Chicken Caesar Salad

This dish is a very very simple recipe to throw together when you want something quick and easy. I decided to do this a couple days ago and finally got around to it for dinner this evening.

Ingredients:
1 cup Italian Caesar Salad Dressing (FAT FREE)
1 lb Chicken Breast
Salad Mix
Bacon Bits
Parmesan/Romano Cheese Mix
Olive Oil

Alright, seems quite simple doesn't it?

Well that's because it is!

The marinade is literally just the Italian Caesar Salad Dressing. That's it. Boom, so easy. I put it in a bag due to the ease of marinating the Chicken in it.

I cut the Chicken up into smaller strips so it would cook faster and absorb the marinade quicker. Then into the marinade the Chicken goes!

I put a saucepan on the stovetop and turned the heat to medium. I added in a drizzle of Olive Oil.

About 15 seconds after turning the heat on, I poured the marinade and Chicken into the saucepan.

I turned the Chicken strips over about 2 minutes later.

This is what the look like when done. Total cook time should take about 6 minutes, but check to be sure by cutting one of the pieces open.

After they were done I turned off the heat and got my Salad Mix out. It is a simple Salad Mix from the store so I did nothing more than take it out of the container, wash it, and plate it. To this I added some Bacon Bits (fake bacon but tasty) which the Chicken went on top of. Topped with a healthy dose of Parmesan/Romano Cheese Mix. Enjoy.

Sweet! Brussels Sprouts that is!

Today I threw together an impromptu snack of awesome for my girlfriend. I know she enjoys brussels sprouts and thought that I should cook the ones I had in the fridge.








Ingredients:
Brussels Sprouts
Sake
Brandy
Teriyaki Sauce
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Italian Herb Mix
Butter

I began this recipe by rinsing off my Brussels Sprouts and then slicing them in half lengthwise. I put all of these into a mixing bowl I had on hand.

I then put a saucepan on the stovetop and turned the heat to medium. At this point I put in about a 1/3 of a stick of Butter. After it melts about 1/2 way or so, pour in about 1/4 cup of Sake. Just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. I put in about 1/4 of a cup worth of Brandy, just enough to make it's presence known. I swirled this all together and then tossed in the Brussels Sprouts. On top of this I added in a healthy dose of Onion Powder and then the same with Garlic Powder. Maybe a little more Garlic Powder? A healthy pinch of Italian Herb Mix went next. I then mixed all of this together and let cook for about 1 minute. Then I added in a healthy dose of Teriyaki Sauce; this is where the sweetness really shines through. The Brandy will make it quite sweet, but the Teriyaki Sauce throws it over the top and that is what we want here.

You'll know they are done when the white inside portions of the Brussels Sprouts are turned that brownish hue of the Teriyaki Sauce. Or just taste test, that always works as well. Enjoy.

Zesty Chops

I picked up a plethora of Pork Chops the other day and decided some cooking was in order. I have not Zestified anything as of late, so today I decided to Zesty it up.









Ingredients:
8 Pork Chops
Italian Caesar Dressing
Lemon Juice
White Wine
Italian Herb Mix

I began with trimming the Pork Chops because I demand lean cuts of meat! I am not a fan of the fat on pork, chicken, or beef unless it's a long cooking process where the fat will melt away.

So after trimming them, I created a Zesty marinade. I used 1 cup of Italian Caesar Dressing to start with. To this I added about a 1/4 cup of Lemon Juice. Then I noticed a delightfully non-empty bottle of White Wine nearby, which I poured about 1/2 a cup's worth into the mixing bowl I was using. I stirred all of this together.

Then I put in about a 1/3 of a cup of Italian Herb Mix in and stirred again. Then in went the Pork Chops that I used a fork to mix into the marinade mixture. I let sit for about 30 minutes while I cooked up some other foods.

I placed a large saucepan on the stovetop and proceeded to turn the heat to medium. Once I felt some heat coming off the pan, I poured in the mixture and Pork Chops. I cooked the Chops in the marinade for a more intense flavor. After about 5 minutes, I flipped them for an even cook through.

Then I took them off and served them with some spicy rice I cooked up in my rice cooker. Enjoy.

Broccolini!

I have never heard of Broccolini until I came to Texas, where I was informed within the past year or so of it's existence. Obviously this meant I would have to cook it.








Ingredients:
Broccolini
Sun Dried Tomato Herb Butter
White Wine
Ground Black Pepper
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Italian Herb Mix

Sauce Mix:
2 tsp Honey Mustard Salad Dressing
2 tsp Italian Caesar Salad Dressing
1 tsp Lemon Juice

I began by putting about a 1/3 of a stick of the Sun Dried Tomato Herb Butter into a large saucepan with the heat on medium. Once the butter mostly melted, I added in about a 1/2 cup of White Wine.

I put in about a 1/4 cup of the Italian Herb Mix and a light dusting of the Ground Black Pepper, Garlic Powder, and Onion Powder. On top of all this, I put in the Broccolini. I stirred things around to make sure everything was coated with the marinade present in the saucepan. I then covered it and let it cook for about 5 minutes, whereas the liquid mixture was almost gone.

I took out the Broccolini and created a simple sauce/dressing for them as well, which was simple stirred together. Enjoy.

Shrimp a la Salad

I decided that a seafood dish was needed to be done. So, I created an amazingly tasty one.











Ingredients:
1/2 lb Shrimp
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Teriyaki Sauce
3/4 cup Sake
1 cup Port Vino
1/4 cup Lemon Juice
1/3 cup Italian Herb Mix
dash of Ground Black Pepper
dash of Garlic Salt
Salad
Salad Dressing (I used Catalina)
1 sm Tomato
Asiago Cheese

I started off mixing all the ingredients together but the Shrimp, Salad, Salad Dressing, and Tomato. I then whisked it all together into a consistent mix, which of course the Shrimp then went into. I marinaded it this way for approximately 10 minutes.

I turned my stovetop to medium heat and put my large saucepan on. Once it was warming up quite well, I poured the Shrimp and marinade directly into the pan. I made sure each Shrimp was not overlapping another so as to not mess up the cooking times.

I stirred this on occasion and once the Shrimp turned orange/red then were done so I turned off the heat. I had a small salad ready with a small sliced Tomato. I then used two skewers to skewer 4 Shrimp and place on top of the salad. I added a small amount of dressing to the side of the skewers along with a pinch of Asiago Cheese. Enjoy!

Asparagus Pt. 2

Today I decided to cook up another batch of Asparagus I had in my fridge. Originally I did not enjoy Asparagus, however after trying it in the past year or two, I have found it is quite delicious and I was an idiot for not enjoying it earlier!






Ingredients:
Asparagus
Sun Dried Tomato Herbed Butter
Ground Black Pepper
Garlic Salt
Port Vino
Tomato Sauce (recipe previously mentioned in blog!
Italian Herb Mix

I started off by placing my large saucepan on the stovetop and setting the heat to medium. I then took my butter and put about 1/2 to 3/4 of a stick worth in the pan. I covered this with the lid to speed up the melting process.

Once I covered the pan, I took my Asparagus and made sure all of it looked good and hadn't gone bad. Then, I put it in the saucepan once most of the butter had melted.

Stir every once in awhile to make sure the butter gets on all of the Asparagus. About 2 minutes into the cooking process, I added in a light coating of Garlic Salt and a good amount of Ground Black Pepper. At this time, I also added in about 1/3 cup of Port Vino. Stir to make sure it all mixed properly.

Stir once in awhile and taste test to make sure it is cooked properly to your individual tastes.

Once mine was ready, I took out and added some chunky Tomato Sauce and a dusting of Italian Herb Mix. Enjoy.

Andouille Sausage w/Rice

Today I got home from work and decided to whip up a quick thing for lunch tomorrow and dinner tonight. I decided to use some Andouille Sausages...with rice from my rice cooker. A tasty quick meal that leaves everyone full!






Ingredients:
3 links of Andouille Sausage
1 cup Rice
Italian Herbs

This recipe is so simple, only 3 ingredients plus water. So nice, so easy. Start off with making your rice. I used my rice cooker with 1 cup of rice, 1.25 cups of water. Then just clicked it on and that was that.

Right after that I grabbed a small pot and filled it up about 2/3 with water. Set on stovetop and turn the heat to medium or just above that. Put your links of Andouille Sausage in there. DO NOT COVER IT! IT WILL FOAM OVER AND BE EVERYWHERE! TRUST ME!

The Andouille Sausage links will float to the top when they are close to being done. The water should be boiling at this point, you might want to turn the heat down. You also might notice the massive amount of foam forming as well, which does go away somewhat. Once they have been floating/boiling for a few minutes, turn the heat off and take them out of the pan and onto a plate or cutting board. Cut them into small sections.

The rice should be done just before the Andouille Sausages are done cooking as well. So prepare it as you will. I chose to put rice down first, Andouille on top in a dorky pattern, then a sprinkling of Italian Herbs. Enjoy.

Appetizer: Asparagus

This was simpler idea than the previously posted Asparagus and Mushrooms. This is just the Asparagus, but a little different. I like to change my recipes a little bit here and there because the exact same thing is just too boring! Let's get to it...





Ingredients:
Asparagus
Butter
Italian Herbs
Ground Black Pepper
Garlic Salt
Sake

I began this recipe by cutting off the base of the Asparagus spears. I did this because I have noticed that the bottom end of the spear is the first part to get soggy and/or go bad. So instead of risking that ruining the entire thing, I just cut it off. Oh well, it's compost.

I put my large saucepan on the stovetop and turn the heat to medium. If you have not noticed by now, medium heat is my best friend for cooking. It lets me take care of many things at once since I have a pretty good idea how most things cook at that temperature. Back to point, I then grab a stick of Butter and cut approximately 1/3 of the stick off and toss it gently into the saucepan. It should melt pretty quickly, but good thing we have everything else ready.

The Asparagus spears should go in once the Butter is mostly melted. I just tossed them in there, no need to be gentle. Once they are in there, I moved the saucepan back and forth while stirring with a wooden spoon to make sure they are all liberally covered in Butter. I place the saucepan back down and turn to my spices. Ground Black Pepper first, followed by the Italian Herbs, and rounded out with the Garlic Salt. Choose your own amounts to fit your tastes, or to not fit your tastes and try something new!

About 3 minutes in, I grab my bottle of Sake and pour in about 1/3 of a cup. I do not recall how much exactly, I poured straight from the bottle. It sizzle right away, sounds amazing! Stir everything together to make sure the Sake gets to every one of the spears.

Taste test on occasion to make sure it's cooked properly. Once done, take out and serve. I chose to serve mine with a small Campari Tomato and a dash of those Italian Herbs and Sesame Seeds on top. Enjoy.

Shrimp!

I have not cooked shrimp in ages, so today as a special treat for my girlfriend that is just what I did. And put it on couscous!

Ingredients:
1/2 lb Shrimp
Couscous
Lime Juice
Teriyaki Sauce
Soy Sauce
Green Onions/Scallions
Ground Black Pepper
Garlic Salt
Butter

So I began by grabbing one of my mixing bowls and pouring in about a half cup of Lime Juice. To that, I added in a liberal amount of Teriyaki Sauce and Soy Sauce. I mixed that together a bit, and added a handful of diced Green Onions/Scallions. To top it off, I grabbed my Garlic Salt and Ground Black Pepper and lightly to medium seasoned the mixture. Then I mixed it together again to try and get an equal consistency all around.

The Shrimp was all ready to go, because why not? It's not like it's really going anywhere. So in that went. I mixed it together, making sure that the mixture covered all the Shrimp.

I then grabbed a saucepan and cut about a third of a stick of butter into the pan, cut into several smaller pieces to hurry the process up. Turn the heat on the stove to medium. Cover it if you want, but I think it is fast enough as is.

Once the butter is mostly melted, in goes the contents of your mixing bowl. Shrimp and the marinade mixture. Stir it around to make sure it evens out.

Stir occasionally to make sure it cooks properly. The easy part here is that the Shrimp turns to an orange/red color when it is cooked. So you really just have to watch out for that, it should not take that long.

Once that was done, I turned the heat off. I got the Couscous and put that on a plate, sort of like a bed for the Shrimp to lie on. And that's how simple it is. Enjoy.

Homemade Hummus

Hummus is a great snack food for anyone who has or has not tried it. If you have not, I suggest you do. It's fairly simple to make as well.

Ingredients:
2 or 3 Cloves of Garlic (diced up)
1 can of Garbanzo Beans
1 spoonful of Cumin/Coriander Mixed Spice

I used my trusty food processor for this tasty snack. I started off with the Garlic Cloves. I peeled then diced them. Once that was done, I threw them in the food processor.

Second, I opened my can of Garbanzo Beans. There is a very pungent liquid in there with them, keep at least half of it. Pour the liquid with the Garbanzo Beans into the food processor.

Third, I sprinkled the Cumin/Coriander Mixed Spice on the top of everything in the food processor. Then blend...blend until it is smooth. Just take out and serve, easy as that.