Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken & Balsamic Green Beans with Pancetta & Garlic

Fettuccine Alfredo

Serves 2

Ingredients
8 oz Fettuccine
2 Thin Pieces of Chicken Cutlets
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Onion Powder
Salt and Pepper to taste
4 Tbsp of Butter (I used I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Light)
1 cup Heavy Cream
1 cup Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese

Instructions:

1) Bring a large pot filled with water up to a boil and sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt. Add fettuccine and cook according to packaged directions. Drain the pasta once cooked and set aside.

2) Season both sides of the chicken with the garlic powder, onion powder and salt and pepper to taste.

3) In a medium non stick sauté pan with high sides, over medium high heat, melt the butter. Add the seasoned chicken and cook for a few minutes on each side until golden brown and cooked through. Remove chicken from the pan and cut into bite size pieces.

4) In the same pan add the heavy cream and reduce it for 5 minutes. Add the parmigiano and stir. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add the cut chicken and drained pasta. Give everything a big toss and dig in right away!

If you thought you could not get that rich and delicious restaurant quality fettuccine alfredo at home, you were so wrong! Fettuccine Alfredo is probably one of the easiest and inexpensive things to make and it always taste so much better when you make it yourself, that way you can control the quality of ingredients and the quantity of salt.

I think the next time I make this I will add peas.

Balsamic Green Beans with Pancetta & Garlic

Ingredients:

Fresh or frozen whole green beans, boiled for 3 minutes in salted water then drained
3 oz. pancetta chopped, it is easier to work with if you put it in the freezer for 30 mins. before cutting.
2 cloves sliced garlic
Red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Salt & Pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil

Instructions:

• In a big skillet heat olive oil and add pancetta, cook for 3-4 minutes or until brown
• Add red pepper flakes to taste and garlic, cook until the garlic is a golden color
• Add 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and it get thicker.
• Add green beans and stir
• Season with salt and pepper and top with additional balsamic vinegar if desired.

Enjoy!

Chicken Enchilada Soup

As I have gotten older I have a new found love for soups. I also love the ease of cooking in a crock pot. I came across this recipe while searching for soups for Winter here in Korea. I am so glad I tried it, and I will definitely be making this again.
Here is the website I found it on http://realmomkitchen.com/463/chicken-enchilada-soup-and-my-top-10-soup-recipes/. I will also put the recipe below.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes (I used the kind with sweet onion in it)
1 10-ounce package frozen whole kernel corn
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped yellow, green, or red bell pepper (I used red, which is my favorite pepper)
1 10-ounce can enchilada sauce (I used mild)
1 10.75-ounce can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups milk (I used skim)
1 cup shredded Pepper jack cheese (4 ounces)
2 chicken breasts

In a 3 1/2 to 5 quart slow cooker, combine drained beans, tomatoes, corn, onion, and bell pepper. Place 2 chicken breasts on top of mixture. In a large bowl, whisk together enchilada sauce and soup. Gradually whisk in milk until smooth. Pour sauce mixture over ingredients in cooker.Cover; cook on low heat for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours. Remove chicken and cut or shred into bite sized pieces. Add chicken back into soup. Top with pepper jack cheese and serve. Can also be topped with avocado, sour cream, or crushed tortilla chips. Note: if the soup is too thick for you, just add a little more milk after it’s all cooked.

Enjoy!

Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette

I was searching the internet for a balsamic vinaigrette and I came across this one here http://therecipesociety.blogspot.com/2009/09/creamy-balsamic-vinaigrette.html and thought it sounded good. It was very good but I ended up adding about a tablespoon and a half of honey to make it a little sweeter. I will definitely keep this one on hand but I am still in search of a balsamic vinaigrette that they serve here in Korea. The one here is sweet, garlicky, and salty. I will keep searching and reviewing them here.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp brown sugar
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp basic
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp parsley
1 1/2 Tbs. honey (I added this)

Directions:

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. It if is too thick you can a add a few tsps of water until is is the desired consistency.
Store in airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.
Enjoy!

Filet Mignon with Mushroom-Wine Sauce Served with Twice Baked Potatoes

Filet Mignon with Mushroom-Wine Sauce

Ingredients:

	1/2 lb Button mushrooms
	Vegetable cooking spray
	Cracked pepper
	1 1/2 c Dry red wine, divided
	2 ts Cornstarch
	Fresh thyme sprigs
	1 ts Dried thyme
	4 4-ozfilet Mignon steaks; about 1 inch thick
	1/3 c shallot; Finely chopped
	1 tb Margarine; divided
	1 tb Low-sodium soy sauce
	1 10.5-oz can beef consomme; undiluted and divided

Directions:

Melt 1-1/2 t margarine in a nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add shallot and mushrooms; saute 4 minutes. Add 1 c wine and 3/4 c consomme; cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove mushrooms, and place in a bowl. Increase heat to high; cook wine mixture 5 minutes or until reduced to 1/2 c. Add to mushrooms in bowl; set aside. Wipe skillet with a paper towel.

Sprinkle pepper over steaks. Melt remaining margarine in skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add steaks; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook 1-1/2 minutes on each side or until done. Place on a platter; keep warm.

Combine soy sauce and cornstarch; stir well. Add remaining wine and consomme to skillet; scrape skillet with a wooden spoon to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute. Add mushroom mixture, cornstarch mixture, and dried thyme; bring to a boil, and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Serve with steaks. Garnish with fresh thyme.

Twice Baked Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 1 large baking potatoes
• 2 slices bacon
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  
• 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
  
• 2 green onions, sliced, divided

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Clean potatoes and pat dry.
3. Lightly coat the potatoes with olive oil and kosher salt
   
4. Bake potatoes in preheated oven for 1 hour.
5. Meanwhile, place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside. (I used Turkey Bacon and cooked it in the microwave).
   
6. When potatoes are done allow them to cool for 10 minutes. Slice potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop the flesh into a large bowl; save skins. To the potato flesh add sour cream, milk, butter, salt, pepper, 1/2 cup cheese and 1/2 the green onions. Mix with a hand mixer until well blended and creamy. Spoon the mixture into the potato skins. Top each with remaining cheese, green onions and bacon. (I used light sour cream, skim milk, and fat free cheese. I recommend using low fat cheese because the fat free is very hard to melt as you can see in the picture. I also didn't have green onion on hand but it is delicious in the recipe!)
   
7. Bake for another 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Adapted from:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Ultimate-Twice-Baked-Potatoes/Detail.aspx

Bistec De Palomilla

Being from South Florida, I miss Cuban food very much! Since there is no Cuban food in South Korea, I have to make my own. I made my favorite, Bistec de Palomilla and served it with Cuban style white rice and Cuban style black beans. You can find my recipe for black beans here on my blog. The recipe for the rice and steak are below. I hope you enjoy it as much as my husband and I did!

Bistec de Palomilla

Ingredients:

6-8 oz boneless steaks (top round) 1/4 inch thick
1/4 cup Naranja Agria or (substitute 2 parts lemon juice to 1 part orange juice)
2 tablespoons garlic minced
1/2 medium onion finely chopped
1-cup parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup lime juice
Olive oil

Directions:

• In a mixing bowl combine the naranja agria, garlic, salt and pepper to make the marinade. Place the steaks in a deep baking dish in a single layer and sprinkle them with salt on both sides. Pour the marinade over the steaks, cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-hour.

• Option 1 for the onions, if you like raw onion: Prepare the garnish in a medium bowl. Combine the parsley, chopped onion, lime juice and drizzle a small amount of olive oil over the mixture. Do not add to much olive oil or the topping will be too soggy. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside
• Option 2 for the onions, which is what I did: Slice the onion and when you are done cooking the steaks, cook the onions with the leftover marinade. Cook until golden brown or your desired tenderness. I like mine cooked enough to take the bitterness out of the onion but still a bit crispy.
• To cook the meat on a grill: Heat grill to high heat. Remove the steaks from marinade and grill for 1 to 2 minutes per side. Because the steaks are so thin, they will cook very quickly.
• To cook the meat on the stove top: Heat skillet in between medium high and high heat, cook steaks about 2-3 minutes on each side.

Cuban Style White Rice

Ingredients:

1 cup extra long grain white rice, if you can find Goya brand that is great, I used Canilla which is a Goya product
2 cups water
1/2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

While stirring, bring to a boil. Then reduce heat, cover and allow to simmer until water is absorbed. Normally 20-25 minutes.

Bring
Enjoy!

Bonless Porkchops with Homemade BBQ Sauce & Quinoa Fried Rice

I have been wanting to try Quinoa for the longest time. The last time I was at the grocery store I just bit the bullet and bought some, not knowing how to cook it! I came home and searched the internet for a recipe and found one that I thought would be great. The original recipe was for Chicken Quinoa Fried Rice but I omitted the chicken and just made Quinoa Fried Rice. The recipe is here:
http://www.noshtopia.com/2008/06/recipe-quinoa-c.html

I also had some pork chops so I made a batch of our favorite homemade BBQ sauce. I made Emeril's Baby Back Ribs once and loved the BBQ sauce so much that it is our go to BBQ sauce! It's easy to make so I make a batch and save it in a container to use for other recipes. I decided to try the boneless pork chops in the slow cooker. I trimmed the fat off the pork chops and put come BBQ sauce and cooked it for about 6-7 hours on low and then while I was cooking the Quinoa I turned it to high to thicken the sauce. If the sauce doesn't thicken up you, can put it on the stove in a saucepan and turn it to high heat while constantly stirring until it thickens. The BBQ Sauce Recipe is here:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/oven-barbecued-baby-back-ribs-recipe/index.html

Enjoy!

Mushroom Risotto

Recipe from The Best Ever Low Fat cookbook.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp dried porcini mushrooms
1 1/4 cups boiling water
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 fresh sage sprig, finely chopped (I omitted because I didn't have any sage)
generous 1 1/4 cups risotto rice
1/2 cup white wine
8 oz./ 225 g cremini mushrooms, sliced
3 cups hot vegetable stock
4 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
shavings of fresh Parmesan cheese for garnish

Instructions:

• Put the dried porcini mushrooms in a small bowl and pour in the boiling water to cover. let soak for 30 minutes, or until the mushrooms are soft. Drain, reserving the soaking liquid. Using a sharp knife, chop the mushrooms and strain the soaking liquid through a coffee filter paper or cheesecloth-lined strainer.
• Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottom pan. Add the onion, garlic, and sage and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Add the rice and cook over low heat, stirring constantly to coat the grains and with the oil, for 3 minutes. Add the white wine and cook, stirring constantly, until it has evaporated. Stir in the porcini and cremini mushrooms, the mushroom soaking liquid and a large laddleful of the hot Vegetable Stock. Let simmer, stirring constantly, until all the stock has been absorbed. Continue adding the Vegetable Stock and stirring in this way for 20 minutes, or until all the stock has been absorbed and the rice is tender but still firm to the bite.
  
• Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the Parmesan cheese and season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide the risotto between 4 warmed serving plates, garnish with shavings of Parmesan cheese and serve.

Enjoy!

Black Beans

You will need:

1 large onion
1 large green pepper
3 cloves garlic, peeled, crushed, and chopped
3 tablespoons mojo sauce or 3 tablespoons vinegar (I use Mojo)
Olive oil for frying
2 or 3 cans plain, unseasoned black beans
1 bay leaf
3 teaspoons ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

Make a sofrito by chopping onion and green pepper. Sauté onions and green pepper in olive oil until onions are translucent.

Add crushed and chopped garlic and sauté another minute or so. Take about one cup of beans and mash them to make a chunky paste.

Add this paste, the canned beans and the sofrito to a sauce pan. Add bay leaf, mojo, cumin, and let simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes.

Serve over rice.

* If you are only cooking for 2-3 people, only use one can of beans and then half of all the other ingredients.

* I personally like my beans the thickness you see in the picture. If you see that the beans are too watery just cook on high heat while stir constantly until some of the liquid evaporates out and you have your desired thickness.

Enjoy!

Quiche

My dear husband attended a Superbowl party this year, so I made a couple of quiche for him to bring. Since we live in Japan the Superbowl was shown at 8 a.m. I am not an egg eater (I know it is weird) so I have no clue how to make quiche. I turned to the internet as I often do and ended up on http://allrecipes.com/Default.aspx . I found this one recipe in particular that got great reviews http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Clarks-Quiche/Detail.aspx. I made the following changes to the recipe.
1. Changed the servings from 16 to 8
2. I used light sour cream, fat free cheddar cheese, half egg beaters/half eggs, light Parmesan, and fat free half and half. I also left out the olive oil and used cooking spray.
3. I didn't layer it as the recipe states, instead I went with the suggestions of others. I mixed all of the filling together, then divided it up between (2) 9 inch regular pie crusts. Finally I put the egg, half & half, and parsley mixture on top and baked.

*Next time I think I would make this with Turkey Bacon

The quiche was liked by all that tried it. My husband especially liked it but I think that is because his wife made it. (wink)