Turkish Meatballs with Cucumber-Yogurt Dipping Sauce or Happy New Year.

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog, today's dinner is
Turkish Meatballs with Cucumber-Yogurt Dipping Sauce.

     When I started this experiment I had a vague idea of what I wanted to do and less of an idea of where it would lead. As it has gone along, this whole thing has evolved and moved in different directions. One of those evolutions has been the development of various series. As the series have grown I've found a commonality among them, the common theme that I've seen and fostered is food for entertaining. The grilling series was a great way to get you into recipes that you would want to make at a cook-out. The regular dinners are interesting and well-suited for entertaining family and friends at a dinner party and the snack series has been a wonderful way to introduce you to light and healthy snacks and appetizers to put out at a party or take to a get together. A couple of things that I've tried to express with these recipes are that food should taste good and cooking shouldn't be thought of as a difficult task but the one thing that I really want you to get from this is that food should be shared with others. If you've enjoyed the snacks that we've covered, make them and eat them with your friends and loved ones.
     So, let's take a look at our last entry into the snack series.

           Turkish Meatballs with Cucumber-Yogurt Dipping Sauce

Prep time   20 Min.     Cook time   32 Min.     Serves   12

Ingredients

1/2 cup uncooked burgur

1 spray cooking spray

1/2 pound 93% lean ground beef

1/4 cup scallions, sliced

3 tablespoons cilantro, fresh, chopped, divided

1-1/4 teaspoons minced garlic, divided

1-1/4 teaspoons ground cumin

3/4 teaspoon salt, divided

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup cucumber, finely diced

2 tablespoons fresh radish, finely diced

1 tablespoon dill, fresh, chopped

Instructions

Cook or soak bulgur according to package directions; drain any excess water and let cool.

Place oven rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 425f. Coat baking pan with cooking spray.

Put beef, scallions, 2 tablespoons of cilantro, 1 teaspoon each of garlic and cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, paprika, cinnamon and drained bulgur in a large bowl; combine ingredients with your hands until well mixed.

Roll meatball mixture into twenty-four 1-1/4 inch balls; place on prepared pan. Bake until lightly browned and cooked through, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make dipping sauce, in a small bowl combine yogurt, cucumber, radish, dill, remaining tablespoon of cilantro, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon each of garlic, cumin and salt; mix well.

To serve, place meatballs on a serving platter with toothpicks and spoon sauce into a small bowl.

This recipe yields 2 meatballs and about 1-1/2 tablespoons of sauce per serving.

Note: You can form the meatballs up to 6 hours before cooking and keep them refrigerated until you're ready to cook them. The dipping sauce can be made up to 6 hours ahead too, but stir in the cucumber and radish just before serving.


     The snack series has been a long running part of this blog and I want to thank you for working through them with me. I hope that you have been entertained by reading about them and I hope that you have opportunities to serve them to your friends. Lastly I want to wish you a Happy New Year.


     Next week - One-Pan Pork Chops with Fennel, Onion and Apple or Easy and Delicious.

Crock Pot Sweet and Sour Chicken Curry or One More Way to Make Indian Food.

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog, today's dinner is
Crock Pot Sweet and Sour Chicken Curry.

     Over these many months we've covered a lot of recipes and we've seen a few recurring themes. With today's dinner we are going to revisit the theme of Indian food. As a child and a teenager I was not aware of Indian food; it wasn't until I moved to West Germany in the mid 1980's that I had any exposure to it.
Shortly after moving to Columbus I noticed that Indian restaurants were becoming more popular in the states and people were being exposed to these new and exciting flavors. I do have to say that until recently I had only eaten Indian food a handful of times and I had never experienced it at the level that I have since finding these recipes.
     In previous posts I have written about the use of skewers and tandoor ovens in Indian cooking but to the best of my knowledge crock pot cooking is not common among Indian cuisine but it lends itself very well to this dish.The one thing that might throw you off in this recipe is chutney; chutney is similar to jelly and is usually made from mango. The chutney that I have used when making this recipe is mango and ginger which adds an extra layer to the sweet and sour complexity.
     So let's take a look at today's recipe.

                        Crock Pot Sweet and Sour Chicken Curry

Prep time   10 Min.     Cook time   240 Min.     Serves   4

Ingredients

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 large green pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 large vidalia onion, sliced

14-1/2 ounces stewed tomatoes

1/2 cup mango chutney

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1-1/2 teaspoon curry powder

Instructions

Place chicken, pepper and onion in a crock pot; top with tomatoes

Mix together remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Pour over chicken mixture, cover and cook on low heat for 4 hours.

This recipe yields about 1-1/2 to 2 cups per serving.


     This is an easy and delicious dinner that has a wonderful complexity of flavors.
If you try this dinner, check back here and leave a comment to let me know how it turned out.


     Next week - Turkish Meatballs with a Cucumber-Yogurt Dipping Sauce or Happy New Years!

Spinach Au Gratin or A Nice Alternative.

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog, today's dinner is
Spinach Au Gratin.

     Last month I started a new series I am calling the salad and sides series, spinach au gratin could be thought of as a salad but I consider it a side dish. At my house I do the vast majority of the cooking. Most of the time I make a main course dish with a simple salad and maybe some type of bread or I will throw vegetables in the microwave. A few times a month and when we have guests for dinner I like to make a more complete dinner with a couple of side dishes. My goal with this series is to give you some alternatives to salad-in-a-bag and mashed potatoes.
     Spinach Au Gratin is a variation of a French dish called Swiss Chard Au Gratin, the difference is that we are substituting spinach for the swiss chard. This is basically spinach that is wilted and then tossed with a melted cheese mixture; that right there puts it well into my simple and delicious category.
     Now that we know where we are going, let's take a look at today's recipe.

                                        Spinach Au Gratin

Prep time   10 Min.     Cook time   20 Min.     Serves   8

Ingredients

1-1/2 pounds spinach

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 cup low-fat milk, at room temperature

1/2 small onion, minced

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg, optional

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, parmigiano-reggianno recommended

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Steam, parboil or microwave spinach until wilted, about 2 to 3 minutes; drain and place in a serving dish.

Place a medium-size saucepan over medium-low heat; add oil. When oil begins to shimmer, add flour, whisking constantly for 3 minutes. Slowly whisk in milk, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan.

Add onion and nutmeg; simmering gently and stirring often until mixture starts to thicken.

Remove pan from heat; stir in cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper; stir until well-combined. Pour sauce over spinach; toss and serve.

This recipe yields 8 servings at about 1/2 cup per serving.

*Note- Skim milk is not recommended for this recipe.


     This is a great side dish that should appeal to adults and children. If you want to forgo the spinach and try it with Swiss Chard just change out the two ingredients but make sure you remove the tough center rib and boil the leaves until they are wilted.
     As always, if you try this side dish, check back here and leave a comment to let me know how it turned out.


     Next week - Crock Pot Sweet and Sour Chicken Curry or One More Way to Make Indian Food.

Roasted Brisket or Something New (To Me).

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

  
     Recently I found a slimmed down recipe for roasted brisket; I have never had brisket and I've always been curious about it. With all of the places I've been and all of the different types of food I've eaten I somehow had never eaten brisket. So what is it and how is it prepared? I don't feel at this point that I have a definitive answer but with this recipe I think I have a good starting point. The one thing that I was aware of before I tried this recipe is that brisket is a large piece of beef (usually 2 - 4 pounds) that is cooked for a long time at a low temperature. In this recipe I found that I would be cooking my brisket in the oven for three hours at 325f. The second thing I discovered is that I would be roasting baby carrots, mushrooms, and onions in the same pan as my brisket; I don't know if this is the normal way to roast brisket but I do like the idea that it is getting me one step closer to a complete dinner so I will go with it. The third thing I discovered is that this recipe also has a tomato mixture that will be poured over the brisket and will be used to baste it.
     After working through this recipe I found that I had a large piece of beef similar to a pot roast but coated with a layer of tomato mixture on the outside similar to meatloaf. When I tasted it I found that it was very moist and flavorful,; how have I missed out on this for all of these years? The vegetables cooked in the tomato mixture and juices that had run off of the brisket were soft, moist, and delicious.
I don't know if this is the normal way to prepare vegetables with brisket but I definitely like it.
     Now that you have a little background about my limited experience with brisket, let's jump into today's recipe.

                                            Roasted Brisket

Prep time   15 Min.     Cook time   180 Min.     Serves   8

Ingredients

1 large onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound baby carrots

5 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced (about 2 to 2-1/2 cups)

2-1/2 pounds lean and trimmed beef brisket

28 ounces canned crushed tomatoes

1 teaspoon paprika

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325f.

Spread onion slices and garlic on bottom of a nonstick roasting pan; top with carrots and mushrooms. Arrange beef over vegetables.

In a mixing bowl combine tomatoes, paprika, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, lemon juice and sugar; stir to dissolve sugar.

Pour tomato mixture over brisket and vegetables; tightly cover with a sheet of aluminum foil. Roast for 2 hours and then remove from oven; uncover, stir and use pan juices to baste meat. Return brisket to oven and roast for about 1 hour more uncovered, basting every 15 minutes.

Remove pan from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before slicing beef into 1/4-inch-thick pieces. Serve meat and vegetables with sauce spooned over top.

This recipe yields about 3 ounces of beef and 3/4 cup of vegetables and sauce per serving.


     This is a wonderful, nearly complete dinner that would be great for holiday entertaining. I recommend you put this on the table at your Christmas or New Years party and prepare yourself to graciously accept the compliments. If you would like to add some extra color and flavor, add a cup of frozen green bell pepper strips and a few red skin potatoes. If you try this dinner check back here and leave a comment to let me know how it turned out.

     Next week - Spinach Au Gratin or A Nice Alternative.

Chicken Skewers with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce or More Food on A Stick.

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog, today's dinner is
Chicken Skewers with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce.

     As usual with the snack series I want to preface this by stating that this is a snack recipe. For some reason lately it seems as though I'm not happy unless I'm shoving a stick through my food. I'm not sure if this is my nature or if the pool that I'm getting these recipes from is a little shallow but lately I've been writing a lot about skewered food. It may be because it is the original form of cooking, it may be because it's easy and portable food, or it may be because I think that there are too many skewers in the world and I feel a need to use them up as quickly as possible one recipe at a time. At any rate I decided last week to recruit some help in my one man war on skewers by taking forty of them to a get together. I have to say if your friends have seen most of the tricks in your snack bag wait until you pull out the food on a stick trick.
     Chicken skewers with spicy peanut dipping sauce combines two different approaches to reach the same end result. I'm going to break these down into their parts, the first being the chicken which is Indian and the second being the sauce which is Oriental. The chicken skewers are similar to the Grilled Tandoori Chicken and Red Onion Skewers with Couscous that we cooked on the grill a few months ago; the chicken is marinaded in a yogurt and curry powder mixture and then skewered before cooking. The difference here is that we will cook these in the oven instead of grilling them. As we've seen previously this is an Indian style of cooking, the spicy peanut dipping sauce has a distinctly Oriental flavor and will pop up again in a different form when I get around to posting the Szechwan Pork recipe.
This sauce is basically reduced fat creamy peanut butter that is thinned out with red wine vinegar and soy sauce and given a kick with chili oil and sesame oil.
Since chili oil has a tendency to be very potent I urge you to try the sauce before you serve it and if you want to make it spicier add 1 to 2 drops at a time until it reaches a hotness that you are happy with. Once you've made the peanut sauce you should refrigerate any unused portions for later use.
     I feel that although I've written about skewers I haven't adequately explained how I like to use them. To better illustrate what I am talking about I have included a picture below. On the left are two metal skewers, I like to use these on the grill. They are metal which means they won't burn over an open flame, they are flat and have a twist so the food flop around while you are turning them, they have a ring at the handle end that aids when you are turning the food, and they are re-usable.
The skewer in the middle is made of bamboo wood, this is the kind of skewer I like to use in the oven or when I'm making skewers to serve many people. The main reason that I like these for the oven is that they are shorter and will fit. Another thing I like about them is they are cheap and disposable which is great when making multiple servings. The reasons that I like this type of wooden skewer is that they are flat like the metal skewers which keeps the food from flopping around and they are stronger than the thin dowel type of wooden skewers. Also they have an aesthetic that the dowel skewers don't have. The skewers on the right are the thin wooden dowel type that I don't like to use. These are very flimsy, prone to splintering, and are round which allows the food to flop around. I find the best use for these is lighting the fireplace. With all wooden skewers make sure you soak them in water for 30 minutes before you use them. If you use them on the grill or you find that the ends are burning, wrap the ends in aluminum foil.

     Now that we've covered chicken skewers with spicy peanut dipping sauce and the attributes of different skewer types let's take a look at today's recipe.

                Chicken Skewers with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce.

Prep time   20 Min.     Cook time 16 Min.     Serves   8

Ingredients

9 ounces boneless skinless chicken breast

1/2 cup plain fat-free yogurt

1-1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup reduced fat peanut butter, smooth variety

1/4 cup hot water

1-1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon dark sesame oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon chili oil

Instructions

Place the chicken between pieces of plastic wrap and pound to an even thickness. Cut the breasts lengthwise, on the diagonal into 16 (1-inch wide) strips. Combine the chicken, yogurt, curry powder, salt, and pepper in a large bowl; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour or up to several hours.

Meanwhile soak 16 wooden skewers in water for at least 30 minutes.

to make the dipping sauce, whisk together the peanut butter, hot water, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, and chili oil in a small bowl until blended and smooth. Taste the sauce and season with additional chili oil if desired. Transfer the sauce to a serving bowl; cover and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400f. Spray a rectangular baking pan with cooking spray.

Thread 1 chicken strip onto each skewer in a snake-like fashion. Arrange the skewers in the baking pan. Cook in the oven for 8 minutes, turn the skewers over and cook for 8 more minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Pile the skewers on a plate and serve the sauce alongside.

This recipe yields 2 skewers per serving.


     This is a great snack for any get together and should go over well with your friends and family. If you make this snack, check back here and leave a comment to let me know how it turned out.
     We've been going through the snack series for many months and have covered some interesting and diverse foods. My goal with the snack series has been to equip you with delicious low-fat snacks that you can serve when you are entertaining guests or take to get togethers; to that end I think I have succeeded. Now, as we head into the holidays I hope that you put these recipes to good use. This has been a long running series and I think it is time to let it run down and make room for more main course dinners. I plan to post one more snack recipe on the last Tuesday of December and I may post a snack recipe or two after that if I think they are exceptional but I feel it's time to move on to something new. I hope that you've found this series helpful.


     Next week - Roasted Brisket or Something New (to me).

Provencal Beef Stew or The Better of The Two.

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog, today's dinner is
Provencal Beef Stew.

     Over the last couple of months I've found some recipes that are either variations of the same thing or different recipes that are similar. An example of this is the BBQ Pork Sandwiches that I posted two weeks ago; when I found that recipe I also found a recipe that was the same with the exception that it omitted the homemade slaw. The reason that I posted the one I did is because I think that the slaw added something that made it a better recipe. Another example is Boeuf Bourguignon and Provencal Beef Stew; these are two different recipes that have similar traits.
The two times that I made boeuf bourguignon it didn't turn out quite the way I expected it to and I felt disappointed that I had put so much work into something so bland. On the other hand I have made Provencal beef stew a couple of times and so far I have been very happy with it. This leads me to a decision, should I write about boeuf bourguignon or provencal beef stew? I think we know the answer.
     Provencal Beef Stew is a french dish that comes from the Provence-Alpes-Cote D'Azure region. It originated as something considered a "peasant" food in an area that is good for grazing animals but is not suited for growing large crops.
The area is mountainous and the nutrient poor soil is best suited to growing root vegetables. Part of what I like about this stew is that it started with a humble beginning and an attitude of making something delicious out of simple ingredients.
     So let's jump into today's recipe.

                                      Provencal Beef Stew

Prep time   20 Min.     Cook time   425 Min.     Serves   6

Ingredients

16 ounces lean beef round, cut into 1-inch cubes (London broil)

1 spray cooking spray

1 small onion, chopped

2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 large carrots, sliced

15 ounces canned pinto beans, drained and rinsed, divided

1-1/2 cups beef broth, divided

14-1/2 ounces canned crushed tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons fresh thyme, or 2 whole sprigs for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Place beef in a crock pot

Coat a 12-inch nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Add onion, mushrooms and garlic over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Add onion mixture to crock pot; add carrots.

Place half of beans in crock pot; place remaining beans in a blender. Add 1/2 cup of broth to blender and puree; spoon mixture into crock pot. Add remaining broth, tomatoes, oregano, dried thyme, salt and pepper to crock pot.

Cover crock pot and cook on high setting for 6 to 7 hours. Garnish with fresh thyme before serving

This recipe yields about 1-1/4 cups per serving.


     This is a delicious dinner that will satisfy every member of your family.
Serve it with a salad and French bread and you will have a complete meal.
If you try this dinner leave a comment and let me know how it turned out.


     Next week - Chicken Skewers with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce or More Food on a Stick.

Kale with Bacon and Cannellini Bean Salad or A New Series.

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog, today's dinner is
Kale with Bacon and Cannellini Bean Salad.

     Over the last couple of months I've been thinking about starting a new series, the idea came to me while thinking about how I had written about many main course recipes but I haven't covered very many salad or side dishes. The conclusion that I came to is that I should do a series that I am going to call the "Salad and Sides Series". My plan is to post a salad or side dish recipe on the second Tuesday of each month in the slot recently vacated by the grilling series.
     My first entry in this new series is Kale with Bacon and Cannellini Bean Salad. This is a different salad than most of us are used to in that it is a cooked salad that features kale instead of lettuce or spinach. Kale is a form of cabbage with green or purple leaves in which the central leaves do not form a head. It belongs to the genus Brassica oleracea which contains a wide array of vegetables including broccoli, cauliflower, collard greens, and brussel sprouts. Kale leaves tend to be stiff and contain a thick spine; in order to be made edible the spine has to be removed and the leaves have to be cooked to soften them.
     Another component of this salad is Cannellini beans. These beans are related to kidney, great northern, navy and green beans. You should be able to find them in cans in the bean section of your local store, if you can't find them you can substitute kidney or great northern beans.
     Beyond the flavor and uniqueness of this salad one thing that I like about it is that it can be served as a salad, it can be served over pasta as a side dish or it can be served in larger portions as a main course.
     Let's take a look at this recipe.


                     Kale with Bacon and Cannellini Bean Salad

Prep time   10 Min.     Cook time   32 Min.     Serves   4

Ingredients

3 slices uncooked reduced-fat bacon

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 cup onions, diced

1 pound uncooked kale, stemmed, roughly chopped

1 cup canned chicken broth

15 ounces cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

Instructions

Set a large, heavy pot over medium heat; add bacon and cook to desired crispness. Remove bacon from pot and set aside; leave bacon drippings in pot.

Add garlic and red pepper flakes to bacon drippings; cook, stirring, until garlic becomes fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add onion; cook, stirring, until soft, about 10 minutes. Add kale; cook, stirring occasionally, until it starts to wilt, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add beans; simmer uncovered until liquid is almost evaporated, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in salt, vinegar and sugar; sprinkle with crumbled bacon and serve immediately.

This recipe yield about 1-1/4 cups of salad per serving.


     Although it's more involved than the normal ready-to-use bagged salad I believe that there are occasions when it is definitely worth the extra effort. Since this salad only requires three pieces of bacon I try to make it in a week that I also plan to make BLT sandwiches. If you try this salad, leave a comment here and let me know how it turned out.


     Next week - Provencal Beef Stew or The Better of The Two.

BBQ Pork Sandwiches with Homemade Slaw or Football Fare.

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog, today's dinner is BBQ Pork Sandwiches with Homemade Slaw.

 

     At this point we are deep into football season. Here in Ohio the big game is The Ohio State Buckeyes followed closely by the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals. My favorite part of football is the social aspect; people with a common interest getting together to watch a game, drink a couple of beverages, and eat some food (and yell at the t.v.). The food component of this ritual is the one area that presents the most diversity; it can range from the basic potato chips and pretzels to full blown buffets. Over the last couple of years I have gotten into the routine of ordering pizza, wings, and bread sticks from the local pizza place, with my diet I have had to fundamentally rethink my football fare. With my new approach to food I wanted to find something that could be a snack or could be expanded to a more substantial meal. While looking through recipes online I found part of the solution in BBQ pork sandwiches. I like this because beyond the taste and ease of preparation it can be served along side other snacks or you can add something like sweet potato fries to make it a meal. I also like that you can make it at home, put the BBQ pork in a crock pot, and take it to your friend's party.
     This is not a pulled pork recipe but rather the idea is to use 1/4 inch thick slices of pork tenderloin and to further slice them into pieces that are roughly 2 inches by 1 inch by 1/4 inch thick. It may be hard to see but the sandwich in the picture above has five pieces of bbq'd pork stacked in three layers. Another thing you will notice in the picture and the recipe to follow is that the homemade slaw is piled on the pork in the sandwich. This is the way this sandwich is meant to be made; I suggest that you try it this way and if you don't like it you can put the slaw on the side next time.
     So let's take a look at today's recipe.


                BBQ Pork Sandwiches with Homemade Slaw

Prep time   20 Min.     Cook time   25 Min.     Serves   4

Ingredients

1 spray, cooking spray

1 pound lean pork tenderloin, sliced 1/4-inch thick

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

15 ounce canned tomato sauce

1-1/2 tablespoon worchestershire sauce

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

4 reduced-calorie hamburger buns

3 tablespoons reduced-calorie mayonnaise

1 tablespoon water

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (sub. white wine vinegar if you don't have it)

2 cups packaged coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots)

3 tablespoons scallions, sliced

Instructions

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; set over medium-high heat. Add pork slices in a single layer and season with salt and pepper; brown 2 minutes per side. Do not crowd; cook in batches if necessary. Remove pork and set aside. Add onion and garlic to skillet; saut'e over medium heat until tender, about 5 minutes.

Add tomato sauce, worcestershire sauce, white wine vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper to skillet; stir and simmer 1 minute. Add pork to skillet and spoon sauce over pork; cover and simmer 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whisk mayonnaise, water, and apple cider vinegar until smooth. Add coleslaw mix and scallions; toss to mix and coat.

Divide pork into 4 portions, place 1 portion of pork on the bottom half of each bun and drizzle with 1 teaspoon of barbeque sauce; top with 1/2 cup of coleslaw and cover with top half of bun.

This recipe yields one sandwich per serving.


     These are great sandwiches that works well with football games or any gathering where you want to serve something quick and easy. These sandwiches will also boost the wow factor at the next tailgate party. As always, if you try this dinner, leave a comment here and let me know how it worked out.


     Next week - Kale with Bacon and Cannellini Bean Salad or A New Series.

Chicken Poppers or Homemade Finger Food.

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

     This week we are back to the normal end of month snack series. Something that I noticed when I looked at my calender to see what I am writing about is that I inadvertently scheduled three chicken recipes for this month. I usually try to write about diverse dinners to keep this interesting but apparently I haven't fully thought through my choice of dinners this month. Since I'm already committed to writing about Chicken Poppers I promise I won't write about chicken again until the last post of next month.

     I recently stumbled across the recipe for chicken poppers, these are very similar to the chicken nuggets that we all know from many fast food franchises, the difference is that you are making them yourself and you are making the dipping sauce from scratch. When I made these I was very behind schedule; it was an hour before a get together and I had left no room for error, this recipe had to work the first time or I would be running to the store to pick up a veggie tray. As I pulled the first baking sheet from the oven I tried one; it worked, I'm halfway home. The popper was hot and moist but not greasy, it was a lighter, tasty version of the nuggets most of us grew up on. While the second batch was cooking I mixed together the dipping sauce. I took another popper from the first batch and dipped it in the sauce; it was different from most dips that I have tried but it had a little kick to it and I liked it.

     The idea of the sauce is that it's a low fat alternative to heavy, full fat sauces; it's a lighter sour cream based sauce that gets most of it's flavor from salsa and cilantro. I'm normally a honey-mustard person but I found this combination of poppers and dipping sauce a nice change of pace.

     Let's jump into today's recipe.

                                     Chicken Poppers

Prep time   12 Min.     Cook time   15 Min.     Serves   4

Ingredients

3 sprays cooking spray

1 pound chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes

1/2 cup fat-free egg substitute

1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs

1/4 cup cornmeal

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1/4 teaspoon table salt

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup fat free salsa

1/4 cup fat-free mayonnaise

1 tablespoon cilantro, fresh, minced

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425f. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

Place egg substitute in a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, combine breadcrumbs, cornmeal, garlic salt, salt, paprika and pepper.

Dip chicken in egg substitute and then in breadcrumb mixture; turn to coat. Place chicken on prepared baking sheet; coat with cooking spray. Bake for 5 minutes, flip over and bake until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more.

Meanwhile, to make sauce combine salsa, mayonnaise and cilantro in a small bowl; stir well.

Place poppers on a plate and serve sauce in a small bowl on the side.

This recipe yields about 6 nuggets and 2 tablespoons of sauce per serving.

     This is a quick and easy snack that requires very little effort. I would imagine that these can be made ahead of time and frozen until you want them or you could make large batches of them and freeze them in smaller batches to be eaten over a period of time. If you try this recipe leave a comment and let me know how they turned out.

     Next week- BBQ Pork Sandwiches with Homemade Slaw or Football Fare.

Crock Pot Chicken Tikka Masala or Somewhere In Between.

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog, today's dinner is
Crock Pot Chicken Tikka Masala.

     Over these many months I've been able to try many new dinners and in turn post them here so that you can try them. The one thing that stands out the most about them is how ethnically diverse they are. We have tried foods from all over the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Chicken tikka masala is a dinner from India; this is only the second Indian dinner that I've tried to make but I have to say that I like how easy they are to make. I also like that they inject new flavors into my dinner routine.
     For me Indian food is difficult to describe; it's not New World, European, or Oriental, it's somewhere in between. The flavors are diverse, ranging from sweet to sour and spicy to cool and refreshing. At first glance the ingredients seem to be a mistake but during the cooking process they come together in a way that they play off of and compliment each other. The ingredients are simple but create flavors that are very unique.
     Now that we've shed a little more light on Indian cuisine, let's jump into today's recipe.


                           Crock Pot Chicken Tikka Masala

Prep time   15 Min.     Cook time   480 Min.     Serves   8

Ingredients

28 ounce canned crushed tomatoes

1 small onion, minced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon ginger root, fresh, minced

2 tablespoons garam masala

1 tablespoon dark brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1/2 cup plain low fat Greek yogurt

1/4 cup cilantro, fresh, chopped


Instructions

Combine all ingredients except yogurt and cilantro in a crock pot. Cook on high 3 to 4 hours or low for 6 to 8 hours. Stir in yogurt and cilantro. Serve.

This recipe yields about 1 cup chicken with sauce per serving.


     This is a unique dinner that will take your crock pot cooking in a new direction. After you've tried it out make it for your next potluck and dazzle your friends.
     The one thing that is not clear in the recipe is whether you should use 8 big pieces of chicken or many small pieces. I've made it both ways and at this point I don't know which I prefer. My suggestion is try it both ways and decide for yourself.
If you try this dinner leave a comment and let me know how it turned out.


     Next week- Chicken Poppers or Homemade Finger Food.

Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cookies or Happy Halloween.

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog, today's dinner is Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cookies.

     Two things that I want to point out up front about this recipe are that this is a snack recipe and that in order for it to be timely I'm posting it as a bonus recipe. Normally I post the snack series recipes on the last Tuesday of the month but if I do that this month you won't see it until the day before Halloween and that's just too late to be timely. So, bonus.
     Generally speaking I don't bake; I like to cook and I appreciate the sense of creativity that I get from it but baking is a much more involved process that I don't want to dedicate my time to. Cooking is a general practice type of activity that require a little bit of knowledge in a lot of areas, baking is more of an exact science that requires a firm understanding of how ingredients actively interact with each other chemically. I'm not saying that baking is bad, I just find that if I want baked goods it's easier to go to a bakery and have the professionals do the work for me. The exception to my feelings about baking is the holidays; I like to bake holiday cookies a couple of times a year.
     A recipe that I have recently found and have been saving for Halloween is Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cookies. These appeal tome on two levels, they are oatmeal cookies which are one of my favorite types of cookies and they are caramel apple which appeals to my childhood memories. I remember a time before the Tylenol scare of 1982 and the "razors in apples" scare that followed when my neighbors would hand out caramel apples and occasionally my mom would make caramel apples for special events. My next encounter with caramel apples was when Tootsie Roll came out with Caramel Apple Pops, they weren't really caramel apples but they were a great substitute. Now with this new recipe I have the memories of caramel apples and the deliciousness of oatmeal cookies in a healthier form.
     So, let's take a look at today's recipe.


                               Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cookies

Prep time   10 Min.     Cook time   20 Min.     Serves   48

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 large egg

3/4 cup finely chopped dried apple slices

3/4 cup caramel bits or 16 small soft caramel candies, chopped


Instructions

Preheat oven to 350f.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl; stir well.

Place sugars and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg; beat well. Gradually add flour mixture; beat at low speed until just combined. Fold in apple and caramel bits.

Drop dough by 2 teaspoons 2 inches apart onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Flatten balls slightly with hand. Bake at 350f. for 9 minutes. Cool on pans 3 minutes. Remove cookies from pans; cool completely on wire racks.

This recipe yields 1 cookie per serving.


     These are delicious cookies that will quickly become a part of your halloween festivities. The one thing I want to clarify is that I use the apple chips that are partially dried and chewy not the apple chips that are fully dried out and crunchy.
As always, if you try them, leave a comment here to let me know how they turned out.


     Next week- Crock Pot Chicken Tikka Masala or Somewhere In Between.

Grilled Moroccan Chicken Kabobs or The Last Hoorah.

     Welcome and thank you checking out my blog, today's dinner is
Grilled Moroccan Chicken Kabobs.

     Over the last few months I've been posting a series that I've called the grill series. The main purpose of the grill series has been to give you some new and interesting dinners to get you out of the kitchen and into the backyard. The second purpose has been to give you new and interesting dinners to wow your family and friends with; summer is the time to invite people over for cookouts, give them something memorable to eat. The third purpose has been to challenge you men out there(grilling is manly) to go beyond the hamburgers, brats, and hotdogs and to step up your grilling skills. To these ends I hope that I've succeeded.
     As we move into October the weather is getting colder and the days are getting shorter, the kids are back in school and football season has started. It's time to put on warmer clothes, put away the lawn furniture, rake the leaves and get ready for winter. But, before it's too late, there's still time for one last hoorah.
     Grilled Moroccan Chicken is a skewer or shish kebab style dinner, for the sake of brevity I am going to use the term "skewer" to describe this cooking process (see semantics). Ever since man, or probably woman, discovered that it's possible to change foods by putting them over fire we have been skewering our food and suspending it over fire. When it comes to skewers there are two types, wooden and metal. Wooden skewers are the ones that we are most familiar with, these are generally single-use, lightweight skewers made of thin dowels or bamboo.
I like to use wooden skewers when I cook in the oven or when I'm making single serving snacks or appetizers like chicken satay. The two things that you have to know about wooden skewers are that they have to be soaked in water for 30 minutes before use and if you are using them on the grill you should wrap the ends in foil to keep them from burning. Metal skewers are re-usable, capable of handling large amounts of food, and are easier to work with over an open flame.
When cooking on a grill I almost always use metal skewers; I like how easy it is to thread food onto them, their cleanability and how easy they are to flip during cooking.
     Now that we have a little insight into cooking with skewers let's take a look at today's recipe.


                          Grilled Moroccan Chicken Kabobs

Prep time   16 Min.     Cook time   16 Min.     Serves   4

Ingredients

1-1/4 pounds Boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 tablespoon unsweetened orange juice

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 sprays cooking spray

1 large zucchini, cut into 1-inch thick half-moons

2 small red onions, quartered through the root


Instructions

Mix the chicken, orange juice, coriander, ginger, cinnamon, cumin, salt, garlic powder and pepper in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 6 hours.

Off heat, coat grill with cooking spray. Prepare gas grill for direct, high-heat grilling or build a high-heat charcoal bed in the center of the coal grate on a charcoal grill.

Divide the chicken, zucchini, and onion among four large skewers, thread the meat and vegetables over the pointy ends and down the skewers.

Set the skewers directly over the heat and grill for 16 minutes, turning about every 4 minutes onto each of the other three sides, so that all four sides are well browned.

This recipe yields 1 skewer per serving.


     This is a great dinner for expanding your grilling skills and diversifying your menu so while we still have nice weather get out there, fire up the grill one last time and try this dinner out.
     As I said in last months grill series this is my last post in the grill series. For those of us that are year-round grillers I will post an occasional grill recipe. I want to take this opportunity to thank you for reading this blog and trying these recipes, I hope that you are enjoying them.
   As always, if you try this dinner, leave a comment and let me know how it turned out.


     Next week- Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cookies or Happy Halloween.

Seasoned Pork Tenderloin or Prepping For The Holidays.

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog, today's dinner is
Seasoned Pork Tenderloin.

     Because of the nature of the field that I work in I am constantly planning three months to a year out, I spend a lot of time planning, preparing, and testing for events that are months down the road. The reason for this is that when the time comes to do the actual event everything has to work the first time, every time. I don't get do-overs or second chances. Another example of planning ahead are the musicians that I work with, many of them that do holiday performances start planning and rehearsing in July and August. They take the time to organise their set lists and work through the arrangement well in advance of the point of no return. Where am I going with this? I'm trying to point out that the holidays will soon be upon us and now is the time to work through our new holiday recipes. Up until now I haven't discussed practicing recipes, but, with this one and any other recipe that you will be serving to guests try them out ahead of time to make sure you know what you are doing and how it should turn out. This way when you make it for guests you will be equipped to present a dinner that you can be proud of.
     Although I've made seasoned pork tenderloin a few times over the spring and summer this is really best suited for the holidays. As you start working through the recipe you will discover a scent that reminds you of fall-winter potpourri, as you take your first bite you might think to yourself "this tastes like Christmas". Marinading the pork tenderloin in the seasoning infuses it with a flavor and scent that will flood you with memories of holidays past.
     Now that we have a pro-active attitude toward prepping for the holidays, let's take a look at today's recipe.


                                  Seasoned Pork Tenderloin

Prep time   10 Min.     Cook time   60 Min.     Serves   8

Ingredients

2 sprays cooking spray

1/2 cup reduced-calorie pancake syrup

1teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2-1/2 pounds lean pork tenderloin, use two 1/1/4 pound pieces


Instructions

In a large zip-lock plastic bag, combine syrup, dry mustard, cloves, ginger, salt, cinnamon and pepper. Trim pork of all visible fat. Add tenderloins to plastic bag, squeeze out air and seal bag; turn to coat tenderloins. Place bag on a plate and refrigerate, turning bag occasionally, overnight.

Preheat oven to 400f. Line a roasting pan with heavy duty aluminum foil and coat with cooking spray.

Place tenderloins in the roasting pan and pour marinade over them. Roast, uncovered, until a meat thermometer inserted in center registers 160f., about 1 hour.

Transfer pork to a cutting board and let stand for 10 minutes before slicing. Slice pork and arrange on a serving platter.

This recipe yields about 4 ounces of meat per serving.


     If you do your prep work ahead of time and remember to put it in the marinade the night before you will find that this is an easy dinner to make. One thing that you have to be aware of is that early in the cooking process you will notice a slight burning smell. Don't worry, it's not burning, let it cook the full hour. This recipe serves 8 people, if you are cooking for a larger group and plan to double the recipe make sure you adjust the time accordingly and check it with a meat thermometer to make sure it reaches an internal temperature of 160f. As always, if you try this dinner, leave a comment here to let me know how it worked out.


     Next week - Grilled Moroccan Chicken or The Last Hoorah.

Feta and Spinach Dip or A New Spin.

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog, today's dinner is
Feta and Spinach Dip.

     As usual this last post of the month is a snack recipe. Every so often a new food will pop up out of seemingly no where, examples are nachos, frozen yogurt, buffalo wings, key lime pie, and spinach and artichoke dip. These foods mysteriously turn up, everyone starts talking about them, people come up with their own versions of them, and finally they are everywhere until the next fad food comes along.
I'm not saying that this is bad but I sort of see a cycle here and I kind of wonder if there is a correlation between the lifespan of fad foods and the lifespan of boy bands, but I digress.
     One of the foods that I mentioned, spinach and artichoke dip, is very similar to our new snack and I believe is possibly the inspiration for it. Both dips are cheese based and have spinach in them, the difference is that one has artichokes and the other has watercress(keep reading, you'll see). I remember the first time I ate spinach and artichoke dip and I am a fan but I'm also a fan of putting a new spin on an old trick.
     Now that we have a context for today's snack let's take a look at the recipe.

                                      Feta and Spinach Dip

Prep time   12 Min.     Cook time   1 Min.     Serves   8

Ingredients

4 cups fresh spinach, chopped (about 2 ounces)

8 ounces watercress, drained

1/2 cup low fat cream cheese

1/2 cup fat-free sour cream

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/4 cup chives, fresh,  minced, divided

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt or less to taste (optional)


Instructions

Place spinach in a small saucepan with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil over high heat and then cook for 1 minute; drain well.

Place spinach, watercress, cream cheese, sour cream, feta cheese, 2 tablespoons of chives, lemon juice and pepper in a blender; puree. Taste dip and add salt if desired. Spoon dip into a serving bowl and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon of chives.

This recipe yields about 3 tablespoons of dip per serving.


     This is a great dip that can be served with tortillsa chips and veggies or, if you are adventrurous, I can imagine it in finger sandwiches with cucumber slices.
If you try this snack, check back here and leave a comment to let me know how it turned out.


     Next week - Seasoned Pork Tenderloin or Prepping For The Holidays.

Crock Pot Chicken Burritos or The Value of Freezer Bags.

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

   

      A few months ago I posted a recipe for spicy beef tacos, today's dinner is similar in it's simplicity but different in that it's a crock pot dinner. The simplicity comes from the ingredients, most of which you probably have in your kitchen right now. If you cook on a regular basis (especially the recipes I post) you probably have onion, canned tomatoes, beans, cumin and onion in your kitchen and chicken & chicken broth in your fridge.

     One habit that I have gotten into that lends itself to this type of recipe is preparing chicken ahead of time. The way I do this is I buy chicken in quantities of 3-4 pounds. When I get home from the store I trim the chicken breasts down to 4 ounce pieces and package them four to a bag in freezer bags. I will then save the smaller pieces that I have trimmed off in a separate freezer bag until I have enough to make a recipe. This process is also great for other recipes that I've posted like chicken cacciatore, cashew chicken(coming soon) and Italian-style chicken. If you cook regularly try this process, it will save you time and trips to the store.

     One nice thing about this dinner is that when you are ready to eat you can put out the burrito wraps, cheese and other ingredients buffet style and let your family make their own burritos.

     Let's jump into today's recipe.

                                Crock Pot Chicken Burritos

Prep time   15 Min.     Cook time   300 Min.     Serves   12

Ingredients

1 clove garlic, minced

1 small red onion, chopped

14-1/2 ounces canned diced tomatoes, with chilies

15 ounce canned kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 pound skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces

3/4 cup canned chicken broth

12 whole wheat tortillas

3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat mexican-style cheese

Instructions

Place garlic, onion, tomatoes, beans, chili powder, salt, oregano and pepper in a crock pot; stir well. Add chicken and broth. Cover and cook on low setting for 5 hours; drain off liquid (there should be about 6 cups of burrito mixture.

To serve, spoon about 1/2 cup of burrito mixture down center of each tortilla; top with 1 tablespoon of cheese. Fold bottom 1/3 of tortilla to center. Fold left and right side over, covering filling. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

This recipe yields 1 burrito per serving.

     This is a simple and delicious dinner that your whole family will enjoy. Although this is a diet recipe you can add things like salsa and sour cream to your burritos but beware that some of these items may affect the healthiness of the burritos.

What I do suggest is that if you want to use additional ingredients try to use fat-free or low fat ingredients. If you try this dinner, check back here and leave a comment to let me know how it turned out.

     Next week - Feta and Spinach Dip or A New Spin.

Mixed Grill with Apricot-Soy Sauce or Back To Basics.

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog, today's dinner is Mixed Grill with Apricot-Soy Sauce.

     Over the last few months I've been posting dinners in what I'm calling the grill series. The intent of the grill series is to get you outside and to get you to experiment with new foods on your grill. Most of the dinners in the grill series so far have had an ethnic flavor and I've chosen them to get you to think outside the box when grilling. Today's dinner is a little more mainstream and should allow us to move back into our comfort zone.
     Mixed grill with apricot-soy sauce is very similar to the grilling that we are used to in that it's meat and sauce over an open heat source, the twist is that instead of one type of meat we are grilling three meats and instead of using the standard barbecue sauce we are making our own apricot-soy sauce. The three meats that we are grilling- pork, chicken, and turkey sausage are all easy to cook, work well together, and all have their own flavors and textures. The big variable here is whether you want to use spicy turkey sausage or sweet turkey sausage; if you're feeling adventurous I say try both. Until recently I have not been one to invest too much time and effort in learning how to make sauces but as I work through these recipes I'm realizing that they are not as difficult as I thought they were. This apricot-soy sauce is very easy to make and has many applications beyond this recipe. I can imagine it on other meats on the grill including ribs and hamburgers, pineapple and other fruits on the grill, and baked ham in the oven.
     If you are a guy this is a great recipe for you. In the past men typically didn't cook but in our more modern times of people staying single later into life, dual career families, and the recent phemonenon of cooking becoming a "cool skill" men are cooking more than ever before. Grilling is a very manly form of cooking; there's fire, there's meat, and you can do it while drinking beer outside and swapping stories with your friends. By this point in the grilling season you've probably perfected your steak, burger and chicken skills, now's the time to take it one step further and add the wow factor to your grilling.
     Let's take a look at today's recipe.

                         Mixed Grill with Apricot-Soy Sauce

Prep time   12 Min.     Cook time   19 Min.     Serves   8

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

3/4 cup apricot preserves

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp ground ginger

3/4 pound lean pork tenderloin, cut into 8 cubes

8 skinless chicken thighs

1-1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

12 ounces turkey sausage, sweet or spicy (4 links)

1/3 cup fresh cilantro, minced or torn


Instructions

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; add preserves, soy sauce, vinegar, mustard and ginger. Cook until bubbly, stirring frequently, about 5 to 7 minutes; remove 2 tablespoons of glaze to a small bowl, set both saucepan and bowl aside and cover to keep warm.

Thread pork onto two metal skewers; season pork and chicken thighs with salt and pepper.

Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. Grill pork, chicken and sausage until finished, turning once or twice and brushing meats frequently with glaze during last 2 minutes of cooking, about 8 to 9 minutes for pork, 10 minutes for chicken and 12 minutes for sausage. Make sure to flip meats often during the last 2 minutes of cooking to help the glaze stick. Just before serving, brush meats with 2 tablespoons reserved glaze, sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

This recipe yields 1 chicken thigh, 1 pork cube and 1/2 sausage per serving.


     Over these summer months I've posted some interesting and hopefully challenging grill recipes, now as we move into our fall routines it's time to wind down the grill series. I will be putting up the last post of the grill series on October 9th but if you are a year-round griller like me I'll post a couple of grill recipes during the fall-winter season.
     As always, if you try this dinner, check back here and leave a comment to let me know how it turned out.


     Next week - Crock Pot Chicken Burritos or The Value of Freezer Bags.

Italian Chicken with Potatoes and Peppers or Hold The Pasta

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog, today's dinner is
Italian Chicken with Potatoes and Peppers.

     In the past I have voiced my affinity for Italian food, today's dinner although somewhat new to me is no exception. When we think about Italian food images of various types of pasta and tomato sauces come to mind; spaghetti with meatballs, chicken parmesan on a bed of capellini, and tortellini swimming in alfredo sauce. The one thing that struck me about Italian chicken is that even though it has a rich tomato sauce, it doesn't predominantly feature pasta. I'm not saying that you can't serve pasta with it, I am saying that the recipe doesn't call for it and including pasta wouldn't necessarily enhance it.

     Beyond it's taste the one thing I like about this dinner is that it's an easy to make, one pot, delicious stew. The two most difficult steps in making Italian chicken are cutting the vegetables and deciding which pot to use. The results are delicious chicken, potatoes, and peppers bathed in the most amazing tomato concoction which could be a soup all on it's own. This is a wonderfully hearty meal that is perfectly suited to cold fall and winter days but can be enjoyed any time of year.

     Now that we know that this isn't the typical pasta-based Italian food, let's dive into today's recipe.

                    Italian Chicken with Potatoes and Peppers

Prep time   15 Min.     Cook time   35 Min.     Serves   4

Ingredients

2 sprays cooking spray

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-1/2 inch pieces

1/4 tsp table salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 large sweet red pepper, or yellow pepper, thinly sliced

1 pound yukon gold potatoes, cut into 3/4 to 1 inch pieces

1/2 cup red wine, dry

1-1/2 cups store bought marinara sauce

1/2 cup water

Instructions

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Add to skillet and saut'e until golden brown and almost cooked through, about 4 to 6 minutes; remove from skillet to a plate.

Off heat, coat skillet with cooking spray again. Add peppers and potatoes; saut'e until vegetables are lightly browned, about 4 to 6 minutes. Add wine; simmer 1 minute.

Add marinara sauce and water to skillet; increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until potatoes are almost tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in chicken and any accumulated juices.

Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender and chicken is cooked through, about 7 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, if desired.

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

     This dinner is a great way to introduce your family and friends to another side of Italian food. I can picture this as a delicious fall-winter dinner, a wonderful Buffet item at a football party, or simply as a tasty year-round dinner to gather your family around. I did state that you don't have to serve it with pasta, I'm not saying you can't, you can if you are so moved. What I do recommend is that you serve it with a hearty whole-wheat bread. If you try this dinner check back here and leave a comment to let me know how it turned out.

     Next week - Mixed Grill with Apricot-Soy Sauce or Back To Basics.