Bruschetta Chicken

This is one of my favorites!! I had some ideas in my head (scary, I know) and wanted to make a really good chicken dish. I just used ingredients I had on hand and made it work. It was a hit and I will certainly be making it again soon. I didn't really measure, but here what I used and what I did:

Ingredients

2 chicken breast

EVOO

white wine

balsamic vinegar

basil (I used 2 frozen basil cubes)

salt and pepper

canned chopped tomatoes

chopped garlic

seasoned breadcrumbs

parmesan cheese

mozzarella cheese

Directions

On med/high heat I put the EVOO, white wine, balsamic vinegar, basil, S and P in a pan. Once hot I added the chicken and flipped after 1 to 2 minutes. I then added the tomatoes and garlic. Cover the pan and turn the heat down to med/low (flip occasionally). Let the chicken cook a good amount of time to allow it to get nice and tender.

While the chicken is cooking, mix together equal parts of breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese, add EVOO to make a crumble.

When chicken is done top it with crumble and mozzarella cheese. Turn on broiler and transfer* chicken under the broiler. Leave in there a few minutes to let the topping crisp up and cheese melt.

* I used an oven safe pan to make the transfer of the chicken easier. Otherwise you will need to transfer the chicken from the pan to an oven safe dish.

Serve this with your favorite pasta and spoon the extra tomato mixture over it.

Sesame Chicken and Vegetable Rice

Baked Sesame Chicken

I adapted the sesame chicken from a recipe I found at allrecipes.com. They changes I made are in green.

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (I cut mine into strips)
2 tablespoons butter, melted (I used fat free Parkay spray)

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (I added this to the recipe)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

2. Place soy sauce in a 9x13 inch baking dish. On a piece of wax paper (I used a bowl), mix together the sesame seeds, flour, salt and pepper (and red pepper flakes). Dip the chicken pieces in the soy sauce to coat, then dredge in the sesame seed mixture.

3. Place in medium/hot pan on stove top and flip after a minute or two, add a little butter and soy sauce to keep the chicken moist. Remove and arrange in baking dish in a single layer, then drizzle with melted butter and some more soy sauce.
4. Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for approximately 40 minutes (mine took about 20 minutes because it was pre-cooked on the stove and cut into strips), or until chicken is cooked through and tender and juices run clear. Baste with drippings once during cooking time. Garnish with extra sesame seeds if desired, and serve.

Vegetable Rice

This is something I made up as I went using what I had on hand.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup of long grain white rice

2 cups chicken stock

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Dash of soy sauce

1 carrot grated (cook with a little water to make tender, drain water)

1 1/2 cups cooked broccoli-cut up small

Soy Sauce to your taste

oil

DIRECTIONS

Combine first 5 ingredients, bring to boil, cover and reduce to simmer. Cook about 20 minutes or until rice is fluffy and liquid if gone. Transfer rice to stir-fry pan add carrots and broccoli. Mix together and add some oil (I used EVOO) and soy sauce to your taste.

Pudding Chocolate Chip Cookies

They are SO soft and delicious. It seemed like they got softer as the days went by. I got this recipe from The Nest....Thanks Joelen! (http://joelens.blogspot.com/)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cups packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix (I used French Vanilla)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour and baking soda, set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown.

I made mine a little large, but I still ended up with about 25 cookies.

** This recipe can be doubled easily.

Corn and Kielbasa Chowder

Yesterday was cold and rainy so I thought it would be a good day to try a Rachel Ray recipe I found while thumbing through one of her magazines. I made a few changes....I used 16 ounces of turkey kielbasa, I grated about a quarter of a red onion and I added in some garlic, chicken bouillon and smoked paprika since I did not use beef kielbasa. Also, I did not have any dill on hand so I omitted it.

Ingredients

8 ounces kielbasa, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
2 onions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon butter
One 14.5-ounce can chicken broth
1 large baking potato (about 12 ounces), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 cup half-and-half
One 1-pound bag frozen corn, thawed
Salt and pepper
Chopped fresh dill, for garnish

Directions:

1. Heat a deep skillet or a wide 4- to 6-quart pot over medium-high heat. Add the kielbasa and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

2. Add the onions and butter to the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 6 minutes. Add the broth and potato and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover with a lid and simmer until the potato is tender, about 10 minutes. Add the half-and-half and corn and cook, stirring, until heated through.

3. Using a blender or food processor, puree 1 cup chowder until smooth. Stir the puree back into the chowder along with the browned kielbasa and season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with the dill.

Direct Link: http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipe/32640/

Easter Treats

This past Easter Sunday I spent the morning baking (for some unknown reason). It was my first time making homemade Cheesecake and homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies. First was the Cheesecake, I got the recipe from the wife of my husbands boss.

Cheesecake:

A. Crumb Crust
1 1/2 C Crushed Graham Crackers
1/4 C Sugar
6 TBSP Melted Butter

Blend - Press into 9" spring form pan (part way up the sides) - Chill - Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

B. Filling
3 Lg pkgs of cream cheese
1 1/2 C Sugar
1/2 TSP SALT
4 Eggs
1 TSP Vanilla

Soften cream cheese and have at room temp, blend in sugar and salt. Beat till fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg. Mix in vanilla. Pour mixture into chilled crust and bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes until center is firm. Remove for 15 minutes. Reset over to 450 degrees.

C. Topping
2 C Sour Cream
1/4 C Sugar
2 TSP Vanilla

Combine all the above ingredients. Spread on cooled cake. Return to 450 degree over for 10 minutes. Cool cake and chill at least 4 hours before serving.

Next were the Chocolate Chip Cookies.....but not just any Chocolate Chip Cookies. They were BBFCCC's from allrecipes.com, or "Death by Chocolate Chip Cookies" as my husband would call them.

Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies:

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.

4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Easy Homemade Pizza

In an effort to eat "healthy" pizza I decided to make homemade pizza for dinner last night.

Crust (Pre-made garlic and herb dough from Trader Joe's)

Sauce (Pre-made, but I infused it with basil and garlic)

Mozzarella Cheese (2% milk)

Turkey Pepperoni

Jalapeno Chicken Link Sausage (cut up)

Jalapenos

Red Onions (on half)

Kalamata Olives (on half)

Baked at 425 for about 15 minutes. It was delicious! To make clean up easy I lined my pizza pan with foil and sprayed it with non-stick cooking spray. My Mom made her own pizza the same night by brushing the dough with olive oil and topping it with artichokes, feta, kalamata olives and portobella mushrooms. The possibilities are endless.