(no subject)
While I didn't get to all of the fabulous garlic ideas you lovely folks suggested, I did work it into nearly all of my food this weekend.
Friday night started it off with chicken soft tacos, with too much guacamole. Mmmm, guacamole.
As best I can remember, it went as follows:
1. I marinated two chicken breasts in a mixture of tequila, orange liqueur, lemon juice and zest (maybe it was lime), a pinch of red pepper, freshly grated garlic, and garlic salt. I think I also put in dried oregano, but only because I didn't have fresh.
2. Still very sniffly, I wanted something spicy to put on the tacos (can't put much in it, as I'm also cooking for a decades-long stomach ulcer sufferer), I put fresh and canned tomatoes, minced poblano, dried ancho, chopped cilantro, lime juice, and...well, I don't remember what else.
3. Some olive oil went into a heated skillet, then fresh bay leaves, more red pepper and dried oregano, and poultry seasoning were heated up until fragrant. I then placed in thinly sliced red onion (half an onion), followed by minced garlic once the onions were soft. Then I placed the chicken mixture into the pan.
4. I heated the corn tortillas in a 350 oven after spraying them with my trusty Misto. An avocado was mashed, sprinkled with garlic salt, and had the juice of a lime squeezed on it.
5. When the chicken was cooked through, I squeezed couple of canned tomatoes, and placed most of the juice from the can into the skillet.
6. Served and enjoyed! A warm tortilla was rubbed with the cut side of a lime. Shredded romaine lettuce, red/purple cabbage, and a yellow bell pepper were stacked on top, followed by the chicken mixture, the not-really-spicy mixture, some unadulterated fresh tomatoes, a little shredded cheese, and far, far too much guacamole. (Not that I'm complaining, the avocado was perfectly ripe.)
Next time, I'll have smaller chicken pieces, ratchet up the heat level of my not-really-hot salsa, and make sure I have more fresh herbs on hand.
****************************
Saturday was pizza night!
I fully admit to using a pre-made crust. I think it's from a company called Longo's? I dunno, I buy it at Wegman's (DC area). I like it because it's light, it gets toasty on the pizza stone, and has less than 600 calories in the entire crust.
1. Preheat oven to 425
2. Rub a clove (or two, or three...) of garlic on the crust, then spray with olive oil, add garlic salt and black pepper. I forgot the minced garlic, but that's life. Despite all of the garlic in the early stages of pizza construction, garlic is only a background taste.
3. I placed on half an onion, thinly sliced; half a can of artichokes, thinly sliced; and a couple ounces of grated stravecchio parmesan. I placed it on the pizza stone and baked for about 7 minutes.
4. At 7 minutes add diced speck (smoked prosciutto) and pop back in the oven for another minute-- long enough to warm the speck, but short enough that it doesn't get dried out.
5. Remove from the oven and add minced parsley and basil. Serve with tossed salad.
This time it included romaine, baby arugula, carrots, red/purple cabbage, and cucumbers. Mmmm, salad.
******************************
Today at lunch I made "grolenta"- it's corn meal from Bob's Red Mill.
It's yummy and organic, but it can't make up its mind whether or not it's polenta or grits. And my in-between cooking method didn't help matters. I mostly followed the package instructions (1:2 meal to water ratio, .5 teaspoons salt in the water for every cup of meal) but didn't want as solid a texture as they said would result. I plopped in some butter, and grated in some parm. When it was the texture I wanted, about a thick porridge or oatmeal, I removed it from the heat, and added some more cheese and some chopped herbs. I served it with pretty much the same salad as the night before.
*****
Tonight's dinner was quiche/refrigerator pie, as per the birthday wishes of a household member. "I want something gooey with cheese, like quiche." And I thought that I was a heathen.
1. Preheat oven to 425. Pour small amount of olive oil in a skillet on a low-medium burner. When it's hot as well, add diced pancetta. Cook until most of the fat is rendered, and remove before the pancetta becomes really crispy.
2. Add thinly sliced red onion to pan with garlic salt and pepper, minced rosemary, and a couple pinches of sugar. Cook slowly until caramelized, stirring occasionally.
3. Add minced garlic and stir until no longer raw.
4. Add canned artichokes, diced, and stir occasionally. When heated, return pancetta to pan and stir to combine.
5. Place in pie shell (I used pre-fab Pillsbury). Add in mixture of milk beaten together with 4 eggs, salt, and pepper. Add grated stravecchio parmesan, baby swiss, and emmental cheeses.
6. Bake for 15 minutes at 425, then move down to 350 for about a half an hour. Serve with salad and champagne or other sparkling wine. Yummmy.
Friday night started it off with chicken soft tacos, with too much guacamole. Mmmm, guacamole.
As best I can remember, it went as follows:
1. I marinated two chicken breasts in a mixture of tequila, orange liqueur, lemon juice and zest (maybe it was lime), a pinch of red pepper, freshly grated garlic, and garlic salt. I think I also put in dried oregano, but only because I didn't have fresh.
2. Still very sniffly, I wanted something spicy to put on the tacos (can't put much in it, as I'm also cooking for a decades-long stomach ulcer sufferer), I put fresh and canned tomatoes, minced poblano, dried ancho, chopped cilantro, lime juice, and...well, I don't remember what else.
3. Some olive oil went into a heated skillet, then fresh bay leaves, more red pepper and dried oregano, and poultry seasoning were heated up until fragrant. I then placed in thinly sliced red onion (half an onion), followed by minced garlic once the onions were soft. Then I placed the chicken mixture into the pan.
4. I heated the corn tortillas in a 350 oven after spraying them with my trusty Misto. An avocado was mashed, sprinkled with garlic salt, and had the juice of a lime squeezed on it.
5. When the chicken was cooked through, I squeezed couple of canned tomatoes, and placed most of the juice from the can into the skillet.
6. Served and enjoyed! A warm tortilla was rubbed with the cut side of a lime. Shredded romaine lettuce, red/purple cabbage, and a yellow bell pepper were stacked on top, followed by the chicken mixture, the not-really-spicy mixture, some unadulterated fresh tomatoes, a little shredded cheese, and far, far too much guacamole. (Not that I'm complaining, the avocado was perfectly ripe.)
Next time, I'll have smaller chicken pieces, ratchet up the heat level of my not-really-hot salsa, and make sure I have more fresh herbs on hand.
****************************
Saturday was pizza night!
I fully admit to using a pre-made crust. I think it's from a company called Longo's? I dunno, I buy it at Wegman's (DC area). I like it because it's light, it gets toasty on the pizza stone, and has less than 600 calories in the entire crust.
1. Preheat oven to 425
2. Rub a clove (or two, or three...) of garlic on the crust, then spray with olive oil, add garlic salt and black pepper. I forgot the minced garlic, but that's life. Despite all of the garlic in the early stages of pizza construction, garlic is only a background taste.
3. I placed on half an onion, thinly sliced; half a can of artichokes, thinly sliced; and a couple ounces of grated stravecchio parmesan. I placed it on the pizza stone and baked for about 7 minutes.
4. At 7 minutes add diced speck (smoked prosciutto) and pop back in the oven for another minute-- long enough to warm the speck, but short enough that it doesn't get dried out.
5. Remove from the oven and add minced parsley and basil. Serve with tossed salad.
This time it included romaine, baby arugula, carrots, red/purple cabbage, and cucumbers. Mmmm, salad.
******************************
Today at lunch I made "grolenta"- it's corn meal from Bob's Red Mill.
It's yummy and organic, but it can't make up its mind whether or not it's polenta or grits. And my in-between cooking method didn't help matters. I mostly followed the package instructions (1:2 meal to water ratio, .5 teaspoons salt in the water for every cup of meal) but didn't want as solid a texture as they said would result. I plopped in some butter, and grated in some parm. When it was the texture I wanted, about a thick porridge or oatmeal, I removed it from the heat, and added some more cheese and some chopped herbs. I served it with pretty much the same salad as the night before.
*****
Tonight's dinner was quiche/refrigerator pie, as per the birthday wishes of a household member. "I want something gooey with cheese, like quiche." And I thought that I was a heathen.
1. Preheat oven to 425. Pour small amount of olive oil in a skillet on a low-medium burner. When it's hot as well, add diced pancetta. Cook until most of the fat is rendered, and remove before the pancetta becomes really crispy.
2. Add thinly sliced red onion to pan with garlic salt and pepper, minced rosemary, and a couple pinches of sugar. Cook slowly until caramelized, stirring occasionally.
3. Add minced garlic and stir until no longer raw.
4. Add canned artichokes, diced, and stir occasionally. When heated, return pancetta to pan and stir to combine.
5. Place in pie shell (I used pre-fab Pillsbury). Add in mixture of milk beaten together with 4 eggs, salt, and pepper. Add grated stravecchio parmesan, baby swiss, and emmental cheeses.
6. Bake for 15 minutes at 425, then move down to 350 for about a half an hour. Serve with salad and champagne or other sparkling wine. Yummmy.