Chicken and Artichoke hearts

So yummy....

2 chicken breasts
olive oil
2 cups artichoke hearts
1/2 cup flour
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste

Pound chicken breasts until they are 1.5 their original size, dredge in flour.
In a heated pan coat with olive oil and place each breast in pan. Cook through, turning once.
When cooked remove chicken from pan. Add chicken stock to deglaze pan. When stock is simmering add artichoke hearts and stir to heat through. Add butter to thicken and add salt and pepper to taste.
To serve pour artichoke sauce over chicken breasts.
It's so good!

Jalapeno Cornbread

I made this to go with chili. It's not at all spicy, although it could be made to be spicier. You can really taste the jalapenos though. Also it's really moist, should be refrigerated if not all eaten.

3 cups cornbread mix
2 cups milk
1/2 cup oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 slices bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup creamed canned corn
1/2 cup jalapenos, seeded and chopped
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
1 2 oz jar pimentos

In food processor combine onion, garlic and jalapenos, blend to a mulchy mix.
In a large bowl add corn bread mix, milk, oil, sugar and the corn and mix, add the onion mix and combine. Add remaining things and combine.

Pour into a 12X9X2 greased pan and bake at 350 for 40ish minutes or until an inserted toothpick is clean.

to make spicier chop jalapenos whole, to make less spicy remove seeds and ribs.

Cajun Shrimp

1 cup melted butter
2-3 tablespoons pepper
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons hot sauce
2 lemons, thinly sliced
2-3 pounds shrimp (deveined, shells on or off)

mix first 4 ingredients
spoon some of the sauce into a 9X13 baking dish, enough to cover the bottom
add 1/2 of the shrimp to the baking dish and layer the slices of one lemon over them
cover with some of the sauce
add the rest of the shrimp evenly, top with lemons and cover with sauce.

bake in a 350 degree oven until the shrimps are pink, take care not to overcook.

Serve with a salad and bread.

Fresh Pea Soup.

I'd been looking for a fresh pea soup recipe after my friend Monica made it for me once. I've finally found a recipe, however I made a few alterations. Here's my version.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion chopped
4 cups chicken stock
2 10 ounce packages of frozen peas
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup plain yogurt

Saute the onions in the oil. When they're soft add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the peas and cook for 3 minutes. Turn off heat and add the mint, salt and sugar, taste and adjust seasonings as needed (you may also want to add black pepper). Puree the soup in batches. I used a magic bullet and dumped the pureed soup into a bowl as I went along. When all smooth add the yogurt and stir well.
Can be eaten hot or cold.


I like this soup, I find it to be rather refreshing and bright.

Dduk Soup

Dduk is pronounced duck, and is compressed rice. It's a Korean dish. The dduk is rice forced through a press and emerges from the other side like a long fat spaghetti noodle, one type is about as thick as your thumb which are cut into 3-4 in pieces used for dduk bogie which is a spicy spicy dish. The other kind of dduk is about an inch in diameter and is cut into thin slices on the bias. This type of dduk is used for the soup.

Okay here we go.
This is my version of the soup.

1/2 package of dduk
3-4 green onions, sliced
1/2 lb ground beef
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons Korean beef granules (oxo can be substituted, but it makes a darker coloured soup)
water

Start by browning the beef. I don't season it at this time. When cooked strain out fat and rinse with hot water. (I don't like to have grease floating on my soup) Return to soup pot (which should hold 2-3 litres of water), add water, about 3/4s of the way up. Add dduk, onions and soup granules, bring to a boil. When the dduk is tender, turn off the heat and add the egg, stirring to make the long egg strings. Serve. Should make 5-6 bowls.

Bacon Rosemary Pea Soup

This is so good. I make it in the crock pot.

1 medium onion diced
2 large carrots diced
2 cloves of garlic diced
5 rashers of bacon sliced into 1 cm pieces
1/2 cup cooked ham cubed
1 1/3 cups split dried peas
2 teaspoons dried rosemary
1-2 tablespoons chicken stock powder
6-8 cups water

In a pan saute onions and garlic, when soft add to crock pot. Saute bacon, when crispy add to crock pot. Add remaining ingredients, making sure to crumble rosemary well. Cook on high for 5 hours or low for 8-10. This freezes well, and is so flavourful!

Adam-fredo

Adam can't eat eggs or cheese, and yet he loved the alfredo sauce they had when he was residence at U of T. He figures he was able to eat it because the cheese was so processed and cheap that it was no longer cheese.
I decided that I was up to the challenge to try and make something tastier that still agreed with him.

1 large onion, diced
1 green pepper diced
5 cloves of garlic crushed and chopped
6-7 rashers of bacon, sliced into 1 cm pieces
1 cup diced cooked ham
2 tablespoons chicken stock powder
1/4 cup flour
1 cup water
2 cups milk
1 1/2 lbs pasta

In a large sauce pan fry up 1-2 rashers of bacon, when crispy remove from pan and drain on paper towels.
Remove most of the remaining fat in pan, leaving enough to saute onions and garlic. Once sauteed remove from pan and place aside.
Saute the rest of the bacon, when crispy remove from pan to drain with other bacon. The bottom of the pan should be covered in fat, of there is more than just a covering remove some and discard. Then while on the heat add the flour to the fat and stir to make a roux, watch carefully so it doesn't burn, cook for about a minute or two in order to remove the starchy taste of the flour. Add water and stir, it will turn into a really thick sauce, add chicken powder. When combined and smooth add milk and stir until thickens. Add onions, bacon, ham and green pepper, let simmer for 5 minutes. Serve over cooked pasta.

Adam likes this a lot. It seems to satisfy his alfredo cravings. It freezes well. Sometimes I don't use bacon, just ham and then I use a little extra vigin olive oil to do the satueeing. Chicken stock could be substituted for the powder and water, however since this is just a white sauce with stuff in it, the extra flavour is needed.

Asian Potatoe Salad

Step one.
6 large potatoes
salt to taste
Peel potatoes and boil until tender, but not mushy.
could also use the equivalent in young potatoes which don't need to be peeled.

Step two*.
1 1/2 tablespoons (crushed) roasted sesame seeds
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons sugar
1 large clove of garlic
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (I like the Korean kind which don't have the seeds in them)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
6 tablespoons grapeseed oil
Blend together in a food processor

Step three.
After potatoes are cooked, drain and toss with dressing, a little at a time, to taste. Eat warm or let cool.

This salad would be good for picnics becasue there is no mayo to go bad. It's also lighter than a traditional mayoed salad.

The dressing is also good on a green salad also.

*Everything in step two is to taste, this happens to be my taste....