A friend of mine listed a whole bunch of dump chicken recipes on a forum that I am on, and I looked them over and found one I liked... then I went to my kitchen to prepare this tasty looking recipe and found that I didn't have some of the ingredients... did I let that stop me? I think you already know the answer! I substituted what I had on hand for some of the ingredients, changed the amounts of some of the ingredients to suit my taste, and added brown sugar to offset the rather large amount of Tabasco sauce I added.... I will list my version of the recipe... It turned out so good! I am positive the original recipe would have been fantastic, but it is amazing what creations you can make when you are missing a few simple ingredients. VIVA LA CREATIVITY!!!
Ingredients
2 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 bag of frozen bell pepper and onion strips
28 oz can Whole Tomatoes (Chopped and undrained)
4tbs. Worcestershire
splash apple cider vinegar
2 tbs. Mediterranean seasoning
1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
lots of Tabasco Sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
about 2-3 pounds of chicken legs/wings/thighs
Rice
Directions
Combine all the ingredients except chicken in a crockpot and turn on high. Sear the chicken, if desired, and add chicken to heated mixture in the crockpot. Cook on high till chicken is cooked through.
Make enough rice to serve 6 to 8 people, and ladle dump chicken onto rice beds and serve.
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Apparently, according to my wise friend, you can combine the sauce ingredients and raw chicken in a large ziplock bag (or other sealable container) and freeze it, so that when you want to, you can take it out, already prepared, and cook it. Sounds like a real winner to me!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
Wastle
It's starting to feel chilly outside, and so it is time for Wastle! I love this warm fall beverage... I love the way my house smells when making it!
Ingredients
The peel of 1 orange
8 cups Pear Apple Juice
6 cups Cranberry Juice Cocktail
2 cups water
3 Tbs. Mulling Spices in a mulling bag or tea infuser
Cinnamon sticks for garnish
Directions
Put all ingredients in your 5-6 quart slow cooker and turn it on warm/low and let it sit overnight. The next morning, fish out the spice bag and orange peel and serve the wastle with a Cinnamon stick for stirring ..... sooooo good! Be sure to remove the Cinnamon stick when you're about half way through your glass of wastle or you will get a rather spicy kick at the bottom of your glass....
Ingredients
The peel of 1 orange
8 cups Pear Apple Juice
6 cups Cranberry Juice Cocktail
2 cups water
3 Tbs. Mulling Spices in a mulling bag or tea infuser
Cinnamon sticks for garnish
Directions
Put all ingredients in your 5-6 quart slow cooker and turn it on warm/low and let it sit overnight. The next morning, fish out the spice bag and orange peel and serve the wastle with a Cinnamon stick for stirring ..... sooooo good! Be sure to remove the Cinnamon stick when you're about half way through your glass of wastle or you will get a rather spicy kick at the bottom of your glass....
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
It's soup in no time!
QUESTION: What is better than a good hot wholesome soup on a chilly day?
ANSWER: Making that good hot wholesome soup in less than 30 minutes!
The great thing about this soup is that it is a guideline for making YOUR favorite soup, not a set in stone recipe.... The best part is that you get to use up all those leftover bits and bobs you have in your freezer, refrigerator, and pantry that you can't seem to use up...
So, what do you do?
First, go take stock of all the things you have in your wares that you haven't seen or used in a while. See that can of beans, or that bag of funny shaped pasta? How about the leftover chicken from last nights dinner? Oh and don't forget those frozen veggies that you bought on a whim because they looked interesting and have been taking up space in your freezer ever since.... just gather together a bunch of those misfit ingredients and come back..... I will wait....
.
.
.
.
Ah, you're back!
Ok now, go and get a big pot, because invariably when you just throw ingredients at a pot and add liquid, you always wish you had a bigger pot, so go get your biggest pot, trust me... go... really.
.
.
.
.
Now that you have your main ingredients, and your biggest pot, go to your kitchen and put those ingredients in your pot, except any pasta you have decided to add.
Now, look in your spice cupboard and decide whether you want your soup to taste french or italian or mexican or japanese... whatever turns your fancy... and pull out the corresponding spices, for example... italian, my favorite... I add garlic, basil, italian seasoning, and sometimes those pine nuts or sun-dried tomatoes, and a teaspoon of lemon or so.... For mexican, I would add chili powder, cumin, and the last 1/2 cup of salsa that has been kicking around my fridge for the last week....
Add water, stock, milk, whatever you like to your concoction to JUST cover the ingredients... you can always add more liquid, it's much more annoying to take out liquid.
Now turn on your stove burner and bring your concoction to a boil. TAKE A SPOON AND, being careful not to burn yourself, TASTE YOUR SOUP!!!!!!!! Adjust seasonings to taste. Add any pasta and cook till pasta is the desired doneness.
Ladle your beautiful new soup into big bowls and serve with a pretty garnish, like a twisted lemon wedge, a sprig of parsley, some crumbled feta, maybe a dollop of sour cream, or crusty bread.
Now for the best part.... ENJOY THE PRAISE!
Oh, and freeze the leftovers, make sure to leave an inch of head space in the container before sealing and freezing as liquids expand when frozen.
__________________________________________________________
For those of you looking for a hard copy recipe....
MINISTRONE al la pantry....
Ingredients
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 bag of frozen mixed italian style veggies
1 large-ish jar of tomato based meat spaghetti sauce
1 cup of mini pasta
garlic, basil, and italian seasoning to taste
Water to cover ingredients
Directions
SEE ABOVE
ANSWER: Making that good hot wholesome soup in less than 30 minutes!
The great thing about this soup is that it is a guideline for making YOUR favorite soup, not a set in stone recipe.... The best part is that you get to use up all those leftover bits and bobs you have in your freezer, refrigerator, and pantry that you can't seem to use up...
So, what do you do?
First, go take stock of all the things you have in your wares that you haven't seen or used in a while. See that can of beans, or that bag of funny shaped pasta? How about the leftover chicken from last nights dinner? Oh and don't forget those frozen veggies that you bought on a whim because they looked interesting and have been taking up space in your freezer ever since.... just gather together a bunch of those misfit ingredients and come back..... I will wait....
.
.
.
.
Ah, you're back!
Ok now, go and get a big pot, because invariably when you just throw ingredients at a pot and add liquid, you always wish you had a bigger pot, so go get your biggest pot, trust me... go... really.
.
.
.
.
Now that you have your main ingredients, and your biggest pot, go to your kitchen and put those ingredients in your pot, except any pasta you have decided to add.
Now, look in your spice cupboard and decide whether you want your soup to taste french or italian or mexican or japanese... whatever turns your fancy... and pull out the corresponding spices, for example... italian, my favorite... I add garlic, basil, italian seasoning, and sometimes those pine nuts or sun-dried tomatoes, and a teaspoon of lemon or so.... For mexican, I would add chili powder, cumin, and the last 1/2 cup of salsa that has been kicking around my fridge for the last week....
Add water, stock, milk, whatever you like to your concoction to JUST cover the ingredients... you can always add more liquid, it's much more annoying to take out liquid.
Now turn on your stove burner and bring your concoction to a boil. TAKE A SPOON AND, being careful not to burn yourself, TASTE YOUR SOUP!!!!!!!! Adjust seasonings to taste. Add any pasta and cook till pasta is the desired doneness.
Ladle your beautiful new soup into big bowls and serve with a pretty garnish, like a twisted lemon wedge, a sprig of parsley, some crumbled feta, maybe a dollop of sour cream, or crusty bread.
Now for the best part.... ENJOY THE PRAISE!
Oh, and freeze the leftovers, make sure to leave an inch of head space in the container before sealing and freezing as liquids expand when frozen.
__________________________________________________________
For those of you looking for a hard copy recipe....
MINISTRONE al la pantry....
Ingredients
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 bag of frozen mixed italian style veggies
1 large-ish jar of tomato based meat spaghetti sauce
1 cup of mini pasta
garlic, basil, and italian seasoning to taste
Water to cover ingredients
Directions
SEE ABOVE
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Panzanella
I am an Italian food NUT.... I ADORE Italian food!
So when a friend of mine told me about Panzanella, I looked at like a dozen or so recipes online for this new Italian food that I had yet to try.... and I found quite a few tasty varieties, but none that really screamed EAT ME!!!!
So I blended together several of them to make my own version.... and then I added my favorite vinaigrette recipe that I always use.... For some reason I can never be satisfied with a recipe until I tweak it
It is SOOOO GOOOOOOOD!!!!
Ingredients
Salad
1 bag of fresh spinach
4 cups day old French bread cut into 1-inch cubes
6 slices bacon, cooked, drippings reserved
3 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 Tbs. dried basil
¼ cup parmesan cheese
6-8 roma tomatoes
1/2 pound mozzarella cheese, cubed
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved
3/4 cup red onion, sliced
Freshly ground black pepper
Sea Salt
Dressing
3/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
2 tablespoons Lemon Juice
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and place a baking sheet in the oven.
In the skillet used for cooking bacon, over moderate heat, add the garlic to the bacon drippings and sauté until it begins to brown, remove from heat. Pour the mixture over the bread cubes in a bowl and toss briskly to coat cubes evenly. Stir in the parmesan cheese and basil. Place the bread cubes in a single layer on a preheated baking sheet, scraping all the seasonings over them. Bake until lightly brown and crunchy on the outside, but still soft on the inside, about 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool.
Chop tomatoes, bacon, olives and onion, combine with mozzarella and add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
JUST BEFORE SERVING, blend together the dressing ingredients. Combine the bread with the tomato mixture. Toss salad together with dressing. Serve on a bed of spinach.
_________________________________________________________
Today, I made this without toasting the bread and without the dressing and pressed it into a 9x13 glass baking dish and baked it for about 20 minutes.... heavenly!
So when a friend of mine told me about Panzanella, I looked at like a dozen or so recipes online for this new Italian food that I had yet to try.... and I found quite a few tasty varieties, but none that really screamed EAT ME!!!!
So I blended together several of them to make my own version.... and then I added my favorite vinaigrette recipe that I always use.... For some reason I can never be satisfied with a recipe until I tweak it
It is SOOOO GOOOOOOOD!!!!
Ingredients
Salad
1 bag of fresh spinach
4 cups day old French bread cut into 1-inch cubes
6 slices bacon, cooked, drippings reserved
3 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 Tbs. dried basil
¼ cup parmesan cheese
6-8 roma tomatoes
1/2 pound mozzarella cheese, cubed
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved
3/4 cup red onion, sliced
Freshly ground black pepper
Sea Salt
Dressing
3/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
2 tablespoons Lemon Juice
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and place a baking sheet in the oven.
In the skillet used for cooking bacon, over moderate heat, add the garlic to the bacon drippings and sauté until it begins to brown, remove from heat. Pour the mixture over the bread cubes in a bowl and toss briskly to coat cubes evenly. Stir in the parmesan cheese and basil. Place the bread cubes in a single layer on a preheated baking sheet, scraping all the seasonings over them. Bake until lightly brown and crunchy on the outside, but still soft on the inside, about 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool.
Chop tomatoes, bacon, olives and onion, combine with mozzarella and add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
JUST BEFORE SERVING, blend together the dressing ingredients. Combine the bread with the tomato mixture. Toss salad together with dressing. Serve on a bed of spinach.
_________________________________________________________
Today, I made this without toasting the bread and without the dressing and pressed it into a 9x13 glass baking dish and baked it for about 20 minutes.... heavenly!
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