Recipes

How to feed a geek

Or maybe I should've titled this "WHAT to feed a geek" Because he pretty much knows HOW to feed himself. I wanted to try something different for dinner so I laid out some chicken breast in anticipation of trying a new recipe I had been thinking about. I gathered all my ingredients and set to work on my preparations. Luckily,my geek husband walked in and assisted me in taking photos of said preparations. Mostly because he was hungry and knew it would take longer if he didn't help. But beggers can't be choosy. Here's the run down.

Scallions (I didn't have any shallots), Proscuitto, Meunster Cheese, Cherry tomatoes, Balsamic vinegar, chicken broth, and chicken breast.





I cut a pocket into each breast then pounded the fat end of the chicken to allow for even cooking.




Then I added a strip of roasted red pepper and a piece of meunster cheese. I kinda rolled/folded the chicken to help encase the filling and seasoned it with ground sage.



Then I wrapped 2 pieces of proscuitto around the whole breast. Do the same for both.




Then I fried them in a hot pan with 3 Tbls of oil on one side and flipped them to the otherside when they were cripsy and the chicken was opaque on one side, approx 4 - 5 min. Then I added 1/8 cup water and loosely covered the pan and allowed the chicken to cook through for about 5 more minutes.



While the chicken was cooking, I cut up some scallions since I didn't have shallots in the house. I could have used onions even but I had scallions and just wanted to use them. That is a great thing about cooking, you can substitute and use other ingredients as you see fit or to suit your taste.



I added the onions to 1 Tbls oil in a hot pan and sauted them till they were soft. I added the quartered cherry tomatoes and contiued till they were softened. I added the balsamic vinegar and let it boil down for 30 seconds and to that I added the chicken broth. Let the mixture boil till it reduces by half and becomes thick and syrupy.



When the chicken is done remove to a cutting board and let it cool for a few minutes. Slice and place on plate so that you can see the filling. Drizzle the tomato sauce over the chicken and serve. Here I served it with buttered noodles, peas and corn.



Doesn't that look yummy? Make it for your family tonight and they will think they have arrived at a fancy restaurant. Only you know how simple it was. Let me know what you think.



Proscuitto Wrapped Chicken Stuffed with Roasted Red Pepper and Muenster Cheese
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tsp dry sage
Fresh ground black pepper
2 slices Muenster cheese
4-6 proscuitto, thinly sliced
2 Roasted red peppers           
1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 small shallot, or ¼ medium onion minced
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
drippings from cooked chicken, add chicken broth to equal 1/3 cup

Take each chicken breast and cut slit into side to form a pocket. Pound slightly to make cooking more even. Season each breast with the sage and pepper. Carefully layer 1 slice cheese and 1 roasted pepper slice in pocket of each breast. Tuck in the ends of chicken to hold in the filling. Carefully wrap prosciutto around seasoned chicken.

Place in a 350-degree oven for 25 - 30 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 170. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes. Strain off juice from pan, add broth to make 1/3 cup if necessary, reserve. Put olive oil and shallot in a small sauce pan and cook until softened. Add the tomatoes and cook, tossing, until heated through. Add the vinegar and cook until nearly evaporated, about 30 seconds. Add chicken drippings/ broth mixture, season with salt and pepper and simmer until slightly reduced, about 2 minutes. Slice chicken into medallions. Spoon the tomato sauce over the chicken and serve.

Serves 2

Kick butt chicken sammich!

I have been reading a blog lately by Pioneer Woman. She is a mother, wife, chef, housekeeper, nurse, calf nut purveyor  (trust me, you don't want to know) and all around do-it-all. She isn't afraid of butter and I liked her immediately. I am sure in some historical log from centruries ago we were close kin, we even have the same maiden name! She is sweetly sarcastic, fabulously frank, passionate about her cowboy, and loves her kids enough to call them punks. Because we all have punks, but are just to skeered to say so. And so, except to insert geek for cowboy, we are kindred spirits. It is because of her I have picked up my blogging pen and am inspired to try to be just 1/16 as articulate and creative as she is. I was perusing her recipes and found Marlboro Man's Second Favorite Sandwich and knew I would like it with my own little permutations. So I set forth to my local mega-lo-mart, and being I live in a small town it is the ONLY mega-lo-mart, and purchase some chicken cutlets. I could have bought regular boneless skinless chicken breast and cut then pounded them myself, but it was late afternoon and I knew with kids in tow I would be lucky to get it purchased, home and made before I was too exhausted to eat it. I also picked up some bakery kaiser rolls, an avocado and a tomato. I had aspirations baby! I finally made it to the homestead and after getting the kids settled in with their dinner and a recording of spongebob (ugh!) I set forth to create my version of this sandwich. And boy howdy was it good! Here is my variation on her already well-loved recipe.

Here we have avodaco, tomato, proscuitto, cheese, kaiser rolls, 1 lg chicken breast, and salt and pepper to taste.



I cut a very large chicken breast in half lengthwise and wrapped each slice with the proscuitto. Then I placed them in a oiled cast iron pan set on medium heat.



While they cooked for 4 minutes on one side I pitted, sliced and peeled the avocado. Also, I sliced the tomato and the rolls.



When the 4 minutes were up, I flipped them and added 1 slice of cheddar and provolone to each chicken breast.



Then I topped them with half an avocado each and because cheese never likes to be lonely,..........


.............I put another slice of cheddar on top. Of course, I have purely culinary reasons for doing that, it helps keep the avocado from sliding off the chicken. See, I'm all about the culinary science of things. Not just for my creamy dairy satisfaction, but for the love of all things good and whole in the universe.



Then I slapped a lid on top and let the cheese melt. When the cheese is gooey the chicken should be done too. So I placed a slice of tomato on the bottom bun peppered and lightly salted it then added the chicken and top bun. And here is the end result. Look at all the deliciousness. Look at the juice dripping down on the bottom bun and the cheese dripping off the avocado. Someone help me! I mean come on people, that is flavor you can't buy! Well, you could fly me to your house (first class, of course) where I would lock myself in your kitchen and not come out till I had prepared this beautiful piece of juicy goodness. You would take one bite then offer me your first born. And while you wallow in the dripping loveliness of cheese you beg me to move in and cook for you everyday. Alas, I couldn't. Unfortunately, I have children that require daily sustance too. But you can make this yourself. Seriously, it is so simple.



So go get your pan, kick the kids outside and turn up the tunes. Cause you are gonna be busy.

And just in case you needed another reason to lock your family out of the house, here it is. Look at that! Somone even thought kindly enough of me to put some chips on there. I must be loved. Now, excuse me while I, purely for culinary testing purposes only, devour this sucker!




Avocado and Proscuitto Wrapped Chicken Sandwich

2   chicken breasts
4   thin slices of proscuitto
4   slices aged cheddar, (sara lee pre-packaged)
2   slices provolone, cut in half
1   avocado, pitted, sliced 1/8 in thick
1   tomato, sliced
2   kaiser rolls, split
pepper to taste

Season chicken breast with pepper and wrap each one on the diagonal with 2 slices of proscuitto. Put 2 Tbls of oil in a cast iron pan set to medium heat and add chicken. Cook for approximately 4 min till chicken starts to turn opaque and the proscuitto is crispy. Flip the breast and put on the two slices of cheddar then layer the avocado slices down the breast and cover with the provolone. Cover the pan and cook for an additional 2-3 min till the cheese is melting down the sides. Place on bun and enjoy!

Breakfast for my geek!

Now I am not much of a breakfast person. At least not when I first get up. I am usually grumpy and tired when I am awaken just after dawn. Yes, I said "just after dawn". You see, God saw fit to bestow upon me crack-of-dawn children. And seeing as how I usually don't get into bed before midnight, I am very tired in the morning. So it isn't until I've been up for about 2-3 hours that I am ready to eat, which is around 9 am. But my children are more active and have had more sleep and therefore are hungry much earlier. What does this have to do with "breakfast for my geek" you might ask. Well, it is because they get me up so early that I have plenty of time to cook him a great breakfast. So I get them settled with cereal and get started. First I start the bacon, because it takes the longest.  While that is cooking in my cast iron pan I start to prepare my version of skillet potatoes. This is my favorite because it uses lots of veggies mixed in with soft fried potatoes. And so by the time it is all cooked, I am ready to devour, er uh, I mean daintly and in a very ladylike manner eat my now finished breakfast. Right about this time my husband is wandering into the kitchen after having smelled the good cooking wafting through the house for the past 30 minutes. He kisses my neck and says "mornin beautiful,smells good and so does the food". Cheeky, I know, but I love him. My day is brighter now and I am in a much better mood. Come on, it's BACON for goodness sake!  Here is rundown. 

The list of ingredients



We have a zuchinni, a pepper, a onion, some mushrooms, redskinned potatoes and bacon grease. What? You don't have your very own bacon grease jar? Well, it's okay if you don't. I understand. You're on a diet. You're watching your weight. You're afraid the neighbors will find out and kick you out of the homeowners association. I'ts okay, Really.  You can substitute olive oil and butter. Or just use olive oil and forget about it. It's up to you and your figure.

Dice all the veggies into 1/2 inch pieces.




Add butter and oil to hot pan, or bacon grease. Here, I used bacon grease (because we all know pork makes everything better).



Add all veggies, except potatoes and mushrooms.



Saute till softened.



Then add potatoes and mushrooms and seasoning.  Turn heat to medium low and continue cooking for 5 min. 



Doesn't this look yummy? Oh come on, anything cooked in pork fat is good! Ya know?



Serve with a side of that glorious pig and an omlette.



Now go get ya some groceries and make it in the morning for yourself! Oh, and your family.  Better yet, make it for dinner tonight. Thats right, Dinner. Who doesn't do that?


Breakfast Potatoes

 Serves 2, generously

1 Tbls butter
1 tsp Olive oil
3 red skinned potatoes
1/2 bell pepper, chopped (red, yellow or green)
1/2 medium sized sweet onion, chopped
1 small zucchini, chopped
pepper
1 Tbls Mrs. Dash Table blend
2 Tbls bacon grease (optional)

First rinse and pierce the potatoes with a knife and then put them in a bowl with 1/4 cup water and into the microwave for 5-8 min, depending on size. While that is cooking, put oil and butter in pan set to medium heat and when it is melted add onion and pepper. Cook them until slightly soft then add zucchini - let the veggies get some brown on them. While the zucchini is frying get the potatoes out of microwave, drain and chop into 1/2 inch pieces then add to pan. Sprinkle on the pepper to taste, Mrs. Dash and bacon grease. Stir or toss the mix to incorporate, let fry for 2 min more then serve.

4th of July Hawaiian Chicken

Ok, Ok. I know it is not July 4th. But I have been a little busy lately and am just now getting around to writing about my holiday. We had a great day. We invited some of my in-laws over for an impromptu meal and had a really good time. We grilled steaks (that I marinated in balsamic vinegar and spices) and hotdogs, had pasta salad and coleslaw. We ate outside on the deck while the kids played and the sun shone, mostly. We did get a pretty good shower while the coals were heating up for the grill, but it passed quickly and we were able to resume our meal making ritual. I hope you all had a great 4th and that you enjoyed some good cooking and great friends.

A side note. I have been formulating a recipe and served it the day before the 4th to some relatives who enjoyed it enough to ask for the recipe. I am thinking of possibly turning it into a "pot pie". I would start by cutting the chicken into bite size pieces boiling the sauce down till it is thicker put it in a deep dish and cover it with delicate strips of phyllo dough. Oh, and omit the rice. But here it is in original form.

 

Hawaiian Chicken with Apricot Studded Rice

Serves 4  
salt
black pepper
1/2 c. flour
4  skinless boneless chicken breasts
4   Tbls olive oil
1  onion, chopped
1 Clove Garlic
1/2  c. chopped red pepper
1   can pineapple chunks, drained, reserve liquid
½  cup white wine

 Sauce:
2   Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1/4 c. catsup
2   Tbls orange marmalade (smuckers)
2   Tbls duck sauce
1   Tbls brown sugar
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup chicken stock
Juice from canned pineapple 
1 Tblsp lemon zest
2 scallions thinly sliced   Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. Coat chicken in flour, shake off excess. Brown in skillet w/ 3 Tbls oil. Remove from pan. Add onion, pineapple and pepper, saute in remaining 1 Tbls oil till onion becomes soft. Add white wine and deglaze pan. Combine sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Add chicken back to pan and pour sauce over mixture. Simmer for 25 minutes. Serve with apricot studded rice. Top with scallions. 

Apricot studded rice1/2 cup water
1/2 cup orange juice
1 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup diced dried Apricots
1 cups long grain rice
 Bring water, OJ and broth to a boil. Add dried apricots and rice to pan. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 min. Fluff with a fork and serve.

Here are the ingredients. Chicken, Apricots, Garlic, Brown Sugar, Lime, Red Pepper, Can of Pineapple tidbits, Scallions, Balsamic Vinegar, White Wine, Ketchup, Nutmeg, Chicken Broth, Onion, Apricot or Peach Perserves, Duck Sauce, Rice.




    

The Ziploc bag has flour, salt and pepper in it. I diced the chicken into bite size pieces and added it to the bag. Then tossed it up to coat the chicken. I shook off the excess then added it to a hot pan with 3 Tbls oil.



Cook till the chicken is browned on all sides.


 
Then add the onions, red pepper, pineapple, and garlic. Saute a few min till the onion and pepper is soft.



Now see these bits of browned goodness on the bottom of the pan?



Lets add the wine to that and scrap'em up. After that I add the rest of the liquid ingredients to the pan down to the chicken broth and pineapple juice. Zest the lime and add the juice from the lime to the pan. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Then add the zest. Serve over apricot rice. Top with scallions.