Spicy Pickled Carrots & Asparagus

 

I've been dying to pickle something ever since the summer began.  Cucumbers, Okra, Radishes... you name it, I wanted to pickle it.  Did I ever get around to pickling those things?  Well, no.  Life got in the way.

But I did manage to do a quick pickle on some leftover carrots and asparagus that turned out great!  We used these on tacos, as accompaniment to salmon, and even ate them straight out of the jar.  Not bad for a first timer, if I do say so myself.


What's your favorite vegetable to pickle?

Ingredients:
Adapted from Apt. 2B Baking Co.'s Recipe

1 lb. carrots, peeled and julienned
about 10 asparagus spears, cut into 1 inch pieces
10 Thai chiles, split in half
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 & 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1 cup warm water

In a medium bowl, combine carrots, asparagus, 2 teaspoons of sugar, and salt.  Massage sugar and salt into vegetables until they because somewhat flexible.  Transfer to a colander and rinse with cold water.  Drain.

In another bowl, combine the remaining sugar, rice wine vinegar, and warm water.  Stir until sugar is dissolved. 

Tightly pack the drained carrots, asparagus, and chile peppers into pint-sized mason jars (I did 2 jam-packed jars).  Pour the vinegar mixture over the vegetables until about 1/2 inch from the top.  Seal jars and place in refrigerator overnight.

These were a quick pickle, so I'd say they would last no more than 3 weeks in the fridge.  Ours didn't last that long, since I pretty much served them with everything we ate!

I'm off to go play a night volleyball game and tomorrow I'm down for a road trip to Danville, KY where I'll be meeting up with a few other KY Food Bloggers.  Pictures to come!

Radishes with Herbed Butter

Happy Wednesday guys!  It's mid-week and I'm definitely anxiously awaiting for the weekend to arrive!  I need it!

Now, it's kinda late, so I'm gonna post something rather quick.

Radishes are one of those things I can take or leave.  They're okay, but I think besides their somewhat peppery taste - just don't do anything for me.  But add some butter (that's been laced with garden fresh herbs), and we have a different story.  A quick and easy snack - or even a snappy appetizer in a pinch for a dinner party.


Ingredients:

1 bunch of radishes, cut in half
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
small handful of fresh herbs (parsley, cilantro, oregano - whatever you prefer)
salt and pepper, to taste

In a small bowl, combine the butter and herbs of your choice - I think I went with some cilantro here.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

You can be fancy and put the butter in a pastry bag to top the radish halves, but I went old fashioned and just slathered a bit on with a knife. 

And voila, instant snack.

And really, the herbed butter can go on practically anything you put butter on - not just radishes!

Have a great rest of your Wednesday, even though there's only about an hour left of it!

Don't forget, if you have a CSA or Farmer's Market haul you'd like to share - e-mail me at mtlabor85@yahoo.com and I'll include you in the roundup tomorrow afternoon!

Spinach-Stuffed Chicken Breasts w/ Spicy Peas & Mushrooms

Happy 4th of July everybody! 

We've been enjoying our 3-day weekend by being lazy and relaxing!  I really don't want to go back to work tomorrow - but gotta pay those bills, right?

We'll be heading over to my parent's house today for some eats and apparently a Mario Party party - my sisters are addicted (and maybe we can be entertained by watching my mother try to play too, hehe!). 

Anyway, I made this dinner a couple weeks ago after our CSA included these amazing peas.  They're just beautiful, aren't they?  Enjoy your Monday guys!

Ingredients:

2 cups spinach 
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 large chicken breasts, pounded to about 1/2 inch thickness
salt and pepper, to taste
3 thai chiles, chopped
8 oz. package of sliced Portobello mushrooms
1 to 1 & 1/2 cups shelled peas
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Place spinach in a microwave-safe bowl and add about a tablespoon or two of water.  Place in microwave for about 2-3 minutes, or until wilted.  Let cool slightly.

Stir in sour cream, parmesan cheese, and about half of the minced garlic.

Lay the chicken breasts flat and spoon about half of the spinach mixture on top of each.  Either roll the chicken breasts or just fold up and tie with kitchen string to seal.  Place chicken breasts in a greased baking dish (seam side-down) and top with additional Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Bake for about 35 minutes, or until chicken is white throughout and Parmesan on top is golden brown.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet under medium high heat and melt butter.  Add remaining minced garlic and thai chiles and saute for about a minute or so.  Add mushrooms and cook for about 10-15 minutes, or until mushrooms start to "sweat".  Add in peas and cook an additional 5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve chicken breasts atop a big heaping of the mushroom and pea mixture.

This was definitely one of those weeknight meals that you say "wow" to.  The chicken was juicy and the mushroom & pea mixture complimented it perfectly with just the right amount of spicy kick!  If you're struggling to find a good weeknight meal that fresh, seasonal, and tasty - look no further! 

Happy 4th guys!

Pretzel-Crusted Chicken Breasts

Happy Wednesday guys!  How's everyone's week going so far?  So far so good with us!

Picked up our CSA box this afternoon and it was LOADED with goodies!  Can't wait to share all of our goods with you tomorrow!

And on to today's recipe...

When I think of pretzels, I don't usually immediately think to use them as a coating/breading - although it's quite common these days!  But the salty snack is a great breading for chicken and fish!  This recipe proves it!


Ingredients:

Adapted from Savour Fare's recipe

1 & 1/2 cups pretzel sticks
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup spicy brown mustard
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon water
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 & 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Tabasco, optional

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Place a rack over a baking sheet.

Place pretzels into a plastic bag and seal.  Run a rolling pin over the pretzels until they reach a desired consistency.  I liked them somewhat pulverized, but still with small chunks of pretzel still visible. 

Transfer crush pretzels to a shallow dish and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine spicy brown mustard, Dijon mustard, water, and vinegar.  Whisk to combine.  Slowly whisk in the olive oil until fully incorporated and homogenous.  Add in cayenne pepper and season with salt, if needed.

Dip chicken breasts in mustard mixture and coat well.  Then dip in dish with pretzels and coat well.  Place chicken breasts on top of rack on baking sheet. 

Bake chicken until cooked through, about 30-40 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken breasts (ours were quite large).  Slice and serve with some buttered pasta and Tabasco sauce (couldn't resist the added heat!).

This was such a quick and easy weeknight meal, I'm really thinking about keeping it in my rotation for a while!  I loved the added crunch of the pretzels and the mustardy/Tabasco kick!  Loved it - and I hope if you try this, that you will too!

Have a great Wednesday guys and hope you're back tomorrow to see our CSA goodies!  And Friday, I'll be posting the Derby Pie fudge recipe, so you know you can't miss that!  I'm off to play some volleyball (we've just got to do better than last week's 0-3 showing!)

Springtime Salsa

Hey guys!  Happy Friday to ya!  Am I ever happy for this week to be over with!  It's just been quite hellish, to tell you the truth.  And after my shift tomorrow morning, I'll have Sunday and Monday off, so I'm definitely looking forward to some rest!

On a side note - sorry if any of you tried to visit the blog the past day or so - Blogger was apparently working out some kinks and removed Wednesday's & Thursday's post amidst all the craziness!  They're back now though, so all is (seemingly) back to normal!

Anyway, no big plans for the weekend - just relaxing!  How about you guys?

I know I'll be finishing off this salsa, because it was super delicious!  Next time, I'll probably make my own tortilla chips, though - has anyone noticed that store-bought tortilla chips just keep getting saltier and saltier?  I felt like I was eating a salt lick by eating the ones pictures with the salsa! 

Ingredients:

28 oz. can whole tomatoes, with juice 
1-2 jalapeno peppers (depending on how spicy you want it! - I only removed half of the seeds, I live on the edge!)
1/2 small onion
small handful cilantro
salt and pepper, to taste

In the bowl of a food processor, combine tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, onion, and cilantro.  Puree until smooth (or keep it chunky - it's your salsa, get it to your liking!).  Season with salt and pepper, to taste. 

Bam!  You've got yourself salsa in about 10 minutes.  Seriously, I'll be eating salsa with everything now that the weather is warm and sunny!  It's just one of those "sunshine" foods, don't you think?  And of course, you could always use fresh tomatoes - but it's still a little too early for my garden beauties, and I just had a can in the pantry, so I said why not?


What's your favorite way to make salsa?

Anyway, sorry for the short and simple posts this week!  I'm still working on getting the congestion out of my head from being sick and it's just easier to do simple things right now!  So I promise I'll be back Monday with some awesome stuff (esp. Derby Pie Fudge!!)

Have a great weekend guys!

Spicy Macaroni & Cheese

Happy Friday guys!  You don't even know how happy I am that the weekend is finally here!  It was a crazy week back at work - or maybe I'm just being a baby and wanted one more week (or a few) of vacation.  But such is life.  Bills need to be paid and my butt needs to work.  Regardless... the weekend is here.

Tomorrow should be plenty of fun.  It's Thunder Over Louisville and we'll be heading to Slugger Field for the Bats game and a permanent seat for all the fireworks festivities!  I should have some good pictures next week so look out for them!

Now let's talk macaroni.  Macaroni and cheese, to be exact.  There's so many different ways to make the mac, how does one choose a favorite?  Andy... he's a big fan of "the cheesier, the better" - and he makes a mean mac, that's for sure.  But he makes it on the stove, and that's all well and good - But me, I kind of like to spice things up.  Be unique.  I am a fan of baked macaroni and cheese.  You know, you get the crunch of the exterior noodles and then you have the underneath layers of smooth and creamy macaroni.  Definitely good stuff.

Something I don't like is dry macaroni and cheese.  You know, the baked ones that don't have any creaminess to them at all.  Just pretty much flavorless noodles that have cheese (that's not really gooey or creamy) just sort of stuck to the noodles.  Don't know what I mean?  Well... then you're lucky, and you go on eating your good and creamy mac!

How about you guys?  What your favorite way to make the mac?!?  I'd love new suggestions to try!

Ingredients:

12 oz. fusilli pasta
1/4 cup unsalted butter
5 large garlic cloves, minced and divided
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk (I used 2%)
salt and pepper, to taste
1 & 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tablespoon sriracha sauce (more or less, depending on your preference)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 & 1/2 cups wheat bread, cut into small cubes (about 1/4 inch)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions (I did about 10-11 minutes).  Drain pasta well and return to pot.

Grease a large baking dish (9x13) and set aside.

In a large skillet, melt butter under medium high heat.  Stir in about 1 tablespoon of the minced garlic and cook until fragrant.  Whisk in flour and stir constantly for about a minute.  Then whisk in milk, and season roux with salt and pepper. 

Bring mixture to a boil, whisking constantly.  Stir in shredded cheddar cheese, sriracha, and cayenne pepper.

Pour mixture over pasta and mix well.  Spoon mixture into an even layer in the baking dish.

Wipe skillet clean (or use another one, but I like to keep the dishes to a minimum!) and heat under medium high heat.  Add olive oil to pan and heat until shimmering.  Add bread cubes and cook about 5-7 minutes, or until starting to brown.  Stir in remaining garlic during the last couple minutes of toasting bread to infuse a little bit more flavor.

Top pasta with garlicky bread crumbs and bake for about 30 minutes, or until top is golden brown and sauce is bubbling.

This is a perfect side dish to any spring/summer cookout, or you could be like us and just eat a big plateful for dinner!  I loved the garlicky crunch of the bread in contrast with the subtle heat of the macaroni and cheese.  Give this one a go if you're a macaroni and cheese aficionado like us!

Have a great weekend guys!

Chicken Curry Pot Pie

I'm glad to report that today's weather was a complete 180 from yesterday's... just sayin'. 

Anyway, today is pretty exciting because in about an hour or two, I have my first book club meeting!  Yeah, I joined a book club last month.  It's basically just a few of my girl friends getting together to eat and talk about a book of the month, but I'm hoping it'll give me a chance to do a little more reading (that's not school-based!).  

This month's book was "Water For Elephants" by Sara Gruen.  I must say, it was a pretty good read.  It's basically the story of an elderly man, now in an assisted-living home, who has flashbacks of when we was a "vet" for the circus.  Pretty good story, so if you're interested in a new read, I definitely recommend it!

And I posted on my Facebook and at the end of yesterday's post that I was making a chicken curry pot pie, and I got texts, blog comments, and facebook replies that I needed to share that a.s.a.p.  So, you asked for it, you got it!

Ingredients:

Adapted from Ravenous Couple's recipe

Curry:

4 boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 stalk of lemongrass, minced
salt and pepper, to taste
4 tablespoons red curry paste, divided in half
1 tbs olive oil
1 cup coconut milk
3 cups chicken stock
1 large sweet potato (I used white fleshed), peeled, cut into about 1 inch pieces
1 & 1/2 cups shredded carrot
1 onion, peeled, cut in wedges
¼ cup frozen peas
¼ cup frozen corn
1 green onion, thinly chopped

Pot Pie:

 
1 sheet store bought puff pastry
1 egg
1 tbs water

First marinate the cut pieces of chicken with garlic, minced lemongrass, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons of curry paste. Marinate in fridge for at least 30 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare the potatoes, carrots, peas, corn, and onion. If you're going to make the pot pie, allow puff pastry to thaw slightly at room temperature. Place your baking dish on top of puff pastry and cut around the container with a pizza cutter leaving about 1 inch margin. Return the puff pastry back to the freezer until ready for use.

In a large pot on medium high heat, add about 1 tablespoon olive oil and sautee the chicken along with remaining 2 tablespoons of curry paste. Cook chicken for about 3-5 minutes, then add coconut milk.  Stir and meld together for another minute and then add chicken stock.

Add potatoes first, and cook for about 3-5 minutes.  Then stir in carrots, onions, peas, and corn just when mixture is about to boil.  Bring to boil and reduce to low heat and simmer until vegetables are just soft but not too mushy. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, if needed. 

Transfer mixture to a large glass baking dish and preheat oven to 400 F.

Make a egg wash with 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of water and generously brush the edges of the puff pastry.  Place the puff pastry, egg wash side down over the baking dish. Seal by pressing pastry edges tightly onto the glass dish. Brush another layer of egg wash on top of the puff pastry and make a small "x" in the center to let out steam. Bake until crust is golden and flaky, about 10-15 minutes.  

Ladle into deep plates and serve with a big bowl of rice!

Seriously, I'm so glad I stumbled upon this recipe!  I tweaked it a little bit, to be a perfect mixture of chicken curry and a classic chicken pot pie and it was just absolutely amazing.  Quite spicy, but I like the heat!  Definitely give this a go guys!  Enjoy! 

Oh and don't forget that Wednesday is our CSA day... here's our goodies:

 

 1 French baguette

2 butternut squashes

1 bunch of radish (I've got radish out the wazoo, so any recipe suggestions would be greatly appreciated!)

2 lbs. sweet potatoes

2 lbs. apples, 1 bunch bok choy,

1 bunch greens (forgot the name, oops!) 

Spicy Green Beans & Shrimp

First of all, I want to thank anyone and everyone that voted for my eggplant dish in Foodie Fight's Battle #8: Eggplant/White Wine. Crossing my fingers that the results turn out in my favor, or at least that I kept up with the competition!

So, in the mean time, I figured I'd post this quick and delicious recipe for Spicy Green Beans & Shrimp that Andy and I had for dinner last week. Credit goes to Dishing Up Delight's blog who found the recipe from another blog, so I guess this is just a turning into a chain, so feel free to pass it along to the next guy. This is definitely something that can be fixed up on a weeknight and not feel guilty about eating it, because it's mucho healthy.

What You'll Need:

1 lb. green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 in. pieces
3 tblsp. olive oil, divided
1/2 tea. ground coriander
1/2 tea. ground cumin
1 tea. salt, divided
1 tea. freshly ground black pepper, divided
1/8 teaspoon Aleppo pepper (I used cayenne pepper)
3/4 lb. raw shrimp (peeled and deveined, I also left the tails on mine)
zest from 1 lemon (cut lemon into wedges as garnish for plating)


As far as the cooking, it goes by pretty quick.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Toss the trimmed beans in 1 & 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, coriander, cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and cayenne pepper.



Toss shrimp in separate bowl with remaining 1 & 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, lemon zest, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.


Spray sheet pan with non-stick cooking spray and lay down green beans in single layer. Roast in oven for about 10 minutes. Make sure to stir them up mid-way.

After 10 minutes, layer shrimp on top of beans and roast for about 5 more minutes, or until shrimp looks pink and juicy.


Squeeze lemon on top of shrimp and save wedge for garnish. Enjoy!


I couldn't believe how delicious this was. So simple, so fresh... sooooooo gooood.