Wine of the Week

Ahhh love at first sip. Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay is, and has been, my favorite wine for the last 5 years or so. The flavors of this wine are amazing..when you take the first sip the flavors seem to just explode in your mouth and put a smile on your face. I don't get this wine very often (so I don't get sick of it) but it is, by far, my favorite wine.

The tasting notes, as followed, are from http://www.kj.com/.

"Tropical flavors such as mango and pineapple dance with aromas of peach, apple and pear. Richly layered and balanced throughout. Lightly buttered toast headlines the indulgent, lingering finish." – Randy Ullom, Winemaster

I promise, if you've never tried this wine you must...you will not be dissappointed!

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Last week I knew I was going to have a busy week ahead of me, so I found this easy recipe on http://www.pillsbury.com/ and got the ingredients for a week night "no time to cook" emergency. Well, last night happened to be that night! After a long meeting after work and horrible traffic, DH and I got home late so I whipped up this meal.

It was surprisingly good! I had my doubts with canned soup, instant rice etc. but the flavor was there and it was very hearty. I think this meal was perfect what it was...a "no time to cook" emergency.
Some changes I made were:

1) I used venison instead of Chicken

2) I used motzerella instead of Cheddar! I know, how odd. But it was all I had and it was ok...I'd definately use cheddar next time though!

3)When layering, I used a new layer of tortilla each time with refried beans.

4)Instead of making a round casserole, I did it in a square pan.

5) I used about 4oz. of cream cheese instead of one!

6) Did not use red bell pepper...I don't like them!

INGREDIENTS
1 boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into thin bite-size strips
1/2 medium red bell pepper, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 can (18.5 oz) Progresso® Light Southwestern-style vegetable soup
1/4 cup uncooked instant brown rice
1 oz fat-free cream cheese, cut into cubes
3 tablespoons Old El Paso® fat-free refried beans (from 16-oz can)
4 corn tortillas (6 inch)
1/3 cup shredded reduced-fat mild Cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350°F. In 12-inch nonstick skillet, cook chicken and bell pepper over medium-high heat 4 to 6 minutes, stirring constantly, until chicken begins to brown and bell pepper is crisp-tender. Sprinkle with cumin.
2. Stir in soup. Heat to boiling. Stir in rice; reduce heat to low. Cover; cook about 10 minutes or until rice is tender.
3. Stir cream cheese into chicken mixture until well blended. Spread 1 tablespoon of the refried beans on 1 tortilla; place, beans side up, in bottom of ungreased 1-quart casserole. Top with 1 cup chicken mixture; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the cheese. Repeat 2 times. Top with remaining tortilla; sprinkle with remaining cheese.
4. Cover; bake 20 to 25 minutes or until mixture is hot and cheese is melted.

Spicy Peanut Penne aka "Thai Pasta"

adapted from "More Healthy Homestyle Cooking" by Evelyn Tribole

This meal is a staple in our house. For a while, we ate it once a week. I found it in one of my favorite cookbooks, "More Healthy Homestyle Cooking" by Evelyn Tribole. I got it on sale at Barnes and Noble and I have made so many great things from it! It's like a collection of all my favorite meals...but healthy(er)!

I've made a lot of changes to this recipe...for one it's not exactly spicy because I don't like spicy food. My husband will add some ground red pepper to his meal after I take mine! :) I also omitted and added ingredients and changed some measurements...so I'll post "my" take on this great meal!

Ingredients

1 box of Penne Pasta

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Cooking Spray

1 small-medium onion (can be omitted...I use this because my husband loves onions)

2 Tablespoons Honey

2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce

3-5 fresh chives

1/4-1/2 cup Creamy reduced fat peanut butter

1 tsp Cilantro

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp. ground Ginger

1 Lime

2/3 Cup skim milk

1 1/2 Tbsp Cornstarch

Salt

Pepper

Directions

Bring large pot of water to a boil seasoned with salt and extra virgin olive oil. Cook Penne Pasta aprox 12-13 minutes, then drain. While pasta is cooking, cut up chicken breasts into bite sized pieces and season with salt and pepper. Add chicken to a medium-large frying pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray and cook through. Halfway through cooking, add onions to the chicken and let cook so they are translucent and just start to carmelize. Remove from heat.

In a medium mixing bowl add Peanut butter, honey, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, juice of 1 lime, cilantro and chives. Set aside. In a small saucepan, whisk together milk and cornstarch. Put over medium-low heat and let thicken, about 5 minutes. When thickened, pour over peanut butter mixture and whisk together until smooth.

Pour cooked and drained penne back into an empty large bowl or pot (I use the same one I used to cook the pasta in), add chicken and then add peanut sauce. Mix well. Serve with a salad or bread.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

I'm always on the quest to find new ways to make chicken, and up until I made this dinner I never did an "Asian-Style" meal. Mainly because I just don't like Chinese food. But when i saw this on the "My Kitchen Cafe" blog, I knew it was something that I'd like to try.

I paired the sweet and sour chicken with some brown rice and steamed broccoli.

My husband just raved over it...he said it was his "new favorite". I've already made this recipe twice and am sure that I'll make it again and again! It was great and easy-a perfect weeknight meal!

Sweet and Sour Chicken:

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Salt and pepper

1 cup cornstarch

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup canola oil

Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg. Fry in a little oil until brown but not cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients (below) together and pour over chicken.

Sauce:

¾ cup sugar

4 tablespoons ketchup

½ cup vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon garlic salt

Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes. If you like extra sauce, make another batch of sauce and bring it to a boil on the stovetop. Stir constantly and let cook over medium heat until thickened and reduced - about 6-8 minutes.

Tips: The first time I made this, I made another batch of sauce because I thought my husband would like it. We definately did not need it. The recipe itself makes pleanty of sauce for 2 people!

Chicken Amadine

I found this recipe on the blog "Cook Like a Champion". I had a ton of almonds that I wanted to use up so when i found this I was really excited.

What a great recipe this is. It's so fast, easy and really delicious. My husband said he bragged about his "Almond encrusted chicken" the next day at work. :) It was super moist and had a really great balance of flavors. I will most certainly be making this for dinner again.

Chicken Amadine

Taste of Home 2007, p.256

1-1/2 cups sliced almonds

3/4 cup dry bread crumbs

2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 eggs

1 tablespoon water

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

Directions:
In a food processor or blender, process the almonds until finely chopped. Place in a shallow bowl. In another bowl, combine the bread crumbs, parsley, salt and pepper. In a third bowl, beat the eggs and water.Coat chicken with crumb mixure, then dip in egg mixture and roll in almonds. Place on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until juices run clear.

Olive-Oil Pasta

So if you're interested in the pasta seen next to the Chicken Amadine, here's the 'recipe' for that. I didn't use a recipe for it, just sort of concocted it, but it turned out really good!

Spaghetti (use as much as you will need for the amount of people you are serving!)

1-2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 clove Freshly minced Garlic

1 tsp. Italian herbs

Freshly Grated Parmesean

1 slice Turkey Bacon, cooked

Boil Spaghetti in water with olive oil and and salt. Drain. In small microwave-safe bowl, combine Olive Oil, garlic and Italian herbs. Microwave on high about 30 seconds until garlic and herbs are fragrant. Drizzle olive oil mixture over pasta and toss. Crumble bacon on top of pasta and then add Freshly grated Parmesean to taste.

Roasted Chicken with Risotto & Carmelized Onions

Adapted from http://www.allrecipes.com/

This was my 1st attempt at Risotto and I'm pleased to say it came out very good! It was a bit time consuming, but I was prepared for that. I had orignally planned on following the recipe exactly, so I put my Chicken in the oven early so then i could just chop it up and put it in with the risotto. However, when my husband got home he said he'd rather have the chicken on the side. So i had to re-heat my chicken which made it a little dry but really it was fine. I just roasted 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts with some olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary.

The risotto itself was great. The balsamic and carmelized onions added a lot of unique flavor. I also added a lot of freshly grated parmesean cheese right before serving because I just love it! I also served it with a side of French bread drizzeled with olive oil, salt and pepper.

INGREDIENTS
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 cups uncooked Arborio rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
7 cups hot chicken broth
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
Parmesean

DIRECTIONS
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onions and saute for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the onions are a dark golden brown. Remove from heat, stir in the balsamic vinegar and set aside.
Heat the remaining oil in a separate large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the rice and mix well. Let heat for about 2 minutes, then pour in the wine. Reduce heat to medium low and start pouring in the broth about 1 cup at a time. Add more broth as each cup is absorbed. Continue in this manner until all the broth is absorbed and the rice is al dente, about 20 minutes.
Stir in the reserved onion mixture and allow to heat through. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and chicken. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and garnish each serving with fresh thyme & Freshly grated Parmesean Cheese.

Savoury Pumpkin Soup

Sunday Afternoon rolled around and my husband requested an all time favorite...soup and grilled cheese. Just when I was decided that I didn't feel like using canned soup, I remembered that I had some canned pumpkin in the fridge left over from my marbled pumpkin cheesecake. Thus, Savoury Pumpkin Soup was born. I didn't follow a recipe or anything, and I didn't take any measurements. So these are very rough measurements for the soup. The great thing about this soup is that A) It's delicious and B) it's a 1-pot soup. SO easy and quick. I will most certainly be making this again; it was SO yummy and perfect for a fall afternoon!

Ingredients:
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 -1 cup fat-free half and half
1-2 tbsp butter
3-5 fresh chopped sage leaves
cinnamon
nutmeg
Parmesan Cheese
Salt
Pepper

Directions:
Combine pumpkin and half and half in a small-medium saucepan until smooth. Add more half and half for a thinner soup, and less for a thicker soup. Then add chooped sage, a little shake of cinnamon & nutmeg, and aprox. 1 tbsp butter until all ingredients are combined. Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer on low-medium heat for about 5-8 minutes. Pour into serving bowl. Add a little more butter to enrich the soup and then top with a few slices of Parmesan.

Tips: If you're feeling more motivated than I was today, I think that melting the butter in a seperate saucepan and adding the sage and some freshly minced garlic to that would be excellent. Let the sage and garlic become fragrant and then add that to your pumpkin/cream mixture.