And then…

Here’s this week’s progress on Beacon House:

More alphabet and lower border and snow ground cover…

As I was pulling into my driveway, Mommy turkey and her brood of 6-9 chick lets were crossing my street up into my yard. I ran & got the camera  but while Mommy and half the babies hid in the shrubs, these ones thought if they froze, I wouldn’t see them:

Chickie says: “I’m the ONLY Chicklet round here if you please!”

A Recipe Trifecta!

It all starts with this salad dressing by Our Best Bites: Greek Salad Dressing & Marinade

You will see that the recipe calls for freshly squeezed lemon juice; before you squeeze, grate the zest of one of the lemons into a large mixing bowl and set aside for the Orzo Salad. Then proceed to make the dressing in a blender as directed. My other alterations to this recipe were to use only 2 garlic cloves, and to reserve about a third of the called-for amount of feta. I blended as directed, then added the reserved cheese, and pulsed to obtain a chunky consistency.

Greek Orzo Salad

• 1 cup of orzo pasta
• zest of one lemon
• 2 scallions, chopped finely
• ½ cup grape tomatoes, quartered
• ½ cup frozen peas
• salt & pepper
• 1/3 to ½ cup Greek Salad Dressing
• ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
• salt & pepper to taste

Cook orzo as directed, adding frozen peas in the last 5 minutes. Rinse in cold water to halt cooking, and drain well. Dump into large mixing bowl.

Add remaining ingredients, and toss to mix well. Season as desired with salt & pepper. Refrigerate for 3 hours to combine flavors.

Greek Chicken Burgers

• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 scallions, chopped finely
• 2 TBSP garlic-&-herb-marinated sun-dried tomatoes, minced
• ½ cup bread crumbs
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• ¼ cup Greek Salad Dressing
• One package ground chicken (20 oz?)

1. Beat egg in bottom of large mixing bowl.
2. Add remaining ingredients except chicken and mix thoroughly. Add chicken, and gently combine completely.
3. Lay out a piece of waxed paper on counter, and divide mixture into 5 patties, about ½” thick.
4. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Spray with vegetable spray. Add patties, and fry for 5-1/2 minutes each side.
5. Alternatively, heat a Forman Grill to medium high heat, and cook patties for about 6 minutes total.

Serve with or without buns.

Enjoy!

Wonderful Wednesday Wrecipes

I saw these on the Our Best Bites blog the other day. She had a recipe for breakfast taquitos, in which she referred to these.

The daughter unit loved them, the BF unit was too busy stuffing his pie-hole to say anything more than “MMMMMM”, and then daughter took the one remaining taquito to work for lunch, and texted that I had to make these often, as they tasted great re-heated! Definitely a keeper recipe and SOOOOO easy-peasy to make, especially if you cheat like I did and bought a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket. These were made and hot on the plate in about 30 minutes!

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos
Recipe by OurBestBites.com
Makes 8 taquitos

1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C green salsa
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
3 TBSP chopped cilantro (I skipped this)
2 TBSP sliced green onions
2 C shredded cooked chicken
1 C grated pepper jack cheese (I used a cheddar/jack blend)
small corn tortillas (I used whole wheat)
kosher salt
cooking spray

(I used these- tasted great!)
1.Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.
2.Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.

(You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge. )
3.Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. (My tortillas were soft enough to skip this step) If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or come unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.
4.Place 2-3 TBSP of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges. Then roll it up as tight as you can.

5.Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

6.Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown. Dip 'em in salsa, sour cream, and guacamole

From Emily’s text today, I am surmising that the flavors melded together overnight in the ‘frig, and that the final result may be even MORE tasty if you prepare the filling several hours or the day before, THEN fill, roll, and bake.

Definitely a keeper! Look for her beef taquito recipe too- I’m definitely trying that one too after my next pot roast.

Wonderful Wednesday Wrecipes

So Em wanted to try those frozen broccoli-stuffed chicken breasts that you see the ads for every night; you know- the one with his head stuck in the freezer and the wife says he’s in a dinner coma or something? Well, they’re just under $5 for a package of 2 tiny little croquette-looking things. And they apparently weren’t very tasty. Edible, but bland. So I said “Well I could make those! Those would be easy.” And if you watched Julia Child (“Bon appetit!”) in the French Chef as I did when I first was out on my own, you would know just how easy it is to make these!

Broccoli Stuffed Chicken Breasts

• 4 boneless chicken breasts
• 2 cups broccoli florets, cooked & chopped
• 1/3 cup minced onion
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 slices provolone cheese
• 1 egg
• 1-1/2 cups panko crumbs
• salt & pepper
• oil
• toothpicks

1. Break egg into a pie plate, whisk with 2 TBSP water and set aside. Spread panko crumbs on another shallow plate or wax paper and set aside.
2. Heat a sauté pan over medium heat and add the onion. Saute until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook an additional 4 minutes. Don’t let the garlic brown!
3. Stir in broccoli and season with salt & pepper. Remove to a bowl. Stir in shredded cheese. Set aside to prepare chicken.
4. Wipe pan clean and add enough oil to coat bottom by ¼ inch, and continue to heat over medium heat.
5. Pound each chicken breast to about 3/8” thick. Top with a half slice of provolone each. Put about 3 TBSP scoop of broccoli mixture in center of each breast. Pull edges of chicken over and around filling, pinning with toothpicks as necessary to hold filling in place.
6. Dip bundle into egg wash, turning to coat all sides, then dredge with panko crumbs, covering completely. Repeat with other chicken breasts. Place each stuffed breast into heated sauté pan. When crust is deep golden brown, carefully turn and brown other side. We are JUST browning the crust- NOT trying to cook it completely!
7. In the meantime, preheat oven to 375 degrees, and spray a 9” x 9” baking dish with vegetable spray. When chicken is browned on each side, place in baking dish. Bake uncovered for about 18 minutes, or until meat thermometer reads 175 degrees. Serve with rice or noodles.

You’ll just have to imagine the completely finished product- the 2 guacamoles scarfed these babies before I remembered to take one last picture. They said it was excellent. Good to know!

Wonderful Wednesday Wrecipes

Before I begin, I just want to thank you all for your nice comments and good thoughts about my friends' daughter, Lisa. They are greatly appreciated, and comforting as well. Having been in the cancer research field, Lisa donated her body to Harvard Medical School, and Tom & Diane & their family are planning a remembrance party in a few months- a grand Irish wake, if you will.

And segueing into parties, then into food, here is something simple for your Superbowl (am I allowed to write that?) party:

Quick Chicken Quesadillas Roll-ups

(Makes 4 servings or appetizers for 8)

• 1 pkg of 8 flour tortillas- 8" size (the in-between size)
• 1 large tub of sour cream
• 1 - 8 oz. package shredded "Taco" cheese
• 2 cups or so cooked chicken in 1/2" or smaller dice
• 4 Roma tomatoes, seeded, and chopped 1/2" or smaller dice
• 4 green onions, upper green ends and roots removed, chopped 1/4" slices

Prepare a 9" x 13" casserole by spraying thoroughly with vegetable spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
On a large, clean counter, lay out all 8 tortillas, side by side. Spread a heaping soupspoon-size dollop of sour cream over each tortilla, spread out to the edge. Next, sprinkle a handful, maybe 3 TBSP or a 1/4 cup, of the cheese over each tortilla; you want to use the entire package and divide evenly between each tortilla. Then evenly divide your other ingredients, sprinkling over each tortilla. Then you want to roll each one up; you don't have to tuck in the ends, but try to push any escapees back in the ends as necessary. Place seam-side down in casserole dish. You can spray tops lightly with more spray, but I kind of like the crispy finish without the spray.
Cover tightly with foil, and bake maybe 18-25 minutes, until cheese is melted and everything is a bit oozy.
Here's where we go interactive:
Typically, I slice these rolls into 1-1/2 inch slices, and serve hot with salsa and/or guacamole and/or additional sour cream as appetizers. Use the heat you prefer, as the basic roll-up is quite mild. Also, I suppose you could pour some enchilada sauce (again, as spicy as you like it), under & over the rolls before baking, topping with additional cheese, and treat them like enchiladas.
These freeze pretty well, but I like them best fresh out of the oven.
Enjoy!

****PHOTO UPDATE****

I made some for SuperBowl night:

Wonderful Wednesday Wrecipes

This one is in my top ten favorites list- even top five. Emily suggested adding pineapple chunks to the mix, and that was a very good tweak.

Chicken Kebabs

Serves 4-6:

• 1/2 cup low salt soy sauce
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (or canola or olive)
• 4 TBSP ketchup
• 2 TBSP rice vinegar
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1-1/2 to 2 lbs. boneless chicken breast, cut into 1” chunks
• 1 green pepper, cut into 1” chunks
• ½ large sweet or Vidalia onion, slice root to tip, then into 1” wide pieces, separated into leaves

Set to soak 8-10, 8” wooden skewers.

In 2 cup measuring cup, whisk first 6 ingredients until combined well.

Measure out 1/3 cup and set aside in refrigerator. You will be using this for basting while grilling.

Place chicken and vegetables in gallon Ziploc bag, whisk remaining marinade once more and add to chicken & vegetables.

Smoosh around until everything is coated, place bag into bowl or dish (in case bag leaks!!), and refrigerate for not more than an hour; any longer & I find it tastes too salty.

(This is called "product placement" ) ;^)

When ready to grill, preheat gas grill.

Thread meat and vegetables onto skewers in alternating fashion, usually 4-5 pieces of meat per stick; discard marinade that has been in contact with raw meat.

Place skewers on hot grill, and lower heat to medium. Turn every couple of minutes, basting each side once more with reserved marinade.

Total cooking time should be about 10 to 12 minutes. Make sure all basted sides have been cooked before removing from grill (in other words, don’t baste and then immediately remove from grill. Expose all “raw” marinade to heat). You can cut into a test piece to check for done-ness.

Serve with rice or in a pita.

Oh. My. God.

THE best turkey ever!! I followed The Pioneer Woman's recipe for brining a turkey. It was by far, the most scrumptious bird I've ever eaten! I had bought the el cheapo 49 cents a pound frozen bird- 15.4 pounds, and was boasting as to how clever I was to my BF. He replied "It's not that Marvel turkey like you bought last year is it?" Which, in all honesty, was so dry we had to drink the gravy out of glasses to swallow- and I didn't overcook it! I swear! And umm... "Yes," I answered, "it IS a Marvel turkey. You gotta problem with that?" Coincidentally, Ree at The Pioneer Woman Cooks had just posted instructions for brining. http://thepioneerwomancooks.com/2007/10/brining_a_turkey.html

I also checked with Martha Stewart's site and found another similar recipe. Here's what I did:

Ingredients:

Makes enough brine for one 15-20 lb. turkey

- 7 qts water

- 1-1/2 cups coarse salt

- 6 bay leaves

- 2 TBSP whole coriander seeds

- 2 TBSP whole black peppercorns

- 1 tsp mustard seeds

- 1 fresh, whole turkey (15-20 lbs), neck & giblets removed & reserved for stock

- 1 medium size onion, sliced thin

- 6 cloves garlic, crushed

- 1 bunch (5-6 sprigs) fresh thyme

- 2-3 sprigs fresh rosemary 4" long, or 1 tsp dried

- 2 turkey-sized oven roasting bags (Reynold's brand or eq.), insert one inside the other to double

- 4 to 5 gallon pot, or clean bucket to hold bagged bird, which will fit inside your refrigerator- I cleaned my crisper drawer and it held everything perfectly without consuming too much room

Directions:

1. Bring 1 quart water , the salt, bay leaves and spices to a simmer, stirring until salt is dissolved. Let cool minimum 10 minutes.

2. Line your 5-gallon container with a large brining bag or doubled roaster bags. Place turkey in bag. Add salt mixture, remaining 6 quarts water, and the other ingredients. Tie bag closed; if turkey is not submerged, weight with a plate. Try to keep breast side completely submerged. Refrigerate for 24 hours, flipping bird once ( I didn't do this as my drawer was just right to hold the whole thing 98% under water.)

Roast per The Pioneer Woman: http://thepioneerwomancooks.com/2007/10/roasted_thanksgiving_turkey.html . I had a 15.4 pound bird, and followed her directions exactly (she mentions a 15 pound bird). After the initial slow roast and the foil tent is removed, I raised the temp to 375 deg. basted with butter then drippings every half hour, for an additional 90 minutes. My total cooking time was 4 hours, then I let it rest for at least 30 minutes .

The flavor was fantastic, the skin delectable, and it was JUICY, you could cut it with the side of your fork it was so tender. We didn't even save room for pie, it was so good. I'm even considering making it again for Christmas dinner, instead of my usual rib roast. I only make the beef for Xmas because the Thanksgiving turkey is always such a let down. Oh my god- I'll be talking about it for weeks!! Did I say it was JUICY??

I also made Slow Cooker Stuffing: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Slow-Cooker-Stuffing/Detail.aspx , but with some tweeks- I wanted to try the procedure to see if it helped logistically in the kitchen, as far as oven space & attention, and I was very pleased- it's another keeper recipe. I'll post my version later. Typing this much is an extreme effort & I still have that last huge load of dishes to wash, while holding the turkey hangover at bay.

I also made butternut squash, peas, corn , mashed potatoes, gravy, dinner rolls, mashed carrots & parsnips, baked cauliflower with cheese sauce, and since I put the can of cranberry sauce on the table first thing this morning, I didn't forget that either!

For dessert I made an apple pie, but we didn't even crack that open. Emily wanted to make an orange cake for dinner with friends; we couldn't find a mix, so we doctored a white cake mix with orange extract & coloring. I frosted with a vanilla butter cream, because she was out until, yes- you guessed it- almost 4:00 am.

This is the dinner table partially cleared. That's Bob's plate to the left, mine is disappearing from view at the lower right- I didn't take more than I could eat, and wiped my plate clean. Oh- did I mention I went thru over 3 pounds of butter since yesterday? Really! I'd have to double check, but I used either one or two sticks out of the 4th box! Really!

Have to start washing - I'm the dishwasher!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!