Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 4 lb. russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks (Note: I use Organic potatoes..
• the regular potatoes are really high on the dirty list)
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 10 Tbs. (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
• 1/2 teaspoon of thyme
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• 3/4 to 1 cups half-and-half, warmed
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

Put the potatoes in a large pot, add water to cover by 3 inches and generously salt the water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to medium-low and gently cook the potatoes until tender when pierced with a fork, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain well in a colander. Take a potato masher or if you own a ricer or food mill this will work great. You will want to mash the potatoes. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat,  add a little olive oil to the pan and add your minced garlic...for about 60 seconds. Then combine the butter, chives and thyme. Heat until the butter melts and begins to foam. Remove from the heat. Stir the butter mixture into the potatoes, then slowly stir in the half-and-half. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Cheesecake Factory Chicken Madiera Recipe

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 skinless chicken breast fillets

8 asparagus spears

(you will want to cut the ends of your asparagus like this)

4 mozzarella cheese slices

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups sliced fresh white mushrooms

2 cups madeira wine

2 cups beef broth (for beef broth I always use this Organic

Better Than Bouillon mix) it is the best!

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

How to:

First put your chicken breast in between two sheets of aluminum foil or two sheets of plastic wrap to cover them. We are then going to get a meat mallet to flatten the chicken until it is about 1/4 inch thick, this is a very important step. Sprinkle each breast with salt and pepper on both sides. We are going to heat up 1 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the chicken breasts for appox. 5 minutes per side. Do not keep turning the chicken breasts as they are cooking. This is also very important. Let cook for 5 minutes without flipping then turn over.  Once chicken is browned removed the chicken from the pan and wrap them in foil to keep warm while you start on the sauce. 

Sauce: keep heat still on medium and add two tablespoons of olive oil to the pan. Add thesliced mushrooms and saute for about two minutes. Add the madeira wine, beef broth, butter and pepper. Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce heat to a bubbling simmer. It will need to be at a bubbling simmer for about 30-40 minutes to reduce to about one quarter of its original volume. When the sauce is done it will have thickened and turned a dark brown color.

As the sauce is simmering, bring a medium saucepan filled about halfway with water to a boil. Add a little salt to the water. Boil asparagus for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on thickness of spears. Drop asparagus into a bowl of ice water to halt the cooking. The asparagus should be slightly tender when done, not mushy. Set oven to broil. Prepare the dish by arranging cooked chicken fillets on a baking pan. Cross two asparagus spears over each fillet, then cover each with a slice of mozzarella cheese. Broil the fillets for 3 to 4 minutes or until light brown spots begin to appear on the cheese. To serve, arrange one or two chicken breasts on each plate, then spoon 3 or 4 tablespoons of madeira sauce over the chicken.

Thai Panang Curry Chicken

This recipe will feed about 2-4 people....it is served with rice and you can also serve this along with a veggie dish or a Thai salad

Ingredients:

1 pound of chicken breasts

1 can of coconut milk

1 teaspoon of palm sugar

1 tablespoon of Kaffir Lime Leaves (sold in Asian markets)

10 big red dried chilies...

these large chilies are less potent so if you want a spicier 5 star panang

then you can add a few small dried chilies to it.

2 teaspons of Galangal, cut into matchsticks

Galangal looks like ginger root but do not substitute with ginger

this is important. Galangal can be purchased at Whole Foods Market or an Asian Market. Store in refrigerator. 

2 tablespoons of Lemongrass, minced

with lemongrass only the bottom part of the stalk is used, the first 1/3 to 1/2.

1 tablespoon of Coriander root...

ok so this is one of the most important ingredients in this dish and it is so hard to find fresh coriander with its roots still on anywhere around here...even in the Asian Markets. Some Latino or Asian markets might have some but I haven't found any. So....you buy a pot of coriander and use the roots lol!! Cut the root with about 1/2″ of green (like shown) and wash very very well before adding to the dish. To get even more flavor in a soup, bruise the root with a stone mortar & pestle first. A trick to washing the dirt off is to place the coriander with its roots in a large bowl and fill the bowl with cold water. Let stand for 10 mins, after this you'll see that all the dirt and mud will have sunk to the bottom. Using a small sieve scoop up the stems without disturbing the bottom. 

1 teaspoon of toasted Coriander seeds

1 teaspoon of toasted Cumin seeds

2 tablespoons of minced garlic

2 tablespoons of shallots

1 teaspoon of shrimp paste...also sold at Asian markets or online

DIRECTIONS

The first step is to make the curry paste. Start by soaking the chilies in water until they’re soft. This could take up to a half hour. When they’re soft, cut them open to remove the guts & seeds. Put your Chilies with the salt in a stone mortar and pestle and pound until it is a paste. The skins are difficult to mash, be patient, it is going to take awhile. When your chilies are a uniform paste, add the lemongrass. Pound until a paste. Then add the galangal and coriander roots, and again, smash until paste.

Toast the cumin seeds and cilantro seeds separately in a pan over medium heat. Roast each until fragrant, about 3-5 minutes. Then put in a stone mortar and pestle until it is a powder. Set aside. 

Add the shallots, garlic and your powdered cumin & cilantro seeds. Mash until paste. Add the shrimp paste and pound to mix well. Set aside.

Cut your meat into slices about 1.5″ long

Now we are going to fry our curry paste. Heat up your pan first on medium-high heat, then add  a tablespoon of peanut oil or even coconut oil and add the paste. fry the paste. keep stirring the paste so it doesn't burn. Then add 1/2 cup of the coconut milk. It should sizzle right away and boil. Stir all the paste and mix well.

Keep adding coconut cream about 1/4 cup at a time, every minute or two. You should start to see a lot of oil coming to the top of the curry. This is normal and a sign that you’re doing it right! Your paste should start to smell really good after 4-5 minutes. You’ll start to see a lot of oil rising to the top, especially where it’s bubbling. When it does, add your meat. I even add sliced red bell pepper. Cook the meat until cooked, add the lime leaves, fish sauce and palm sugar, then keep going about 3-5 minutes so the meat is soft. Remove and serve.

Garnish with shredded lime leaves and a few leaves of Thai basil. Some fancy restaurants serve it like shown with a bit of thickened coconut cream (thickened with a bit of tapioca flour) =D

Filipino Lumpia Shanghai

These are such a special TREAT as an appetizer or side dish to any Filipino meal. I love them! Many Filipinos will make up a mass bunch of these on New Year's Eve and then freeze them.They will have to be wrapped tight so I use my vacuum food sealer. 

 Makes about 30 lumpia

1 lb. (or 500g) ground minced pork (if you do not eat pork, this is so tasty also using ground minced chicken)

1 cup chopped shrimp (I left it out this time to cut down on cholesterol)

3 cloves of garlic, minced

60g minced cabbage (I used my food processor for this)

2 spring onions chopped finely

1/4 cup finely chopped onions

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1/2 cup of finely chopped water chestnuts

2 whole eggs (1 extra egg for sealing wraps)

3 tbsp. soy sauce (I use low sodium)

3 dashes of sesame oil

1 tsp pepper

approx 30 lumpia wrappers

vegetable oil, for frying 

In a bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix until well blended.

Grab one of the lumpia wrappers and place it down on a cutting board 

The Lumpia wrappers I found in my local supermarket. They are also sold at Asian supermarkets. Here is what they look like:

 I get another whole egg and put it in a little bowl and whisk it and then you will need a pastry brush. Scoop up a good 3 tablespoons of the mixture laying it diagonally on the wrapper. Grab the corner nearest to the filling and fold it over the filling. Keep rolling and make sure you are rolling them tightly.  When you reach the end, use  your pastry brush and dip in bowl of egg and then run along the end of the wrap to seal the edge and then wrap it to create your roll. If freezing them for later to cook, use Saran Wrap or any plastic wrap to wrap each roll as you do the rest of the rolls if you do not have a vacuum food sealer. This is to keep the moisture in the roll. Then put in a gallon size zip lock baggie.

After you are done with rolling all the wrappers, which does take time lol! Then I slice them in half...like this:

We are now ready to fry them =D I used this deep fryer which I really recommend. It works great! I heated it up to about 355 degrees and was able to fry about 6 lumpia wraps at a time. It took about 6 minutes of frying to make them golden brown.

 Drain on paper towels. Transfer to a serving platter. Serve with a Sweet and Sour Sauce or a sweet chili sauce is my favorite =D

Filipino Pork Barbeque Skewers

This recipe is simple but will taste like you worked HARD on it =D. The key to this recipe is marinating, you really need to marinate this for at least 24-36 hours. These tasty skewers are so perfect for putting in a large gallon size baggie to marinate and then take on a camping trip and fire up the grill =D Many Filipinos love serving these skewers with a beer, rice and a potato salad. These are best on the outdoor grill but are still so very tasty on an indoor one as well. Today, here in the Pacific Northwest its pouring outside so I made mine on the indoor grill.

Here is what you need:

* Pork Shoulder, thinly sliced 1/4 inch thick to put on skewers

* 4 cloves of garlic, minced

* 1/4 cup of brown sugar

* 1 cup of soy sauce

*1 cup of Sprite or 7 up

* 2 tbsp ground black pepper

* 1/4 cup of banana ketchup 

* 20 Wooden skewers (soaked in water overnight) soaking them in water prevents them from burning while grilling, otherwise they will catch fire

* Gallon size zip lock bag

Start by slicing your pork shoulder in nice thin slices.Then add garlic, brown sugar, soy sauce, sprite, pepper and banana ketchup (or regular ketchup) and whisk until combined and the brown sugar is dissolved. Banana ketchup is found in Filipino markets or Asian food markets.  Here is what the bottle looks like:

Now put the marinade in the gallon size baggie and add your pork. Tightly seal bag and massage the bag to get the marinade coated nicely all over the pork. Place in refrigerator and marinate for 24-36 hours.  

Once you are ready to cook, thread the pork to the wooden skewers by piercing one end of the pork meat then twist and pierce again. Typically 3 strips of pork will fit on a skewer. Heat your grill and lay skewers right on grill to cook. Baste the skewers on the grill with the left over marinade from your baggie occasionally until the pork is thoroughly cooked with some nicely charred bits, around 15 minutes.

Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken Enchilada the BEST!

I am not kidding when I say this is the BEST recipe for Shredded Chicken Enchiladas!! Here is my secret recipe...it has taken a while to perfect it from several recipes =D

Ingredients:

4 Chicken Breasts

1/2 Red Bell Pepper chopped

1/2 Onion chopped

1 can Diced Tomatoes, drained

2 cans Cream of Chicken soup

1 can La Victoria Brand Picante Enchilada sauce (green)

1 can sliced Olives

1 small can diced green chilies

1 can ReFried Beans (I used lowfat)

1/4 teaspoon Ground Cumin

1/2 teaspoon Chili powder

Salt 

Pepper

Put all ingredients (except the refried beans)in the slow cooker and let cook on low for 8hours...once done...shred chicken with a fork. Get the flour tortillas and take a pan on medium heat...add a little canola oil and place a tortilla on the pan...heat for about 15 seconds on each side. I made about 6 of them. Then get a 9x13 inch baking pan and spray with oil. Take your heated tortillas and spoon some refried beans down the middle. Shred about a cup of medium sharp cheddar cheese and a cup of Monterrey Jack cheese. Sprinkle both cheeses  on top of the refried beans and then add the shredded chicken mix on top. Fold them over and place in 9x13 pan. 

Then top the wrapped enchiladas with remaining

shredded cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes and 

YUMMY!!!!

Greek Salad Recipe

Greek Salad homemade dressing **secret...shhhh**

1/4 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 c. white vinegar
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. seasoning salt
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (this will not make the dressing spicy, just flavorful)
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
4 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
1 c. canola oil
 3/4 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. dry oregano
1/4 tsp. dry thyme
a dash of dijon to kick it up =D


For the Salad:


3 Medium ripe vine tomatoes
1 cucumber (I left it out tonight in pic for my little guys)
1/2 red onion
1/2 pound feta cheese(left this out tonight too because my little guys won't eat it)

1 Green pepper
1 Tablespoon fresh oregano leaves
1/2 cup of pitted Kalamata olives
Use cold Rotisserie chicken to salad (perfect when you have leftovers to add) 
I used Penne pasta...after cooking pasta rinse with cold water 

	Directions
	Cut the tomatoes in to bite-sized pieces. Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise, seed it, and slice. Slice the onion thinly. Cut the pepper in half, discard the core and seeds, and cut into strips Combine the tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, pepper, and feta cheese in a medium mixing bowl. Add the olives, capers, and oregano. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat the ingredients. Let the salad sit for at least 20 minutes to let the flavors meld. Do not refrigerate, or the tomatoes will lose flavor.