Tomato basil chicken

 

This recipe comes from the Campbell’s soup company cookbook “Incredible Easy Recipes”. With Chicken there are always new and exciting ways to cook and devour new recipes, but to find them, may be tricky, so what do we do, we go back to old “I mean OLD” faithful and this is no fun for anyone.  I am learning that some dishes just seem especially out there and I am fearful to try them, due to the fact of ruining a dish and eventually ordering take out which makes the whole experience a two hour event and by that time I’m in bed and not happy and the food is not so polite to the waist line.  Well with this dish it’s actually easy and doesn’t take long to make or last on the plate. Justa reminder, simlpy because a sauce is called for on a piece of pork or fish, etc.. you don’t have to solely eat it with that piece, you can always use other substitutes. So thumb through the index of one of your cookbooks and pick out a interesting sauce that grabs your eye, and swap the main dinner portion for something else and explore the possibilities.

2 skinless chicken breast

1 can condensed or 98%fat free cream of mushroom soup

1/3 cup of warm water

½ Tbsp fresh or dry basil

1/3 cup chopped tomato

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

Salt and pepper to  taste

Take 1 tbsp of olive oil and heat over medium in a non-stick pan. Sprinkle salt and pepper over top of chicken. Place chicken top side down and cook approximately 6-7 minutes, once chicken looks cooked (white) half way up turn over and cook for another 6-7 minutes.  Take chicken and place on plate and cover with foil, so we can use the pan to cook the sauce in the juices of the chicken. Place water, soup, tomatoes, basil, and rest of oil into pan and cook over medium heat for about five minutes and stirring occasionally, until sauce is nice and creamy.  Now return the chicken to the pan and cook for another 5 minutes. Once internal temp is between 155- 165 degrees place on plate and serve with vegetables or rice.

Ground Pork Supreme

This entree I found in an old cookbook from a Franklin, Indiana Church (it still had local ad's in it)the name of the dish grabbed my attention, but the ingredients made me maybe re-think it. Although,there is mango(most people think it's sweet and others not so much)in the dish, it comes out really good and better than I thought. When I initially asked Heidi what she thought she said" different", and I had some for a snack when I got home from work and thought it was better after resting for a couple of days in the fridge. It has a red sauce, I don't even think you need Parmesan cheese on top. I would like to hear from you and see what your family thought.

.

1 LB Ground Pork

1 Medium Sliced Onion

1 medium Mango chunked

8 Small Button Mushrooms sliced into three per mushroom

1 Can of Tomato Sauce or Puree

1 Tsp Hot Mexican Chili Powder

1 Tsp Salt

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

In a saucepan start cooking mango and onions for about three minutes before you add the pork. Once, pork is added cook for about 10-15 minutes. Add mushrooms, chili powder, salt  and tomato sauce /puree and cover to cook for about 10 minutes. You should serve over spaghetti noodles.

Tropical Tilapia

Heidi found this recipes in one of those Aprons reecipe cards (Publix). The salsa ingredients sound (to me weird) for a fish entree, but what the heck.  It turns out to be really deliscious and does not last to long on the plate, at leats not ours. I used a spice named  (Cooter Rub) from a company named Gator Hammock, which is a local brand, but I think they sell it  nation wide if not you can always buy it online. The spice has a tiny bite from smoked Cayenne but it's not bad Heidi even likes it and she is not a hot flavor in her food type of person. Hope you enjoy and if you have any suggestions or comments please fell free to add to the blog.

• 2 fillets of Tilapia
• cooter rub
• 4 turns of the pepper mill or 1/4 tsp
• 1 container fruit salad (Kiwi,Strawberry,Pineapple)
• 4 strawberries chopped
• 4 pineapple chopped
• 2 kiwis chopped

• 1/4 tomato chopped
• Handful Cilantro finely chopped
•  1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

Heat a non-stick pan on med-high heat and drizzle olive oil into pan.  Sprinkle cooter rub and pepper over Tilapia and place into hot pan.  In a bowl mix together fruit, tomato,cilantro and Balsamic vinegar till well blended. Cook fillets for about five minutes on first side and turn over then cook for two minutes more. Place on plate and top with fruit salsa. .

Stir Fry

This Oriental dish is one of Heidi's favorites. She also, helped out with cutting up the pork. This dish only takes about 30 minutes. I used fresh pasta which will make the dish better so if you want to make it your self feel free or just go buy the local Italian market and get some spaghetti noodles, but if there is a local Orient shop, buy from them for authentic noodles. I hope you enjoy
















1 lb pork chunk ed
1 Zucchini chopped
1 tsp ginger
4 1 in slices of orange peel chopped
2 tbsp chili sesame oil
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 oz Chinese five spice
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 handful chopped water chestnuts
1/2 lb spaghetti noodles cooked and cooled

In a hot non stick pan heat oils and place pork in oils for about five to seven minutes or till no pink is showing on the outside. Now that no pink is showing remove and set aside. Mix zucchini, orange peel,chopped water chestnuts and ginger in pan and cook for about three minutes. Now place pork, soy and noodles back into pan and cook for about another five to seven minutes. Be careful not to let noodles burn but if they crisp that's not bad either. The subtle taste of orange and heat are just the key for this dish

Poached Egg Balsamic Salad

Lite foods can be a rewarding meal when it has great flavors. This salad is filling and packs medium heat and different yet interesting textures. I would pick up a fresh loaf of bread from your local bakery to make the croutons for the salad.

1 heart of romaine lettuce
2 Eggs
2 tbsp of Sesame Chili Oil
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Garlic Cloves crushed
1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 cup Grated Romaine Cheese
3 slices of bread cut into medium cubes
1 Sliced Tomato

First I would start off by making the croutons with heating sesame oil in a non stick pan. Once oil are hot throw bread cubes in and cook for about 5 minutes or till golden brown remove and and set aside. Next in a medium size pot fill half way up with water and bring to a boil. Using a measuring cup crack a egg into cup (one at a time). Once water is at at boil drop a egg in ( you can place multiple eggs in water at a time)and let cook for about three minutes. Chop romaine up and place on plates. In the pan you used for croutons heat vinegar,olive oil and garlic for about 30 seconds to a minute. Place egg, romano cheese, sliced tomato and croutons on salad and drizzle warm dressing over them.

Scallop Lingugine

We were watching T.V. the other night and something about scallops came on and I couldn't remember the last time I had scallops. Then in the next couple of days I came across this scallop recipe. I made a couple of change due to what I had on hand. Regardless, it still comes out delicious. The original recipes calls for "Pernod" which is a licorice tasting liqueur, I used peppermint schnapps instead of Pernod and fennel. I make my own pasta ( recipe at the bottom) or you can just buy your own linguine.


2 handfuls of linguine
1/2 medium onion thinly sliced
1 lb sea scallops or which ever your local seafood market has available
1/2 container cherry tomatoes quartered
2 tbsp peppermint schnapps
Juice from 1 lemon
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 tbsp Olive Oil


Heat olive oil and suatee onions till tender but not burnt. Turn heat up to med-high and place tomatoes into pan and cook for 3-4 minutes. Place scallops into onion tomato mixture cook for another 3-4 minutes, now add schnapps. You should have pot of boiling water for the linguine(remember that for how much pasta you have double the amount of water to prevent noodles sticking together). Boil pasta for about 4-5 minutes As your almost done with your scallop mixture add the lemon juice and toss to fully coat. Once pasta is done drain and place on a plate and cover with scallop mixture, sprinkle with parsley.




Pasta

2 cups of Bread or Semolina flour
2 eggs
1/4 cup warm water

Either in a bowl or on flat surface make a well in the flour and add the eggs and mix thoroughly. add water as necessary till dough is smooth and easy to handle. Let dough rest for 20 minutes. Cut dough into quarters and roll down each piece so it will fit in to rollers, using a pasta machine you will use the roller option and feed pasta though several times (thickness will be to your likening). Now put sheets of pasta through linguine cutter

This is similar to Sheppard’s Pie although you will sees some ingredients that will make you say umm ok, just go with it. The more that I cook the recipes from “Seven Fires” I find out, that so many different combinations really work and I would have never thought to make a dish with certain things in it. The original recipe called for Potato, but I used cauliflower instead and it worked just fine (your choice)

1 lb ground meat
Olive Oil
1 large carrot (peeled and chopped)
1 onion chopped
2 bay leaves
1 tsp ground rosemary
1 tsp ground oregano
¾ tsp ground cumin
¾ tsp ground paprika
½ tbsp ground mustard
½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup red wine
2 tomatoes thinly sliced
¼ cup chopped kalamata olives
1 head of cauliflower (steamed and quartered)
½ cup milk
6 eggs yolks
2 hard-boiled eggs

In a hot skillet pour in some oil and add onion and carrots till they are softened about seven minutes, now add the ground meat and cook and break up for about five minutes. Now take the dry ingredients and add them to skillet and in three minutes add the red wine and cook for five more minutes. Add the olives and the tomatoes, salt and pepper and cook for about twenty minutes.
The cauliflower should be ready and place in a processor.
In this next step you have to be careful to watch the milk for the reason that milk will boil out of the pot in seconds and it makes a mess( trust me I’ve seen me do it). In a pot bring the milk to a boil, turn processor on and add milk to the cauliflower, when this well mixed add a egg yolks one at a time, the cauliflower will turn a light yellow. Take and crumble the hard boiled eggs over beef mixture. Once you are done mixing the yolks and the cauliflower you will want to spoon it over the beef mixture and place into a 375-degree oven for 30-35 minutes. It is amazing how the yolks make the cauliflower light and airy, ENJOY!