Chicken Mushroom Stroganoff

1 lb chicken tenders, cut in half or thirds
1 package of McCormick’s beef stroganoff seasoning
1 cup of water
1 cup sour cream
2 large fresh white mushrooms, chopped
¼ cup of dried mushrooms
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt
Freshly cracked pepper
Freshly minced parsley, for garnish
EVOO

In a medium pan, heat EVOO over med-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Cook chicken for about 7 minutes, until all sides are browned. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.

In the same pan, add fresh white mushrooms and garlic. Sauté until mushrooms are soft. Mix in water, dried mushrooms and stroganoff seasoning, bring to a boil. Turn heat to low, cover and for about 15-20 minutes. If the sauce is too thick, whisk in more water.

Add mixture to blender and puree until smooth. Add mixture back to pan with chicken and add sour cream. Simmer on low for about 10 minutes.

Serve over egg noodles or nice. Sprinkle with fresh parsley.

Fresh Juice

I wanted to use up some fresh fruits and veggies before we went out of town, so I decided to put them through the juicer and came up with this yummy concoction.

1 pear, cored
2 ½ apples, cored
1 ½ handfuls of baby carrots
2 small Meyer lemons, peeled
1 bunch of mint

Put everything through the juicer and enjoy!

Holiday Bark

9 oz white chocolate chips
9 oz milk chocolate chips
3 oz dried cranberry
½ pecans, chopped

In a double-boiler over hot water, melt white chocolate chips. Pour melted white chocolate onto a sheet pan lined with aluminum foil. Sprinkle pecans over chocolate and lightly press the nuts into the chocolate.

Melt the milk chocolate chips in the double-boiler. Drizzle the milk chocolate over the white chocolate and pecans. Sprinkle with cranberries and any extra pecans; lightly press into the chocolate.

Let cool in the fridge for 30 minutes or until chocolate is hard. Break into bite sized pieces.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

We're going to Chicago next week and I wanted to bring some home-made treats to celebrate the holidays with. The Rice Krispies and chunky peanut butter gives these balls a delicious crunch!

Broccoli Potato Soup

This week I’m cleaning out the fridge from our Christmas party last Saturday. We’ll be gone next week and I want to eat up all the food before it goes bad. This is what I made from the broccoli and sour cream I had.

Shrimp and Asparagus with Pesto Totillinis

This is a quick, easy and elegant meal.

Broccoli Salad

Pretty and Tasty

In the kitchen with my brother

Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Meatballs with Angel Hair Pasta

Grilled Chicken with Rice Pilaf and Asparagus

I've never tried nuts in a rice pilaf but it really makes the dish. It adds a tasty crunch and delicious nutty flavor.

Serves 2

2 chicken breasts

Grill seasoning

1 cup of basmati rice

2 cups of chicken broth

1/4 cup pecans, or walnuts, chopped
1 large carrot, diced
1 small zucchini, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 Tbsp parsley, minced
S&P to taste
EVOO

about 10 asparagus spears

In a medium sauce pan, sauté nuts until fragrant. Remove from pan and set aside. Add EVOO to pan and toast rice until slightly browned. Add toasted rice and chicken broth to rice cooker and cook until done. In the same pan, add more EVOO if necessary, add carrots, zucchini and garlic. Sauté until veggies are tender. When rice is done, mix in veggies, parsley and S&P.

Season chicken with grill seasoning. Grill chicken over medium heat until cooked all the way through and no longer pink in the middle.

Steam asparagus until tender.

Serve chicken with rice pilaf and asparagus.

Veggie Soup

Soup mix: lentils, barley, ABC pasta



Sauté veggies



Serve with warm, crusty bread

Herb Turkey Patties with Sauteed Leeks and Potatoes

Fruit & Yogurt Parfait

I made this simple and light, yet elegant breakfast while my in-laws were here over Thanksgiving weekend.

Serves 4

2 yogurts – two different flavors (I used mixed berry and peach)
1-2 bananas, sliced
1 package of raspberries
1 package of black berries
About a handful of red grapes
Granola

Using 4 wine tumblers, split the first yogurt among the glasses. Next add a layer of bananas and raspberries. Add another layer of the second flavor of yogurt. Top with grapes and black berries. Sprinkle with granola. Feel free to drizzle with a little honey too.



Cranberry Pear Pecan Hand Pies

I found this dessert in last month’s issue of Food & Wine. It was so good and easy that I made it twice in the last two weeks! The only difference from the recipe was I added pecans and coarse sugar crystals.

Serves 4

1 Bosc pear, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp coarse sugar crystals
1/2 Tbsp flour, plus more for dusting
½ cup fresh cranberries
½ cup chopped pecans
1 pinch of ground cloves, cinnamon and salt
One 7-ounce sheet of puff pastry
1 egg, beaten

In a medium bowl, toss the diced pears with the sugar, flour, cranberries, pecans, ground cloves, cinnamon and salt.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the puff pastry to a 14 1/2-inch square, about 1/8 inch thick. Cut the pastry into 4 squares. Spoon the pear filling onto the middle of each square, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Fold the pastry over the filling to make a triangle and firmly press the edges to seal. Crimp the edges with a fork or pinch and twist the edges. Prick the top of each triangle once with the fork to allow steam to escape during baking. Transfer the hand pies to a baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, until chilled. (I found it easier to prick the hole in the pie after it was refrigerated.)

Preheat the oven to 400°. Brush the chilled hand pies with the beaten egg and sprinkle them with the coarse sugar crystals. Bake the pies for about 30 minutes, until they are golden brown. Let the hand pies cool for at least 5 minutes.

Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Cranberry Pecan Chocolate Chunk Cookies

1 package of Betty Crocker's Double Chocolate Chunk cookie mix
1/4 cup dried cranberries
rum
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, soak cranberries in rum for 15-20 minutes until they are soft and plump.

Scoop spoonfuls of cookie dough on a non-greased cookie sheet. Make cookies according to directions on back of packaging. Mix in cranberries (drained) and pecans.

Bake according to directions on  back of packaging (about 10 minutes for 2" cookies).

Let cool for a couple minutes before removing from pan. Enjoy warm or store over night in an air tight container.

Spanish Birds (Spanělský Ptáček)

This is a delicious Czech dish that my mom made for us growing up. They are meat steaks rolled with egg, ham, hot dog and pickle.

Thanksgiving Dinner

We had a very traditional Thanksgiving dinner this year: roasted turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, salad and rolls. I even scaled it back a little, just to make things easier. Ben's parents are not fussy eaters, so I decided not to stress myself out.

No cranberry sauce, who likes that stuff anyway? I roasted the turkey in a Reynolds Oven Bag, which was the easiest way I've ever cooked it. It came out moist with crispy skin! I did try a new stuffing this year, which was hit. I also made a new pumpkin pie, which was awesome (scroll down). I think I'm hungry again....

The feast

Thanksgiving Dinner Plate

Artichoke Parmesan Sourdough Stuffing

Artichoke Parmesan Sourdough Stuffing

1 Portabella mushroom, chopped

1 Tbsp butter

1 onion, chopped

1 cup chopped celery

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups chicken broth

1 loaf (1 lb.) sourdough bread, cut into 1/2-in. cubes & toasted

12 oz. marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

5 sage leaves, minced

4-5 thyme springs, minced

1 1/2 Tbsp rosemary, minced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 large egg

In a frying pan over high heat, cook mushrooms, butter, onions, celery, and garlic, stirring often, until vegetables are lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Pour into a large bowl.

Pour broth into bowl and add bread, artichoke hearts, parmesan and herbs; mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add beaten egg and blend with stuffing.

Preheat oven to 350° (use temperature turkey requires; see Note below). Spoon stuffing into a casserole dish. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 30 minutes until the top gets brown and crispy.



My best Pumpkin Pie yet!

Pumpkin Pie

¼ cup of white sugar

¼ tsp salt

½ cup of brown sugar

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp ground cloves

2 eggs

1 can (15 oz) can of pumpkin

1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk

1 unbaked 9” pie shell

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a medium bowl combine the first 6 ingredients. Beat eggs in a large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and suger-spice mixture. Stir in evaporated milk. Pour into pie shell.

Bake in over for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and make for an additional 40-50 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick is inserted in the middle of the pie and comes out clean.

Cool on wire rack for 2 hours before serving.



Cran-Apple Pecan Bread

1 ½ cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1 apple, peeled & chopped
¼ cup cooking oil
½ cup milk
1 egg
¼ tsp lemon zest
½ cup pecans, chopped

Grease bottom of a loaf pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium mixing bowl combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.

In another bowl combine sugar, apple, cranberries, oil, milk, egg and lemon zest. Add dry mixture to apple mixture. Fold in nuts.

Pour batter into pan and bake for 1 1/2 hours or until a wooden toothpick is inserted in the middle of the loaf and comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Remove from pan, wrap and store over night in the fridge. This allows the flavors to mellow and the loaf to cut easier.

Apple, Pecan and Blue Cheese Salad

½ bag of mixed greens
½ Fiji apples, sliced
Pecan halves
Blue cheese crumbles
Balsamic vinaigrette

Plate mixed greens, top with apples, pecans and blue cheese. Drizzle with Balsamic vinaigrette.

Cheese Burger Foil Packet

A complete meal in one delicous, little package! We make these foil packets when we go camping but haven’t tried them at home yet. Baking them in the oven worked out well. You can make the packets with whatever fillings you like, such as sausage or salmon, and any combination of veggies.





1/2 lb ground beef
garlic and parsley seasoning
grill seasoning
salt and pepper
1-2 carrots, sliced
1 large red potato, sliced
2 celery ribs, sliced
1/4 onion, sliced
EVOO
Shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lay a piece of aluminum foil on the counter top. Drizzle with EVOO. Layer potato, beef, seasonings, celery, onion and carrot. Twist up edges of foil to make a tight package that won’t leak. Bake for 40 minutes, until potatoes and carrots are tender.

Open packets and slide onto plate. Top with shredded cheese.

Chicken and Swiss Chard Bake

5-6 chicken tenders
½ sourdough baguette, 1-day old, cut in bit sized pieces
1 large bunch of Swiss Chard, ripped in little pieces
2-3 Tbsp of capers, drained
1/3 yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp Italian Flat Leaf Parsley
Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
EVOO

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, add bread, Swiss Chard, capers, onion, garlic and parsley. Drizzle with EVVO and season with salt and pepper. Toss all together. Pour into a casserole dish.

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Arrange over bread and Swiss Chard mixture. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes, or until chicken is cooked all the way through.

Serve the chicken with the bread and the greens.