Such a sweet sleeper

Head Adornment

Weekend in Charleston, no kids, great food, lots of fun and touristy stuff.

John got me my first hat.

The tree is actually shiny silver thread

He got himself a derby hat.

Moroccan Chicken

(My picture didn't capture how orange it turns out)

So I took Johns favorite meal and tweaked it.
The original involves garbanzo beans, lentils, and brown rice.
I tried it this time with chicken and couscous.
This does two things.
Just generally changes things up a bit AND incorporates pasta, so I can send it to Presto Pasta Nights
(This week is Tandy, at Lavender and Lime)

You could also thicken the liquid with cornstarch and serve over couscous, quinoa, or brown rice.

3 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

1/2 celery stalk, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 c. vegetable broth

1 c. chicken broth

1 can petite diced tomatoes, undrained

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp or 1/2 of 1 cube of chicken bouillon, crushed fine

1/2 tsp. each sweet paprika, turmeric, ground ginger, ground coriander

1/4 tsp. each ground nutmeg, black pepper, granulated garlic

1/8 tsp. cinnamon (scant)

pinch cloves

2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro

10 oz couscous

Greek Yogurt (optional)

Combine the paprika, turmeric, ginger, coriander, nutmeg, black pepper, granulated garlic, cinnamon and cloves. Trim the fat from the chicken and cut in half lengthwise. Sprinkle the chicken lightly with the seasonings and a little salt, leaving about half of the mixed seasonings.

Heat the butter in a large skillet. Add the seasoned chicken and cook on both sides until browned. Add the onion, celery, and fresh garlic. Saute until translucent.

Add broths, tomatoes, lemon juice, and seasonings. Simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes on low to combine the flavors. Stir in the cilantro and then couscous and stir really quick to make sure the couscous is in the liquid. Cover and remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes.

(I love the colors of all the spices together, again though the colors are not as vivid as real life)

And John brought me flowers

Brazilian Lemonade

1 c. water
3/4 c. sugar
6 limes
1/2 can sweetened condensed milk
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 can lemon-lime soda

With the peels still on, cut the limes in half, and the into quarters. Combine the limes, water, and sugar. Pulse for a few seconds, or 5 times, until the limes are slightly ground up.

Strain the limes from the liquid and discard the solids.

Add the sweetened condensed milk and blend to combine.

Add the soda and lemon juice and pulse again.

Serve immediately.

Tropical Smoothie

1 mango
10 large strawberries
1/4 fresh pineapple
1 - 2 c. cantaloupe chunks
1 orange
2 bananas
1 c. vanilla yogurt
1 handful of ice

Remove all the unwanted parts from the fruit, stems from the strawberries, peel from the orange, etc.

Puree all the fruit until smooth. Add the ice and yogurt and puree until the ice is chopped.

Bulgarianish Bubbles and Squeaks

My older brother gave me this recipe he made it while he lived in Bulgaria. He used a local sausage, a local cheese, and cabbage. I left out the cheese cause I didn't think it needed it and the cabbage cause my spouse wont eat cabbage.

1 kielbasa

4 large potatoes

4 Tbsp flour

3 Tbsp butter

4 c. dairy

(Heavy cream, half-an-half, milk, whatever combination you have on hand)

Salt and pepper to taste

Slice the kielbasa and cook over medium high heat until starting to brown.

While that is cooking peel the potatoes. Cut the peeled potatoes into quarters lenghtwise and then cut into 1/8th inch pieces.

When the kielbasa is cooked, add the potatoes to the pan and cook until the potatoes are brown.

Pour the bechamel sauce over the potatoes and kielbasa and bake at 350 for 30 - 45 minutes until potatoes are very tender

For the Sauce

Melt the butter, add the flour and stir to avoid lumps. Cook for a minute or two and stir in the cream. Cook, stirring until thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Summer Corn Pasta

This recipe is a combination of two other recipes. The first one being the test recipe for one of my online cooking groups that reminded me a bit of the second recipe, a soup my mom makes when fresh corn is in season. I like to add the cobs to the cooking liquid a little to give the sauce a really fresh corn flavor.

I also plan on sending this to Presto Pasta Nights host this week by Helen at Fuss Free Flavors.

This can very easily be made without the chicken by skipping the chicken, just cook the onion in the bacon drippings right after removing the bacon and add a can of white beans.

Summer Corn Pasta

6 oz. bacon

3 chicken breasts

Lawreys Season Salt

8 oz. rigatoni or penne

1/2 onion, chopped

2 large carrots, grated

1 c. water

2 chicken bouillon cubes

2 tsp. lemon juice

1 medium zucchini

4 ears corn

2 1/2 c. half-an-half

2 tsp. flour

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain and butter to prevent sticking.

Saute bacon until crisp. Remove from pan.

Remove fat from the chicken and fillet. Sprinkle with the lawrys seasoning and cook in the bacon drippings until browned on both sides. Remove from pan

Without cleaning out the pan cook the onion and carrot in the bacon drippings.

Add 1 cup of water to the pan along with one of the chicken cubes and the lemon juice.

Cut the zucchini into quarters lenghtwise and the then slice 1/4 inch thick. Add to the pan with the carrots and onion. Cut the corn from the cob. Add the cobs to the simmering zucchini. When the zucchini is tender remove the cobs from the pan and add the corn, half-an-half, pepper, and remaining chicken cube.

Combine the flour and enough water to form a thin pasta. Stir into the half-an-half and vegetables in the pan. Heat, stirring, until thick.

Slice the chicken, and add the chicken, pasta, and bacon to the pan. Add more half-an-half as needed to thin out the sauce.

After I took one shot of it on the plate I tossed it all together to serve for dinner.