Main Course

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Chicken Kabobs

Lyn’s last day is today then she joins me in the “Everyday is Saturday Club”

My wise brother explained to me that when retired choosing to treat all days as Saturdays is the best, It’s a weekend day so you free to do what you want and there is no work the next day.

Anyway Lyn grabbed this off her healthier cooking recipe work site and it was pretty good, you can do kabobs or just breast your choice no pressure. I was hanging with our 5 month old granddaughter so Lyn made the breast under the broiler to avoid the rain and I came home to this with a avocado side salad and corn tortillas. It was yummy especially after fighting the rush hour traffic on Mass Pike and the 495 exit work. Anyway enjoyed this.

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 large red bell peppers

2 small yellow onions

1 tablespoon garlic powder Steve Note: she used a Low Fodmap Foods substitute for this

2 teaspoons onion powder Steve Note: she used a Low Fodmap Foods substitute for this

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons chili powder

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in a Ziploc bag and toss well to coat the chicken and vegetables with the oil and spices. If making a double batch, you can freeze at this point. Thaw completely before proceeding. 

2. Alternate chicken and veggies onto a kebab stick (I recommend the metal ones).

3. Place on the grill and cook until the chicken is cooked through.

Pan-Roasted Juniper and Thyme Pork Chops
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Pan-Roasted Juniper and Thyme Pork Chops

Lyn and I took a vacation in Booth Bay area Maine back in 2020, we rented a small cabin in a cluster. There were about 6 scattered through the property. Looking out over the harbor and eating a great meal. I had pork chop which was prepared in a Juniper berry based brined. I was so impressed that I asked the chef how he created. He quickly rattled off the ingredients and I tried to duplicate. Came close but never hit it on the nose. I tried many variations of my recipe Pan Fried Pork Chops With Juniper and Rosemary.

Anyway I became a fan of juniper berry and while searching for some Ideas I came up with this we both liked this and will ad my tweaks to our rotation. I’ll add notes as to some changes I made.

The ultimate moist and flavorful pork chops. Well worth the time! Recipe by jmjodar  https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/284395/pan-roasted-juniper-and-thyme-pork-chops/

Note: First only had two thick ButcherBox pork chops so i sort of cut ingredients in halve below is the full recipe.

Ingredients

  • 4 cloves garlic divided
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup kosher salt
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons juniper berries Steve Note: I did not cut this in half
  • 2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme, divided Steve Note: I did not cut this in half
  • 5 cups ice Steve Note: did not use Ice
  • 4 (1-inch thick) bone-in pork chops Steve Note: Only had 2 chops
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • sea salt to taste

Directions

  1. Peel garlic cloves. Leave 2 cloves whole and set aside for basting. Halve the remaining 2 cloves crosswise.
  2. Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add halved garlic cloves, salt, sugar, juniper berries, peppercorns, and 1 sprig of thyme. Stir to dissolve salt and sugar. Transfer to a large bowl and add ice. Stir until brine is cool. Steve Note: I had errand to run so I left on the stove t cool skipped the ice then refrigerated until ready to brine the chops. The next morning I added pork chops in plastic bag, sealed, and chilled in the refrigerator for 8 to 12 hours.
  3. Remove chops from the brine and pat dry. Discard brine.
  4. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Set a wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet. Steve Note: just used my cast iron pan.
  5. Heat oil in a large, oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Add chops and cook without turning until they begin to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn and cook until beginning to brown on the other sides, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking, turning every 2 minutes, until both sides are golden brown, 5 to 7 more minutes.
  6. Transfer the skillet to the preheated oven and roast, turning chops every 2 minutes, for 14 minutes.
  7. Remove skillet from the oven and drain fat. Place on the stovetop over medium heat. Add butter, reserved 2 garlic cloves, and remaining sprig of thyme; cook until butter is foamy, 3 to 5 minutes. Tip the skillet slightly and use a large spoon to baste the chops until butter is brown and smells nutty, 2 to 3 minutes.
  8. Transfer chops to the prepared rack and let rest, turning often to ensure juices are evenly distributed, about 15 minutes. Finish with a light sprinkle of sea salt.

Next time I’ll try crunching the juniper berries bringing out more of the flavor.

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Top 10 Herbs for Lung Health, Clearing Mucus, COPD, and Killing Viruses

Clean Out The Frig Frittata.
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Clean Out The Frig Frittata.

Clean out the frig frittata egg, cheese, ham, cauliflower, mushroom, caramelized onions, red bell pepper, potato crust on bottom #cooking

What is the difference between an omelet and a frittata?

Image result for frittata

And, unlike omelets, frittata fillings are mixed in with the eggs in the pan rather than folded in the center. To make a frittata, well-beaten eggs are cooked on the stove in a hot skillet, along with the fillings, for a few minutes until the outer edges are set.

Kung Pao Brussels Sprouts
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Kung Pao Brussels Sprouts

Was on Mastodon or Post the other day and saw this I’ve been looking for an alternative recipe and this sounded pretty good. I think it would be good with cauliflower also. I can’t remember who’s this was but many thanks.

10-12 Brussels Sprouts, cut in half
Optional: diced red bell pepper, 3/4s cup
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/2 cup Dry Roasted Peanuts, no salt
1 clove & 2 cloves Garlic, minced
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Honey
1/2 teaspoon Ginger
Splash of Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
1/4 teaspoon Cornstarch

I rarely measure when I cook, so these are approximations.

  • Mix soy, ginger, honey, hot sauce  & 2 cloves garlic together. Whisk in cornstarch to thicken. Heat in saucepan until just boiling. Reduce heat & stir in peanuts. Remove from heat after 2 minutes.
  • Toss cut brussels sprouts (& bell pepper, if using) with 1 clove garlic & cook in air fryer 9 minutes at 400°. 
  • Place cooked vegetables into bowl. Pour sauce mixture over & toss to thoroughly coat. 

Makes 2 servings if side dish, one if main course.

Pepper and Cheese Lasagna
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Pepper and Cheese Lasagna

So I came home and on the counter was an old yellowed recipe that we haven’t seen for years. Lyn was having a craving and laid out the dish, box of lasagna pasta and had already prepared the spinach and broccoli. This is an interesting recipe everything but the initial pasta cooking is made in the microwave. You can tell the age by the one step that was rotate pan half way through, if you remember way back there was either no tray and it never rotated during cooking.

Ingredients

6-9 lasagna noodles

2 carrots shredded

1 small onion chopped –Steve Note: I used red I had half of one left over

1 red or green pepper, cut into thin strips

10 ounce of frozen chopped broccoli or spinach thawed and drained. Steve Note: Lyn had prepared a combo of each but used fresh.

I added 4 mushrooms sliced.

1/2 tsp of salt

15 ounce container of ricotta cheese

Optional 1 egg beaten Steve Note: like to add this to ricotta binds it together.

2 cups of shredded Fontina, Swiss or other cheese. Steve Note: Did not have enough mozzarella or provolone so I grabbed a stick of cheddar and shredded it. BTW take minutes and is way cheaper than buying already shredded. The cheddar turned out a nice choice went well with the veggies.

Lyn’s pasta sauce Steve Note: The recipe did not call for but I put small amount on bottom and top (before the last topping of cheese).

How

  1. Prepare noodles conventionally as package directs; drain, separate and set aside.
  2. in 12×8″ backing dish cook carrots, onion and pepper covered on high 6-8 minutes until tender-crisp stirring half way through. Spoon into bowl and add broccoli. In separate bowl combine egg, and salt and a real good pinch of dried basil.
  3. thin layer in baking dish then top with three noodles. top that with half the ricotta cheese mixture and top that with 1/3 veggie mixture then 1/3 shredded cheese.
  4. Repeat except except set aside the shredded cheese
  5. Cook covered on high for 7-10 minutes until hot through
  6. Sprinkle remain cheese cook 3-5 minutes until cheese is melted
  7. Let stand for 10 minutes and serve

Makes 8 servings

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Dumpling Banquet

My daughter in-law Gail and I had a Homemade Chinese Dumplings ala Chef Gail where she showed me how to make dumplings that was fun. They are expecting their first child Sofia and her parents are her to visit. This was the first time we have met them other than virtually and it was great fun. Her Mom and Dad graciously decided to make a dumpling banquet for us.

I was good at the prep work and laughable at the rolling out of the wrappers and stuffing them. Dicing Chinese chives, and cabbage and was complemented on my skills. I even got to mix the pork stuffing and there were no faces so I must have done it right, I’ve never mixed using chop sticks. I finally gave up and continue to watch them rolling out the wrappers at lighten speed and her mom was very patient with me when showing how to stuff but I Gail told me that using store bought wrappers and home made were different I just couldn’t get it down.

What I did get was eating them nothing better than homemade. We made two kinds pork and shrimp and chives. Important to make sure that each one had a piece of shrimp in them. They also had premade a batch of meat dumplings and froze for us to take home.

What I learned, you boil them 3 times first bring water to boil then add about a cup of cold water do this three times. this is also covered. If they are frozen wait for the water to boil and then add the dumplings and follow above steps. I have the concept down on how to seal. I got better at chop sticks but her dad slipped me a fork halfway through the meal. Oh they have a custom to have a bowl of the water the dumplings were cooked in to sip from time to time during the meal. I also learned that there was no way I could match their eating speed. I also learn that leftover are great the next day fried.

Impressive fact her Dad took her Mom to the hospital to give birth on a bicycle about 20-30 minutes a way.

the last two pictures are something her mom made earlier.

Stuffed Delicata Squash
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Stuffed Delicata Squash

this was a cook from the gut meal in other words open the fridge and see what I have.

We had some sweet Italian sausages left over, green pepper, sweet onion, short grain rice and some marbled cracker barrel cheese.

Cut the squash in half lengthwise , deseeded and roasted until done (fork slips in easily) about 25-30 minutes cut side down

I finely chopped sausage, pepper and onions, I had cooked the rice earlier and it had cooled already the last thing was to just shred some cheese.

In a nonstick fry pan I sautéed the onions, pepper, added the sausage until warm and then added the rice stirred until all was warm.

stuffled the squash and topped with the cheese and back into the oven until melted.

I like this squash you eat the skin just like acorn squash.

SKILLET FRENCH ONION CHICKEN
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SKILLET FRENCH ONION CHICKEN

Lyn was going to be cooking last night and I had taken out some chicken breast so she was browsing for interesting chicken recipe. After sending me the link asking me if I like carnalized onions, she know I do, she decided she would play the make pudding trick. Once she called me over and said could you please stir the pudding. I didn’t know it had to be stirred continuously until thickened and she walked away smiling. Anyway carnalized onions have to stirred continuously. I looked over the recipe and agreed to cook tonight. I did not have the correct cheese and the goat cheese had gone a little bitter, it was forgotten in the back of the draw, so I used combo mozzarella and parmigiana cheese not the same sweet, mild, and nutty flavor but it worked just fine. there is always next time. I’ll include the picture from the recipe as reference. My chicken breast were large so I made cutlets but I should have cut each one in half width wise

Ingredients

  • 4 boneless (skinless chicken cutlets (16 to 20 ounces total))
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 2 medium yellow onions (thinly sliced)
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (or more as needed)
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme or 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
  • 3 ounces Gruyère cheese* (coarsely grated (about 1 cup))
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour (or gluten-free flour mix*)
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • pepper (to taste)
  • ½ teaspoon paprika
  • 2 teaspoons unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth

Instructions

  1. In a large nonstick skillet heat the oil over medium heat.
  2. Add the onions and 1/4 teaspoon salt, increase to medium-high, and cook, stirring frequently, until they start to brown around the edges.
  3. Turn the heat to medium-low and add the balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and thyme. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the onions are very tender. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water to deglaze. Set aside and wipe out the skillet.
  4. If the chicken is not uniformly thin, place it between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound with a meat tenderizer or the bottom of a heavy pan until thin but still intact. Season to taste with 1 teaspoon salt and black pepper and set aside.
  5. In a wide, shallow bowl, whisk together the flour*, pinch of salt, and paprika.
  6. Set a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and melt 1 teaspoon butter.
  7. Dredge two of the chicken cutlets in the seasoned flour, then shake off the excess and lay them side by side in the pan. 
  8. Cook the chicken for 3 minutes, or until lightly browned, then flip and cook for 3 more minutes. Set aside on a dish and repeat with the remaining butter and chicken. Set aside.
  9. Combine the broth and 1 tablespoon of the flour mixture and mix, add it to the skillet and whisk on low heat, 1 minute, until it thickens. Toss the rest of the flour out.
  10. Return the chicken to the skillet, top with onions and cheese and cover. Cook low 3 to 5 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbling.

Notes

*only about 1 tablespoon gets used in the end

Gruyère is a hard Swiss cheese that originated in the cantons of Fribourg, Vaud, Neuchâtel, Jura, and Berne in Switzerland. It is named after the town of Gruyères in Fribourg. In 2001, Gruyère gained the appellation d’origine contrôlée, which became the appellation d’origine protégée as of 2013. Wikipedia

Xmas Dinner with Rose in mind
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Xmas Dinner with Rose in mind

Memories of my Mother in-law Rose’s typical Sunday Dinner inspired our Xmas dinner. picture homemade pasta, sauce, meatballs, lasagna, roasted potatoes & carrots, bread and some times some Braciola and or a pork roast. I did cut back on the pasta have to watch the carbs you know. I remember her asking if you wanted seconds and she would hold your plate in one hand (so you could not pull it away) and load up your plate with more than you first plate full held.

Anyway made Lasagna, meatballs, sauce, loaf of Italian bread, Lyn mad her version of menese (sp) soup (similar to Italian wedding soup), Italian wedding cookies that melted in your mouth, moist chocolate pistachio cake. Like I said no pasta we had enough in the lasagna.

I hope she approved and was smiling from above. Love and miss you Rose.

Our grandchild Sofie enjoyed the meal she was quite active in Gail’s tummy after.