Cilantro With Nut Butter and Mustard With Vermouth

McCormick launched its 2011 Flavor Forecast, which lists the top ten food pairings for the year. Earlier, I recapped those ten pairings.

Thanks to McCormick, I had the opportunity to test out some of these pairings. First up was the pairing of cilantro and nut butter. McCormick has a recipe for Chicken and Cilantro Pesto Pasta, which sounded easy to put together. The nut butter used was peanut.

First, you make the pesto in the blender. While the pasta is boiling, you make the chicken peanut butter mixture. Drain the pasta, toss with pesto, and put chicken on top. I never used fresh cilantro before. I wasn't even sure if I ever had cilantro before, but after one bite, I recognized the flavor. Very delicious if you enjoy cilantro. You can find the recipe on McCormick's site.



Next up was mustard and vermouth. At first, I ruled out the recipe for Dirty Martini Steak Kabobs because I had to buy vermouth, which I thought was expensive. However, I decided stop by the liquor store and see how much it was. Since vermouth is a type of wine, I'm looking up and down the wine aisle, hoping the find the word vermouth printed on the bottle. No luck so as I was walking out the door, the guy asked what I was looking for. I told him I needed vermouth for a recipe. Turns out vermouth had its own section next to the gin. Um ok? Plus side a small bottle was around $4, so I went for it.

This recipe is also easy to put together if you prepare ahead of time. First you need to marinade the meat at least two hours, longer for a stronger flavor. I decided to do it the night before work so I could fix it for dinner the next day. To save even more time, you could cube it, but I was tired and left the steak whole. When you're ready to cook, you boil pearl onions for 5 minutes and then remove the paper. However, when it came time to thread the skewers and alternate with olives, I didn't realize my olives needed to be pitted. Luckily, I bought a pitter for $3 on clearance when I worked at Target, thinking I was going to do something with cherries that summer (never happened). After they were assembled, I broiled them for 5 minutes. Very delicious and definitely a meal I'm going to make again soon. You can find the recipe on McCormick's site.

Want to try these flavor combinations (and more) yourself? Stay tuned for another McCormick giveaway.

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Maple BBQ Pulled Chicken

Last post, I talked about pulled chicken. I haven't shared the recipe yet, so here it is.

Such a sad picture

I don't trust slow cookers. Not that I don't trust them to do their work. I don't trust leaving the house with a slow cooker on all day. Call me cautious. Call me paranoid. I just don't want to have to call the fire dept while I'm at work.

I don't own a slow cooker. Instead, I have this multi-cooker/deep fryer/steamer/electric pot thing. I can pretty much cook whatever I want. I got the brilliant idea of using it as a slow cooker. I can control the temp from 200F-350F (or was it 400F?). I decided one lazy Sunday afternoon, I would throw everything into the pot and cook on 200F. It worked, except instead of taking 6+ hours, it only took 2, so dinner was ready super early.

I've made pulled chicken at least three times now, once for my family who visited and twice for myself. I take the leftovers to work all week. Great on buns, in tortillas, and in spinach salads. I used McCormick's roasted spices and fresh jalapenos from my garden.

As you can see, I didn't take many pictures. I was just too hungry.

Maple BBQ Pulled Chicken

Three bone-in chicken pieces (I used leg and thigh)
1 large yellow onion
4 cloves garlic
3 jalapeno pepppers
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp ginger
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin powder
1 1/2 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp oregano
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 tsp fish sauce
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Chop onion, garlic, and jalapeno peppers. Add those and everything but the chicken into your cooker. Stir to mix. Turn the heat on.

2. While heating up, remove the skin and fat from the chicken pieces. Put into your cooker and cover with sauce.

3. Let cook for a few hours. Flip the chicken every hour or two and keep them covered in sauce. The chicken is done when it's falling off of the bone.

4. Remove chicken from the sauce and turn off the heat. Take a slotted spoon and go through the sauce, making sure no bones were left behind. Once cool enough to handle (or use forks), shred the chicken and place back into the sauce. It should still be hot at this point, but turn the heat back on if needed. Serve on buns.

Recipe (and a better description) can be found at Choosy Beggars.

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Greek Chicken Salad With Cucumber Dressing

I found this recipe from my local grocery store's free magazine. It seemed like something I could easily make for one person. I must admit I did go out and buy skewers because of this, but I figured I would use the skewers more than once anyway. I have the space, so I'm thinking about investing in an outdoor grill. Might be a good time because grills are going clearance soon.

This is chicken marinated for 30 minutes then either grilled or broiled. You make a quick cucumber yogurt sauce and serve on lettuce. I hate iceberg lettuce because there's no flavor and no nutrients, so I served it on spinach. This recipe is pretty easy I think. It takes a little time mainly because of marinating the chicken, but you could probably marinade ahead of time and freeze it. The dressing takes a few minutes to chop and mix. Any leftover dressing you can use for future salads.

Greek Chicken Over Spinach With Cucumber Dressing



2 tsp olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes

Dressing
Half cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tsp dried parsley

Skewers
Spinach

In a bowl, combine oil, uice, garlic, and rosemary. Add chicken pieces, cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat grill or broiler. Thread chicken pieces onto skewers. Grill/broil for 8 minutes, turning halfway through.

Meanwhile, mix together cucumber, yogurt, and parsley. Toss finished chicken pieces with spinach and top with cucumber dressing.

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Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese

The idea for this dinner came to me while working at Target. Archer Farms has several noodle and rice ready-to-go products, and one of them was Buffalo Mac and Cheese. I love love love buffalo sauce, so I thought it would be interesting to make this from scratch. After searching online, I found a recipe on Recipe Zaar. I use Ken's Buffalo Marinade a lot when it comes to chicken (chicken patties, wings, hell I think even a hot dog once), and it's no surprise I used it when it calls for buffalo wing sauce. You can probably use another brand of wing sauce or make your own. Worst case scenario you can use plain hot sauce, but it won't be as thick. In a pinch, you can use canned chicken breast instead of frozen. Or leave it out altogether. This dish is as spicy as the wing sauce. If it's too much to handle, mix in a litle bit of ranch, sour cream, or cream cheese.

Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese




1 lb elbow macaroni, uncooked
24 oz chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
2 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup flour
3 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
8 oz buffalo wing sauce
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup celery or bell pepper, chopped
Ranch, sour cream, or cream cheese (optional)

1. Cook the macaroni in a pot of boiling salted water.

2. While the pasta is cooking, whisk the milk and flour together in a bowl, then pour into a saucepan, bringing it to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium and stir in chicken, cheese, onion powder, garlic powder, wing sauce, and bell pepper. Cook until the cheese melts. Add some ranch, sour cream, or cream cheese if the sauce is too spicy.

4. When the pasta is done, drain and stir in the cheese mixture.

Makes 8 servings.

Source: Recipe Zaar

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Chicken Sausage Pasta

Please take a few minutes and send some e-cards. For every card sent, Kraft Foods will donate 10 meals to Feeding America. For more information, click here.

A few weekends ago when I was waiting to see Geoff from Ace of Cakes, I looked over into the meat case that was nearby. I saw a variety of chicken sausages. It was in the back of mind during the whole show, so I decided to give in and buy chicken sausage with spinach and feta and chicken sausage with apple and maple. Yesterday, I decided to make the spinach and feta sausage. I've never worked with this before, so after doing some research, I decided to slice and fry. Slicing didn't work out too well, so I ended up removing the casings from the links.

I was a little concerned bc I've never cooked sausage like this before, so I cooked it as I would ground beef. Worked out well and there wasn't as much grease to drain. Probably why everyone says chicken sausage is healthier. Fortunately for me, the sausage was already seasoned and ready to go. Very good to eat with a little bit of a kick.

I decided to make a pasta dish with it, based on one I found online. I omitted the spices bc my sausage was already seasoned but did add salt, pepper, and mushrooms. Originally I was going to save time by using canned tomatoes, but we didn't have any so I went with fresh.

Chicken Sausage Pasta



4 chicken sausage links, removed from casing
8 oz. pasta, your choice
1 cup onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 large tomato, diced
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 1/2 - 2 cups half and half or heavy cream

1. Fry sausage until no longer pink. If it's not already seasoned, you may need to add spices, such as onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, etc. Drain grease.

2. Boil water and cook noodles as directed on package.

3. In another skillet, fry onion, garlic. and mushrooms in skillet. Do not let the garlic brown. Turn off the heat and stir in tomatoes. Add sausage, cheese, basil, 1 1/2 cups cream, and noodles. Cook until bubbling then turn down heat. Add more cream if necessary.

Source: Recipe Zaar

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More Meat, Less Pasta

As a college student, I'm trying to make dinners that do not involve pasta or rice. Sure, there's nothing wrong with pasta or rice, but when you tend to eat it five times a week, it can be an unhealthy habit. This recipe for Buffalo Chicken Strips I have been making for quite some time. There are no measurements for it. You just see how much chicken you have and estimate how much hot sauce and breadcrumbs to put into each bowl. If you are not a fan of hot sauce, you can use ranch or bbq sauce. You can put spices into the breadcrumbs.

Buffalo Chicken Strips




Preheat oven to 375F. Line a cookie sheet with foil for easy clean-up. Cut chicken into thin strips. Fill one bowl with hot sauce and another bowl with breadcrumbs. Dip each strip into the sauce, then the breadcrumbs. Place onto sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until no longer pink in the middle.

Source: Somewhere online?

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One Dented Can of Green Beans and a Rolling Pin Later...

This past year while living at school, my one roommate would occasionally make stuffed chicken breast for her and her boyfriend. Hers was the Campbell's version with the canned soup and boxed stuffing, so it didn't appeal to me that much. However, while browsing through one of my Taste of Home magazines, I found a recipe for stuffed chicken cordon bleu. Chicken cordon bleu involves ham and swiss cheese. Until I started this blog last year, I was never a huge cheese fan. Now, I love cheese, especially feta.

This dinner is perfect for when you want to impress the people you are feeding. I bought already-thin chicken breasts because the first time I made this, I couldn't flatten the chicken thin enough. I used canned green beans, but when those didn't survive the pounding (and they deserved it - I hate canned vegetables), I resorted to the rolling pin. Don't forget to remove the toothpicks before serving!

Stuffed Chicken Cordon Bleu




4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 slices deli ham
4 slices Swiss cheese
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 egg
2 Tbsp milk
1 cup bread crumbs
2 Tbsp oil

1. Preheat oven to 350F. If needed, flatten chicken to 1/4-inch thickness. Top each breast with one slice of ham and one slice of cheese. Roll up as tightly as possible. Secure each with a toothpick.

2. In one bowl, combine flour, salt, paprika, and pepper. In another bowl, whisk egg and milk. In a third bowl, place bread crumbs. Dip each chicken roll first into flour, then egg, then bread crumbs. In a small skillet, brown chicken in oil on all sides. They will not be fully cooked.

3. Transfer to 13x9 pan coated with cooking spray. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until chicken juices run clear. Before serving, remove toothpicks.

Makes 4 servings.

Source: Taste of Home Cooking For 2, Winter 2008 p. 23

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Not Your Typical Pasta

Pasta is one of the cheapest and easy meals any college student can make. All you do is boil water, cook pasta until soft, drain, and sauce. Voila!! You have a meal. Now, what do you do when you eat pasta at least three times a week? Change the sauce. You can go traditional with garlicky basil and tomatoes, classy with stroganoff, spicy with habanero pesto, or crazy with pumpkin sauce. Hmm which reminds me - I should add my creamy garlic sauce and garlic butter sauce soon.

Here are two more pasta varieties. I only recommend the pad thai only if you absolutely love peanut butter. By love, I mean sitting there with a jar and a spoon and happily eating away. I love PB, but the taste was a little intense. However, it tasted better the next day, so maybe it just needed time.

The Mediterranean pasta I made myself. To be traditional, you would use kalamata olives. However, I only had a can of black pitted olives.

Pad Thai with Creamy Peanut Sauce




8 oz rice noodles (or substitute linguine or spaghetti)
1/8 cup water
1/8 cup sugar
1 Tbsp ketchup
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/8 tsp chili powder
1/3 tsp lime juice
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup onions, chopped
1 chicken breast, chopped
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup peas

Sauce
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1/8 cup peanut butter
1 tsp soy sauce
1/8 tsp ginger

1. Place sauce ingredients in a blender. Process until smooth, about 30 sec. Set aside.

2. If using rice noodles, soak them for 30 minutes in hot tap water; drain. They should be flexible but not soft. If using linguine or spaghetti, cook in boiling water until done.

3. Combine water, sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, chili powder and lime juice in a small bowl.

4. Saute chicken in oil until no longer pink. Add garlic and onions; cook until tender. If using rice noodles, add to pan. If using linguine or spaghetti, do not put in pan. Pour ketchup mixture over chicken.

5. Push chicken mixture to side of the pan. Add egg, stirring until cooked. Add peas. If you are using linguine or spaghetti, add to pan as well. Mix in peanut sauce. Makes 2 servings.

Source: Cooking with Carnation Evaporated Milk, 2006 p.14


Mediterranean Pasta



8 oz. pasta, your choice
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 small can tuna, drained
1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped and drained
1/2 cup olives, sliced
1/2 cup feta cheese

Bring water in a small saucepan to a boil. Cook pasta until soft. Meanwhile, saute garlic and onion in oil until tender. Add tuna, tomatoes, and olives. Cook until warm. Add to cooked pasta. Sprinkle with feta. Makes 2 servings.

Source: Recipe by me



Sorry for the horrible lighting, but my dad took a video of Murray being impatient for Christmas.


He's still waiting.

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What I've Been Up To This Semester

Taking 17 hours of classes plus 12 hours of work gives me limited time to update my blog (although I do work in a computer lab, so when I'm not busy I surf the web. Yay food blogs!) However, that didn't stop me from cooking and baking. I'm going to put it all in one post so I can be caught up.

Chicken Curry




Only once in my life have I had curry, and it wasn't even from a restaurant. While in Ireland, I bought a jar of curry sauce because it was on sale. I mixed it with rice and tuna, and it was absolutely delicious! When I came home, I wanted to buy curry powder, but it isn't the cheapest spice around, so I waited. When I was grocery shopping for college, I decided to give in and buy a jar. I found a recipe for chicken curry online awhile back and saved it into an online recipe box. That makes this dish #3 towards my goal.

1/4 cup flour
2 tsp curry powder
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/2 Tbsp sugar
1 Chicken breast
1/4 cup onion
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 cup white rice, cooked
Veggies, such as carrots or peas

If time permitting, bake chicken at 375F for 35 minutes. Otherwise, chop and fry in skillet. In a bowl, mix flour, curry, ginger, and sugar. Sauté onions in butter until tender. Once tender, add flour mixture. Slowly add broth and milk. Cook until thick and bubbly. Add lemon juice, chopped chicken, and veggies; cook a few more minutes. Serve on top of hot rice. Makes 2 servings.

Source: Recipe Zaar


Garlicky Pasta with Basil and Tomatoes




I found this recipe from Laura Rebecca's Kitchen and knew I had to try it!! I'm 50% Italian, so of course the more garlic, the better. I used canned tomatoes and vegetable oil since I'm on a budget. This is a must for garlic lovers.

8 oz uncooked pasta
3 tablespoons oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and keep warm.

2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Add chopped tomatoes; cook for 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally. Add pasta, seasoning, and cheese, tossing gently to combine.

Source: Laura Rebecca's Kitchen


Carrot Spice Muffins




During the summer, I borrowed Dorie Greenspan's "Baking: From My Home To Yours" from my library after hearing so many posts about the book. I was making a list of recipes to try, but that turned out to be 3/4 of the book!! I had a 3 week limit on it, so I copied about 10 recipes. Last weekend, my parents visited me for the afternoon. I decided to make them French toast and Dorie's carrot spice muffins. Mmmm one of my favorite muffins!! Plus I love carrots. I didn't have any nuts or raisins, so I omitted them. I did have the coconut it called for, so yay.

2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup oil
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/3 cup raisins (optional)
1/3 cup nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 375F. Spray or line a 12-cup muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, and salt. Stir in brown sugar. In another bowl, whisk oil, eggs, milk, and vanilla. Pour the wet into the dry and quickly stir to blend. Add carrots, coconut, raisins, and nuts. Divide evenly among the pan. Bake 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Makes 12 muffins

Source: Dorie Greenspan's "Baking: From My Home To Yours" p.14


Zucchini Casserole




Since my favorite vegetable is squash, I bought 4 of them to eat. One of the 12 cookbooks I got was dedicated completely to zucchini. I decided to make the zucchini casserole. My version is slightly different, so here is my adaptation.

1 zucchini, sliced
1 yellow squash, sliced
1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped (I used canned but fresh works too)
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
Enough beef for two servings
1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used pepper jack)
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp Italian seasoning

Chop and cook beef until brown; drain grease and set aside. In a small casserole dish, put a layer of zucchini slices. Top with 1/4 cup tomatoes, 1/4 cup onions, 1/2 clove garlic, 1/4 cup cheese, and 1/2 the amount of beef. Top with squash slices. Top with remaining tomatoes, onions, garlic, cheese, and beef. Top with any remaining squash and zucchini slices. Top with bread crumbs and Italian seasoning. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until squash slices are tender. Makes 2 servings

Source: "Garden Way's Zucchini Cookbook" 1977, p.104



I also made stuffed squash with oriental stuffing and stuffed pepper with a garlic alfredo rice mixture, but I forgot to take pictures of them! Oops!

Now that I am all caught up, what was the last homemade meal you made for dinner?

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Royalty Chicken

There is no definite origin to the dish chicken a la king. After doing a bit of research, it was made by some chef in some restaurant and was named after some guy with the last name of King. Why did I decide to make this dish? Simple - I have milk to use. Plus I wanted to do something with my peas. I didn't make the traditional dish because I didn't have mushrooms, sherry, or pimentos. I remember a frozen dinner long, long ago that was chicken a la king with carrots and peas, so that's what I think of. Here's a college version of the recipe. This makes 2 - 3 servings, depending on how much you put on toast.

Chicken a la King




1 chicken breast, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon onion, chopped
1/8 cup flour
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup peas
1/2 cup carrots, chopped (I didn't have any to add)
2 slices bread

Fry chicken in skillet until cooked; remove and pat off grease. Clean skillet; place back on stove. Fry onions in butter until tender. Add flour; stir. Gradually add milk and Worcestershire sauce. Cook until thick and bubbly. Add chicken, peas, and carrots. Place bread in toaster. Serve chicken mixture over toast.

Source: About.com

What is your favorite chicken dish?
I love flavored chicken wings. We buy a bag, dip in various marinades such as buffalo or terriaki, and bake until done.

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It's All About The Seasoning

I was recently browsing through numerous cookbooks and recipe sites, looking for dinner ideas. I had lettuce and tortillas that I needed to use before they went bad, but I didn't want to make quesadillas (again). So I eventually stumbled across a chicken fajita taco salad. Found my dinner idea! However, the recipe called for fajita seasoning mix, and I wasn't going to spend any more money than I had to. I googled for a fajita seasoning recipe, hoping that I had all the spices; I did. I put my salad together without following the recipe except for the seasoning, so the recipe is half mine (inspired, of course)

Chicken Fajita Salad




1 chicken breast, chopped
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp powdered chicken bouillon
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tsp lime juice
1/2 cup lettuce
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped
2 tortillas, torn into strips
1/2 cup shredded cheese
Ranch dressing

Fry chicken breast in skillet until cooked. Add chili powder, bouillon, garlic salt, cumin, and lime juice; toss to coat. Place 1/4 cup lettuce onto plate. Top with 1/8 cup onions, 1/4 cup tomatoes, 1/2 of the tortilla strips, 1/2 of the chicken, 1/4 cup cheese, and ranch as desired. Makes 2 servings

Source: Me; Fajita seasoning from About.com


What is your favorite type of salad?
I love the buffalo chicken salad they serve at my campus. I also enjoy a chicken caesar salad and the chicken bbq ranch salad from The Cheesecake Factory.

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The Easiest Mexican Dinner A Student Can Make

Before coming to Ireland, I have never made a quesadilla. I watched my housemate Bonnie make one for dinner, and I saw how easy it was. I put a different filling into mine, but it came out just as delicious. I usually make them with sour cream, but since I couldn't find any at the store, I substituted salsa.

Chicken Salsa Quesadillas




1/4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/2 cup frozen corn kernals
1 cup salsa
Lettuce
2 flour tortillas

1. Fry chicken in oil in skillet until no longer pink. Drain oil.
2. In a separate pan, heat corn until warm (make sure you heat the corn in water!). Drain corn. Add salsa and chicken; stir.
3. Put tortilla in skillet. Add lettuce to half of the tortilla; top with salsa mix. Fold over remaining tortilla. Heat for a few minutes; flip. Heat for a few more minutes.

Makes 2 quesadillas (unless your tortillas are small).

Recipe source: ME! :D

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