Chicken Skewers

Today since it was quite nice outside, I decided upon a simple tasty dish for lunch. I looked in my fridge and found that I had some Chicken that needed to be cooked soon and thought that skewers were something I have not had in quite awhile.

Ingredients:
1 lb Chicken Breast, cubed
7-10 sm Bamboo Skewers
1/2 cup Caesar Italian Salad Dressing
1/2 cup Italian Roast Red Pepper Salad Dressing
Olive Oil
2 Scallions, diced

I began by cubing the Chicken. This works a little better when you freeze the chicken, or get it close to frozen, and cut it then. I find it a lot easier to cut then.



I got the two bottles of Salad Dressing.



I poured them in with the cubed Chicken. Mix together. Put in fridge for about 30 minutes. You could probably leave out of the fridge, it's up to you.



Now get your Bamboo Skewers and soak them in water. This tends to make them less likely to burn or splinter during this entire process. You can leave them in water for an hour if you would like, however I only left them in for about 15 minutes.



Now once you are ready around 15 minutes later, use your Skewers to put 3 or 4 pieces of Chicken on each Skewer.



Now using a saucepan put in some Olive Oil and turn the heat to MEDIUM.



My saucepan is a bit deeper than usual saucepans and most likely has a different name but I treat it like a saucepan. Anyways, I put four Skewers in at first.



Once they are done, which I tested by cutting open one as the cooking process went on. I turned them over every few minutes in an attempt at a thorough cooking.

So I took them off once they were cooked properly and plated them. To them I added a diced Scallion. Enjoy.

Chef's Breakfast

I have had this recipe in my mind for a few days now and finally got around to cooking it after work today. Yes, after work means not at the allotted breakfast time period but more towards late lunch or early dinner. Does that make it BRINNER? I think so, but am not putting all my eggs in one basket on this one.

Ingredients:
2 Green Bell Peppers
1 Anaheim Pepper
1 lb White Button Mushrooms
10 Large Eggs
1/2 cup Frozen Peas
1/2 cup Ditalini Pasta
1/2 stick Butter
1/2 cup Olive Oil
Ground Black Pepper
Sea Salt
Paprika
Garlic Powder
Shredded Cheese
Italian Herb Mix
Tortilla's

I began this recipe by gathering my ingredients.

I put the Frozen Peas in some water and set them to cook while I sliced and diced. Pay attention to this since it should be boiling and done around the time you put the Eggs in the saucepan.

I then diced up the Peppers and slicing up the Mushrooms.

Now that all of that is done, I decided to cook all of this in 2 different ways. I did this because I am not the hugest fan of Mushrooms, I generally just cook them for other people or put them into mushroom soup.

First dish of them involves the Mushrooms and no Pasta. I put the Butter in the saucepan and set the heat to MEDIUM for it to melt. I also whisked 4 Eggs together in a mixing bowl.

Once melted, I added the 4 Eggs to the saucepan. I then added the spices, which was a quick dash of Ground Black Pepper, pinch of Sea Salt, dash of Paprika, and dash of Garlic Powder.

Then a good handful of the sliced Mushrooms went in.

On top of that I added the diced Peppers.

I then mixed it all together and threw in 2 spoonfuls of Peas. Mix.

Keep mixing it all around so it doesn't adhere too much to the saucepan. Once the mixture is no longer liquid and has some solidity to it, turn the heat off and serve.

This FIRST DISH was served on a Tortilla with a sprinkle of Italian Herb Mix topped with a pinch of Shredded Asiago Cheese.

The Second dish was very similar and I will spare you the long version of it. I had some Ditalini Pasta left over from the other day, so I spooned a good handful of it into the pot where I had the Peas. The water was still hot so it warmed the Pasta up quick. Throw some Olive Oil in the saucepan instead of Butter this time around.

After that, the same process was used without the Mushrooms. I also used 6 Eggs instead of 4. When the Peas go in, the Pasta goes as well.

I served this up on it's own plate. Really, I did that at first. But I sat down and thought this could be better. I remembered the Tortillas and decided that some Breakfast style Taco's were in order. So that is just what I did, complete with some Hot Sauce. Enjoy.

Steak w/ Green Beans

At work today, I was discussing steak and how amazing it is with several coworkers. This got me thinking that I should cook some steak tonight for dinner. Well, as luck would have it after work I was going to the grocery store anyway! This is the result and my tasty dinner!

Ingredients:
1.2 lb Flank Steak
0.5 lb uncut Green Beans
0.5 stick Butter
1/4 cup Olive Oil
Italian Herb Mix
Ground Black Pepper
Garlic Salt
Fennel Powder
Lawry's Seasoning
Sesame Seeds

For the Green Beans:

I began by getting the beans out.

I then cut off the stems of the beans where they connected to the actual plant. And put them in a bowl with a heavy dash of Italian Herb Mix.

I then had a pot of water boiling which I added them to. Italian Herb Mix and all.

I let them cook for about 5 minutes. Then I turned the heat off and let them sit while I turned my attention to the steak.

For the Flank Steak:

Take your meat out.

I cut the steak in half for ease of use while cooking it in a saucepan. I then seasoned it starting with a thorough coating of Lawry's. On top of that were light dustings of Fennel Powder and Ground Black Pepper. I added quite a covering of Garlic Salt on top of this because I love garlic.

Start your Butter melting in a large saucepan. Heat on medium.

Once it's mostly melted, add in your steaks seasoned side down. Then cover the top unseasoned side with a similar spice mix as you just did previously.

Add in some Olive Oil and flip the steaks. This should be done about 1 minute later.

Let cook, covered, for about 3 minutes. Open up, flip.

Now after a few more minutes they should be thoroughly cooked. Turn off heat and plate. I dusted with Sesame Seeds and added the Green Beens on the side. Enjoy.

Funghi con Pomodoro

The title translates to Sauteed Mushrooms with Garlic and Tomatoes and is a great recipe to throw together somewhat quickly. I brought a cookbook to work today to look up some new recipes to roughly try. The cookbook was: My Calabria by Rosetta Costantino w/ Janet Fletcher. This book is very good in my opinion as it relates a personal story to each recipe that generally makes me smile and want to grow more locally.

Ingredients
1 lb White Button Mushrooms (sliced)
1.5 cups worth of diced Tomatoes
5 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
4 Garlic cloves (diced)
1 tablespoon Sea Salt
1 tablespoon Cracked Red Pepper Flakes
2 pinches Fresh Thyme
2 pinches Fresh Oregano
2 tablespoons of Italian Herb Mix
1/4 cup Cabernet Sauvignon Wine

You begin by gathering all of your ingredients at least somewhat ready. I did not cut my grape Tomatoes in half beforehand like I found out I should have. It hurried me up a lot during the actual cooking process, so lesson learned I suppose.

You start by placing a saucepan on the stovetop, turn the heat to medium. Pour in your Extra Virgin Olive Oil and diced up Garlic cloves. Stir them around a little bit in the EVOO to coat them in the oil.

Once they begin to turn color and the oil smokes a bit, pour in your mixing bowl of sliced up Mushrooms. Mix them around a bunch; I used a pair of tongs for this part, a wooden spoon for the rest.

Add in your Thyme, Oregano, Italian Herb Mix, and Cracked Red Pepper Flakes. Mix together to spread them around. Pour in your Cabernet Sauvignon and stir once again! (It is ok to pour yourself a glass now if you have not done so by now!)

During this time, I sliced my small Tomatoes in half, which could have been done beforehand but oh well. I put them in a mixing bowl. Here's a picture of them, they look awesome.

Then after a few minutes, when the Mushrooms turn color I poured in the Tomatoes. I added a half pinch or so of the Italian Herb mix and then the Sea Salt. Then stir them up a bunch so you get the Salt all over.

After a few more minutes, let's say 5 minutes, it should be close to being done. I turned off the stovetop at this point and let the heat cook them a little bit more while I got the plating ready.

I chose to use some of our ever present salad mix in the fridge as a base. To this I used a slotted spoon to scoop out the Mushroom/Tomato mix and place it on top. Garnished with a light coating of Parmesan/Romano grated cheese. Enjoy.

Chef's Choice Chili

So as many of my friends around here know, I absolutely LOVE to make chili. I love it. I make it a lot during the colder months, however after making the Tomato Sauce yesterday, I decided that I have gone too long without chili.



Homemade Tomato Sauce:
-Get your soup pot or large saucepan depending on how much you are making. Mine filled a large saucepan since I did not make my normal amount(about 1/2 of normal).
-Mix all your spices together in a bowl to your liking, or straight in the pot like The Chef does. I went heavy on the basic ingredients as well as the Tumeric and Cajun Perfect Pinch. The rest I went light on since they are just there to smooth out all the flavors.

-Now that your spice mix is making your kitchen smell amazing, onto the food processing happy times! Basically I like my chili smooth with not a LOT of huge chunks in it. The order I processed was Roma's, Greenhouse Tomatoes, Onion, Carrots, Poblano Peppers, Jalapeno Peppers. Add to pot as you go, turn the heat on med-high when you add the Roma's and stir them in with the spices. A little olive oil will smooth it out if necessary.

-Grab your grouping of green onions and dice them up almost to the white part. You can put the green onion's roots into water and they will grow back! Add to pot.

-Stir everything together evenly and turn to medium heat. Once it starts boiling, change the temperature to low or simmer.

-Let simmer for about an hour, then it should be tasty enough to eat!

Homemade Tomato Sauce:
6 Roma Tomatoes
2 Greenhouse Tomatoes
1 White Onion (Large)
2 Jalapeno Peppers
2 Poblano Peppers
4 Carrots
1 cup diced Green Onions

Spices for Tomato Sauce:
Cayenne Pepper*
Chili Powder*
Garlic Salt*
Ground Cumin*
Ground Allspice
Ground Cloves
Paprika*
Celery Salt
Ground Black Pepper*
Ancho Chili Powder*
Ground Tumeric Powder
Curry Powder
Mesquite Seasoning*
Perfect Pinch Seasoning - Cajun

*are the basics, the rest are choice ingredients.

For Chef's Choice Chili:
-First get a pot the size you think you need for the chili, or maybe a little bigger.

-Get your pound of ground beef and brown it in the pan with Lowry's Seasoning, maybe some butter too if you love calories as much as I do!

-Once the beef is all browned and tasty smelling (yes take a sample to make sure, you know you want to!), you get your tomato sauce and add it directly into the pot. Stir.

-Use food processor for white onion, then add it in. Stir. Let it cook on low to medium-low for about 30 minutes.

-That time frame is just a rough estimate of time needed, so whenever your frequent tastings of it say it is done just dish it out.

Ingredients:
1 lb. Ground Beef
1 White Onion
Lowry's Seasoning
Shredded Cheese

Capresi Skewers

Today was a great day to stay inside in the AC out of the Texas heat. So naturally, I turned to the kitchen and created Capresi Skewers. I started off with the Capresi Skewers because I wanted to see how it would turn out. To make this dish you need the following: -wood skewers -cherry/small tomatoes -mozzarella cheese -basil leaves -mix of sage, thyme, and oregano spices -EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) (also a food processor or small blender) In the food processor, I combined the basil leaves, spices, and EVOO...and created a great tasting and smelling sauce. I would say it reminded me almost of pesto, but not quite. On the skewers I alternated tomatoes and chunks of cheese(try to keep them somewhat close in size) and placed them on a plate together. Once I had 2 skewers done, I grabbed the food processor and spooned out the sauce on top of the skewers and poured the rest next to them.