Spicy Asian Style Marinated Chicken Breast

Since the warm weather is finally here it's time to fire up the grill. We do grill in the winter, however once it gets warm out, I will say that 80% of our meals are prepared outside. We enjoy eating great foods, but seem to enjoy our meals better when they are less fating. This is one recipe that we can eat and not feel guilty about. I have used this marinade on flank steaks and both my husband and I thought it was amazing, but once I tried this marinade on chicken breast I thought it was out of this world. I think I'm going to have to try in on chicken wings next time, I just love this marinade! LOL!

I have to admit that we have this once a week just because it's so tasty, and the chicken is so moist. It goes well with just about any side. On really hot days we slice it into thin strips and and use it to top a nice green salad. Other times I make a nice caramelized red onion risotto with steamed broccoli. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Happy cooking!

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

2-3 lb Chicken breast thinly sliced
1 Lemon (juiced)
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
3 Cloves of garlic
1/2 Teaspoon of ground cumin
2 Tablespoons of honey
2 Dried whole Pasilla Chili with seeds (this is a mild pepper used in Latin cooking)
1 Tablespoon of soy sauce
1 Tablespoon of worcestershire sauce
1 Teaspoon of roasted red chili paste (any Asian brand)
1 few drops of green habanero chili sauce
Salt and pepper to taste


WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO DO:

Add all the above ingredients (besides the chicken, salt and pepper) into blender, and blend until you have created a nice smooth sauce.

Next take your chicken breast and trim off excess fat.

Place in a sallow dish and season with salt and pepper.

Add the sauce that you prepared in the the blender and refrigerate over night.

Remove chicken from refrigerator 30 minutes before grilling, allow it to come to almost room temp.

Heat your grill on high for about 5 minutes.

Once hot place your chicken on the grill and cook 4-5 minutes per side (this might take longer, depending on the thickness of your chicken breasts.

Remove from heat and let sit for about 3-5 minutes before serving.

Next step...Enjoy your juicy marinated chicken breast!

Cinnamon Apple Waffles

Every weekend I make big batches of breakfast foods so that once Jonathan gets up in the morning I have something ready for him. It is so easy to make pancakes, waffles french toast and freeze them into individual portions. In the morning when I'm trying to get everyone ready to go, the last thing I want to worry about is making breakfast. It's so nice to just pull something out the night before put in in the frig and in the morning all i have to do is put it in microwave to reheat.

So you might be wondering how I came up with this recipe...it's simple I had a recipe for basic Belgian waffles and I just adapted it to include a few extra ingredients. I had bought a jar of unsweetened apple sauce for Jonathan and for some reason I should get him to eat it. I tried a few different times, and each him he refused to eat it. I wasn't about to waste the apple sauce so I decided that I would just try to incorporate it into his pancakes and waffles, and it was a great idea. He loves the waffles and I don't feel guilty about wasting food. So everyone wins.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much and Jonathan has. If you do try this recipe I would love your feedback on how it came out. Happy cooking!

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, separated
1/4 cup of unsweetened organic apple sauce (I use Motts)
2 tablespoons sugar
2-3 tablespoons of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (Always use REAL vanilla extract)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 cups milk
non-stick cooking spray

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO:

Preheat the waffle iron according to the manufacturer's instructions.

In a medium bowl sift together flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.

In a second bowl use the wooden spoon to beat together the egg yolks and sugar until sugar is completely dissolved and eggs have turned a pale yellow.

Add the vanilla extract, cinnamon, melted butter, apple sauce, and milk to the eggs and whisk to combine.

Combine the egg-milk mixture with the flour mixture and whisk just until blended. Do not over mix.

In third bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form, about 1 minute.

Using the rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the waffle batter. Do not overmix!

Coat the waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray and pour enough batter in iron to just cover waffle grid.

Close and cook as per manufacturer's instructions until golden brown.

Serve immediately with your favorite toppings.

Enjoy!

Funfetti Cupcakes topped with Chocolate Frosting and Sprinkles

For Jonathan's birthday I wanted to bake him strawberry cupcakes to take to daycare...however i didn't know if everyone would like that so I decided that I would make funfetti cupcakes. Who doesn't like funfetti? Anyway the cupcakes were a huge hit at both daycare and at my work place. I will surely make this recipe again.

I will admit that after working a 12 hour day, and not getting home until late I cheated and used canned frosting. They still came out really good, but hopefully next time I will be able to make my own frosting as well.

Happy baking!

RECIPE...is from Loves to Eat's food blog, link below...
http://lovestoeat.wordpress.com/2009/03/22/funfetti-cupakes/

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
1/2 cup milk (I used skim milk and it worked very well)
3 large egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (always use the good extracts)
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/4 cups AP flour
1 cup sugar ( I used a little a full 3/4 cup of sugar)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon baking powder
6 tablespoon butter, soft (I tend to always use unsalted butter when baking)
4 tablespoons rainbow sprinkles (Jonathan loves sprinkles so I tend to use extra original recipe calls for only 2 tablespoon)

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO:
Start by preheating our oven to 350F.

Line a 12-cup muffin tin/stone with paper liners.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together milk, egg whites and extracts. Set aside.

In our electric mixer combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Stir to combine.

Cut in butter with the paddle attachment at low speed, until mixture is coarse and sandy.

Add milk mixture and beat at medium speed for 1 1/2 minutes.

Scrape sides of bowl and continue beating for 20-30 seconds.

Stir in our sprinkles.

Divide batter evenly into prepared pan.

Bake for for 15 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. (If you use a stoneware like myself then you will have to bake for a longer time.)

Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire cooling rack before frosting.

Frost with your favorite frosting and top with extra sprinkles.

Whole Wheat Stuffed Sausage and Broccoli Bread

So today is my bake stuffed bread day... not exactly how I wanted to spend my Saturday but at least I'm making tons of great breads for a friend. Who am I so keep a pregnant women from having the things she craves. LOL!

So while Jonathan was napping I spent my time in the kitchen baking some yummy breads for us to bring over later this afternoon. And I have to confess that I also made an extra one for the house. Jonathan and I have already cut into one and have both and a nice warm piece.

Happy baking everyone!

Recipe for whole wheat dough.... http://sandrafoodblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/whole-wheat-pizza-dough.html


WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO NEED:

1 Homemade whole wheat pizza dough (store bought is fine, but make my own link to the dough recipe above)
3 sausage spicy Italian links
1 medium red onion chopped
1 medium broccoli crown cut into bite size pieces
Olive oil
Garlic salt
Dry basil

WHAT YOU WILL DO:

Preheat oven to 350

Open sausage links and crumble the meat.

In a hot medium saute pan, add crumbled sausage and allow it to brown and cook.

Once sausage it cooked, remove from heat place on paper towel to drain excess fat. Return pan to heat and saute onion.

Once onion is cooked place onions in a small bowl.

Steam broccoli until slightly tender.

While everything cools, take your dough and roll it out into a square.

Once you have rolled out your dough, take the sausage and sprinkle it over the dough, top with onions, and broccoli.

Starting at one end, take the dough and start rolling it onto itself, to create a log.

Place on cookie sheet and let stand for 15 minutes, once 15 minutes have passed brush the top of the bread with olive oil, sprinkle garlic salt and basil.

Place in oven and let bake for about 30 minutes until it becomes golden brown.

Serve with a side of your favorite sauce. Enjoy!

Stuffed Pepperroni and Cheese Bread

At a friends request, today I am spending the afternoon making stuffed breads to bring over to her house for a little get together. Being that she is the host, who am I to say no. =)

Besides not only is this a yummy recipe it takes almost no time at all to put together, which in my book is a huge plus. Hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as we do. Happy baking!


Pizza dough recipe courtesy Tyler Florence, the rest of the recipe is an original. link to dough recipe below
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/fresh-pizza-dough-recipe/index.html




WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO NEED:

1 Homemade pizza dough (store bought is fine, but I use Tyler Florance's recipe link to pizza dough above)
1/4 lb of pizza size pepperoni
2-3 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella
Olive oil
Dry basil

WHAT YOU WILL DO:

Preheat oven to 350

Take your dough and roll it out into a square.

Once you have rolled out your dough, take the pepperoni and cover the dough with slices.

Take the garlic and sprinkle over the pepperoni and the top with shredded cheese.

Starting at one end, take the dough and start rolling it onto itself, to create a log.

Place on cookie sheet and let stand for 15 minutes, once 15 minutes have passed brush the top of the bread with olive oil, sprinkle garlic salt and basil.

Place in oven and let bake for about 30 minutes until it becomes a lite golden brown.

Serve with a side of your favorite sauce. Enjoy!

Crispy Oven Fried Chicken Tenders....

So having toddlers means having to be creative when it comes to making meals. You want to make them the foods they like, but most importantly you want them to get the best nutrition. Jonathan has always been really good about eating his veggies and fruit...but for some reason beef and chicken have always been an issue. Personally I think it's a texture thing and he actually starting eat chicken in small amounts after he turned 22 months old.

Now that he is going to be 2 years old, the now asks...."Mommy Chicken...PLEASE!" How can a say no when he asks so nicely. LOL! I love the fact that I am able to give him a good source of protein without having to deep fry it to make it taste good.

The blend of cornflakes and breadcrumbs gives the chicken a nice crisp coating and a beautiful golden color. Say good bye to soggy chicken tenders and say hello to crunchy goodness. Happy cooking!

Recipe adapted from the "Skinny Comfort Foods" Cookbook

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

4 egg whites
1/4 cup of 2% milk (I use skim)
6 (6oz each) skinless chicken breasts (cut into tender size or nugget size...whatever you prefer)
1/4 cup AP flour
1.5 cups finely crushed cornflakes (I put in it in a ziplock bag and then use my rolling pin to get a nice texture)
3/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
Butter flavor vegetable cooking spray
salt and pepper to taste
juice from one lemon

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO DO:

Take you cut up chicken breast and season with salt, fresh ground pepper and lemon juice set aside and let marinate for 10-15 minutes with you prepare everything else.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees,

Line a baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray set aside.

In a medium bowl beat egg whites, and milk together until blended.

Coat chicken breast with flour, dip in egg mixture, and then coat generously with cornflake and breadcrumb mixture.

Place coated chicken on your prepared baking pan and bake for 15 minutes on each side until chicken is browned and juices run clear.

Serve warm!

Nutritional Information of 6oz of chicken... 387 calories, 5.4gm fat, 104.2mg of cholesterol, 44.8gm of protein, 36gm carbs, 557mg sodium

Grilled Lobsters

As part of our Mother's Day dinner we had grilled lobsters. I have admit, that I wasn't a big fan of lobster. I have always found it to be blend. But this recipe change my whole view on it, and left me wanting more.

If you are like myself and are on the fence about lobster, the highly recommend try this recipe at least one, you will not be disappointed.

Happy Grilling!

Recipe source...my father-in-law (the recipe below was for 3 lobsters)

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

1 live lobster per person about (1.25-1.50lb each)with this you are going to require a large pot to boil your lobster
2-3 cloves of garlic minced
salt and pepper (to taste)
one bunch of parsley
juice of one lemon
3 tablespoons of butter melted
paprika
1/4 Mozzarella cheese (just enough to sprinkle on each one)

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO DO:

Fill large pot with water, add salt, and bring to a good boil.

Take you live lobsters and put them in the freezer for about 5-7 minutes just long enough for them to become dormant.

Remove lobsters from freezer and place in boiling water. Cover and let cook for about 10-12 minutes (until lobster shell becomes a nice bright red)

Remove lobsters from pot and set them aside to cool.

In a small blow melt butter, add minced garlic, finely chopped parsley, and lemon juice, combine together and set aide.

Preheat grill.

Once your lobsters have cooled take one at a time, and cut in down the center.

Place each half on a cookie sheet and top with butter mixture, and then a sprinkle of cheese. Sprinkle each one with a tiny pinch of paprika.

Place each half on the grill and let cook until the cheese begins to melt, and lobster meat is warm (about 3 minutes)

Remove from grill and serve right away!

Overnight Baked French Toast

So being that it was Mother's Day weekend I decided that I would make something easy so that on Mother's Day all my husband would have to do is put it into the oven and allow it to bake. I had never made this before and I was worried that it might be too mushy, but I was pleasantly surprise on how good it came out. Even my son loved eating it the next day for breakfast. I will surely make this again soon. I hope you all enjoy it as well.

Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook, and Beantown baker link to her recipe below...
http://www.beantownbaker.com/2010/01/overnight-french-toast.html

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

1 loaf soft French bread
2 T butter, softened (I like to use unsalted... seeing that you will be adding salt into the batter.)
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk (I use skim)
2 T maple syrup (I use lite syrup)
1 tsp vanilla extract (use the good kind)
1 teaspoon cinnamon (I used more because I love the taste of cinnamon)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 tablespoons sugar
Maple syrup
Powdered sugar

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO DO:

With non-stick cooking spray prepare a 9 x 13 baking dish

Cut 12 slices of bread about 1 inch think.

Lightly butter one side of each piece of bread.

Arrange bread buttered sides up in one layer in prepared dish.

In another bowl whisk together eggs, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and salt until combined.

Pour over bread and cover and refrigerate overnight.

If there is mixture in the bottom of your baking dish, do not worry, because the bread will absorbed it all up by the time you need to bake it.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Bake french toast until golden, or if you're like myself...bake until toast become slightly firm. This should take about 25-30 mins.

Serve with powdered sugar and with maple syrup.

Portuguese Style Rice (Rice w/ Veggies)

So seeing that I'm Portuguese no meal was ever complete in my mother's house without having this rice. In my parents house it was a staple side and my mother would make it 1 to 2 times a week. It was something that we had so often that when I just assumed that everyone knew how to make it, so I never thought about blogging it until one day someone asked how I make it taste so good.

So seeing that I was making it for Mother's Day as one of our sides I decided that now would be as good as time ever to post the recipe. I have to admit, it's so basic and yet so delicious. This pairs well with just about any main course, from fish to pork, to steak, to lamb...It's a keeper. I hope you all enjoy this recipe and like always if you do make this I would love to hear your reviews afterward. Happy cooking!

Source of recipe...My mom's kitchen which mostly came form her mother's kitchen which came from her mother's...and so on....


WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

1 small red onion minced
1 large carrot finely chopped
1/2 a red pepper finely chopped
1 clove of garlic
3-4 Tablespoons of GOOD olive oil (I just eyeball this)
2 Tablespoons of tomato paste
1 chicken bouillon
3 cups of water
1 1/2 cup of rice (I use Uncle Ben's)
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon of crushed red peppers (not the dry kind)

In a stock pot heat olive oil over a medium high heat.

Add onion, carrots, red pepper, garlic, tomato paste, and bouillon, and cook until all the veggies seem to become soft.

At this point add 2 cups of water reserving the other 1 cup for later.

Let everything come to a boil and let cook for another 5 minutes. Then add additional cup of water and allow to come a boil again.

Once it has home to a complete boil add rice and reduce heat to medium heat season with salt and black pepper to suit your taste.

Allow rice to cook for about 15- 20 minutes stirring frequently. As the rice cooks the water will be absorbed into the rice.

If rice is still undercooked and liquid as been absorbed add small intervals of water until rice reaches desired doneness .

Serve hot!

Raspberry Oatmeal Cookie Bars

I'll admit it...I love baked goods...and what can make a baked good even better? I baked good that involves Raspberry jam! This recipe is so easy and tastes so good, that I don't know know what more I can say but you have to try it at least once. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do. Happy baking!

Recipe source...Allrecipe.com link to recipe below
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Delicious-Raspberry-Oatmeal-Cookie-Bars/Detail.aspx

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup butter, softened (I use unsalted)
3/4 cup raspberry jam (I use sugar free)

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO DO:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease one 8 inch square pan, and line with greased foil.

Combine brown sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, and rolled oats.

Rub in the butter using your hands or a pastry blender to form a crumbly mixture.

Press 2 cups of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan.

Spread the jam to within 1/4 inch of the edge.

Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the top, and lightly press it into the jam.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until lightly browned.

Allow to cool before cutting into bars.

Nutritional Information open nutritional information per serving...Calories: 219 Total Fat: 8.2g Cholesterol: 20mg

Stuffed Sausage Bread

So why stuffed sausage bread you might wonder, well it's simple...My husband is not a huge fan of pizza, however he will eat homemade pizza and enjoy it, as long as I not make it every week and I change up the pizza toppings.

The plan for this week was I was going to make sausage and turkey meatball pizza...I mean that was the plan until my husband informed me that he had pizza two times that week at work. So now I thinking, I have dough that is going to go bad, what else can I do with it... then it came to me why not make a stuffed bread and that is exactly what I ended up doing. Needless to say it came out really good and my husband and son both enjoyed it.

Pizza dough recipe courtesy Tyler Florence, the rest of the recipe is an original. link to dough recipe below
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/fresh-pizza-dough-recipe/index.html




WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO NEED:

1 Homemade pizza dough (store bought is fine, but I use Tyler Florance's recipe link to pizza dough above)
3 sausage spicy Italian links
1 medium red onion chopped
2-3 medium ALREADY COOKED meatballs sliced thin (I like turkey meat for this)
Olive oil
Garlic salt
Dry basil

WHAT YOU WILL DO:

Preheat oven to 350

Open sausage links and crumble the meat.

In a hot medium saute pan, add crumbled sausage and allow it to brown and cook.

Once sausage it cooked, remove from heat place on paper towel to drain excess fat. Return pan to heat and saute onion.

Once onion is cooked place onions in a small bowl.

While everything cools, take your dough and roll it out into a square.

Once you have rolled out your dough, take the sausage and sprinkle it over the dough, top with onions, and then sliced meatballs.

Starting at one end, take the dough and start rolling it onto itself, to create a log.

Place on cookie sheet and let stand for 15 minutes, once 15 minutes have passed brush the top of the bread with olive oil, sprinkle garlic salt and basil.

Place in oven and let bake for about 30 minutes until it becomes a lite golden brown.

Serve with a side of your favorite sauce. Enjoy!

Tyler Florence's Pizza Dough

So not only am I in love with Tyler Florence, but I'm also in love with all his recipes. I am yet to make one of his recipe and be disappointed. This all leads me to wonder, how his wife stays so thin. LOL!

Anyway I have always hated working with yeast, but this recipe is so simple it's hard to mess up. You would really need to work hard to mess it up. Even my friends that "don't cook or bake" love this recipe and use it to make homemade pizza and stuffed breads.

I love the fact that this recipe yields two doughs. It's so nice to be able to use one now and safe the other for another day. Hope you enjoy it, and happy baking!

Makes enough dough for 2-15 inch pizzas

Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence link to recipe below
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/fresh-pizza-dough-recipe/index.html


WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

2 packages active dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
2 cups warm water (100 to 110 degrees F.)
1 tablespoons kosher salt (original recipe calls for 2 tablespoons but i find it to be too salty)
6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for bowl

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO DO:

In a small bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and water and stir gently to dissolve.

Let the mixture stand until the yeast comes alive and starts to foam, 5 to 10 minutes.

Combine the salt and flour in stand mixer and pulse a few times to mix.

Add the yeast mixture, at the lowest speed, until the flour incorporates.

When the dough starts to come together, increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough gathers into a ball.

This should take about 2 minutes.

Add the olive oil and pulse a few more times. Stop the machine periodically to scrape the dough off the hook.

Get a feel for the dough as you're making it by squeezing a small amount together between your thumb and fingers. If it's crumbly, add more water, if it's sticky, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and fold it over itself a few times, kneading until it's smooth and elastic.

Form the dough into a round and put it into a lightly oiled bowl, turning it over to coat the dough entirely with the oil.

Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let it rise in a warm spot until it doubles in size, about 1 hour