking boil chicken breast, shred and add meat to cabbage mixture For more a flavorful version marinate chicken in a mixture of soy sauce, garlic, lime juice, cilantro, red pepper flakes, and green onion for a half hour and then grill to desired doneness. Dice meat and add to cabbage… Pour desired amount of dressing over salad and add nuts, before serving add crispy chow mien noodles or sesame sticks. For an added bit of fun add Madrin Oranges too.

Quick and Easy Pasta for Kids

There are some days when I am not in the
mood to eat at the same time as the kids
are. On those days I struggle to find something healthy and wholesome for the kids. Here is what I came up with one night, that received raving reviews.

Whole Wheat Pasta
1 apple peeled and diced
1/4 cup of dried cranberries
1 package of Green Giant's New Immunity Blend

Cook pasta and veggies as directed. Mix cooked vegetable with drained pasta, add in apple and extra cranberries, serve.

Fried Goodness

Really it does not get much better than this, deep fried jalapeno slices. Can we say best bar food ever, if only someone at a nearby bar would catch on to this. I would be there just for these. I could be served Pabst with these and be a happy camper. I was first introduced to these tasty morsels at Adam's Ribs (for information and location check out http://www.adamsribs.com/). I was in Maryland visiting family and we headed over to Adam's for a relaxing meal. We ordered their onion loaf as an appetiser and littered among the the onions were some fried jalapenos. I told everyone I knew about these and received the news that Chili's now has these with their new onion ring like appetiser. So i figured that these could not be that hard to make, and guess what this was the easiest few minutes I ever spent cooking.

Fried Jalapeno Sliced

1 cup of flour

a paper bag

salt and pepper

canola oil or other non olive oil of your choice

pickled jalapeno slices

Add two inches of oil to a heavy bottomed skillet and heat on medium/medium high. If you have a candy thermometer you are looking for a target temp of 350 F. While oil is heating remove desired amount of jalapenos from your jar (or use serranos if you tried out my recipe for pickled serrano slices) and place on a paper towel. Gently pat dry attempting to remove as much moisture as possible. Place flour in a paper bag and season with salt and pepper. Place jalapeno slices in bag and shake so each slice is lightly coated. Remove slices from bag and if oil is ready, add to pan and fry for three minutes. Remove to a paper towel lined plate and serve. Make sure to have some nice cold beverages on hand for your guests.

4th of July Breakfast

Happy 4th of July everyone. I hope everyone has plans to enjoy the holiday and eat some great food. This morning I treated the family to a red, white, and blue breakfast. Well I should amend that to a white and blue breakfast but I think that the juice from the blueberries can qualify as red. I made some lemon biscuits with a blueberry sauce. I think everyone enjoyed them as my husband had thirds, my son took seconds, and the baby even ate one. Here is the quick and easy recipe.

For Biscuits:

5 cups of instant pancake mix (see note)

1 1/2 cups of water

1/4 cup of milk

zest from two lemons

For Sauce:

2 cups of clean blueberries

1/2 cup of sugar

juice from 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Mix all ingredients in a medium size bowl. Using a non stick cooking spray, spray cookie sheets, using a tablespoon, spoon dough onto sheet making sure to leave some room between biscuits. Bake in the oven for 8 to 11 minutes. While biscuits are baking, in a medium saucepan cook blueberries, sugar and lemon until the blueberries release their juices, about 7 minutes. Take sauce off of the heat and place in a bowl to serve. When biscuits are done transfer to a large plate and serve with sauce and butter. Enjoy...

Note: Make an instant pancake mix or use something like Bisquick.

For instant pancake mix use Alton Brown's recipe that can be found on the Food Network website.

And now for a little preview of what is coming later...

Jacques Pepin, Fast Food My Way

I have been watching this show every so often on the Create Network and on a recent library trip found a book of recipes from the show. I was inspired to try one for a light lunch after a trip to a local market found us some red radishes. I normally roast radishes or add them to a salad, obviously my french cuisine education has been lacking or I would have been eating these tasty bites long before now. It is simple, thinly slice a radish, cut up a nice baguette into slices, add some good quality butter, place radishes on top of the butter, dust with sea salt, and your done. I love this easy snack and will be on the look out for fresh from the radishes to enjoy in a new (well at least for me) way.

Chicken Finger Parmigiana

The kids have been off with the husband for the past few days and to welcome them home I decided to make some baked chicken finger parmigiana. This is a super simple recipe and works great for a healthier version of chicken fingers too.

Baked Chicken Parmigiana

6 chicken tenders

1 1/2 cup of seasoned bread crumbs

1/2 cup of marinara sauce

1 egg beaten

salt and pepper to season

1/3 cup of mozzarella cheese

1/3 cup of parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Place bread crumbs in a bowl and in another bowl add the beaten egg. Dip chicken tenders in egg, then dip in bread crumbs, place on cookie sheet and bake for 14 minutes. In a shallow baking pan spread some marina sauce, place chicken tenders in dish, cover with cheese and more sauce. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until cheese is melted and chicken is fully cooked.

Cantaloupe Salad with Prosciutto

I had some left over cantaloupe that I wanted to use before it went bad, ditto for some fresh mozzarella, and prosciutto. I started thinking that cantaloupe and prosciutto taste great together, prosciutto and mozzarella taste great together, what tie these three together, basil. Let me tell you, this was light, refreshing and would be great for a brunch menu, plus it only took 3 minutes to put together. Give a whole new meaning to fast food. My only wish is that I keep getting these inspirations when looking in my fridge.

Cantaloupe Salad with Prosciutto

1/2 cantaloupe, cut into 1/2 cubes

6 slices of Prosciutto

2 oz. of fresh mozzarella

4 leaves of fresh basil

Put cantaloupe into a bowl, dice prosciutto into small bite size pieces, add to cantaloupe. Mix in cheese and basil. Serve.

Recipe Testing

I get a few magazines each month, Better Homes and Gardens, Country Living, Bon Appetit, and Gourmet. Each has some articles that inspire me one way or the other. This month it was the strawberries in BHG and Bon Appetit. For breakfast I made this recipe from Bon Appetit.

Strawberry Citrus Salad

Ingredients

3 cups of sliced strawberries

2 large navel oranges, supremed

2 tablespoons of golden brown sugar

2 tablespoons of thin sliced fresh mint leaves

Toss all ingredients in a bowl let sit for 30 minutes, and serve. For the original content please visit http://www.bonappetit.com/magazine/2009/05/strawberry_citrus_salad

To make this recipe right I wanted to learn how to segment an or as I learned supreme. This site gave me enough confidence to give it a try. I must say that some practice will definitely be needed before I am perfect at this. http://freshcatering.blogspot.com/2007/04/how-to-supreme-segment-orange.html

Perfect Seasonal Side

Rena and I were having a conversation about food, as always, and she mentioned a salad that she had read about that featured peas and asparagus, I thought that sounded great, so armed with no recipe off I went to create a great side dish to feature the local asparagus that I got at Dean and Don's the other day. This is quick and simple and even my five year old liked it.

1 bunch of local asparagus
1/3 cup of frozen peas
2 tablespoons of olive oil
the zest from 1 lemon
salt and pepper to season

Wash asparagus and cut each spear into about 3 pieces. Heat a skillet large enough to fit all of your asparagus on medium high and add oil. When oil is heated add asparagus, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Cook stirring regularly until asparagus begins to turn a brighter green, about 3 minutes, at this time add the peas and cook until peas are bright green. Serve on the side of fish, chicken, pork, beef, or eat alone. Enjoy...

Croutons

I know that this may be a silly topic to post on, but really who does not love that added crunch in a salad. I normally buy mine, but I had some bread that was starting to go stale and I want to make some Panzanella with weekend and thought that it would be so much better if I made it with my own croutons. I had so much fun making these that I really want to make some more and experiment with different flavors. Here is a pithy recipe for croutons, I hope you bake some up for yourself and enjoy.

Some bread, can be any kind, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes

some olive oil

some salt and pepper

some seasonings, use whatever you think you would enjoy

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Place bread cubes in a bowl, mix olive oil and seasonings in a separate container. Pour oil mixture over bread and mix making sure that all cubes are coated, but not saturated. Place seasoned cubes on a cookie sheet and bake for about 20 minutes. Let croutons cool and serve with your favorite salad.

Prig Khing Green Beans

Trader Joe's sells a frozen version of these, but I
really do not like the sauce that comes with them. I figured this would be an easy flavor to recreate, so I did. I served these will my Thai Snapper last night and I think that my son liked this better than the fish, go figure, but what do you expect from a 5 year old?

Prig Khing Green Beans

1 tablespoon of sesame oil
1/2 pound of green beans, ends cut
1 tablespoon of red pepper flakes
1 handful of peanuts, mashed
1 1/2 tablespoons of soy sauce
a pinch of garlic powder or minced garlic

In a large skillet heat oil, before oil starts to smoke add green beans and stir fry for 3 to 5 minutes. Add soy sauce, garlic, peanuts, and red pepper flakes and stir fry for an addition 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from skillet and serve.

Thai Red Snapper

This is a super easy recipe, it came out great and had tons of flavor. If you do not have any Nuoc Nam use some soy instead. We had this for dinner last night and really enjoyed it.

Thai Snapper

3 tablespoons of lime juice
1 tablespoon of Asian Fish Sauce Nuoc Nam
1 tablespoon of olive oil
½ teaspoon of sugar
½ teaspoon of minced garlic
4 red snapper fillets (6oz. each)
1 carrot, but into 2 ¼ inch long thin strips
1 large green onion, thinly sliced
¼ cup of fresh cilantro leaves


Mix lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, ginger, and garlic. Make a packet with tin foil large enough to hold one snapper fillet. Place snapper skin side down in packet and top with carrot, green onion, and cilantro. Pour lime juice mix over fish and vegetables. Grill over medium heat for 8 minutes.

This recipe is adapted from some grilling book that I checked out of the library.