Greek Grilled Chicken with Spinach Pesto and "whatever's-in-the-fridgesuccotash"

So, I just drove across NY state. Was back in my hometown for the weekend for a friend's birthday. It was a wine tour so clearly it was awesome! However it is still a bit of a long drive and my motivation for cooking was pretty low by the time I got home with a rumbly tummy. *BUT* I did have to cook off some chicken for home made pizza this week so into the kitchen I went. The chicken is going on whole wheat pizza dough with the spinach pesto from the title, along with goat cheese and red inions. Probably a little drizzle of lemon juice too, just for the fresh zip.

For the chicken I just seasoned a package of chicken tenders I got the other day with a greek garlic seasoning blend from a friends all natural herbal shop. (www.valleyoffieldherbals.com if you want to experience the deliciousness as well!) Then I also prepped the spinach pesto which I did a post on awhile back. Check it out here.

By now things were smelling good and I was hungry. But I didn't want to go through the trouble of making a whole pizza just for me. Ok I really just didn't wanna go through the trouble, I am beat from all the travel! I had chicken, and I had a sauce, I really just needed some kind of veggie. Now, this might not seem like such an issue normally but the hubby and I have been traveling almost more than we have been home because of work. So having a lot of groceries on hand really hasn't been an option lately.

After a quick glance around my sparsely stocked fridge I emerged with a small zucchini, carrots, and a red onion. That works! It became my "whatever-is-in-the-fridge succotash. I shredded up the carrot, julienned the zucchini, and sliced up the onion and simply sautéed it with salt and pepper while the chicken cooked. Toss it on a plate with the pesto and some feta cheese and voila a little one person dinner is made!

It was tasty. And garlic-y. Yes, I added garlic to the pesto AND the veggies, because I love garlic. A LOT. Also, my husband doesn't mind garlic breath. That kind of rocks! Hope you enjoyed hearing about my random and lazy dinner! Just goes to show that healthy and fresh meals don't have to be hard. Happy eating friends!

Onion dip (soup) mix

Onion soup mix. Its like a party staple because, let's be honest, who actually makes soup with it? But add it to sour cream and mayo and bust out the potato chips and everyone goes wild! Well, I know I do... mmm onion dip.

Anyway, in the theme of making classic seasoning mixes sans all the preservatives and additives. Not to mention saving on all that packaging, and saving money! I would like to note that normally I would make this recipe with some kind of bullion, but I didn't for two reasons. 1) I couldn't find the organic natural veggie bullion I like at the store (just found the paste kind and that wouldn't work). 2) I liked the idea of trying to duplicate a "soupy" flavor just using spices and seasonings. I wanted to use veggie bullion so this recipe would be vegetarian friendly, but you can totally sub in a brand of beef bullion that you like for something more like the stuff from the packet!

Alright here are the ingredients:

2/3 cup chopped dehydrated onion

1/3 cup granulated bullion

      (in this case I used a mixture of cumin, curry powder, chicken seasoning blend, garlic salt, pepper, 

        parsley, and a dash of dill adding up to about a 1/3 of a cup)

4 tsp onion powder

1/4 cup crushed celery seed

Toss them all in a bowl:

Then mix it all up!

That was easy! If you used the regular bullion you CAN use this to make soup if you want 5 tbsp equals about one of those little packets.

Now, if you want to make dip here we go: Mix together one 16oz container sour cream,

About 1/3 cup mayo

I just use a big ole spoonful:

And the 5 tbsp of mix:

Let it sit in the fridge for a little while before serving with some kind of awesome potato chips! I like cape cod original chips, they are AWESOME. I actually got to go to their factory and do the little tour on my honeymoon. They have some really cool flavors in their gift shop!

Alright friends, enjoy the dip (or soup, hehe) and happy eating!

No preservatives ranch dressing mix!

I LOVE Ranch dressing. I really do. I know it's not the healthiest dressing in the world... but I don't care. I do care about what is used to MAKE  the dressing though so of course I decided I wanted to figure out how to make it myself. As I usually do I turned to the internet and looked around for some recipes to try, and subsequently change to fit my tastes.

This dressing mix can be used just like the packet stuff, to season dips, and make salad dressing! All the yum, none of the...."what's THAT word...?" Now to make your seasoning mix, start with the ingredients below:

Dried Parsely
Dried Dill Weed
Granulated Garlic
Granulated Onion
Ground Pepper
Dried Chives
**And there is a special ingredient!!! I'll talk about that when we get to adding it.**

Find a storage container that you like, and are willing to dedicate to the task of housing your ranch dressing mix, because chances are you are going to want to have this blend on hand ALL the time!! Start by measuring in two (scant) tbsp of the parsley. I keep it to scant tablespoons because I like a little less parsley flavor going on in my dressing.

Next up is the granulated garlic and onion. I use a slightly heaping tsp of each of these, because I LOVE garlic and onion!

And now a 1/2 tsp each of the dried chives and ground black pepper. (You may have noticed the change in the role of the measuring spoon... I somehow managed to forget the picture of the chives and black pepper and had to re-take it. My pretty shiny measuring spoon was being washed by hubby at the time. So plastic measuring spoon from college took it's place.)

And now..... for my special ingredient!! Fox point seasoning from Penzeys Spices. This stuff is delicious! The container says to use it on baked chicken, vegetables, eggs, or fish. And you can use this stuff to make vegetable dip too! It smells great, very savory and vegetable-y. Penzeys is a pretty fancy spice place from what I hear (I have not been to one) and they don't put anything odd into their seasonings. I like the depth of flavor this adds to the ranch dressing but it's not a necessity. I just added a 1/2 tsp into the mix.

Here is the pile of spices and seasonings....

And then you just shake it up!!

Awesome! Now you have a little container of ranch dressing mix full of things you can pronounce! Now to use it. To make ranch dressing you can use mayonnaise and milk, or plain yogurt and milk.

For the mayo version I use 2/3 of a cup of mayo, 1/3 cup of milk, and 1 tbsp of the seasoning. This is the ratio I use for salad dressing. If I want something a little thicker for dipping veggies I up the mayo to 3/4 cup, and decrease the milk to 1/4 cup.

To use yogurt I do the exact same ratio's with plain greek yogurt. I don't really know how regular plain yogurt would work I almost never use it. But feel free to give it a shot!

You can use this seasoning mix to flavor a cream cheese dip, and one of my favorite party dips; CHICKEN WING DIP; uses ranch dressing in it. I can't wait to try making it with my home made ranch dressing! Yum. Happy dipping and dressing folks!

Mug Brownie and Fresh Whipped Cream

Single serving, microwave cooking, warm, chocolatey perfection. What is better than that!? Not a lot friends, not a lot. I am sure you all know about mug cake by now as it has been sweeping the internet blogosphere for over a year. I now have my own interpretation and it is a brownie.

I am not the hugest fan of cake per-se so I had been searching for a long time for a mug brownie recipe.  I found a few decent versions I liked, and then began futzing with it. And I think I have created the perfect mug brownie. To start with, the ingredients:

This is a pretty simple recipe so here is what you need:

        1 generous tbsp butter
        2 1/2 tbsp sugar (I used sugar in the raw)
        2 tbsp cocoa powder
        4tbsp flour (I use whole wheat white from King Arthur)
        2-3 tbsp water (however much you need to make it the consistency of thick pancake batter)
        dash of salt if desired

Grab your favorite microwavable mug, and melt the butter right in it. *No more that 30 seconds in the microwave for the butter!
Into the butter, mix in the sugar and cocoa powder with a fork
Add the flour, salt, and water and mix till just combined
Now microwave for 1 min

Thats it. 5 minutes till warm brownie heaven. What on earth could make that better? Why fresh whipped cream of course. Oh yes.

Whipped cream is so easy to make I don't think I would ever buy the canned stuff! (Do you call that dispenser thing a can? Perhaps a tube? *Shrug*) I happen to have a gadget that makes whipped cream making even easier. Its the "quick chef pro" from Tupperware! If you don't know what it is its an electricity free food processor that is pretty neat. I got it when I became a tupperware rep and its one of the coolest products they carry. It has a little whipping blade thingie that is perfect for making whipped cream, and it takes less that 5 min to whip up the cream and it is all contained in the bowl of the processor! Its pretty cool. You can make whipped cream with a bowl and a hand mixer as well.

When I make whipped cream I never measure... sorry! But it works pretty much no matter what you do so here is the method. You really only need two things to make whipped cream:
          Heavy whipping cream
          Confectioners sugar
          Most people also like to add vanilla. You can also add peppermint extract, orange extract, cocoa
          powder, etc. I used some vanilla cinnamon seasoning mix I had on hand. Yum!)

You should always chill the bowl you are using to whip the cream, and ideally the mixing implement as well. So I tossed the bowl of my quick chef and the little whipping blade into the freezer before I started getting the stuff for my mug brownie together. If using a regular bowl and mixer into the freezer with the whisk thingies (technical term) into the freezer.

When I am ready to make the whipped cream I take out the chilled bowl and mixing blade and poured in the cream. I really don't know how much I used. Not a lot. probably just enough to cover the bottom of the bowl about a 1/4 of an inch. Then I sprinkled in probably about 1 tsp of confectioners sugar and a dash of the vanilla cinnamon seasoning (or a small splash of vanilla extract etc).

All that's left to do is start whipping! For me in my quick chef it takes maybe 3 minutes. I just put the lid on and turned the handle at a steady (not breakneck) speed until I can really feel the resistance of the cream. I checked on it twice before it had the texture I wanted. You are looking for "stiff peaks" if using a hand mixer. If you happen to have a quick chef it should look like this:

And there you have it. In relatively no time you have delicious warm chocolaty dessert, topped with fresh whipped cream! That is so easy. It is also really yummy. Dangerously yummy actually. Dangerous because of it's easiness as well, why am I not just making this every day! Oi! Don't worry though, I got a picture of the finished product for you! See:

.... Well I said finished didn't I? Heh. This was such a quick and easy dessert, and with the raw sugar, and whole wheat flour it is healthier than a lot of other brownies! Hope you enjoy and happy eating!

PS: Hey folks I just wanted to let you know that I am trying out a new diet, well more like a new food lifestyle and I am blogging about it! The idea is called intermittent fasting, and the plan came from the book The Fast Diet. Statistics promise great results both in weight but in general health and well being! It will be an interesting adventure and you can follow along with my experience at my new blog Simply Intermittent Fasting. Hope you will check it out!

No preservatives taco seasoning

Winter is really holding on here in Upstate NY, so I figured I would wade my way back into blog land by sharing some all season recipes. I love the simplicity and ease of seasoning mixes, it is amazing how fast a meal can come together when you just have to brown some meat, mix in some seasonings and simmer! What I don't love is ingredients I can't read, and really know I don't want to ingest. So I have been experimenting with my very own seasoning mixes! It took a little trial and error (and everyone's tastes are different) but this taco seasoning is an awesome, and chemical free substitution for those little packets!

So Here is what you will need:

Cumin, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Paprika, Cayenne Pepper, Chili Powder, Black Pepper, Sea Salt, Measuring Spoons, Bowl, and a container to store your mix!


Measure out your seasonings, you can definitely alter the proportions to your tastes, but this is what I use for a seasoning blend with just a slight kick.

One whole tbsp of:
Cumin
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Paprika

One whole tsp of:
Chili Powder

One scant tsp of:
Black Pepper
Salt

Anywhere from 1/2 to 1 tsp of:
Cayenne Pepper (Cayenne is really strong! So play with how much you put in. If you are a wimp like me start with the 1/2 tsp, if you like it hot hot hot, go for a whole tsp!)


Stir your mix up,

And then put it in your container of choice. I love Simply Organic seasonings because they come in really nice glass jars and I love reusing them! Usually I just refill the jars with bulk seasonings from a coop, but sometimes I don't need more of something and can use the jar for seasoning mixes!

And here you have taco seasoning mix you can feel good about!

Now, will this mix give you that bright red/orange color that the packets do? No. Mostly because there is no artificial coloring in this one, clearly a good thing! If your taco meat is not a pleasing enough color for you, sprinkle in a little more paprika, it adds a lot of color without altering the flavor too much. Another thing this seasoning doesn't do that the packet does is thicken on it's own. Now that may not be important to you, but if it is we can make that happen easily. Once your meat is cooked through sprinkle in a few tbsp of flour and stir it into the meat and let it cook for a minute or two. Then add water like you would with the packet mix, stir, and simmer until it is a good thickness.

I usually make this in a double or triple batch and store it in my glass jar with the rest of my spices, because we have taco's fairly regularly in my house. I usually use ground turkey breast for my taco meat, and add a small palmful of the seasoning. I also toss in a dash of my favorite cajun seasoning to kick up the heat if we are in the mood for spicy that day.

Enjoy this seasoning mix and remember it is super versatile, try adding it to beans, rice, and dips for an extra kick. As always happy eating!

Marriage, Moving, and Winter Weather

Well hey there. Its been a long time since my last post. Its been TOO long since my last post. But a lot has been going on! Since my last post I have gotten married to a wonderful man, in less than wonderful weather. We were supposed to get married outside in a gazebo garden among the fall leaves and fresh air. It decided to rain ice-cold droplets steadily almost all day so we were married in front of the french doors looking out onto the garden. It was still wonderful, and no one froze, so I suppose that is good! We had close friends providing the entertainment and all our family and friends had a blast. Then we went on an awesome week long honeymoon. We started in southern MASS at the King Richards Renaissance Festival, then spent 5 days on Cape Cod, and then traveled to Maryland for the Maryland Renaissance Festival. Yes we are dorks, and no we don't care, it was a BLAST.

Then I quit the job I hated. It wasn't a bad decision my husband and I decided we were going to move across the state, back to his hometown and work for a small company we really like. It involved working in the mall at christmas time, which was more than a little crazy!

Then came the big move! We loaded up our bosses cargo van with all our things, our whole life squished, flipped over, and perilously perched inside that van. We moved into our new place, and I began trying to figure out how to function in a small kitchen with only half the cupboard space of my last one. Yikes!

We are now settled in, and past the craziness of March (our company makes and sells celtic and irish gear... so March was busy. REALLY busy. Now I am actually thinking about my cooking again, and sharing my cooking. Coming up very soon is my preservative free taco seasoning! I hope for comments and feedback as I get back into my cooking and writing! As always, happy eating!