A new recipe

So, it's World Cup time again, and last night I created an amazing recipe inspired by Chicken Cordon Bleu and Scott's favorite dish at a local French restaurant called Chicken DeBergerac.  I couldn't find a recipe for that, so I just used what he could tell me and what I knew about make Cordon Bleu, and I morphed them.  The results were great.  I'm writing it here to record it before I forget!

Box of puff pastry (2 sheets cut in half)
4 Thin, small chicken breasts
2 slices swiss cheese
4 slices smoked ham
broccoli/mushroom pate (recipe below)

Thaw pastry and cut sheets in half to now how four pieces

Preheat oven to 375 and prep large cookie sheet with parchment paper

On each pastry: spread 1/2 c of pate in center, then add 1/2 slice of cheese, and 1 slice of ham, and then one breast (I cut my big ones in half, and then went back and added a little, so each was a bit more than a half of a flattened breast)

Fold up pastry, and pinch closed.  Brush tops with egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 T of water)

Bake about 40 min--until juices run clear

Serve with Mornay sauce (basically a cheesy Beschamel)
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/classic-mornay-sauce-recipe.html#!




Broccoli-Mushroom cream cheese pate  (make ahead and refrigerate)

1 can (lg) mushrooms or fresh, cooked
1 bag chopped broccoli--steamed
1 block cream cheese, softened
dijon (1 T or more)
olive oil (2 T)
sherry 1 T (could sub white wine)

blend all ingredients (and adjust as you need) together and add salt and pepper to taste


I served this with Ina Garten's\Warm green lentils

What's for dinner-meal plan and Potato soup recipe

This week was a bit funky after the Baptism, so it was sort of work with what was leftover

Mon: leftover pizza

Tues: homemade pork tacos (own taco seasoning)

Wed: Chicken pot pie soup

Thurs: Chicken, broccoli, and rice

Fri: ???

Sat: baked potato soup

Sun: dinner with our small group

Here's my potato soup recipe--you know me--terrible with amounts.  I just go by looks and taste.

4-5 red or Yukon golden potatoes;

1 lb bacon;

carrots, diced

celery, diced

onion, diced 

salt and pepper;

3-4 c chicken broth; 

butter; 

flour; 

heavy cream, half and half, or whole milk; 

sage (and any other herbs you desire);

salt and pepper to taste, cheddar cheese.  

Garnish: scallions, cheddar cheese, bacon

Drizzle 4-5 potatoes with olive oil and salt and pepper- wrap each in foil.  Bake in oven until just tender- about 1 hour.  Brown bacon.  Drain off fat, reserving 2-3 T of grease.  Meanwhile, chop carrots, celery, and onions.  Brown veggies in reserved grease until just tender and seasoned.  Add chicken broth (2-3 c depending on your desired consistency).  Add desired seasonings and potatoes.  Bring to a simmer, cooking potatoes and veggies until tender and broth is almost absorbed.  Can refrigerate at this step until ready to serve.  

Mash the potatoes and veggies roughly with a potato masher.  Create a well in the center of your potatoes or in a separate pan-melt 2 T butter.  Add 2 T cream and 2 T flour.  This will create a roux.  Add this to your potato mixture.  Add more chicken broth and cream until desired consistency.  Sprinkle a small amount of cheddar cheese in soup. Bring to a simmer and then serve immediately.  Garnish with crumbled bacon, scallions, and cheese.  

A little food post: Gazpacho and a Tomato Tart

One of Scott's favorite foods is gazpacho.  He always hounds me each summer until I make it at least once.  I finally obliged after I got my hands on some really good tomatoes from a girlfriend's garden and cucumbers from the farmer's market.  The only ingredient I was missing was the water from grandma's canned tomatoes, so I had to use tomato juice--which makes it saltier, but it was still good.  The tomato tart was a Paula Deen recipe that I cheaped down--no manchego cheese, no fresh herbs etc b/c I didn't have any and I didn't want to go to the store.  The result was tasty, but a bit too dense for the crust b/c I used grate parmesan instead of a shredded cheese.  Next time I'm going to try it with shredded parmesan since it's so much cheaper than manchego.

the bare beginnings--isn't it pretty!  tomatoes, cucumbers, yellow peppers (you can use any sweet pepper), vidalia onions (with a couple purple hidden in there)

 add a little garlic (well, a lot), hot sauce, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper (I should have omitted the salt since I used tomato juice--in my opinion)

all mixed up

now the tomato juice/water mixture is added (I watered it down b/c tomato juice is too thick and canned tasting)

then i take 2/3 of the veggies and blitz them in my food processor, and then I add it back to the rest of the unprocessed soup

last step: add bread crumbs.  I added more since it was saltier than normal--and I added a lot of garlic (oops). these were fresh bread crumbs, so they weren't salty at all--it was just 2 or 3 pieces of bread thrown in the food processor

the finished product--and one messy bowl on one messy counter

the beginnings of the crust before it was cooked. it has to be precooked and then you add the filling--mayo, parm, mozzarella, bread crumbs, herbs, and really soft cooked onions. then you layer it with tomatoes and a drizzle of olive oil and bake

the finished product...delicious! it would have been prettier if i'd had a variety of colors in the tomatoes, but taste was great.  

Menu planning and a recipe

I haven't done this in a while as we've been in a bit of a rut it seems.

Here's what's on the dock and what we've already had since it is Wednesday.  I shop for 2 weeks out--so it's for the next 2 weeks almost. When I do my fill in shop next week I will decide on the weekends meals for that week.

Sun: got in late so we picked up a $5 pizza from Little Caesar's

Mon: leftover chili from our freezer

Tues: tomato soup and sandwiches (grilled cheese for C and grilled roast beef w/horesradish coleslaw for me and Scott)

Wed: chicken with polenta (excited to try this recipe tonight)

Thurs: leftovers (we are seriously buckling down on this)

Fri: Pasta Carbonara

Sat: Pork Nachos (from leftover pork bbq in our freezer)

Sun: leftovers of the pasta

Mon: baked chicken thighs, broccoli crunch, and sweet potatoes

Tues: Pork tacos (still using up the bbq in all of the containers--I made a whole pork loin when I made it originally)

Wed: surprise (I always seem to plan for too many, so I'm including a wild card spot for extra leftover clean up)

Thurs: Ground turkey rigatoni with salad

Fri: Chicken Noodle soup (leftover from our freezer--can you see a theme?)

Remember that tomato soup on my menu for last night?  I made semi-homemade cream of tomato soup and it was delicioso.  Even C thought so. Here's what I did.  Sorry I don't have specific liquid or spice measurements--just go with your tastes.  Don't make it taste too much like chili or marinara sauce!

1-2 T olive oil
1 carrot, finely diced
1 celery, finely diced
1/2 onion, finely diced
2 large cans fire roasted tomatoes (you could buy diced tomatoes and roast yourself w/olive oil in the broiler though)
1 bay leaf
1 t italian seasoning--more if necessary
1 T hot sauce--more if necessary
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 t chipotle pepper (ground)
1/ 2 t chili powder
1 t garlic powder
1 t thyme
1/2 t crushed red pepper
salt and pepper
chicken broth (I would guess about 8-12 oz total
fat free half and half (I would guess 1/2-1 c) (use whatever milk or cream you like though)

Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven or soup pot.  Saute the carrot, celery, and onions with some salt and pepper in the oil until soft.  Add the tomatoes.  Let it come to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes--stirring frequently to keep from sticking to the bottom.  Add your bay leaf and some salt and pepper.  Add chicken broth as it thickens until you get a soupier texture--but not too much liquid.  Add all seasonings. Keep simmering as long as you like, but at least 20 minutes or so.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool for about 15 minutes or so. Here I used an immersion blender to puree my ingredients--you need to let it cool a bit though--I live on the wild side and only let it cool 5 minutes--I burned myself of course.  You can do all of this ahead if you need to and refrigerate at this point or keep going to get ready to serve.

Bring soup back to heat, add more the cream and more chicken broth is necessary and adjust your seasonings to taste.


I served with roast beef and havarti on Hawaiian sandwich rolls.  I heated the insides of the bread in my electric skillet w/ a little light butter.  Then I put the roast beef, havarti, and spicy mustard on.  I closed it all up and browned the outsides.  As soon as I pulled them off the heat I added the spicy horseradish coleslaw. 

For the coleslaw I just used horseradish, mayonaiise, spicy mustard, lemon juice, salt, and pepper to get a taste I liked. 

A quick recipe

I haven't posted much about this stuff lately--seems we are in a rut. 

I threw together a chicken casserole last week that's worthy of a post--it turned out to be yummy comfort food.

I poached my chicken (fancy way of saying I simmered it in water--not boiling)
I cut up all the veggies in my fridge: onions, yellow peppers, and yellow squash.    I cooked in a pan w/a little olive oil, salt, pepper, sweet paprika, garlic (small amount), and tarragon. After it was all fairly soft I threw in some frozen corn.
I made a roux w/ a little butter and flour (very small amount 1.5 tb each).  I added chicken broth, sour cream, and cream cheese to add a bit of flavor.  I seasoned w/s & p and nutmeg and tarragon.  I just kept adding stuff until I had enough and a good consistency.
I had leftover french bread that was hard as a rock (I soaked it in the water I cooked the chicken in).  Then I crumbled it into big pieces. 
I mixed everything together and put in a 9 x 13.  I crumbled some potato chips over the top (not a lot--just a few for crunch).  Then I cut up 1 Tbs of butter in tiny pieces and spread it over the top.  Baked for 25 min.

It was really yummy. Colin even ate it 2 different times.

Brazilian Food was yum-o

This was a close second to the Paella night.  Pinto beans, rice, tomato salad, pork chops, and coconut drink were all a success and worked so well together. 

The beans were quick soaked then I added fried bacon, onion, and garlic and a bay leaf and s & p.  Then I brought beans back to a boil and simmered for 1.5 hours.  It was that simple.  I drained them w/my slotted spoon to serve.

The rice was super easy as well.  In the saucepan, fry a small amount of minced onion and garlic in olive oil for 2 min.  Add rice, cook for 3 min.  Add hot water, bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer.  I used Basmati rice cuz we like it and I don't have any other white rice.  It turned out great. 

Tomato salad was the Brazilian version of salsa or bruschetta.  Tomatoes, a little minced onion, parsley, green onions ( I omitted b/c mine went bad), oil, vinegar, s & p. 

You serve the tomatoes on top of the beans.  I liked that mixed w/the rice as well.

The pork chops were simple.  You put the pork chops in a bowl.  Over the pork chops you pour lemon juice ( I used 1.5 lemons), 2 garlic cloves, parsley, and s & p.  Marinate at least 1 hr.  Then you fry them in oil or I guess whatever you like.  I didn't have them covered in oil, so they didn't really turn out greasy--and not very garlicky.  Very subtle taste. 

I surprised Scott w/peanut butter cupcakes (a choco. cupcake w/a vanilla/peanut butter icing, dressed w/peanut butter cups).  They were huge.  The three of us ate 1.5 of the 2 cupcakes I bought from Fresh Market. 

I forgot to take pictures.  Sorry.  It really was good.  The drink is unsweetened coconut milk, sugar, and rum over ice.  We squeezed a lime, too cuz we likey the lime.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Tonight was a French theme.

We had French style green beans--fancy name in French for a very simple, tasty dish; cream cheese/sour cream garlic mashed potatoes, and chicken cordon bleu.

The Fresh Market did the hard work on the chicken--it came stuffed and breaded.  I pan fried it in butter (this is French night) for 5 min per side.  Pulled the chick out of its bath and put on a baking dish--into 350 degree oven for 20 min.  In the same pan I kept the butter going and added milk, sour cream (I subbed this w/the milk b/c I was out of heavy whipping cream), a little white wine, chicken broth, lemon juice (just a hint), and a tsp of dijon mustard and 1 T cornstarch.  Oh, forgot I added a piece of swiss cheese--couldn't resist.  When it thickened I poured 3/4 of it over the baking chicken and reserved the rest for plating. 

The green beans were just fresh beans, a little finely chopped onion (I couldn't find shallots this AM), and butter, of course.  No s & p until they are finished.  You just cover em and let em go.  I had to add a bit of chick broth to de glaze the pan half way in the 30 min b/c I was using stainless steel cookware. 

The potatoes were boiled then I added crushed garlic, a little butter (seeing a theme here--the whole meal had 10 T of butter all together--yikes!), 2 T cream cheese, 1/2 c sour cream, and a little chicken broth (no milk).  They were so creamy.

Just some fancy looking rolls to go along--we never eat bread in addition to dinner unless we are eating a sammy of sorts, so it was a treat. 

I recommend for a nice, fancy dinner that's not all that hard.  I've made the chicken all the way before and it's really not that bad if you roll it instead of stuffing it, but definitely makes a bigger mess.

No drinks or desserts.  It was a welcome change.

Spanish food

So Scott's pick game today was Switzerland vs. Spain (total upset w/the Swiss victory).  I chose to make Spanish food.  We had paella (which was delicious) and sweet catalan cream (the spanish version of creme brulee)  The paella turned out delish, but took a long time to make (see below) and the creme didn't set the way it was supposed to even though the taste was yummy.  I think I will try the cream again b/c it is easy and a do ahead, but will try to make it w/a traditional creme brulee method (cooking in the oven in water bath) instead of cooking it all the way on the stove trying to get it to thicken b/c after 20 min. of stirring constantly it wasn't thickening.

I'm including the recipe for the Paella b/c it was so incredible I want to get it down before I forget my revisions to the recipe I followed. 

Paella
Feel free to adapt however you see fit.  I did!  It's not traditional paella b/c I included chorizo (which is a Mexican sausage) and I chose crab meat instead of squid and/or mussels. 

3 T olive oil
chicken thighs (1 per serving) or chicken breasts cut in cubes
paprika
oregano
salt and pepper
12 oz chorizo (out of casings, ground up--mine came easy to remove from the inedible casings)
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
12 oz arborio rice (or 2 cups short grain rice) * I combined the two w/half of each amount
5.5-6 c chicken broth (I used a mix of chicken broth, clam broth, and clam juice since I wasn't using mussels--was not overly fishy tasting)
1/2 c white wine
1 sprig thyme
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
bay leaf
lemon zest from 1 lemon
10 saffron threads
salt and pepper to taste
crabmeat (I used imitation b/c real crabmeat is 3 times the price--no extra splurging w/ a week of meals)
1 can diced tomatoes
2/3 c frozen peas
1 bag frozen shrimp (they were large, uncooked, peeled w/tail on)
1/4 c parsley, chopped
lemon wedges

Heat olive oil.  Season chicken thighs w/oregano, paprika, salt, and pepper.  Sear on both sides.  Add onions, peppers, garlic, and chorizo.  (My pan was so full I took out the chicken until these all cooked down a bit)  Add rice-cook 2-3 min.  Stir in 3.5 c stock, the wine, thyme, red pepper, bay leaf, zest, saffron, salt, and pepper.  Bring to a boil and simmer until done (the cook time will vary depending on type of rice you choose--b/c I used a mix w/brown rice--it took 50 min--long time).  You will likely need to add some or all of the rest of the broth (2 -2.5 c or so) as the rice cooks.   Add crab, peas, and tomatoes.  Cook 4 min.  Arrange shrimp and cover.  My pan was so full this took a long time.  Again I had to remove my chicken, turn up my heat a bit, and get the shrimp to the bottom of the pan to get them cooked.  It took about 10 min. which is way longer than normal for shrimp).  If necessary, add chicken back in and you're ready to go

Garnish w/parsley and a squeeze of a lime wedge. 

This is what it looks like when you add the first of the broth.

The finished product (there is not room for anything else in this pan)

This is how much was left after we ate.  Craziness.  We barley made a dent.  I pulled out all the meat and enough rice for leftovers and then froze the rest of the rice for a side dish later. 

Here's the cream.  It was like drinking it b/c it never set, but the taste was really good.  It was similar ingredients to creme brulee except you flavored the milk w/vanilla, a cinnamon stick, and lemon rind.  Very subtle.