Tag Archives: recipe

Chicken Pesto Paninis

Posted on
7

It’s Thursday–the day I spend approximately two to three hours scouring the internet, flipping through cookbooks, and rifling through my big black book in search of amazing recipes and/or inspiration for things to cook this weekend.  It’s a ritual that borders somewhere between dedication and obsession.

Nothing cheeses me off more than spending all those hours (HOURS!) researching on top of shelling out my hard earned moo-lah on ingredients, taking the time to cook the darned thing, and having it turn out to be a flop.  After trying one-too-many frown-evoking recipes, I adopted a new blog bylaw in 2012:  only post recipes that I would recommend (without hesitation) to a friend.  Even though I painstakingly snap photos of everything I cook, if it ain’t delicious, it ain’t going on the blog.  Jarrod knows exactly what I mean when I ask if a dish is “blog worthy,” and he’s pretty truthful about so-so meals (in a I’m-just-glad-you-cooked-please-don’t-make-me-do-this sort of way).

When he REALLY likes something, he doesn’t hesitate to let me know.  Like this Chicken Pesto Panini, for instance, which he declared the BEST SANDWICH OF HIS LIFE.

If those aren’t fighting words, I don’t know what are.

Chicken Pesto Panini (8 of 10)

Perhaps it was the homemade focaccia that I woke up bright and early to knead by hand.

Chicken Pesto Panini (1 of 10)

Nah… definitely not.  He has no idea what goes down before the 10am hour rolls around.  So, maybe it was those adorable hand-dimpled nooks and crannies dusted generously with garlic salt and oregano?

Chicken Pesto Panini (3 of 10)

Or the fresh made-from-scratch pesto.  Basil, toasted almonds, parmesan, and garlic anyone?

Chicken Pesto Panini (2 of 10)

And I did slave over my Griddler grilling that chicken up.

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My guess is it had nothing to do with any of these things, though I was sure to emphasize each and every component of the sandwich that was in fact homemade as I wiggled my fingers in jazz-hand fashion in front of his face.

Chicken Pesto Panini (10 of 10)

If you aren’t up for all the home-cooking, you could totally buy a loaf of focaccia (or use premade pizza dough) and use store bought pesto – but it’s a heck of a lot cheaper to make it yourself and I am ALL ABOUT any excuse to whip out my spirit fingers whilst bragging.

Chicken Pesto Paninis

  • 2 large chicken breasts
  • Olive Oil
  • McCormick’s Montreal Chicken Seasoning (or your seasonings of choice)
  • Black Pepper
  • Focaccia (recipe below)
  • Basil Pesto (recipe below)
  • Monterey Jack (or cheese of choice)
Step One:  Drizzle a bit of olive oil on each chicken breast, spread with a brush, then season with seasonings of your choice.  Repeat on opposite side.  Grill chicken breast until completely cooked through (approx 7 minutes on the Griddler or George Foreman Grill).
 
Step Two:  Cut off a hunk of focaccia and slice in half sandwich style.  Spread pesto on one side of bread, top with cheese, then chicken breast, and other half of bread.  Wrap sandwich tightly in foil and bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until heated through.
 

Basic Focaccia

Recipe slightly adapted from the Joy of Cooking

  • 1/2 package Active Dry Yeast (about 1 1/8 teaspoons)
  • 5.5 ounces warm water
  • 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
  • Olive oil
  • 1.5 tsp salt
  • Garlic salt
  • Dried Oregano
Step One:  Combine the yeast and warm water in a medium mixing bowl, let stand five minutes until the yeast is dissolved.
 
Step Two:  Add the flour, 1 tbsp olive oil, and 1.5 tsp salt to the dissolved yeast and mix with a fork until combined.  Lightly flour a work surface, transfer dough to surface, then knead by hand (adding flour as needed to prevent the dough from sticking) for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.  Lightly coat a medium sized bowl with olive oil, place dough in the bowl and flip to coat.  Cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place (a sunny window) for 1.5 hours.
 
Step Three:  On a cookie shee or pizza pan coated with cooking spray, gently roll/pat the dough out into a round(ish) slab, then use your fingers to dimple the top.  Drizzle olive oil over top, then sprinkle with garlic salt and oregano.  Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

 

Basil Pesto

  • 1 cup fresh basil leaves, large stems removed
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/4 cup toasted almonds
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1/8 tsp salt (if almonds are salted, omit this)
  • Pinch of black pepper

Step One and Only:  Add all ingredients to a food processor and pulse, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, until thoroughly combined.

On a separate note, today is the boyfriend’s birthday!  Now that we are once again the same age, I can no longer be referred to as a cougar or cradle robber… well, at least not for the next 5 months anyway.

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Brown Dump Chili

Posted on
4

I love to cook, but sometimes all I want is to dump a bunch of ingredients in a pot and come back an hour later to a piping hot bowl of flavorful comfort.  I need my unproductive internet perusing and phantom shopping time, which means I can’t spend every ounce of my free time in the kitchen.  That’s what I love about this chili.  You simply brown the turkey then dump everything in the pot.

Dump Turkey Black Bean Chili (4 of 9)

Perhaps, at first glance, the name Brown Dump Chili is unappealing to some.  Given the two-step process behind the chili, I’m sure you wholeheartedly agree the name is appropriate (or, at the very least, foretelling).
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Amaze(meat)balls.

Posted on
7

I shamelessly consider myself a meatball connoisseur.  If meatballs are on the menu, you can bet your last breadstick I’m gonna order one.  Just one solitary meatball is all I need for my analysis.  Texture, taste, accouterments.  More often than not, I’m disappointed.  I’m not a fan of mushy ones and I need them to be thoroughly seasoned, preferably bobbing along in a vat of marina sauce (though I’m flexible on that stipulation).  Every once in a while, about 1 in 5 tries, I will sink my teeth into an amazing meatball and for that brief moment this crazy messed up world is right again.

Healthy Meatballs (1 of 6)

I have been trying to create a delicious healthified meatball recipe for YEARS, and have been wholeheartedly devoted to the cause.  I’ve tried dozens of impromptu turkey meatball concoctions, but they always left something to be desired.  Too dry, too poultry-ee, not meatbally enough, etc.  I kept crawling back to my favorite, albeit it no-so-healthy, meatball recipe:  Meatball Nirvana on Allrecipes.com.  I LOVE this recipe because it results in meatballs that are juicy, flavorful, and that have the coveted sink-your-teeth-in meaty texture.

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Sausage Stuffed Peppers

Posted on
3

During my kid years, stuffed peppers were in the regular dinner rotation at my dad’s house.  I hated them.  My step mom would fill crisp green peppers with a beef mixture in the morning, pop them into the slow cooker with some tomato sauce, and when we got home in the evening we’d find the crunchy green peppers had been transformed into a slimy mushy mess.  Back then, I had deep-rooted hatred for lots of cooked veggies—carrots, celery, and tomatoes to name a few—but cooked green peppers took the medal for most loathed cooked vegetable.  To my young taste buds, cooked green peppers had this toxic unnatural taste to them—like they’d been marinating in a puddle of Windex for a few hours.  It just wasn’t right.  Luckily, peppers were pricy so my step mom was more than happy to make me a meatball sans pepper for dinner while the rest of the family subjected themselves to green pepper poisoning.  I love a good meatball.

To this day, I’m still not a huge fan of stuffed green peppers.  As I aged and grew wiser, I discovered that other types of peppers could be stuffed just as easily and infinitely more deliciously than green peppers ever could. 

Case in point:

Sausage Stuffed Peppers (10 of 11)

Some of my favorite peppers to stuff are banana peppers, cubanelles, and Anaheims.  I usually buy whichever variety is the biggest (i.e., most stuffable) at the grocery store that day.

 
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Bruschetta Chicken Pasta

Posted on
5

The process of planning out a dinner for the BF and I usually involves 1-3 hours of research, googling, cookbook flipping, blog reading and a substantial amount of quality time spent on allrecipes.com.  This will result in a list of 3-6 options with corresponding website links and/or attached photos, which I will then email to the BF for his consideration.  If I’m lucky he’ll rule out 1-2 items on the list that aren’t striking his fancy and then leave the final decision up to me.  More often than not, he’ll respond that all the items on the list in question look fabulous and that “everything you cook turns out delicious” (LIES!!!!!) and then leave the final decision up to… you guessed it.  Moi.   This is a little game I like to call For the Love of God Will You Make a Decision, Man, or FTLOGWYMADM, as we say.

I wouldn’t say I’m indecisive.  The problem is my decision making abilities are clouded by my gluttonous desire to eat the world once over.  When I do finally reach a decision I stick to it with a supernatural stubbornness, but getting to that point can be a wee bit exhausting.  Decision making on an empty stomach is horrid after all, and I’ve mentioned a time or five before that bad things happen when I don’t eat.

All I want is a plate full of deliciousness.

A mound of this, perhaps:

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After playing our normal round of FTLOGWYMADM and going through the subsequent mental debate, I decided to go with this recipe for Bruschetta Chicken pasta I saw on Iowa Girl Eats.  It’s really not much of a recipe, and that makes me love it all the more.

This pièce de résistance of this dish is the balsamic drizzle.  Simply simmer a cup of balsamic vinegar over medium heat for 15 minutes.  The vinegar will reduce by about half, and once removed from the heat it will continue to thicken as it cools.

While I waited for the balsamic vinegar to reduce, I got to prepping my veggies.

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The asparagus was for the pasta and the sprouts were our side dish.  Love me some veg.

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Jarred bruschetta sauce is the secret behind the simplicity of this pasta dish.  Thank you Trader Giotto :)

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This pasta was so simple, in fact, that I decided to squeeze in a little nap.

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Before I fell asleep at the pan, I cut the chicken into big chunks, seasoned with S&P, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder and tossed into a saute pan with 2 tsp olive oil.   Then I dropped 6 ounces of penne pasta into boiling water.

Once the chicken was cooked through, I sautéed the veggies with garlic salt, black pepper, and 1 tsp olive oil.

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When the pasta reached al dente, I combined the chicken, asparagus, jar of bruschetta, and penne in the skillet and sautéed until everything was heated through.

Last but not least, I topped the pasta with a little balsamic drizzzzzzle:

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This pasta was DELICIOUS, filling, and balanced, and the tangy balsamic drizzle wowed my tastebuds.  I will definitely be adding this recipe to the playbook.

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Bruschetta Chicken Pasta Ingredients List (serves 4)

Recipe from Iowa Girl Eats

  • 1 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 6 ounces penne pasta
  • bunch of asparagus, trimmed
  • 1 jar of tomato bruschetta
  • 12 ounces chicken breast
  • 1 tbsp olive oil, divided
  • Seasonings of your choice (S&P, garlic salt, Italian seasoning, garlic powder)
Step One:  Simply simmer a cup of balsamic vinegar over medium heat for 15 minutes.  The vinegar will reduce by about half, and once removed from the heat it will continue to thicken as it cools.
 
Step Two:  Cook pasta to al dente as per pasta box instructions.  Meanwhile, cut the chicken into chunks, season with S&P, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder and saute with 2 tsp olive oil until no longer pink.  Remove from pan.  In the same pan, saute asparagus until crisp tender.
 
Step three:  Combine cooked pasta, chicken, asparagus, and bruschetta mix in the pan and saute until heated through.  Serve with balsamic reduction drizzled over top!
 

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Sweet Chili Pork Tenderloin

Posted on
7

When I think of pork, the first word that comes to mind is “BLAH.”

What are we having for dinner? 

Pork.

BLAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Perhaps I was subjected to too many dried out pinky-thin chops as a child.  Or perhaps I was too enveloped in my love affair with the other two other-white-meats.  Given that my one true love in life is FOOD, it hurts my heart to dislike something.  I actually force myself to occasionally eat the hated food(s) in question in hopes of maturing my palate and someday rising above these childish dislikes. 

That’s dedication people.  

Watch out kidney beans, olives, eggplant, and every species of fish known to man.  I’m coming for ya.

In an effort to branch out, I decided to try and cook up some pork tenderloins.  I’d never cooked pork tenderloins before, and the ONLY other time I’ve attempted a pork dish was this pork chop flop, which clearly no words can describe.

This Allrecipes.com recipe for Chipotle Crusted Pork Tenderloin was my inspiration, subject to a few mweaks. The result was, well, it definitely ain’t yo’ grandma’s pork.. or your step-mother’s pork as the case may be.  Sorry to put you on blast, Sally.  Angel

This pork was JUICY and super flavorful with equally balanced sweet and heat.  I never thought I’d use “flavor” and “pork” in the same sentence.  Just did.  Take THAT pork chop flop.  TAKE THAT.

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These tenderloins were SUPER simple.  All you do is mix the following in a large ziploc baggie or large bowl with lid:

  • 2 tsp onion powder
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 2-3 tbsp chili powder (depending on your heat tolerance)
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 3-4 tbsp brown sugar (depending on your sweet tooth)

Plop 2 pork tenderloins (approx 1.25-1.5lbs each) into the bag/bowl and shake the crap out of it to evenly coat the loins with the seasonings.  Lay the tenderloins out on a cookie sheet coated with cooking spray, then drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil across the top:

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Cook in a 500 degree oven for 20 minutes, turning half way through.

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Let the meat rest for a few minutes, then transfer to a cutting board to slice:

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Crazy blurry photo courtesy of my iPhone!

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Dare I say I LOVED this pork???

The BF declared “this was the best meat he ever had.”  To which I responded with a perfectly timed and completely appropriate “that’s what she said.”

Speaking of appropriate, I cannot type or say the word “loin” without giggling.  Apparently, my palate isn’t the only thing I need to work on maturing.

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To round out the meal, I made Rachael Ray’s Orzo with Feta and Tomatoes:IMG_0140

This was just OK—a bit on the bland side, so I doubt I will make it again.

Thank god for potatoes.  They totally made up for the orzo.  Halved baby red potatoes, coated with some EVOO, garlic salt, black pepper, and a touch of cayenne pepper roasted at 500 degrees for 20 minutes:

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I can honestly say I’ve never met a potato I didn’t like. 

Feel free to leave inappropriate meat jokes for the BF in the comments.  I’ll be sure to pass them along ;)

Sweet Chili Pork Tenderloin (serves 6)

  • 2 pork tenderloins (1.25 – 1.5 lbs each)
  • 2 tsp onion powder
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 2-3 tbsp chili powder (depending on your heat tolerance)
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 3-4 tbsp brown sugar (depending on your sweet tooth)
  • Extra virgin olive oil

Step one:  combine all of the ingredients other than the pork in a large Ziploc baggie or large bowl with lid.  Place the 2 pork tenderloins (approx 1.25-1.5lbs each) into the bag/bowl, seal, then shake to evenly coat the loins with the seasonings. 

Step two:  spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray, lay the tenderloins on top, then and drizzle them with a little extra virgin olive oil.  Cook in a 500 degree oven for 20 minutes, turning flipping way through.

Step three:  Let the meat rest for a few minutes, then transfer to a cutting board to slice.

 

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Slow Cooker Sundays: Cheesy Sausage & White Bean Chili

Posted on
9

Happy Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!  This football season, we have purposely and sincerely dedicated Sundays to slooooow cookin.  This week my crockpot was graced to the brim with Cheesy Sausage and White Bean Chili (adapted from Sandra Lee’s Cheesy Chorizo Chili Recipe).

Isn’t it pretty???

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Despite how beautiful the final product might appear, the process of slow cooking usually results in some sort of mess in the kitchen.  Well, actually it’s all cooking.  Me merely stepping a foot into the kitchen should serve as fair warning of impending disasters.  One dish usually results in a few sauce splatters on the wall, some chopped onions on the floor, no less than 7 dirtied utensils, a burner or two accidentally left on, and every inch of counter littered with various cooking debris.  So, I’m not exactly organized in the kitchen… What can I say?  I like to become one with my food Smile

The key to any successful slow cooked meal is a few glasses of wine to pass the time.  You might suggest that I use all that waiting time to clean the mess I’ve created in the kitchen.  To that I say, “I cook, you clean.  So quit your yapping and get to scrubbing.”

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To assemble this chili, you’ll first want to brown your sausage in a skillet.  Any turkey or chicken sausage will do—I prefer a spicy variety like Harris Teeter Hot Chicken Sausage or Jennie O’ Hot Turkey Sausage.

Next gather up your ingredients:

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Don’t mind the Limited bag in the background… I partook in a bit of retail therapy this weekend.  I scored a few sale items and am feeling MUCH better, thank you.

Toss all your canned goods, spices, and cooked sausage into the crockpot and mix to combine.  Then, let the chili cook for 6 hours on low.  When it’s time to chow, I like to top my chili with a dollop of Trader Joes fat free Greek yogurt, some sliced green onions, and a few corn tortilla chips:

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This chili is a beautiful rust orange color, pretty darn thick, and extremely tasty.  Even though this chili doesn’t have the standard tomato sauce chili base, it hit all the right notes on the seasoning scale.  Jarrod and I both gave this chili two thumbs up… We had some for lunch… and then some for dinner… and between the two of us devoured the entire batch in a period of six and half hours.  Don’t judge.

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Total cheesy comfort in a bowl.

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Cheesy Sausage & White Bean Chili Ingredients List (serves 5)

  • 5 links hot chicken or turkey sausage (such as Harris Teeter brand)
  • 3 15 ounce cans white cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 10.75 ounce can condensed cheddar cheese soup
  • 1 can mild Rotel Tomatoes
  • 1 can diced green chilis
  • 1 tbsp + 1 tsp burrito seasoning (McCormicks)
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • Chopped green onions

Stats on one serving:   366 calories, 49g carbs, 7g fat, 35g protein, 14g fiber

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