39 replies to this topic

[Dive_Girl]

I had some friends over for dinner last night and threw together a brand new recipe that was so easy, inexpensive (under $15 total for 4 portions), yet it turned out to look gourmet!

Artichoke, Roasted Red Pepper, and Provolone Stuffed Chicken Breasts

4 fresh boneless chicken breast halves
¾ cup drained and chopped artichoke hearts
½ cup drained and chopped roasted red peppers
6 slices of Provolone diced
1 tsp salt
½ tsp cracked black pepper (I used fresh ground peppercorns)
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley (I used 1.5 tbsp dried from the spice rack)
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all ingredients, except the chicken, in a medium sized bowl. Carefully put a slit in the side of each breast half with a sharp knife. Stuff equal amounts of the mixture into the chicken breasts. Place stuffed chicken into the pre-heated oil coated large oven safe sauté pan on medium-high heat. Sear 3-4 minutes on each side then transfer into oven and cook for 15-20 minutes.

Only 5 minutes prep time and 21-28 minutes of cooking time. That’s it and it looks and tastes fabulous!

I served mine with steamed asparagus as a side together with slices of fresh French baguette. Mmmmm yummy!

[mantarraya]

Tuscan Chicken with White Beans and Wilted Greens (Crock-pot recipe)

I made the recipe shown in the above URL Sunday. It also was extremely easy, not that expensive, and looked and tasted gourmet. I found the fennel bulb and Swiss chard easily in the local HEB (not a gourmet grocery by any means). You can substitute any green for the Swiss chard (spinach, mustard greens, etc.).

Edited by mantarraya, 22 January 2007 - 08:08 PM.

[blacklatexozdiver]

Before I start, the little dog you can see in my avatar (Hinnie) was my Mum's. She unfortunately got attacked by another dog yesterday and had to be put down - broken back amongst other things. Hinnie was a very loving dog and Mum is very upset so please hold her in your thoughts.

On a brighter note, Mum gave me this really simple recipe (from her Mum, my Grandma) for some real comfort food - great after a cold dive.

HASH MAGANDI
1 handful of rice per person.
Tomato (when they are cheap)
Onion (brown or white)
Fully matured cheddar cheese

Cook up the rice.
Dice the tomato and the onion.
Cook the onion in a pot until it goes translucent, add the tomato and heat until it is warmed through.
Mix the rice with tomato and onion and add the cheese (to taste).
Once the cheese has melted and the whole lot is warmed through, add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve on/with hot buttered toast.

I reckon it's yummo and I hope you do too.

Edited by blacklatexozdiver, 23 January 2007 - 09:21 AM.

[pocahontas]

Before I start, the little dog you can see in my avatar (Hinnie) was my Mum's. She unfortunately got attacked by another dog yesterday and had to be put down - broken back amongst other things. Hinnie was a very loving dog and Mum is very upset so please hold her in your thoughts.

On a brighter note, Mum gave me this really simple recipe (from her Mum, my Grandma) for some real comfort food - great after a cold dive.

HASH MAGANDI
1 handful of rice per person.
Tomato (when they are cheap)
Onion (brown or white)
Fully matured cheddar cheese

Cook up the rice.
Dice the tomato and the onion.
Cook the onion in a pot until it goes translucent, add the tomato and heat until it is warmed through.
Mix the rice with tomato and onion and add the cheese (to taste).
Once the cheese has melted and the whole lot is warmed through, add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve on/with hot buttered toast.

I reckon it's yummo and I hope you do too.

Very sorry to hear about your mom's dog.
My roomate lost her dog this summer and it was horrible.

[Dive_Girl]

OK, I stumbled upon these odd looking tofu noodles and took them home to see what I could do with them.



Well, I am in luck because I now stumbled upon a receipt that goes well with them:

Fettofuccine Alfredo!

1 Package Tofu Shirataki Fettuccine Shaped Tofu Noodles
1/2 Wedge The Laughing Cow Light Cheese
1 teaspoon Fat Free Sour Cream
2 teaspoons Kraft Reduced Fat Parmesan Cheese
Salt & Pepper (if desired)

Rinse fettuccine noodles VERY well. Microwave them for one minute, then drain them and pat dry. Add cheeses and sour cream. Mix thoroughly. Microwave to help melt cheese further, and mix some more. Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy. Serves 1 (only 80 calories)

[mantarraya]

Both the Hash Magandi and Fettofuccine Alfredo sound interesting. I know I can find the ingredients for the first (like the comment about using a tomato when they aren't too expensive), but bet the tofu noodles are around in one of the markets I use.

I enjoy this recipe forum - keep 'em coming....

And now...

Mom's Sour Dough Biscuits (really a yeast biscuit)

The dough for these light and airy biscuits keeps up to 6 weeks, so you can have these lovely creations a while. However, if you have guests, count on them all being gone quick!

2 pkg Active Dry Yeast, dissolved in 1 cup warm water
(I've found the generic store brand yeast is good as name brand)

2 cups buttermilk (room temp - can warm in microwave for a couple of minutes at med power)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sugar

Mix the wet ingredients together, then add the yeast/water mixture once it looks as if the yeast has activated (i.e., has swollen up and gotten the water all cloudy)

1 T baking powder
1 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
6 cups flour (more if needed, I think it works best if you don't sift the flour).

Mix the dry ingredients together. Add the wet mixture, and stir till it makes a good dough.

If you want to consume some shortly, try to let it rise for at least 30 minutes. Store the dough in a big zip lock or sealed bowl. Will keep for 6 weeks.

To bake - Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bake 15-18 minutes, or till brown.

[Dive_Girl]

When the temps drop I always have the urge to cook with my crock-pot! Earlier this week I tried out slow cooked bbq chicken. I loved the moist chicken and sauce so much I thought it would make a fabulous base for a soup so I concocted this medley earlier this week and it was fabulous! Really super easy to make! For those of you who try it, taste the bbq chicken first - it may prompt you to add different things to your soup base. Perhaps you may want more of a tomato base? So many ideas in addition to making killer tacos, burritos, or even a casserole with it!

Chicken Tortilla Soup!

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups tomato ketchup
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon ground red hot pepper flakes, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Combine all ingredients for the sauce in the slow cooker. Add the chicken, try to coat it well with the sauce.

Cook on high 3-4 hours, or until chicken is fully cooked all the way through. Then shred or cut up the chicken, and replace it in the Barbecue sauce in the pot; mix it all up so all the pieces are coated.

1 can black beans
1 can chili beans
1 bag or can of roasted corn
Vegetable bouillon
Salt
Crushed pepper
Adobo seasoning
Tortilla chips

Once the chicken is shredded and returned to the crock pot, add the beans (whole contents of can including juices) and corn. Then add 2 cans of water (from the empty bean cans to get all the good juices). Gauging by the liquid level in the crock pot add vegetable bouillon broth to desired soup quantity. Finish with Adobo seasoning, crushed pepper, and salt to taste. Mix all ingredients together in crock pot on high allowing soup to fully heat and mix.

Serve soup over crushed tortilla chips.

[DivingDeb]

Lobster Meat Casserole
(for which Deb thanks Legal Seafood)

Serves 6

1/3 cup butter & then some
1 clove garlic per lobster tail
2 lbs lobster meat ~ 8 tails cut into bite-sized pieces-cooked
½ cup cracker crumb mixture (I use Ritz)
3/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese, grated
1 Tablespoon butter
Old Bay Seasoning

Sprinkle lobster meat(if using Caribbean Spiny Lobster loosen meat from bottom & leave in shell) with Old Bay/Seafood seasoning, dot with butter& sliced garlic & place on a microwave safe plate. Place a lettuce leaf or paper towel on top & cook each lobster tail in microwave about 4 minutes or until opaque. Cool to room temperature & cut in bite size pieces. Lobster can be cooked ahead & kept in refrigerator until about an hour before placing in casserole.

The lobster should be at room temperature before baking. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat the 1/3 cup butter in a saucepan, stir in garlic to taste for about 1 minute-stirring constantly. Do not let the butter or garlic brown. Place the lobster in a buttered casserole dish & toss with the melted butter.

Sprinkle the lobster first with more Old Bay & then the cracker crumbs and then with the cheese. Dot with the remaining butter.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or just until the lobster is heated through & the cheese is melted.

Serve over rice

PS. Actually one can never have enough garlic butter or Old Bay
PPS If catching your own lobster & are waiting for a special occasion freeze in water with a little salt until ready to use melt ice under tap water Good as fresh (you will be surprised!)

[fbp]

Cooking, ok, where to start... lotsa favs, but this was my proudest momement..

Soufflé Grand Marnier

http://www.poolesweb.com/souffle.htm
on a campstove/oven...

……And Bon Appetite!!!!

And cooking with my new Kitchen....


Prefer French, Childs etc, but 365 ways to cook chicken is pretty darn good..

Edited by fbp, 25 September 2008 - 09:46 PM.

[Joe Swanny]

Ok, being new to the site I thought I'd find a place to post something somewhere other than the 'new member' forum. So, until I have my premium membership approved and can get some pictures and such posted, I thought I'd share this. This happens to be not only one of my favorite things to cook, but also one of my favorite at-home, dinner-and-a-movie-date dishes...

Chicken Cordon Bleu

I don't have an exact, to the measurement, ingredient list, but here's what you'll need...

Two or three skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Thinly sliced, low-salt ham
Swiss cheese
Dijon mustard
Bleu cheese (crumbled)
Eggs
Flour
Salt
Pepper
Cooking oil (I prefer canola oil, but it's your call)

Preparation:

Take each chicken breast and buttefly it, make sure it is fully thawed so you slice and not tear the meat, so that it'll lay flat yet still stay in one piece.
Place a very light coat of dijon mustard over the inside of the chicken breast (I use the back of a spoon to spread it out evenly)
Place one to one-and-a-half pieces of swiss cheese on inside of chicken breast (don't make it too thick)
Place one to one-and-a-half slices of ham on inside of chicken breast, similar to the swiss cheese. Make sure neither are sticking out past the chicken
Add about 1 tsp. of bleu cheese on top of ham.

Here's the tricky part, gently fold the chicken breast back over itself, closing it up. everything should be within the outline of the chicken breast itself. Now, using toothpicks, pin the chicken breasts closed. The more the merrier, but remember you're going to be pulling them back out eventually. I usually end up using about a dozen toothpicks per chicken breast.

Beat together three eggs, a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper. Keep in bowl. On a separate plate, put a layer of flour, about two cups. Dip the chicken breasts in the eggs, then cover in flour. I believe the actual term for this is 'dredging', but I can't be sure, I'm not a professional.

Once your chicken is coated with egg and flour, place on a clean plate and refrigerate, uncovered, for at least one hour.

Cooking:

Add cooking oil to 10" skillet and bring to a medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts slowly to avoid oil splattering. Fry approximately seven to ten minutes on each side, until a light brown color begins to develop. Remove from oil and allow to cool slightly. When cool enough to handle, remove the toothpicks from the chicken breasts. This is a little tricky as they tend to be fried in place, so a twisting motion tends to work well.

Now, place chicken in a casserole dish and bake covered for thirty minutes at 350 degrees. When time is up, remove the cover, place a slice of swiss cheese on top of each chicken breast and bake uncovered an addtional ten minutes.

Chicken Cordon Bleu is now ready to serve!

Serving Suggestions:

I usually serve with one of the following; seasoned rice, scalloped potatoes, alfredo pasta, baked potato...or whatever you desire...
Add a fresh salad or steamed vegetables, a bottle of pinot grigio and a light dessert...perfect!


Be ready, this is a major time investment with the prep work, so it's not exactly something you're going to throw together after work. It is, though, well worth the effort...


Enjoy!