Chicken Sesame Salad

This salad was good, but I didn't eat the green onions.  Next time I will slice them smaller so I will eat them.  I didn't add tomatoes because I don't like them, but there were some carrots in the salad mix I used.

Chicken Sesame Salad

3 c. cut-up cooked chicken

1/4 t. salt

1/4 c. sesame seed, toasted

1 medium head of iceberg lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces

3 green onions (with tops), cut into 1 1/2-inch strips

2 medium tomatoes, cut into thin wedges

1 T sugar

2 T vinegar

1 T vegetable oil

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

1/4 t. crushed gingerroot or 1/8 t. ground ginger

1. Mix first 6 ingredients together in a bowl.  

2. In a separate bowl mix remaining ingredients together with a whisk.

3. Toss salad with dressing. Makes 6 servings.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

This is an old standby recipe from Best Foods mayonnaise. I hadn't made it for a while and I think I will keep it around.  I have such thick chicken breasts at my grocery store that I think I will cut up pieces the next time I do this one.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

1/2 c. mayonnaise

1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 t. Italian seasoned bread crumbs

1. Combine mayonnaise with cheese. 

2. Arrange chicken on baking sheet. Top with mayonnaise mixture. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. 

3. Bake 20 minutes at 425º or until heated all the way through.

Chicken Rolls with Fresh Herbs

This recipe was complicated, but tasted great.  I would recommend slicing the chicken thin, rather than trying to get it thin enough by pounding it out.  I couldn't get most of my chicken breast pounded thin enough and it didn't cook through without burning the outside.

Chicken Rolls with Fresh Herbs

2 whole chicken breasts, boned and cut into halves

4 leaves fresh basil

1 small clove garlic, peeled and halved

1 sprig oregano, leaves removed

4 T butter

2 T flour

2 eggs, beaten

3 T butter

1/2 c. fresh breadcrumbs

1. Pound each chicken breast half between two sheets of waxed paper until very thin, about 1/8" to 1/4" thick. Rub each breast with a cut clove of garlic.

2. Sprinkle the breasts on one side only with the herbs, rubbing them in well.

3. Cut the butter in portions of 1 T each and place a pat of the butter on the herbed side of the chicken breasts. Fold in the sides and roll up each breast jelly-roll fashion, securing with toothpicks if necessary.

4. Measure out the flour onto a plate. Lightly dredge each rolled breast in the flour. Dip into beaten egg and then dip into a plate filled with the breadcrumbs, using more breadcrumbs if necessary to coat each breast. Chill the chicken rolls in the refrigerator for at least 45 minutes.

5. To cook, melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat on a conventional range top. Cook the chicken rolls in the skillet for about 5 minutes, or until all sides are nicely browned. 

6. Transfer the browned rolls to a microwave-safe 9" square baking dish. Microwave, uncovered, on high power for 8-9 minutes or until cooked through, turning halfway through cookery.

7. Transfer the rolls to a serving platter and spoon over some of the cooking juices.

Roast Chicken & Kiwi with Raspberry Glaze

This recipe was a disappointment, I love all the ingredients independently, but when put together it failed.  The chicken was dry, and the raspberry sauce got too hard.

Roast Chicken & Kiwi with Raspberry Glaze

2 frying chickens, cut into halves

1 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

1/2 c. butter, melted

1 c. seedless raspberry preserves

1/2 c. white port wine

grate peel of 1 lemon

kiwifruit, peeled and sliced

1. Preheat oven to 400º. 

2. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Place, skin side up, in a single layer in large shallow pan and brush with butter. 

3. Roast, basting frequently with butter, about 45 minutes or until chicken is tender. Drain off fat. 

4. While chicken is cooking, combine raspberry preserves, wine, and lemon peel in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat about 5 minutes or until slightly thick.

5. Spoon glaze over chicken, top with kiwi slices. Spoon glaze from bottom of pan over chicken and kiwi. Bake about 3 minutes or until kiwi and chicken are well glazed. Makes 4 servings.

Lemon-Herb Chicken Saute

This dish was interesting, not my cup of tea, though!!  The shallot was too texturally present in the sauce.

Lemon-Herb Chicken Saute

sauteed chicken breast

1/2 c. heavy cream

1 shallot, minced

2 t. grated lemon zest 

2 t. fresh thyme leaves or 1/4 t. dried

1 t. minced fresh tarragon leaves or 1/2 t. dried

2 T fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)

salt and pepper

1. Saute chicken.

2. Pour cream into skillet and increase heat to medium-high. Deglaze skillet by heating cream to boiling and scraping loose browned bits on bottom of pan with wooden spatula or spoon. Add shallot, lemon zest, thyme, and tarragon.  Cook, stirring frequently, over medium-high heat until cream is thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and remove from heat. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Spoon sauce over chicken. Serve hot.

Taquitos

These were so tasty and so easy to make!!  I used thinly sliced london broil mixed with seasoning (cumin, oregano, garlic powder, chili powder) and cheese as the filler.  Definitely a keeper, I will try chicken next time.

Taquitos

2-3 T oil (I used corn oil)

10 corn tortillas

2 c. cooked shredded beef

2/3 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and oil up a baking sheet.

2. Heat 2 T oil in small skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, fry each tortilla one at a time until soft, about 20 seconds per side. Add more oil if needed. Transfer to plat using a paper towel to separate each tortilla.

3. To assemble, spoon 2 Tablespoons of meat misture into a tortilla and roll closed. Place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat until all are rolled.

4. Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes or until ends start to brown. Remove and sprinkle cheese on top. Turn oven setting to broil and broil for 2-3 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven and serve with toppings like shredded lettuce, guacamole, salsa, sour cream, etc.

London Broil

This recipe wasn't as good as the other London Broil I tried recently, but was a serviceable one.  Unfortunately, I over-cooked the meat.  I won't keep this recipe because the other one was preferable to me.

London Broil

1 beef flank steak (1 1/4 to 1 3/4 pounds)

1/4 c. salad oil

1 T lemon juice

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

1. Combine salad oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper for marinade. Place steak in plastic bag or flat utility dish and pour marinade over it. Close bag securely or cover pan with foil and refrigerate 4 to 6 hours or overnight, turning occasionally.

2. Pour off and reserve marinade. Place steak on grill and broil at moderate temperature for 5 minutes. Turn, brush with marinade and broil 5 minutes or to desired doneness (rare or medium). To carve, slice diagonally across the grain in thin strips. Make 4 servings.

Baked Chicken with Cashews

The chicken was pretty good, if a bit dry, unfortunately the sweet potato was uninspiring. I will keep this recipe and will try it again, perhaps not baked as long.  I also would like to try this recipe with almonds. I don't have a toaster over, so I used the oven.

Baked Chicken with Cashews

1 large chicken thigh or 1/2 a boneless chicken breast, skinned

1 1/2 t. butter, melted

1/8 t. paprika

1/8 t. curry powder

1/8 t. oregano

dash garlic powder

dash cayenne pepper

salt, if desired

1 T cashew pieces or slivered almonds

1 small yam or sweet potato

1. Place chicken in individual casserole.  

2. Combine butter, oregano, garlic powder, and pepper. Mix well.

3. Spoon over chicken.

4. Bake, uncovered, in 350º toaster oven, along with yam, for 45 to 60 minutes, or until chicken and yam are tender. About 10 minutes before chicken is done, baste chicken with butter mixture in casserole and sprinkle cashews over top. Makes 1 serving.

Chicken Rosemary

This was a disappointing recipe, with crunchy rosemary being the most unfortunate of the problems. Actually, the sauce, if there had been more of it, tasted fine.  This dish screams out for rice as the base, in fact my leftovers were more sauce (without the rosemary) and set on a bed of rice. I would make this dish with fresh rosemary sprigs in the sauce while it is heating so I could get the flavor without the crunchy dried rosemary leaves, and then remove them before eating.  Or, perhaps use a sieve to separate out the dried rosemary.

Chicken Rosemary

1 chicken, quartered

1/2 c. frozen orange juice

1/2 t. dried rosemary

1/2 t. salt

1 t. cornstarch

1. Arrange chicken in a shallow baking pan.

2. Combine orange juice, rosemary, salt, and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Heat and stir until smooth and thick.

3. Spoon sauce over chicken and bake in a 350º oven for 1 hour. Serves 4.

Blueberry Crisp

This crisp was even better than the apple crisp I made for Independence Day!!  I adjusted this recipe to have more butter, more brown sugar, more cinnamon, and less flour (I used oat flour).  I used fresh blueberries. So yummy with ice cream, too.  

Blueberry Crisp

3 c. blueberries or 16-ounce package of frozen blueberries

2 T lemon juice

2/3 c. packed brown sugar

1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. quick-cooking oats

1/3 c. butter, softened

3/4 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. salt

cream or ice cream

1. Heat oven to 375º.

2. Arrange blueberries in ungreased 8"x8"x2" square baking dish. Sprinkle with lemon juice.

3. Mix brown sugar, flour, oats, butter, cinnamon, and salt. Sprinkle on top.

4. Bake until topping is light brown and blueberries are hot, about 30 minutes. Serve warm with cream. Makes 4-6 servings.