Garlic Lime Pork Chops with Cilantro Lime Rice

Posted on September 27, 2012 by ohmygoodygoodness

Heavenly. Truly heavenly.

I found this recipe awhile back while perusing Tastespotting.com. It’s one of my favorite spots to look at food porn.  Don’t go there unless you have a couple of hours to sit and do nothing but drool at your computer and make yourself starve; which will then result in you having to get up and go in the kitchen and fix yourself something to eat. Ugh. The same thing happens to me when I get sucked into those Diners, Drive-ins and Dives marathons in the afternoon. Geesh, why does EVERYTHING on that show look amazing?  Thank goodness I have a DVR because I have to pause and rewind like 20 times during every episode.

Which brings me to a random side note. I am convinced that the DVR is the most magical invention ever. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE indoor plumbing, but the DVR might just be my favorite. If you have children and you don’t have one, you need to get one immediately. It is so nice that you don’t have to yell at your kids to “PLEASE be QUIET” for the one-millionth time, you just hit pause. Back in the “olden days” when my son (who’s 14) was little we didn’t have cable or a cell phone. Can you imagine? It is so great that your mind can forget such terrible atrocities. Just kidding. Seriously, I could probably do without a cell phone, but not my cable and HBO.

I pretty much love anything that has cilantro, garlic and lime in it, so when I saw this picture, I immediately clicked on it. I wound up at a blog called The Skinny Taste and fell in love with this recipe for this amazing meal.

My mom’s birthday was back in July and I had invited a few friends over for dinner to celebrate and I thought this recipe would be perfect. It turned out so good. In fact, I can’t believe I haven’t made it again. Everyone loved it and the whole recipe is gluten free, so even you celiac-ers can enjoy it! I have a special place in my heart for my gluten free friends who have taught me how to cook more healthy meals for my family!

You want to plan this one out ahead of time so the pork chops can marinate in all this goody goodness for awhile. I was cooking for a large group of people, but you can just adjust the amount of chops you need according to how many people you have.

Garlic Lime Pork Chops

  • boneless pork chops, 6-8 oz each
  • minced garlic
  • cumin, chili powder, paprika, salt and pepper
  • zest of one lime
  • juice of one lime
  • 2 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon oil, for pan

Season the pork chops generously with garlic, cumin, chili powder, paprika, salt and pepper. Squeeze over the lime juice and zest and let it marinade at least 20 minutes.

If you have a preferred method of cooking chops, please feel free to cook them however you like. I find that I always have the best success with chops if I cook them in a skillet on the stove. I add about 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of oil to my large skillet, once it’s very hot. Squeeze in all the chops and cook over medium heat for about 4 minutes per side. Then I put the lid on them and cook them on low for about another 3-4 minutes, or until they are cooked through and you have no pink juice. When I cook them like this they always turn out super juicy and aren’t ever dried out.

Cilantro Lime Rice

  • 2 cups Basmati rice
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • zest of 1/2 lime, chopped fine
  • juice of one lime
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3-4 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro

I never used to be able to cook rice. Seriously, I was completely rice illiterate. It was only in the last couple of years that I finally figured out a way that worked for me. I have a large heavy stainless steel skillet and a large (very old) iron skillet that I use exclusively to cook rice in. I think rice likes to be exclusive.

Heat a pot, pan, skillet, whatever you prefer,  over medium heat. Add your butter, oil and salt to the pan until melted and then add in your rice. Stir the rice around so that it is coated in the butter/oil and let it cook for about 1 minute or two. Then add in your water, lime zest, and juice. Give it a good stir to make sure that everything is coated and then cover it and turn the heat to low. Cook for 18 minutes without disturbing it, then open up the lid and stir it to see if it is done. Sometimes mine needs another minute or two.

Once the rice is cooked, remove from heat and stir in the chopped cilantro.

Serve the pork chops over the rice and enjoy!

Posted in Dinner, Gluten-Free, Lunch, Mexican Inspired, Pork, Recipes | 2 Comments

Crispy Beef and Asian Noodles

Posted on September 22, 2012 by ohmygoodygoodness

I don’t personally follow a lot of other blogs, I like to just search around and look at my convenience, but there are a few of them that I keep up with all the time. One of those is a fellow WordPress foodie, Nick, over at FrugalFeeding.com. I have a special place in my heart for the British, as my brother (from another mother) is from Wigan, and I have many other friends from the UK that I just adore. He has some truly amazing recipes and you should definitely take the time out to read some of his posts and recipes.

Last week he posted this one for Chinese Crispy Beef with Noodles. When I saw it, I knew immediately I had to try it. In fact, I went to the store that day to pick up the ingredients.

At the grocery store, my intention was to pick up some bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, sweet chili sauce, etc. However, I had taken the 4 year old and the 14 year old with me on this particular trip and it didn’t turn out as I had planned. One of them was asking me if I would buy him over 50 million different items in the store, all things that he knows I am not going to purchase. The other one I ended up having to put in the cart because she would not stop touching every single item on the shelves. Then she had a meltdown in the cart somewhere between the ethnic and bread aisles and I left out half the stuff I needed. My kids are normally pretty well behaved, but apparently the planets were out of alignment or aliens poisoned the organic gummy bears, or who knows what happened, but they were making me crazy. I honestly just wanted to throw myself down in the middle of the store and start having a tantrum. It would have embarrassed my kids and someone may have come and picked me up to take me to that special place with padded walls and really great meds!

Just kidding. Maybe.

Anyway, on to the star of this post, crispy beef. This meal is absolutely amazing. The beauty of it is that you can make this with any sort of Asian noodles you want and you can throw in any of your favorite ingredients. I normally shop at this awesome little Asian market nearby to get all of my special sauces, noodles, Asian veggies, etc. but I haven’t been in awhile and I wasn’t able to get there before I made this. I did find these noodles in the store and they were actually really good.

As I looked at his recipe and then started going through the pantry to make this, I realized all of the things I had forgotten during my trip to the grocery. I ended up not having sweet chili sauce, so I used this awesome Korean barbeque sauce I had in the fridge. I had carrots, peppers and green onions, so those are the only veggies I used. You will want to julienne the carrots and peppers. I have this handy dandy product from Titan that makes a perfect julienne. It was a gift I received in a two pack with a vegetable peeler. They are two of my favorite kitchen products.

Remember, I just used the ingredients I had on hand, you can use anything you want to in this dish. The next time I will be going to the grocery alone so that I can find things like bean sprouts and bamboo shoots! You could even throw some slivered almonds into the mix.

Asian Style Crispy Beef

  • 1.5 pounds Flank Steak
  • 2 eggs
  • cornstarch
  • soy sauce
  • Asian sauce, whatever your favorite is (I used the Korean barbeque, sweet chili is great too)
  • ginger powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper
  • 4 carrots, peeled
  • 4-5 red, yellow and orange snacking sweet peppers
  • 3 green onions, sliced thin
  • oil for frying the beef, I used sesame oil

You don’t have to do this step, but since I had the time I cut up all the beef and seasoned it and let it marinate in the fridge for a couple of hours before dinner.

Slice your flank steak into thin strips, against the grain, and then cut each strip into two or three pieces.

Then lay all of your pieces of beef into a shallow pan and season generously with ginger powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Then drizzle on some soy sauce, you don’t have to put on a lot, just enough to give them a light coat.

Next you will cut up the vegetables. Start by cutting the carrots and peppers in a julienne style. I cut my strips in three pieces after I did this. Slice up the green onions and set aside.

You can do the batter step two ways, either put the corn starch in one bowl and the whisked egg in another, or just whisk the eggs and add in the cornstarch to the same bowl.

I had one bowl for the egg and dipped in the pieces of beef and then dipped them into the cornstarch until they were fully coated.

In a large skillet, add just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan, maybe about a 1/2 inch deep. If you have a deep fryer you could also use that. Place the battered beef in a single layer in the pan, as many as you can fit without them overlapping. I cooked mine about 2 minutes on the first side and just over a minute on the second side. Remove them from the heat and set on a paper towel lined plate.

I am going to pause here for a minute to tell you that this beef was so amazing that I could not stop eating it. It was almost like mini chicken fried steak pieces, but with an Asian flare. Holy Moly, they were amazing.

Since I didn’t put too much oil in the pan to start with, I didn’t need to drain any oil out once the meat was done. You only want about 2 tablespoons in the pan for the veggies. To the oil I added in several dashes of soy sauce and the Korean barbeque sauce, along with some ground pepper and a couple of shakes of ginger powder.  I scraped up all the tasty bits in the bottom of the pan and then threw in the veggies. Cook them for about 3 minutes or just until they soften up.

Then I crumbled up the noodles and added them to the pan. The ones I used were pre-made, so I just needed to heat them through. Depending on what kind/style of noodles you use, you will need to follow the package directions and then add them to the veggies when they are ready.

I added a few more dashes of the soy and barbeque sauce so that all of the noodles were coated. You can throw the beef right into the pan at this stage and stir it all around until the beef is coated and warmed through. I kept mine separate because not everyone here was eating right away and I wanted to make sure that the beef stayed crispy for them when they got ready to eat.

I hope that you guys will try this, especially if you love food with an Asian flare. It is truly one of my new favorite dishes.

Posted in Asian Inspired, Beef, Dinner, Lunch, Pasta Dishes, Recipes | Leave a comment

Apple Bacon Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Apple and Onion Coleslaw

Posted on September 17, 2012 by ohmygoodygoodness

I know I have just been bombarding you guys with posts of new recipes these last few months. I am really trying to cut down on how many I am sending out on a daily basis so that you don’t get sick of me! *insertsarcasm*

I AM ALIVE! Yes, I am alive. I have been so busy for the last few months and unfortunately this little blog has taken a backseat. Life has been fun and busy and crazy and I just haven’t had enough uninterrupted time to share all these wonderful recipes I have. In fact, what is uninterrupted time anyway? Does that even exist? I’m sure when you have kids it doesn’t. I mean, I know that there will come a day when there will be no children here to knock on the bathroom door as soon as I go in there. I just keep hoping that when that day comes my entire body doesn’t lock up from the shock of no one bothering me anymore. Oy Vey!

Anyway, I had to make the time to share this recipe with you. Nearly every Friday night we have friends over to play darts at “The Backyard Bar.” I always cook up something for us to have to eat out there. Sometimes it is just a couple of appetizers, but usually I cook up something hearty. I have made these pulled pork sandwiches several times before and I always make them with this Sweet Slaw recipe. This last weekend I just wanted something different and something sweet but without having to use sugar.

The new coleslaw was amazing, I couldn’t stop eating it right out of the bowl! It made these sandwiches the best pulled pork sandwiches I have ever eaten. They were so good I ate 2 1/2 of them last Friday night! Both recipes are super easy to make and the fact that the pork is cooked in the slow cooker makes it perfect for when you need to cook for a lot of people, but don’t want to slave away in the kitchen the whole time.

*This recipe is Gluten Free as long as you use a GF bacon and bread.

Apple Bacon Pulled Pork Sandwiches

  • About 3 pounds of lean pork roast (depending on how many people you are feeding you can use more or less) I can usually feed about 8 people with 3 pounds and still have leftovers the next day.
  • 1/2 pound bacon
  • 1 medium red apple, I used gala
  • 1 medium sweet onion
  • 1/2-3/4 cup of chicken broth, I always use Better Than Bouillon and use a heaping tsp
  • 3 teaspoons minced garlic
  • paprika, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder

Place the pork roast on a cutting board and season generously with paprika, salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. I rarely measure seasonings, so I have no idea how much to tell you to use, but just make sure that all sides of the meat are covered like this.

Set the meat aside and cut up your apple, onion and bacon. You will want to peel the apple first so that you don’t have any weird skin in there when you eat your sandwich later. You can cut up your apple and onion to whatever size and thickness you prefer. The last time I made this I gave my apples a few more chops to make them a little smaller than this. Cut up your bacon into bite sized pieces as well.

In your slow cooker you want to pour in your broth and half the minced garlic. Add half of the onions, apples and bacon and then add in your pork roast. Top with the remaining minced garlic, onions, apples and bacon.

I normally cook this on high for about 6 hours or so. Depending on how many pounds of meat you use, you will need to check the settings on your slow cooker to determine what is the best setting and time to cook yours. I put the lid on and leave it alone for about 5 hours and by then I can usually get the meat to start pulling apart. I just take out the pieces and put them in a shallow dish and take two forks to pull the meat apart. Put the shredded meat back into the slow cooker and mix it around with the broth and other ingredients; then let it go for about another hour.

Right after I put the ingredients in the slow cooker I make the slaw. This way it has plenty of time to chill and the flavors blend before you put it on the sandwiches. If you prefer, you can buy a head of cabbage and shred it up yourself, but I prefer to buy the bags that are already cut up and ready for you. It just saves me time and it comes with a blend of cabbage and sometimes carrots.

One other thing that I want to mention is the mayonnaise I have been using for the last couple of months. I have always been a Kraft Real Mayo fan and have used Miracle Whip only for slaw. However, a few months ago my BFF introduced me to Duke’s Mayonnaise. She has always been a fan of Duke’s, but since she is now on a gluten free diet, this is one Mayo she can actually eat! When I tried it for the first time I couldn’t believe how amazing it was. It makes everything you put it in more creamy and smooth and the taste isn’t overwhelming. I will never use any other mayo again! Yes, it’s that good.

Apple and Onion Coleslaw

  • 1 regular sized bag of premixed coleslaw (about 16 oz)
  • 2 gala apples
  • 2-3 green onions
  • 1/4 cup of diced sweet onion (I ended up adding a little more, but it depends on your taste)
  • 3/4 cup Duke’s mayonnaise
  • apple cider vinegar, just under 1/4 of a cup
  • 1/4 cup honey (I used local, organic orange blossom honey)
  • 2-3 tablespoons of poppy seeds
  • salt and pepper to taste

Dump your coleslaw mix into a large mixing bowl. Peel and core your apple and cut into 4 sections. Cut each section into a julienne slice and then chop up into small pieces. Cut your green onions into thin slices and then give them a rough chop and dice your sweet onion. Add them all into the bowl with your slaw mix.

In a large bowl or measuring cup, add the mayo, apple cider vinegar, honey, poppy seeds, salt and pepper and whisk until well blended. Then pour the dressing mixture over the slaw mix and stir until thoroughly blended. If you need to use a little more mayo you can, up to 1 cup, I just prefer my slaw to not be runny.

Cover your slaw and refrigerate until your ready to use.

Once your pork is ready, you will be ready to assemble the sandwiches. I have found that the thick hamburger buns fresh made from the deli at the grocery work the best for these. They are a little more firm on the outside and soft on the inside and don’t allow the sandwich to get soggy. If you use a really soft bun or bread, they will be soggy from all of the juice from the pork and the slaw, so make sure you get something hearty.

Put a generous amount of pork on the bottom part of the bun and then top with the slaw. Get your napkins ready and DIG IN! I hope you love these as much as we do.

Posted in Crock Pot Dishes, Dinner, Gluten-Free, Lunch, Pork, Recipes, Salad, Sides | Leave a comment

Chicken and Black Beans with Rice (with a side of plantains and tostones)

Posted on July 16, 2012 by ohmygoodygoodness

Recently I have remembered several recipes that I haven’t made for a long time. Several recipes that are deeeee-licious! One of them is this Spanish inspired dish with chicken and black beans. I was walking through the store the other day and the boxes of the Goya brand plantains and tostones caught my eye. Then they screamed at me from behind the freezer door begging for me to take them home. It was then that I realized that I had not made this meal in a very long time.

I have to admit, that while I have made these Fried Plantains, I have never have made the ripe plantains or tostones myself. I should try them homemade, I am sure they can’t be that hard to make, but for now, this was the easy route.

We were having some friends over for an early dinner yesterday, so I thought this would be a great thing to make for them. It is pretty easy to make, it just takes a little bit of effort, but it is so good, the effort is worth it! This recipe makes enough to feed about 6-8 people depending on portion sizes.

Chicken and Black Beans with Rice

  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts (or you could use thighs or a mixture of both)
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil and 3 tablespoons butter, divided
  • 1 medium red pepper, chopped
  • 1 medium green pepper, chopped
  • 1 medium sweet onion, chopped
  • handful of cilantro, chopped
  • salt, pepper, cumin, to taste
  • 2 cans black beans (or about 30 oz prepared dry beans)
  • 1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon Chicken flavor mixed with 1/2 cup water (Or 1/2 cup chicken broth)
  • 1 box tostones, plus oil for frying
  • 2 boxes ripe plantains, plus 4 tablespoons butter for pan frying
  • 2 cups jasmine rice
  • 3 3/4 cups water

In a large, covered skillet, melt 1 tbs butter and 1 tbs olive oil and salt, to taste, over medium heat. Once hot add in 2 cups of rice and stir until all pieces are covered. Add in water, cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for about 18 minutes or until rice is tender.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, over medium heat, add in 1 tbs butter and 1 tbs olive oil along with salt, pepper and cumin, to taste. Once hot, add in the red and green peppers, onion and cilantro. Saute until veggies are soft, about 3 minutes. Add in your black beans and broth, reduce heat to low and cover.

Season chicken breasts with salt, pepper and cumin, to taste. In a small skillet, over medium heat, melt 1 tbs butter and 1 tbs olive oil. Add chicken and cook for about 2 minutes per side, until outside is browned but the middle is still pink.

Remove from skillet, cut into strips and then into bite sized pieces. Add the chicken into the black beans and vegetables, keep covered and let simmer on low for another 10 minutes.

While the rice and chicken are finishing up, add about 4 tablespoons of butter to a large pan and melt over medium heat. Add the 2 boxes of ripe plantains and let cook for about 3-4 minutes per side, or until brown and crispy on the outsides. The tostones are best when deep fried until crispy and served with either guacamole or sour cream

Serve the chicken and black beans over the jasmine rice. We like to take the ripe plantains and cut them up into our chicken so that you get a piece of the sweet bananas with every bite of the chicken and rice…oh, so good!

Posted in Chicken Dishes, Dinner, Gluten-Free, Lunch, Recipes | Leave a comment

Pulled Pork Tacos

Posted on July 7, 2012 by ohmygoodygoodness

I love pulled pork. I usually make it in the crockpot with apples, bacon and onion for sandwiches, but this time I wanted to change it up and make something to put on tacos. Around here we love Mexican food. I try to make something of that style at least once a week. I have mastered some of our favorite dishes such as Cream Cheese Enchiladas with Corn Casserole. The last time I made the corn casserole I made it in individual muffin tins and it was the best because they were easy to hold and eat and they were nice and crispy all the way around.

I wanted to put this in the crock pot to cook because it is easier and takes less effort on my part. I started thinking about the last time I made fajitas and used a mix of orange and lime juice and thought that would be a great addition to the pork.

These turned out so amazing, I didn’t want to stop eating them. I had quite a few toppings, two of them homemade. We used this recipe for Salsa, which is our favorite, and these Pickled Peppers, which add a great zing to the tacos. I also had plum tomatoes, avocados, sour cream and some shredded cheese. You can top them with whatever you like.

**Gluten free when you use a corn tortilla.

Pulled Pork Tacos

  • 2.5 – 3 pounds pork roast
  • 1 medium sweet onion, cut into rings and then cut into pieces
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • juice from one large lime
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth (I used 1 tsp Better Than Bouillon with 1/2 cup water)
  • minced garlic
  • cumin
  • chili powder
  • salt and pepper

Turn your crock pot on high to get it heating up.

I took a large knife and made several large slits all over the pork, then stuffed each one with minced garlic.

Take the cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper and season the roast generously on all sides.

Add the orange and lime juice and chicken broth to the crock pot along with half of the onions.

Place the pork on top of the liquids and top with the rest of the onions.

Place the lid on top and cook for about 4-5 hours, or until the pork is cooked through.  About the last 30-45 minutes of cooking I take two forks and shred the meat apart and mix it well with all the juices.

When finished, lay out your tortillas, top with some of the pork and then add on whatever toppings you like.

Posted in Crock Pot Dishes, Dinner, Gluten-Free, Lunch, Mexican Inspired, Pork, Recipes, Sides, Snacks | 2 Comments

Black Bean, Lime, Cilantro Chicken

Posted on July 3, 2012 by ohmygoodygoodness

A couple of months ago I posted this recipe for Tequila Lime Chicken Sausage with Black Beans that I made up from this awesome chicken sausage (with the same name) I picked up at Whole Foods. This dish was so amazing. However, I have been unable to find that sausage again at WF, and I have been unsuccessful even finding plain chicken sausage at any of the grocery stores I shop in lately. I have really been craving this meal again, so I decided yesterday to just pick up a package of organic ground chicken and go from there.

We just had this for dinner tonight and it was so good that the entire pan was empty when I went in to clean up the kitchen! We all had second helpings. This had such a great, fresh taste to it. I am sure that it will be on the menu again next week. I love it when I find something that everyone will eat that they really like. Score one for the mama tonight!

I use Rotel tomatoes all the time when I cook. I go through them like crazy. I get lucky sometimes and find them BOGO at Publix and I buy up what I can. Yesterday I just happened to be in Target and I noticed that they had their own brand of “Rotel.” It had the same ingredients, but it was only .60 cents per can! I tried them in this dish tonight and they were just as good as the original brand.

I didn’t add jalapenos to this, because I didn’t have any, but I put it in the recipe because it would be great if you like some heat to your meals. You could also add some red pepper flakes for some extra flavor and heat if you wanted to.

**This is Gluten Free

Black Bean Lime Cilantro Chicken

  • 1 – 1 1/2 pounds plain chicken sausage or ground chicken
  • 1 small sweet onion, chopped
  • 1 jalapeno, seeded and diced (optional)
  • 2-3 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 – 1 cup cilantro, rough chopped
  • salt, pepper and cumin, to taste
  • juice of one lime
  • 1 can black beans
  • 1 can Rotel tomatoes (or generic brand)
  • 2 teaspoons Chicken Better Than Bouillon mixed with one cup of water (or 1 cup chicken broth)

Add butter and oil to a large skillet and place over medium heat. Once hot, add in your garlic, onion and jalapeno and saute for about 3 minutes, or until onion has softened. Add in chicken (if using sausage, remove casings first) and season well with salt, pepper and cumin. Cook until chicken is just done.

Then add in the lime juice, chicken broth, chopped cilantro, can of black beans and the can of tomatoes, do not drain first. Stir well to combine. Check the taste to make sure you have enough seasonings and add more if needed. Cover and let simmer on low for about 10 minutes.

I served this over jasmine rice.

  • 2 cups jasmine rice
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3 1/2 cups of water

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the coconut oil and sprinkle the salt evenly over the pan. Once it is hot, add in the rice and stir to coat all the pieces. Turn heat to low and add in the water. Stir, cover and cook for 18 minutes or until rice is cooked through.

Posted in Chicken Dishes, Dinner, Gluten-Free, Lunch, Recipes, Southwestern Inspired | 2 Comments

Chicken Caesar Pitas

Posted on July 2, 2012 by ohmygoodygoodness

I love pita bread. You can do so many things with it. I love cutting it into triangles, brushing it with olive oil and a little sea salt and baking it for use with hummus or other dips. It also makes such a great little pocket for all kinds of sandwiches. Another thing we like to use it for is salads, you know, instead of putting the salad in a bowl, use a pita pocket!

I had forgotten about these little beauties for awhile, until I came across them in my recipe binder the other day. I have this huge 3 inch office binder filled up with all my recipes. Because I am slightly OCD (slightly) and ran out of room in my kitchen for all the cookbooks I had collected, I decided about two years ago to do a recipe overhaul and put everything together in one easy to store binder. I copied down in Word documents every recipe that I had in a book, had made up or found on another food site. Once again, because of my slight OCD, I organized them in alphabetical order for everything from appetizers to vegetables and everything in between. Even my dessert section is categorized by what kind of dessert it is.

I am sure this seems over the top and unnecessary, but it is so helpful when planning meals for the week or when you only want to find an appetizer and you just have to flip to that section.  Everything is printed on 3 hole punch paper, so all I have to do is add the new recipes to the right section. I think I have about 600 recipes and I add a few new things every week. It is also filled with tons of scrap paper with my scribblings of new recipes I write down as I throw things together.

Anyway, I found this recipe again last week and we had these for dinner last night. It is a perfect picnic meal (you can make them up and wrap them in foil to transport), great for lunch or dinner, and a perfect light meal for these dog days of summer we are in right now.

Feel free to experiment using any type of salad in these. This Southwest Salad would be perfect for these pitas too. The next one I am going to try will be a spinach salad.

I also made my own croutons for this dish. I had a half a package of fresh dinner rolls left over from these Chicken Sliders I made a few days before, and I wanted to use them up before they went bad. Just cut the rolls (or any other bread you have around) in half so they aren’t so thick. Brush a little olive oil over the tops of them and season with your favorite seasoning. This time I used Cavender’s Greek Seasoning, to go with the flavor of the salad. Bake them for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees, or until the tops get browned and they are crispy. Then just cut them up into small pieces and set them aside until you are ready to use them. They can be stored for a few days in a zip-lock bag.

Chicken Caesar Pitas

  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 tablespoon of butter, 1 tablespoon of oil
  • Cavendars Seasoning, to taste
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • dried rosemary, to taste
  • 1/2 pound of bacon, cooked and chopped
  • romaine lettuce, for these I cut the lettuce into thin strips so it fits nicely inside the pita
  • Roma tomatoes, diced
  • fresh grated Parmesan cheese
  • Caesar salad dressing
  • 1 – 12 ounce package pocket pita bread (halved)
  • Croutons (optional)

Season your chicken breasts with Cavender’s seasoning, salt, pepper and rosemary on both sides. You can grill your chicken if you want, but I decided I wanted to be in the A/C. If your like me and don’t want to go outside and pass out from the heat, then cook it in a skillet. Over medium heat, combine olive oil and butter in a skillet and let melt. Add in your seasoned chicken breasts and cook for about 3-4 per side, or until cooked through.

The remove from heat and let rest for about 2 minutes. I like to have small pieces of chicken about the same size as the croutons, tomatoes and bacon I chopped up. I cut each breast into about 4 strips, then cut those into small squares.

While the chicken is cooking I usually make sure everything else is all chopped up and ready to go. I like to leave everything on a cutting board or put it in little dishes. Then everyone can make up their own pita.

Cut each pita in half and then carefully open it up along the line inside.

I usually start with a little dressing in the bottom, this way you don’t get to the end and have no dressing left in there. I just layer all the ingredients until you can’t stuff anything else in there and then add a drizzle of dressing to the top.

I served these with some amazing sweet potato fries and it was a perfect compliment. I have tried to make homemade sweet potato fries a couple of times and they just never turn out the way I want them to. I found that these Alexia brand are delicious and cook perfect every time whether you bake or deep fry them. We like to make a dip of sour cream and horseradish for our sweet potato fries. Just use about a 3:1 ratio of sour cream and horseradish. It is a perfect blend of flavors for these fries.

Posted in Bacon, Chicken Dishes, Dinner, Dips and Spreads, Lunch, Recipes, Salad, Snacks, Toppings | Leave a comment

Shepherds Pie a la Bekah

Posted on June 27, 2012 by ohmygoodygoodness

For those of you that eat a traditional shepherds pie you may not like my version, in fact you may think it’s crazy or even sacrilegious! But just bear with me for a moment, because this is really, really good! I promise.

I have mentioned before that when my husband and I met 17+ years ago, I could not cook at all. I could make white gravy, eggs and almost anything that came out of a box, but even that was sketchy. I was pathetic really, when I think about it. I had been given a few recipe cards with some of the things that my husband liked and was used to eating, so I really tried hard to learn to cook. This was one thing that was super easy and hard to screw up, so I was pretty successful at it. Over the years I gradually changed a few things and kind of made it my own recipe.

You could easily leave out the pepperoni, but it really does add a great extra flavor to the dish. I like the Parmesan and Romano flavors of cheese in this, but you could easily experiment with other flavor combinations if you wanted to. Sometimes I add in about a cup of chopped onion when I cook the ground beef. It’s totally optional.

Shepherds Pie

  • 5 cups prepared mashed potatoes (I prefer Yukon Gold)
  • 1 – 1 1/2 pounds ground beef, browned
  • about 30 pieces of sliced pepperoni
  • grated Parmesan/Romano cheese (the kind in the plastic shaker)
  • fresh grated Parmesan/Romano cheese
  • 2 cups green beans
  • 2 cups corn

When I brown my ground beef, I add in salt, pepper and some of the shaker Parmesan cheese. Just cook it until it’s done and drain it if necessary.

On the bottom of 9×13 baking dish sprinkle grated parmesan cheese, the shaker kind, evenly. To that add a single layer of pepperoni covering bottom of dish.

Add ground beef to the top of the pepperoni and sprinkle a little more grated Parmesan.

Top that with green beans and corn.

Then spread your mashed potatoes evenly over the top of other ingredients. Top with shredded Parmesan. Sometimes if I am feeling a little on the wild side I will add a few little pats of butter over the top.

Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.

 

Posted in Beef, Dinner, Gluten-Free, Lunch, Recipes, Vegetables | Leave a comment

Fresh Cherry, Coconut, Dark Chocolate Ice Cream

Posted on June 23, 2012 by ohmygoodygoodness

For about a year now I have been talking about getting an ice cream maker. I did a lot of research and spoke to a bunch of people about what kind I should buy. Karen over at Our Life In The Kitchen convinced me to go ahead and get the old fashioned kind where you use the salt and ice. She has a bunch of amazing ice cream (and other) recipes on her site as well. After I looked at all the reviews I could about the new electric versions I decided that the salt and ice was the one for me.

I had a coupon for Bed Bath and Beyond, so I went in to check out what they had. When I got in there, this was the only old fashioned one they had. Since I love all things vintage and it had vintage in the name, I knew it was the one for me. The only problem was that the one on the shelf was the only one they had. The guy told me that I could take that one at a discount, or he would have one delivered to my door, no shipping fee. He said everything was with it, except for the instructions, which I didn’t think I needed anyway, since it couldn’t possibly be that hard to use. I was going to have him send me a new one and then I asked him how much of a discount he was going to give me. He said I could have it for 20% off and then go ahead and use my 20% off coupon I had with me. I decided that for 40% off, I was taking the one on the shelf!

Right away I went online and starting asking everyone for recipes. I perused Tastespotting (one of my favorite things to do in my spare time) for several hours printing out as many as I could find that looked good. I really wanted to try a custard based recipe, but I decided to go for a super easy one, that required very little effort, for me to try first. I found this recipe for peach ice cream at a site called From Calculus to Cupcakes. I thought it was very simple and easy to make without having to cook something on the stove first, then wait for it to chill.

The peach ice cream turned out delicious and we all loved it. The only issues I had was that it was a little bit on the grainy side as far as the texture. I couldn’t figure out why it was like that, so I asked my amazing cousin, Chanelle (who is a fabulous dress designer I have blogged about before) what the problem was. She told me it was because I put the sugar directly in with the ingredients, instead of making a simple syrup out of it first. This time I made the syrup and it came out PERFECT!

This ice cream is seriously heavenly. I am still going to go all out with a custard base ice cream one of these days, but for now, this recipe is delicious, simple and easy. You can use this as a basic recipe and then add in whatever flavor combinations you like. If you did not want to have the coconut flavor, just leave out the coconut milk and add in about 2 cups of half and half instead. You can add in any flavor of extracts you like as well.

Fresh Cherry, Coconut, Dark Chocolate Ice Cream

  • 4 cups fresh cherries, pitted and stems removed
  • 1 heaping cup dark chocolate chips or pieces, chopped
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 – 13 oz. can coconut milk (I love the organic one by Thai Kitchen)
  • 1 – 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 – 12 oz. can evaporated milk
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp. coconut extract
  • 1 cup heavy cream (or half and half or milk)

I have a Ninja Blender and it holds 9 cups. This mixture fills up this blender. If you do not have a blender or food processor that holds that much liquid, you will need to do this in two separate batches.

In a small saucepan put in your sugar and water and whisk over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Pour into blender. Next add in your cherries, chocolate shavings, vanilla and coconut extracts, and all of the milks. Pulse 3 or 4 times, just enough to mix it all up together and chop up the cherries. I didn’t want huge chunks, but didn’t want them in all really small pieces either.

Pour the mixture into the container of a gallon sized ice cream freezer.  Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s manufacturer’s directions.

For my ice cream maker, I mix about 8 parts ice to 1 part rock salt until the mixture reaches the top of the ice cream container. I let it run for about 45 minutes and the texture is perfect. Store in appropriate container in the freezer.

Posted in Dessert, Dinner, Gluten-Free, Ice Cream, Lunch, Recipes, Snacks, Toppings, Vegetarian | 4 Comments

Salmon with Spicy Sauce

Posted on June 21, 2012 by ohmygoodygoodness

I love seafood. I could eat fish every day, but the husband doesn’t really like it much. I have been able to get him to eat a few things over the last 17 years, like these Fried Shrimp and these Fish Tacos, and on occasion he will eat a crab leg or two. Since we don’t go out to eat often, I rarely get to eat much fish. It’s usually to much for me to try and cook a meal for him and then seafood for the rest of us, so I don’t get to have it as often as I would like.

I found this lovely piece of salmon today at the store and I just couldn’t resist it.

Salmon is one of my favorite kinds of fish, I especially like it in sushi! There are so many ways you can prepare and eat salmon, the list is practically endless. This is one of my favorite ways to make and eat it. If you don’t like the spicy sauce, you can use the recipe to cook it and then add it to a salad or serve it with pasta, or whatever floats your boat.

It is very easy to prepare and only takes 20 minutes to bake. You can serve it warm or cold, either way it is great.

**This recipe is gluten free. Both Kraft and Inglehoffer brand horseradish are GF.

Salmon with Spicy Sauce

  • 1 piece of salmon (this piece was about 2.5 pounds)
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil (you could use olive oil)
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • horseradish sauce
  • ketchup
  • cayenne pepper

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Using a basting brush, coat both sides of your salmon with the oil and salt and pepper and place on a baking dish. Cook for 20 minutes.

While your salmon is cooking you can make up the sauce. It is the same sauce I use on my fried shrimp (see link above).

You are basically going to use equal parts horseradish and ketchup. I used about 3 tablespoons of each this time. This particular brand of horseradish was very strong, so I ended up using a little more ketchup. I think I may prefer the Kraft Creamy Horseradish to this particular brand because of the lumpy texture.

Put them in a bowl and use a whisk to mix it all up. Sprinkle in the cayenne pepper according to how hot you want to make it, and whisk it up again.

Serve alongside the salmon and enjoy!

Posted in Dinner, Dips and Spreads, Gluten-Free, Lunch, Recipes, Sauces, Seafood, Sides, Snacks | Leave a comment