Peachy Chicken

This recipe is like autumn in your mouth!  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 8 chicken breast halves
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 4 fresh peaches-peeled, pitted and sliced
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.

2.  Place chicken in the prepared baking dish, and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of brown sugar.  Place peach slices over chicken, then sprinkle with remaining brown sugar, ginger, cloves, and lemon juice.

3.  Bake for about 30 mins, basting often with juices until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.

Grilled Chicken Pasta in a Tomato Cream Sauce

Ok folks, this one is the real deal!  I think this recipe just made it to the top of my favorites list.  It reminds me of the 5 Cheese Ziti from the Olive Garden, which is one of my life obsessions.  (Hopefully this recipe is a little healthier that that, because I recently read that the ziti at the OG has 1050 calories in it. Eek!)  As usual, I made a few adjustments.  Instead of adding fresh parsley, which I really don't care for, I added fresh rosemary, because I am growing it on my kitchen window sill.  I would definitely recommend adding the rosemary.  It made it taste soooooooo good!  Also, the sauce turned out really runny.  Next time I'm going to add cornstarch or something to thicken it up.  Also, we had some extra mushrooms in the fridge, so I added them as well, cause we love mushrooms.  Oh, one more thing, I didn't use the Montreal Seasoning it calls for because I didn't want to buy it.  You could just grill up chicken plain, or use whatever seasoning you want on it. We used some garlic and herbs and it was great!  Seriously, I love this recipe!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Montreal Steak seasoning
• 1/2 pound penne pasta
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• salt & pepper (to taste)
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
• 6-8 fresh basil leaves, chiffonaded

Directions:

Rinse chicken breasts in cold water. Layer between sheets of wax paper and pound to even thickness. Season both sides with Montreal Steak seasoning. Preheat grill for medium high heat, lightly oil grate, and grill chicken breasts on medium high heat for 6-8 mins each side. OR heat 2 tbsp butter & 2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the butter and olive oil is nice and hot, add chicken breasts and cook 5 mins each side. Set chicken aside to cool. In a large pot, boil water with 1 tbsp salt. Add 1/2 lb penne pasta noodles and boil according to package directions. Heat 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic is tender, but do not let the garlic turn brown (about 3-5 mins). Add the chicken broth to the pan and allow to reduce by half. Meanwhile, slice chicken. Once the broth has reduced, stir in tomato sauce. Add the heavy cream and stir well to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Turn heat to low. Chop the parsley and basil, add to sauce and mix well. Drain pasta and add to sauce. Stir well to coat. Serve pasta on plates, top with sliced chicken.

Santa Fe Chicken Pita Pizza

This recipe was soooo easy.  Like usual, I added extra ingredients because I had some that I thought would be a good addition.  I added tomatoes, green onions and corn.  Also, I used regular black beans instead of refried black beans because I read the recipe wrong, but I think I'll use it that way again.  Also, of course I did not measure anything.  I just put how much I wanted on each pita flat.  For some reason the grocery store I was at didn't sell pitas?  So I made them on these sandwich flats that they had, but the centers got soggy.  I'm definitely looking somewhere else for pitas next time.

Ingredients:

• 4 pita breads (6 inches)
• 1/2 cup refried black beans
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1 cup cubed cooked chicken breast
• 2 tablespoons chopped green chilies
• 2 tablespoons sliced ripe olives
• 3/4 cup shredded colby-monterey jack cheese

Directions
1.  Place pita breads on an ungreased baking sheet, spead with salsa and top with beans.  Top with all the other ingredients, finishing with cheese.

2.  Bake at 350 for 8-10 mins or until the cheese is melted.

Grilled Stuffed Burritos

When Kyle first had these, he was in love.  He said they were everything he ever wanted out of a "Grilled Stuffed Burrito" from Taco Bell, but even better.  They're pretty simple too.  Just make sure that you don't get the pan too hot when you're grilling the tortillas, or they'll turn out like these.....

Also, I have a really hard time not filling the tortillas too full.  When I make them, they usually become tacos instead of burritos.  

Ingredients:

1 1/2 to 2 cups cooked rice

1 cup cooked, shredded chicken

1/2 red or green pepper, diced

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Juice of 1 lime

3/4 cup corn, cooked

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp garlic salt

2 cups shredded cheese

sour cream

Tortillas

I add other ingredients that I like in Mexican food, like tomatoes, onions or green onions.  

Directions

1. Mix rice together with chili powder, cumin and garlic salt.  Add remaining ingredients, except for the cheese and sour cream.  Sprinkle cheese over tortillas then dot sour cream down the center.  Arrange the chicken/rice mixture down the center.  Roll stuffed tortillas.  Arrange wraps seam side down on skillet  (med-low heat) and cook until golden brown and crisp, about 2-3 mins per side.

Mongolian Beef

The first time I had Mongolian Beef at P.F. Chang's I thought my life had changed.  It was sooo good!  Here is a recipe I've found that claims to be the recipe Mr. Chang uses.  It is pretty good!  We always add sautéed mushrooms when we make it, because when they are delish!  Also, the first time I made it, I decided to skip the "10 mins of cornstarch part" because I thought it sounded like a hassle.  The meal turned out ok, but I definitely recommend following the instructions exactly.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons oil
• 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup oil
• 1 lb flank steak
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 large green onions

Directions:
1.  Slice the flank steak against the grain into 1/2 inch thick bite-size slices.  (Make sure its against the grain, or the meat will turn out very tough).  Dip the steak pieces into the cornstarch to apply a very think dusting to both sides of each piece of beef.  Let the beef sit for about 10 mins so that the cornstarch sticks..

2.  Make the sauce by heating the 2 teaspoons of oil in a medium sauce pan over medium/low heat. Don't get the oil too hot or its trouble.  Add ginger and garlic to the pan.  Stir it just a bit, and then add the soy sauce and water before the garlic scorches.  Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce, then raise the heat to about medium and boil the sauce for 2 to 3 mins or until the sauce thickens.  Remove from the heat.

3.  As the beef sits, heat up the cup of oil over medium heat in a wok (I use my skillet pan for this).  Heat the oil over medium heat until its nice and hot, but not smoking.

Add the beef to the oil and saute for just two mins, or until the beef just begins to darken on the edges.  You don't need a thorough cooking here since the beef is going to go back on the heat later.  Stir the meat around a little so that it cooks evenly.  After the two mins are up, use a large slotted spoon to take the meed out and onto paper towels.  Then discard the oil from the wok.  Put the pan back ove the heat, dump the meat back into it and simmer for one minute.  Add the sauce, cook for one minute while stirring..  Then add the green onions.  Cook for one more minute.  Serve over rice.