Pan-Seared Chicken with Shallots

When it comes to chicken, I got to my usual Chicken Flourtine, but I needed something new and different. So I came across this receipe where I actually had everything on hand and didn't have to go shopping (Love it when that happens). Try it out and let me know what you think :)
Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded thin
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup chicken broth

Directions

1. Melt 1 tablespoon butter and heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper, and brown on both sides in the skillet. Cover, and continue cooking 10 minutes, or until chicken juices run clear. Set aside, and keep warm.
2. Mix shallots and garlic into skillet over medium heat, and cook until tender. Stir in wine, and cook until heated through. Stir in broth, and continue cooking 5 minutes, or until reduced and slightly thickened. Mix in the remaining butter until melted. Serve the sauce over the chicken.

Hasselback Potatoes ROCK

Another Rock awesome Recipe. Thank you Sunny Anderson:

Ingredients

• 16 ounces red new potatoes
• 3 to 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Herbed Sour Cream, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Using a wooden spoon as a cradle, place each potato in the spoon and make several parallel slits into each potato top making sure not to slice completely through. Place 3 garlic slices between slits at the crown of each potato. Toss in a medium bowl with butter and olive oil. Place on a baking sheet and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Bake until tops are crispy and potatoes are cooked through, about 1 hour. Transfer to a platter and top with Herbed Sour Cream.

Herbed Sour Cream:

• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine ingredients in a small bowl. Season, to taste, and refrigerate until use.

Great Potatoes!!!!

So I have a husband who is not a fan of potatoes... unless they are in the french fried version. So I thought besides mashed and roasted, there had to be other ways to make them tasty. Low and behold Giada De Laurentiis comes through again. I'm watching her show and she is making this potatoes boil with chicken stock. Genius right? I think so anyway. Probably something you are taught in culinary school on day one. So her you go, her Lemon-Basil Potatoes:

Ingredients

• 16 baby new potatoes, halved
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, plus 2 teaspoons
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Directions

Place the potatoes, chicken stock, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Drain the potatoes and place in a serving bowl. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Add the lemon zest and 3 tablespoons of the basil. Toss well and garnish with the remaining chopped basil.

Egg Rolls

I know I haven't posted in a long time, kids being out of school it is hard to sit down and concentrate on one thing. :)

This is probably one of the more time consuming recipes I have attacked, but it so worth it.

Ingredients

-Egg Roll Shells (you can find this in your produce section) - one 13 1/2 oz pkg (25 pieces)

-Filling: 6 eggs (made into thin sheets and then shredded)
            Pork (8 oz, 1/2lb), shredded and marinated in:
                      soy sauce (1T)
                      sherry (1T)
                      salt (1/2tsp)
                      sugar (1T)
                  
            Bean Sprout (1lb bag)
            Carrot (1Cup) Shredded
            Scallion (1Cup) Shredded

Sauce for Filling:
            Water (1/2C)
             salt (1tsp)
             sugar (1tsp)
             sesame oil (1T)
             black pepper (dash)
             Cornstarch (2T in 2T water)




Instructions:

1.) marinate pork for at least 30 minutes before cooking. Add 1T of cornstarch to marinated pork before   cooking
2.) Heat wok and saute pork in 2T of cooking oil. Add scallions and carrot in, mix in egg and beat sprouts
3.) Bring the sauce for the filling to a boil and stir in the cornstarch mix. Pour into the filling and mix well
4.) Wrap the egg roll into long rectangular shape and seal it with paste made from 2T of flour in 2T of water
5. Fry them in moderate Crisco oil until light brown.


Note: The filling of the egg rolls may vary as one likes. Shrimp and chicken are two popular ingredients. Mushroom, bamboo shoots, chives, celery, and Chinese cabbage or lettuce are vegetables often used. It may be served with soy sauce, vinegar, or sesame chili oil.


   

Cannelloni

I have yet to attack lasagna, but this is about the closest thing I've come to it. So super yummy and filling. If you want to challenge yourself a bit, this is a good one. The recipe itself isn't difficult, it's getting the food in the manicotti pasta tubes that I always have problems with. :D

Ingredients
1 box manicotti pasta tubes
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onions
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 10oz pkg. frozen chopped spinach
1 tbsp butter
1 lb ground beef
5 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp heavy cream
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp dried oregano
salt and freshly ground pepper

White Cream ingredients

4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp white pepper (I use regular pepper)
Tomato sauce (home made or bottled is fine)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp butter

Thaw and drain the spinach. Cook onions and garlic in olive oil until soft. Stir in spinach and cook for 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Melt butter in a skillet and lightly brown the ground meat. Add the meat to the spinach mixture along with the Parmesan cheese, cream eggs, and oregano. Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Set the bowl aside. Cook manicotti tubes according to package directions.

To make the cream sauce. Melt the butter in a heavy sauce pan. Add the flour and cook for a minute or two. Pour in the milk and cream and whisk constantly. Cook stirring constantly with a whisk. When sauce boils reduce the heat and cook over a low heat for 2-3 minutes. Sauce will be thick. Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven 375 degrees. Fill the pasta tubes with the spinach - meat filling. Pour a little tomato sauce into a buttered bake and serve dish. Lay the stuffed shells side by side in one layer on the tomato sauce. Pour the cream sauce over all the pasta tubes. Pour the tomato sauce in a layer over the cream sauce. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over all. Dot with butter. At this point you may refrigerate or freeze. When ready to serve, bring to room temperature and bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling.

yummmm Pot Roast

OH Pot Roast. The second traditional form of comfort food here in the states next to chicken soup. I find that Pot Roast is like Spaghetti. Each person has a different way of making it, but it always comes out amazingly delicious. Now it took me a while to be a pot roast lover. I mean potatoes and carrots and meat didn't sound all to appealing to me as a child. I was picky like that. It wasn't until I was older when I fully found respect of the mighty pot roast. It took me a while to really do some hunting for a good recipe. Low and behold, we had to replace our slow cooker and there was one right in their book that came in the box. I tried it and wow!!! Simple yet SO DARN YUMMMY!!!! If you have wanted to try making a pot roast and looking for something simple, this is a great one! Try and enjoy!!!


America's Favorite Pot Roast (Crock Pot Cookbook and Owner's Manual)

3 1/2 to 4lbs boneless pot roast
1/4 cup flour
2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
3 carrots, chipped
3 potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 small onions, sliced
1 stalk celery, chipped
10 button mushrooms, sliced

Trim all excess fat from the roast, brown and drain. Combine 1/4 cup flour, salt and pepper and coast meat with the flour mixture. Place all vegetables except mushrooms in the Crock-pot Slow Cooker and top with the roast. Spread mushrooms evenly over the top of the roast. Cover and cook on low for 10 to 12 hours or on High for 4-6 hours

Svíčková na Zelentine AKA Tenderloin with Vegetables and Knedlik AKA Bread Dumplings

When first introduced to my husband I found out he was a pure Czechoslovak. His father is from the Czech Republic and his mother from Slovakia. I had really no clue about either of these countries except that they were once one country under communist rule. When we were really getting to know one another he kept suggesting this dish he was raised on. Svíčková and Knedlik. Honestly, at this point I wasn't very adventurous when it came to trying new foods, but he swore by it. I tell you what, it has become one of my favorite dishes. Now it's pretty heavy on the stomach, but it's a wonderful treat from time to time. The meat is so tender and when you put the gravy on it. OMG... So unbelievably good. The bread dumplings.... out of this world. It took me a couple times with the dumplings to get them just right. I had never made anything from scratch before. The whole process freaked me out the first time, but but now it's like I'm just flowing through the kitchen and know everything I need to do to make this dish ROCKIN. And so, here they are from the Czechoslovak Cookbook by Josa Brizova

Svíčková


Ingredients: 

3lbs tenderloin of beef (I use Beef Round.. a lot less expensive)

3 ounces bacon

2 cups sliced vegetables (onion, carrot, parsnip, celery root, I do a 1/2 cup of each)

1/4 cup butter

salt to taste

1 cup boiling water

5 peppercorns

2 allspice

1 bay leaf

pinch of thyme

1 tablespoon flour 

1 cup of sour cream

Directions:

Lard meat with 1/2-inch-thick bacon strips (stick bacon in the meat). Brown vegetables in butter, add meat, and brown on all sides. Pour in 1/2 cup of water, salt and seasonings. Roast in a 325 degree oven until tender (1 to 1 1/2 hours), basting frequently. Remove meat from pan, dust drippings with flour, stir until bround. Add remaining water and simmer for 5 minutes. Put in blender with sour cream and blend until thick. Serves 4-6

 

Knedlik 

Ingredients:

4 cups of instantized flour (I use Wondra)

1 teaspoon salt

2 egg yolks

1 1/2 cups milk

4 cups diced stale white bread

Directions:

Sift flour into a bowl. In another bowl, lightly beat together salt, egg yolks, and milk, and pour into flour. Work dough until it is shiny and does not stick to bowl; cover, and let stand for 1 hour. Work in the bread. With floured hands, shape dough into 3 or 4 rolls, 8 by 2 1/2 inches. Bring about 6 quarts of water to a boil in a large pan and put in dumplings, making sure they do not stick to bottom. Cover and cook for 10 to 15 minutes on each side (20 to 30 minutes in all). Remove from pan with 2 plates or a large skimmer. Make a cut across the center of 1 dumpling to make sure it is done, then slice all into 3/4-inch pieces with a thin sharp knife or a thread. Arrange slices in a heated bowl. Serves 6-8.