Chicken with Honey Beer Sauce

I found this recipe in Cooking Light.  It suggested I use Blue Moon as the beer  Not sure I am going to give up my Moons...we'll see.

2 tsp. canola oil
4 6oz. boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp. thinly sliced shallots
1/2 C. beer
2 tbsp. lower sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp. whole grain Dijon mustard
1 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. flat leaf parsley leaves

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add oil to pan; swirl to coat.  Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt and pepper.  Add chicken to pan.  Saute 6 minutes on each side or until done.  Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.  Add shallots to pan; cook 1 minute or until translucent.  Combine beer and next 3 ingredients (through honey) in a small bol; stir with a whisk.  Add beer mixture to pan; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.  Cookn 3 minutes or until liquid is reduced to 1/2 cup.  Return chicken to pan; turn to coat with sauce.  Sprinkle evenly with parsley.

Per Serving: Calories 245, Fat 4.5g, Protein 40g, Carb 7.8g, Fiber .2g, Chol 99mg, Iron 1.6mg, Calc 27mg

Pumpkin Bread

If you are following my posts in chronological order, you might be seeing a theme here.  Yep, we are heading towards Fall.  It's always a bittersweet time of year for me.  I like it warm and sunny.  We had that to an extreme this summer so part of me is looking forward to wearing a sweater or two.  On the other hand, Fall also means Winter cannot be far behind and if it was up to me, every Winter would just be cancelled in favor of one of the other seasons.  I think I will just have to enjoy the occasional slice of pumpkin bread to soothe the dread of Winter!

1 3/4 C. flour
1 pkg. instant vanilla pudding
1 tbsp. baking powder
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 C. butter, melted
1 C. sugar
1 15oz. can pumpkin
2 eggs
1/3 C. chopped walnuts (now you know I am going to swap out the walnuts in favor of pecans)

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix flour, dry pudding mix, baking powder, spice and baking soda; set aside.

Whisk butter, sugar and pumpkin in large bowl.  Blend in eggs.  Add flour mixture; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened.  Pour into loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray; top with nuts.

Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 5 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, covering loosely with foil for the last 20 minutes.  Cool bread in pan for 10 minutes.  Remove from pan to wire rack; cool completely.

Roasted Butternut Squash Medley

As I grow older, I find more and more vegetables that I like.  I have only cooked butternut squash once or twice.  They were always a little intimidating when I would see them in the store.  Kind of a tough nut to crack...no pun intended.

4 slices bacon, chopped
3 tbsp. balsamic vinaigrette dressing
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. sugar
1 butternut squash, peeled, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
1/2lb. fresh green beans, trimmed
2 red peppers, quartered
1 onion, cut into 6 wedges

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Cook and stir bacon in a large skillet until crisp.  Remove bacon from the skillet with a slotted spoon, reserve 2 tbsp. drippings and pour into large bowl.  Drain bacon on paper towels.

Add dressing, mustard, and sugar to drippings; mix well.  Reserve 1 tbsp. dressing mixture.  Toss vegetables with remaining dressing mixture; spread onto rimmed baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender, turning after 15 minutes.

Spoon vegetables into bowl.  Add bacon and reserved dressing mixture; mix lightly.

Roasted Beet and Carrot Salad

The photo in the magazine that I found this recipe in sold this recipe to me.  The colors are just gorgeous!  I'll need to get some beets from the farmers' market...or raid the yard down the block but you didn't hear me say that.

6 fresh beets, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
1 tbsp. olive oil, divided
4 large carrots, peeled, cut diagonally into thin slices
4 C. tightly packed salad greens
2 radishes, thinly sliced
1/3 C. balsamic vinaigrette dressing
1/3 C. crumbled feta cheese

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Toss beets with 1 1/2 tsp. oil; spread onto half of large rimmed baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.  Toss carrots with remaining oil; spread onto other side of baking sheet.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until tender.  Cool 5 minutes.

Cover large platter with salad greens, top with roasted vegetables and radishes.  Drizzle with dressing. Top with cheese

Per serving:  calories 120, fat 7g, sodium 310mg, carb 12g, fiber 4g, protein 3g.

Zucchini with Goat Cheese

Those of you who have followed the blog know that I think goat cheese should go on just about anything.  I am curious to try it with zucchini.  I may have to make this on a smaller scale because Chris doesn't share my  love of zucchini.  He has a phobia of vegetables with 3 or more syllables.

2 1/2 pounds zucchini
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
3 tbsp. olive oil, divided
2 tbsp. chopped green onions
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1/3 C. chopped fresh parsley
3 eggs. beaten
2oz. goat cheese, crumbled
3 tbsp. breadcrumbs

Season zucchini with salt and pepper.  Heat 2 tbsp. olive oil in skillet over medium heat and saute onion, and garlic until translucent.  Add zucchini and cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add basil and parsley and stir to mix.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Beat eggs and goat cheese in large bowl.  Add zucchini mixture and stir to mix.  Pour mixture into sprayed  2 quart baking dish.  Sprinkle breadcrumbs over zucchini mixture.

Drip remaining 1 tbsp. of oil on top.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned on top.

Ravioli and Vegetable Soup

I have been noticing over the last week how much light we have lost since June 21st.  I can't say that I am happy about it except for the fact that darker weather, means cooler weather which for most means soup weather.  I can eat soup year round but will admit, I shied away from it during the worst of the hot days this summer!

This looks like a nice combo of veggies and cheese ravioli and I can make use of my fresh thyme.

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion, diced
3 medium carrots, halved lengthwise and sliced
3 stalks celery, sliced
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
2 C. fat free low sodium beef or vegetable broth
1 9oz. pkg small cheese ravioli
1 small bunch escarole or 5 C. spinach, roughly chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
8 slices whole wheat baguette

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the onion, carrots, celery and thyme and cook occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 4 minutes.  Add the broth and 3 C. water and increase heat to high.  Cover and bring to a boil, then add the ravioli.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer until the ravioli are tender.

Add the escarole to the soup and cook, stirring until wilted.  Season with salt and pepper.  Ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle with the cheese.  Serve with the bread.

Per serving: 262 calories, 9g. fat, 17mg. cholesterol, 506mg. sodium, 34g. carbohydrates, 8g. fiber, 12g. protein

Tuscan Grilled Cheese

Yum!  That's all I can say.  I probably won't wait until I get some arugula to make this.  Not sure if greens of any kind belong on a grilled cheese but we'll see.

4 1/2 inch thick slices country bread
3 tbsp. garlic flavored olive oil
4oz. smoked mozzarella, thinly sliced
1 large ripe tomato, evenly sliced
1/4 C. fresh basil leaves
4 C. arugula leaves
3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Brush one side of each bread slice lightly with oil, using about 1 tbsp. total.  On 2 slices arrange half of cheese, then tomato, basil and remaining cheese.  Top with remaining bread slices, oil side down.  Brush tops of sandwiches with about 1 tbsp. remaining oil.

Heat medium skillet over medium heat.  Placed sandwiches oil side down in skillet.  Cook until sandwiches are golden brown on both sides, turning once, about 5 minutes per side.

Toss arugula with balsamic and divide between 2 plates.  Cut sandwiches in half or quarters and arrange around arugula. Serve.

Apricot Pie

I found this recipe in last week's issue of People Magazine.  I only wish I had found it earlier in apricot season because I was hard pressed to find 2lbs of decent apricots at the Poot this morning.  As much as I like the Poot, I can do without the people who shop there and eat apricots or cherries or whatever while they shop.  I don't leave my pits around for other people to find; trust me, I don't want to find yours.


My version isn't as pretty as the photo in People but it was yummy...the photos of mine are included here.

1 9 inch frozen deep dish pie crust
2lbs. fresh apricots
1 stick butter, melted
3/4 C. light brown sugar
3/4 C. flour
ground nutmeg to taste
2 tbsp. sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Break apricots apart with your fingers.  Do not peel; remove the pits.

In a bowl, combine butter and brown sugar, then flour.  Add some nutmeg.

Put apricots in unbaked shell.  Cover them with sugar mixture and sprinkle with almonds.

Put pie in bottom rack of oven.  After 10 minutes, reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake for 35 to 40 minutes more until top is golden.  Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

What Have I Gotten Myself Into?

This time of year I enjoy making homemade tomato sauce.  An opportunity presented itself to have a whole day to make tomato sauce so I thought a whole bushel of Roma tomatoes would be a good idea.  Keep telling me that it was a good idea...

Seriously, I have been working since 9am it is now approaching Noon and I am a hair over halfway done.  I think the Romas are multiplying in the bushel basket.  I must have several paper cuts on my hands because the acid keeps finding them and my hands are SORE!

I will say that it smells absolutely fantastic in my house.  I wish I had an exact recipe for this but it really depends on your sense of taste and how much you are making.

I started with some red onion and orange pepper which I sauteed in olive oil until they were soft.  During that time, I had scored the bottoms of a pot full of Romas and cored them.  Then I threw them into a large pot filled with water and let it boil until the skins were falling off.  Drain them and let the sit for a while unless your fingertips are made of asbestos.  I use rubber gloves to remove the skins when the tomatoes have cooled for a bit.  If you're not going to protect your hands, let them cool completely.

Once I had skinless tomatoes, I tossed them into a giant pot where I had the onion and pepper.  I threw  in some red wine, Parmesan cheese, sugar (be generous here, today my tomatoes had a ton of acid), fresh basil and oregano leaves, fresh parsley, dried ground oregano, dried basil, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.

Boil the mixture rapidly until it cooks down about a quarter inch on the pan.  Turn off the flame and get out the coolest invention of all time; the stick blender.  Blend until you reach your desired smoothness.  I don't mind chunks in my sauce.  Once during the process I poured about a quarter cup of olive oil into the pot...it gives the sauce a glossy, rich look.

I kept repeating the process until my bushel basket was empty; the whole process took from 9am until 3:50pm with occasional breaks to switch laundry loads around, eat lunch, inspect the window installation that was going on while I was working and look after a nosy beagle.

My finished product is 43 cups of yummy tomato sauce base that I will use for making pasta, pizza, vodka sauce, arabiatta sauce and anything else I can come up with along the way.

PS--This is the first year that I have actually had sauce that wasn't overly watery.  I think the cooking down is the trick.  Also, I am not going to lie, this process is exhausting!  My back is killing me, I cut myself twice coring the tomatoes, and my legs are stiff.  One taste and it is all worth it!