Portobello Mushrooms

This is my adaptation of Portobello Mushrooms on Salad Greens (p. 190) from the Williams-Sonoma Complete Grilling Cookbook.  I marinated two mushrooms in balsamic vinegar and olive oil with some dried basil and garlic powder (I'm lazy when it comes to garlic!).  I then grilled them for about 4 minutes on a side.  I served them sliced on a bed of baby spinach.  The mustard vinaigrette contained spicy mustard, white vinegar, and olive oil.  I would have used dijon mustard if I'd had it in the house.  Fancy and healthy!

Lemon Posset

I got this recipe from an email I received from allrecipes.com.  That is by far my favorite cooking site.  I get emails regularly with recipes.  I'll go to the website to read reviews and save interesting recipes to my online recipe box.  Sometimes, when I need inspiration for cooking, I'll browse through the recipes I have saved.  

I don't know what posset is, but it is probably French and certainly delicious!   I love creamy, back-to-basic custards and creme brulees like this one.  My mother-in-law loved it.

For the original recipe, click here. 

Lemon Posset

3 cups heavy cream
1 1/4 cups white sugar
3 lemons, juiced
3 tablespoons additional heavy cream for topping

In a sauce pan, stir together 3 cups of cream and sugar.  Bring to a boil, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.  Stir in the lemon juice.  Pour into 5-6 serving glasses; and refrigerate until set, about 5 hours.  Pour a little more cream over the tops just before serving.

These cups of lemony creaminess would be delicious served with berries or made in dark chocolate shells.  You'd have to cool the mixture to room temperature so that the chocolate wouldn't melt. 

Chicken and Pepper Stew with Olives

I adapted this recipe from the original that was published in this January's issue of Real Simple magazine.  The recipe calls for chicken thighs that are dusted with flour and then browned in a pan.  I used chicken breasts and omitted the flour.  If Ryan's diet allowed, I would have added some corn starch to thicken the sauce since I didn't use flour.  Even without a thickener, Ryan said that it was excellent and probably the best chicken I've ever made.  Here is my adaptation:

2 T extra virgin olive oil
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half
salt, pepper, and paprika

3/4 cup chicken broth
1 large green pepper, cut into 2 inch long slices
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 cup pitted olives (I used calamata)
1 T golden raisins
1 T corn starch

Heat oil in a deep skillet.  Sprinkle the chicken with paprika, salt and pepper.  Brown chicken in oil, cooking 3-4 minutes on each side.  Transfer chicken to a plate.

Add peppers, garlic, and 1/4 cup of broth to pan.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring and scraping up any browned bits, until the peppers begin to soften, 4 to 6 minutes.


Add olives, raisins and remaining broth to the pan and bring to a boil.  Return chicken to pan and simmer covered over very low heat until chicken is thoroughly cooked.  Halfway through the cooking time, remove some of the liquid and dissolve the corn starch in the hot liquid.  Return to the pan. 

I like to continue simmering at a very low heat until chicken becomes very soft.  Sometimes I'll turn off the heat and let the chicken sit in the pan and continue to soften for 10-15 minutes. 

Serve with rice or potatoes!  Enjoy!

Jambalaya

So, Mardi Gras is over, but I wanted to share this recipe that I got in an email from Swanson broth this week.  I actually just don't want to lose the recipe so I'm posting it here!  It is a slow-cooker Jambalaya that is full of tasty ingredients.  Click here to view!

Salsa and Black Bean Slow-Cooker Chicken

This is super-easy and one of our favorites. 

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups salsa
4 chicken breasts

Mix 1 cup salsa and black beans.  Pour mixture into the bottom of a slow-cooker.  Place chicken breasts on top of bean mixture.  Top with remaining salsa.

Cook on low setting for 4 hours.  It is ready when the chicken is fall-apart tender.  This is delicious topped with cheddar cheese or sour cream.  Alternatively, you can mix some cream cheese into the sauce just before serving.  Doing this makes it less spicy- I like to mix cream cheese into some of the sauce for my daughter.  My slow-cooker seems to cook things faster than the time indicated in most recipes.  You may need to cook this for additional time. 

Vegetable Bean Soup

The Relish magazine comes in our local paper occasionally.  This recipe was included in the recent issue. This is a hearty, flavorful soup that is perfect for Ryan's new diet.  He can't eat most grains in addition to dairy and processed meat.  So, I omitted the bacon and sauteed the vegetables in extra virgin olive oil.  I also omitted the spinach- just because I forgot to thaw some frozen spinach- and the parmesan cheese. 

Aunt Ilene's Specialties

At a ladies' luncheon yesterday, my aunt made her famous chicken squares and a savory soup. Her friends asked repeatedly for the recipes. They make for a perfect winter lunch! We all enjoyed assorted hot teas, fruit salad, and scrumptious desserts as well.

Savory Crescent Chicken Squares

3 oz softened cream cheese
3 T melted butter
2 c. cubed cooked chicken
salt
pepper
2 T milk
1 T chopped onions
1 T chopped celery
2 T slivered almonds
8 oz refrigerated crescent rolls
3/4 c seasoned stuffing (can be crushed into finer crumbs if desired)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In medium bowl, blend cream cheese, 2 T butter (reserve 1 T) until smooth. Add chicken, salt, pepper, milk, onions, celery and almonds. Mix well.

Separate crescent rolls into four rectangles. Press perforations to seal. Spoon 1/2 c. chicken mixture onto center of rectangle. Pull 4 corners of dough to top center and seal edges. Brush with 1 T melted butter. Dip in crumbs.

Bake on ungreased cookie sheet 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Vegetable Cheese Soup

1 1/2 c. cauliflower
1 c. carrots
1/4 c. celery
1 /4 c. onion
2 c. chicken broth
1 c. milk (2% or whole)
2 T. butter
1/4 c. flour
4 slices American cheese

Cut vegetables into small pieces. Boil in broth approximately 10 minutes. Blend (with broth) in a food processor until coarse pieces are achieved.

Melt butter in saucepan. Add flour. Stir in milk. When thickened, add cheese and vegetables. Stir until cheese is melted.