Chicken Marsala

Now that I have figured out chicken Vesuvio, it's time to branch out with our chicken dishes...or perhaps just try a different one.  This is from allrecipes.com; it looks pretty easy and sounds delicious.

1/4 C. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
4 tbsp. butter
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves pounded to 1/4 inch thick
4 tbsp. olive oil
1 C. sliced mushrooms
1/2 C. Marsala wine
1/4 C. cooking sherry (can sub chicken broth if desired)

In a shallow dish or bowl, mix together the flour, salt, oregano, and pepper.  Coat chicken pieces in flour mixture.

In a large skillet, melt butter in oil over medium heat.  Place chicken in the pan and lightly brown.  Turn over chicken pieces and add mushrooms.  Pour in wine and sherry.  Cover skillet; simmer chicken 10 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink and juices run clear.

Layered Ranch Dip

The April/May Taste of Home had a bunch of excellent recipes.  I could see this (or the Greek version) being a big hit at some Summer parties.

2 C. sour cream
1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 4oz. can green chilies, drained
1 2 1/4oz. can sliced ripe olives, drained
1/4 C. finely chopped red onion
1 C. shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Corn chips or tortilla chips

In a small bowl, mix sour cream and dressing mix; spread into a large shallow dish. Layer with tomato, green chilies, olives, onion and cheese.  Refrigerate until serving.  Serve with chips.

To give it a Greek twist, swap out tomato, chilies and olives and swap in pepperoncini, kalamata olives and feta cheese.

Spring Thyme Chicken Stew

This is another recipe from Taste of Home.  I will swap the chicken thighs for boneless skinless chicken breasts. I just don't like dark meat chicken.

1lb. small red potatoes, halved
1 large onion, finely chopped
3/4 C shredded carrots
3 tbsp. all purpose flour
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. grated lemon peel
2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 1/2lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs, halved
2 C, reduced sodium chicken broth
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp. minced fresh parsley

Place potatoes, onion, and carrots in a 3 qt. slow cooker.  Sprinkle with flour, garlic, lemon peel, thyme, salt and pepper; toss to coat. Place chicken over top.  Add broth and bay leaves.

Cook, covered on low; 7-9 hours or until chicken and vegetables are tender.  Remove bay leaves.  Sprinkle with parsley.

Serves 4--1 serving= 395 calories, 13g. fat, 113mg. cholesterol, 707mg. sodium, 32g. carbs, 4g. fiber, 37g, protein,

Raspberry Almond Coffeecake

I found this in the April/May issue of Taste of Home.  Having spent 8 days in the South...I have become aware of the fact that fruit is starting to improve.  Winter fruits are not my favorites.  No one was happier than me when the "experts" decided that berries were super foods.  You'd be hard pressed to find a berry that I do not like.

1 C. fresh raspberries
3 tbsp. brown sugar
1 C, all purpose flour
1/3 C. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/2 C. sour cream
3 tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 C. sliced almonds

In a small bowl. mix together raspberries and brown sugar.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg, sour cream, butter and vanilla.  Stir in dry ingredients until just moistened.  Spoon half of the batter into a greased and floured 8 inch round pan.  Top with raspberry mixture.  Spoon remaining batter over raspberries; sprinkle with almonds.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

In a small bowl, combine the  icing ingredients; drizzle over coffeecake.  Serve warm.

1 piece = 226 calories, 9g. fat, 48mg. cholesterol, 148mg. sodium, 32g. carbohydrates, 2g. fiber, 4g. protein.

Eating Through the Deep South

Hi ya'll!  Did I sound like Paula Deen?  Yeah, I didn't think so.

Spent a week in the deep South and figured I had better try some Southern cooking.

One of the main things I wanted to try was shrimp and grits.  Now, sometimes when I eat shrimp, accompanied by wine, chocolate, and other food loaded with sodium, I get a terrible migraine headache.  Before you stop reading my blog because I eat shrimp and chocolate together; let me explain.  It was Christmas; shrimp, wine and lots of sodium was dinner, the chocolate was for dessert. Anyway, I have meds for my migraines which I was sure to pack and I decided I was going for it.  I was going to have shrimp and grits.

Shortly after arriving in Charleston, SC we went to Hyman's for seafood.  Before I get to the shrimp and grits, we had some boiled peanuts.  I am told people in the South LOVE these.  Frankly, I do not see the appeal.  They're OK.  They have the consistency of red beans in red beans and rice.  Kind of weird actually.

Moving on...the shrimp and grits were amazing...and no migraine.  Let me tell you that shrimp near the ocean is SO MUCH BETTER than shrimp you get in Chicago.

After lunch we spent the afternoon exploring Market St. in  Charleston.  There is a dessert bar on Market St.  that is open until 2am!  Kaminsky's bakery  It also sells pastries to go.  We picked up some coconut cake and blueberry pie to enjoy later.  Both were amazing.  I may have to try making coconut cake.  I cannot  even describe how good it was.

Going on vacation always throws off my best eating intentions.  On a normal weekday, I eat Greek yogurt with 1/4 C. of Cheerios stirred in.  Each morning on the trip we had a breakfast buffet so I had eggs bacon and grits.  I tried to limit my portions and I did count the calories but it was certainly a huge change from my usual.

Monday night we were going to a place known for seafood. Did I dare try the shrimp again??  I love deep fried shrimp...even though too much of it also insults my gall bladder and my brain isn't sure where the threshold of  "too much" is.  In Chicago, the star of fried shrimp is the breading.  In Charleston....the shrimp are ever so slightly coated in breading and the rich flavor comes through and through.  Our dessert was chocolate cake.  I only took two bites...I wasn't taking any chances...when you have such good food...you don't want to make yourself sick.  Needless to say, I didn't get all my veggies in on those days.


We had a couple of group dinners where we had to choose our meals ahead of time.  For our "fancy" dinner in Jekyll Island I chose roast pork and garlic mashed potatoes and a veggie.  On our last night, I chose chicken Piccata with mashed potatoes and a veggie.  On both occasions, the veggie was broccoli. I am so NOT a fan of broccoli.  The only way I enjoy broccoli is in the cole slaw my aunt makes; it's raw and chopped small.

At our dinner on Jekyll Island, I did have the best piece of Key Lime Pie I have ever had.  It was simply amazing.

Thursday night Mom and I were on our own for dinner and there was a restaurant on the pier on Jekyll Island called Latitude 31.  It's a seafood place, go figure.  Did I dare eat shrimp again?  Yep!  Toss it with some pasta and some andouille sausage and you have a fantastic entree.  Mom had 8 of the most beautiful scallops that you'll ever see anywhere.  We split a piece of lemon berry cake with marscarpone cheese for dessert.  Both of us felt a little left of center late Thursday night into Friday morning.  I think our bodies while enjoying all of the good food we had tried...were a little overwhelmed!

So, those were the culinary highlights of my trip to the deep South.  The fruit was fantastic down there too.  Spring is coming up North but it is sure taking its time getting here!

Skillet Chicken and Ravioli

I found this in the latest version of Food Network Magazine...I sometimes wonder what we did before the Food Network.  I can remember bargaining with Comcast Cable before my package included the Food Network; offering up the Sci-Fi channel in exchange for Food Network.  I would have swapped the Golf Channel too and I love golf.  Now I've got the Food Network, the Cooking Channel, one of the Food Network's stars is from my hometown, and I am a pretty decent cook myself.  Life is beautiful!

Kosher salt
1 9oz. pkg. cheese ravioli
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 1/4lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
Freshly ground pepper
8oz. white mushrooms, halved
1 C. halved cherry tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/3 C. low sodium chicken broth
2 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 C. chopped fresh parsley, basil, or a combination of the two

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the ravioli and cook as the label directs; drain, then drizzle with olive oil and toss.

Meanwhile, season the chicken with salt and pepper.  Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a large non stick skillet over medium high heat.  Add the chicken, cook, undisturbed, until beginning to brown, about 2 minutes.  Continue to cook, stirring, about 1 minute.  Transfer to a plate.

 Heat the remaining 1 tbsp. olive oil in the skillet.  Add the mushrooms and cook, undisturbed, until browned in spots, about 2 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper and continue to cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes.  Stir in the tomatoes garlic, and vinegar and cook until the tomatoes begin to soften, about 2 minutes.  Return the chicken to the pan, then add the ravioli, broth and Parmesan; bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through; about 4 minutes.  Top with parsley.