Category: Food

Whew! This recipe was a wee bit spicy although I ate it so it’s probably won’t be too spicy for those of you who like spicy foods. Definitely a keeper.

This recipe assumed that I had everything prepared ahead of time so get your ingredients ready before following the directions.

Ingredients

• 6 Flour Tortillas
• 1/2 cup jack cheese, shredded
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 2 skinless chicken breasts, boiled til cooked, then shredded
• 2 tablespoons spicy peanut sauce (see below)
• 2 green onions, sliced

Directions

1. Place a tortilla in a pan then sprinkle cheese, chicken, onion and spicy peanut sauce over half of it.
2. Fold the tortilla in half so it covers the filling and cook this until the quesadilla is golden brown on both sides (turn once) and the cheese is melted.

Spicy Peanut Sauce Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 1 tablespoon green curry paste (red can also be used)
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 1/4 cup chicken or vegetable stock
• 3 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons peanuts (roasted and crushed)

1. Heat the oil in a pan
2. Add the curry and saute until fragrant
3. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer it all until it thickens

A very easy recipe to follow. The Thai Coconut Milk can be found at just about any grocery store in the Asian section. Hope you try it and enjoy it as much as I did.

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This recipe is courtesy of a blog I follow called Closet Cooking. Click here to see the recipe at their website.

Well, I have to admit that I don’t really know how to cook salmon. My husband normally takes care of it for me as I’ve had an aversion to trying it since I didn’t want to fail. He has a really nice garlic sauce he adds on top of the salmon before broiling it.

But I got bold! I took a hold of my salmon cooking fears and moved forward in my cooking adventures. Did it work?  Yes! I found this great marinade that I absolutely love.  I did have a bit of an adventure though. First, here’s the recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 scallion, minced
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 pound salmon cut into 4 portions
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Directions

1. Whisk scallion, soy sauce, vinegar, honey and ginger in a medium bowl until the honey is dissolved
2. Place salmon in a sealable plastic bag then add 3 tablespoons of the sauce and refrigerate to marinate for at least 15 minutes. Reserve the remaining sauce.
3. Preheat the broiler
4. Line a small baking pan with foil and coat the foil with cooking spray like Pam
5. Transfer the salmon to the pan, skinned-side down. (Discard the marinade.)
6. Broil the salmon 4 to 6 inches from the heat source until cooked through for about 6 to 10 minutes.
7. Drizzle with the reserved sauce and garnish with sesame seeds.

Simple, eh? Everything went well until I set the oven to broil and put the salmon in. I set my timer for 4 minutes thinking that I’d check it early since the recipe calls for 6 to 10 minutes. Well, I was fortunate to stick around in the kitchen as my smoke detectors started going off. At 4 minutes the salmon was done and the broiler let me know it.

Lesson learned?  When trying a new recipe make sure you set your timer for less time than what it calls for “just in case.”

But what a great marinade!

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(Note: Click here to be directed to the original recipe)

I received this recipe from a friend of mine, Yoko, and have been making it off and on for awhile as it is quite tasty. The original recipe feeds quite a few people so I have adjusted it accordingly to feed two with a little bit of leftover.

Ingredients

• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 green pepper
• 1-14 ounce can tomatoes, cut up, keeping only half of the juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 cup Salsa (I used mild)
• 1 15 ounce can black beans or red kidney beans, drained
• 6  6-inch corn tortillas
• 1 cup shredded low-fat Monterey Jack cheese

Directions

1. In a large skillet, combine the onion, green pepper, canned tomatoes, garlic salsa and cumin.
2. Bring the ingredients above to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for approximately 10 minutes.
3. Stir in the beans.
4. In a medium size baking dish, spread 1/2 of the bean mixture on the bottom.
5. Top with 1/2 of the tortillas.
6. Add the other 1/2 of the bean mixture on top of the tortillas.
7. Top with the last 3 tortillas.
8. Spread the cheese on top.
9. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes so the casserole can set while cooling.
11. Top with tomato slices and olives if you desire.

Whala! This is a very easy dish to make.

Who would have thought that I would find a recipe for fried chicken and onions while sitting at a restaurant waiting for breakfast to be served? That’s exactly what happened and I am glad it did as this recipe is really really delicious. You must try it! I halved the recipe for two reasons: 1) I didn’t want leftovers because 2) there were only two who would be eating and I didn’t want us to overeat (we’re not very good at eating leftovers).

Ingredients:

• 5 chicken legs or thighs
• 1/2 large yellow onion, sliced into rings
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder
• Salt (to taste)
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• Vegetable oil

1. In a large bowl, combine the chicken, onion, buttermilk, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne and salt
2. Cover bowl and set aside for at least 30 minutes
3. In a paper bag (or bowl) combine the flour, black pepper and a dash of onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne and salt (the small amounts of the powders are not included in the ingredients)
4. In a large heavy skillet (I used our electric skillet), heat the oil over medium high heat until very hot. (On the electric skillet I set it at 350 degrees fahrenheit). The oil should be deep enough to cover the chicken halfway
5. Drain the chicken and onion rings then add them to the flour mixture until they are coated
6. Transfer the chicken to the skillet but make sure you don’t overcrowd it
7. Fry turning occasionally for 10 minutes on one side
8. Turn to fry the other side of the chicken for an additional 10 minutes and add the onion rings at this time
9. Fry until the chicken is golden brown and fully cooked.
10. Drain the chicken and onion rings on a wire rack or paper towels

Exceptions from the original recipe:

• I did not sprinkle parsley on the chicken once it cooked as I decided not to bother purchasing a bunch of parsley only to use a little bit
• I fried the chicken 10 minutes on each side instead of the 10-14 minutes per side as I find that chicken sometimes overcooks the longer you fry/bake it and then it’s tough

It’s not every day that I find a recipe that has the nutritional information but this one did so here it is:

• Serves 5 (only if you each have one piece of chicken)
• 300 calories per serving
• 4 grams carbs
• 30 grams protein
• 17 grams fat
• 105 mg cholesterol
• 100 mg sodium
• 0 grams fiber

I served this with garlic mashed potatoes and a blueberry melon salad. Enjoy!

This recipe was found in the Parade “Sunday Dinner” section dated July 1, 2012 and was perfected by the singer, Norah Jones.

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I enjoy barley. From “regular” barley to barley cereal, it has a taste that has always appealed to me.  This salad is really good IF you like barley. If you’ve never had it before then I would try the recipe and see what you think. Barley has a “smooth” texture in your mouth after its cooked.

Ingredients (for the salad)

• 1 cup barley
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted
• 1 pear, peeled, cored and chopped
• 1/4 cup raisins, soaked in hot water for 5 minutes
• 1 bunch parsley, chopped
• 3 cups vegetable bouillon

Directions

1. Cook the barley in 3 cups vegetable bouillon until the barley is soft.
2. When the barley is cooked (about 1/2 hour), drain the excess liquid and place the barley in a bowl.
3. Cool the barley in the refrigerator.
4. Place the raisins in a small bowl and cover with boiling water.
5. Chop the walnuts and toast them in a dry frying pan, stirring constantly to keep from burning. (The alternative is to toast them in the oven for about 8 minutes at 350 degrees.)
6. Finely chop the leafy parts of the parsley.
7. Mix the ingredients for the dressing and season it to your taste with salt and pepper.
8. Remove the barley from the refrigerator.
9. Mix in the walnuts.
10. Drain the excess water from the raisins and add them to the salad.
11. Mix in the parsley and stir the dressing over the top a little at a time and taste it until you like the consistency.
12. Peel the pear and slice it then chop the slices into small pieces.
13. Add the pear pieces to the salad and mix.
14. Serve the salad cooled, but at room temperature.

That’s it! I made this salad for two but it easily feeds 4 and possibly 6 if you have it as a side to another dish.  Yum!

This recipe is courtesy of vegalicious.org.