Ingredients
1 Pound Fresh Green Beans
1 Small Onion, minced
3-5 Cloves Garlic, minced
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
3 Tablespoons Chicken Broth
Salt and Pepper to Taste
In a saute pan, heat olive oil. Add onions, garlic, and green beans. Toss to coat. Cover and let cook for 5 minutes. Deglaze pan with the chicken broth. Put top on beans and let them simmer until desired doneness.
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Wild Rice Salad
Ingredients
1 Cup Long-grain brown rice
1 Cup Wild Rice
1 Shallot, minced (You can use a red onion as well)
1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
1 Teaspoon Salt
Black Pepper to Taste
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
1 Cup Dried fruit (I used apricots and cherries this time. You can use cranberries, blueberries, or whatever you want!)
1/4 Italian Parsley, chopped
In separate pots prepare both the brown rice and the wild rice. Follow directions on the amounts of water. Generally, you will use twice as much liquid as rice. Water will NOT absorb into wild rice. You will have to drain it.
While the rice is cooking make the dressing. Mince the shallot (or onion) and add the balsamic vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper. Whisk together. Then whisk in oil gradually.
Add the hot rice to dressing and toss. Add dried fruit and parsley and combine.
The beauty of this is that you can serve it hot OR room temperature. So, if you're making a big meal, make this first.
1 Cup Long-grain brown rice
1 Cup Wild Rice
1 Shallot, minced (You can use a red onion as well)
1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
1 Teaspoon Salt
Black Pepper to Taste
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
1 Cup Dried fruit (I used apricots and cherries this time. You can use cranberries, blueberries, or whatever you want!)
1/4 Italian Parsley, chopped
In separate pots prepare both the brown rice and the wild rice. Follow directions on the amounts of water. Generally, you will use twice as much liquid as rice. Water will NOT absorb into wild rice. You will have to drain it.
While the rice is cooking make the dressing. Mince the shallot (or onion) and add the balsamic vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper. Whisk together. Then whisk in oil gradually.
Add the hot rice to dressing and toss. Add dried fruit and parsley and combine.
The beauty of this is that you can serve it hot OR room temperature. So, if you're making a big meal, make this first.
Prosciutto & Fontina Chicken with Mushroom Sauce
Ingredients:
For
the Lemon Mushroom Sauce:
Olive oil (about 2-3 Tablespoons)
1 small onion, finely diced
10 ounces mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced
3 cloves garlic, grated
3 tablespoons salted butter
1 lemon, juiced
1/3 cup chicken broth
Dash of teaspoon salt
Black pepper to taste
10 basil leaves, chopped
1 small onion, finely diced
10 ounces mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced
3 cloves garlic, grated
3 tablespoons salted butter
1 lemon, juiced
1/3 cup chicken broth
Dash of teaspoon salt
Black pepper to taste
10 basil leaves, chopped
For
the Chicken:
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (I use thin sliced 3 oz. breasts)
Dried oregano
Cracked black pepper
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (I use thin sliced 3 oz. breasts)
Dried oregano
Cracked black pepper
Salt
Slices of Prosciutto (1 per chicken breast)
Slices of Prosciutto (1 per chicken breast)
Fontina cheese (1 ounce per chicken breast)
1. Make the chicken and grill
2. While chicken is grilling/baking prepare the mushroom sauce.
For the Chicken:
Season each breast lightly with salt, pepper, and oregano (I only salt one side- VERY LIGHTLY). Grill over medium high heat until cooking through.
Season each breast lightly with salt, pepper, and oregano (I only salt one side- VERY LIGHTLY). Grill over medium high heat until cooking through.
Place cooked chicken breasts on a cookie sheet and add one slice of prosciutto to each chicken breast, then top with 1 ounce of fontina cheese. Broil until cheese in melted. Place chicken breasts on serving splatter and spoon the mushroom sauce evenly over top of them.
For
the Mushroom Sauce:
In a large non-stick skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onions and saute for 2-3 minutes until they soften. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook until mushrooms have softened and begin to golden. Add the garlic and saute for another minute.
In a large non-stick skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onions and saute for 2-3 minutes until they soften. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook until mushrooms have softened and begin to golden. Add the garlic and saute for another minute.
Add
butter and lemon juice and stir well. Lastly, add chicken broth salt and
pepper and basil. Allow sauce to simmer and thicken a bit (5-10 minutes). Keep warm until
ready to use.
Monday, April 1, 2013
It's Time to Get Dirty!
I didn't think spring would ever come, and I'm not altogether sure that it's here to stay, but it was sunny and beautiful today. That means I spent some time getting the garden going.
This year I'm doing an organic garden of only heirloom vegetables. Well, except for the jalapeno pepper plants- they aren't heirlooms.
We've been trying to eat organic, locally grown food for health purposes, but sometimes California is as "local" as we can get.
We are still about ten days away from our "frost date" in Tennessee, but I've been growing my seeds under a grow light in the living room.
Follow along with me as I plant, tend, harvest, and cook/preserve 1600 square feet of vegetables.
It's a very scientific process. There are charts and lights and watering schedules.
I have a thing for tomato plants. Two years ago I planted 45 tomato plants. It was a tomato jungle. And the weird thing? I don't like tomatoes. I like tomato sauce and salsa and ketchup, but not the actual tomato. It's a texture thing.
So why do I grow them?
"I'm a Southern woman and we're supposed to wear funny looking hats and ugly clothes and grow vegetables in the dirt. Don't ask me those questions. I don't know WHY. I don't make the rules." Thank you Ouizer Boudreaux.
I really don't know why. I guess it's partly because my grandparents grew vegetables and my great-grandparents, and Coach's grandparents did too. It's a place where we can travel back in time, and it's right out back.
Oh, and everyone else likes tomatoes.
My favorite surprise of 2012 was the "temporary" herb garden. We had pulled some bushes up by the house and were planning on filling it with Hydrangeas. The Hydrangeas were small, so I filled in with herbs. Then I fell in love with having an herb garden by my back door. So, I moved the Hydrangeas and expanded the herb garden. Watch out Ina Garten, I'm coming for you!
The herb garden has mostly survived since last winter. The parsley is thriving as is the rosemary. The oregano and the thyme are hanging on too. I'm going to get that squared away and mulched this weekend.
But the crops I wait for most are the cucumbers, peppers, and okra. I do magical things with those three vegetables. I'll tell you more later. For now just take a look at the infant plants.
The okra are really just embryos- they haven't even sprouted yet. But they will. And it will be glorious.
And this year we are growing our own salad greens, kale, and spinach. I couldn't begin to tell you how that's going to go, but so far so good.
I'll keep recording the transformation and photographing the actual garden as it progresses. I'll also share gardening tips I receive along the way. I have a neighbor that I like to call Mr. Greenjeans. He has been gardening and preserving food for decades. He reminds me a lot of my grandaddy, and so far he's been very helpful.
Well, except when he comes over to tell me I should move my Crepe Myrtle before it gets too big. We don't see eye to eye on that detail. We'll see who wins.
See y'all!
This year I'm doing an organic garden of only heirloom vegetables. Well, except for the jalapeno pepper plants- they aren't heirlooms.
We've been trying to eat organic, locally grown food for health purposes, but sometimes California is as "local" as we can get.
We are still about ten days away from our "frost date" in Tennessee, but I've been growing my seeds under a grow light in the living room.
Follow along with me as I plant, tend, harvest, and cook/preserve 1600 square feet of vegetables.
It's a very scientific process. There are charts and lights and watering schedules.
I have a thing for tomato plants. Two years ago I planted 45 tomato plants. It was a tomato jungle. And the weird thing? I don't like tomatoes. I like tomato sauce and salsa and ketchup, but not the actual tomato. It's a texture thing.
So why do I grow them?
"I'm a Southern woman and we're supposed to wear funny looking hats and ugly clothes and grow vegetables in the dirt. Don't ask me those questions. I don't know WHY. I don't make the rules." Thank you Ouizer Boudreaux.
I really don't know why. I guess it's partly because my grandparents grew vegetables and my great-grandparents, and Coach's grandparents did too. It's a place where we can travel back in time, and it's right out back.
Oh, and everyone else likes tomatoes.
My favorite surprise of 2012 was the "temporary" herb garden. We had pulled some bushes up by the house and were planning on filling it with Hydrangeas. The Hydrangeas were small, so I filled in with herbs. Then I fell in love with having an herb garden by my back door. So, I moved the Hydrangeas and expanded the herb garden. Watch out Ina Garten, I'm coming for you!
The herb garden has mostly survived since last winter. The parsley is thriving as is the rosemary. The oregano and the thyme are hanging on too. I'm going to get that squared away and mulched this weekend.
But the crops I wait for most are the cucumbers, peppers, and okra. I do magical things with those three vegetables. I'll tell you more later. For now just take a look at the infant plants.
The okra are really just embryos- they haven't even sprouted yet. But they will. And it will be glorious.
And this year we are growing our own salad greens, kale, and spinach. I couldn't begin to tell you how that's going to go, but so far so good.
I'll keep recording the transformation and photographing the actual garden as it progresses. I'll also share gardening tips I receive along the way. I have a neighbor that I like to call Mr. Greenjeans. He has been gardening and preserving food for decades. He reminds me a lot of my grandaddy, and so far he's been very helpful.
Well, except when he comes over to tell me I should move my Crepe Myrtle before it gets too big. We don't see eye to eye on that detail. We'll see who wins.
See y'all!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
