Crunchy Chicken Stir-fry

This is a fantastic and easy stir-fry recipe; best of all, the sauce has a little kick!
Ingredients:
2 whole Egg Whites
⅓ cups Cornstarch Or Flour
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Broccoli Florets
Red Pepper, Thinly Sliced
Sugar Snap Peas
Onion Slices/Chunks
Carrot Slices
1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
2 ClovesGarlic, Minced
Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
¼ cups Honey
Chilli Flakes
Salt And Pepper

Directions:
In 2 separate bowls, add the egg whites (lightly beaten) and in the other, the cornstarch. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Dip your chicken pieces into the egg white, then the cornstarch - fry in the oil until cooked.
Remove the chicken from the pan and add the veggies, salt and pepper, soy sauce and garlic - cook for 4 mins.
Combine the chicken with the veggies; add the honey and chili flakes; and thoroughly mix to combine. Taste and season with salt, pepper, additional honey or soy sauce if needed and Serve with rice.
So good!

Mosaic Dip

This is a Moxie's restaurant copycat recipe. It is SO good!! Hubby and I are both huge fans of this dip and order it whenever we have a date at Moxie's, so we decided to try making it at home!

The Shopping List:
1 tomato, chopped up (or a half a container cherry tomatoes)
2 garlic cloves, crushed (I use jarred)
1/4 cup sweet onion, finely chopped
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups mushrooms, finely chopped
2 tablespoons cream cheese
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup goat cheese (or a bit more if you LOVE it the way we do!)

Mix the tomatoes, garlic, onion and pinch of salt in a small baking dish (8x8 or a bit smaller). Make sure you finely chop each ingredient. That's your first layer. Set aside.

Add the olive oil to a frying pan and cook mushrooms about 5-10 minutes or until tender. Add the soy sauce. Turn off your stove and add the cream cheese.

Spread the mushroom mixture on top of the tomato mixture. Top with the goat cheese (crumble on top)

Bake in preheated 350 degree F oven for about 15 minute. Remove and serve with warm naan bread or pita.

Makes 2-4 servings

Ritz cracker Haddock with white wine

I am always looking for new ways to cook haddock – so if you have a favourite recipe or have found something delicious, please share it with us!

I came across this on tastespotting; and it’s so simple and so incredibly tastey, it is definitely a new favourite in our house. MS and I both loved it and both exclaimed how good it was after our first bites! (Which, I don’t know about you guys, but I usually have to ask MS if he likes something new – so it was great to hear that he loved something before I even had a chance to ask.)

Ingredients:

1 pound haddock fillets (we had two pounds – so cooking time was longer; and you should double up on the rest of the recipe)
3 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons white cooking wine (we just used pinot grigio – what we had)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
8 to 10 Ritz crackers, crumbled
parsley, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°F.

In a bowl, combine melted butter, wine and lemon juice and pour a small amount into a baking dish – to cover the bottom;

Place the haddock into the baking dish and pour the remaining butter mixture over the top. Then crumble Ritz crackers over the fish and sprinkle with parsley.

Bake in preheated oven until haddock is flaky – 20 mins per pound.


Serves 2.

Slow Cooker Seafood Chowder

This is the easy and inexpensive version of a delicious seafood chowder. If you are making this for a special evening (date night or company) you could easily replace the canned seafood with fresh. I would stir fry the fresh seafood, this can even be done the night before and kept in the refrigerator, and add it for the last 20 to 30 minutes or until heated through.

The Grocery List:

• 1 can (10 ounces) condensed cream of potato soup
• 1 can (10 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 4 medium carrots, finely chopped
• 2 large potatoes, chopped into small (1/4 inch) cubes
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 celery ribs, finely chopped
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp minced garlic
  
• 2 tsp Mrs. Dash (original blend)
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 can (6 ounce) medium shrimp, drained
• 1 can (6 1/2 ounce) chopped clams, drained
  
• 1 package (227 g) imitation crab, chopped (I used clover leaf crab delectable)
  
• 1/2 package bacon, cooked and crumbled

Cooking It All Up:

In a slow cooker, combine the undiluted soups and milk. Stir in the vegetables, garlic and spices.

Cover and cook on low for 5 hours. Normally you shouldn't lift the cover when you are slow cooking food but I recommend stirring this every hour or so and then quickly replacing the cover so you don't loose too much heat.

Stir in clams, shrimp, and crab. Cover and continue cooking on low for 20 - 30 minutes until heated through.

Garnish each serving with crumbled bacon.

Makes 8 servings.

Balsamic Vinegar and Garlic Chicken

We love this meal, it's the perfect date night meal and it's a restaurant quality meal. As long as you enjoy mushrooms, you will love it! It's absolutely delicious and it's not a difficult meal to prepare at all - and is very tastey!.

Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 cloves garlic
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon butter

Directions:

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Rinse the mushrooms and pat dry. Season the flour with salt and pepper and dredge the chicken breasts in the flour mixture. Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat and saute the chicken until it is nicely browned on one side (about 3 minutes).

Add the garlic. Turn the chicken breasts and scatter the mushrooms over them. Continue frying, shaking the skillet and stirring the mushrooms. Cook for about 3 minutes, then add the vinegar, broth, bay leaf and thyme. Cover tightly and simmer over medium low heat for 10 minutes, turning occasionally.


Transfer the chicken to a warm serving platter and cover with foil. Set aside. Continue simmering the sauce, uncovered, over medium high heat for about 7 minutes. Swirl in the butter or margarine and discard the bay leaf. Pour this mushroom sauce mixture over the chicken and serve.

Stuffed Pork Loin a La Monterey

After reading mommy's post on Greek Stuffed Pork Loin; I came up with this recipe! We always have Monterey Jack cheese in our house; and red peppers; and MS does not like feta...so I thought why not try this, and let me tell you, it was amazing and very tastey! The Monterey Jack cheese had red pepper flakes in it; and added a nice spice to each bite - delicious!

The Grocery List
• 2 pork loins (there are only two of us, so we only cooked one)
• salt and pepper
• 4 jarred roasted red pepper halves (cut into strips)
• 1 package of precooked bacon strips
• 1 1/2 cups grated monterey jack cheese with red pepper flakes
• 6 tbsp Balsamic vinegrette salad dressing
• wooden or metal skewers (if you are using wood, soak them in water for 10 mins prior to use)
Cooking it all Up:

Pound the pork loins to 1/2 inch thickness using your kitchen hammer and season both sides with salt and pepper.

Layer bacon, roasted red peppers and monterey onto the pork loins (spread the ingredients evenly between the two). Pour a line of balsamic vinegrette on top.
Fold the pork loin over and secure with skewers. Place in a greased baking dish.

Brush balsamic vinegrette thoroughly over the outside of the pork loin.
Bake uncovered at 350 for 40 minutes or until pork is fully cooked and enjoy!

Satay Chicken Pasta

This recipe is from Pampered Chef and is actually supposed to be a pasta salad; but I prefer it warm. However, I'm sure it would be great either way; it is very delicious - and that is all thanks to the sauce!


Ingredients:
8 oz uncooked bow tie pasta
1 cup lite Asian vinaigrette salad dressing
2 tbsp Asian Seasoning Mix (or see substitute at the bottom)
2 tbsp peanut butter
2 medium carrots, peeled
1 medium red bell pepper
1/2 cup dry-roasted peanuts (we just used chopped peanuts from the cooking aisle and garnished at the end - I did enjoy the peanuts; MS didn't)
1 cup lightly packed fresh basil (again, we garnished at the end; and chopped maybe 1/4 cup)
3 cups diced cooked chicken (about 1 lb)
Additional chopped peanuts (optional)

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and wait till everything else is cooked before transferring to a mixing bowl to mix with all other ingredients.


2. For the dressing, combine vinaigrette, seasoning mix and peanut butter in a small bowl; mix well using a whisk and set aside.



3. Cut carrots into julienne strips; cut bell pepper lengthwise. I bought a pre-package of chopped veggies at the supermarket for $3.99 and it was perfect. It had red, yellow and green peppers; carrots already julienned; mushrooms; onions; broccoli; cauliflower and we added a handful of sweet peas - cause at that point, why not! We both love stir frys - and it was so great to have everything pre-chopped - it really helped to cut a corner and we both enjoyed all the veggies in this dish even though it would be fine without them as well - just use what you like!



4. Cook the chicken and then add the veggies to the mix until they are cooked - I like mine a little crunchy in a dish like this; but MS prefers them cooked well. Again, do this step however you like. I added a little salt and pepper as I was cooking the chicken and EVOO.



5. Next you are going to add the noodles to a mixing bowl then add the chicken/vegetables and dressing to mix well. As your mixing it is easy to judge how much dressing you should add; we didn't end up using it all but it was close. Then we garnished the tops of our serving with chopped peanuts and chopped basil.



Yield: 6 servings (8 cups)

Nutrients per serving: (about 1 1/2 cups): Calories 450, Total Fat 16 g, Saturated Fat 2 g, Cholesterol 60 mg, Carbohydrate 45 g, Protein 31 g, Sodium 750 mg, Fiber 3 g

Cook's Tip: If desired, 2 garlic cloves, pressed (we finely chopped) and 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper can be substituted for the Asian Seasoning Mix.

Date Night - Steak with Shrooms and Shallots & Warm Dijon Potato Salad

I know it doesn’t look very exciting from first glance but if you look closely you will see something…..You will see that this was an evening where the table was set for 2 not 4. This was an evening with candle light and flowers. This was an evening with real placemats and napkins and not the regular Dora and Princess plastic mats. This was an evening with wine. This was an evening with great food and better company. This was “date night” and it was much deserved and much needed by both hubby and I.

Our Menu:
Marinated Steak
White Wine Mushrooms and Shallots
Warm Dijon Potato Salad

The Grocery List

Steak:

• 2 strip steaks (or really any steak will do because the marinade rocks)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1-1/2 teaspoons minced onion
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Mix all of the ingredients in a zip lock bag, toss in the steaks, seal the bag - don't forget to remove all of the air! Smoosh the steak around in the marinade and let it hang in the fridge until you are ready to get cooking.

White Wine Mushrooms and Shallots

• 3/4 lbs cremini mushrooms (if you aren't a fancy chick use plain old white mushrooms, I did)
• 3 Shallots, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 bunch of scallions aka green onion, green parts (white parts are used in the potato recipe)
  

Warm Dijon Potato Salad (this one is adapted from Rachel Ray "Just in Time!"...it's so delicious!!)

• 1 pound of baby red skin potatoes, cut in half
• 4 tbsp EVOO (extra virgin Olive Oil)
• 4 slices of thick cut bacon, chopped (or 6 or 8 if you LOVE bacon and really - who doesn't LOVE bacon?)
• 1 bunch of scallions, white parts
  
• 3 tbsp white wine vinegar (or rice vinegar)
• 6 tbsp dijon mustard
• handful of flat leaf parsley (also known as italian parsley)

Cooking It Up:

Start by cooking the potatoes in boiling water until tender (about 12-15 minutes).

Take the steaks out of the fridge, they are best if cooked at room temperature - nothing worse than tough chewy steak (I promise this won't be!)

Preheat your grill to high heat, this can be your outdoor BBQ or your indoor counter top grill.

While the potatoes are cooking, heat a skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add 2 tbsps of EVOO, add the bacon. Cook until almost crisp, add the white part of the scallions, lower the heat and cook for 7 minutes until very tender. Add the vinegar (stand back!) to deglaze the pan. Whisk in the Dijon. Add the potatoes and leave on low to hang out and absorb the flavors.

After you add the scallions in the above step, place the steaks on the grill. Hubby likes his cooked for 7-8 minutes to give him a medium-rare steak, i like mine cooked for 10-12 minutes to give me a well done steak. Let the steak sit for a solid 5 minutes before you slice it into strips.

While the steaks cook, heat the remaining 2 tbsp of EVOO in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the muchrooms and shallots and cook for 7 minutes, add the wine and let it reduce for 1 or 2 minutes. Add the butter and turn off the heat. Scatter green part of the scallions over the top. (to be honest I don't add the butter because I'm trying to be a little bit health conscious and I really don't miss it when I leave it out but it does make the sauce a bit smoother)

Slice the Steak against the grain, top with the White Wine Mushrooms and Shallots. Serve the Warm Dijon Potato Salad alongside.

Enjoy!