Citrus Chicken

oh. my god. This stuff was soooo good. We -being my stepdad, my mom, and myself- had a pretty rough weekend because we found out exactly how grave my stepgrandfather's condition is. It's not good, and my stepdad is VERY sad, and I love him very much so I wanted to make him feel better by putting something warm in his tummy. On top of those of us in my house feeling gloomy, Jason has had a horrible week or two with feeling pressure from school and wanting to find another job, so I knew it was time to fill the tummies of the men in my life up and do my best to help them feel better... even if it's only for a few hours.

For dinner I made Citrus chicken with parslied jasmine rice, and for dessert I made apple dumplings (in the post to follow). I got the dinner recipe from the swanson webpage, and the dessert recipe from The Pioneer Woman Cooks! Her blog is located in the links section on the right-hand side of the page.

In true form, I forgot to take pictures of dinner before we gobbled it up. Honestly, I care more about giving everybody their food than taking tons of great pictures.

From: Campbell's Kitchen
Prep: 5 minutesCook: 35 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 3/4 cups Swanson® Chicken Broth (Regular, Natural Goodness™ or Certified Organic)
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice
3 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
Orange slices

Directions:
Cook chicken in medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 10 min. or until browned. Set chicken aside.
Add broth, orange juice, onion and rice. Heat to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat 10 min.
Return chicken to skillet. Cover and cook 10 min. or until chicken and rice are done. Stir in parsley.
For a special touch, sauté orange slices in a hot non-stick skillet until lightly browned. Serve over chicken.

Nutrition Information
Calories 341, Total Fat 4g, Saturated Fat 1g, Cholesterol 75mg, Sodium 474mg, Total Carbohydrate 43g, Dietary Fiber 1g, Protein 31g, Vitamin A 6%DV, Vitamin C 31%DV, Calcium 4%DV, Iron 18%DVSwanson® Natural Goodness™ Chicken Broth Calories 343, Total Fat 4g, Saturated Fat 1g, Cholesterol 73mg, Sodium 309mg, Total Carbohydrate 43g, Dietary Fiber 1g, Protein 32g, Vitamin A 6%DV, Vitamin C 31%DV, Calcium 4%DV, Iron 18%DV

:) Din Din! Part 1

I'm doing these three recipes seperate for label purposes... Anyway, Jason and I have begun feeling more inspired in the kitchen, and cooking has become more of an adventure for us than ever before.

Plus, this is random, but every time I've done a career analysis to see what field I would be a good match for, I've always come back with either jobs in the service industry doing something like sociology, psychology, or going into the ministry, or jobs in the creative industry such as marketing, advertising, studio arts, writing, and cooking. I always thought that was a strange thing to stick in the middle of a list of renaissance arts- reading, writing, and art. But now that I've become more comfortable in the kitchen, I've found that cooking has become a creative outlet for me. The ways I like to express myself creatively always evolves and changes, so it doesn't surprise me that this is my "flavor of the week" so to speak (and no pun intended). But it's almost an adrenaline rush for me to see a countertop covered up in raw veggies, packages of raw meat, and jars of spices evolve into something beautiful and delicious... With my help, of course. Jason likes to be creative with his hands too, so it's something that we love to do together, and something we've only really done with each other. Cooking with someone isn't something we've shared with past relationships... It's new to us and it's new to our relationship, which is hard to come by almost 4 years in. To us, every meal is an adventure, especially when something new is to be tried.

So, last night, we embarked on an adventure in uncharted territory... Pecan crusted dijon tilapia, served with parmesan garlic mashed potatoes and sauteed garlic asparagus.

I made the potatoes and the asparagus, and Jason helped me with the fish. It was delicious! (naturally, I found this recipe on Celeste's blog ;))


INGREDIENTS:1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup brown mustard, such as French's Bold 'n Spicy (I used Grey Poupon Dijon mustard)
1 pound tilapia fillets, if frozen, thaw
1/4 cup chopped pecans, finely chopped

DIRECTIONS:Lightly butter a large, shallow baking pan, such as a jelly roll pan. In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise and mustard.
Using paper towels, pat fish lightly to dry. Arrange fish fillets in prepared baking dish.Spread mayonnaise mixture over each fillet. Sprinkle each fillet with chopped pecans; press down gently.

Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Dinner for my man

After this crazy past week and a half of depending on Jason for everything from getting me back and forth from car dealers on his evenings off to lining up our joint insurance to scheduling an appointment for the winshield replacer guy to come replace the windshield in my new car because it had a crack in it when I bought it (no worries, the dealership paid for it), I really wanted to show him my appreciation by making him a big, hearty dinner the night after we bought my car. The dinner was only a very small way to show my gratitude, I don't think I'll ever be able to make it up to him. The wonderful thing is, that's what love is about. He doesn't expect me to make it up to him or repay him in any way. I just know that I want to be there for him in his hour of need the way he's been here for me, loving, comforting, and uncomplaining.

So I made something delicious and hearty... Homemade Spaghetti! Once again, I hi-jacked this from Celeste's blog, and it was soooo yummy. True to my nature, I had to tweak stuff, and it made it a little different but it was still really good. I'll start putting my little tweaks in red. :) I served roasted asparagus (I got it from Maryanna's blog, Taste & See) and garlic biscuits whose recipe I "made up" myself.

The best part about this recipe is that I was running late getting home because I had to get the ingredients at the store, and instead of being mad, Jason wanted to help cook and we learned a lot together :)

I think it goes without saying that my relationship with Jason as grown, evolved, and morphed into something bigger and more beautiful than either Jason and I. He is the kindest, most gentle, most beautiful man I have ever met in my entire life. I can't wait to start my life with him!

Brad's (Celeste's dh) Spaghetti:
Ingredients:
1 box uncooked spaghetti
1 green bell pepper, chopped -I omitted this, Jason *hates* bell peppers.
1/2 onion
2 garlic cloves, minced -I got a jar of minced garlic and 1/2 tsp = 1 clove
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil (E.V.O.O.), plus 1 tbsp. E.V.O.O. for pasta
1 jar Ragu spaghetti sauce (we always get the garlic and onion flavored kind) -I got the jar of parmesan and romano Ragu. Warning- it was on sale because it's been discontinued!
1 can tomato paste
1 can stewed tomatoes Here is where I screwed up. I was rushing and grabbed two cans of tomato *sauce* instead of tomato *paste*. I was going to omit the stewed tomatoes because Jason and I don't like tomato chunks in our spaghetti sauce and use two cans of the paste instead. Oh well, c'est la vie!
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 tbsp. dried oregano I used more than this because I seasoned to taste.
Garlic salt, to taste
Grated parmesan for seasoning
1 tbsp. butter I omitted this, honestly I just forgot about it.

Directions:
Drizzle E.V.O.O. in a skillet over medium heat. Take half of the bell pepper and half of the onion (reserving the other half for later) and add them to the skillet; saute for a few minutes or until bell pepper and onion are softened. Add garlic and saute for an additional 2 minutes or until garlic is fragrant. Add ground beef to the skillet and cook until no longer pink, gently breaking the meat apart as it cooks.
Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil and add pasta. Season the water with a generous amount of salt and 1 tbsp. of butter. Cook pasta until al dente.
In a separate large saucepan, pour contents of Ragu jar. Add tomato paste, stewed tomatoes, and the other half of the bell pepper and onion. When beef is completely cooked, drain if needed and then add to the spaghetti sauce mixture. Season with the oregano and garlic salt to taste. Let the sauce cook through for approximately 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

***The reason Brad sautes half of the bell pepper/onion and then adds the rest directly to the spaghetti sauce later is because it adds texture. You will end up with half soft, sauteed bell pepper/onion and half slighty crunchy bell pepper/onion. It adds a special yummy-ness!***

Pour pasta in a strainer and rinse with HOT water. Let drain. Brad hates runny pasta, so that is why he adds this step! Put drained pasta back into the pot. Drizzle with 1-2 tbsp. E.V.O.O. and sprinkle with oregano. Stir.

Put cooked pasta on a plate and top with a generous serving of the spaghetti sauce. S
prinkle with grated parmesan

Maryanna's Roasted Asparagus:
1-2 bunches fresh asparagus, rinsed with water and dried
Olive oil flavored cooking spray I used good old fashioned evoo
salt to taste I also used coarse ground pepper for a little kick

Directions:
Snap the tough ends of the asparagus and discard. Place the asparagus in a single line on a baking sheet. Spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt. Broil for 5-7 minutes.

My Garlic Biscuits:
Basically, this is the red lobster biscuit recipe, except I didn't have any cheese (I bought a full bag of shredded sharp cheddar on sunday, my mom's fi ate the whole. damn. bag. by Tuesday afternoon).

2 2/3 cups bisquick
1 cup milk
¼ tsp. garlic salt
4 tbsp. butter, melted
¼ tsp. parsley
Preheat oven to 450º F

In a large mixing bowl, combine bisquick, milk, garlic salt, and a pinch of parsley. Mix together until a soft dough forms then beat vigorously for 30 seconds. On an ungreased baking pan, spoon the dough onto the pan in small balls. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Keep an eye on them though, they tend to bake quickly!

While they are baking, combine the melted butter, extra garlic salt, and the rest of the parsley. Once the biscuits are done cooking, brush the butter mixture onto the biscuits while they are still on the baking pan. Best served when warm.

Nacho Spuds

I also hi-jacked this one off of Celeste's blog: http://www.sugarandspice-celeste.blogspot.com/

But also, this recipe has been floating around the boards on The Nest so I figured it's my turn to try it! As you can see, I couldn't wait to get it in my mouth.

2 large baking potatoes (1.5 pounds total), sliced into 1/2-inch thick rounds
2 1/2 tbsp. E.V.O.O.
Salt & Pepper
1/2 lb. lean ground beef sirloin
One 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed
2 tbsp. taco seasoning
One 8 oz. package shredded sharp cheddar cheese (2 cups)
1 cup grape tomatoes, quartered lengthwise
Sour cream and shredded lettuce, for serving

Directions:
1. Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the potatoes with 2 tbsp. olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer and bake until golden, about 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the remaining 1/2 tbsp. olive oil and the ground beef and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Mix in the beans, taco seasoning, and 2 tbsp. water. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring, until heated through, about 10 minutes.
3. Transfer the potatoes to an ovenproof platter. Sprinkle half of the cheddar on top, spoon on the meat mixture, then top with the tomatoes and remaining cheddar. Place in the oven and turn off the heat. Let stand until the cheese is melted, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve with the sour cream and lettuce.
Source: Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine

Holy cow. This recipe is one heck of a man pleaser. I accidentally froze the lettuce, which completely ruined it, so I just served it with sour cream and at the reccomendation of the nesties, Spicy Ranch. As soon as I put it in front of Jason, he inhaled the whole plate in like 5 seconds flat. It actually gave me inspiration to try making some kind of a sauce for it with sour cream, spicy ranch, and maybe a few other things.

How I tweaked the recipe:
I chopped up 1/2 of a medium onion and threw it in with the meat as it started to cook.
I also used a little more evoo than the recipe called for in the skillet, but I didn't put water in with the taco seasoning. It ended up making the beans really, really soft, which fi and I liked.