and yet... another Chicken Dish

Honestly. How can you go wrong with chicken? Ok.. maybe if you under cook it, it could go HORRIBLY wrong. Blech.

Chicken Florentine is a huge favorite in our house. The first time I pulled out this recipe, the name was intimidating enough, but it turns out to be a very simple and yummy dish. We have it at least once a month.

First step is to cook 4 chicken breast and cut into small pieces

Ingredients:
Bottom layer of dish
2 10oz pkgs frozen chopped spinach
1 tbsp butter
1 clove garlic, mashed
dash bais
dash marjoram
1 tbsp flour
1/3 cup medium cream

Cream

3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
3/4 cup cream
3/4 cup chicken stock
salt and pepper

grated Parmesan for the top (we use mozzarella)

Directions

Cook the spinach according to package directions, drain. Melt 1tbsp of butter, add the garlic, basil and marjoram. Mix in 1 tbsp of flour. Cook the flour in the butter. Add 1/3 cup of cream and stir until thick. Add the spinach. Taste for seasoning, may need salt and pepper.

Place the spinach in the bottom of a buttered casserole dish. Cover with the chicken breast meat.

Make the sauce. Foam butter and add flour (make sure all the flour is cooked into the flour) add the cream, chicken stock, and salt and pepper. Cook until thickened. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Cover the sauce with 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (we are huge cheese fans, so there is no measurement used in our household :D). At this point you may refrigerate or freeze or hey.. cook it. When ready to serve, bring to room temperature and bake at about 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling.

ENJOY

Chicken with Cashew Nuts

When I would get Chinese, I always had my favorite. General Tso's or Orange Chicken. Obviously more a chicken fan when it comes to Chinese food. ANYWAY. When my husband and I were dating we went to his dads for dinner one night and he made Chicken with Cashew Nuts. Needless to say, I fell in love and had to try this recipe. I didn't get to it until I felt ALOT more comfortable in the kitchen. There are definitely recipes that can be very intimidating. This was one of them. First off.. I have never heard of Sesame Oil. So I figured I could just replace it with regular oil. BOY was I WRONG.. Also, where in the heck was I going to find sweet bean sauce? Oh... look.. there it is. In the international section. Dur. There is a lot of prep and it makes a mess for sure, but SO worth it. Rivals any good Chinese Restaurant. Give it a try. You won't regret it.

Ingredients:

1lb (I use 3lbs for a family of 5) Chicken cubes (cut in 1/2 inch cubes)
Marinate the chicken in the following (adjust if necessary for more chicken):
-1 1/2 Tbsp of Soy Sauce
-1/2 tsp of salt
-1 Tbsp sugar
-1/8tsp pepper

3oz (about 1/2 cup) Cashew  Nuts
1/2 Cup Onion (diced)
1/2 Cup Carrots (precooked & sliced)
1/2 Cup Green Peppers (diced)
1 t Garlic (chopped)

Sauce:

1Tbsp Sweet Bean Sauce
1Tbsp Sherry
1Tbsp Sesame Oil
1tsp Sugar
1Tbsp Water

Methods:

1.) Stir Fry cashew nuts in 2 Tbsp of oil in wok over medium heat until light brown and remove
2.) Sautee onion, green pepper, and carrot and remove.
3.) heat wok with 2 Cups(yes cups) of oil, coat chicken cubes with 1 Tbsp of cornstarch, put into wok and separate them with spatula, and remove when meat turns white.
4.) Heat wok with 1 Tbsp of oil, put garlic in to bring out the flavor, pour sauce in, bring to a boil, pour chicken cubes in and stir with spatula so every piece is coated with sauce. Pour vegetables and nuts in and mix well. Serve with hot fluffy rice.

5.) Vegetables and nuts may vary as one prefers, such as snow peas and almond may be used instead of green pepper and cashew nuts.

Shrimp, how I love thee... let me count the ways

Anyone who knows me, knows I love me some shrimp. When I started getting a little bit more serious about cooking, a friend of mine gave me a recipe for jambalaya. Seriously freaked out about going to the fish counter and asking for raw deveined shrimp. I know, I'm a wuss. I get that. Anyways, it's up to me to peel them and to pat them dry. I got through it. I survived. Gave myself a little pat on the back.

A couple weeks ago I was flipping channels and came across Giada De Laurentiis cooking show. Of course I have to stop and see what amazing dish she is making. She ROCKS. That day she was making Linguine with Shrimp and Lemon Oil. YUMMMMM. So I quickly jump on the computer and find the recipe. A few days later I decide to go ahead and make it. I already had the frozen shrimp (I know it sounds like it wouldn't be good, but it is), but now I need to go to the store and find everything else. This actually became quite the epic journey. I go to one of our local grocery stores that I like to find everything I needed. They had the lemons, and the parsley, and the shallots. What they didn't have was arugula, a major portion of the dish. So I say fine.. I can run to one of our local organic markets. They have to have it. NOPE... they don't. So I decide to try the grocery store closest to home (I try to avoid normally, they are way over priced). Low and behold.. they have it. Figures. Drive all over the place and find this item within walking distance to my house. UGH.. Anyway, I make this amazing dish. SO super yummy. The kids did pretty well with it. Our oldest ate everything, but our girls would only eat the noodles. I can deal with that. More shrimp for me and my hubby. Last night I made it again and it was even better then before. Please, try and enjoy. Thank you Giada!!!!

Linguine with Shrimp and Lemon Oil

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

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Photo: Linguine with Shrimp and Lemon Oil

TOTAL TIME:25 min

Prep:10 min

Inactive Prep:--

Cook:15 min

YIELD:4 to 6 servings

LEVEL:Easy

Ingredients for the Lemon Oil:

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 lemon, zested

FOR THE PASTA:

• 1 pound linguine pasta
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 shallots, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 16 ounces frozen shrimp
• 1/4 cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 ounces arugula (about 3 packed cups)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

For the lemon oil:Combine the olive oil and the lemon zest in a small bowl and reserve.
For the pasta:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.
Meanwhile, in a large, heavy skillet warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook until pink, about 5 minutes. Add the cooked linguine, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Toss to combine. Turn off the heat and add the arugula. Using a mesh sieve, strain the lemon zest out of the reserved lemon olive oil and add the oil to the pasta. The zest can be discarded. Add some of the cooking water to desired consistency. Add the chopped parsley to the pasta and toss to combine. Serve immediately.

In the beginning

There was me and a stove. I had no clue what to do with it. Sure I took home-ec class in middle school... but really didn't learn much except how to make peanut butter cookies.  I could make a mean chocolate chip cookie, but I wouldn't be able to do it with out my Toll-House semi-chocolate chips bag.

I have to say that my main inspiration was my husband. He grew up with a mom who cooked everything. Sure, I did too... but I never paid attention to how she made anything. Heck, Scooby-Doo was on. Nothing could drag me away from the next mystery. So here we have all these copies of the recipes that my husbands mom used. I didn't know what mashed garlic was or how to lard meat. I mean really? Can't we use layman's terms here? So for my first none frozen meal that I attempted was goulash. Yes... goulash. It sounds god awful, but man.. once I mastered it... the meat is tender and it is so flavorful. My first go around with this... I just dumped in the beef tips and over watered everything. It was bland and just pain icky. Now I am at a point where I can make it without the recipe. I never thought I could get to that point. Goulash is one of these dishes that people like it different ways. Some like meat, some like pork or chicken even. So if you choose to follow this blog, I will post recipes every couple of days that I have mastered, or will be attempting to master :D Who knows if I will grab a single person, but why not give it a try, right? Enjoy

From The Czechoslovak Cookbook by Joza Brizova

2lbs beef (I used Beef for Stew)
1/4 Cup Lard (butter works)
1 Large Onion, Chopped
1/4 tsp paprika (I used probably about 1 tsp.. sometimes more)
dash of pepper
pinch of marjoram
salt to taste
1 cloved garlic, mashed (I use more... depends on taste)
1 Tablesppon Flour
2 Cups water

Fry onion in lard until yellow; add paprika and meat; brown. Add seasonings; pour 1/2 cup water. Cover, and simmer until tender, adding more water as it evaporates. When meat is done, uncover it, and let all the water evaporate. Dust with flour; stir until brown. Add 1 cup more water; simmer for 10 to 15 minutes longer. Serves 4 to 6