Friday, April 8, 2011

Whole Mojo Chicken

This is so, so good and it will make your house smell delish!!!

The chicken recipe is from Florida Coastal Cooking, they grill it, if you want to see the directions on grilling it go here.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken (4-5lbs) OR you could just use chicken breasts/tenders or whatever you have.
1 bottle Mojo (or you can make your own but I used Goya brand)
1 lime
Sea salt, fresh ground pepper, garlic powder
Olive oil

Directions

Cut the backbone of the chicken out using kitchen scissors and gently pull the skin off, pull any giblets out-if they are included in your chicken.  There may be some spots you will need to use the scissors for this as well.  
***To cut the backbone of the chicken out, simply place the chicken breast side down on a cutting board. Place your kitchen scissors as close to the backbone as possible and cut along the line about 1/3 the way down.  Do the same on the other side; alternating sides until the backbone is completely removed. 

Pour the marinade in a large bowl and gently add the chicken, turn to coat.  Zest some of the lime over the marinade and chicken, quarter the lime, squeeze the juice and throw the entire lime in there.  Marinate for 1 hour or longer (the longer the better!).
 
To cook in the oven, place the chicken on a rack on a tin foil-lined baking sheet.  Put the limes from the marinade inside the chicken while it bakes. Bake at 375 for 1 hour and 15 minutes (or whatever the instructions on your chicken say). Cut and if juices run clear it's done! You can also check with a thermometer, it should say on the package what temp it's finished.


Saturday, April 2, 2011

Moroccan Roasted Delicata

 This tastes very similar to Moroccan Delight. It is so yummy. You have to try it.
















 6 rounded 1 cup servings
**7 Pts Plus
Gluten, Dairy, Egg, Nut Free
Ingredients
1 delicata squash, seeded and diced
1 sweet potato, diced
1 onion, diced
Coarse sea salt, fresh ground pepper and garlic powder
2 tsp Garam Masala (click link for recipe)
1 cup white quinoa, I used Ancient Harvest Organic
2 cups vegetable broth
1 14oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup raisins
1/8 cup cranberries
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 green onion, sliced

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and place the squash, sweet potato and onion on the pan.  Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder; bake for 40 minutes.

2. Heat quinoa, vegetable broth and Garam Masala in a medium pot to a boil, reduce heat and cook to package directions.  Stir in garbanzo beans, raisins and cranberries.  Cook an additional two minutes.  Remove from heat; add roasted squash mixture and stir in vinegar and green onion.

From Florida Coastal Cooking.

Fresh Cilantro-Carrot top Tabbouleh



Ingredients

3 cups chopped carrot tops
3 cups chopped cilantro
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 3/4 cups cooked bulgur wheat (I used chicken broth in the preparation as the cooking liquid)
2 large carrots, shredded
1 cup chopped tomato
1 cup chopped green onion
1/3 to 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/8 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
2 clove garlic, minced
1 packet stevia powder
Coarse sea salt, fresh ground pepper, garlic powder, to taste


Directions

1. Mix the carrot tops through green onion in a large bowl; whisk the lemon juice, olive oil, stevia, garlic, salt, pepper and garlic powder in a smaller bowl and pour over carrot top mixture evenly. Toss mixture gently, taste and add additional seasoning, if needed. Divide evenly between 6 bowls.

Makes 6 1-cup servings.


This is yummy with toasted whole wheat pita bread! 

Monday, March 28, 2011

Won Ton Salad

Dressing:
1 c. oil
1/2 c. vinegar
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

Boil all except oil and then add oil.

Salad:
1/2 pkg. won tons cut into strips and fried
1 c. slivered almonds, toasted
1 bunch green onions, sliced
4 chicken breasts, boiled and torn (I didn't add chicken to the salad I made you, but it's really good if you want a heartier salad.)
2 heads lettuce of choice (I used red leaf lettuce.)
1 can mandarin oranges, drained

Toss all just before serving.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Alfredo Chicken Pasta

This definitely isn't a healthy recipe, but it's so good you'll be licking your plates!

1 8-oz pkg. cream cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 c. butter
1/2 pkg Good Season's dried Italian Dressing mix
1 c. chicken, cooked and diced (canned works too)
1 pkg. wide egg noodles
2 c. cooked asparagus (optional, but delicious)

Mix together and heat: cream cheese, cream of mushroom soup, butter and seasoning package. Add cooked/canned chicken. Add cooked asparagus. If the sauce seems too thick, thin it with milk.
Serve over hot cooked noodles.

Crock Pot Chicken Curry

This is one of our favorite crock pot dishes!














3 peeled and chopped potatoes
5 peeled and chopped carrots
1 sm. Granny Smith apple, peeled and finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (optional)
1 tsp. chicken bullion granules

3 T. flour
2-4 T. curry (4 makes it pretty spicy. You can always add more to an individual's dish)
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken pieces
1 (10 oz) can coconut milk

Place first 7 ingredients in crock  pot in written order. Combine remaining ingredients except coconut milk, in a bag. Shake to coat the chicken. Pour all in the crock pot and add 1 c. water. Cook on high 3-4 hours, or low 6-8 hours. The last 30 minutes add coconut milk. If cooking on low, switch to high for the last 30 min. Serve over rice, or add extra potatoes to serve as a stew.

If desired, substitute the coconut milk with an equal amount of evaporated milk and 1/2 tsp coconut extract.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Chef Kate's Blonde Brownies

We had these brownies at a RS Birthday Dinner this year and they were just amazing!
They are sweet, moist and addicting!


  • 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated cane sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 4 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
  • 1 1/2 cups peanut butter chips
  • 1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Using an electric mixer (counter-top or hand-held), cream together the butter and sugars.  Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three parts, combining well after each addition. Using a wooden spoon, fold in the coconut, peanut butter chips and marshmallows (it’s an arm workout).
Using a rubber spatula, spread the batter evenly in a nonstick or parchment-lined standard cookie sheet (12" x 18") with a 1" rim.  Bake for 15 minutes, cover loosely with a piece of aluminum foil and bake for an additional 12 minutes. Let cool completely and then cut into 60 squares; they will be soft and chewy on the inside.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Rainbow Cupcakes

These are just plain awesome. Not hard to make, just takes some extra time. You could change it up and do different colors, like red, white and blue for the 4th of July. These are so fun!

White cake mix.
White frosting.
Food coloring.

Mix the cake mix according to package directions. Divide into 6 bowls.
Follow chart below.
RAINBOW COLOR DROPS OF FOOD COLORING
Purple 9 red and 6 blue drops
Blue 12 drops
Green 12 drops
Yellow 12 drops
Orange 12 yellow and 4 red drops
Red 18 drops

Bake, frost and be amazed!
Recipe from FamilyFun.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Peaches...and Quinoa?

For a tasty treat, try steaming ½ cup red quinoa; add a dash of sugar, some fresh peaches, and a little cream!

Super Quinoa Cookies


Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa flour
1 ¼ cup fresh ground spelt flour
½ cup pure maple syrup
2 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. Rumford baking powder
½ cup coconut oil
3 eggs
1 tsp. sea salt

Directions
Whip together the eggs, oil, syrup, and vanilla.  Add the flours, salt, and baking powder.  Mix well and drop on a parchment covered cookie sheet.  Bake for about 8 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Chicken Tortellini Soup

 From Jenny:

Ingredients

  • 7 3/4 cups boiling chicken broth
  • 1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed italian tomatoes, cut up
  • 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and/or one zuccini chopped, half of an onion chopped
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt + any additional spices you might enjoy.
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 (9 ounce) package refrigerated cheese tortellini
  • 2 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken

Directions

  1. In a Dutch oven or soup kettle, combine the broth, tomatoes, spinach, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Cook for 10 minutes; add the tortellini and chicken. Cook for 5 minutes or until tortellini is heated through.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Columbian Enchiladas

Chicken (boiled and shredded)
3 cans cream of chicken
1 onion, chopped
1 can green chiles
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 can black beans
1 can corn
cheese
tortillas
 
Boil and shred chicken.  Add remaining ingredients and fill tortillas.  Sprinkle cheese inside each tortilla.  Save one can cream of chicken for bottom and top of enchiladas. Pour half of can in bottom of 9X13, place enchiladas, and cover with remaining half of cr. of chicken and cheese.  Bake @ 350 for 30 minutes.
 
Just as a side note, if you use the full can of beans and corn and the full onion, it will make ALOT of mix.  I used half a can of each and half an onion and had enough for about 8 enchiladas.  So, this recipe is very versatile as well.

Italian Chicken & Pasta

2-4 chicken breasts
8 oz. bottle Italian dressing
1 can cream of chicken
1 8 oz. package cream cheese
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
Place chicken and Italian dressing in crockpot and cook on low 4-6 hours or until tender and able to shred.  Shred chicken and remove about half of the Italian dressing (you can actually leave all of it if you'd like a really strong Italian taste).  Add cream of chicken and cream cheese until melted.  Add Italian seasoning.  Serve over your choice of pasta.  Bow tie pasta or spiral pasta is fun.
This recipe is actually very adjustable.  If you'd like it to be a bit more saucy, you can add another can cream of chicken, or chicken broth, or a little milk.  Just experiment and see what you like.  Very easy meal prep though!

Sweet'n Sour Chicken with Veggies

Chicken (I usually use about 4-6 tenders, so probably 2-4 chicken breasts)
1 Tbsp. oil
2-3 carrots, sliced
1 clove garlic minced
1 onion, chopped
4 Tbsp. corn starch
1 1/3 cups water
2 Tbsp. oil
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup vinegar
4 Tbsp. soy sauce
small can pineapple chunks
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 green bell pepper
Cut chicken into 1" cubes. Saute in oil with onion, garlic, & carrots. Remove from heat.  Combine sugar and corn starch in sauce pan, stir in water. Add oil, vinegar, and soy sauce. Heat and stir and thickened (this takes about 5 minutes- and you need to be continually stirring it until the thickening happens).  Add sauce to chicken and carrots. Add peppers and pineapple and heat until softened.  Serve over rice.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Sweet and Sour Chicken (Baked)

This is really yummy. It looks like it's fried, but it's baked. It's quite sweet, I think it could use less sugar. I made too much sauce, but was able to freeze it and use it again and it turned out perfectly!

4 chicken breasts
1-2 eggs, beaten
Cornstarch
Oil
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. ketchup
1 c. white vinegar
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 clove garlic, crushed (or minced from a jar)

Cut chicken into strips or pieces. Dip in egg, roll in cornstarch. Heat oil in skillet and brown chicken in hot oil. The more you brown it (don't burn it!) the crispier the chicken will be, after it's baked. Place in 9x13 dish. Combine other ingredients and pour over chicken.  Bake, uncovered, at 400 for 30 minutes, or until chicken looks crispy enough for your liking. Serve over rice.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Mexican Dish with Quinoa!

1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup Quinoa
 Put in a pot and bring to soft boil, then cover and turn down to low for 15 minutes
take off the burner and let cool either in fridge or just out on counter.

Mix:
Quinoa
chicken (optional)
tomatoes
avocado
cilantro
black beans
corn 
a little bit of olive oil (just to softly coat the salad)
Mexican Seasoning (to taste, about 2 Tbl)
salt and pepper
salsa and chips (optional)

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Quinoa Vegtable Stew

This is a very healthy and absolutely delicious recipe! We loved it! It is so tasty. I found it on my friend's recipe blog, Nutritious and Delicious. I made mine with red quinoa and whatever vegetables I had. It's super easy. We like it with whole wheat pita bread.

1 yellow onion, diced small
3 ribs celery, diced small
Olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 large carrots, diced
1 can corn, drained
1 can kidney beans (or any bean of your choice), drained
1 red pepper, diced
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 cup dry quinoa (if it's not pre-rinsed, you need to rinse it 2 or 3 times)
6 cups water
4 chicken or vegetable bouillion cubes
1/2 jar spaghetti sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste
In a large stockpot, saute onion and celery in olive oil until onion is translucent, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic cloves and saute 1 minute. Add the carrots, corn, beans, pepper, zucchini, quinoa, water and bouillion cubes and stir well. Bring to a boil and then turn down to medium-low and cover to simmer for 30 minutes. Watch to make sure there is enough water and add water if it needs. Once the quinoa is cooked, add the spaghetti sauce and the salt and pepper. Serve with your favorite bread.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

White Texas Sheet Cake

1 cup butter
1 cup water
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Frosting

1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

In small saucepan, bring butter and water to boil. Remove from heat. In large bowl, mix flour, sugar, eggs, sour cream, almond extract, salt and baking soda. Add butter and water mixture. Beat until smooth. Pour into greased 15x10 inch baking pan. Bake at 375 for 16-18 minutes or until cake is golden brown and tests done. Cool for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, for frosting, combine butter and milk in saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add sugar and almond extract and mix well. Spread over warm cake.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Ranch Chicken

Chicken Breasts
Parmesan Cheese
Ranch Seasoning Packet
Corn Flakes
Butter, melted

Defrost chicken, if frozen. Mix corn flakes, seasoning and parmesan cheese in bowl. Dip chicken in melted butter and roll in seasoned mixture. Lay in glass, greased pan. Pour any remaining butter or mixture into pan. Cook at 350 for about 40 minutes. Serve with rice. Add chicken bullion or chicken base to rice for extra flavor.

Measurements just depend on how much chicken you are cooking.

So tasty and easy!

Friday, January 7, 2011

Cafe Rio Salad Dressing

1 1/3 cup sour cream
3/4 cup mayo
1 bunch of cilantro ( I used less, about 2/3 of a large bunch)
1 pkg. ranch dressing mix
4 Tbs. salsa verde (green salsa)
2 cloves of garlic
1/8 tsp. Tabasco sauce
juice of one lime

Mix together in a blender or food processor.
Enjoy!

Cafe Rio Lime Rice

2 Tbsp. Butter
1 ¼ cup Rice (I use long grain rice)
2 ¼ Cup Chicken Broth
¾ tsp. Salt
Pepper
Juice and Zest of 1 large or 2 small limes
2 Tbsp. chopped Cilantro
¼ tsp. Cumin

In a skillet melt butter with rice, add liquid, and other ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce
heat, cover and cook for 20 min.

Cafe Rio Salad

Pork
4 lbs pork roast (I usually double this amount because the sauce makes so much)
5 cans tomato sauce (8 oz.)
3 tsp. pressed garlic cloves
1 ½ to 3 cups brown sugar (I use 3, I like it sweet)
4 tsp. cumin
4 cups Dr. Pepper
2-4 Tbsp. Molasses
½ tsp. Salt
Pepper to taste

Mix the above ingredients together and pour over the meat. Place in a crock-pot and let
simmer until meat is tender and pulls away with fork. I usually do this over night. Feeds
about 25 people.

Salsa


Tomatoes
Green bell peppers
Onions

Jalapeños
Cilantro
Garlic
Salt
Lime juice

Quarter or eighth your tomatoes, and cut off the white core.  Fill the food processor bowl once.  Pulse to a finely diced consistency.  Pour into another bowl.  Fill it up again almost to the top with tomatoes.  In the top of the second bowl (or first, it really doesn't matter), add salt to taste, a couple of cloves of minced garlic, and about 1/3 cup fresh cilantro.  Pulse again until the tomatoes and cilantro are well diced.  Pour out the bowl.  Fill half of your food processor bowl with bell pepper, then add your jalape
ños.  I usually scrape the membranes and seed them first, but you can leave the seeds in for more heat.  Fill the rest of the bowl with onions, and pulse again to a similar consistency.  Check for larger chunks, but add the peppers and onions to the tomato bowl.  Mix it up, and add about a tablespoon of lime juice (fresh if you have it, but I've used it from a bottle).  Taste it, and add more salt or lime as needed.

Super Yummy Snacky Candy Stuff

Toss white chocolate over:

Rice Chex Cereal
Pretzels
M&M's
Cherrios
Peanuts


And anything you think would be good. This is addicting it's so good!

Breadsticks

24 Rhodes™ Dinner Rolls, thawed but still cold
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
garlic salt

Roll each roll into a 6-inch rope. Place butter and cheese in shallow bowls. Dip each rope into butter and then into Parmesan cheese. Place breadsticks on an 11x17-inch sprayed baking sheet in 2 rows of twelve each. Sprinkle with garlic salt, if desired. Cover with plastic wrap.