Creamy Apples and Chicken

From time to time, I'll pick a country and we'll have food from there for a week. Last week was French week. So among several dishes I made was this amazing one, Creamy Apples and Chicken. The silky mushrooms combined with the cream and slightly sweet apples, served over rice, was an instant hit with my family. Win-win.

Ingredients:

flour, for dredging

salt and pepper

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, halved (I halved these the long way to make the breasts skinnier so they would cook faster)

2 T butter

2 T olive oil

1 large apple or 2 small

1 medium onion, finely chopped

8 mushrooms

1/3 C chicken broth

2 T apple juice/cider

2/3 C heavy cream

Peel and dice the apple(s).

Clean the mushrooms with a paper towel.

Stem the mushrooms. Slice them and then cut them in half.

Season the flour with salt and pepper. Pat the chicken pieces dry and dredge in the flour.

Put a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon each butter and oil. When the butter is melted, slip the chicken pieces into the pan. 

Cook for three minutes to brown, and then flip them over and cook another three minutes.

Add the rest of the butter and oil. Clear a spot in the pan and add the onions, apples, and mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. Coat the fruit and veggies with the butter and oil until they are glossy.

Mix the additions with the chicken and cook for 1 minute.

Add the broth.When the broth bubbles, lower the heat to a simmer. Cook for ten minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Turn the heat up again, add the apple cider, and simmer for 1 minute. Add the cream and keep the heat on until the cream reduces by about a fourth (about five minutes).

Serve with rice and vegetables!

Tastefully,

Tamara

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

I was skeptical about this one. I really was. A whole grain banana bread? How good could that be?

As it turns out, really, really good. And somewhat healthier for you than other versions. :)

(Adapted from Ovenly)

Ingredients:

2 large ripe bananas, mashed

1/4 C flaxseed (I buy mine already ground up; if yours are whole, you'll need to grind them)

3/4 C flour

3/4 C whole wheat flour

1 T baking powder

1/2 T baking soda

1/2 t salt

1/2 C maple syrup (the real stuff!)

2 large eggs

1/3 C canola oil

1/4 C brown sugar

1 t vanilla extract

1/3 C sour cream

Whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and the salt. Add in the maple syrup, eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla extract. Add the mashed banana and sour cream and mix well to remove lumps.

Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 50 minutes.

Cool in the pan. Remove and slice.

This bread would be amazing with walnuts in it, too. Maybe I'll try that next time.

Tastefully,

Tamara

Mango Lime Bread

I made a lot of mango dishes this past week because I had several I needed to use up. This one was an experiment, and I thought it came out wonderfully. Because the mango is so rich and moist, the bread is amazingly moist, also.

Ingredients: 

1/4 C butter

1 C buttermilk

1/2 C sugar

1/4 C brown sugar

1/4 C maple syrup (the real stuff)

2 large eggs

2 1/4 C 

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

zest of 2 limes

1 mango, peeled, seeded, and pureed

Grease a 9x13 loaf pan and pure the mango. Melt the butter (on the stovetop or in the microwave).

In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sugars, syrup, eggs, and butter. Add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and lime zest, stirring well to incorporate all the ingredients. Gently fold in the pureed mango.

Pour into the prepared loaf pan.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let it cool completely in the pan before removing and slicing it.

It should come out fairly easily! Enjoy!

Tastefully,

Tamara

Carrot and Herb Soup

Soup is pure comfort food for me. There's a funny story my husband likes to tell about when we were first married, and I made soup for a month straight. I did this for a couple of reasons: a) I love soup b) soup is quick and easy c) it was January and freezing d) I'd budgeted $100 a month for the two of us and we were blowing through it.

Turns out my husband's not a soup person. I found out about it the same time the neighbors did, when after a month of soup he had a minor explosion and let me know his true feelings. 

I still make soup, but I limit it to once--maybe twice--a week. And what better way than use up my beautiful rainbow carrots than a carrot soup?

Ingredients:

2 T butter or oil

1 lb carrots, thinly sliced (peel if you want. I don't)

1 large onion, chopped

2 celery stalks, sliced

2 garlic clvoes, minced

1 inch garlic, peeled and chopped (I cheat here. I have a jar of minced garlic that I bought at the Asian market, and I throw in 1/2 tsp whenever an inch is called for)

1 rosemary sprig

1 thyme spring

salt

6 C chicken broth

1 small potato, chopped (again, peel if you want. Or save yourself some time, add vitamins to your veggies, and don't)

4 T butter

Prep your veggies and toss them in a bowl while you heat the oil/butter in a large soup pot.

Toss the veggies and herbs into the pot of butter. Turn to cover with butter. Put the lid on and lower the heat to medium-low. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes until the veggies are soft.

Remove the lid and pour in the chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Add the potatoes. Partially cover the pot, turn down the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.

Puree the soup, if you want. I used an immersion blender to puree half of it but wanted some chunks in it. Be sure to remove the herb stems before you puree it (most of the leaves should fall off, leaving you with just the stems to throw away).

Taste for salt and pepper. Right before serving, put 4 tablespoons of butter on top and swirl around but don't mix it.

Really excellent with homemade bread!

Tastefully,

Tamara

Bacon-Potato Stacks

These are a fun bite-sized side dish that tastes like a baked potato. I used cotija cheese, but you could use cheddar or blue cheese.

Ingredients:

4-5 small red potatoes

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tsp olive oil

4 slices bacon, cooked

2 oz. cotija cheese

1/2 tomato, diced

2 T sour cream

2 T chives

Thinly slice the potatoes, discarding the ends. A mandolin works well for this if you have one. You should end up with about 50 slices.

Spray 18 muffin tins. combine the potato slices, black pepper, and oil in a bowl. Toss well to coat. Crumble the bacon. 

Press one potato slice into each muffin cup. Sprinkle with half the bacon and cheese. Repeat the layering, putting another potato slice on top, followed by the rest of the bacon and cheese. Top with the remaining potato slice.

Bake in a 450 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. The longer you bake them, the crispier they get, so a lot of this depends on preference. Remove pans from oven and immediately remove stacks to a cooling rack.

Dice the tomatoes. Put a dollop of sour cream on each potato stack, sprinkle on the tomatoes and chives. Serve!

Tastefully,

Tamara

Rustic Nectarine and Blackberry Tart

Remember all those nectarines I got in my produce basket this week? Well, it seemed only natural that I should make some kind of baked dessert with them. (And quickly, as my children are happily consuming about five a day.)

This is what I came up with: a nectarine/blackberry tart. And it was sooo good. I thought, anyway.

Ingredients:

1 9-inch pie crust (I made a whole-wheat one just for fun. I mass produce pie crusts and keep them in my freezer so I always have one ready when it's time to make another pie/tart)

2 1/2 C sliced nectarines (this was about 5 small ones)

1/2 C blackberries (I used frozen, thawed)

1 vanilla bean

1/4 C flour

1/4 C brown sugar

2 T + 1 T sugar

1 T butter

1 large egg yolk, for brushing

1 T water, for brushing

Slice your nectarines into quarter-inch sizes.

Add the nectarines and blackberries to a large bowl. Scrape out the vanilla pod with a sharp knife and add the vanilla seeds to the bowl. Mix them well.

Add the flour, brown sugar, and 2 T of sugar. Mix well. Let sit for fifteen minutes.

Meanwhile, set your pie crust on the counter to soften ten minutes before rolling out.

Roll your pie crust out to a 12-inch circle. Carefully move it to your baking pan. It's all right if the edges hang over; you're going to fold them inward in a moment. Pile your fruit mixture in the middle of the pie crust. Dot with butter. Bring the ends of the crust toward the middle. They won't close over the fruit, but that's okay. There should be about a 3 or 4-inch opening.

Whisk together the egg yolk and water. Brush it over the top of the crust. Sprinkle the last tablespoon of sugar over the crust as well. 

Bake at 425 degrees F for 30-40 minutes or until browned (for me, this only took 30 minutes).

Let the tart cool 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Tastefully,

Tamara

Grilled Salmon with Bacon Salsa and Potatoes

About once a week I try to make a really grand meal, the kind that we'd get at a restaurant, and therefore we can skip going to a restaurant that week. (Only works half the time. Often we end up with a grand meal and a restaurant night anyway.)

So this week I made grilled salmon and potatoes. The grill used to be very daunting for me, and I still feel it takes some work to make it do what I want. So once I have it fired up, I'm going all the way, man. Main dish, side dish, even dessert.

Oh, about dessert. You won't see it pictured here, even though we loved it, because Hubby gave me an idea to make it even better, and I can't wait to try it again. I'm going to make some changes and try it again, and if it turns out amazing, I'll post it here.

On to the main event. We'll start with the potatoes:

Grilled Potatoes

Ingredients:

3 large unpeeled baking potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 t salt

Combine oil, rosemary, garlic, and salt in a bowl.

Add potato slices and turn until well coated. Grill over medium heat or 300 degrees F for about 8 minutes. Turn and grill 10 more minutes. Remove from grill.

Meanwhile, prepare the salmon.

Ingredients:

4 - 6 salmon fillets

fresh thyme

2 slices thick bacon

1/2 C diced onions

1 T minced garlic

10 oz. can rotel (mild)

Season the salmon with salt and pepper and the thyme. Spray with canola oil. Sear on the grill on both sides. Place the salmon fillets in an aluminum tray. Place in an unheated section of the grill. Close the lid and cook for 15-20 more minutes or until done. (turn halfway through.) The meat should be opaque when cooked.

While the salmon cooks, prepare the bacon salsa. Cut the bacon into 1/4 inch slices and cook in a pan. When the fat has rendered, add the onions. Cook until the onions sweat, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and the tomatoes. Heat gently, simmering until most of the moisture evaporates.

Serve the salsa over the fish with the potatoes on the side. 

Tastefully,

Tamara