New Recipes

This was a completely unplanned meal that was DELICIOUS!
I was in the mood for something spicy and filling the end result, SHELL(less) grilled chicken fajitas in a chili cheese sauce with yellow rice and black beans. When I decided what I was in the mood for I had actually run out of cheese and had no tortilla shells on hand.

2 Chicken breast--sliced into strips
1 Yellow onion--finely chopped
1 Clove of garlic
1 Package of cheddar seasoning (stole from my meal on the go cabinet)
1 Jar of black bean+corn chunky salsa (HOT)
Liquid smoke-to taste
1 lbs Black beans (I prefer dried not canned--lower sodium)
2 Cups of White Rice (I usually used brow rice but you HAVE to use white rice for yellow)
1 packet Sazon (some say Safron but my family uses Sazon religiously)
1/3 Cup of canola oil
2 Teaspoons of salt (or substitute with Mrs. Dash)
Chili Powder
2 and 1/2 Cups of

It's pretty easy. Everything I prepared separately. The chili cheese sauce was what added the kick! I combined the cheese sauce mixture with milk and butter (Soy Garden spread-Earth Balance) allowed it to simmer and thicken added the salsa, sauce goes over the grilled chicken strips. I happened to have prepared the breast in advance for another meal. I used Liquid Smoke for that grilled taste, I cooked the chicken with the chopped garlic yellow onion, and shallots.

Chicken Fingers

I thought it would be really cool to make a ton of different flavors of chicken fingers. This would be good for tailgating, some kind of sports or kids party. So far I've come up with:

1. Spicy (add red pepper flakes to breadcrumbs, serve with a sauce made of ketchup, simmered with a little water and tobasco).

2. Sweet (add tarragon to breadcrumbs, serve with honey mustard sauce).

3. Cheesy (coat the chicken in egg wash, then grated parmesan then plan breadcrumbs. Top with more parmesan when they're still hot and serve with melted guyere cheese).

4. Asian (Use panko instead of regular breadcrumbs and create a soy dipping sauce with crushed garlic sauteed with a little ground (or fresh) ginger, soy sauce and rice wine vinegar).

I think I may have posted some kind of fish recipe like this before, but tonight I'm making:

Flounder (or whatever fish looks good) with balsamic glaze
Parmesan mashed potatoes
Sauteed sugar snap peas

For the potatoes:
Place about 4 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes in cold water. Bring to a boil and cook until soft, about 15 minutes. Drain, reserving about 2 cups of the cooking water. Return to pot and mash with a potato masher. Add 4 T butter and about 1/2 c freshly grated parmesan cheese. Continue to mash until desired consistency. If the potatoes are too dry, add a little cooking liquid as needed.

For the flounder:
Combine about 1 c flour and 5 T of thyme (ground in your palm). Coat the fish on both sides. Brown in a hot pan with heated olive oil. Remove from pan and place into an oven - safe dish. Place in a 350 degree oven until cooked through, about how long it will take to make everything else.
In the same pan you cooked the fish, add about 3T of balsamic vinegar. Reduce on moderately high heat for like 5 minutes. in a small bowl, combine 2T butter with 2T flour, forming a paste. Add that to the balsamic and reduce for another few minutes, until thickened. Drizzle the sauce over the cooked fish.

For the snap peas:
Melt 2 T butter in a small saucepan. Add the snap peas and saute until soft, about 7 minutes. Sprinkle with salt, if desired.

Let's see if this actually happens after I work all day, go to the gym, then have to drag myself into the seedy part of town to get the fish. Hmmm.

I'm really in the mood for shrimp tonight. I might either grill it, wrapped in bacon, or do a little scampi over angelhair.

My grandfather's scampi recipe is basically:

Butterfly large shrimp and place (tail side up) in a baking dish. Sprinkle with paprika. Mince like 10 cloves of garlic and put in a sauce pan with about 1 cup of olive oil. Turn the heat to medium until garlic rise to the top of the oil; do not brown. Pour the garlic oil over the shrimp, spritz with fresh lemon juice and bake for about 10 minutes or until pink. Sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley.

Marinated Salmon

I'm going to try this tomorrow, but this is my basic idea:

2 salmon fillets, about 1/2 lb each
6 sprigs fresh dill, torn
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c white wine

Combine all ingredients in a plasic bag or container and refrigerate for 5 hours. Bake at 400 until salmon is firm or grill (wrapped in aluminum).

i need to stop reading your recipes in the am.....they look so yummy and i always am starved until lunch! lol