Iced Blueberries and Sweet Cream

Happy Holidays all, hope everyone is having a great time! This will be my last post of 2013, plus it's post #50!! Thanks to everyone who has checked out my blog this year and looking forward to some great recipes in 2014.

One of my Xmas presents this year was the official Game of Thrones cookbook, A Feast of Fire and Ice, this book has tons of recipes inspired by the book and TV show. What's cool is it has medieval and modern versions of the recipes. So far I've tried a few side dishes but tonight I took on one of the desserts of Winterfell: Iced Blueberries and Sweet Cream!

I checked on the book's website and this recipe is exclusive to book owners :( but I'll tell you what you need to make it and you might be able to figure it out, or just buy the book, it has some really good recipes in it!

Ingredients

1 package of blueberries (not already frozen)
1 cup of milk
2 egg whites, slightly beaten
2 tbsp honey
pinch of salt
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp cream











Pretty much you boil this, freeze that, chill another thing and in a few hours you have a very tasty dessert.  Visit the following link and purchase the cookbook for for more clear direction.

A Feast of Ice and Fire

Happy New Year everyone!

Sloppy Joe Stuffed Shells

Been very busy getting ready for the holidays, but it was time to try and share a new recipe! Combining two of kid's favorite meals into one: Sloppy Joe Stuffed Shells. Before you click away be aware that this isn't your normal manwich...the meat mixture can be adjusted to your liking.

Ingredients

1 pound of ground beef (or turkey...for those going healthy)
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 tbsp oil
2 tsp minced garlic
1 28 oz can of tomato sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Salt
Pepper
Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
1 box of Jumbo Shell Pasta






Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Bowl water in a large pot, add a pinch of salt, and cook for 8 minutes. Drain hot water, and rinse the shells with cold water.
3. In a large pan, add oil and heat to medium. Add onions and green peppers and saute for 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for a minute. Next, add meat and cook until meat is brown.
4. Drain fat from the pan, add sauce, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat.
5. Stuff each shell with the meat mixture, and place in a glass baking pan. Pour remaining sauce over shells. 
6. Cover with Mozzarella cheese and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!

Grilled Cornish Hen

I've done roasted game hen in the past, now it was time for grilled!

Ingredients (Seasonings)

1 Cornish Hen
1/2 tbsp salt
1/2 tbsp pepper
1/2 tbsp everglades seasoning
1/2 tbsp chili pepper
1/4 tbsp cayenne












Directions 

1. Preheat grill for 20 minutes, should be around 400-450. Be sure to rub some oil on the top grates. Place an old cooking sheet/pan on the main rack (this will catch the dripping fat).
2. Cut out the back bone of the hen, then proceed to break the breast bone to flatten it out. Season the hen generiously.
3. Place the hen, skin side down, on the top grate directly over your cooking pan. Close the grill, and allow to cook for 10-15 minutes (or until the skin has some color).
4. Flip the Cornish Hen over (be sure to flatten it down, helps it cook) and proceed to grill for 10-15 minutes (best to check the meat under the leg if you see red/pinkish meat then your good). 
5. Let the bird rest for 5 minutes and then dig in! Be sure to have a sharp knife handy to chop through this delicious hen!

Cornish Hen is probably one of my favorite meals, what's cool is you can make more than one and save the other for a later meal (or unless you are really hungry). If you grill more than one I've found adding 3-5 more minutes to each cooking step has them come out great! If you do check and the meat is still pink just throw it back on the grill for 5 more minutes and you'll be good.

Cornish Hens are really greasy so it's very hard to dry them out (don't let your heat get too hot), also have a full stock of napkins for when your ready to chow down!

There's one rule to Cornish Hens...

Chicken Caprese

Chicken, Tomatoes, and Cheese...OH MY!!!! This dish is delicious and very easy to make.

Ingredients

3 Chicken Breasts, butterfly cut
1 package of Cherry Tomatoes, split
6 slices of Mozzarella Cheese
2 tbsp of Olive Oil
2 tbsp of Minced Garlic
2 tbsp of Basil 
Salt
Pepper
Balsamic Vinegar









Directions

1. In a large pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil over medium high heat, set chicken in the pan and cover for 5 minutes.
2. In another pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil over medium high heat, add in garlic and cook for 1 minute.
3. Add in cherry tomatoes and saute for 5 minutes, remove from heat and add basil to the tomatoes.
4. Flip over chicken and continue cooking covered for 5 minutes or until done. Add 2 slices of cheese on top of each piece of chicken, cover with tomato/basil mixture and continue cooking for 2 minutes.
5. Turn off the heat, add a sprinkle of oil and Balsamic Vinegar to taste.

Beef and Barley Soup

Took some time off for the holidays! Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and got to spend time with their families. Down here in Florida it has not been a cool Fall (if you could really call it Fall, more like Summer part 2), but lately it has started to be cooler so I figured I could make a nice soup to go along the 60-70 degree days.

Ingredients 

1 1/2 pound chuck roast
1 bay leaf
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
3 celery ribs, diced
4 cups of water
4 beef bullion cubes
1/2 tbsp sugar
1 (14 oz) can of petite diced tomatoes
1/2 cup of barley, cooked
2 tbsp olive oil
salt
pepper






Directions

1. Season roast with salt and pepper. Place meat in a slow cooker set on high, add a 1/2 cup of water, 1 bay leaf, and cook for 2 1/2-3 hours (or until the meat is tender).
2. Remove meat and turn off the slow cooker, chop the meat into small pieces (pulling the meat works too). Reserve the broth in the slow cooker but remove the bay leaf.
3. In a soup pot, add olive oil and turn up to medium-high heat, add in onions and cook for 3 minutes (be sure to add a pinch of salt). Next, add in the carrots and celery and continue cooking until onions are soft (total about 5-6 minutes).
4. Add water, bullion cubes, sugar, ground pepper, diced tomatoes, beef, and barley to the pot and turn up to high heat.
5. Before the soup begins to boil, add the reserved liquid from the slow cooker, once boiling begins turn the heat down to simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes (be sure to check if vegetables are soft).
6. While cooking, be sure to skim some of the fat that comes to the top, due to using the dripping from the cooker there will be a good bit of it. If you leave it or mix it in the soup will have a greasiness to it that might turn off some tasters. 
7. Be sure to taste for seasoning, keep it simple with salt and pepper, the soup should have a bit of sweetness to it due to the sugar.

We made tonight a soup and salad night so this went great with a Caesar Salad. As you can see with our table cloth the holidays are here so be safe out there with all those crazy sale shoppers :)

Salt Roasted Chicken

It was time to venture back into the realm of Chef John over at Food Wishes, so we tried his Salt Roast Chicken Recipe. It was great! The thyme butter sauce is a must have with this dish!

Ingredients (for Butter Sauce)

1 tbsp thyme leaves

1 lemon, juiced

1/3 cup chicken broth (plus all extra juices from rested chicken plate)

2 tbsp cold butter cut in 4 pieces

salt and pepper to taste

cayenne, to taste 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The directions can be found over at Food Wishes - Salt Roasted Chicken.

Here's a shot of bird right out of the oven:

Katie (who doesn't eat meat with the bones) even said the Chicken Breast I carved for her was great!

This meal is the one that keeps on giving after removing any good meat for a future soup, I threw in some water along with the chicken carcass, carrots, onions, celery and spices to make a very flavorful broth!

Italian Wonder Bowl

Katie found this recipe circulating around Pintrest, so she decided I should make it for her. First time for an all veggie meal on the blog!

Ingredients

4 cups of vegetable broth
2 tbsp of olive oil
28 oz of caned diced tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
3 tsp of minced garlic
1 lb of spaghetti
1/2 tbsp of basil
1/2 tbsp of Oregano
1/4 tbsp of Cayenne
Salt 
Pepper
Shredded Italian Cheese






To get the directions on how to make the Wonder Bowl/Pot, check out this link.

We both enjoyed this dish with a grilled cheese and turkey sandwich. While we thought it had good flavor it needs something meaty to complete it...maybe some mushrooms next time!

Chicken Marsala Stew

Trying out a new recipe that Katie found, we will see how it measures up to my regular Chicken Marsala

Ingredients 

3 Chicken Breasts, cut in half 
1 1/2 packages of sliced Mushrooms
3 Shallots, chopped
2 tbsp of Minced Garlic
1 tbsp of Tomato Paste
1 tbsp of Rosemary 
2 tbsp of oil
1 cup of Marsala Wine
1 1/2 cup of Beef Stock
Salt
Pepper
Flour
Chopped Fresh Parsley




Directions

1. Season Chicken Fillets with salt, pepper, and dust with flour. In a sauce pan, over medium heat cook the fillets in 1 tbsp of oil for 2 minutes on each side. Reserve on a plate.
2. In same pan, add another tbsp of oil and add in chopped shallots, garlic, and rosemary. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add in mushrooms, with a pinch of salt and cook for another 5 minutes.
4. Cut Chicken into strips, add tomato paste, Marsala wine, and beef stock to the pan. Mix well.
5. Return chicken to the mixture and simmer for 25 minutes.
6. Top with chopped fresh parsley.

This version was very rich and full of flavor, would be a nice romantic meal for two.

Goulash

You might call it Chili-Mac or Chili and Noodles, but tonight we had Goulash! It was awesome! This is Bobby Dean's recipe which you can find the directions and ingredients on the link:

If you make this recipe be sure to give it time to sit (15-30 minutes) so all the flavors can come together and remaining liquid to evaporate.

I ate 2 1/2 plate fulls! It was great!! Here is where you can find the recipe:

Bobby Dean's Goulash

Crock Pot Ranch Chops

It's getting cooler around here...well as cool as Florida gets! Time to break out the crock pot for some slow cooked goodness!!

Ingredients 

4-6 Boneless Pork Chops
1 can of Cream of Chicken Soup
1 package of Hidden Valley Ranch Mix
1 can of water
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp of oil
8oz Mushrooms, Sliced
Salt
Pepper









Directions

1. Put the boneless chops in the crock pot, add soup, ranch package, and water. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.
2. In a frying pan, add oil and heat to medium high.
3. Add onions and a dash of salt, cook for 3 minutes.
4. Add mushrooms and continue cooking for 5 minutes.
5. Plate chop, spoon over sauce, and top with mushrooms and onions.

Not a complicated meal, but only if you got the time to spare on the crock pot. It is delicious!

Pub Style Chicken

This is a good meal for the cooler days!

Ingredients

3 Chicken Breasts
1 Onion, sliced
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp molasses
1 tbsp garlic powder
2 tbsp oil
Salt 
Pepper
1/2 cup of Jalapeno Cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Caesar Dressing
1/4 cup Honey Mustard Dressing







Directions

1. Combine soy sauce, molasses, garlic powder, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Place mixture in bag and add chicken. Marinate for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 425
3. Place sliced onion in a baking dish, coat with oil, salt and pepper. Add chicken to the dish and cook in the oven for 25 minutes
4. Take out and cover top of chicken with cheese, bake for additional 2 minutes.
5. In a bowl, mix the dressings together. Drizzle dressing mixture over chicken and serve.

Cheesy Hammy Pasta

I was away for the weekend so I apologize for the lack of blog posts. Tonight I made a tasty dish: Cheesy Hammy Pasta!

Ingredients

1 package of diced ham
1 package of sliced mushrooms
1 large onion, diced
1 bag of frozen peas (optional)
1 tbsp of corn starch
2 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups of milk
2 cups of cooked corkscrew pasta
1/4 cup of parmesian cheese
pepper
salt
cayenne




 
Directions

1. In a good sized pan, heat oil over medium heat, add onions and cook for 3 minutes or until they start to soften. 
2. Add mushrooms and continue cooking for 8 minutes, stir often so it does not burn. Reserve mixture in a large bowl.
3. In a small mixing bowl, add milk and corn starch and whisk until it's fluffy.
4. In the same pan, over medium heat bring to a boil and cook for 1 minutes. Continue whisking so it does not burn!
5. Add cheese, salt, pepper, and cayenne to the sauce. Turn off heat.
6. In a bowl, add pasta, onion/mushroom mixture, ham, and peas. Pour sauce over and mix well. Serve and enjoy!

Souper Sunday Series: Zuppa Tuscana

Tonight I made my favorite soup from Olive Garden: Zuppa Tuscana, a creamy potato and sausage soup. My recipe is a bit different from the ones found on Copykat and such.

Ingredients

3 Large Russet Potatoes, sliced
1 lb Italian Sausage
6 slices of Bacon
1 Large Onion, diced
1 1/2 tbsp of minced garlic
2 cups of Baby Spinach
2 cups of Chicken Broth
1 1/2 quarts of Water
1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
Salt
Pepper
Cayenne






Directions

1. Fry bacon until crispy, reserve bacon drippings.
2. Add 1 tsp of bacon fat back into pan, and brown sausage, season with salt and pepper. Store sausage in a bowl.
3. Add 1 tsp of bacon fat back into pan, add onions and cook over medium heat for 4 minutes. Add Potatoes and cook for another 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another 3 minutes or until Potatoes soften.
4. In a soup pot, add chicken broth and water, add sausage and bacon. Heat till simmering. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and cayenne (careful!)
5. Add potato/onion/garlic mixture, simmer for 10-15 minutes.
6. Skim the fat the rises to the top, it can discolor the soup but it tastes so good!
7. Turn heat to low, add baby spinach, slowly add in whipping cream, and stir well.
8. Heat through and serve! 

The Olive Garden recipe uses Kale or Swiss Chard but the price and amount you get in the Produce section in my grocery is outrageous!  The spinach is softer and really goes well with the soup!

Stuffed Peppers

What's better than a dinner in an edible bowl. We tend to get a little heavy with the stuffing, but it is so good!

Ingredients

2 Bell Peppers
1 package of Jenny-O Turkey Sausage 
1 can of V-8 (big can)
1 can of Tomato Puree
1 package of Brown Rice
2 Carrots, chopped
1 Onion, chopped
1 cup of Mushrooms, sliced
1 cup of Mozzarella Cheese
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
Oregano
Parsley
Garlic Power
Salt & Pepper
Cayenne


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cut off the tops of the peppers, boil them in salted water for 5 minutes or until soft. Remove from water and allow to cool.
3. Saute carrots, onions, and mushrooms in 2 tbsp olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add oregano, salt, pepper, parsley, and garlic powder. Cover and let cook for 5 minutes or until soft.
4. In a frying pan, season turkey sausage with salt and pepper. Brown over medium-high heat, strain the meat.
5. In a new pan, over medium-high heat, mix tomato paste and V-8 juice. Add salt, pepper, and Worcestershire Sauce. Allow to heat for 3 minutes. Add a sprinkle of cayenne pepper.
6. Mix meat, rice, and veggies into the sauce and let them simmer for 5 minutes.
7. Spoon the mixture into the boiled peppers, stuff enough to make them stand on their own. Top with mozzarella cheese.
8. Bake in oven for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Enjoy!

Tonight was special since I got home from work and my wife, Katie, had dinner pretty much ready! She tried some new techniques which were cool. Great meal for the Fall and Winter months!

Souper Sunday Soup Series: Tortellini Soup

Since we are in Fall now, I wanted to do a soup with some nice color and flavor. It's been a few since I made a soup, after getting sick and just been busy I'm ready to continue my series.

Ingredients

4 cups of Vegetable Broth
2 cups of Water 
1 Onion, diced
2 Carrot, diced 
1 Red Bell Pepper, diced
3 Cloves of Garlic, minced
1 can of Diced Tomatoes, w/ garlic, oregano, basil
1 package Tortellini, frozen or fresh
3 tbsp of olive oil
2 handfuls of Baby Spinach
Oregano
Basil
Cayenne





Directions

1. In a soup pot, heat olive oil to medium, add onions (w/ a pinch of salt) and sweat for 4 minutes. Add carrots and cook for 2 minutes. Add bell pepper and cook for 2 minutes, add garlic and cook for 1 minute. 
2. Add vegetable broth, water, and can of tomatoes. Bring to simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
3. Season with salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and cayenne to taste. 
4. Add Tortellini and continue simmering for 10 minutes.
5. Add Baby Spinach and allow to simmer for 3 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

This soup was awesome with a Caesar Salad on the side! Going to save this recipe for a cold day...Winter is Coming :)

Steak Marinated in Beer and Green Onions

This is a recipe we got out of American Heart Associations Cookbook. I've doctored it up a bit since we first tried it. The choice of beer is your favorite but I've found it goes best with a good light beer.

Ingredients (Marinade)

1 1/2 cups light beer (12 ounces)
4 green onions, minced
2 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tbsp grated gingerroot (ground ginger works)
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 medium garlic cloves, minced, or 1 tbsp of jarred minced garlic
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp vegetable oil









Directions

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl, place steaks in a bag and pour in marinade.
2. Marinate 1 to 24 hours, the longer the better.

We used top round sirloin steaks, I typically take out the steaks, wipe them down and allow to rest till they reach room temperature. Preheat grill to medium-high (400+), and grill each side 4-6 minutes depending on how rare you like your meat.

I also boiled the marinade for 5 minutes, which kills any bacteria from the raw meat, and used it as a sauce for our mashed potatoes.

Doctor Sauce

Tonight was an easy night! Ever get tired of regular jar of Tomato Sauce for your pasta? Here's what I typically do to doctor it up a bit:

Ingredients

1 jar of Tomato Sauce 
1/2 tsp of Minced Garlic
1/2 tsp of Everglades Seasoning
1/4 tsp Oregano
1/4 tsp of Cayenne or Red Pepper Flakes
Sprinkle of Sugar 
Sprinkle of Chopped Parsley











Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Heat a pan to medium-high heat, add the garlic to the pan and stir fry for 1 minute. Be careful not to burn it.
3. Add in sauce, stir well, allow to simmer for 5 minutes
4. Add in everglades, oregano, and cayenne (or red pepper flakes). Mix, and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings.
5. Slowly mix in the pasta to the sauce, reduce heat to low and let it sit for 2 minutes.
6. Plate the pasta, and top with parsley and sugar. Enjoy!

Just started reading Stephen King's new book, Doctor Sleep, the sequel to The Shining, so far it's pretty awesome! Time to go hit the book!!!

Smothered Chicken

This is a great chicken recipe and it looks fancy too :)

Ingredients

2 Chicken Breasts, split in halves
1 onion, sliced
1 package of mushrooms
3 tbsp of olive oil
2 tbsp of brown sugar
Mozzarella Cheese
Salt
Lemon Pepper
Black Pepper
Cayenne









Directions

1. Season the chicken cutlets with salt and lemon pepper. Add 3 tbsp of oil to a pan and bring to medium high heat. Cook the cutlets 5 minutes on each side.
2. Remove chicken from the pan, and add in onions and mushrooms. Lower heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes. Add salt, pepper, cayenne, and brown sugar to the onions and mushrooms. Mix well and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Turn on broiler in your oven, put chicken in a casserole dish cover with onion and mushroom mixture. Top with Mozzarella (or your choice of cheese), broil in the oven for about 2 minutes (be sure to watch to make sure you don't burn the cheese)
4. Plate the chicken and enjoy!

This meal went great with a small side salad!  Hope everyone has a nice weekend!!

Baked Potato Meal

This is a Cole Family Classic (My wife's side of the family)! Katie always tells me stories about her and her siblings eating this when they were kids. It is a terrific tubular feast!

Ingredients

2 baking potatoes
1 pound of ground beef
1 onion 
1 package of baby bella mushrooms
1/2 pound of bacon
1/4 cup of white wine
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 soup can of milk
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
Salt
Pepper
Everglades Seasoning
Mozzarella Cheese






Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400, and bake potatoes for 1 hour and 10 minutes.
2. In a frying pan, cook bacon over medium heat.
3. In a skillet, season ground beef with salt, pepper, and everglades seasoning. Brown the meat over medium high heat. Plate meat for later and drain skillet.
4. Add oil to the skillet, and cook onions and mushrooms. Add some salt, cook for about 5-6 minutes over medium high heat. Deglaze with white wine.
5. Add mushroom soup and milk to the skillet, lower to medium heat. Cook for 2 minutes and then add in the meat mixture. Stir well. 
6. Spilt the potatoes, and mash the insides a bit. Spoon sauce mixture over the potatoes. Sprinkle crumbled bacon and mozzarella cheese.

This meal is awesome!

Barley and Carrots

Got a delicious side dish coming at 'cha tonight! Barley and Carrots, nice and simple, good flavor!

Ingredients 

1 cup of Instant Barley (Quaker)
2 cups of Chicken Broth
1 cup of cooked Carrots
1 pinch of salt














Directions

1. Bring 2 cups of chicken broth to a boil, add a pinch of salt, and mix in instant barley. Cover, lower heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
2. Carrots can be pan fried with some oil, salt, and pepper for 8-10 minutes over medium heat. Another method if making a cornish hen is to let carrots cook with the hen (this gives them excellent flavor)
3. Take barley off the heat and let it stand for 5 minutes. Fork through the barley.
4. Spoon barley into a bowl and top with the carrots. If served with a Cornish Hen be sure to spoon some of the Hen Drippings over the top.
5. Season with salt and pepper. Enjoy!

Since I've already did a Cornish Hen recipe I decided to feature the side dish. 

Dragon Pasta

Guess who's back, back again! Sorry I had to do it!

This is a favourite in my house! Simple enough for the average meatball but just complex enough to be cool! This recipe is a Boil Original!

Ingredients

1 pound of ground beef
1 onion, diced
1 cup of beef broth
2 cups of Marinara Sauce
2 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar 
1 tbsp olive oil
Corkscrew Pasta
Salt
Pepper
Oregano
Cayenne Pepper
Sugar






Directions

1. In a deep frying pan, brown ground beef over medium-high heat, season beef with salt and pepper. Add half of the diced onions to the beef and continue browning. Drain and put meat and onion mixture in a large bowl.
2. Clean off the pan, add tablespoon of oil and heat on medium. Add the rest of the diced onions to the pan. Season with salt and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add Balsamic Vinegar to the onions and mix well. Allow vinegar to really saturate the onions (about 30 seconds), add Beef Broth and mix well.
4. Allow to heat through, then add Marinara (add more if you want a thicker sauce), be sure to mix well, the sauce should have a brownish color. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
5. At this point, boil a pot of water and cook pasta according to box directions.
6. Season with salt, pepper, oregano, and cayenne pepper (light if you want it wimpy or more if you want a bite). Be sure to taste and adjust your seasonings. 
7. When the pasta is ready, add the meat and onion mixture into the sauce. Mix well. Drain the pasta and mix the sauce and pasta.
8. Plate and sprinkle a small amount of sugar on top. Enjoy!

I named this dish "Dragon Pasta" because of the spice and shape of the noodles. A good side is a small salad, or a slice of pizza! If your more of sauce person don't mix all the sauce with the pasta and save some for topping the dish. Be sure to let me know what you think!

Under The....weather

Hi everyone! Sorry for the lack of posts this week. I caught a nasty case of the flu and that kept me in bed for the majority of the week. The good news is I'm back on my feet and ready to get back in the kitchen. Look forward to some new recipes soon!

Upgrading the Kitchen

Thanks to everyone who has checked out my blog! Today, I made some changes to the layout. The main upgrade is my awesome banner, which was created by my good friend, Chavez. He is a wizard when it comes to graphics!

Next, I've had many friends ask how they can subscribe to Boil's Kitchen. I did some research and now by using the bar above you can provide an email address and you will be notified when updates appear. Pretty cool stuff!

Also added subscribtion options for NetVibes and MyYahoo. I've never used those before so your guess is as good as mine...

Thanks again for everyone who checks my blog regularly, get ready for the next recipe!!

Souper Sunday Series: Roasted Garlic and Potato Soup

For the fifth instalment in my soup series we are going vegetarian! Katie found a good looking soup out of our Soup Bible which contained two core ingredients: Garlic and Potato, how can it go wrong? It can't, because it was delicious and the house still smells great!

 Ingredients

4 white potatoes, diced
2 small bulbs of garlic (or about 20 cloves)
8 cups of vegetable stock (or broth)
Salt 
Pepper
Parsley












Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375. Place unpeeled garlic bulbs in a roasting pan and roast them in the oven for 30 minutes.
2. In a sauce pan, lightly boil the diced potatoes in salted water for 10 minutes. Drain and then add the potatoes to bowl with cold water.
3. In a soup pot, bring the vegetable stock to a simmer for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Drain potatoes and add them to the simmering stock, when garlic is done (soft) lightly peel and add garlic pulp/juice to the stock.
5. Simmer the stock for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally and taste for seasoning 
6. When serving top with a sprinkle of parsley and enjoy!

This is a perfect soup for the winter, it's very clear but has a ton of flavor. The potatoes gives it enough starch to be filling. This is also a great base broth for a fully loaded vegetable soup.

 

Chicken, Ham, and Swiss Rolls

It's been a really busy week, sorry for the lack of posts. Here's a new recipe we decided to try tonight (sorry for bad picture quality):

Ingredients

2 Chicken Breast, cut into cutlets
4 slices of Ham
4 slices of Swiss Cheese
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Toothpicks











Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Cut the breasts in half (butterfly), if too thick be sure to pound them down. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
3. Place Ham and Swiss slices on the cutlet and roll it tight. Use toothpicks to keep it together.
4. In a frying pan, bring oil to medium-heat, fry one side of the chicken for 3 minutes (or until golden brown), and then flip over to the other side and fry for another 3 minutes.
5. Place Chicken Rolls in a greased casserole dish and bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes.
6. Serve and enjoy!

We had ours with a side of brown rice. Serve the rolls with BBQ Sauce or Mustard for dipping!

Souper Sunday Series: French Onion Soup

It's that time again...it's Sunday so that means soup is on my menu! This time around it's the classic French Onion Soup, a soup that's just as much about presentation as it is about flavor. Last weekend we had a out of town friend visiting, and she challenged me to make a bomb-tastic French Onion Soup, so I've accepted the challenge and here it is!!

Similar to the mushroom soup we made a few weeks back, this soup starts with butter and the core ingredient: Onions! I used large yellow onions cause I find sweet onions give it too much sweetness...who would have thought!

Rather than cutting in thin strips, which actually gives the dish it's name, I did large chunk cut...so maybe it's American Onion Soup, but we'll keep it simple.

In the soup pot, with 1/4 cup of butter melted, along with a good sprinkle of kosher salt (it gets the water out), this should sweat on medium-low heat for about 45 minutes.

After that is done, the onions should be soft and golden in color. Next, black pepper, thyme (about 4 sprigs), and a 1-2 bay leaves are added. Then a secret I learned from Chef John's instructional video, you add 1/4 cup of sherry wine and 1 tbsp of sherry vinegar (this is very important don't skip that ingredient!).

Then 2 cups of chicken broth, 3 cups of beef broth, and 1 cup of water. Bring to simmer and reduce to medium-low again, allow to simmer for 1 hour.
   

 

Season with salt and pepper, using a high heat crock, add soup, a piece of toast, and shredded Gruyere cheese to the top. Set oven to broil setting, and broil until cheese is well melted. BE VERY CAREFUL! the crocks will be extremely hot!! 

Gruyere cheese can be very expensive but it's the finishing touch that makes the dish so good! You could probably get away with using just swiss, but it won't be the same...trust me!

Be sure to check out Chef John's Recipe for French Onion Soup!

Creamy Mushroom and Garlic Chicken

Not sure if you've figured this out yet, but I love to cook food with mushrooms! I'm def. down with the fungus :) My wife used to hate mushrooms but she's grown to like them, but they have to be Baby Bellas...yes, she can taste the difference. Tonight's meal was a new recipe, I'll add what I plan to try next time after instructions.

Ingredients 

4 Chicken Cutlets
Salt
Pepper
Everglades Seasoning
3 tbsp olive oil
10 mushrooms, quartered
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup of chopped parsley








Directions

1. Season cutlets on both sides with salt, pepper, and everglades seasoning.
2. In a frying pan, heat 2 tbsp oil over medium-high heat, cook each side of cutlet 2-3 minutes. Remove from pan.
3. Lower heat to medium, add 1 tbsp oil to pan, add mushrooms, and a sprinkle of salt. Cook mushrooms for 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
4. Add cream, cheese, and parsley then mix well. Continue mixing and cooking for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Plate chicken and pour a good amount of sauce over each piece. Serve and enjoy!

I think in the future I will add some white wine to deglaze the pan while cooking the mushrooms. Marinating the meat might give the chicken more flavor. Also I may saute some carrots and onions to give some more consistency. 

Moose Steak

Ready for some Moose Steak?! Ok, so we didn't really use moose, but you can! This meal has a pot roast kinda feel to it but it's very flavorful and makes great leftovers!

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds of top round steak (or moose), cut into cubes
1/4 cup of corn starch
1 tsp ground mustard
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbsp canola oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped 
1 can (14.5oz) of diced tomatoes
1 mini-can of V-8 Vegetable Juice (optional)
Sprinkle of Everglades Seasoning (optional)
1 cup of cooked egg noddles






Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In bowl, combine corn starch, mustard, salt, pepper. Use a meat tenderizer and pound the meat.
3. In a frying pan, over medium-high heat, brown the steak cubes and plate on the side.
4. In a casserole dish, spray a layer of cooking spray, add steak, onions, and carrots. Pour tomatoes over everything, add V-8m, and seasoning.
5. Bake in the oven for 1 hour. Cook egg noodles to package instructions.
6. Make a bed of egg noodles, mix the steak and veggies really good, and serve over noodles.

Since I had a Dentist Visit today I kept it simple and just made this, no sides. It was very filling, a great meal to bring in the Fall!

Seven Point Pork Cacciatore

This is a recipe that Katie found out of one of those weight watcher books. It's only 7 points, which I'm told is evqualent to 350 calories per serving.

Ingredients

12oz of Pork Tenderloin, cubed
3-4 Yukon Gold Potatoes, quartered
1 Onion, sliced thin 
1 Bell Pepper, medium chopped
10 Baby Bella Whole Mushrooms, quartered
Salt 
Pepper
1/4 tbsp Rosemary
1 cup of Marinara Sauce
Water, about 1 cup
Cooking Spray







Directions

1. In a large frying pan (with tight fitting lid), spray generiously with cooking spray and heat over medium
2. Season pork with salt and pepper. Put pork in frying pan, and raise heat to medium-high, and brown for 7 minutes. Plate the pork, and add alittle more spray to the pan.
3. Lower heat to medium, add onions, potatoes, 1/2 cup of water, and rosemary. Cover and heat for 5 minutes. (Stir halfway through)
4. Add Bell Peppers, Mushrooms, Salt, and Pepper to the pan, mix well. Raise heat to medium-high and saute for 7 minutes. Be sure to stir and if the veggies start to stick add a small amount of water.
5. Add Pork, Marinara, and a 1/4 cup Water to the pan, mix well. Bring mixture to a good simmer, lower to medium, and cover. Continue cooking for 7 minutes. 
6. Mix well, plate, and serve!

This goes great with a side of toast and a small side salad. 

Souper Sunday Series: ABC Soup

I've been told this is one of the best soups I can make, and I think it's pretty good too! Not too hard and only takes about an hour including prep and cook time.

Ingredients

1 pound of ground beef
1/4 butter
1 medium sized onion, diced
2 carrots, chopped
1 cup of mushrooms, quartered
2 Potatoes, quartered
1 tsp of minced garlic
1 quart of V-8 Vegatable Juice
2 cubes of Beef Bullion 
1 cup of Water
1 cup of alphabet pasta
Salt 
Pepper
Cayenne
Oregano




Directions

1. Chop all vegetables before hand, store potatoes in a bowl of water to avoid browning
2. In a frying pan, brown ground beef with half of the onions. Drain and reserve.
3. In a soup pot, melt 1/4 stick of butter over medium heat, add onions, carrots, and a pinch of salt. Sweat for 4 minutes.
4. Add mushrooms and continue sweating for 3 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute.
5. Add V-8 Juice, Bullion Cubes, and 1 cup of water. Bring soup to a good boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir well.
6. Drain water from potatoes and add to the soup, continue simmering for another 15 minutes. Stir well.
7. Check veggies for softness, add salt, pepper, cayenne, and oregano to taste.
8. Stir in beef and onion mixture, in another pot boil salted water and cook alphabet pasta till done (follow package instructions)
9. Drain pasta and add to the soup mixture, bring heat down to low and cook for 5 more minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Tonight we had our soup with Katie's special Chicken Salad Sandwiches, it was an awesome combination! Tomorrow we will share the recipe for the delicious Chicken Salad! Hope everyone has a great Labor Day!!! 

Low Carb Chicken Parm

Here's the classic dish with a low carb twist! I found this recipe in a low carb magazine a few years ago (forgot the name, sorry for no source) and we make it from time to time. This time around it turned out extra good!

Ingredients

2 Chicken Breast, Butterfly Split 
1 Bag of Plain Pork Rinds, completely crushed
1 tsp Oregano 
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Parmesan Cheese
1 egg
1 cup of Tomato Sauce
1/2 cup of Mozzarella Cheese










Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Butterfly cut the Chicken Breast, and then split down the middle.
3. Do not open the bag of Pork Rinds, crush (using hands of a mallet) until the rinds are broken down to dust, try to completely pulverize them!
4. In a deep bowl, mix the Pork Rind Dust, Oregano, Garlic Powder, and Parmesan.
5. In another bowl, make an egg wash (you can add a tsp of water if it's a small yoke), beat well. Dip each piece of chicken in the egg wash, and then coat with the Pork Rind mixture.
6. Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray, add coated chicken the the dish and cook in the oven for 40 minutes.
7. Take out pan, and cover each piece of chicken with 1/4 cup of sauce, and sprinkle a good serving of mozzarella cheese.
8. Put back in the oven and cook for 5-10 minutes.

Best served with a side of pasta (I know, I know...we used regular pasta which sort of defeats the low carb part...it's what we had in stock and tomorrow is payday). Too keep it really low carb, a nice spinach salad would work. I experimented with the sauce for the pasta, did some magic with Sherry Vinegar...still needs alittle tweaking but be on the lookout for that in a future blog.

Enjoy!!

Roasted Potatoes

Tonight we are focusing on our side dish, the always popular, totally tubular, Roasted Potatoes! These are great with almost anything. We had ours with skirt steak (sorry no picture, because it was eaten too fast, hopefully next time!), buttery mushrooms, and a side salad.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds new (red) potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces (leave the skin on!)
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Kosher Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
8 Fresh Thyme Sprigs











Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a roasting pan, combine potatoes, oil, chili powder, salt, pepper, and thyme. Toss well.
3. Cook the potatoes in the oven for 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Potatoes should be brown and soft.
4. Take out and give it one more stir and it's ready to serve.

The Skirt Steak was delicious (I will be posting it in a future blog), I seasoned with salt, pepper, and everglades seasoning. Thanks to my buddy, Jason, for hooking me up with the everglades seasoning, I had never tried it before and it was a perfect spice to add to the steak!

Chicken Piccata

I always think of Chicken Piccata as Chicken Marsala's step brother. In ways it's the same but totally different. This recipe is a combination of various recipes I've tried over the years, I consider this one my own!

Ingredients

3 Chicken Breast, butterflied and split
1/4 cup of flour
Salt
Pepper
2-4 tbsp of olive oil
1/4 cup of dry white wine
1 tsp of minced garlic
1/2 cup of chicken broth
2 tbsp of lemon juice
1 tbsp of capers, drained
1 tbsp of butter







Directions

1. Butterfly cut the chicken breast and then split them (you can also just use chicken cutlets). Salt and Pepper both sides. Dredge the chicken cutlets in the flour.
2. Add 2 tbsp of olive oil to deep pan, over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, cook for 2-3 minutes on one side (a light brown crust should form), flip over the chicken cover the pan, and continue cooking for 2 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a warm plate.
3. Remove any fat still in the pan, and then deglaze with dry white wine. Add garlic, and cook for 2 minutes or when the wine has disappeared.
4. Add in chicken broth, lemon juice, and capers. Put chicken back in the pan and cook for 1 minute on each side. Return chicken to warm plate.
5. Add 1 tbsp of butter to the broth mixture and lower to medium-low heat. Mix well. Once the butter is melted, spoon sauce over chicken and serve. 

This is great meal to have with rice, roasted potatoes, or a side of pasta. It's always a good idea to make extra sauce (just double all liquid ingredients and garlic).

Souper Sunday Series: Cream of Mushroom Soup

There is a fungus among us! Mushrooms are one of my favorite things to cook with. My wife used to hate them but she has started to like them over the years. As long as they are Baby Bella, Katie is good with Fungi. In the second part of my Souper Sunday Series I decided to make homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup. After searching the web for a good recipe, I found that Chef John (from Foodwishes) had a nice recipe on his site. Chef John has not lead me wrong before so I decided to go with his recipe. As always it did not disappoint!

If this picture does not totally excite you, I suggest you stop reading now!

The recipe starts with 2 pounds of Mushrooms sweating out with some butter for a good 15-20 minutes. Adding a good pinch of salt allows the release of all that water in the mushrooms.

They will start to sautee and caramelize, the smell is amazing

Be sure to check out the full recipe over at Food Wishes!

Eventually after the soup simmered for an hour, you put it in a food processor and really mix things up.

All in all the soup took about 2 hours to make and it turned out really nice. We saved extra mushrooms from the sweating phase on the side to garnish, along with some fresh thyme.

Our soup meal was completed with a juicy cheese burger from the grill!

"Fancy" Fajitas

Not all meals need to be complicated, some just need some doctoring to make them great! A few weeks back, my wife and I had fajitas on the menu, this would usually consist of frying up some chicken or beef along with a few veggies and then adding in a trusty Ole El Paso Fajita Kit. I was feeling inventive that night so I threw in a few extra ingredients and it turned out to be a delicious combination.

Ingredients

2 top round steaks (or chicken), sliced thin
1 Bell Pepper, sliced thin
1 Onion, sliced thin
1 Ole El Paso Fajita Kit
1/2 cup of Dry Red Wine
Salt 
Pepper
3 tbsp Olive Oil









Directions

1. Slice up the beef/chicken, and the onion and bell pepper
2. In a deep pan, add 2 tbsp of oil and set to medium heat
3. Add Onions, along with a sprinkle of salt and cook for 4 minutes
4. Add Bell Peppers, and continue cooking for 3 minutes. Remove veggies from the pan.
5. Add 1 tbsp of oil, bring heat to medium-high and add small portions of the meat at a time (avoid crowning), the meat should brown fast and you do not want to cook too long. Be sure to get color on both sides.
6. Remove meat from pan, and add 1/2 cup of Dry Red Wine to deglaze the pan. Be sure to mix around and scrape the pan as the wine comes to a boil. Continue boiling and stirring for 1-2 minutes, lower back to medium-low.
7. Add the veggies back to the wine reduction, stir well. Next, add the meat and meat juices back to the same pan. 
8. Using the package of seasoning (from kit), add small amounts of seasoning and mix well. Continue until all seasoning is added. 
9. Over medium heat in a small frying pan, heat your tortillas individually, flip after 30 seconds, each should take only about a minute.
10. Allow meat, veggies and sauce to cook for 1-2 minutes and your ready to serve!

If using chicken be sure to check to assure the meat is fully cooked! If you eat under cooked chicken, you're gonna have a bad time!