Orange-Balsamic Chicken Thighs by Rachael Ray

I found this recipe in Every"Day with Rachael Ray. It is fully titled "Orange-Balsamic Chicken Thighs with Pecans and Sage Butter Pasta", but I just made the Orange-Balsamic Chicken Thighs.


First, pour some olive oil into a large frying pan, and put the chicken thighs in to cook once the oil is hot. Salt and pepper the chicken. Sprinkle the chopped rosemary on top (about 2 sprigs minced fine), and cook the chicken until crispy and brown, 8-10 minutes.



Transfer the cooked chicken to a platter. Whisk 1/4 c. balsamic vinegar and 1/4 c. orange marmalade into the skillet, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Lower the heat and simmer for 1 minute. Return the chicken to the pan and coat with the sauce.

You need to add 3 c. of arugula or baby spinach to the chicken at this point.

Stir it all in to with the chicken.

Looking yummy!

Serve this with pasta or rice. I had some leftover rice, so I served it along with some carrot coins I steamed in the microwave. It was a delicious meal!

Daisy's Mojo Ribs

I bought some ribs because I was getting them for nearly free after a beer rebate (I love these things...in Utah, they can't require a beer purchase!) After doing a bit of searching on the web, I found this recipe on the food network site. Paula Deen has it here with a fried mini cubans recipe. This recipe is by Daisy Fuentes.

I started out with about 5 pounds of boneless pork shoulder ribs. and browned them in my electric frying pan. I put salt and pepper on them before browning.

Here is the recipe for the Mojo sauce:

1 c. extra-virgin Olive Oil (I only used a few tablespoons)

10 large cloves of fresh garlic, peeled, chopped and sliced

1/4 c. yellow onion, minced

1/3 c. fresh orange juice

1 c. fresh squeezed lime juice

2/3 c. water

1/4 c. finely chopped parsley leaves

1/2 tsp oregano

3/4 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp ground cumin

In a skillet over med-high heat, add about 2 TBSP of olive oil. Once heated, add the garlic and onion, cook until pale golden brown, stirring constantly. Stir in the citrus juices and remaining ingredients. Bring sauce to rolling boil. Remove from the heat and let cool.

I then transferred the ribs into a large roasting pan.

I am let my ribs cook in the oven for about 20 minutes at 325 without the sauce. I was able to drain a lot of fat out of the pan. This is most likely NOT typical cuban cooking. Sorry! Then, I poured the Mojo sauce over the ribs. Cover the pan with foil for a tight fit. Cook 3 hours, turning the ribs about once every hour or maybe a little more often to thoroughly coat the ribs with sauce while they are cooking.

I served these bad boys with sticky white rice, and black beans heated in olive oil and sauteed garlic. I added some pineapple chunks and blood orange to it. Man was this ever tasty! Loved it!

Bruschetta-Style Thin Spaghetti with Shrimp

I am making a bigger effort to stick with a healthy eating plan and at the same time be frugal. I went through the refrigerator and pantry and came up with a recipe on the back of the Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Thin Spaghetti box. The recipe is called Bruschetta-Style Thin Spaghetti.

Here are the ingredients to serve 3-4. I just made enough for my meal.

1 box Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Thin Spaghetti (or equivalent)
2 TBSP Olive Oil
2 TBSP minced garlic
3 c. fresh tomatoes, diced (I used Muir Glen Fire Roasted tomatoes in the can)
2 TBSP balsamic vinegar
Shrimp, sauteed in olive oil
Parmesan cheese

I sauteed the shrimp in the olive oil, then added the garlic from the tube. Next I added the balsamic vinegar and tomatoes and let simmer. I was cooking my pasta at the same time. Drain the spaghetti, put into a serving bowl or dish, and pour the shrimp mixture over the spaghetti. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.

My low calorie, healthy meal included a Cara Orange. A delicious meal for under 400 calories. What is not to like about that? The best part about this is that it is easy to prepare. If you are at home during the day, think about preparing your own healthy meal instead of microwaving a frozen meal.

7 Layer Bean Dip: using food storage

Using the pinto beans from my food storage and making refried beans (posted here), I made a 7 Layer Bean Dip. Here are the ingredients:

2 cans refried beans (I used 4 cups of homemade)
Blend It Up Southwest Spice Blend
1 container guacamole, or 2 avocados mashed with 1 tsp lemon juice
4 green onions, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 c. salsa
4 oz. cheddar cheese, grated
1 small can black olives
1 c. sour cream

Here is my 1 1/2 quart casserole with my beans in it.

I sprinkled the Blend It Up Southwest Blend on top of the beans.

I used the avocados I had on hand...

I mashed them with a fork and added about 1/2 c. of Salsa to it to make a spicy guacamole. I also added 1 tsp lemon juice.

Layer the guacamole on top of the beans.

Take your green onions, and chop them up...

First layer your sour cream on the guacamole layer, then sprinkle the chopped green onions on top.

Next, add the chopped tomatoes.....looking real good!

Add the grated cheese and chopped black olives (I forgot to buy the olives....).

Serve with corn chips or as a side dish. This was a big hit at our house last night! Who says that food storage can't be yummy? Enjoy!

This is the refried beans that I had left over. I just put them into freezer containers, labeled them, and put them in the freezer for later use.

Vegetable Stock Recipe

Here is an easy way to make a vegetable stock. It is always great to use your own stock in homemade soups, rice, beans or lentils.

I like to do several cooking projects while I'm in the kitchen. It is just a more efficient use of my time. I decided to make some soup stock while preparing dinner. First, I caramelized some diced onion. You can use any type of oil.

Next, I used the leftover pieces of washed celery from my salad. Make sure to trim off the leaves from the celery...they have a bitter taste. I cut up a carrot, minced some garlic and added 8 cups of water. Later, I added the caramelized onion (sorry, forgot to take a picture). Start off cooking the stock at a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1 hour. You lose the nutritional value after an hour.

The finished product is the first picture in this post. You can store it in the freezer for later use. I'm putting mine in the refrigerator, and will use it in a recipe next week. Making your own stock is very easy to do, and very economical. Purchase onions in a bag...they are less expensive that way. I wash the carrot, gently scrubbing it but I don't scrape it.

Crock Pot Refried Beans Recipe

This recipe comes from some friends of mine, the Cochrans, and it is easy to make. It makes quite a bit of refried beans, so do adjust the recipe if you don't have a big crock pot.

Ingredients:

6 c. pinto beans
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 TBSP salt
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (you can omit or use a vegetarian product)

I already cooked up the bacon for the broccoli salad we had for dinner (see previous post).

I've got plenty of pinto beans in my food storage. These beans should last about 25 years if unopened. I intend to rotate my storage. As I use up a few cans, I'll just drypack more, or you can purchase them by the case from any LDS dry pack cannery. You can even have them shipped to you, go to Provident Living for more information.

Measure out 6 cups of beans into a bowl. Don't put them into the crock pot until they have been sorted and rinsed. I use a small white bowl or paper plate to sort the beans. I pour about 1/3 c. at a time into the bowl and look for any rocks, discolored or shriveled beans. In the picture below, notice the 2 little rocks in the middle of the beans. Take these out.

In 6 cups of beans, here is what I pulled out.... you sure don't want to bite into a rock, so take care when you sort.

After sorting, make sure that you rinse the beans before putting into the crock pot. Rinsing is critical, because there is dust and dirt that you want to rinse off.....don't want that in you food! After rinsing a few times, pour the beans into the crock pot, and cover with water. I added the rest of the ingredients, and stirred. Make sure the beans are always covered with water; check them every couple of hours. Cooking time is 12-24 hours, depending on how old the beans are.

I could use my pressure cooker and just be done with the process, but not everyone has a pressure cooker. I'll be using the refried beans to make a layered bean dip for tomorrow. It is Super Bowl Sunday, so we will have some chips and bean dips, even though we won't be watching the game!

Broccoli Salad with Bacon

For dinner tonight, I made this wonderful Broccoli Salad and served it with leftover risotto, and sweet barbecue chicken wings (got these and used a beer rebate for cheap wings).

The most expensive part of this recipe is the broccoli. I bought the crowns only and paid $1.30 for them. I got just enough for the recipe, which serves 4. The bacon I had only paid $0.50 (after coupon), and have stored it in the freezer. We don't eat much bacon, but it is nice to have on hand if I can get it for such a low price.

When purchasing broccoli, make sure you are getting tight bud heads that are dark green, no yellow. Cut the flowerettes off leaving about 1 inch of stem, and then split these lengthwise to make smaller, bite size pieces.

Dice the celery....

Add each item to the broccoli....here I just dumped in the red onion and celery.

My husband ate the seedless red grapes that I was going to use in this recipe.....yep, major failure to communicate on my part. So, I just did without them. I did add the raisins (which he hates...but I love!) and the sunflower seeds.

I cooked up a pound of bacon, half went into this recipe, and the other half into the refried beans I have cooking in the crock pot (I'll post this recipe later tonight). Isn't this looking yummy?

You can make your own dressing or use ready made. I had gotten Kraft dressing at a great deal a while back, so just used some creamy poppy seed dressing.

Broccoli Salad with Bacon

2 c. broccoli flowerettes, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 lb cooked bacon, chopped or crumbled
1/2 c. chopped celery
1 c. seedless grapes, cut in half
1/2 c. raisins
1/4 c. diced red onion

Dressing
1/2 c. mayo
2 tbsp sugar,
1 1/2 tsp cider vinegar

Whisk together and pour over salad.