Recipe for Fresh Oregano and Chive Crusted Chicken with Fresh Strawberry Relish

Fresh Oregano and Chive Crusted Chicken with Fresh Strawberry Relish

I love strawberries. Berries in general are high on my list of favorite foods, but strawberries are at the top. Since they are now available frozen year round I am able to enjoy my strawberry smoothies even in the dead of winter. However, there is something so quintessentially summer about eating fresh strawberries. I love using them in desserts, but they are equally great for adding a hint of sweetness to savory dishes. Whatever the preparation method, any dish with strawberries rarely lasts more than a few hours. Last night I tried a new recipe for Herb Crusted Chicken with Fresh Strawberry Relish from the June 2013 issue of Eating Well magazine.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes 1 1/4 hours of total time, 30 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I only made a few changes to the original recipe. Since my herb garden is finally thriving I was able to use fresh oregano from my garden. My 4 thighs weighed exactly 2 pounds and I served the dish over white rice. I added 2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar since it has great flavor and I love using it with strawberries. Make sure to buy a high quality balsamic vinegar, there really is a difference between the cheap low-quality brands and the top-shelf varieties.

The relish in this recipe was delicious. It had even better flavor after sitting in the fridge overnight. Combined with the herb crusted chicken the flavors made a nice sweet-savory taste. My kids loved the relish, so the recipe is a nice option to get kids to eat fruit in a new way.

For the recipe go to Herb Crusted Chicken with Fresh Strawberry Relish.

Gluten Free Cheddar Chive Corn Muffins

This has been a long day. I started cooking and baking yesterday and finally sat down this evening. Everything turned out great thankfully and I even had time to do a a craft with my two kids. Index cards, glitter and ribbon can make great place cards and my kids had a blast helping me make them. I am also happy to report that my first gluten free Thanksgiving went off without hitch. My gluten free pie crust was wonderful and the coffee cake muffins I made for breakfast were delicious. I went non-traditional and made Cornish game hens instead of turkey and my two boys devoured them. They were definitely a hit. Now that I have made Thanksgiving gluten free I am much more confident with my gluten free baking skills and I feel so relaxed. It was  great Thanksgiving. Gluten free baking can be hit or miss. Sometimes things turn out great and other times they are a disaster. Recently I tried a new recipe for Cheddar-Chive Corn Muffins from the December issue of Food and Wine which I made into a gluten free breakfast for my family.

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes 30 minutes of total time, 10 minutes of which is active and makes 12 muffins. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. I chose to use red pepper jelly since that was the variety available at the store I shopped at. Instead of the 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour I used a gluten free all-purpose flour that uses coconut flour. I also used muffin liners since gluten free muffins tend to fall apart easier than those with gluten. Finally, I ended up with 15 muffins instead of the 12 stated by the recipe. I followed the remainder of the recipe.

The pepper jelly/cream cheese spread in this recipe was delicious. I served the leftover jelly with crackers and it made a great spread. The muffins turned out well, they rose effectively and were not dry like a lot of gluten free recipes can be. The cheese made the muffins savory and slightly sweet, with the pepper jelly making a great compliment.

For the recipe go to Cheddar Chive Corn Muffins.

Food and Wine Roasted Beets with Pistachios, Herbs, and Orange

As I've mentioned before I love beets. I have been known to eat an entire jar of pickled beets by myself in one sitting. I am also the same person that gets overly excited when I go to a craft show and they have someone selling jars of pickled beets in their stall, yum. For most of my life I enjoyed my beets pickled and eaten sliced or whole with a large serving of sour cream. Everyone else in my family couldn't stand my beloved beets and refused to partake in my delicious treasures. However, approximately two years ago I stumbled across a recipe for roasted beets and everything changed. My family discovered that they could actually enjoy beets. Now I make roasted beets a couple of times a month and they are always happily eaten. The March issue of Food and Wine magazine had a recipe for Roasted Beets with Pistachios, Herbs and Orange which looked very easy to prepare and full of flavor from the fresh herbs.

This recipe has 15 ingredients. It takes an hour and twenty minutes to prepare and cook, twenty minutes of which is active and makes 8 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store and made no ingredient modifications. The beets that I purchased were very large and therefore took longer than the hour baking time suggested by the recipe. I had a hard time breaking the cinnamon stick into pieces and only broke it in half instead of into four pieces. To save on time during dinner prep I made the dressing in the morning, which I feel helped to make the flavors blend together and become more flavorful by the time it was served at dinner. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

While this recipe takes 15 ingredients, the taste is really quite simple. The fresh herbs create a nice fresh flavor, which is light and not overbearing. The presentation is beautiful with the color from the beets and the contrast with the green color of the pistachios and celery leaves. My husband liked this dish, but felt that for him it was a little too simple in taste. My two boys ate the beets, but picked off the nuts and fresh herbs. A beautiful dish that is very healthy and simple.

For the recipe Roasted Beets with Pistachios, Herbs, and Orange.

Eating Well Leek and Lemon Linguine

Anyone that reads my blog consistently is probably tired of hearing me profess my love for pasta. It is the one food that I have loved as far back as I can remember and that even if I'm having a bad day I feel better after eating. My two boys share my pasta love and are often caught eating pasta leftovers while standing in front of the fridge. I'm not a big fan of heavy pasta sauces. My favorite way to prepare pasta is with a light sauce of butter and cheese. Overly heavy jarred sauces leave me lethargic and bored. I'm still working on having the time to make homemade pasta consistently. I have even bought the attachment for my kitchenaid, but haven't actually made anything other than ravioli; someday it will happen. Lately I have been receiving a new food magazine, Eating Well, and I have been pleased with the large amount of pasta recipes included. One of the recipes that caught my eye was for Leek and Lemon Linguine, which looked simple and full of lemon flavor.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes 30 minutes to prepare and cook and makes four servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. Instead of using whole-wheat pasta I used regular spaghetti. Honestly, I know that whole-wheat pasta is better for me, but I just can't deal with the taste. I have tried every brand available and I find them all slightly gritty and with a flavor that isn't to my liking. Following the recipe suggestion I added a small amount of goat cheese to the finished pasta and tossed. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written

For less than two dollars a serving, this recipe is full of flavor from the lemon zest and cheese. I like how simple the flavors and preparation was and the ingredients basic and easy to find. I ended up doubling the recipe in order to feed my family of four and have enough for leftovers. The leftovers were even better the next day after all the flavors had sat in the fridge overnight. Overall, a simple pasta recipes that costs dollars to make.

For the recipe go to Leek and Lemon Linguine.

Taste of Home Cheddar Gougeres

So after a long hiatus I am back to blogging. Thanks everyone for sticking with me while I recovered from being sick. I have always eaten healthy, but after being diagnosed with low potassium I have gotten much better about eating fruit and making sure that I have breakfast. I can definitely feel a difference and I have more energy than I have had in a very long time. So it's back to business as usual and a new recipe. As I've stated many times before my family loves cheese. My three year old can eat more cheese than anyone I've ever met and is often seen sneaking cheese from the refrigerator. Since my family eats such a large amount of cheese I am always looking for a new spin on ways to prepare cheese dishes and I was intrigued when the December/January issue of Taste of Home Magazine had a recipe for Cheddar Gougeres.

This recipe has 8 ingredients. It takes approximately 30 minutes of prep and 15 minutes of baking time and makes 3 dozen gougeres. All the ingredients are basic and I had no problems finding any of them at my local grocery store. This recipe was very easy to prepare. The one problem I encountered is that my gougeres did not rise as much as the photos on the webpage recipe. I would assume this is due to the dough still being slightly warm when I added the eggs, cheese, chives and garlic. Instead of letting the flour mixture sit for 5 minutes, I would suggest letting it cool completely before adding the remaining ingredients. I also found that my gougeres took longer than the 14-16 minutes suggested by the recipe. Finally, I made sure to rotate my pans halfway through the baking time to prevent burning/over browning. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

Three dozen is a lot of gougeres! This recipe makes more than enough to feed a crowd and would be great for a party or dinner get together. Even though my gougeres didn't rise as much as I hoped, they still turned out delicious and my two boys were big fans of this recipe. I think in the future I would modify the resting time to ensure proper puffing. Overall, a great new way to use cheese.

For the recipe go to Cheddar Gougeres.

Saveur Kartoffelrahmsuppe (Spiced Potato Soup)

Cold weather doesn't agree with me. I freeze once the temp hits approximately 50 degrees. Everyone else in my house seems content to sit around in t-shirts, while I have a sweatshirt and huge blanket wrapped around me. To me the fall and winter are worse weather wise than the summer. Even when I am burning up I can shed clothes or turn on the air conditioner, in the winter I just plain freeze. One thing I love to keep me somewhat warm during the cooler months is soup. There is nothing more warming than a big bowl of soup and a slice of homemade bread. Recently, Saveur magazine had a recipe for Kartoffelrahmsuppe (Spiced Potato Soup), which looked creamy, warm, and delicious.

This recipe has 18 ingredients. The prep and cooking time is approximately an hour and makes 4 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients. Recently, my local grocery store has started carrying leeks in the organic section, which is so much better than having to drive 30 minutes to the suburban grocery store. Instead of store bought stock, I used the homemade chicken stock that I already had in my freezer. I chose to leave out the caramelized onions since my two boys were eating the recipe, and would shy away from them. Instead of cooking the soup for 30 minutes, I allowed my soup to cook for closer to 45 minutes in order for the potatoes to be completely soft and cooked through. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I was very impressed with this recipe. The horseradish gives the soup a spicy undertone which blends perfectly with the potatoes and leeks. The recipe states that it makes 4 servings, but it made enough for a meal for my family of four plus leftovers for lunch the next day. This soup would make a great addition to a steak dinner or a roast beef sandwich. A delicious soup that would compliment a variety of beef dishes.

For the recipe go to Spiced Potato Soup.

Bon Appetit Whole Wheat Couscous with Lemon, Peas, and Chives

I love making fish as a main dish, and I try to prepare it at least once a week. However, I am always at a loss as to what to prepare as a side dish, and end up making the same recipes over and over. I have been attempting to remedy this situation and was intrigued when Bon Appetit magazine had a recipe for Whole Wheat Couscous with Lemon, Peas, and Chives.

This recipe actually took longer than the Slow-Baked Salmon I prepared as a main dish. The total time was approximately 25 minutes. I modified this recipe part by neccessity and partly due to forgetting to add an ingredient. I was unable to find whole wheat couscous at my local grocery store, I was able to find one brand of couscous, therefore that was what I purchased. Additionally, my two boys ate all the almonds before I prepared this dish, so I left out the toasted almonds as a topping. Lastly, I prepared the peas and then completely forgot to add then to the recipe before serving, opps!

My family enjoyed this side dish, and it was a great accompaniment to the slow-baked salmon. I loved the lemon flavor and it was a great compliment to the lemon in the salmon. The leftovers heated up great the next day, and would work well as an ingredient in a wrap. My husband preferred this dish without the peas and almonds, he found the texture more to his liking. This recipe would be a great side to any baked fish recipe and is very simple to prepare.

For the recipe go to Bon Appetit Whole Wheat Couscous with Lemon, Peas, and Chives.