Quick Cacciatore

Hi,

Do you like "Chicken Cacciatore"?  I like it, but I like most chicken dishes.  I think I could eat chicken everyday.  Usually when you have Chicken Cacciatore its usually with chicken that is still on the bone.  This recipe I made is quick and in a hurry, but just as tasty.  I like to use boneless skinless chicken breast. 

"Chicken Cacciatore"

First I like to trim any extra fat off of the chicken breast and season it with dried basil, fresh garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil.  Get a frying pan nice and hot and brown your chicken to a nice color.  Once it is browned place it in the oven 400F degrees and finish cooking for 10-15 minutes until it reaches 165F degrees or higher.  Not to high or you will have dry chicken.  While your chicken is cooking in the oven I like to add to the same frying pan the following items to make the sauce: sliced mushrooms, onions, green peppers and chopped garlic.  Saute all the vegetables and add a splash of white or red wine to deglaze the pan.  When you deglaze you remove any of the brown that was stuck to the bottom of the pan from browning the chicken, it has plenty of flavor.  If you don't like to use wine you can also deglaze with chicken broth or a splash of water.  If you do choose to use wine be careful because the alcohol could catch fire and burn off in the pan.  Once this is finished deglazing add canned tomatoes and fresh or dried basil.  Simmer the sauce until it reaches a nice consistency and all the vegetables are tender. 

"Chicken Cacciatore"

I like to add a little sugar to this dish when ever I use canned tomatoes to cut the bitterness, but just a little. Check for salt and pepper and adjust it as needed.  Now that the sauce is ready and the chicken is out of the oven it is time to put the two together.  I like to add the juice that comes off of the cooked chicken to the sauce as well.  More flavor the better.  Place the chicken on your plate and spoon your sauce over it.  YUMMY!!!! Wishing I had some right now.  This dish would taste good being served with some steamed green beans and either some spaghetti noodles sprinkled with Parmesan cheese or some creamy mashed potatoes.  Okay I'm getting very hungry now..............................................
I hope you enjoyed

INGREDIENTS:
BONELESS CHICKEN BREAST
SLICED ONION
SLICED MUSHROOMS
SLICED GREEN PEPPERS
GARLIC (FRESH OR DRIED)
BASIL (FRESH OR DRIED)
CANNED TOMATOES
OLIVE OIL
SUGAR
SALT AND PEPPER

Mo

Thank You!!!

Thank You To Everyone !!! 

Thank you to anyone who has visited my blog in the last few months it has been up and running.  As of today I have had my 2000th visitor.  Who would of thought the things I had to say would have been so popular.  Thank You again and I will keep my ideas coming!!

Mo

Green Bean Salad

Hello,

I hope everyone has been enjoying my blog.  I don't know about anyone else, but sometimes I have to do a little stretching of my ingredients to make enough for everyone.  Just recently I had to do that.  I made a Green Bean Salad.   First thing you need to do is prepare your green beans for this salad.  You must first begin by snipping your green beans and cooking them in a big pot of boiling salty water to your desired tenderness.

"Green Bean Salad"

While prepping my green beans I drained and rinsed a can of beans. In this recipe I used red kidney beans.  I had some roasted wild mushrooms that I added to this recipe.  It isn't necessary to add what I add to my salad, but you can add what ever you would like.  I also added some chopped sun-dried tomatoes, diced red onion, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.  You can add olives, diced peppers or any other type of ingredients to make this dish your own.  I hope your dish is enjoyed by everyone.

Mo

One Pot Meal....

Hello,

I like to eat rice.  I prefer to make brown rice at home, but I do eat regular white rice when I am at work.  The other day I wanted to make a meal our of rice.  Sort of a one pot wonder.  So I made what could be considered Jambalaya.  It was soooo good!! I know I am always patting myself  on the back, but this was good.  I took the picture to early but didn't want to forget.  Once I let the dish rest it looked even nicer and taste even better.  

"Seafood Jambalaya"

Okay time to recall just how I made this dish.  Basically you can add whatever meat or non meat items you would like but this particular dish I used the following ingredients:

INGREDIENTS:
DICED YELLOW ONION
DICED CELERY
DICED GREEN PEPPER
DICED HAM
PEELED AND DE-VEINED SHRIMP
JUMBO LUMP CRAB
CANNED TOMATOES
CHICKEN BROTH
LONG GRAIN RICE
THYME AND PARSLEY
GARLIC
SALT AND PEPPER AND CAYENNE PEPPER

First dice your vegetables and ham and brown it in a large pan.  Once the vegetables are done add dry thyme, canned tomatoes, and garlic.  Saute this for a couple of minutes.  You should have enough tomatoes that its saucy.  Add your rice and enough broth.  To cook rice you use 2 times the amount of broth than the rice.  So if you are adding 2 cups of rice add 4 cups of broth.  If you don't have broth water would be fine.  Once the mixture comes to a boil turn  down the flame on your pot and cover it with a lid.  Set your timer for 5 minutes.  After 5 minutes add cayenne to your liking and shrimp and crab.   Recover the pot and continue to cook for 15 minutes more.  Regular rice only takes about 20minutes to cook.  Now that your time is up you should have a saucy pot of food.  Remove the lid add the parsley and let the dish rest for about 10 minutes before serving.  The remaining liquid will absorb some and your meal will be delicious.  Before serving don't forget to taste for quality control.  Add salt and pepper and adjust the cayenne if its not spicy enough for you and your guest.

Enjoy,

Mo

What'ts That Green Stuff??

"Spinach Pesto Pasta"

Hello,

Have you ever heard of "Pesto"?  Usually pesto is made with fresh basil, Parmesan cheese, garlic, walnuts or pine nuts, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Just recently I needed a new pasta at work.  I am sure those who have followed my blog realize I get my most creative.  So I went to my fridge in hopes to find some pesto either with basil or sun dried tomatoes.  Didn't see either.... "Now what do I do?"

"Spinach Pesto on Spaghetti"

DING DING!!!! Spinach pesto!!! Yes you read me right spinach pesto.  I took two big handfuls of spinach added it to the Cuisinart, 1 handful of toasted walnuts, lots of garlic, couple handfuls of Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and olive oil.  Then I hit the power button.  Boy was it bright green.  Much brighter than regular pesto, but I liked it.  You can add this or any pesto to any type of pasta.  I have used it on Spaghetti, Penne Pasta, and Tortellini filled with cheese. 

This recipe I used Spaghetti Pasta, Spinach Pesto, Sun dried Tomatoes, walnuts, olive oil, salt and pepper.  I like to toss in a little of whatever kind of nut I used in the pesto.  This way you don't have to worry about a food allergy because people will be able to see the nuts if they are allergic to it or not. You can add whatever type of ingredients you would like to your dish have fun with it.
I was very surprised that this actually taste so good.  My favorite pesto is still sun dried tomatoes, I will tell you all about that one another day.  Enjoy!!

INGREDIENTS:
SPINACH
WALNUTS
OLIVE OIL
GARLIC
PARMESAN CHEESE
SALT AND PEPPER

PASTA:
SPAGHETTI OR PASTA OF YOUR CHOICE
OLIVE OIL
SPINACH PESTO
WALNUTS OR PINE NUTS
SUN DRIED TOMATOES CHOPPED
SALT AND PEPPER IF NEEDED

Mo

Stuffed Pork Loin......

Hello,

Its been a while since I have posted sorry if anyone has come here and haven't found anything to there liking.  Recently I posted on my How To: page "How To Butterfly A Pork Loin".  I thought since I posted it I should at least give my idea of what to stuff it with.

"Stuffed Pork Loin"

You can stuff it with whatever you would like, but this particular Pork Loin I stuffed with dried fruit.  I like to take whatever dried fruit I have available.   I do however prefer to use the following: Dried Apples, Figs, Cranberries, and Apricots.  If you have other dried fruit available feel free to use what you like instead.

To get the fruit ready for stuffing I prefer to cook them.  In a small pot I add all the fruit that I would need, chopped yellow onion, dry or fresh thyme, salt, pepper, and a piece of butter.  After all of the ingredients are ready I cover them with water.  Just enough water to cover nothing more,  to much water would make it be soupy. You don't want that!  After the fruit becomes very soft and the water is just about gone you can remove it from the stove and cool it off.  I prefer to have the filling made the day before I have to stuff the loin. 

After you have butterflied your pork loin which you will see in my "How To" video you will place your filling on your meat and roll up.  I used to and many people still do,  like to tie the meat with cooking string.  I rather not these days.  Extra step for the same results I think. 

"Sliced Pork Loin"

Place your meat in a baking pan sprinkle with coarse black pepper, salt, and olive oil.  Cover with a lid or aluminum foil.  Your oven should be preheated at 400F degrees.  I prefer to bake it covered for the first 45 minutes and remove the covering so it can get some good coloring.  I then depending on the size of your loin continue to cook for an additional 30- 45 minutes or until done.  I try to reach at least 160-165 degrees on my meat thermometer.  You can tell from the picture to the right that if you rolled it properly it looks nice how the meat and fruit is wrapped together.  Try not to cut the meat to hot or it tends to fall apart.
Good luck and let me know what you stuff your next piece of meat with.

 Mo

Stuffing Your Chicken Breast

Hello,

Recently I wrote a post on how to stuff a chicken breast.  A chicken breast can be stuffed with pretty much anything.  Herb bread stuffing, sauteed vegetables, spinach and cheese, etc.  I posted a video on my "How To" page of how to butterfly a chicken breast.  You can go to my "How To" page and watch several other videos of "How to".

Mo