Weekly Recipe: Pineapple Chicken

This Pineapple Chicken recipe isn't one that we have gotten from anywhere but something that my mother made up when we were kids because it isn't difficult and is really quick. Hope you like it and play around with it a little bit to make it what you want it to be.

Pineapple Chicken

2 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bit sized pieces
1 green bell pepper, cut into bite size pieces
1 yellow onion, cut into bite sized pieces
1 16oz. can of pineapple in its own juice
1 heaping teaspoon of corn starch
Olive oil
Rice


Simply saute the chicken in olive oil over medium heat until white in color. At that point add in your onions and peppers (can add match stick carrots to add color) and cook until onions are transparent. Add your pineapple and its juice and bring to a boil. Turn down to low and let simmer 5-10 minutes until pineapple becomes softened. Dissolve corn starch with 1/4 cup water and add to chicken, remove from heat and let stand 2-3 minutes. Juices should become thick and form sauce. Serve with rice and enjoy!

Weekly Recipe

Here is the other recipe that I promised. It is another kind of catch-all pasta dish, yet it has a little different sauce to it. It is also one that takes very, very, little time to prepare.

Sausage and Spinach Pasta



2 of any kind of andoueille or spicy sausages that you prefer (cut into bite size pieces)
1 thing of fresh spinach (remember that it cooks down a lot)
1 clove of garlic, diced
1 shallot, diced
1 serving of pasta of your choice
1 lemon for juice and zest
1 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning
Olive oil

In a deep pan begin heating the sausage in olive oil until heated through (change in color). Add spinach and season with some salt and pepper. Once spinach begins to wilt, add garlic and shallot and allow to sauté until shallots are transparent. Add lemon juice, zest, and chicken broth and allow to cook. Meanwhile, cook pasta and set aside. Once chicken broth has reduced by half, leaving the liquid to be thicker in consistency, add in the pasta and serve.



Supper, supper easy, and you can make it even healthier with whole wheat pasta, low fat chicken broth, and low fat sausage. Great recipe when you need to get read of some of those fresh veggies or don't have a lot of time on your hands. Enjoy!

Weekly Recipe

I know, I know. I didn't divulge a recipe last week and so you will get two this week.

This recipe is one that I got from Real Simple magazine (my wife's) and we have cooked it many times and loved it.

Lemon Chicken with Olives



Real Simple

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons lemon zest, plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt and pepper
1 1/2 pounds chicken cutlets, thawed
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 cup pitted green olives
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)

Mix the flour, cumin, zest, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper on a flat plate. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and dredge in the flour mixture.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken in 2 batches until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.

Wipe out the skillet and return to medium heat. Heat the remaining oil. Add the shallots and cook until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the olives, parsley, lemon juice, and wine and bring to a boil. Return the chicken to the pan, nestling it in the olives and shallots. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Divide among individual plates, spooning the olives, shallots, and any sauce over the top.

Yield: Makes 4 servings

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 425(30% from fat); FAT 14g (sat 1g); CHOLESTEROL 66mg; CARBOHYDRATE 39g; SODIUM 739mg; PROTEIN 6g; FIBER 1g; SUGAR 7g

http://food.realsimple.com/realsimple/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1699462

Weekly Recipe

Deep-dish Sausage Pizza

I have to admit, this isn't my own recipe but one that I altered from one of my favorite blogs. If you are interested in cooking some new recipes try out Vicarious Foodie, it is a great food blog. Ok, so here you go:


1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees F)
1 (1/4-ounce) package active dry yeast (about 2 1/2 teaspoons)
2 1/4 to 2 1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for oiling bowl
1 Package of spicy sausage, or make your own
1 green bell pepper chopped
1 medium onion (your choice) chopped
1 cup grated whole milk mozzarella cheese (about 1/4 pound)
1 cup grated fontina cheese (about 1/4 pound)
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
1/4 cup shredded fresh basil leaves, for garnish

In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in water. Sprinkle yeast over water and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 1/4 cups flour, cornmeal, salt, and 2 tablespoons oil and blend until mixture forms a dough. Knead dough on a floured surface, incorporating as much of remaining 1/4 cup flour as necessary to prevent dough from sticking, until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.

Put dough in a deep oiled bowl and turn to coat with oil. Let dough rise, covered with plastic wrap, in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

While the dough is rising, prepare sausage (brown and add wanted spices). Stir in onions and peppers and transfer mixture to a strainer over a bowl to drain and cool.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.

Punch down dough and knead 4 times. In an oiled 10 1/2-inch cast-iron skillet, press dough with oiled finger until it comes 2 inches up the side and is an even thickness on bottom. Let dough rise, covered loosely with plastic wrap, in a warm place for 15 minutes.

Sprinkle dough with half of mozzarella and fontina and top with sausage mixture and remaining cheeses. Sprinkle the top with the Parmesan and bake the pizza in the lower third of an electric oven or on floor of a gas oven for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees and bake 5-10 minutes more, or until crust is golden brown.

Top with fresh basil, if desired, and serve immediately.

Be careful if you are using frozen ingredients as you might end up with two much water, and make sure to strain the sausage mixture before adding to the dough. Also, substitute any cheeses that you desire and while this recipe makes one large pizza, I split this into two smaller cast-iron pans and ate one and froze the other.





On another note, my camera is not allowing me to connect it to either of my computers. So while these are not my pictures but ones from the blog that I got the recipe from. Again, check out Vicarious Foodie.....the recipes are amazing.

Weekly Recipe: Baked Ziti

Sorry guys, I am really dragging on posting this week for some reason. Here is the recipe I promised though.

Baked Ziti (Thanks to my aunt)

1 26oz. jar plain spaghetti sauce
2 cups mozzarella cheese
8 oz. ziti noodles (penne pasta)
3/4 lb. hamburger

Simply cook the meat until browned and drain. Mix 1 cup of cheese, spaghetti sauce, and meat together and set aside. Cook noodles and drain.

Mix noodles ans sauce mixture and put in a 2 qt. casserole dish. Cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Put 2nd cup of cheese on top and cook for an additional 10 minutes.

To do alterations to this recipe, just make sure everything is cooked prior to baking. I often saute onions, green/red peppers, garlic, and some olives together and add to the mix to add some additional flavor. I have also been know to add eggplant and extra cheeses. It is a really easy recipe to alter and always turns out really well.
Hope you enjoy!

Photo: http://www.recipematcher.com/images/129.jpg

Weekly Reciepe

To give everyone a really easy recipe to start with, I thought we would start with a really easy version of guacamole.

Guacamole

1/4 cup finely chopped white onion

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped (for a mild, add more for spicy)

1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro (plus some for garnish if you want)

Kosher salt

2 ripe avocados

Zest of 1 Lime

Fresh lime juice to taste

You can use a mortar and pestle for this recipe if you have one, if not you will be using the kosher salt as the agent to mash your ingredients in a bowl with a fork. Add jalapeño, onion, cilantro, lime zest, and salt in a bowl and mash into a paste. If you don't mind having chunky guacamole then use your own judgment on the texture of the paste. (You can use a food processor if necessary, but this method does produce better results.) Once the "paste" is to the consistency you desire, add the avocado (removing pit and skin) and mash until well incorporated. Add more salt and lime juice to taste. (all flavors should be in balance; not too acidic, not too salty) Let me mixture set for a few minutes. Garnish with more cilantro and serve with tortilla chips.

This is a very unique guacamole recipe in that most recipes call for mayo or oil. This fact leaves this recipe much lower in calories than traditional guacamole and with a much lighter and cleaner taste. As for me and my wife, we add double the jalapeño for extra spicy guacamole. This is a supper easy recipe, and a great source of your "good" fats. Enjoy!!!