Dessert Delight

Dessert Delight

Treebeards Baked Chicken Breast with Fresh Basil Vinaigrette

A light vinaigrette with fresh herbs infuses a juicy chicken breast as it bakes. This naturally light entree is great when paired with a bed of white rice to catch all the delicious juices.

5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
5 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup lightly packed fresh basil or thyme leaves
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I pound out the chicken to about 1/2 inch thick)
1 yellow bell pepper (sliced)
1 green bell pepper (sliced)
1 red bell pepper (sliced)

In food processor with knife blade attached, combine garlic, olive and vegetable oil, lemon juice, mustard, pepper, salt and basil. Process until smooth.

I like to pound out my chicken breast to make them more favorable.

Lay chicken breast and mixed sliced bell peppers in zippered freezer bag, add marinade and seal tightly. Marinate chicken for 2 hours. Remove chicken from marinade and place in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Pour marinade over chicken.

Bake at 425 for 25 to 35 minutes or until juices run clear when chicken is pierced. Do not overcook.

NOTE: I make rice so that you can pour the pan juices from the baked chicken over the rice; trust me it's so yummy you'd wish you had more juice.

Serves 6

Baked Salmon with Artichoke Hearts





Baked Salmon with Artichoke Hearts

Ingredients

  • 1 6-oz jar of marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
  • 1/2 cup minced red onion
  • 1/2 cup minced celery
  • 2 Tbsp. reduced-fat sour cream
  • 1/2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
  • 4 4-oz. salmon filets, skin removed (or any other type of fish you like)
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 2 Tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix together artichoke hearts, red onion and celery. In a small bowl, mix sour cream with mustard. Place salmon filets on 4 individual sheets of aluminum foil. Sprinkle each filet with salt and pepper.
  2. Spread equal amounts of the vegetable mixture, then the sour cream mixture on top of each filet. Sprinkle parsley on top. Fold edges and crimp to seal.
  3. Place fish packets on cookie sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until cooked through. 

Cheesy Basil Stuffed Chicken with Tomatoes





CHEESY BASIL STUFFED CHICKEN WITH TOMATOES


Ingredients
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil, divided
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, minced and divided
Salt and pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pint cherry tomatoes

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine the shredded cheese, 2 tablespoons of the minced basil, cream, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cut a pocket in chicken breasts (don't cut all the way through) and stuff with cheese mixture.  Use a toothpick to help close the slit, if necessary. Transfer the stuffed breasts to 19x13 inch baking dish and spread tops evenly with mayonnaise.

In a medium bowl, combine the bread crumbs, remaining garlic, remaining fresh basil, and one tablespoon olive oil. Sprinkle crumb mixture over chicken, pressing lightly to adhere.  Toss tomatoes with remaining tablespoon oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Arrange the tomatoes in the baking dish in and around the chicken. Bake until the crumbs are golden brown and the chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes.

Let's Dish
There's nothing I love more than a fancy looking dish that's easy to make and incredibly delicious.  And these cheesy stuffed chicken breasts are just that.  The chicken is fabulous, but the tomatoes are my favorite part!  Which was just fine with all of my kids, who gladly shared theirs with me.  You can also use fresh basil in this recipe (you'll need about 1/4 cup), but I don't care for the look of fresh basil when it's been cooked--although it does taste delicious.  As a compromise, I sometimes sprinkle some freshly chopped basil over the dish just before serving.  This is a dish I'll make again and again.

Best Ever Bloody Mary






Something to get your day started off is my classic Bloody Mary. I have tried and tried to master bloody Mary's and I think I've finally done it. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do.
  • 1 quart tomato claim juice
  • 1 cup vodka
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon Original TABASCO® brand Pepper Sauce
  • Lime slices or celery stalks
  • Jalapeno stuffed Green Olives (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon of olive juice
Combine tomato juice, vodka, olive juice, Worcestershire sauce, lime juice, and TABASCO® Sauce in a 2-quart pitcher; stir well. Rim glass with spicy lime salt and serve over ice. Garnish with lime, green olive or celery.

Rosemary Potatoes





Here is the recipe for the potatoes I made last night.  I made this one up; as I often do for my dinners. I hope you love them as much as we do.

2 to 4 gold yokon potatoes (peel the skin off)
1/2 stick of butter (real butter)
1 small onion (slices)
Rosemary (to taste)
Salt and pepper
Foil

Preheat oven to 350
Peel the potatoes and wash them.  Take the potatoes and make slice down the potatoes (do not cut the potato all the way thru) you want to keep the potato in tack.  Slice the onion in small pieces so that they will fit in between each slice of potatoes.

Take a sheet of foil to make a pocket pouch to put the potato in.  Place one potato on each sheet of foil..  Now you want to assemble your potato pockets.  Take one slice of onion and one slice of butter and place in between each slice of potato.  Sprinkle with Rosemary, salt and pepper and seal your pocket pouch.  Finish assembling however many potatoes you want and place them in a baking dish or sheet to prevent any spillage in the oven.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Enjoy.

NOTE: I like alot of Rosemary so be generous with it.   YUMMY!

Chicken Pot Pie




2 1/2 pounds bone-in skin-on split chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste
8 tbls (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 celery rib, chopped fine
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 tsp grated lemon zest
3 scallions, chopped
1 recipe double crust pie dough (bottoM crust to fit into a 9 inch pie plat, top crust rolled to a 12 inch circle and refrigerated (your can use premade pie crust too)
3/4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 large egg, beaten for brushing the top of the pie
1. Adjust oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with foil.
2. Pat the chicken dry wiht paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Place on the prepared pan, skin-side up, and roast until the temperatures registeres 160 degrees, 35-40 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, remove and discard the skin, and cut the meat from the bone and shred the chicken into 2 inch pieces. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees.

3. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook the celery until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the flour and cook until it begins to brown, about 1 minute. Stir in the milk, broth and the zest of the lemon and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Strain the sauce into a large bowl, (discard the vegetables), stir in the chicken and scallions, and season to taste with the salt and pepper. Let the filling cool until just warm, about 30 minutes.

4. Spoon the chicken mixture into the pie shell and sprinkle with the cheese. Top with the remaining chilled circle of dough. Trim all but 1/2 inch of the dough overhanging the edge of the pie plate. Press the top and bottom crusts together, then tuck the edges underneath. Crimp the dough evently around the edge of the pie using your fingers.

5. Cut four 2-inch slits in the top of the dough, brush with beaten egg, and bake until crust is deep golden brown, 45 to 55 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Mexican Green Rice and Carne Asada


Carne Asada

1/2 cup snipped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly grown black pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 pounds beef flank steak, trimmed of fat and cut into 6 inch long sections.

1. In a medium bowl combine cilantro, vinegar, lime juice, oil, salt, pepper, and sugar; whisk until salt and sugar are dissolved.  Add flank steak pieces, turning to coat well. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 4 to 24 hours, turning meat occasionally.

2. Remove steak from marinade, discarding marinade. For a charcoal or gas grill, place steak on the rack of grill directly over medium heat. Grill covered, for 17 to 21 minutes for medium, turning once halfway through grilling.

3. Transfer steak to a cutting board and cover loosely with foil; let stand for 10 minutes. Cut steak against the grain into thin strips; cut strips into 2 inch pieces. Transfer steak pieces to a bowl and toss with any juices let on the cutting board.

Mexican Green Rice

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
3/4 cup spicy salsa verde or purchased green salsa
1 cup long grain rice
1/2 cup finely snipped fresh cilantro

1. In a medium saucepan heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic and salt; cook for 2 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in broth and spicy salsa verde; bring to boiling. Stir in uncooked rice; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 20 to 30 minutes. or until tender.

2. Remove pan from heat. Remove lid, Cover pan with a clean kitchen towel; replace lid. Let pan stand for 5 minutes to let the towel absorb any excess moisture. Remove lid and towel. Add cilantro; fluff rice with fork.

Spicy Salsa Verde sauce


2 Cups chopped peeled tomatillos (about 5)
2 avocados, halved, seeded and peeled
1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
1 cup snipped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno Chile pepper, stemmed seeded and cut up
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup lime juice
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt

In a food processor combine tomatillos, avocados, onion, cilantro, and chile pepper. Cover and pulse with several pulses of on and off turns until all ingredients are finely chipped. Transfer mixture to a medium bowl.
Stir in water, lime juice sugar, and salt. Cover and chill at least 2 hours. Salsa keeps in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

All about Mexican food





Basic

From tortillas to carnitas, I've got you covered with the essential collection of basic Mexican Recipes. Use them to complete recipes with and around your dinner with a few sensational side dishes.







Chunky Guacamole

2/3 cups finely chopped seeded roma tomatoes (2 medium)
1/4 cup sliced green onions (2)
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon cumin
2 very ripe avocado's, halved, seeded, peeled, and coarsely mashed

1. In a medium bowl combine tomatoes, green onions, lime juice, oil, garlic, salt, pepper and cumin.  Gently stir in avocado's. Serve immediately or cover the surface with plastic wrap and chill for up to 1 hour.