I need to be better at labeling what I put in the freezer.
When I go to Costco, I buy big packs of chicken breasts and thighs, and then I divide them up and freeze them in smaller packs when I get them home, thinking that I am going to remember what is what, but guess what! I don't.
Sometimes I thaw out what I think is chicken breasts only to discover once it is thawed that they are thighs and vice versa.
Not a problem really . . . unless I had something in mind to cook that called for the other. Not to self - buy a permanent marker.
So I had planned on making a curry with chicken breasts, but it ended up being thighs, and so I did something else entirely.
Balsamic Chicken & Mushrooms . . . a skillet entree that is quick and easy and so very tasty!
The Balsamic Vinegar adds a very subtle piquancy . . . its not in your face. Make sure you use a good quality one.
Not the best, because that would be a waste, and a really good Balsamic needs to be enjoyed at the very simplest level.
But you will still want a good one as a cheap nasty one would be too acidic. Go for something in the moderate cost range.
White or button mushrooms work best. Other kinds (portabella, baby portabella) give off too much dark colour to the sauce, which I don't think is very visually appealing.
Also, don't burn your garlic. Burnt garlic is bitter. There is no coming back from that. None.
This is really simple and really delicious. I like to serve it with some steamed Basmati and a vegetable. On this particular day it was corn, but I actually prefer it with peas or beans.
There is a small amount of cream in it, just to make the sauce very creamy, but when you split it 4 ways, its really not a lot and it is worth it.
Yield: 4
Balsamic Chicken & Mushrooms
A simple entree made with boneless, skinless chicken thighs cooked in a creamy balsamic and mushroom gravy. This is fabulously tasty
ingredients:
- 1 TBS light olive oil
- 1 TBS butter
- 1 small onion, peeled and thinly slices
- 2 fat cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1/2 pound white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
- 1 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2 inch pieces
- 2 TBS flour
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp coarse black pepper, divided
- 120ml chicken stock (1/2 cup)
- 2 TBS Balsamic vinegar
- 60ml double cream (1/4 cup, heavy cream)
- a few spring thyme and some chopped leaves to garnish
instructions:
- Heat the oil and butter together in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally until they start to brown a bit. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute.
- While the onions are cooking, toss the chicken pieces together with the flour, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper.
- Push the onions to the side of the skillet and add the chicken pieces, a few at a time, browning on both sides and adding more as they brown. Transfer all to a bowl.
- Add the mushrooms to the pan. Cook and stir until they are lightly browned. Add the remaining salt and black pepper. Add the chicken stock and balsamic vinegar, stirring to release any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Return the chicken and onions/garlic mixture to the pan along with the thyme sprigs.
- Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the cream and heat through. Taste and adjust seasoning as required. Sprinkle with a few thyme leaves and serve immediately.
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You could use dried thyme if you wanted to, about 1/2 tsp. I have fresh thyme in my kitchen garden and so I always used fresh. This is fabulously tasty.
In fact, I would serve this to company and it makes a great Dinner party dish, although for a dinner party I wouldn't serve corn. I'd be a bit more elegant, and I might serve baby potatoes instead of rice. You are sure to enjoy it any way any how! Bon Appetit!
I've had a pretty busy day today. I went to the grocery store this morning and picked up a bunch of things to make my granola and a few other bits. It amazing how much a few bits can add up to these days, especially if you are trying to eat healthier.
It shouldn't be that way really. They should make junk food more expensive and healthy food cheaper, but that makes sense, and most things the shops do hardly ever make sense. I think my main beef about fresh fruit and vegetables is that it only lasts a couple of days once you get it home, depending on where you buy it.
I find if you shop in the more expensive shops it tends to be of a better quality and fresher, but my days of shopping in expensive shops are long gone now I am not working full-time. So I tend to have to pick up less and go more frequently, rather than do a weekly shop, only getting in what we can eat within a couple of days so that nothing gets wasted.
Today I gave Todd leftovers from yesterday for his dinner. He had chicken and a baked potato and some tender-stem broccoli. He was quite happy with that. (I'll be showing you the recipe for that chicken tomorrow. It's a real winner/winner!)
I had a lovely Tuna Salad Wrap with plenty of raw veg and some of that tender stem broccoli. I did take mine out well before it was finished cooking. I only just blanched it. Todd likes his well done. 😖 We are all different. I'm just lucky I can get him to eat broccoli at all. My father never would.
We were both happy with our dinners. The Tuna Salad is a recipe I pinched and adapted from a Weight Watchers site. Theirs was pretty plain. I added a few things for colour and crunch.
Things like spring onions and red pepper strips. They had their red pepper chopped. I didn't want it chopped.
I also added a layer of fresh baby spinach leaves . . . both for colour and for nutrition . . . and for the crunch.
I spread my filling out really thinly and then laid the pepper strips and spinach on top of it before rolling the wrap up really tightly.
I then refrigerated it for about an hour so that I could cut it into neat little slices. That would be the perfect way to serve it in a lunch box to take to work. So pretty, and easy to eat.
Yield: 1
Tuna Salad Wrap
This makes a large wrap, suitable for lunch, especially when sliced into rounds and served with a variety of raw veg for munching on. Healthy and delicious!
ingredients:
- 1 (150g) tin of white tuna, in water, drained well (3 ounce tin)
- 1 large whole grain wrap bread
- 2 TBS fat free mayonnaise
- 1 tsp grainy Dijon mustard
- 1 TBS fat free plain yogurt
- 2 TBS finely chopped celery
- 2 TBS finely chopped spring onion
- 1/2 small red pepper cut into strips
- a handful of baby spinach leaves, de-stemmed
- 1/2 tsp sea salt with lemon
- 1/4 tsp coarse black pepper
instructions:
- Drain the tuna well and flake into a small bowl. Add the chopped celery and spring onion, mixing well together. Stir together the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, yogurt, lemon salt and black pepper. Mix this into the tuna mixture, combining all and mashing it well together.
- Lay out your wrap on a flat surface. Spread the tuna over the wrap to cover, leaving about 1/2 inch free all the way around. Lay out the pepper strips lengthwise on top of the tuna in rows, leaving about an inch in between the rows. Cover with the spinach, in a single layer. Roll up as tightly as you can from one edge. Wrap well in cling film and chill for about an hour.
- Cut into 1 inch slices to serve.
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In all truth I could not eat the whole thing and so I wrapped the remainder up and put it in the fridge for tomorrow. I don't know what's happening to my appetite lately. I get filled up a lot faster, and I just don't seem to be able to eat as much as I used to, which isn't exactly a bad thing when you think about it! Bon Appetit!
I love to cook, and I love to eat. I worked as a Personal Chef for a number of years for a very wealthy American Family here in the UK, where every meal had to be a production.
I didn't mind. It gave me the opportunity to stretch, and it was what I was being paid to do. It was the dream job in many ways for the consummate foodie.
To be honest however, it is not how I like to eat and cook in my personal life.
With the exception of Special Occasions, I want to cook . . . and I enjoy . . . simplicity. Less is more in my kitchen.
I prefer simple ingredients, put together quickly, easily and in a delicious way. You can call me lazy if you want to, but it truly is what works best for me.
I don't want to spend hours and hours in the kitchen cooking . . . or cleaning up!
For most of my every day cooking meals like this Skillet Sausage, Peas & Rice work well for me.
Its the type of thing I like to cook and to eat.
Simple, honest and, yes . . . delicious. Quick too! Meals like this get me in and out of the kitchen in a short period of time.
Polish Sausage (smoked sausage) is one of the main ingredients.
I adore the smokiness and spiciness of a good polish sausage and yes . . . the hit of garlic. It is just so good!
In this simple dish polish sausage rounds are lightly browned in a bit of olive oil and then combined with some fresh garlic for even more of a garlic hit!
Don't worry it's not too much, not too much at all. (Be careful not to let your garlic brown or burn. It will turn bitter.)
After that you simply add some basmati rice, chicken stock and a bit of seasoning.
Brought to the boil and then simmered, within about 20 minutes, your dish is almost done.
All you need to do now is to stir in some frozen baby peas, chopped spring onions and chopped parsley.
The heat from the dish, helps to thaw the peas and slightly cooks them without causing them to lose that beautiful green colour . . .
It also takes any harshness out of the spring onions, leaving you just with a lovely light onion flavour that is not obnoxious in the least.
Parsley adds even more lovely green colour and contrast. Oh but this is some delicious. We love it! You can also successfully cut the recipe in half if you wish.
Yield: 5 - 6
Skillet Sausage, Peas & Rice
prep time: 15 minscook time: 20 minstotal time: 35 mins
Meals like this all in one pan skillet sausage, peas and rice make for a really delicious, quick and easy mid-week supper. All you need on the side is perhaps a salad and for the heartier eaters, some crusty bread!
ingredients:
- 2 tsp light olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 pound polish (smoked) sausage (kielbasa) sliced into 1/4 inch thick coins
- 710ml chicken stock (3 cups)
- 315g basmati rice (1 1/2 cups)
- 1/2 tsp garlic granules (not salt)
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- salt as needed
- 225g frozen petit pois (1 1/2 cups)
- 4 spring onions, trimmed, washed and finely chopped
- a handful of fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped (about 1/4 cup)
instructions:
- Heat the oil in a large skillet (with a lid). Add the sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until it browns on the edges. Add the garlic. Cook and stir for a minute or so longer, until fragrant. (Don't let the garlic brown or it turns bitter.) Add the chicken stock, rice, garlic granules and pepper. Stir and bring to the boil, then reduce to a slow simmer, cover and cook over low heat for about 20 minutes, until all of the liquid has been absorbed. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt as needed. Stir in the frozen peas, spring onions and parsley. Cover and let stand for about 5 minutes then serve. (Don't worry, the peas thaw out beautifully and semi-cook during this time.)
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All you really need on the side is a nice tossed salad and for the really big eaters some crusty bread. It always goes down a real treat. Delicious and it gets you in and out of the kitchen in about half an hour or so tops! Win/win!
You might be asking yourself what is the perfect blondie. For me the perfect blondie has to be a chocolate chip blondie at the very least. A chewy blondies recipe that you find totally delectable.
My ex-mother in law Elizabeth made wonderful blondies. Kind of cakey, with a lovely almost butterscotch flavour and topped with a lovely brown sugar fudge icing. There were no chocolate chips in them, but they were incredibly delicious nonetheless.
I just realised this morning that I don't have that recipe on here. Time to rectify that methinks. Look for that soon! Its actually a recipe that I was given by my ex when we were teenagers dating.
It is handwritten in his schoolboy writing and he mis-spelled the title . . . "Camel Squares," instead of Caramel Squares. A part of their charm.
Not quite a Blondie they are much more cake like. Every now and then I do feel the urge to indulge in them, or in a Blondie.
I've made quite a few Blondies through the years and this is the recipe I finally settled on as being the perfect blondie.
So what is the perfect Blondie? I suppose that all depends on who you are asking. This is what it means to me.
A perfect Blondie is like a brownie . . . fudgy and dense . . .
but not chocolaty like a brownie . . . it tastes like caramel or toffee . . . from the combination of brown sugar, and vanilla . . . and butter . . .
They can seem almost gooey when first out of the oven, but don't let that fool you . . . once they cool completely, they settle into the perfect slice . . . dense and chewy, almost like your favourite chocolate chip cookie . . .
You might be tempted to think they aren't cooked, but don't be fooled. That's the way they are supposed to be.
Dense, chewy and with a complex flavour that is not overly sweet, but sweet all the same.
They shouldn't be greasy. IF they are, then you have used too much butter. I don't think it matters if you use salted or unsalted.
I use salted and then only add a pinch of salt, or none to the batter.
They are also very adaptable to other flavours and additions. Today I added good semi sweet chocolate chips and chopped candied ginger, which made them almost taste like chocolate covered gingers which my husband really loves.
Just don't be tempted to add too much of any one thing. Less is definitely more here, and do save a tablespoon or two of your add ins to sprinkle on the top before baking instead of stirring them into the batter.
Yield: 9
Perfect Blondies
This is the perfect Blondie recipe, yielding perfect blondies every time. The texture of the best brownie combined with the best aspects of the perfect chocolate chip cookie. What more could you ask for? (I have included some ideas for variations.)
ingredients:
- 115g butter, melted (1/2 cup)
- 200g soft light brown sugar (1 cup, packed)
- 1 large free range egg, lightly beaten
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 140g plain flour (1 cup)
- pinch salt
Optional Additions:
- 175g semi sweet chocolate chips (1 cup)
- 130g (3/4 cup) semi sweet chocolate chips plus 55g (1/2 cup) chopped toasted nuts
- 130g (3/4 cup) white or dark chocolate chips plus 70g (1/2 cup) macadamia nuts
- 130g (3/4 cup) dark chocolate chunks plus 55g (1/2) cup chopped walnuts
- 175g (3/4 cup) semi sweet chocolate chips plus 60g (1/4 cup) chopped crystallised ginger
- 80g (1 cup) shredded coconut plus 175g (1 cup) mixed chocolate chips
- 115g (2/3 cup) semi sweet chocolate chips plus 110g (2/3 cup) caramel fudge bits
- 130g (3/4 cup) white chocolate chips plus 40g (1/4 cup) chopped dried cranberries
instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter an 8 inch square baking tin and line with baking paper, leaving some overhand for lifting out the baked squares when done.
- Whisk together the butter and brown sugar. Stir in the beaten egg and vanilla. Stir in the flour and salt just to combine. Add any combination of additions of your choice, reserving some for sprinkling on top. Spread in the prepared pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25 - 30 minutes. When done they will be light brown around the edges, the top will be glossy and appear set, and toothpick inserted in the centre should come out with a few moist crumbs.
Created using The Recipes Generator
We really enjoyed this combination of semi sweet chocolate and candied ginger that I used in these Blondies today. I always buy Todd a box of chocolate covered ginger for Christmas which he loves, so these were an extra special treat for him. I really hope you will give these a go and that you will enjoy them as much as we do! Happy weekend!
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This is a cake recipe I have been eye-balling for quite some time now. It closely resembles other cake recipes that I have seen, called Cinnamon Flop Cake, Amish Cinnamon Cake, etc. I have tried a few of those and they didn't turn out very well, which is why I have waited so long to bake this one.
With no eggs and not a lot of fat . . . I had my reservations about it . . . but the photo in the cookbook looked really good . . .
It looks really good and I think you will realise why I wanted to bake it. I love Cinnamon and I adore Cinnamon Toast. Today I decided to take a chance and I baked it.
This has to be one of the easiest cakes I have ever baked. It uses things I always have in the house and there are gluten free options for people who can't do gluten.
The cake itself is quite moist and flavourful. No eggs needed . . . say what! Yep no eggs . . . and only 2 TBS butter. So relatively low fat.
Just look at the lovely texture. I served it plain with a hot drink.
But sliced fruit would go really well with it. She shows it with sliced strawberries. I am thinking that any crushed berries would go well, or sliced peaches, pears, etc.
You bake the cake first and then when it is almost done, you pour a butter/cinnamon/sugar mixture over top and bake it for ten minutes longer . . .
The result of that is a crisp cinnamon sugar coating . . . almost like a cinnamon creme brulee topping . . .
Ohhh, I just had a thought, this would be excellent during strawberry season along with crushed berries and a dollop of whipped cream . . . will be doing this again then for sure!
In the meantime we have enjoyed it just as it is . . . plain . . .
Todd enjoyed a nice big piece of it with a hot cup of vanilla tea . . .
Actually I had cut this piece originally for him to enjoy. I was going to just have a tiny taste . . .
Just a tiny smidgen so I could write about it . . .
However it was so good that I ended up eating half the square of cake before I knew it and then had to cut him another piece. Yes, it IS that good!
Yield: 9
Cinnamon Toast Cake
prep time: 10 minscook time: 35 minstotal time: 45 mins
This is a lovely moist cake with a cinnamon toast crunch that bakes on top. There are no eggs, and there are gluten-free options. Adapted from a recipe from the Weeknight Dinner Cook Book by Mary Younkin.
ingredients:
- 280g plain flour (2 cups)
- 190g sugar (1 cup)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 240ml milk (1 cup), room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 TBS butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
For the Topping:
- 120g butter, melted (1/2 cup)
- 95g sugar (1/2 cup)
- 1 TBS ground cinnamon
instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 inch square baking tin really well. Set aside.
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together the milk, vanilla and melted butter. Add to the dry ingredients and beat together until smooth. Pour into the buttered tin and bake for 25 minutes.
- While the cake is baking stir together the topping ingredients until smooth.
- Remove the cake from the oven after 25 minutes and pour the cinnamon mixture evenly over top of the cake. Return to the oven for an additional 10 minutes.
- Gluten-free sub for flour:
- 185g brown rice flour (1 1/4 cups)
- 65g tapioca starch (1/2 cup)
- 45g potato starch (1/4 cup)
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Oh, yes, I am pretty naughty when it comes to cake. Its a real weakness of mine. I really have no willpower when a cake is involved . . . mores the pity. Bon Weekend!
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