Chicken, Lemon, and Dill with Orzo

This is another dish I tried during our trip to Oklahoma this summer. I've been waiting for it to be cool enough to make for dinner, and since it's currently 71 I'd say we've hit the right time. The recipe is originally from PBS Everyday Food.

This is quick to toss together (although it needs 40 minutes to cook) and has a nice, lemony flavor. If your kids refuse to eat anything "combined," as mine currently do, then just make the chicken a bit larger and serve it as "chicken and rice." They'll never know. :)

The recipe calls for chicken tenderloins, but I had some boneless, skinless thighs I needed to use instead.

Ingredients:

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth. I used the broth I made from trash and froze in 1 cup portions.

1 tablespoon unsalted butter (I left out 1/4 tsp salt and used salted butter)

1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

1 pound chicken tenderloins, cut into 1-inch pieces (used chicken thighs, left them whole)

1 pound orzo

2 cups crumbled feta (4 ounces)

1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh dill

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest, plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 cup grated Parmesan

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a saucepan, bring broth, 3/4 cup water, butter, salt, and pepper to a boil. Spray 3 quart baking dish with cooking spray.
   
2. While the liquid is coming to a boil, combine chicken, orzo, feta, dill, lemon zest and juice in the baking dish. Pour boiling broth mixture over orzo and stir once to incorporate.
3. Bake until orzo is tender and cooking liquid is creamy, about 40 minutes. Sprinkle Parmesan on top and let stand 5 minutes before serving.

That's it--super easy, tasty, walk-away while it cooks convenience, and usually eaten by picky little geeks.

Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats

I found this as a follower of Polly, Julie, and Julia on Facebook (who now blogs here). My first thought was that someone did this accidentally once and realized it was a super happy accident.

My second thought was "hey, an 8 inch square? I'll double this and make a 9 x 13."

People. Learn from my foolishness. Unless you have GIANT pots or bowls in your kitchen, stick with one batch of these at a time. I ended up kind of "kneading" my marshmallow/butter mixture together with the cereal in the 9 x 13 pan while my daughter and dog happily ate whatever fell over the side/onto the floor.

This is such an easy tweak to the classic recipe and is really worth the effort for the depth of flavor.

4 ounces (1/4 pound or 1 stick) unsalted butter
10 ounces mini marshmallows (when I doubled the bag had 16 oz and so that's what I used)
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt (plus extra for sprinkling)
6 cups Rice Krispy cereal (6 ounces)

Butter (or coat with non-stick spray) an 8-inch square cake pan. Again, do NOT TRY TO DOUBLE THIS unless you have a SERIOUSLY GIANT POT for the butter/marshmallow, cereal mixing.

In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Don’t take your eyes off the pot, the period between the time the butter begins to take on color and the point where it burns is often less than a minute. This took longer than I expected, but it really did go from golden to brown quickly. My butter foamed up (perhaps I was stirring too much) around the time it turned brown, so it took me a while to get a good look at it. It smells divine!

As soon as the butter takes on a nutty color, turn the heat off and stir in the marshmallows. The residual heat from the melted butter should be enough to melt them, but if it is not, turn it back on low until the marshmallows are smooth.

Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the salt and cereal together. Quickly spread into prepared pan, pressing firmly and evenly into the edges and corners (I use a sheet of wax paper to make this easier, or you can butter or spray your hands with nonstick spray). This will make fairly "tall" squares.

Let cool and then cut into squares. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt.

These are seriously delicious. The next time you are making rice krispy treats, try this variation and see if your "customers" notice the richer, delicious flavor.

Olive Cheese Bread

This is from the Pioneer Woman's cookbook, which is a lovely book filled with all sorts of not-at-all lowfat foods that are delicious.

I suggest you make a rule for yourself regarding this bread. My rule is that I can only make it when I'm not at home. It is strictly reserved for vacations, because it is so good, but so bad for you, and once you try it you will have to force yourself to stop eating it.

Seriously.

But if you do make it at home, don't say I didn't warn you.

1 14.5 oz can black olives, drained
1 6-oz jar pimiento-stuffed green olives, drained
2 green onions
1/4 lb (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise (real mayo, no substitutions)
1 lb Monterey Jack cheese, grated
1 loaf crusty French bread.

Preheat the oven to 325.

Chop the olives roughly until most of the large pieces are broken up. Slice the green onions, then chop them roughly.

In a large bowl, combine the butter, mayo, cheese, and chopped olives and onions. Stir until thoroughly combined.

Slice the French bread loaf in half lengthwise and spread olive-cheese mixture in an even layer on each half.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the cheese mixture is thoroughly melting and beginning to turn light brown.

Cut into diagonal slices and serve immediately.

Or take into closet and eat them yourself.

You can prepare the olive/cheese mixture up to 2 days ahead of time and store it tightly covered in the fridge, or spread it on the bread and freeze, tightly wrapped, up to 6 months (thaw before baking).

She also says the cheese mixture is good on crackers and that you can sub drained, chopped artichoke hearts and grated Parmesan cheese for the black olives and Monterey Jack cheese.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

Green Beans Parmesan

Green bean casserole is awesome, but it's also a caloric/fat nightmare and full of sodium. This recipe is from a Jenny Craig cookbook, and I actually prefer it to traditional green bean casserole made with a can of soup and french-fried onions. It is lightest as written, but I usually use real butter (and sometimes more than it calls for) and more shallots. Just watch the beans or they'll get too mushy.

2 tsp reduced calorie margarine (or you could just use butter)
2 large shallots, sliced and separated into rings
1 lb fresh green beans
1 cup chicken broth
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup freshly shaved parmesan cheese

1. Melt margarine/butter in a small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and cook 20 minutes or until golden, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside.

Wash beans and remove ends. Place beans, chicken broth, and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 12-14 minutes or until beans are tender. Drain beans and stir in shallots. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with cheese.

As recipe is written: 4 servings, 67 calories per serving (8.8 g carbs, 3.9 g protein, 2.6 g fat, 2.3 g fiber, 2 mg cholesterol, 171 mg sodium, exchange=2 veg, 2 WW pts).

Sandra's Beef and Potato Burritos

One of the many delicious meals we had while visiting family in Oklahoma was Beef and Potato Burritos. The filling is SO DARNED GOOD. Seriously. It's amazingly delicious for how simple it is. Plus, by adding potato, you stretch your ground beef/turkey and save money. What's not to love?

The recipe is originally from Everyday Food (the pbs show, not Rachel Rey).

Ingredients:


Filling:
1 large baking potato
2 Tbsp canola oil (or olive oil)
3/4 lb ground beef or turkey
1 onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, finely chopped
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes with juice
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt

flour tortillas (whatever size/kind you like)

toppings:
sour cream
shredded lettuce
cheese (Monterey jack, cheddar, or Mexican blend, low-fat is fine)
cilantro
lime

1. Peel potato and cut into 1/2 inch dice.

2. In a large (LARGE) skillet or saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add potato and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown (about 6 min). While that cooks, chop the onion and jalapeno.

3. Add beef/turkey, onion, and jalapeno and cook, stirring, until beef/turkey is thoroughly browned, about 4 min. Add tomatoes and juice, cumin, paprika, and salt. Cook until liquid has evaporated, about 6 minutes.

4. Warm tortillas in skillet (or microwave if you're lazy like me). Fill with beef mixture and desired toppings and fold into a burrito.

Enjoy! This makes quite a bit--we probably had enough for 10 small burritos. The original recipe says it makes 4 large (10 inch tortilla) burritos.

The little geeks are not huge fans of this (yet--I predict in about 10 years they both love it). The big geek and I enjoy it a LOT. Leftover filling is also good with Fritos or other corn chips.

Fontina-Stuffed, Bacon-Wrapped Dates

These also came from Brown Eyed Baker's blog. Thanks to this recipe, I discovered something: I don't really like dates. Even wrapped in bacon, they're not my favorite things. However, people who love dates seem to think these are quite tasty.

Go figure. :)

You need:
Bacon, cut into 3 inch pieces (I just cut each piece in half)
Fresh dates (dried is ok if you can't get fresh)
Fontina cheese, cut to fit inside dates

1. Pre-cook bacon in microwave for 1 min. It will not be fully cooked. You're just trying to reduce how long it takes to cook in the over so the filling doesn't over-cook.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the broiler.

3. Slit the dates open, keeping the bottom and as much of the sides as possible in tact. Remove pits and place cheese insde each date. Wrap bacon around the stuffed date, overlapping the ends on the bottom. Place on parchment paper.

4. Broil for approx. 5 min. Watch them closely so they don't burn! When the bacon is done, they are done.

I do think these would be better with a saltier cheese, like Parmesan or Asiago. If you like dates, I'd encourage you to try this out and experiment with different cheeses. If you don't like dates, these probably won't be your favorite things.

Cucumber Tomato Phyllo Cups

I burned my hand a few weeks ago, which interfered with some of my cooking plans. Thanks to a miracle cream, all is now well, and cooking has resumed.

I found some phyllo cups at Nob Hill, so was able to try this tasty little appetizer. They're light and cool and refreshing and surprisingly addictive. Now that I've used phyllo cups, I'm full of all kinds of ideas for how to use the handy little things (that are pre-baked and require practically no work). These were based on Brown Eyed Baker's "Cucumber-Tomato Bruschetta in Phyllo Cups" recipe.

Ingredients:

30 phyllo cups

1 med cucumber, finely diced
1 tomato, seeded and finely diced
1 small red onion, finely diced
1/4 cup sour cream (I used the real deal--you could use low fat)
3 Tbsp cream cheese, softened (again, real deal--you could use low fat)
2 tsp lemon juice (I used fresh thanks to a generous friend)
3 Tbsp finely chopped chives, divided (or, in a pinch, green onion stems)
2 Tbsp finely chopped parsley (I had to skip this as my parsley "died" between when I planned to make these and actually was able to make them)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

1. Remove phyllo cups from freezer.
2. In medium bowl, toss the cucumber, tomato, and onion to combine.
3. In small bowl, mix the sour cream and cream cheese with a spoon until thoroughly combined. Stir in the lemon juice, salt, pepper, 2 Tbsp chives, and parsley.
4. Add sour cream mixture to vegetable mixture and toss to combine.
5. Spoon into each phyllo cup. I had a bit left over. It was tasty.
6. Top with remaining 1 Tbsp chives and serve.

Perfect for a summer gathering!