Stir Fry veggies with chicken, served over rice

10-11-14

Yum! Red potatoes, tomatoes, squash, bell pepper, mushrooms, onions, jasmine rice and shredded chicken. Quick and easy dinner.

Veggies:
4 medium red potatoes, sliced fairly thin
2 large tomatoes, diced, or can use a dozen cherry or grape tomatoes cut in half
2 zucchini, sliced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 red onion, diced
1 pound white mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, diced
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
any dried herbs you like, I used parsley, rosemary, and thyme about 1/2 teaspoon of each

I always start with olive oil in fry pan on medium heat. First in is always the garlic and onions. Add in potatoes and let cook for about five minutes. Stir in pepper and zucchini and cook another five minutes. Add tomatoes and mushrooms last. Cook another five minutes. Season with spices to taste.

Add chicken, stir well and then serve over rice.

Chicken:
Boneless chicken breast, I use 1 for every two people, I butterfly the breast and cook in small fry pan with olive oil, salt, pepper, and herbs. Coat both sides of chicken with the olive oil! Cook over medium heat until juices run clear. Usually 4-5 minutes per side. Let rest for ten minutes then shred with forks. I add pan drippings to veggies.

Rice:
I like to use Jasmine, white or brown, depends on my mood! Cook according to package directions. I usually figure 1 cup of rice per serving.

Using list of veggies above, 4 servings!

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Stir Fry Veggies with Beef Sausage

10-11-14

One of my favorite quick and easy meals is to stir fry veggies. Joe and I like them to be cooked through with a bit of crunch left. The important thing is to put them in the fry pan in the right order! Longer cooking veggies in first. 

I get a box from Backyard Produce every week and so the ingredients are whatever catches my eye from the box and what is in the fridge!

This week I used:

1 potato, sliced on mandolin
1 green onion, sliced
2 summer squash, sliced
1 bell pepper, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
big handful of green beans, cleaned and cut bite sized
couple cloves of garlic, minced
couple of handful of greens, I like to cut them into ribbons, then dice the ribbons
1/4 cup white wine or water
1 Beef smoked sausage (or kielbasa), sliced
salt and ground pepper
dried or fresh parsley

I always start with the fry pan on medium with a tablespoon or so of olive oil. I toss in the garlic, onions and potatoes first. Let cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often.

Stir in bell pepper, green beans, squash. Season with some salt and pepper. After a few minutes, pour in white wine or water. Cover and let steam for five minutes.

Stir in sausage and let cook for just a few minutes then add the greens and parsley, recover and let steam for another couple of minutes.

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Pork with fennel, onion and sage

10-10-14

I came up with this recipe after I received some fresh sage in a Backyard Produce box and was looking for ways to use it that didn't involve turkey or stuffing. Again this is a mish mash of several recipes that I found and after trying a few variations this is our favorite. 

I also have to credit Backyard Produce for introducing us to fennel! Pretty much love at first bite!

Fennel is rather interesting and fairly easy to clean and use. The bulb and stalks you cut just like onion and celery. I find it easiest to cut the bulb in half and then cut it into slices. For the stalks I cut it just like I cut celery stalks. Some people don't like the stalks but in this recipe they cook up soft and we love the taste!

The leafy pieces just need to be stripped off the branches. I take them off before I wash the rest of the fennel. I store them in a plastic bag on the counter top and usually there is plenty for several recipes! 

3 pound pork roast (I use boneless)
1 large yellow onion, peeled and quartered
1 large red onion, peeled and quartered
1 large fennel bulb (and stalks if want), cut up
1 1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup chicken stock
several fresh sage leaves
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon coarse ground black pepper
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
salt to taste

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix the cumin and black pepper and use as a rub for the outside of the pork roast. Coat all sides and place in roasting pan on a rack. Have the fattiest part of the roast facing up and cover it with fresh sage leaves. Lay them flat and pat them down, they'll stay in place while the roast bakes. Save a few sage leaves for making the sauce.

The vegetables will cook in a separate roasting pan or baking dish.

Coat bottom of pan with olive oil. Mix in the fennel. Add the onions, flat side down. Cover with 3/4 cup of the orange juice.

Put pork roast on the center rack and the veggies on the rack below and bake for about an hour and a half. I usually mix up the veggies once or twice during the bake time. Check roast to be sure it is done, we like ours just a bit pink, adjust baking time to your preference. 

Ten minutes before roast is done, melt butter in medium saucepan with the remaining sage leaves. Leave on low heat. 

Take the roast out of the oven and turn oven off. I leave the veggies in the oven with the door cracked, this keeps them warm but doesn't let them overcook. Let roast rest for about ten minutes before you take it out of the pan. Set it on a plate to carve so can add any drippings from slicing it to the sauce.

Add the pan drippings to the sage butter along with the rest of the orange juice, chicken stock and vinegar. I scrape up all the bits from the roasting pan and add them as well. Let this simmer for about ten minutes. Stir often. Leaving sage leaves from roast and butter is up to you. We like the stronger sage flavor so I leave them.

While sauce is simmering, slice up roast and add to pan with veggies. Pour sauce over everything, add salt to taste and throw a handful of the leafy fennel sprigs on top. 

This makes six servings. If it's just the two of us, I often use half for one meal and re-purpose the other half into tortilla wraps or chili.

This is delicious with the pineapple pomegranate relish!

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Pineapple and Pomegranate Relish

10-9-14

Every now and then while watching a cooking show I will see something new and end up doing a bunch of research. I'll find several recipes then combine and play with them until I come up with something that suits our taste buds. This recipe is one of those. I call them my mish mash recipes!

3/4 cup fresh pineapple cut into chunks
1 green onion chopped
1/4 cup of pomegranate seeds
1/2 teaspoon of dried cilantro (if prefer to use fresh cilantro, probably need couple of teaspoons shredded)
juice from 1 fresh lime (2 tablespoons lime juice)
1 teaspoon honey
salt and pepper to taste (I like coarse ground black pepper)

Best page I found with directions to open a pomegranate

In bowl mix together pineapple, pomegranate and green onion. Sprinkle cilantro, salt and pepper over top. Drizzle with honey and mix. Squeeze lime juice over top and mix again.
Will keep in fridge for about a week. We like this with pork, chicken and fish. I have also used it in tortilla wraps with shredded or diced pork or chicken, rice, sour cream, avocado, tomato and lettuce. 

For a little zing, add some finely diced jalapeno pepper or a sprinkle of red pepper flake!

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Potato, leek and ham soup

10-9-14

6 medium red potatoes

1 leek

1 small ham steak

2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons butter

salt and pepper to taste

(If you've never used a leek before, you cut off the root and the dark green leaves at the top. Be sure to clean all the layers and get any grit and dirt out before you start cooking)!

Chop up the leek and saute over medium heat in fry pan with the butter. Let leeks cook until they start to look clear, about 15 minutes. 

Scrub the potatoes and boil until soft, about 10-15 minutes usually. Scoop the potatoes out of the water and "skin" them. Cut into bite size pieces. 

Follow package directions for ham steak, usually steam for a few minutes in small fry pan. When done, cute into bite sized pieces.

In soup pot combine chicken stock, potatoes, ham and leek. Cook over medium heat until just boiling. Reduce heat to low. Add milk, salt and pepper and serve! 

This makes 4 bowls of soup.

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