Easy Chicken Marsala

I like chicken, I like mushrooms and I LOVE this easy yummy chicken Marsala! I am not sure what the best thing is to serve this with but usually, I serve it with some angel hair pasta or sometimes mash potatoes. I have not tried making this in a larger quantity but I would like to try soon. There are many recipes floating on the Internet for this dish and I use this recipe from Allrecipes and it was awesome. The recipe did not say whether to use sweet Marsala or the dry but I used the sweet one. Also, I butterflied the chicken breast, put them in between two sheets of clear wrap and pounded them to 1/4 inch thick before cutting them a little bit smaller. It was such a quick and easy delicious recipe with simple ingredients. I am keeping this recipe!!Would you like to try it too?

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup all-purpose flour for coating
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded 1/4 inch thick
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup sliced mushrooms (I used 8oz pre sliced baby Bella mushrooms)
1/2 cup Marsala wine
1/4 cup cooking sherry

Directions:

In a shallow dish or bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper and oregano. Coat chicken pieces in flour mixture.
In a large skillet, melt butter in oil over medium heat. Place chicken in the pan, and lightly brown. Turn over chicken pieces, and add mushrooms. Pour in wine and sherry. Cover skillet; simmer chicken 10 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink and juices run clear.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 448 | Total Fat: 26.6g | Cholesterol: 99mg

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo: The Daring Cooks’ May 2011 Challenge

Our May hostess, Denise of There’s a Newf in My Soup!, challenged The Daring Cooks to make Gumbo! She provided us with all the recipes we’d need from creole spices, homemade stock and Louisiana white rice, to Drew’s Chicken & Smoked Sausage Gumbo and Seafood Gumbo from My New Orleans: The Cookbook, by John Besh.

I am so glad that this month challenge is GUMBO because I love LOVE soups and stews, and gumbo is one of my top favorites. I like seafood gumbo as well but I think I make a better chicken gumbo than seafood so this is what I often make, especially in the cold months. Sometimes I make a huge pot to eat some and freeze some.

Gumbo, in my opinion, is not hard to make and one should not be discouraged after seeing the long list of ingredients. However, it does take some patience to make a good roux and some time to chop up the veggies and get the chicken ready etc. There are other options to speed up the process if you choose to. For instance, instead of making homemade chicken broth and shredding your chicken, use boneless skinless chicken breast or store bought rotisserie chicken and box chicken broth. There are also jars of roux you can buy if you do not want to make roux but I enjoy making everything from scratch so I just pick a day that I have time and make this yummy pot of gumbo.

Feel free to tweak the recipe according to your taste. For instance, add more or less veggies or hot sauce or omit anything that you do not have or like. You can make a thicker gumbo if you make more roux by increasing the flour and oil. (Just keep a 1:1 ratio). Add more stock for a thinner gumbo. Some file powder can be sprinkle at the end into the pot or in the bowl before eating.


Okra is optional even though some say it is not gumbo unless okra is in it. (Tip: some say that if you sauté the okra in a little bit of oil before adding into the pot will make it not so slimy. I just add the chopped okra as is.)In my opinion, there are no rules and it’s all about your taste!

So enjoy it how YOU want it!

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, about 3-4 lbs
1 lb smoke sausage
½ Cup All Purpose Flour
½ cup canola oil
1 large onion
3 stalks of celery
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 Cup chopped fresh or frozen okra (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
1 TBS Tabasco sauce
1 TBS soy sauce
Salt and peeper to taste
Steamed rice to serve with

Rinse and pat dry the chicken. In a large stock pot, place the whole chicken and rub some salt and pepper onto the chicken. Cover the chicken with cold water and boil on low to medium heat till the chicken is tender, for about 1 hour.


Strain the chicken and reserve the stock. Remove skin and bones from the chicken and shred or chop the chicken.


While the chicken is cooking, chop the onion, celery and bell pepper and cut the sausage into ½ inch thick pieces.


Make the roux by heating the oil on medium heat and adding the flour. Stir continuously till the roux is a darker golden brown and not let the flour burn. (This is very important). This will take about 30 min or so. Be careful because it is very hot.


Add the veggies and bay leaf when the roux is ready and cook till they are almost tender, then add the cayenne pepper. Cook a few more minutes.


Add the chicken, sausage, seasonings and the stock. If you are using okra, add okra. Let simmer on low heat till desire thickness or about 20-30 min. Serve over white rice. ENJOY!!!

Tender Braised Oxtail

As Wiki explains, “Oxtail (occasionally spelled ox tail or ox-tail) is the culinary name for the tail of cattle. Formerly, it referred only to the tail of an ox or steer, a castrated male. An oxtail typically weighs 2 to 4 lbs. (1-1.8 kg) and is skinned and cut into short lengths for sale.Oxtail is a bony, gelatinous meat, and is usually slow-cooked, often stewed or braised….”

I personally think that most meat near bones such as wings or ribs and oxtail of course are delicious. There are many people who are not adventurous and won’t try oxtail but I really wish they would because it is TASTY!

However, if you were looking for a quick meal, this is not the one because unless you have a pressure cooker, Oxtail takes about 3-4 hours to prepare and at the end you will get a well deserved delicious dish of tender juicy oxtail in a rich brown gravy. I serve this dish with steamed white rice and my family LOVES it.

I usually purchase Oxtail from Asian or Hispanic grocery stores. I look for big meaty pieces that are not too fatty but you can’t avoid fat or bone if you are going to eat oxtail. I developed this oxtail recipe after trying different recipes and eating oxtail from different restaurants. I used many recipes as my guidance before coming up with the one that is most suitable to my family’s taste and mine.

Here is the recipe I would like to share:

Ingredients:

2-2.5 LB oxtail pieces
1 TBS oil
3 bay leaves
1 large onion, chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 TBS soy sauce
Dash cayenne pepper
¾ to 1 Cup water, (depending on how thick or thin you’d want your gravy to be)

Directions:

1. Wash and pat dry the oxtails with paper towels.
2. Season them with salt, pepper, cayenne, garlic pepper, and soy sauce.
3. Heat up the oil in a Dutch oven and when it is hot, add the seasoned oxtails to sear and brown them on all sides for about 5-7 min.
4. When the oxtails are brown, add bay leaves and chopped onions. Mix well and cook for a few minutes.
5. Add the water, cover and cook on low for at least 2 hours or till tender.
6. Serve with rice.

Note: This step is not necessary but if you have time, let the oxtail pot cool in the fridge for several hours till all the fat floats to the top and solidifies. Remove the fat from the top, reheat and serve.

Step by Step Jambalaya Recipe

Jambalaya! What is Jambalaya? Where is it from? How many types of Jambalaya are out there? Well according to Wiki , "Creole jambalaya originates from the French Quarter of New Orleans, in the original European sector. It was an attempt by the Spanish to make paella in the New World, where saffron was not readily available due to import costs. Tomatoes became the substitute for saffron. As time went on, French influence became strong in New Orleans, and spices from the Caribbean changed this New World paella into a unique dish. In modern Louisiana, the dish has evolved along a variety of different lines. Creole jambalaya, or red Jambalaya as it is called by Cajuns, is found primarily in and around New Orleans, where it is simply known as 'Jambalaya'. Creole Jambalaya includes tomatoes, whereas Cajun jambalaya does not."

There is always more than one way to make a dish and YES there are a millions ways different people make their Jambalaya. After a few times of trial and error and some experimenting with different Jambalaya recipes, I came up with the one that is best for my taste and my family's. You can use my recipe as a guide and adjust it to your taste and what you have available in your kitchen! There is no rules, but just have fun and enjoy cooking this flavorful filling dish!

Here is how I make my Jambalaya:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
1 pound smoked sausage, sliced into rounds
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, boiled and cut into 1 inch pieces
(Note: I sometimes boil a whole chicken, use both the broth and the meat)
1 pound peeled and divined shrimp, raw
1 cup onion, diced
1 cup bell pepper, diced
1 cup celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, (more or less depending on your taste)
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 cups uncooked white rice
4 cups chicken broth (or water)

Optional: If you want a red (tomato based) Creole Jambalaya, throw in a can of small tomato sauce or Rotel or Italian crushed tomatoes, etc. Use what you have in your pantry!



The Holy Trinity (Onion, bell peppers, and celery)















Heat the oil on medium heat and sautee the garlic and bay leaf for about a minute till fragrant.















Add the Holy Trinity, salt, and Caynne pepper.














Cook till all the veggies are almost tender for about 5-6 minutes.















Add the rice.














Mix well so that the rice will cook without sticking and lumping together.















Add the Cajun seasoning powder, thyme, black pepper.















Add the broth and the rest of the seasoning sauces (hot sauce etc). Stir once. cover and let it simmer over low heat for about 20-25 minutes.















Add the chicken, saussage, and raw shrimp during the last 10 minute of cooking.















Mix and taste. Rice should be fully cooked, but not mushy or very wet. You can now enjoy Jambalaya!!

Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce

Bread pudding is another easy desert with endless variations fruits or flavors or sauces one can think of. Banana bread pudding, chocolate bread pudding, rum sauce, caramel sauce, whiskey sauce, with raisins or without....the list goes on and on. I enjoy many different kinds of bread pudding and I will share a basic bread pudding with rum sauce recipe here. they are from two different sources. The bread pudding is from grouprecipes but I do not remember where I found the sauce recipe. I searched for hours on the Internet to remember where I got it so I can give the proper credit but unfortunately I wasn't able to:(

Ingredients For The Bread Pudding

4 Cups scalded milk
3 Cups cubes of day old or toasted French bread
1 3/4 Cups sugar
1 TBS butter
1/4 tsp salt
4 eggs slightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Soak bread in 2 cups of the hot milk for 5 minutes.
Put in greased pan.
Add the other 2 cups of scalded milk, butter, eggs, and sugar.
Add vanilla.
Mix well and slowly pour over bread mixture.
Bake 350 degrees for 45 min to 1 hour.

Ingredients for Rum Sauce

3/4 cup sugar
2 TBS flour
1 cup water
1/4 C heavy cream (optional)
1 stick butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 TBS rum

Directions:

Combine flour, water, sugar and butter in a sauce pan.

Cook over medium heat until mixture begins bubbling. Add the cream, keep stirring for one minute.

Remove from heat and add the vanilla and rum. Mix well. You are done.

Pour the rum sauce over the entire bread pudding or over each individual serving.

Note: I used raisins to garnish (optional).

Banana Foster French Toast

I had Christmas this year with my two little cousins and my daughter. I promised them a good breakfast for Christmas morning before we open our presents. I searched for french toast recipes and I found this Paula Deans Recipe. I did some changes cause her recipes usually are a little too sweet for my taste and also to downsize the amount because I didn't want 8 servings. I loved that she used croissants and I was very excited to try that and they turned out delicious. It was very easy and quick as well. I will definitely make it again.

Yield:8 servings

Times:Prep5 min ,Cook 10 min
Total 15 min

Ingredients

* 4 large eggs (I only used 3)
* 1 cup heavy cream
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 8 tablespoons butter, divided
* 8 large croissants, halved (I used 6 )
* 1/2 cup dark corn syrup
* 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar (I used 1/4 Cup)
* 1 cup maple syrup
* 1 cup chopped pecans
* 6 ripe bananas, halved crosswise and lengthwise (I used 4)
* 1 teaspoon rum extract


In a shallow dish, whisk together eggs, cream, and cinnamon. In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Dip 4 croissant halves in egg mixture to coat both sides. Using a fork, remove croissants from egg mixture, letting excess mixture drip off. Place croissant halves in hot skillet. Cook 2 to 3 minutes per side or until lightly browned. Repeat procedure with remaining butter and croissant halves. Set aside and keep warm.

In a large skillet, combine corn syrup, brown sugar, maple syrup and pecans. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat, and simmer for 2 minutes. Add banana halves and rum extract. Coat with the syrup mixture, and simmer 1 minute. Spoon over French toast. Serve immediately.

Omelette Roll Slices

Most of us know how to make an omelette. Here is a recipe of an omelette with a cute twist to it! The twist is that it is made into a roll and then sliced, that's all! You can put anything you like just like a regular omelette. Today, I put some onions and mushrooms. I usually put finely diced onion, carrots, and roasted seaweed (Korean or Japanese). Noone taught me how to make this, but I first ate an omelette in a roll and sliced from a Korean grocery store. I liked it and started making them as a side dish because they are easy, pretty, and TASTY!



Basic Recipe: (change it up by all means!)

2-3 eggs, beaten
about 1/2 C finely diced onion, carrots or any veges of your choice

Mix the veges and egg. Pour it in a slighly greased skillet. Cook for a few min till you can roll it in tight roll. Let it cool and slice. They are so pretty!

Click here for a good website that shows step by step pictures if you want to see good pictures and how to fold etc.