Couldn't Decide: Smother & Stuffed

I bought some butterfly pork chops at the store a few weeks ago & decided I was going to smother them in a Thyme Sauce. I found a recipe on Cooking Light (of course) but then stumbled upon a few blogs who had stuffed their chops too.

So I asked the hubs, do you want them smothered or stuffed? He said "Well both of course!"

My intention was to stuff them with fontina cheese, but I used it all, I however, did have cream cheese. Since my smothering recipe called for thyme, I just mixed the cream cheese with the thyme & stuffed the pork chop. I seasoned the chop with some S&P as well.While looking for the fontina cheese, the proscuitto jumped right into my hands. What better way to use proscuitto than to wrap around the stuffed pork chop??


After browning the pork chops I placed them in the oven at 325 for about 20-30 mins. Basically until they were no longer pink.

Then I started on the smothering recipe basically from cooking light with a few changes, so I'll just retype it.
Ingredients
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium beef broth, divided
2 tablespoons fat-free milk
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup coarsely chopped onion

Mix 1/4 cup of broth with the milk, flour & mustard. Set aside. In a pan sprayed with Olive Oil, saute the onions, when they are golden brown, add remainder of the beef broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat & slowly stir in the flour mixture. Continue to stir & simmer until thickened. Season with S&P for taste.


I served this with some long grain rice by Uncle Ben & steamed broccoli.
Overall results, it was ok. I think the chops could have used more seasonings & so could the smother. Probably garlic would have been nice. Also, I think stuffing with fontina or harvati would have been better. I was trying to go for a gooey goodness & the cream cheese didn't cut it.
But, it did take some nice photos!

My Hand at Thai

I have been meaning to make Pad Thai for quite some time. It sounds so intimidating, but many people have said its really not. I found a very simple recipe on Cooking Light for Pad Thai Shrimp.


Pad Thai Shrimp
Cooking Light 2005
Ingredients
8 ounces uncooked spaghetti
1/4 cup low-sodium teriyaki sauce
2 tablespoons hot water
3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1/4 teaspoon Sriracha (hot chile sauce, such as Huy Fong)
2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
1 pound peeled and deveined large shrimp
4 cups snow peas
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/3 cup chopped dry-roasted peanuts
5 lime wedges


Preparation
Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain and set aside.
Combine teriyaki sauce, hot water, peanut butter, and Sriracha, stirring with a whisk.

Heat the sesame oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add minced garlic, and sauté 1 minute. Add shrimp; sauté for 2 minutes or until shrimp are almost done. Add teriyaki sauce mixture, and cook for 2 minutes or until sauce thickens. Add pasta and snow peas; cook for 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring well. Sprinkle with cilantro and peanuts. Serve with lime wedges.

** My Notes** I used rice noodles to make it more like Pad Thai. If you want it hotter, use more of the Sriracha sauce. I was also out of cilantro so I omitted that ingredient. It was good, I haven't had restaurant Pad Thai so I don't have much to compare it to.

Chicken Valdostana & Romano Orzo

I find so many great recipes from fellow foodie Ellyhttp://ellysaysopa.vox.com/.
One of the favorite recipes in our house is Chicken Saltimbocca. My husband loves some prosciutto. So when I came across her recipe for Chicken Valdostana I knew I had to make it! I also remembered awhile back I made her Pork Milanese with Pecorino Orzo. Since I didn't have pecorino, I used a mixtures of Romano & Parmesan cheese.


Chicken Breast Valdostana
Courtesy of Elly Says Opa
2 b/s chicken breast halves
2 thin slices prosicutto
flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
1/2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup chicken stock
2 thin slices fontina cheese
1/4 cup diced tomatoes, seasoned lightly with salt and pepper
2 tsp. grated romano

Preheat oven to 375.

Fit a piece of prosciutto over each chicken breast, so the slice of prosciutto is as close as possible to the size of the chicken breast. Using the back of a knife or the flat side of a mallet, pound the chicken lightly, just to get the prosciutto to adhere.

Dredge the chicken pieces in the seasoned flour.

Heat a skillet over moderate heat and add the butter and olive oil. When the butter is foaming, add the chicken, prosciutto side down.

Cook chicken for about 2 minutes before flipping and browning on other side for an additional 2-3 minutes. Remove chicken.

To the pan, add the chicken stock and wine. Cook over medium high heat until reduced by half.

Place the chicken back in the skillet and top each breast with 1 slice of fontina, 2 Tbsp. of diced tomatoes and 1 tsp. grated cheese.

Put the skillet in the oven and cook until chicken is done, about 15 minutes.


Pecorino Orzo
8 oz. orzo
2 Tbsp butter
1 clove garlic, minced
2.5 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup pecorino or parmesan cheese

Heat butter until melted. Add garlic and saute until fragrant.

Stir in orzo and coat in the butter, toasting slightly, for a couple of minutes.

Stir in chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until done, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Off the heat, stir in the cheese.


Sorry for the dark pictures, it was pretty late by the time we ate so I didn't have any natural sunlight to brighten up the room.
This was absolutely delicious. I added some fresh, flash-fried sage to it as well for a little extra flavor. Plus this is so easy & quick to make, you can easily do this in under 30 minutes.

So good, but such a mess!

Seriously, why is the stuff that tastes delicious such a pain in the a$$ to make? Last night was quite the experience. I'll insert my problems in a red text so you know all the "issues" with last night's dinner.
It was rather delicious to say the least. You are wondering, what did she make? It was called Baked Rigatoni with Spinach-sounds easy right? Looks delicious right?

I believe I snagged this from Food & Wine
RECIPE INGREDIENTS
1 pound rigatoni
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 10-ounce package frozen spinach, thawed
2 cups (about 1 pound) ricotta cheese
5 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
6 ounces fontina cheese, grated (about 1 1/2 cups)
RECIPE METHOD
Heat the oven to 450 degrees F. Oil a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the rigatoni until almost done, about 12 minutes.
Drain. Put the pasta in the prepared baking dish and toss with 1 tablespoon of the oil.

Meanwhile, squeeze as much of the water as possible from the spinach. (Seriously, frozen spinach is the worst. trying to squeeze out water, while the green juice squirts over your shirt & counter, you lose half the spinach trying to shake out the excess water-why can' I use fresh spinach?)

Put the spinach in a food processor and puree with the ricotta, 3 tablespoons of the Parmesan, the nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Stir in half the fontina. (Oh fontina cheese, no one told me you were so soft. Grating fontina cheese is not an easy task, especially when it practically melts in the grater.)

Stir the spinach mixture into the pasta. (Ha! In a 13x9 pan??? I don't think so, not even in my largest Pyrex mixing bowl was I able to mix without pasta flying out of the dish)

Top with the remaining fontina and Parmesan. (At this point I was really annoyed with the fontina cheese, so I cut up some chunks & thought, well maybe I could just throw them in the food processor to chop it up. Not so much the case & in the process of doing this, I managed to break off a plastic piece of the food processor lid.)

Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons oil over the top. Bake the pasta until the top is golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
**My notes** My husband doesn't believe a meal is complete without some sort of meat in it. Knowing this I sauteed 2 chicken breasts in a greek vinaigrette. I then added them to the spinach mixture & food processed all those ingredients together. Also, I had to add cream. It was too hard to combine the mixture & the noodles the mixture wasn't even sticking to the noodles so I eyed it & added some cream. I don't know if this was because I added the chicken or what.
And I thought I would go ahead & post this picture:
This is what happens when I try to cook & make a mess, hence why I always save a copy of a recipe to my computer.

Panera Three Cheese Bread Follow Up

Here is the recipe to the post below, Three Cheese Bread.

Preferment/Starter
1 cup warm water
2 tsp fresh yeast or 1 tsp active dry yeast
1 cup All purpose flour

Dough
3/4 cup warm water
3 Tbsp honey
4 tsp fresh yeast or 2 tsp active dry yeast
1/4 cup + 1 tsp butter or vegetable shortening
4 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp salt
1/2 cup Romano cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup asiago cheese, cut into 1/2 cubes

For the starter:
combine water & yeast in a medium bowl. Stir to dissolve the yeast fully. Add the flour to the bowl & stir until the ingredients are fully incorporated. Cover with a cloth & ferment the starter at room temperature for 30 mins.

For the Dough:
combine water, honey & yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir to dissolve yeast fully. Add the butter, flour, salt, cheese & fermented starter. Mix on low speed until the dough is fully developed. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl
Divide the dough into 2 pieces. Set aside any remaining dough & frees for future use. Roll each piece of dough into a smooth ball. Place the dough on the counter & cover with a warm cloth to rest at room temp for about 30 mins. Start to preheat oven to 400F.
Form the bread into loaves, cover again & proof for about 30 mins.
Score the loaves with a knife, spray with water & bake for about 30 mins or until the crusts are a deep golden brown.
Remove the bread from the oven & place on a cooling rack for about 30 mins.

Fake Out Take Out

My husband loves potstickers, anytime we go anywhere that has them, he orders them. Our favorite place for happy hour has their pot stickers 1/2 price, and believe me, he gets very excited when we have them.
One of the best things I have learned from the Food Blog Circle & What's Cooking message board is that you really can make anything if you try. So many things I have been too intimidated to make. I, like many others, will find a recipe & say, oh that looks too hard, or I can't find those ingredients. Then I come across other women, like me, who have been successful at making this "difficult" items. So Cara & your Indian Food, Elly & The Greek Food, & this week, Shawnda & her pot stickers. Thanks for inspiring me & making me a better cook!

Potstickers with Orange Sesame Dipping Sauce
http://www.jasonandshawnda.com/foodiebride/?p=254
1/2 lb ground pork
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/3 cup chives
2/3 cup green onions
1 cup Napa cabbage, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Wonton wrappers (about 30)
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 recipe Orange Sesame dipping sauce, for serving (follows)

Cook the ground pork over medium heat until done*. Add the remaining ingredients (through garlic) and cook until the greens are wilted nicely. Let mixture cool just a bit and add it to the bowl of a food processor. Process the filling until it reaches the desired consistency.

Lay a wrapper on a flat, dry surface put a Tbsp of mixture in in the middle. Using your fingers or a pastry brush (save the dirty-dish sink space - use your fingers), wet the wonton wrapper surrounding the filling and fold the dumpling, pressing the seams together: bring two opposite corners to the center, bring the remaining corners to the center one at a time and press tightly.

Add oil to a skillet (a clean skillet) and add dumplings. Add 1/3 cup water to the pan and cover tightly. Remove from heat when the dumplings are golden brown on one side (about 4 minutes).

* I fear raw pork so I pre-cooked the filling. You can prepare the potstickers “raw” just be sure to adjust the cooking time.

Orange Sesame dipping sauce (measurements are approximate) 1 tsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp lite soy sauce
2 Tbsp chives
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp orange juice

Whisk together all ingredients, adjust seasoning to taste.

Now for my notes: I cooked the pork before too, I was not keen on it being raw, plus it was easier to process. This made a ton of potstickers & I still had filling leftover to make some more, I was just too tired. I added a little hot chile sauce to the dipping sauce for some extra spice!

This was perfect for my husband & I on a Saturday night. We had to both work later in the evening, so going out was really not an option.

Baked Potato & Broccoli Cheese Soup

First I love baked potatoes & baked potato soup. I also love my baked potatoes topped with cheese & chopped broccoli, so when I stumbled on this recipe I thought-what a wonderful idea!!!
From Southern Living
Ingredients
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 (14 1/4-ounce) cans low-sodium fat-free chicken broth, divided
3 cups peeled, cubed potato (about 1 1/4 pounds)
2 cups broccoli florets, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 1/4 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
1 (8-ounce) block 2% reduced-fat sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
7 teaspoons shredded 2% reduced-fat sharp Cheddar cheese
7 teaspoons fully cooked bacon pieces
7 teaspoons chopped green onions

Preparation
Whisk together flour and 1/3 cup chicken broth until smooth.
Combine remaining chicken broth and next 3 ingredients in a Dutch oven. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Gradually stir in flour mixture. Cook, stirring often, 5 minutes.

Stir in milk and 8 ounces shredded cheese. Cook mixture over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until cheese melts. Top each serving of soup with 1 teaspoon cheese, 1 teaspoon bacon pieces, and 1 teaspoon chopped green onions.

Note: We recommend freshly shredded cheese (versus the preshredded variety) for additional creaminess and even melting.

**my notes** I forgot about the green onions until right now. I also decided to use ham over bacon, mostly b/c I didn't have bacon.

It was very good, especially for it being 2% across the board. When we have baked potato soup its very rich & heavy. This was a nice lighter version.

Oh fall, how i love thee

I love Fall! Well not really, but I like the first few weeks of fall, when I am tired with the hot Summer days & welcome the coolness & dark mornings. I mostly love fall because that means I can bake again & make soups, stews & casseroles that I have put on the back burner because it was too hot.

This Saturday I decided to try my hand at bread bowls. For Christmas, my husband bought me the "Panera Cookbook" I hadn't made a thing from it, but I decided to take a look & see if I could recreate some of their delicious breads.
I chose three cheese bread & figured I could shape it into bowls. Their process was different from the way I normally make homemade bread. They use a preferment method where you mix some of the yeast, water & flour together & let is rise, then you mix more yeast, water & flour + ingredients again and let it rise. I had some issues with the dough rising the second time. It basically didn't. I don't know if i kneaded it too much or if it was b/c they house was cold. But it didn't rise :-( Oh well, I baked it anyway.

I'll have to post the recipe later, as I left the book at home. But it had Romano, asiago & Parmesan cheese in it.

My husband enjoyed it, I thought it was "doughy" but then again, I think all bread stuffed with cheese turns out "doughy"

It didn't quite work as a bread bowl. So I just tore it apart & we ate it dipped in the Baked Potato & Broccoli Cheese soup (post to come on that one)

I Cheated

Yes sometimes I make things that come from a pre-made mix! I know, I know, shocking right?? Just kidding.

We have had this mix from our wine & cucina club, Viansa, for awhile. Seemed like a nice easy thing to make on an early Saturday morning. All you added was milk & butter.

Sorry for the not-so-good pictures. This is was 7am on a weekend does to me.

It was pretty good. Cranberry Scone Mix with candied orange peels & walnuts.

I love tomatoes!

And its a good thing my husband does too because our garden has produced so many tomatoes this summer I almost don't know what to do with them. Notice I said *almost*
We had about 4lbs of tomatoes that needed to be used ASAP & of course the giant basil plant had to be cut back again, so what to make with these two ingredients on a cool day? Well Roasted Tomato Basil Soup of course!!!
I read through quite a few recipes on Tomato Basil Soup, some had fresh tomatoes, some had canned tomatoes, some had a mixture of both. So I really just made this up but gathered info from foodnetwork & CookingLight.

Roasted Tomato & Basil Soup

about 4lbs of tomatoes, any type

olive oil

salt & pepper (I used freshly ground of both)

6 garlic cloves, peeled

1/2 white onion, finely chopped

2 Tbsp butter

4 cups of chicken broth

1/2 cup of tomato juice
4 cups basil(or more)

Heat an oven to 400F. Cut tomatoes in half & toss with olive oil, salt & pepper. Place tomato mixture on a baking sheet & roast for approximately 45 minutes.

In a large stockpot, saute onion & garlic in a little olive oil. Add butter when onions start to turn brown. Then add all the chicken broth, tomato juice, basil & roasted tomatoes.

Bring to boil, reduce heat & simmer for about 40 minutes.

Place soup in a blender, I had to do this in batches b/c there is a lot of soup & it wont all fit in the blender. Blend well, stir all batches together. Either serve hot, store in the fridge or freeze a portion of it.

I had some of the skins in the soup & maybe next time I will try to remove those. Some of the recipes I read said keep them on, some said strain all mixture through a sieve.

Anyway, I served the soup with ham & mozzarella cheese paninis. I love my grill pan!

You can see in the windowsill that I still have more tomatoes!

Cashew Broccoli & Tofu-No Chicken

I think I am just scared to cook with Tofu. Someday I will do it, I just couldn't bring myself to it last night.
But this recipe for Cashew Broccoli & Tofu looked great, I just used chicken in place of the tofu.
I left the recipe at home so here it is, based upon memory

Ingredients
1 cup vegetable broth I used chicken broth
1 1/2 Tbsp Sesame Oil
2 tsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 package tofu I used cut up chicken tenderloins
3 cups of broccoli
2 Tbsp fresh ginger
2 cups red pepper
cayenne pepper (optional)
Cashews (coarsely chopped)

Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken. Cook until the chicken is no longer pink.
In a separate container, mix 1/2 cup chicken broth, soy sauce & cornstarch, set aside.
When chicken is finished; add broccoli, red peppers, ginger & cayenne pepper. Cook for about 3-4 minutes.
Add remainder of the broth to pan, cover and simmer until broccoli is soft.
Add the cornstarch mixture, stirring until thickened.
Serve over brown rice & top with cashews.

I got this recipe from Cooking Light Super Fast Suppers Cookbook. Also, when I make my brown rice, I always cook it in chicken broth. It adds such a nice flavor to rice.

Forgetten Pie

I hate it when this happens! I also said I would make dessert for the family BBQ on Sunday. I had the cooler packed, the car loaded up, DH & I were off!
We get to my parents house & start unloading, when I exclaim "M! Where is the pie??" As M says " um, its not in the cooler? why isn't it in there?" Yeah, it was sitting on the counter at my house.

Luckily, my SIL made brownies so we had a back-up dessert and my hubby's cousin lives in the area, so she went by the house to put the pie back in the freezer.



We finally had a piece last night and it was delicious! I so love Cooking Light! This pie was on the front of the August 2007 issue. Mine looks a bit different, but tasted wonderful! Light & fluffy, but still rich with peanut butter taste.



Frozen Peanut Butter Pie

Ingredients
1 2/3 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs (about 8 1/2 cookie sheets)
7 tablespoons sugar, divided
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
Cooking spray
1 1/4 cups fat-free milk
2/3 cup reduced-fat crunchy peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup (4 ounces) fat-free cream cheese, softened
1 (8-ounce) container frozen fat-free whipped topping, thawed
3 tablespoons finely chopped salted, dry-roasted peanuts
1/4 cup shaved milk chocolate (about 1 ounce)

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
Combine crumbs, 3 tablespoons sugar, and egg whites; toss with a fork until moist. Press into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate coated with cooking spray. Prick crust with a fork before baking. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Remove from oven; cool on a wire rack.

Combine milk and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook 2 minutes or until sugar dissolves, stirring constantly; transfer mixture to a bowl. Add peanut butter and vanilla, stirring with a whisk until combined. Cover and chill 30 minutes.

Place cream cheese in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add milk mixture, beating on low speed until combined. Fold in whipped topping; pour mixture into prepared piecrust. Freeze, uncovered, 8 hours or overnight or until hard. Sprinkle with peanuts and shaved chocolate. Transfer pie to refrigerator 30 minutes before slicing.

Yield
10 servings (serving size: 1 wedge)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 259(30% from fat); FAT 8.7g (sat 1.9g,mono 3.8g,poly 2g); PROTEIN 9.4g; CHOLESTEROL 2mg; CALCIUM 136mg; SODIUM 249mg; FIBER 1.6g; IRON 0.6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 35.5

**My Notes: I was short on time so I used a pre-made oreo pie crust. I also used all natural peanut butter**

No Pics-but good stuff!

I completely forgot to take pictures of some things I made this weekend. In the midst of painting & finishing the guest bedroom/office & the holiday weekend, I think the camera was MIA.
Anyway, for our family BBQ on Sunday, I made Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole.

Cooking Light "Re-Made" Hash Brown Casserole http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1654693
Ingredients
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (32-ounce) package frozen Southern-style hash brown potatoes, diced
2 tablespoons butter, melted and divided
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed reduced-fat, reduced-sodium cream of chicken soup, undiluted (such as Campbell's Healthy Request)
8 ounces light processed cheese, cubed (such as Velveeta Light)
1 (8-ounce) carton light sour cream (such as Daisy)
Cooking spray
2 cups cornflakes, coarsely crushed


Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
Combine first 4 ingredients and 1 tablespoon butter in a large bowl; toss well.

Combine soup and cheese in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at HIGH 6 minutes or until cheese melts, stirring every 2 minutes. Stir in sour cream. Pour cheese mixture over potato mixture, and stir well. Spread mixture evenly in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Combine cornflakes and remaining 1 tablespoon butter; sprinkle evenly over top of potato mixture. Bake at 350° for 1 hour.

Yield
12 servings (serving size: about 1/2 cup)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 181(30% from fat); FAT 6g (sat 3.8g,mono 0.9g,poly 0.3g); PROTEIN 7.1g; CHOLESTEROL 21mg; CALCIUM 11mg; SODIUM 494mg; FIBER 1.5g; IRON 1.7mg; CARBOHYDRATE 25.5g

**This was very good, tasted like the real thing, but with much less fat & calories. DH didn't like the onions so next time I make it, I will omit 3/4's of them**

On Monday evening, some girlfriends & I decided we need to have a shin-dig for JT on HBO. He was amazing! Per usual, we made too much food for 4 girls.

I made a goat cheese guacamole per the request of my friend Kari. She had this at a Cleveland restaurant & wanted me to try to make it. I had the ingredients, just no recipe, so I winged it.
4 avocados
1 poblano chile
2 tomatoes
garlic clove (1 or 2)
S&P
At least 4 oz of goat cheese, I used 5.
Cilantro

Roast the poblano chile on 425 for about 25 minutes. Dice poblano chile. Core & pit avocados, mush with poblano chile. Add garlic & goat cheese. Mush together more. Add cilantro & tomatoes, stir. Quick taste & see what needs to be added. I added some S&P until it tasted just right.
This was very good, nice & creamy texture to the guacamole!

Garden Fresh

Here are some goodies from our garden. We did a mass harvesting last week because things had gotten a little out of control. I am in the process of drying some of the herbs (oregano & basil right now)

We have lots of yummy peppers & tons of different tomatoes. Delicious!

I can not tell you how great it is to have my own garden. Whenever I go grocery shopping I always forget the herbs. I don't know why, I skim over recipes & for whatever reason don't buy the herbs. Plus they are expensive! So I have grown accustomed to walking out the back door to the garden & snipping some herbs.

We have oregano, parsley, dill, basil, sage, thyme, marjoram, mint & chives. We did have cilantro, but for some reason it didn't make it.

Blood Orange Balsamic

After looking through the pantry I noticed I have about a gazillion gourmet food items from Viansa (http://www.viansa.com)
I had the Orange Balsamic Vinegar sitting on the counter & decided I would marinate some chicken breasts in it.
Here is an excerpt from Viansa "Our Blood Orange Balsamic Vinegar is blend of orange juice with traditional Balsamic Vinegar to create a unusual and unusually delicious vinegar."

I let the chicken marinate for about 45 minutes, then put them on the grill.

I had some zucchini in the fridge so I sliced those up, tossed them in some olive oil and whatever fresh herbs we had (I think I used rosemary and parsley.) I put them in a foil packet & placed on the grill as well. When they were almost done, I topped them with some fresh Parmesan cheese.


We had some Olive Oil & Garlic Cous Cous in the pantry as well. I love cous cous, it take about 5 minutes to make & sounds so fancy!


This was a great meal, I had intended to make some scallop dish, but I was weary of the scallops so I just threw this together. Healthy & delish!