Fattening Lard Bake

White Chili

2008-01-27T21:20:00.000-05:00

2 cans Great Northern beans
1 1/2 cartons chicken broth
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium onions, chopped (divided)
olive oil
1 4-oz. can chopped green chilies
ground cumin
dried oregano
cayenne pepper
2 chicken breasts, seasoned as desired, sauteed, and chopped
1 jalepeno pepper, chopped
cheese, sour cream, green onions, salsa, guacamole, and/or cilantro (optional)

Combine beans, chicken broth, garlic, and half of the onions in a large soup pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer.

Season chicken as desired and saute until golden brown. Chop.

In another skillet, saute remaining onions in olive oil until tender. Add to bean mixture. Add chicken and continue to simmer 1 hour. Check seasoning, add jalapeno to level of desired hotness.

Garnish with cheese, sour cream, green onions, salsa, guacamole, and/or cilantro.

Adapted from White Chili Recipe on Simply Recipes

Parmesan Chicken

2007-02-07T22:20:00.000-05:00

1 clove garlic, minced
about 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
dried bread crumbs
grated Parmesan cheese
chopped fresh parsley
garlic salt
Italian seasoning
ground black pepper
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into pieces

Preheat oven to 450°. Melt butter in a bowl; add minced garlic and stir. In another bowl combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, parsley, garlic salt, Italian seasoning, and black pepper. Dip chicken first in butter mixture then in bread crumb mixture. Place on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Drizzle with any remaining butter. Cook 15 minutes or until cooked through.

Adapted from a recipe on Simply Recipes

Chicken Stew

2006-10-28T19:55:00.000-04:00

I have a bit of a soup/stew obsession and make a big pot of it almost every weekend when the weather is cold. I don't know where I got this recipe, but I made it today and it was delicious! The only thing I would do differently would be to make it a day ahead so I could put it in the fridge overnight and skim some of the fat off. The mix of the oil and dark meat chicken made it a little greasy.

3 Tbsp. oil (I used Smart Balance oil)
1 large onion, thinly sliced
chicken pieces (I bought a pack that had 2 breasts, 2 thighs, and 2 drums)
1 can of diced tomatoes
pinch of cayenne
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 1/4 cups hot chicken broth
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 cup frozen corn
salt

Heat the oil in a skillet that will be large enough to hold all the chicken pieces. Add the onion and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until the onion is softened. Transfer the onions to a slow cooker.

Add the chicken to the skillet and cook, turning occasionally, for 5 minutes until golden all over. Transfer to the slow cooker and add the tomatoes. Season with a pinch of cayenne and salt. Stir the Worcestershire sauce into the hot broth and pour into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6 1/2 hours.

Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and pull the meat from the bones. Return the meat to the slow cooker. Mix the cornstarch with 2 Tbsp. water and stir into the stew. Add the corn, recover, and cook on high for 30-40 minutes.

Corn Chowder

2006-09-13T12:52:00.000-04:00

I got this recipe from the newspaper the other day. It was excellent!

4 cups milk
7 ears corn
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 1/2 cups finely diced potatoes (about 1 large potato or 2 small)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
4 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a large saucepan, bring the milk to a low simmer.

Meanwhile, cut the corn kernels from the cobs. To do this, stand each ear on its wide end. Use a serrated knife to saw down the length of the ear. Set kernels aside.

When the milk is warm, add the corn cobs and simmer 10 minutes.

While the cobs simmer, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the onion, potatoes and thyme and sauté about 8 minutes, or until potatoes are just tender. Add the garlic and sauté another minute.

Remove the cobs from the milk and discard them. Transfer the potato and onion mixture into the milk. Add the corn kernels and simmer 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Makes 2 to 3 servings

Pumpkin Roll

2006-08-18T21:30:00.000-04:00

Finally, a submission from Rusty! Of course it had to be a baked good. Jenny is the cook, and I'm the baker...

This is one of my mom's specialties that she passed on to me when I started baking. The filling is incredible, and the cake turns out extremely moist and very pumpkin-y! You'll love it, and it's not as hard as it seems at first, as long as you follow the directions, especially with the rolling!

Cake Ingredients:

3 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup pumpkin (packed in can)
2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda

Cake Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine all ingredients and beat until mixed. Grease a jelly roll pan and place wax paper on the pan. Grease the wax paper. Pour batter on the greased wax paper and bake 15 minutes. Place on a dishtowel powdered with confectioner's sugar. Roll the dishtowel inside the roll while still hot. Let cool on rack. When cooled and ready for filling, unroll and remove dishtowel.

Filling Ingredients:

8 ounce cream cheese
1/2 tsp. vanilla
4 tbsp. butter
1 cup confectioner's sugar

Filling Directions:
Combine ingredients and beat until smooth. Spread on cooled roll; reroll. Keep in refrigerator. Slice 1-inch pieces to serve.

Enjoy!

Guacamole

2006-08-13T13:32:00.000-04:00

I prefer to make my own food because then I know what's in it. You can buy a plastic container of guac, but why would you do that when it's so easy to make on your own?

2 avocados
1 lime
1 clove garlic
1 small onion
fresh cilantro

Cut avocados in half; scoop insides into a bowl. Squeeze juice of lime over avocado for flavor and to prevent browning. Chop garlic clove and add to mixture. Add about 1 tablespoon chopped onion. Chop cilantro (add as much or as little as you want) and add. Mash until desired consistency.

Chicken Florentine Style

2006-07-17T14:04:00.000-04:00

I made this last night and it was extremely delicious, if I do say so myself.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour, enough to dredge
6 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons shallots, sliced
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 1/2 cups white wine
1 cup whipping cream
2 10-ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken in the flour to coat lightly. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until brown, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate and tent with foil to keep it warm. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the same skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and saute until the shallots are translucent, stirring to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the skillet, about 1 minute. Add the wine. Increase the heat to medium-high and boil until the liquid is reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the cream and boil until the sauce reduces by half, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper. Add the chicken and any accumulated juices to the sauce, and turn the chicken to coat in the sauce.

Meanwhile, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in another large skillet over medium heat. Add the spinach and saute until heated through. Season the spinach, to taste, with salt and pepper. Arrange the spinach over a platter. Place the chicken atop the spinach. Pour the sauce over and serve.

From Everyday Italian

Mojitos

2006-07-07T17:24:00.000-04:00

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 bunch mint, stems removed, plus additional for garnish
juice from 6-8 limes
1/2 to 1/3 of a 750 millileter bottle of rum
1 liter of club soda

In a small saucepan bring sugar, water, and mint to a boil. Stir until sugar is dissolved completely. Set aside to cool; strain into a pitcher.

Squeeze the limes into a pitcher; add as much rum as desired. Chill.

Prior to serving, stir in club soda. Serve over ice; garnish with additional mint.

*As tempting as it may be, don't drink the whole pitcher!

Pan Seared Rib Eye

2006-07-05T21:39:00.000-04:00

1 boneless rib eye steak, 1 1/2 inch thick
canola oil
Kosher salt
ground black pepper

Place 10 to 12-inch cast iron skillet in oven and heat oven to 500 degrees. Bring steak to room temperature.

When oven reaches temperature, remove pan and place on range over high heat. Coat steak lightly with oil and season both sides with a pinch of salt. Grind on black pepper to taste.

Immediately place steak in the middle of hot, dry pan. Cook 30 seconds without moving. Turn with tongs and cook another 30 seconds, then put the pan straight into the oven for 2 minutes. Flip steak and cook for another 2 minutes. (This time is for medium rare steaks. If you prefer medium, add a minute to both of the oven turns.)

Remove steak from pan, cover loosely with foil, and rest for 2 minutes.

From Good Eats