I'm clearly in a slap happy mood and having fun with my play on words today: so much to blog about? not brag about. It never hurts to smother your chicken? Or anyone else for that matter. I can't help myself.
Coming up this week:
- Sweet Garlic Buns
- Spice Up Your Life, And Your Chicken
- Rice and Veggie Pilaf
I'm trying to get these posted ASAP, I promise.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
It Never Hurts to Smother Your Chicken
This sounds like a self help book or something.... "Don't be afraid to smother your man" or something along those lines. This is a book I would never read for the record, but it IS ok to smother your chicken.
I get very tired of cooking chicken. I just feel like I run out of ways to do it. So I started treating chicken breasts as if they were different types of sandwiches. And I like different "toppings" on my sandwiches, so why not put these on my chicken?!
Cheesy Factory (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): really? a "sandwich" without cheese?? Get serious.
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 3
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 3
Smothered Chicken
2-4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless (1 per person)
Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
Avocado
Bacon
Mango Chutney Aioli (recipe in other blog post)
Season chicken breast with salt and pepper, and cook as desired (grilled, baked, in pan, etc.). Preheat broiler. Spread thin layer of mango chutney aioli on top of chicken, then add thin slice of avocado. Top the avocado with 2 bacon slices, and sprinkle with desired amount of shredded cheese. Place smothered chicken on broiler pan, and broil about 30 seconds (enough to melt cheese). Serve hot, with side of aioli for dipping if desired.
I think the key to this recipe, is to add a thin layer of favorite condiment to the chicken before adding any veggies or bacon, cheese, etc. It keeps the chicken moist when going into the broiler, and adds a little extra flavor. You don't have to make mayo chicken, just a thin layer will do: mayo, mustard, honey, Italian dressing, etc. They will all be good.
Just picture what you like on your sandwiches, or on your salads, and use those toppings on your chicken to create a whole new taste.
I get very tired of cooking chicken. I just feel like I run out of ways to do it. So I started treating chicken breasts as if they were different types of sandwiches. And I like different "toppings" on my sandwiches, so why not put these on my chicken?!
Cheesy Factory (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): really? a "sandwich" without cheese?? Get serious.
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 3
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 3
Smothered Chicken
2-4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless (1 per person)
Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
Avocado
Bacon
Mango Chutney Aioli (recipe in other blog post)
Season chicken breast with salt and pepper, and cook as desired (grilled, baked, in pan, etc.). Preheat broiler. Spread thin layer of mango chutney aioli on top of chicken, then add thin slice of avocado. Top the avocado with 2 bacon slices, and sprinkle with desired amount of shredded cheese. Place smothered chicken on broiler pan, and broil about 30 seconds (enough to melt cheese). Serve hot, with side of aioli for dipping if desired.
I think the key to this recipe, is to add a thin layer of favorite condiment to the chicken before adding any veggies or bacon, cheese, etc. It keeps the chicken moist when going into the broiler, and adds a little extra flavor. You don't have to make mayo chicken, just a thin layer will do: mayo, mustard, honey, Italian dressing, etc. They will all be good.
Just picture what you like on your sandwiches, or on your salads, and use those toppings on your chicken to create a whole new taste.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Taco Chicken? Greek Chicken? Red Wine Vinegar Chicken?
I wanted to find a new "Chicken Taco" recipe yesterday, without much luck. I just get sick of the same ol' taco and fajita way I make chicken, and wanted to try something new. I found a chicken soft taco recipe on www.allrecipes.com that sounded like an interesting mix of ingredients, but it was highly rated, so I figured I would give it a whirl.
Let me first say, this is extremely easy, and very tasty, but I can't decided whether it was best for tacos. It almost tasted like Greek food tacos or something. Either way, I served it with Cheesy Corn as a side and it was great.
Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 1
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 2
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 2.5
Chicken for Greek or Tacos
1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small cubes
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 lime, juiced
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
Tortillas
Olive oil
Heat 1-2 Tbl olive oil in large saute pan over medium heat. Saute chicken for about 20 minutes. Add vinegar, lime, sugar, salt, pepper, green onions, garlic, and oregano, and mix well. Cook for another 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Serve in tortillas with favorite taco condiments OR over salad.
I improvised on the salad thing. I was just thinking that this chicken would probably be so good over salad! Throw in some chopped tomatoes, olives, feta cheese and red onion? You have yourself a nice little Greek Salad.
Like I said, random mix of ingredients. Especially the lime? Weird. Anyway, it all came together quite nicely and tasted very good.
Let me first say, this is extremely easy, and very tasty, but I can't decided whether it was best for tacos. It almost tasted like Greek food tacos or something. Either way, I served it with Cheesy Corn as a side and it was great.
Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 1
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 2
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 2.5
Chicken for Greek or Tacos
1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small cubes
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 lime, juiced
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
Tortillas
Olive oil
Heat 1-2 Tbl olive oil in large saute pan over medium heat. Saute chicken for about 20 minutes. Add vinegar, lime, sugar, salt, pepper, green onions, garlic, and oregano, and mix well. Cook for another 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Serve in tortillas with favorite taco condiments OR over salad.
I improvised on the salad thing. I was just thinking that this chicken would probably be so good over salad! Throw in some chopped tomatoes, olives, feta cheese and red onion? You have yourself a nice little Greek Salad.
Like I said, random mix of ingredients. Especially the lime? Weird. Anyway, it all came together quite nicely and tasted very good.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Ft. Wayne, Indiana Mashed Potato Bar
My cousin Kelly got married this weekend to an awesome awesome girl, Fabiana, and the wedding was nothing less than amazing. We are all so very excited for them, and so happy to have Fabi in our family. It got me thinking about wedding planning. I've decide to "broadcast" the best piece of wedding planning advice that I have: Make your wedding your own.
James and I had the exact wedding that we wanted, and it was very "us". We had lots of little fun, unique ideas that represented our personalities, and were able to incorporate them into our wedding, even if they posed challenges or costly. We had a very Do-It-Yourself wedding that was less than "traditional" so to speak.
One of the amazing things about Kelly and Fabi's wedding was they took a very traditional wedding (ceremony in church, reception at Country Club), and added fun unique twists to make it true to them:
A) The ceremony was in two languages. Fabi is from Brazil and her family doesn't speak English. They had one of the readings said in Portuguese and had it printed in English in the program. They also had the priest do a short second homily in Portuguese (he did so awesome!). And finally, as a surprise to everyone, even the wedding planner, they said their vows in both languages. It was so touching and thoughtful.
B) Their entrance to the reception was one of the best I have seen (aside from ours, of course): Kelly and Fabi and their wedding party marched down the 18th fairway of the golf course behind an Irish bagpiper and drummer while everyone was watching on the balcony over-looking the hole. It was AWESOME. We have a hard-core Irish family and it was such a cool way to incorporate some of our culture and heritage.
C) The Guestbook: they had a "Faux-tographer" open-photo booth where guests went in groups for pictures by a mannequin holding a camera in front of a back-drop. Then the pictures printed out on a custom sleeve of 4 in two copies within like 2 minutes: one was for you to keep, and one was to put into their "guest book" with a note you wrote to them.
For anyone looking to do this, it was so cool. They used www.iduweddings.com. P.S. if you have had a few adult beverages, you might think the mannequin was a real person at first. Not me, of course, but someone. But not me.
D) Glow sticks! So random, but so much fun. My cousin Timmy, the groom's brother, ordered 600, yes, 600, glow-sticks. Once the party got going and people were dancing, the glow sticks flowed and it was so cool. People were making them into head-bands, wrist bands, putting them in their belt buckles, you name it. Then, when they made their exit, everyone held up the glow sticks for them to walk under and it looked so cool.
E) Mashed Potato Bar! (See below)
I could go on and on about the little things they did. Kelly had belt buckles made as his groomsman gift that was personalized to each guy (Timmy's said "Bestman", his dad's said "Wingman", etc.) and they all wore them with their tuxes. So many little details!
There is a food-ending to this story: Mashed Potato Bar. This is a great idea for a party or group gathering at your house too. You can serve them in martini or wine glasses to make for a fun presentation.
Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): what is a mashed potato bar without cheese?! Get serious!
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 1
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): could be time consuming if you make all toppings yourself
Mashed Potato Bar
Mashed potatoes
Shredded Cheese
Bacon bits
Chives
Mushroom gravy
Baby shrimp
Sour Cream
Chopped tomatoes
Serve mashed potatoes into bowl, martini glass, or wine glass. Put all chosen toppings into separate containers and allow eaters to make their own, buffet-style.
For the mashed potatoes, you can even buy the bagged/instant ones. Otherwise, peel potatoes, boil until super soft, then blend with milk until creamy and desired consistency. For the bacon bits, obviously cooking your own bacon and crumbling it will taste better, but they make some decent bagged bacon bits that you can find in the salad dressing aisle of the grocery store now. Mushroom gravy can be home-made or store bought as well.
This is just a fun dinner-party meal. Fun for kids too, although I maybe wouldn't serve kids theirs in the martini or wine glasses unless you have floors and furniture made of cushions. I think this is also a cool food idea because you can make it as home-made and complicated as you want, or can go super easy and all store bought for something different.
James and I had the exact wedding that we wanted, and it was very "us". We had lots of little fun, unique ideas that represented our personalities, and were able to incorporate them into our wedding, even if they posed challenges or costly. We had a very Do-It-Yourself wedding that was less than "traditional" so to speak.
 |
| Baldwin Family Photo at Shields wedding |
One of the amazing things about Kelly and Fabi's wedding was they took a very traditional wedding (ceremony in church, reception at Country Club), and added fun unique twists to make it true to them:
A) The ceremony was in two languages. Fabi is from Brazil and her family doesn't speak English. They had one of the readings said in Portuguese and had it printed in English in the program. They also had the priest do a short second homily in Portuguese (he did so awesome!). And finally, as a surprise to everyone, even the wedding planner, they said their vows in both languages. It was so touching and thoughtful.
B) Their entrance to the reception was one of the best I have seen (aside from ours, of course): Kelly and Fabi and their wedding party marched down the 18th fairway of the golf course behind an Irish bagpiper and drummer while everyone was watching on the balcony over-looking the hole. It was AWESOME. We have a hard-core Irish family and it was such a cool way to incorporate some of our culture and heritage.
C) The Guestbook: they had a "Faux-tographer" open-photo booth where guests went in groups for pictures by a mannequin holding a camera in front of a back-drop. Then the pictures printed out on a custom sleeve of 4 in two copies within like 2 minutes: one was for you to keep, and one was to put into their "guest book" with a note you wrote to them.
 | ||
| These were two of the shots we did |
 | |||
| This is the mannequin that took the pictures. Camera was on timer where you pushed button to start and then it took 4 pictures. |
D) Glow sticks! So random, but so much fun. My cousin Timmy, the groom's brother, ordered 600, yes, 600, glow-sticks. Once the party got going and people were dancing, the glow sticks flowed and it was so cool. People were making them into head-bands, wrist bands, putting them in their belt buckles, you name it. Then, when they made their exit, everyone held up the glow sticks for them to walk under and it looked so cool.
E) Mashed Potato Bar! (See below)
I could go on and on about the little things they did. Kelly had belt buckles made as his groomsman gift that was personalized to each guy (Timmy's said "Bestman", his dad's said "Wingman", etc.) and they all wore them with their tuxes. So many little details!
There is a food-ending to this story: Mashed Potato Bar. This is a great idea for a party or group gathering at your house too. You can serve them in martini or wine glasses to make for a fun presentation.
Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): what is a mashed potato bar without cheese?! Get serious!
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 1
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): could be time consuming if you make all toppings yourself
Mashed Potato Bar
Mashed potatoes
Shredded Cheese
Bacon bits
Chives
Mushroom gravy
Baby shrimp
Sour Cream
Chopped tomatoes
Serve mashed potatoes into bowl, martini glass, or wine glass. Put all chosen toppings into separate containers and allow eaters to make their own, buffet-style.
For the mashed potatoes, you can even buy the bagged/instant ones. Otherwise, peel potatoes, boil until super soft, then blend with milk until creamy and desired consistency. For the bacon bits, obviously cooking your own bacon and crumbling it will taste better, but they make some decent bagged bacon bits that you can find in the salad dressing aisle of the grocery store now. Mushroom gravy can be home-made or store bought as well.
This is just a fun dinner-party meal. Fun for kids too, although I maybe wouldn't serve kids theirs in the martini or wine glasses unless you have floors and furniture made of cushions. I think this is also a cool food idea because you can make it as home-made and complicated as you want, or can go super easy and all store bought for something different.
Dear Parking Lot C Angry-at-Life Shuttle Driver Lady,
Dear LAX Parking Lot C Angry-at-Life Shuttle Driver Lady,
Thank you so much for helping the foreigner-who-lost-his-car-in-what-he-thought-was-maybe,-perhaps,-could-be-parking-lot C,-but-he's-not-really-sure-it-might-even-be-a-different-lot,-but-you-wouldn't-know-that-because-he-can't-speak-English-guy. That was so very nice of you to take 10 minutes of not only your time, but everyone else's time. We were all so happy to be a part of it.
Also, thank you for taking a 10 minute smoke break in the middle of the shuttle ride. I'm sure no one was in a hurry to make a flight, and you were correct when you yelled that it isn't your fault that no one allowed enough time at the airport, so there was clearly no reason not to!
Finally, thank you for being so courteous and understanding to everyone when cramming 20 people in space for 5 because you decided to pick up someone in a large wheelchair who wanted to go to the bus station, since it was on the way to the airport, even though you told them it wasn't the right bus. We were all hoping that we could hug a bunch of strangers, and since we were already rubbing up against each other with so much space, we were so glad you volunteered the free space to a passerby.
All of this was what made it possible for us to miss our flight Thursday night, and we surely couldn't have done it without you. I was so excited to hang out at the airport for an additional two hours. It was so much fun! It was also because of you that I was able to take two flights instead of one! I love when that happens! Layovers are my favorite.
If there is anything I can do to show you my appreciation for you and your envious work ethic, please let me know.
Abby
Thank you so much for helping the foreigner-who-lost-his-car-in-what-he-thought-was-maybe,-perhaps,-could-be-parking-lot C,-but-he's-not-really-sure-it-might-even-be-a-different-lot,-but-you-wouldn't-know-that-because-he-can't-speak-English-guy. That was so very nice of you to take 10 minutes of not only your time, but everyone else's time. We were all so happy to be a part of it.
Also, thank you for taking a 10 minute smoke break in the middle of the shuttle ride. I'm sure no one was in a hurry to make a flight, and you were correct when you yelled that it isn't your fault that no one allowed enough time at the airport, so there was clearly no reason not to!
Finally, thank you for being so courteous and understanding to everyone when cramming 20 people in space for 5 because you decided to pick up someone in a large wheelchair who wanted to go to the bus station, since it was on the way to the airport, even though you told them it wasn't the right bus. We were all hoping that we could hug a bunch of strangers, and since we were already rubbing up against each other with so much space, we were so glad you volunteered the free space to a passerby.
All of this was what made it possible for us to miss our flight Thursday night, and we surely couldn't have done it without you. I was so excited to hang out at the airport for an additional two hours. It was so much fun! It was also because of you that I was able to take two flights instead of one! I love when that happens! Layovers are my favorite.
If there is anything I can do to show you my appreciation for you and your envious work ethic, please let me know.
Abby
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Cilantro: The Red-Headed Step Child of My Herb Garden
I have a nice little potted herb garden with basil, thyme, rosemary, parsley, and......cilantro. Fresh cilantro is by far my favorite herb. However, I can not, for the life of me, seem to get it to grow! This is the second time I have tried. All my other herbs? Perfect. Cilantro? Dying, flowering, wilting, you name it.
Any tips on how to grow cilantro would be greatly appreciated because clearly, I have no idea what I am doing.
Any tips on how to grow cilantro would be greatly appreciated because clearly, I have no idea what I am doing.
Zesty Chicken for Newly Engaged and Newly-Weds!
I'm still glowing from the weekend. Or maybe I'm sweating. I can't tell. Either way, I'm happy! Not only are my cousin Kelly and Fabi getting married this weekend:
AND one of my best friends, Stephanie, and Matt are engaged:
But, I got another call from one of my great guy friends, Aaron, and he and his girlfriend just got engaged also!
So, for all the newly engaged, and soon to be newly-weds, here is another recipe.
I'm almost mad at myself for putting this recipe up. I almost didn't because, well, to be honest, it's too easy. There is absolutely nothing creative or fun or interesting about cooking this. But, it tastes dang good!
The first time I made this, it was on accident, and because I forgot to make a marinade for chicken skewers I was making for 30 Filipino relatives. Needless to say, I needed to come up with some way to jazz this chicken up before our family BBQ the next day. I went through the pantry and found an unopened bottle of Zesty Italian Dressing. BINGO. Amazing amazing chicken was created!
Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): for the lactose-intolerant
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): this should be like a negative number it's so easy
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): Needs to marinate over night, but then a 1
Zesty Chicken
Chicken breasts (boneless, skinless), cut into 1-1.5 in cubes
Zesty Italian salad dressing
garlic salt
pepper
Season chicken breast cubes with garlic salt and pepper. Put chicken into ziploc bag with salad dressing, making sure there is plenty to soak in. Marinate in refrigerator over-night (or minimum 8 hours). Heat grill to medium-high heat. Take chicken out of bag and skewer, discard remaining dressing in bag. Cook chicken skewers for 5-10 minutes, or until cooked through.
I just realized, as I am writing this, that I suppose you don't have to make skewers. You could just put the whole chicken breast in the bag to marinate. I skewer everything so don't listen to me. I think it's because I am lazy and I like my food in bite-size pieces so that when it's done cooking, I can just shovel it in my mouth without having to worry about cutting it first. Weirdo.
 |
| (I couldn't find a picture of Kelly and Fabi quickly, so I put this funny one up. I'm random today.) |
AND one of my best friends, Stephanie, and Matt are engaged:
 |
| Seriously, two of the most amazing people I know. And not hard on the eyes either. |
But, I got another call from one of my great guy friends, Aaron, and he and his girlfriend just got engaged also!
 |
| I stole this picture from facebook. I'm not creepy at all, I swear. |
So, for all the newly engaged, and soon to be newly-weds, here is another recipe.
I'm almost mad at myself for putting this recipe up. I almost didn't because, well, to be honest, it's too easy. There is absolutely nothing creative or fun or interesting about cooking this. But, it tastes dang good!
The first time I made this, it was on accident, and because I forgot to make a marinade for chicken skewers I was making for 30 Filipino relatives. Needless to say, I needed to come up with some way to jazz this chicken up before our family BBQ the next day. I went through the pantry and found an unopened bottle of Zesty Italian Dressing. BINGO. Amazing amazing chicken was created!
Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): for the lactose-intolerant
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): this should be like a negative number it's so easy
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): Needs to marinate over night, but then a 1
Zesty Chicken
Chicken breasts (boneless, skinless), cut into 1-1.5 in cubes
Zesty Italian salad dressing
garlic salt
pepper
Season chicken breast cubes with garlic salt and pepper. Put chicken into ziploc bag with salad dressing, making sure there is plenty to soak in. Marinate in refrigerator over-night (or minimum 8 hours). Heat grill to medium-high heat. Take chicken out of bag and skewer, discard remaining dressing in bag. Cook chicken skewers for 5-10 minutes, or until cooked through.
I just realized, as I am writing this, that I suppose you don't have to make skewers. You could just put the whole chicken breast in the bag to marinate. I skewer everything so don't listen to me. I think it's because I am lazy and I like my food in bite-size pieces so that when it's done cooking, I can just shovel it in my mouth without having to worry about cutting it first. Weirdo.
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