Cashew Chicken

1 lb boneless chicken breast, cubed
small red and green bell peppers, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 cup unsalted cashews, toasted or boiled
2 T cooking sherry or wine
1 T white wine vinegar
2 t cornstarch
1/2 cup chicken broth
3 T soy sauce/tamari
1 t rice vinegar
2 T honey
1 T vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves
1 t roasted red chili paste
1 t chili powder
red chili flakes to taste
cooked rice, brown or white

In a medium bowl, toss chicken with 1 t oil, chili powder, 1 T soy sauce, 1 T honey. Marinate in fridge for at least a half hour.

In a small bowl, mix broth, soy sauce, vinegar, 1 T honey, roasted red pepper paste, red pepper flakes and cornstarch. Set aside.

In a large skillet or wok, heat 1 T oil over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and work in batches if necessary. Add more oil if needed and cook the vegetables until crisp-tender. Add chicken back in and whisk in sauce. Cook until sauce thickens.

Serve over rice.

This is my take on take-out cashew chicken. I've adapted it from a few recipes. Its pretty good. What can I say? It's cashew chicken! Yum! Add more red pepper flakes or even cayanne if you want more heat.

Red pepper, tomato and chicken pilaf

1 2/3 cups brown rice
1/2 onion, chopped
1 14.5 oz can stewed tomatoes
1 14.5 oz can chicken broth
1 7 oz jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
1 T olive oil
1 t paprika
1/2 t dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 lb chicken breast, cut into 1" pieces
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup green beans, washed and chopped

Preheat oven to 375.
In a dutch oven, combine all ingredients except the green beans. Stir, cover and bake for 40 minutes to an hour.
Stir in green beans and bake uncovered for 10 or 20 minutes more, until all broth is absorbed. Remove bay leaf and serve.

I adapted this recipe from The New American Plate Cookbook. I used regular brown rice instead of quick cooking, so I had to up the time a little. I threw in a few sun dried tomatoes, too. I used crushed tomatoes and the consistency was a little blah. I think it would have been better with diced (with the liquid). Otherwise, a hearty, really easy to make meal. Serve with salad and/or bread.

Crock pot verde chicken

.5-1 lb chicken (breasts or thighs)
4-8 tomatillos
2-3 jalapenos
1 small-med onion - chopped
2-3 cloves garlic - minced
cumin
cayanne
1/4-1/2 cup water or stock

Roast tomatillos and jalapenos.
Put in paper bag to steam.
Remove skins.
Blend tomatillos, jalapenos and onion in food processor.

Put all ingredients into crockpot and cook on low for 4 hours or high for 8.
Shred chicken when there is about an hour left and return to crockpot.

Serve over rice or in tacos or burritos.

OK, so I haven't actually made this yet but I plan to as soon as I can eat nightshades again. I don't usually post recipes that I don't like or haven't made but in this case... what could possibly go wrong?

Stuffed 8-ball Zucchini Squash

2 8-ball zucchini squash
3-4 cloves garlic
3-4 green onions
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup cooked chicken
3-4 leaves of rainbow chard
sun-dried tomatoes
small handful of fresh basil
salt and pepper
red pepper flakes
italian seasoning
parmesan cheese
olive oil

Cut zucchini tops off about 3/4 inch from the top. Scoop out the insides, being careful to leave a wall about 1/4 inch thick on all sides. Steam zucchini "bowls" and tops upside down for about 8 minutes, until slightly softened. I used a dutch oven with a steamer tray in it but any large pot will work.

Preheat oven to 350.

Chop the sun-dried tomatoes and rehydrate them in hot water if you are not using the ones packed in oil (I used dry ones).

Chop the pulp you removed from the zucchini.

Mince or dice the garlic and chop the onions, chard and basil (leave some basil leaves whole for garnish if they are small).

Heat pan on low and add a bit of oil. Saute the onions for a few minutes. Add a small pinch of red pepper flakes and italian seasoning. Add the garlic and saute for minute or so more. Add the pulp and saute until it softens a bit and releases the juice. Add the chard and steam for a few minutes. Add the already cooked rice and chicken and saute for a few minutes to reheat.

Stuff the zucchini bowls with the mixture, layering mixture, cheese and basil leaves until it is full and mounded. Sprinkle with a bit more cheese, put the top on it and bake uncovered for 20 minutes.




















This is my first harvest of the summer! I've nibbled on some strawberries and lettuce but this is the first meal I've made from goods mostly from my garden. I used my zucchini, garlic, chard, onion and basil. This recipe is perfect for leftovers (hence the chicken and quinoa) and there are many things you can put into these loverly little bowls. I got this recipe here but tweaked it a little.

Frank's Buffalo Wings

2.5 lbs chicken wings (a bag)

1/2 cup Frank's RedHot Original Sauce

1/3 cup melted butter

Cayenne Pepper to taste (optional)

1. Bake wings 1 hour at 425 F or deep-fry 12 minutes at 400 F or broil 5-7 minutes until cooked through.

2. Combine Frank's and melted butter in a large bowl.

3. Dip wings in sauce to coat.

I found this recipe on the back of a Frank's RedHot Sauce bottle.  This recipe is most like the wings we get when we're in Buffalo.  I broiled the wings instead of frying and they came out just fine.  Once you combine the hot sauce with that much butter (which is way these are soooo good!), it brings the temp down quite a bit.  If you like them really hot, add a little ground cayenne pepper into the sauce.  A little goes a long way.

Baked Chicken Stuffed with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto and Goat Cheese

I found this recipe over at Kalyn's Kitchen via Food Blog Search

If you haven't used Food Blog Search yet, go there immediate. Or, at least after dinner. I use that site to search for recipes instead of a straight google search. It's cuts down on the number of annoying sites with popups and ads.

My friend, Louie, was over while I was preparing and gave me a couple of ideas. The first is, when pounding the chicken, use the flat edge of the meat tenderizer instead of the pointed end. It flattens the chicken without breaking it up. Second, I added a "pinch" of red pepper flakes to the pesto-goat cheese mix and it gave it a subtle kick. This is an impressive dish for guests that is pretty easy to do. See Kayln's site for detailed description of rolling and dredging the chicken.


Baked Chicken Stuffed with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto, Basil, and Goat Cheese
(6 servings, recipe created by Kalyn)

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/2 cup 100% whole wheat pastry flour
3 eggs, beaten well
2/3 cup 100% whole wheat bread crumbs
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
6 oz. goat cheese (log type, such as Chevre)
6 oz. Sun-dried tomato pesto
1/2 cup fresh basil, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 F. Trim all visible fat and tendons from chicken breasts. Put chicken breasts, one at a time, inside a heavy plastic plastic freezer bag and pound with meat mallet or other heavy object until 1/4 inch thick. (This is where I used the flat side of the mallet)

Put pesto (I threw together a quick pesto in the food processor and left it there for this step), goat cheese, and chopped basil in food processor and buzz a few times until mixture is combined but not completely blended. (This is where I added a pinch of red pepper flakes) Spread 1/6 of pesto/basil/goat cheese mixture on each chicken breast. Roll up chicken, starting with smallest end, tucking in loose pieces and securing with two toothpicks. (I got away with not using the toothpicks)

Put flour, beaten egg, and bread crumbs combined with parmesan cheese into three separate flat dishes. Roll each chicken breast, first in flour, then in egg, then in bread crumb/parmesan mixture.

Oil the glass casserole dish and arrange chicken so pieces are not touching. Bake at 350 F for about 50-60 minutes, or until chicken is slightly browned and firm, but not hard to the touch. I recommend you start checking it after 40 minutes (for me, it was done in 40), and remove from oven as soon as the chicken feels firm and is slightly browned.

Tom Yum Hot and Sour Chicken Soup with Rice Noodles

2 cups water (for soup)
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
2 stalks lemon grass
1 small onion - diced
2-3 garlic cloves - minced
2 tsp vegetable oil
3-4 tsp fish sauce
1 tbsp roasted red chili paste
1 tbsp unrefined cane sugar
1/2 lb chicken tenders already cooked (or quorn brand meat substitute)
Red pepper flakes to taste
4-6 cups water (to cook noodles)
1/2 package rice noodles - thin, not wide

Pull off and discard course outer layers from lemon grass and trim off and discard stem ends. Cut each stalk into about 3-inch lengths. Lightly crush with the flat side of a knife. (I often skip this step and use a few pinches of dried lemon grass sealed in a teabag.)

In small saucepan, heat oil and saute garlic and onion. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

While soup is simmering, bring large pot of water to a rolling boil. Remove from heat and add the noodles. Let sit for 8 minutes (or according to package directions). Drain water and scoop noodles into serving bowls. A slotted spaghetti server works best.

Remove lemongrass from soup and discard (compost!). Ladle the soup over the noodles and enjoy.

I love to make this Thai version of chicken noodle soup. This is one of the first recipes I perfected. It's ideal for a cold day and/or when you're feeling not-so-hot during the cold/flu season.