Chicken Gravy

I realize it has been approximately 7 months since my last post. But that doesn't mean I haven't been cooking. I had a baby! Give me a break!

And I also realize that chicken gravy isn't the most exciting post for my first one in 7 months but hey, it was the first one that came to mind.

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): no queso for you
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 1
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 1


Chicken Gravy
2 cups of chicken stock
3 Tbl cornstarch
1 tsp poultry seasoning
Salt/Pepper

Bring chicken stock to boil. Dissolve cornstarch in small amount of cold water and add to chicken stock. Season to taste with poultry seasoning, salt and pepper, and cook until thickened.

Tzatziki Sauce

This is another easy condiment to make yourself. I think it has many other variations (yogurt sauce, cucumber sauce, etc.) And it's light and refreshing. I, of course, served it with chicken kabobs, but not before I was dipping carrots in it while cooking!

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 0
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 1
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 1
Servings: 10-12

Tzatziki Sauce
8 oz plain yogurt
2 Tbl olive oil
1 Tbl lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 Tbl fresh dill, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and blend well. Voila!

Notes:
- I didn't have 8 oz of yogurt on hand, I only had one of those individual yogurt servings, which is 6 ounces, so I used that and just didn't quite add the full amount of everything else, and it was delicious.
- If you don't have a garlic press, simply mince garlic fine, then sprinkle with a little salt, and using the flat portion of your knife, grind and smear the the garlic into a paste on your cutting board. Works just as good.

Greek Dressing

I am always looking for a good Greek dressing recipe and I think I have found my favorite (and easiest, by the way). This is excellent on salads, or to use as a marinade or baste for chicken kabobs! I made chicken kabobs last night and simply brushed a little of this bad boy on before putting them on the grill and they were so succulent and delicious.

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 0
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 1
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 1- yes, even you can do it!
Servings: a lot. 10? 12?

Greek Dressing
1/3 cup and 1 Tbl olive oil
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
3/4 tsp pepper
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp onion powder
3/4 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 cup and 2 tsp red wine vinegar

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl except vinegar. Then slowly whisk in vinegar. Store in tightly covered container at room temperature.

So easy!

Mango Chutney Aioli....The Condiment You Want to Put on Everything!

Two positives today: the weather is amazing and finally back to typical SoCal! Finally! AND our house is officially done with construction from the flood so I can have my kitchen back! WOOOHOOO! First order of business: cooking. Cooking. Cooking. Cooking.

There is a restaurant downtown Huntington Beach called Duke's that we frequent all too often. However, they have an item that is only on their Saturday lunch menu, the Turkey Stack Sandwich, which drives me nuts, because that is the one time we hardly ever make it there. It is a sandwich with turkey, cheese, avocado, tomato, bacon, and a mango chutney aioli. Delicious! So delicious, in fact, that we crave it often, and thus, have decided to start recreating it at home!

So, this aioli was an interesting task as there are a lot of recipes for aioli (basically, it's a garlic mayo), and lots of recipes for mango chutney, but none combining the two. So, I created my own! Quite successfully, I might add, and now I want to put it on everything.

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 0
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 1
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 1

Mango Chutney Aioli
1/4 cup Major Grey's Mango Chutney
1/2 cup mayo
Juice from 1 lemon
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Combine all ingredients in bowl, mix well. Taste and adjust ingredients to taste. Cover and put in fridge 30 minutes.

Soooo yummy! I actually added a little more garlic, and a little more Chutney, but make the recipe first, then adjust to how you like it. Major Grey's is the best mango chutney, in my opinion, but you can make your own very easily as well. Major Grey's can be found in almost all grocery stores though, and is usually in the condiment aisle, by the jelly's etc. 

Why Can't Life Be Easy Salsa???

I had no idea how crazy I would feel before we leave for 3 weeks of wedding and honeymoon bliss. I am surprisingly calm about the wedding. Believe it or not, at this point, the wedding is calming to me. Preparing to leave my commission- only sales job for 3 weeks....NOT calming. How am I supposed to teach another rep about my entire business in one email?? UGH.

I fell asleep last night in my work clothes (after I worked until 1am) with a half eaten hot pocket in my hand. Tired and anxiety are words I have given a whole new respect to.

I don't want to sound like I am complaining, because even through all this work crap, I am the happiest I have ever been! But it did get me thinking about what I wanted to put on the blog next and all that came to mind was "something easy".


Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 1
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 1
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 1 shortest

World's Easiest Salsa
1 Can of stewed or diced tomatoes
2-3 Tbl fresh cilantro (just eye ball a small handful, no need to chop or measure)
1 slice of white, red, or sweet onion
4-6 slices of jarred jalapenos
2 tsp pickled jalapeno juice from jar
Salt and Pepper to taste
2-3 Tbl whole corn kernels (optional)

Just throw all the ingredients (except corn, if using) into a blender, use the pulse setting, and blend until have desired consistency. Taste with a spoon and adjust taste if necessary. If using corn, just stir into salsa with spoon.

I, personally, add lots of cilantro and onion and salt and pepper, because that's the way I like salsa to taste. But you will figure your own out. I love it so much that one time, I finished a whole bowl in one setting. I put it on egg white omelettes too! Tastes delicious.

Sakai's Salad Dressing

My new cousins, Clint and Loretta, traveled from Molokai, Hawaii, to sunny California this week, en route to the midwest, and finally, to Charlevoix, Michigan for our wedding! They recently had a baby, Sakai, who is now almost 3 months old, and is the sweetest thing you have ever seen! They stayed with us last night, and although I love her dearly, Lo is allergic to cheese!!!! I KNOW! The torture! I can't even imagine.

So, I go to make a salad last night and realize, of course, all of my salad dressings, somehow, have cheese in them. Shocking! Then I decide to make my own!!! I mean, how hard can it be??? Meanwhile, Sakai is coo-ing away in his chair. Talking to us, looking around at this foreign place, and I can barely concentrate on dinner I am so in love with him.

I found this recipe in one of my Emeril cookbooks, and I kid you not, it is FANTASTIC. I was embarrassed because when we were washing the dishes, I was purposely hoarding the left-over dressing, and dipping a spoon (ok, it was my finger) into it over and over and over. I literally had to cut myself off, or I would have drank it.

And get this......there's no cheese in it?!?! I am recently discovering that any concoction with oil, lemon, and salt is A-Okay by me!


Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): I don't even want to say it
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): Sakai could have done this himself
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): you chop, you whisk. Done.

Sakai's Salad Dressing (Lemon-Herb Vinaigrette)
2 Tbl chopped fresh herbs (I used Oregano and Cilantro)
1 Tbl minced shallots
1 tsp minced garlic
3 Tbl fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 Tbl Balsamic vinegar

Combine herbs, shallots, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl, and whisk to blend. Then slowly add olive oil in this steady stream, whisking until vinaigrette thickens. (If using vinegar, whisk in after oil.)

As I am sure you read in the last post, I love vinegar. But for whatever reason, I didn't use vinegar last night. We used the dressing as is, and then I proceeding to basically drink the dressing that was leftover. I couldn't stop myself.

Oh, and by the way, 1 tsp minced garlic??? Seriously? What am I supposed to do with that. I added at least 2-3 times that amount of garlic. It's like an addiction. I can't stop once I start. It stings.

And if you are too lazy to go to the store and get fresh herbs, use 1 tsp dry herbs for every 1 Tbl fresh herbs that recipe calls for. But know you are missing out. And that you are lazy. And that you have no real excuse by now to not have fresh herbs laying around.


T-minus 8 days until the wedding. Maybe my quest to gain a gadonka-donk can be expedited if I continually drink salad dressing. Or I might die trying.