Pan Seared Chicken Breast with Herb Jus and Potato-Vegetable Hash

For those of you who know me, following recipes is not something I do well at all!  However, I'm glad I followed this one and it was one of the most AMAZING meals I've ever put together.  Of course I did make a few changes here and there, but mostly stuck too it!  Here are the changes/substitutions I made:

I used boneless chicken breasts and for the potato hash, 1 zucchini and half of a brown onion, I also substituted the grapeseed oil for Italian olive oil and finally I made my own Cajun spice using this recipe, the remaining spice can be stored in your spice cabinet for up to 4 months:

Cajun Spice Recipe

• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 1/2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 1/4 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 1/4 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

And now, here's the link to this amazing recipe!  Enjoy!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robert-irvine/pan-seared-chicken-breast-with-herb-jus-and-potato-vegetable-hash-recipe/index.html

Vanilla Orange French Toast

This past weekend was my good friend LAuren's birthday and since we are roommates I got to create and make this AMAZING breakfast dish for everyone on a Saturday morning!  My inspiration came from a medium sized tube of orange vanilla sherbet my husband and I bought at the market!  The recipe is very easy and only takes about 20 minutes.  It was definitely a morning filled with "yums" and "oh my gosh, this is so good".  I would imagine this recipe would be pretty popular with kiddies as well, so please enjoy! This recipe will serve 4 people.

You Will Need

8 thick slices of toast - I use Fresh & Easy Texas Toast

2 tablespoons Vanilla

4 whole large grade A eggs

Few splashes of milk

Zest of 1/2 of an orange - medium sized

Juice of 1 whole orange - no pulp - fresh squeezed

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

2 tablespoons confectioners sugar - powdered sugar

4 scoops Orange Vanilla Sherbet - I used Dreyer's

Caramel sauce for drizzle - optional

- Mix eggs, orange zest, juice, granulated sugar, vanilla and milk in a bowl

- Preheat your griddle; hot enough to sizzle, but not scorch

- Evenly coat each slice of toast with the egg mix and cook until browned lightly on each side

- Add a 1 scoop of sherbet to each plate

- Drizzle with caramel (optional) and powdered sugar

- Serve hot

- Yields 4 servings 

Broiled Parmesan & Mozzarella Tomatoes

So simple, so yummy and totally veggie!  Tomatoes, cheese, butter, salt and pepper, that's it!  Anyone who has a love for tomatoes will definitely enjoy these.  Earlier in the day while trying to figure out what to add to my vegetarian meal I started thinking about my grandmother and how she would sit out in her yard and eat whole ripe tomatoes like apples!  As a child I always thought it was the weirdest thing, watching her add a little bit of salt to every bite has been a memory that's stuck with me since my childhood.  Now I am huge fan of tomatoes, I can eat a wedge or two here and there, but I can't devour a whole tomato, even if I tried! After running through these memories, I was left with a serious tomato craving, thus this dish was born!

You Will Need

2 cans whole peeled tomatoes; drained

1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese - lightly packed

1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese - lightly packed

1 teaspoon salt & pepper

1/2 stick salted butter; softened



- Add tomatoes to baking dish

- Sprinkle with salt and pepper

- Drizzle butter over the tops of the tomatoes

- Sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese

- Broil on high on the center rack of your oven for about 8 minutes; just before the cheese starts to brown

- Remove from the oven and add Mozzarella cheese

- Place back into the oven for another 3 - 5 minutes

- Serve immediately! Serves 5 - 6

- Enjoy!

Family Style Open Faced Grilled Cheese w/ Sweet & Spicy Onions

These were sooooooooooo good!  I really surprised myself and my guests! I was doing some research on vegetarian dishes to broaden my knowledge base and came across a "grown up grilled cheese" recipe.  Being a cheese lover my mind quickly filled with different ideas of how to make this my own creation and add more depth to my meal.  This was a part of another Vegetarian meal with broiled Parmesan tomatoes and stuffed vegetable pitas with a light lemon yogurt sauce.  Those recipes I'll post up later on, but for now here's what I did!  I hope you enjoy these as much as we all did!

You Will Need

1 - 1 1/2 cups smoked Gouda; shredded

1 - 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese; shredded

6 slices thick bread; I used Texas toast from Fresh & Easy Market

1/4 cup softened, salted butter

1/4 of a brown onion; diced

2 green onion; minced

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoons of the following:

Hot sauce - I used Chalula

Sweet paprika

Salt

Pepper

Red Pepper Flakes

Sea Salt; freshly ground

1/8 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

- Add brown onions and green onions to 2 separate bowls

- To the brown onion add 1 teaspoon sugar; mix and set aside

- To the green onions add 1/4 teaspoon of sweet paprika, hot sauce, red pepper flake, salt, pepper and 1/8 teaspoon of Cayenne

- Mix onions and spices well; set aside

- Spread softened butter evenly to each piece of bread, only on one side for now

- Toast or grill the buttered side of each of the pieces of toast; I stuck them on a wire rack under the broiler until they browned 

- Add a generous amount of smoked Gouda and Mozzarella cheese to the untoasted side of each piece of bread

- Place back into the broiler until the cheese is bubbly and browning

- Serve immediately from the oven and garish with the sweet & spicy onion mixtures

- Serves 6

Facebook Photo Gallery

Hello!  After the rapid fire posting session I went on yesterday I thought it would be a good idea to get a link up here to my facebook album.  This is where I started gradually getting my foodie pictures out there to my friends and family.  Since a lot of my food is me experimenting with different spices, ingredients and styles of cooking, this album is all over the place!  I hope you enjoy the pictures!  If there are any recipes you'd like me to post, drop me a comment or an email and I will try to get them up as soon as I can!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=173590&id=816701596&saved

Quick & Easy Herb Butter

This herb butter is so easy to make and takes no time at all!  I got the idea of making herb buttered chicken breasts while I was getting ready for work one morning and managed to put this together before I left my house!  It's so fragrant and delicious and can be used on so many different things!  It can also be stored in your refrigerator for a long period of time. 

You Will Need

1 stick salted butter; softened

2 teaspoons each of the dried herbs listed below

Parsley

Sage (ground)

Oregano

Basil

Thyme

Rosemary

Sea Salt

Fresh Ground Black Pepper

- Add all the herbs, salt and pepper to a medium sized bowl

- Add softened butter; mix well

- Place in your refrigerator for at least 8 hours; this allows the flavors to marry.

Easy Homemade Ricotta

Finally something I actually followed the recipe for...Almost!!  I was trying to pass time at work looking for dinner ideas and found this recipe via the Food Network's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives show.  I am a huge Guy Fieri so I instantly wanted to try this!  Honestly it was pretty easy, just requires attention!  The whole process took about 30 minutes and we enjoyed it that night with herb buttered chicken breasts and baby broccoli, I'll post that recipe a little later! My only suggestion would be to add a couple of teaspoons of salt to the milk and buttermilk mixture before the curds separate!  So here you go!

Easy Homemade Ricotta Recipe via Food Network

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/easy-homemade-ricotta-recipe4/index.html