Porcini Choicken or What I've Done All Month.

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog, today's dinner is
Porcini Chicken.

     This is my first post after taking a month off. After accomplishing the Herculean task of producing a post each week for a year a break was needed and welcomed. During the last month I've used the extra free time to work on some neglected projects at home and to try some new recipes. Another thing that I've done in the last month is move Crock Pot night from Thursday to Tuesday. Over the last 15 months I have been making crock pot dinners on Thursday mornings and then going to work for a half-day. In the afternoon I would come home and have dinner before returning to work for a few more hours.Since my Thursdays have returned to normal it makes sense to move crock pot night to Tuesdays which are my regular day off. So far this has been working out very well. That's enough about what I've been doing, let's get to the food.
     Today's dinner is Porcini Chicken; this is similar to Chicken Marsala except it doesn't use Marsala wine to make the sauce and it utilises Porcini mushrooms which are more meaty and flavorful. Porcini mushrooms are wild mushrooms that are highly prized by chefs and gourmets, their flavor is nutty and meaty with a smooth, creamy texture. Due to their highly perishable nature most porcini mushrooms are sold in a dried form, usually in small amounts of 0.5 to 1 ounces per package. The drying process allows the mushrooms to be stored for up to a year. Dried porcini mushrooms have to be re-constituted before they can be used.
All you have to do to re-constitute them is let them soak in water for 20 minutes. While soaking the water will acquire some of the earthy flavor of the mushrooms, don't be too quick to dump it out. If your recipe calls for water, use the water that you soaked the mushrooms in to add more flavor. So, Let's take a look at today's recipe.

                                           Porcini Chicken

Prep time   7 Min.     Cook time   14 Min.     Serves   4

Ingredients

1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms

1 cup hot water

20 ounces chicken breasts, 4 (5-ounce) cutlets

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

3 tablespoons shallots, minced

1/2 cup red wine

1/2 tablespoon butter

Instructions

Combine the mushrooms and the water in a small bowl; let soak about 20 minutes. With a slotted spoon lift the mushrooms from the liquid, rinse thoroughly, and coarsely chop. Line a strainer with a paper towel. Pour the mushroom liquid through the strainer; reserve 1/2 cup of the liquid.

Sprinkle the chicken with the salt and pepper. Spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set over high heat. Add chicken and cook until lightly browned, about 1 minute on each side. Reduce the heat to medium. Sprinkle the chicken with shallots. Cook until the chicken is browned on the outside and cooked through, about 3 minutes longer on each side. Transfer the chicken and shallots to a serving platter; cover and keep warm.

Add the chopped mushrooms to the skillet and cook, stirring constantly, about 30 seconds. Add the reserved mushroom liquid and bring to a boil, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until the liquid is almost evaporated. Add the wine and boil until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the butter until melted. Serve the sauce with the chicken.

This recipe yields 1 piece of chicken with 2 tablespoons of sauce per serving.


     This is a delicious dinner that is sure to please your family and friends.
 As always, if you try this dinner, check back here and leave a comment to let me know how it turned out.


     Next month - Easy Spaghetti and Meatballs or Another of Ellen's Favorites.

My Salad or What I Have Learned.

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog, today's dinner is My Salad.

     Way back in January 2012 I started a diet. Part of my plan was to find and learn how to cook recipes that are light, healthy and delicious. After working through a few recipes I decided to post some pictures of the food I was making on Facebook.
The pictures led to some of my friends asking for the recipes; I tried to email recipes to everyone that asked for them but I quickly became overwhelmed and realized that there had to be a better solution. The solution that I came up with was to post these dinners on a blog that I could send links to and that you, the reader, could look up and search for dinners that you want to try.
     Several time I have referred to this blog as my experiment. When I started I didn't have a real plan or set parameters for my experiment other than to put it out there and see what happens. So here I am doing my 52nd. post(yes, this marks 1 year) and I'm ready to reveal what I've learned.
     The stats - So far this blog has received 989 page views from people in the United States, Russia, Germany, Canada, United Kingdom, India, Sweden, China, France, South Africa and Latvia. The top four sites that have referred to this blog are Google.com, Facebook.com, Stumbleupon.com and Pregolom.com.
Google is way out in front with a 4 to 1 ratio over Facebook which really baffles me since Facebook is the only venue through which I promote this blog. The most read posts are Crock Pot Chicken , Mushrooms and Brown Rice; Crock Pot Greek-Style Meatballs; Crock Pot Sweet and Sour Chicken; Grilled Tandoori Chicken and Red Onion Skewers; and Chicken Poppers. Apparently the crock pot and chicken dinners are very popular. On the personal side I learned that writing a weekly blog is not easy. It requires dedication, planning, research and time. It has been a lot of work and there were a few weeks that I didn't think that I would get it posted by the Tuesday deadline and there have been a few weeks where I really couldn't come up with anything interesting to write about but I made it happen and now I have 52 posts behind me.
     Let's switch gears for a little bit. One thing that I haven't written about and the one thing that most of these dinners have in common is My Salad.Unless the dinner I'm making includes a salad in the recipe or it doesn't seem like something I would serve with a salad I always try to have a salad with dinner. My salads are made up of a few basic ingredients and several different add-ons that I change on a daily basis. I like to start my salad with pre-washed salad-in-a -bag; usually something with a large variety of leafy greens and vegetables or occasionally just baby spinach and arugula. Next I'll put fat-free cheddar cheese and croutons on it. To top it off I'll pour on some fat-free salad dressing; a few of my favorites are Kraft Parmesan and Asiago, Thousand Island. and Raspberry vinaigrette. My regular salad add-ons in no particular order are diced tomatoes, mushrooms, sliced onions, diced hard-boiled eggs, broccoli, mozzarella and parmesan cheese. There are other ingredients that I haven't listed but you should get the idea by now. About once every two weeks I will change up my lunch routine and have a salad with either 3 ounces of pre-cooked steak or chicken. The point of all of this is that I try to make salads a part of my daily diet. If you are not a salad person, give it a try. Find the ingredients that you like, get rid of the ingredients that you don't like, and don't be afraid to try new things. The worst that can happen is you make a salad that you don't like and you end up throwing it out. At least you have the rest of your dinner to enjoy.
     So, now that we've reached the one year milestone, what do we do next?
My first thought is that since there are 52 ideas here, I challenge you to make the ones that you haven't tried yet. My second thought is that there is no way I can keep this up, I have to cut back on the amount of time and energy that I put into this blog. With that said I have decided that I am going to take a month off. I will return to this in April with one post at the beginning of each month. I want to thank you for reading this blog and for trying these dinners. I hope that you have been entertained so far and that you now have some delicious dinners that you can make for your family and friends. Now, get in the kitchen and make a mess.

     Next month - Porcini Chicken.

Cashew Chicken or The Things We Do For Others Part II.

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog, today's dinner is
Cashew Chicken.

     Way back on May 15, 2012 I put up a post about Chicken Marsala that was sub-titled "The Things We Do For Others". The idea of that post was that although we are dieting, I love my wife very much and I don't want her to have to avoid her favorite dinners. My solution was to find diet recipes that replicate her favorite dinners and learn how to make them. Cashew Chicken is Ellen's favorite Chinese dinner; it doesn't matter which Chinese restaurant we go to or what is on the the menu, she will be having the cashew chicken. When I realized that I was going to have to find healthy versions of Ellen's favorite dinners, this was one of the first ones I looked up.
     Although I've posted a few Chinese/Asian dinners on here, cashew chicken was the first one I ever attempted from scratch. Before I tried this recipe I was apprehensive that I could pull off a Chinese dinner but as I worked through it I realized it was a lot easier than I though it would be. When it was time to eat Ellen was pleasantly surprised to see that familiar favorite; the look on her face when she tasted it let me know that I had made a winner.
     Now that you know my reason for making cashew chicken, let's take a look at the recipe.

                                          Cashew Chicken

Prep time   25 Min.     Cook time   12 Min.     Serves   4

Ingredients

2 teaspoons peanut oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1-1/2 cups fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce, or more to taste

2 ribs celery, chopped

8 ounce canned bamboo shoots, drained

8 ounce canned water chestnuts, sliced, drained

1-1/2 tablespoon cornstarch

2 cups cooked white rice, kept hot

1-3/4 ounces unsalted dry-roasted cashews (about 6 tablespoons)

Instructions

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper and add to skillet. Cook until browned on all sides stirring frequently, about 4 minutes.

Add 1 cup of broth, soy sauce, celery, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts and cashews to chicken and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Dissolve cornstarch in remaining 1/2 cup of broth; add to skillet and simmer until sauce thickens, stirring constantly, about 1 minute.

To serve, divide rice among 4 shallow dishes. Spoon chicken mixture onto rice. Enjoy.

This recipe yields 4 servings at 1 cup of chicken and 1/2 cup of rice per serving.


     This is an easy to make,delicious dinner that will rival any Chinese restaurant.
If you have family or friends that are fans of cashew chicken try this dinner on them. And if you want to boost the flavor, give it a couple of extra splashes of soy sauce. As always, if you try this dinner check back here and leave a comment to let me know how it turned out.


     Next week - My Salad or What I Have Learned.

Grilled Sesame Asparagus or More Asian Goodness.

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog, today's dinner is
Grilled Sesame Asparagus.

     Today's dinner is actually a cross-series post that is part of the Asian series and the the Salad and Sides series, it's not so much a dinner as it's on asian side dish. In fact, it could also be part of the Grill series
     Grilled sesame asparagus is a quick and easy side dish that combines the flavors of grilled asparagus and a light soy and ginger based sauce. My hope with the Asian series so far has been to help you understand the ingredients that create asian flavors. This recipe and next weeks recipe should help you to understand how to create asian flavors in a real and applicable way.
     While this is a delicious side dish I believe that a good part of it's appeal lies in it's simplicity. These are basic ingredients that, when combined impart a wonderful, unique flavor.
     So, instead of going on and on about how simple and delicious this side dish is, let's just jump into the recipe.

                                   Grilled Sesame Asparagus

Prep time   10 Min.     Cook time   10 Min.     Serves   6

Ingredients

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon ginger root, fresh, minced

2 sprays cooking spray

1 pound uncooked asparagus, ends trimmed

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Instructions

In a small bowl whisk together soy sauce, vinegar, oil, honey, garlic and ginger; set aside.

Off heat, coat grill rack with cooking spray; heat to high (or cook on a stovetop grill). Grill asparagus, turning frequently to char all sides, about 7 to 10 minutes.

Place asparagus in a shallow serving dish and pour sauce over top; toss to coat and garnish with scallions and sesame seeds.

This recipe yields 6 servings at 1/6 of asparagus per serving.


     Grilled sesame asparagus goes well with beef and broccoli stir-fry, szechwan pork, cashew chicken or any other asian dinner, give it a try and find out for your self. If you try this recipe check back here and leave a comment to let me know how it turned out.

     Next week - Cashew Chicken or The Things We Do For Others Part II.

Steak with Roquefort and Mushrooms or Yes, It Is Healthy.

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog, today's dinner is
Steak with Roquefort and Mushrooms.

     When I was young, growing up in my parents house, my mom used to make huge "Fred Flintstone" steaks. I call them Fred Flintstone steaks because each one was so big that it would cover a plate; if you wanted any side dishes to go with your steak you would have to put them on a separate plate. I know that you are probably thinking that eating steak that way can't be healthy; to be honest it probably wasn't but my point isn't really to debate that yet but to draw a picture. My mom's steaks were delicious and although they only had a pinch of salt and pepper they were so good that they didn't need anything to dress them up. Don't get me wrong, there was always steak sauce on the table but it wasn't needed. Those were truly great steaks.
     Fast forward many years to the present and there are a lot of new ways to prepare steak with all kinds of exotic and interesting ingredients. While I am still a steak purist in the sense that I believe a steak should be able to stand on it's own I'm not opposed to trying new ingredients that blend well with steak. One of the combinations that I like is steak with roquefort cheese and mushrooms.
Steak with sauteed mushrooms and onions is nothing new but when we add blue cheese to the equation we start to approach a sum that is greater than it's parts. The first time I saw blue cheese used this way was on a "Black & Blue" burger at a local restaurant, it seems that the jump to adding blue cheese and mushrooms to a steak would be a logical move.
     The three ingredients that you should consider before you try to make this dinner are roquefort cheese, cremini mushrooms and shallots. Roquefort is a type of blue cheese, if you can't find it in the store you can substitute gorgonzola, stilton or any other blue cheese. Cremini mushrooms should be available in most stores, if you can't find them labeled as "Cremini" mushrooms try looking for "Baby Portobello". Cremini mushrooms are simply portobellos that have been picked before they matured. Shallots belong to the genus Allium which includes onions and garlic, they are similar to onions but different enough that they shouldn't be used interchangeably. If shallots seem familiar it's because we used them when we made Maple-Mustard Pork Chops.
     As far as whether this dinner is healthy or not we will be using lean beef which is a healthy source of protein and fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth instead of butter. This dinner is healthy and flavorful while using a minimum of ingredients.
     So, let's take a look at today's recipe.

                           Steak with Roquefort and Mushrooms

Prep time   12 Min.     Cook time   10 Min.     Serves   4

Ingredients

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 medium shallots, sliced

4 cloves garlic, sliced

3 cups cremini mushrooms (1/4 pound), sliced

3 fluid ounces madiera wine

1 cup fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth

2 ounces roquefort cheese, crumbled

16 ounces trimmed beef eye round steak or roast, 4 (4 ounce) pieces

Instructions

Spray a large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the steak with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper, then add to the skillet. Cook the steak until browned and cooked through, 2-3 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate and keep warm.

Add the shallots, garlic, mushrooms and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper to the skillet. Cook, stirring frequently until the mushrooms begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the wine, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. Cook until the liquid completely evaporates and the mushrooms begin to brown, 3-4 minutes longer. Add the broth and cook about 2 minutes.

Add the cheese, reserved steak, and any steak juice on the plate; cook, stirring frequently until cheese just melts, about 1 minute. Remove the skillet from the heat and serve at once.

This recipe yields 4 servings at 1 steak and 1/3 cup of mushroom mixture per serving


     This dinner is a great way to have a restaurant style steak without firing up the grill or adding unnecessary fat. If you try this dinner, check back here and leave a comment to let me know how it turned out.


     Next week - Grilled Sesame Asparagus or More Asian Goodness.

Pastrami Hash or What Is It?

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog, today's dinner is
Pastrami Hash.

     Occasionally I run across something that confuses me or is not easily defined by it's name. When I discovered Pastrami Hash I had an idea of what it is but not what it should be.What I mean is, based on my experience with corn-beef hash it's easy to extrapolate what pastrami hash is but as far as how to serve it I don't know if it's breakfast, lunch, dinner or a side dish. My first thought thought was that it's a breakfast item to be served with pancakes, eggs and bacon. My second thought was that it's a side dish to be served with dinner. As I read through the recipe I started to think that since it's large and intended to serve a group of people maybe it's a dinner. The only way to resolve my confusion was to try it in all of these scenarios to see what works and what doesn't.
     The first time I made pastrami hash I decided to make it as a dinner. This is a large recipe and I thought it would be good to try it as a stand-alone dish with a salad and artisan bread. This turned out to be a good call because at four servings we were able to have seconds and still have left-overs to combine with scrambled eggs the next day for breakfast. While I'm used to having hash as a breakfast food it made a delicious and satisfying dinner.
     The next time I made it I tried it as a breakfast. This is the way I know hash; with pancakes, eggs and a side of bacon. This recipe works great as a breakfast food because it will serve several people and is well-suited to Sunday brunch or Christmas and Easter breakfasts. I like this as a breakfast but to me it seems like a lot for two people.
     The third and most recent way I tried Pastrami Hash was as a side dish.
My sister-in-law Elaine and her husband Mike host a New Years day dinner, this year I decided that since I had all of the ingredients on hand I would make it and take it along. As usual with Mike's cooking the dinner went well and the sense that I got from everyone was that it worked well as a side dish.
     The one thing that I haven't covered yet is the pastrami component of this recipe. We are probably all familiar with pastrami but in this recipe we will be using Turkey Pastrami. You should be able to find it in the deli counter at your local grocery store. Turkey pastrami usually comes with a light coating of black pepper, if you don't like spicy food you may want to omit the tablespoon of black pepper.
     So, let's jump into today's recipe.

                                            Pastrami Hash

Prep time   18 Min.     Cook time   51 Min.     Serves    4

Ingredients

2 sprays cooking spray

4 medium uncooked yukon gold potatoes, cut into bite-size pieces

1-1/2 large onion, thinly sliced

1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped

1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half

1/3 pound turkey pastrami, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup scallions, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper, or less to taste

1/2 teaspoon thyme, fresh, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450f. Coat a 9 X 13-inch oven-proof dish or pan with cooking spray.

Set a medium pan of water to boil over high heat. Parboil potatoes just until fork tender, about 5 to 6 minutes.

Combine potatoes, onions, red pepper, tomatoes, pastrami, scallions, salt, black pepper and thyme in prepared dish; toss with oil. Bake to desired degree of doneness rotating dish once or twice during cooking, about 30 to 45 minutes.

This recipe yields 4 servings at about 1 cup per serving.


     This is a great recipe that defies you to decide what it is. I've tried it in every situation that I can think of and I still don't know if it's a breakfast, lunch, dinner or side dish. While I reserve the right to serve it anyway that I want I have to say my favorite way is as a dinner. If you try this recipe check back here and leave a comment to let me know how it turned out.


     Next week - Steak with Roquefort and Mushrooms or Yes, It Is Healthy.

Crock Pot Jerk Turkey Soup or How Hot?

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog, today's dinner is

Crock Pot Jerk Turkey Soup.

     I found this recipe while doing an on-line search for diet turkey recipes, I usually lean toward spicy foods and I needed a new recipe for Crock Pot Thursday. Considerings that I like jerk foods and I've never tried to make any this recipe was a no-brainer. Since most jerk food is either chicken or pork based the idea of trying jerk turkey sealed the deal.

     If you are not a spicy food person this dinner may not be for you, but, if you want to try something new this might be the ticket. The three ingredients that a make jerk recipe are Chili peppers, Allspice berries and Thyme. In this recipe we will be using Cayenne powder in place of the traditional Habanero pepper. Allspice berries are different from the ground allspice that you may know from baking pumpkin pies and they shouldn't be substituted. You should be able to find allspice berries in any well-stocked spice aisle or the Latin section of your local grocery store. Thyme is pretty self-explanatory, we've already used it in other recipes and you should already have it in your kitchen. One other item that you should consider when shopping for your ingredients is the turkey. The turkey that you'll want to buy should come pre-packaged and will look more like pork chops than the turkey that you're familiar with from Thanksgiving. If you use regular turkey breast it will fall apart in the crock pot and you'll end up with little strings of turkey instead of bite-size chunks.

     Now that we know a little bit about jerk foods let's take a look at today's recipe.

                                Crock Pot Jerk Turkey Soup

Prep time   20 Min.     Cook time   420 Min.     Serves   8

Ingredients

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice berries

1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided

1 pound turkey breast, cut in 1-inch chunks

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1 clove garlic, minced

1 medium onion, chopped

14-1/2 ounce canned diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained

15 ounce canned black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups fat-free chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons cilantro, fresh, minced

Instructions

In a medium bowl combine allspice, cayenne, ginger, garlic salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Add turkey and toss to coat; set aside for 15 minutes.

Place turkey in a 5-quart crock pot; add any spices remaining in bowl. Add thyme, garlic, onion, tomatoes, beans, broth, salt and remaining 1/4 teaspoon of pepper; stir. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours. Stir in lime juice and cilantro; let sit for 5 minutes for flavors to blend.

This recipe yields 6 servings at about 1-1/2 cups per serving.

     This is a delicious soup with a little bit of a kick to it. I recommend that you try it once as the recipe is written and then adjust the spiciness if you need to.

To complete this dinner all you need to add is a salad and some crusty whole-wheat bread. If you try this dinner, leave a comment here and let me know how it turned out.

     Next week - Pastrami Hash or What Is It?