California Chicken

This is a regular favorite at our house. My sister-in-law Mary, who is a fabulous cook, introduced us to the recipe. Super easy and delicious, which is basically what we look for in a recipe:)

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or 8-12 tenders)

1 tsp. olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1 small onion

1/4 tsp garlic salt (or to taste)

pinch of black pepper

1-2 avocados

2 ripe tomatoes

8 slices of Monterey Jack Cheese (or any desired cheese) sliced thinly

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butterfly chicken if using breasts. Warm oil in skillet and add garlic and onion. Cook until onions are browned. Add chicken, garlic salt, and black pepper. Cook for about 15 minutes or until almost done.

Place chicken on a cookie sheet and top each breast with 1-2 slices of tomatoes and a slice of cheese. Place in oven for 10-15 minutes, until cheese melts. Remove from oven, top each piece of chicken with a slice or two of avocado and serve immediately.

This recipe is super adaptable, we just use what we have usually and it is always great!

90 Minute Whole Wheat Bread

My husband's aunt Jamie is an absolutely fabulous cook. One day we asked her if we could come watch her make wheat bread to learn how she does it and that experience has changed my life. I haven't bought a loaf of bread at the store since January. We make our own bread and it is the most delicious that I have ever had. All the credit goes to Jamie of course. It really does only take 90 minutes! Enough of those hours and hours, we usually make it on Sundays or whenever we run out.

Whole Wheat Bread

Ingredients:

5 cups wheat flour (I use about 1/3 red and 2/3 white wheat kernels)

½ cup gluten flour

2 Tbsp. instant yeast (SAF is my favorite)

4 cups hot water (run sink so it is hot but not scalding)

1 ½ Tbsp. salt

½ cup oil (can reduce this amount if desired)

¾ cup honey (we use a little more, more like 1 cup)

2 Tbsp. lemon juice, bottled

5 cups wheat flour, in addition to previous 5 cups

Add first 5 cups of wheat flour, gluten, yeast and hot water in mixer and mix for 1 minute using wire whisk attachment. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes (if your kitchen is cold, it may take a few minutes longer to rise). Add salt, oil, honey, lemon juice and rest of flour (one cup at a time). Change to dough hook before adding remainder of flour. Let beat for 10 minutes until dough pulls away from sides of bowl (the texture of dough will change during the 10 minutes, so make sure to give it that time).

Heat oven to lowest temperature possible (e.g. 160 degrees). Turn dough onto oiled counter top. Knead together. Divide and shape into 4 loaves. Spray pans with oil and place dough in pan. Place directly in oven to let rise for 10-15 minutes. Once bread is about ½-1 inch from top of pan, increase temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes. (Don’t remove bread from oven while waiting for oven to heat up). When baked, butter tops and remove from pans onto cooling racks.

Makes 4 loaves.

You'll find a picture of the bread here with blackberry jam. We're almost out so I will be making some probably tomorrow. I'll try to take some pictures step by step so you will know what it should look like. It is definitely worth the time. This bread is so soft and stays soft. We just put one or two loaves in the the freezer and one or two in the fridge and it never goes bad before we get to it. Enjoy!

Rosemary Grilled Chicken

This is from the food network. I just grilled the chicken, sans the bricks. I didn't take time to marinate for an hour. It would be better that way, but it worked as a quick meal too. Bon appetit! 

Ingredients

• 1 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 2 (3-pound) chickens, butterflied
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Lemon wedges, for garnish

Directions

Whisk together the oil, lemon juice, garlic and rosemary in a large baking dish. Add the chickens and turn to coat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, or up to 4 hours.

Preheat the grill to medium. Wrap 4 bricks in aluminum foil and set aside. Remove the chickens from the marinade, blot off excess oil, and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Place the chickens on the grill, skin-side down, and place 2 bricks on top of each chicken. Grill the chicken for 8 to 10 minutes, then turn over, and return the bricks to the chickens. Close the cover and continue cooking for 8 to 10 minutes or until cooked through. Let rest for 10 minutes and cut into quarters. Serve with lemon wedges.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/rosemary-bricked-grilled-chicken-recipe/index.html

Stuffed Peppers

Yes, I have definitely been MIA for the past few weeks but I am back and have a diploma! Yay! (Well, technically it is on its way:) Try this stuffed peppers recipe I got from my friend Kristie. My husband and I love peppers and have tried lots of different versions of stuffed peppers. But Kristie's takes the cake for us and is now a regular meal at our home. Sometimes we just make a few and use it as a side, but it is so filling and complete that sometimes we add ground turkey and make it the main dish. Either way it is so fresh and flavorful from the herbs and spices, and the brown rice makes it filling as well.

Kristie's Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:

4 peppers of your choice (we LOVE the red, orange, and yellow combo pack that you can get a Costco:)

2 large tomatoes-diced

1-2 broccoli crowns-diced

3-4 green onions-diced

1/2-1 yellow onion-diced

1 c. chicken broth

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 garlic cloves minced

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp dried rosemary

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp rubbed sage

1 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp pepper

1 c. cooked brown rice

1 c cheddar cheese

1/2 lb. ground turkey (optional)

Directions:

1. Slice 3 of the peppers in half, length wise. Then de-seed and wash them. Set aside to dry. In a large skillet sauté onion, garlic & herbs in olive oil until the onions are slightly opaque. Add other pepper, tomatoes, broccoli, green onion & chicken broth. Let simmer on medium-low for 3-5 min. Add brown rice simmer on medium-low for 3-5 min. Fill each half pepper half full of mixture. Top with cheese. Bake at 350 for 15-25min. Makes 6 halves.

W We like to top them with fresh salsa, but they are great plain too. Enjoy!