Stir-Fried Chicken, Garlic Chives, and Pea Pods

This dish was not very good, not only were there WAY too many pea pods, the sauce seized up and the ingredients were too expensive.  The produce guy laughed at me when I asked if there were "garlic" chives, he said regular chives are garlic chives.  Also, he laughed when I told him I needed the chives with their unopened blossoms!!  I did not take the time to remove the strings from the pea pods, but I did cut the ends off.  I used some white wine rather than sherry because, being on a budget,  I didn't want to purchase more ingredients I might not use again.  I found that 1 teaspoon of sesame oil was way too much, less would have given the dish a more subtle flavor.  This dish was really spicy for my mouth. I had bad timing cooking the rice, also, and the timing was a bit off.

Stir-Fried Chicken, Garlic Chives, and Pea Pods

1/2 c. chicken broth

2 T dry sherry

1 T soy sauce

2 t. cornstarch

1 t. sesame oil

1/4 t. crushed red pepper

2 t. vegetable oil

1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breasts, but into 1-inch pieces

2 c. 1-inch cut garlic chives and their unopened blossoms

1/4 lb. snow pea pods, ends and strings removed

1. In a 1-cup measuring cup or small bowl, combine broth, sherry, soy sauce, cornstarch, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes.  Set aside.

2. Heat wok or large skillet over high heat. Add 1 Tablespoon oil and swirl it around to coat the pan. Add half of the chicken and cook until well browned on one side, about 3 minutes. Turn chicken pieces and brown the other side, about 2 minutes. Repeat to brown the other half of the chicken with remaining oil and transfer to bowl. Reduce heat to medium.

3. In same pan, stir-fry chives for 1 minute. Add pea pods and stir-fry for 1 minute. Restir sauce and pour over vegetables. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly, until thickened. Return chicken and juices to pan, cook until heated through. Transfer to serving plate. Serve immediately.

Very Ritzy Chicken

This dish was interesting, it worked out great for me because I had several ingredients that I needed to use up. I am off gluten, so I used some croutons I made out of gluten-free bread for the seasoned bread crumbs.  I had some shredded mozzarella cheese to use rather than the slices.  As usual for me, there wasn't enough of the sauce, I would have doubled it had I known before I started the recipe. The flavors were good, and I will keep this one, but double the sauce next time!!

Very Ritzy Chicken

3 whole chicken breasts (6 half-breasts), skinned and boned
2 eggs, lightly beatedn
1 c. seasoned bread crumbs
3 T olive oil
1 pint heavy cream
1 c. Parmesan cheese, grated
2 T parsley, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
6 slices mozzarella cheese

1. Dip chicken breasts into beaten eggs and coat with bread crumbs. 2. Heat oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Add coated chicken and brown lightly on both sides. Remove from pan and place in a greased 9" x 13" baking dish, topping each breast with a slice of mozzarella cheese.
3. Mix together remaining ingredients in a saucepan and cook until mixture gets hot and thickens. Pour over chicken and bake in a 350º oven for 25 minutes.
4. This may be prepared a day or two in advance and refrigerated before baking.

Lemony Pine Nut Pilaf

This dish was a bit too lemony for my taste, although I added some cooked chicken for leftovers and it was nice.  I think with some adjustments it could work better.

Lemony Pine Nut Pilaf

1 c. chicken broth
1 c. uncooked regular white rice
2 T butter
1/3 c. pine nuts
2 T chopped fresh parsley
1 T grated lemon peel
2 T lemon juice

1. In a medium saucepan, bring chicken broth to a boil and stir in rice. Cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Saute pine nuts until golden brown. Stir in parsley, lemon peel, and lemon juice.
3. Pour butter mixture over rice, stir to coat. Makes 6 servings.

Brown Rice with Garlic and Cashews

I liked the taste of this dish, but somehow the garlic got burned. Perhaps I had the heat up too high? I will keep this recipe, and hopefully will prepare it better next time.

Brown Rice with Garlic and Cashews

4 T peanut oil

2 c. short-grain brown rice [you will use half and save the rest for fried rice later]

3 1/2 c. water

2 t. plus pinch salt

1 large clove garlic, slivered

1/2 c. broken unsalted cashews

1. Heat 1 1/2 Tablespoon oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add rice and cook, stirring constantly until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the water and 2 teaspoons salt. Heat to boiling. Stir well, cover pan, and reduce heat to low. Cook until water is absorbed, about 45 minutes. Let stand covered for 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 1/2 Tablespoon of oil in a small skillet over low heat. Add garlic and cook gently until golden, about 3 minutes. Stir in cashews and cook 2 minutes longer. Sprinkle with pinch salt.

3. Add garlic and cashews with oil to rice and toss to combine. Serve half the rice (about 3 cups). Let remaining rice cool and refrigerate for making fried rice later.

Pretzel Fried Chicken

How can you go wrong with pretzel-flavored breading on fried chicken!! Well, I suppose this is how. For some reason, even the oil smelled fishy to me as I was cleaning up later in the day. I ended up cutting up the chicken to use in a Chinese Chicken Salad for dinner. This is not a recipe to keep, although i still believe it has potential. Perhaps making sure the pretzels are totally powdered, perhaps using a blender? Also, the double-dip technique would have been nice to get more of the pretzel taste on the outside. The chicken was bland because there was no seasoning.

Pretzel Fried Chicken

2 2-to-3 pound fryer-broilers, cut up into portion-sized pieces
2 eggs, beaten until lemon yellow
1/2 c. milk
3 c. finely crushed pretzel crumbs made from the cocktail type pretzels
vegetable oil or shortening for deep frying

1. Dry the pieces of chicken with paper towels. Mix the eggs and milk thoroughly.
2. Place the finely crushed pretzels in a paper sack. Dip each piece of chicken in the egg-milk mixture and place in the crushed pretzels and shake sack until thoroughly coated.
3. Drop into 350º vegetable oil and fry until a rich golden brown. Place the fried pieces of chicken on aluminum foil in a large flat baking pan in a 300º oven for an additional 35 minutes. Serve piping hot. Serves 6.

Crispy Fried Chicken

This was a much better preparation for fried chicken, and the seasoning is better than my last recipe. I will keep this recipe until I find a better one. The difference is that instead of just an egg dip there is a batter dip. I used corn oil and it worked fine. One secret I keep reading about is to dry off the chicken before you flour it up. This recipe actually calls for moistening the chicken pieces!!

Crispy Fried Chicken

2 1/2 to 3 lb. cut-up frying chicken
shortening for deep frying
1 1/2 c. flour
1 T garlic salt
1 1/2 t. black pepper
1 1/2 t. paprika
1/4 t. poultry seasoning
2/3 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
1 egg yolk, beaten
3/4 c. flat beer or water

1. Combine first batch of seasoning (through second flour) and set aside.

2. Combine second batch of seasoning (after 2nd flour). Combine egg yolk and beer or water. Add gradually to dry ingredients.
3. Heat shortening to 365º in a deep saucepan or deep fryer to a depth of 2 inches.
4. Moisten the chicken pieces and dip in seasoned flour, then batter, then back in seasoned flour.
5. Fry in hot shortening for 15 to 18 minutes or until well browned.
6. Drain on paper towels. 4 servings.

Wessonality Fried Chicken

So I got a hankerin' for some fried chicken and checked out my recipe file for some that don't include dairy (I am off dairy for the time being to see if I have an allergy). This recipe was Carol Brady's favorite so I thought I would start here!! I used peanut oil because that is what I had!! I won't use full breast pieces in the future because they didn't cook in the center. I will cut up the chicken into "strips" for future recipes. This recipe was SO bland!! I will not be keeping it.

Wessonality Fried Chicken

3/4 c. flour
1 1/2 t. salt
3/4 t. paprika
1/4 t. pepper
3 lb. chicken pieces
1 egg
2 T water
3 c. oil

1. Combine flour, salt, paprika, and pepper in a bag.
2. Shake chicken pieces, a few at a time, in the bag.
3. Beat egg with water. Dip chicken in egg mixture.
4. Shake chicken in flour mixture again.
5. Heat oil to 375º in a skillet for 20 to 30 minutes, turning once. Makes 6 servings.

Parsley Ravioli with Brown Butter Sauce

I had some leftover Ricotta cheese and found this recipe yesterday. I was pleased with how the ravioli turned out, even though I didn't let the butter brown up enough!! The flavor is light and bright, and the lemony sauce helps to brighten it even more. Some tips I have are that you should set the finished ravioli on a damp dishcloth rather than on a greased pan. I did both (didn't have enough cookie sheets handy) and the raviolis stuck to the greased pan. However, try to have enough cookie sheets handy to place the boiled ravioli on in the oven while keeping warm. The other tip I have is to definitely use those large round spoons with holes for removing the ravioli from the pan, and tilt it against the side of the pan to drain off the water. I also used 5 or 6 ravioli in the boiling pan, more would make them stick together. This is definitely a keeper and I will freeze the leftover ravioli to make with the sauce later. I didn't eat the parsley in the sauce, but it did add some flavor and looked nice on the plate.

Parsley Ravioli with Brown Butter Sauce

1 c. Ricotta cheese
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 c. finely chopped flat-leaf parsley (aka Italian parsley)
1 large egg

1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
48 round won ton wrappers (about 9 oz.)
6 T butter
2 t. lemon juice
1/2 c. leaves of flat-leaf parsley

1. Combine cheeses, chopped parsley, egg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
2. Lay 8 wrappers on a flat surface and spoon 1 Tablespoon cheese mixture onto center of each. Working with 1 wrapper at a time, moisten edge with water and top with another wrapper, pressing to seal tightly. Transfer ravioli to a greased baking sheet, cover, and repeat to maker more ravioli. Preheat oven to 250º.
3. Cook 4 to 5 ravioli at a time in boiling water until dough is tender, 3 minutes. Transfer to greased baking sheet in a singe layer, cover with foil, and keep warm in oven.
4. While the second to last batch of ravioli is boiling, melt butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook, swirling until light golden, 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and parsley leaves. Layer ravioli and sauce on a platter. Serves 4.

Fettuccine alla Carbonara

I was on a "fiscal fast" and was trying to find recipes using ingredients I had on hand. This recipe was OK, but I won't be keeping it. I was curious how the eggs would make the sauce, they sort of made it creamy. I have to say that I made the same recipe the night before and I didn't cook the noodles long enough. It came out clumpy, this was much creamier. Now I have to find some way to use up the extra evaporated milk!!

Fettuccine alla Carbonara

1/4 c. scrambled egg
2 T evaporated milk
4 oz. fettuccine or linguine
2 t. butter
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
2 T snipped parsley
1 T cooked bacon pieces
coarsely ground pepper

In a small mixing bowl stir together eggs and milk. In a large saucepan cook the fettuccine. Drain well. Return pasta to the hot saucepan. Immediately pour the egg mixture over pasta. Add butter. Heat and stir mixture over low heat for about 2 minutes. Add cheese, parsley, and bacon. Toss until combined. Sprinkle with pepper.

Cardamom Shortbread

After my disappointment with the Red Velvet cupcakes, I knew this one would be a hit. I had made this as actual shortbread wedges years ago and people liked it. My gamble this time was how to make them bit-sized. I decided to bake it in a round pan and then, while it was still a bit warm, use a round cookie cutter to cut mini shortbreads for the tea party. It paid off and they were just the right size. I will definitely keep this recipe to use both as a true shortbread wedge as well as a cookie option.

Cardamom Shortbread

1/2 c. butter, softened
1/4 c. sugar
1 c. quick-cooking rolled oats
1 t. vanilla
2/3 c. flour
1 t. ground cardamom

Preheat oven to 350º. In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Stir in oats and vanilla. In a small bowl, sift together flour and cardamom. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Stir until a soft dough forms. Press into a greased 8-inch round shortbread mold or a 9-inch round cake pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until light brown. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Loosen edges with a knife. Invert onto a cutting board. If necessary, tap edge of pan on cutting board. Cut warm shortbread into wedges. Cool completely. Store in an airtight container. Makes 6-8 servings.