Naan

This Indian flat bread is one of my favorites. We had it with some korma and rice.

2 TBS. active dry yeast (or a packet)
1 c. warm water
1 egg, beaten
1/4 c. sugar
1 c. milk
2 tsp. salt
4.5 cups all purpose flour
Butter/Vegetable Oil
2 tsp. minced garlic (optional) - I do some plain, some garlic

Mix yeast and warm water, let it sit for 10 minutes, or until it becomes frothy. Add egg, sugar, milk and salt. Slowly mix in flour (more or less) until you get a soft dough - Knead on lightly floured surface for 6-8 minutes. Place in well oiled bowl. Cover with a warm, damp cloth until the dough doubles in size (about 1 hour). After dough has risen, punch down and pull off small handfuls of dough and place on greased tray or cookie sheet, add garlic if desired. Cover tray with towel. Let handfuls rise again until double in size (about 30 min.).
Heat grill on med-high heat. Press out balls of dough until you have a flat piece of dough. Spray grill, place dough and let it cook for 1-2 min., meanwhile, butter uncooked side of dough, and flip to cook other side for another 1-2 minutes.

About 10 servings.

Hot Pizza Dip by Guest Chef Jamie

1 brick cream cheese, softened
1 t. Italian seasoning
1 C. shredded mozzarella
1/4 C. shredded parmesan
1 can (8oz) pizza sauce
2 T. chopped green bell pepper
2 T. sliced green onion
Valtrompia bread slices

Preheat oven to 350. In 1 qt. batter bowl, combine cream cheese and Italian seasoning mix well. Spread in bottom of baking dish. Combine mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Sprinkle half of cheese mixture over cream cheese. Spread pizza sauce over cheese. Top with remaining cheese, pepper and onions. Bake 15-18 minutes or until bubbly. Serve with Valtrompia bread slices, bread sticks or fresh vegetables. So YUMMY!

Maple Glazed Baby Carrots by Guest Chef Jamie

2 lb. baby carrots
1/4 C. Kraft Light Done Right! Catalina Reduced Fat dressing
1/4 C. maple-flavored or pancake syrup
1 T. butter
1/2 C. Planters Pecan Pieces, toasted

Cook carrots in saucepan, in enough boiling water to cover, 12-14 minutes or until tender. Drain; set aside.

Mix dressing and syrup in saucepan; cook on medium heat until mixture is bubbly, stirring occasionally. Add coarrots; cook until glaze is thickened to desired consistency, stirring frequently. Add butter, stir until melted. Stir int he pecans.

Tomato Basil Tart by Guest Chef Jamie

Hi All, I told you that I stole recipes from guest chef Jamie. One of her favorite 5's is one that I've already posted, so here's the link for her famous Tomato Basil Tart. Yum! Perfect for brunch, or a baby/bridal shower. Best with fresh garden tomatoes in the summer!

Roquefort Pear Salad by Chef Jamie

1 head leaf lettuce, bite-size pieces
3 pears- peeled, cored and chopped
5 oz. Roquefort (bleu cheese) crumbled
1 avacado- peeled, pitted & diced
1/2 C. thinly sliced green onions
1/4 C. white sugar
1/2 C. pecans

Dressing:
1/3 C. olive oil
3 T. red wine vinegar
1 1/2 t. white sugar
1 1/2 t. prepared mustard
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 t. salt
ground pepper to taste

In a skillet, over medium heat, stir 1/4 c. sugar together with pecans. Continue stirring gently until sugar has melted and caramelized the pecans. Carefully transfer to wax paper to cool. Break into pieces.
For dressing: mix dressing ingredients in blender. In a large bowl, layer lettuce, pears, cheese, avacado and onions. Pour over salad and nuts.

Smoked Turkey Chimichangas by Guest Chef Jamie

1 lb. turkey from deli, chopped
1/2 T. chili powder
2 C. shredded slaw cabbage
1/2 chipolte in adobo sauce
1 C. tomato sauce
3 scallions chopped
salt and pepper
6 tortillas
1 1/2 C. shredded cheddar cheese or pepper jack
2 T. vegetable oil
1 C. sour cream
2 T. cilantro
1 tomato finely chopped

Place turkey in a bowl and season with chili powder. Add cabbage, chipolte, tomato sauce, scallions. Toss filling and season with salt and pepper.
Place cheese near top of tortilla dn add 1/6 filling. Roll. Brush with vegetable oil and bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes. Top with sour cream, parsley/cilantro and tomato. Fast, easy and delicious!!

Best Bagels

I am a bagel lover. Let me reiterate....these bagels are AWESOME. I made them again this weekend. This time I doubled the recipe - which made 24, so I could freeze individual servings and have them ready for a quick grab in the morning. I did some cinnamon sugar, parmesan cheese, salt, and plain ones, and they were all good. My favorite combo - cinnamon sugar bagels with whipped honey nut cream cheese. Mwaaah! I also liked the parmesan cheese ones for a savory lunch-time bagel - with some deli ham, garden veggie cream cheese, lettuce and tomato. Mmmmmmmmm. Try them. They do not disappoint.

Introducing Guest Chef Jamie

Not only does this lady know how to cook, but she has the kitchen of my dreams! It even won the "Parade of Homes Kitchen of the Year" award (see for yourself in the picture below!)! I will not lie. I am so jealous. But...she deserves it! This cook is fun, crafty, and can put together some of the best party food out there. This is no exaggeration. I've stolen tons of recipes from her - she has some of the best easy recipes that I've come across, and most of them are SIMPLE! Plus, look how cute she looks in this stylish apron that she won from a blogger contest! Stay tuned this week for some of Chef Jamie's recipes!
As always, if you're interested in being a guest chef, just drop me an email and we'll go from there!

Yummy Sweet & Sour Chicken

6 boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into cubes
2/3 c. corn starch
1/3 c. flour
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. MSG/Accent
4-5 eggs, beaten
1 c. chicken broth
1 1/4 c, sugar
1 c. drained, crushed pineapple
1 c. vinegar
8 TBS. catsup
1 TBS. soy sauce
S & P to taste
1 red pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
Oil for frying

Combine corn starch, flour, garlic powder and accent. Dip chicken pieces in mixture. Then dip in eggs and fry in skillet until well-browned. Set in greased glass 9x13 pan with chopped onions and peppers.

In another bowl, mix remaining ingredients. Pour over chicken. Bake at 375 for 45-60 minutes, or until sauce reaches thickness desired and bubbles. Turn chicken pieces over halfway through oven time.

Serve over rice with a sesame ginger salad.

Yummy Pineapple Chicken Curry

* My sis Em gave this recipe to me, and I modified it a bit based on what I had and what I needed to get rid of. It was delish!

3 T EVOO
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
5-6 T curry powder (add more or less to taste)
1 t ground cinnamon
1 t paprika
1 bay leaf
2 t FRESH ginger root
¼ c. sugar
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into cubes
2 potatoes, par-boiled
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 yellow pepper, chopped
1 can tomato paste
6 oz. plain fat free yogurt
1 can coconut milk
1 lemon, juiced
1 t cayenne pepper
1 can pineapple tidbits (drained)
Salt to taste

Heat EVOO in skillet over med heat. Saute onion until translucent. Stir in curry powder, garlic, cinnamon, paprika, bay leaf, ginger, sugar and salt. Stir for another min or so. Add chicken pieces, potatoes, pepper, carrots, tomato paste, yogurt and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.

Stir in lemon juice and cayenne pepper. Remove bay leaf and simmer 5 more min

Delicious served with warm naan and rice!

Spicy White Chip Dip

3 blocks cream cheese
1 can diced tomatoes & green chilies (RoTel)
1 roll medium spicy sausage (browned & drained)

Mix cream cheese and RoTel in crock pot until melted. Add browned sausage. Heat until warm and melted. Serve with tortilla chips.

A great white spin off of the original nacho dip!

Key Lime Pie

1 8oz pkg. cream cheese
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 T. vanilla
½ c. fresh key lime juice (I've used this or just the lime juice from the store, and they're both pretty similar)
1 graham cracker crust (I buy them pre-made)
2 c. cool whip

Blend cream cheese with a mixer until smooth. Slowly add sweetened condensed milk beating constantly until all lumps are gone and mixture is smooth. Add vanilla and lime juice, beat until light and fluffy. Pour into crust. Refrigerate overnight (at least 4 hours). Before serving, top with cool whip or whipping cream.

Grammy Cherie's Whole Wheat Pancakes by Guest Chef Emily

1 C. wheat kernels
1 C. milk
Blend the above in a blender for 1 minute

Add:
1/2 C more milk
1/2 C. oil
2 eggs
1 tsp. Salt
4 tsp. baking powder
Blend 4 minutes

I love to add fresh blueberries or raspberries, but they are delicious plain as well!

Peggy's Spinach Almond Salad by Guest Chef Emily

**I LOVE this recipe of my mother in law’s- the dressing is great on any salad**

10 oz fresh spinach
Cook ½ lb bacon until crumbly
½ c. toasted almonds (@ 350 for 8 min)
1 med. Granny Smith apple cut into thin slices

Dressing: puree the below in blender

1/8 red onion
1/3 c. EVOO
1/4 c. sugar
3 T apple cider vinegar
½ t salt

Toss the salad and add dressing when ready to serve. Garnish with red onion and apple slices or parmesan.

Spitalfield Risotto by Guest Chef Emily

800 ml chicken broth
1 C water
2 chicken breasts
2 T EVOO
1 small onion
4 garlic cloves
1 c. white rice
4 c. uncooked spinach
¼ c. basil
½ c, parmesan cheese

1. Bring water/broth to boil, add chicken and cook.
2. Heat oil- add onion 5 min, then garlic 1 min
3. Add rice- 2 min, add ½ c. water—cook until absorbed
4. Add ¾ c. ck broth, simmer 2 min
5. Continue adding broth until rice is tender and creamy, stir about 25 min until almost all broth is absorbed
6. In the last 5 min, add spinach, chicken, ½ c. parmesan and ¼ cup of basil

This is my sister Betsy’s favorite dish!

Lovely Lentil Soup by Guest Chef Emily

** Lentils are a great cheap source of protein and iron**

½ small onion
2 large carrots
2 celery sticks
2 T veg oil
1 c split red lentils (if you can’t find these, other lentils will work)
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
14 fl oz veg or chicken stock
1 lemon
Cilantro to garnish

Chop all the veg. Saute the onion, carrot and celery in the veg oil for about 5 min or until softened. Add the lentils and sweet potato and pour over the stock. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes. You can serve like this, or we like to partly puree with blender or mixer. Serve with lemon slices and to squeeze fresh juice on soup.

Delicious served with fresh warm bread!

A Great Cinco de Mayo Taco Salad

My friend April gave me a tip on how to make non-fried taco salad bowls, and they were great! I decided to serve them for our Cinco de Mayo celebration! This salad is awesome. Don't forget to serve it with Jumex Guava Nectar (available in the Mexican food section).

Ingredients
Salad Filling:
Refried Beans (1 can)
4 chicken breasts
3 carrots, chopped and diced
1 small zucchini, chopped and diced
1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped and diced
1/2 packet taco seasoning
1/2 c. medium salsa


Tortillas:
4 tortillas
vegetable oil or non-stick cooking spray
chili powder (to taste)


Salad Toppings:
finely chopped iceberg lettuce
2 tomatoes, diced
fresh guacamole
sour cream
1/2 c. fresh shredded cotija cheese (Mexican parmesan)


Salsa de Repollo (this is a must! make ahead of time and let it marinate in fridge for a while):
In large tupperware, add all ingredients below and let sit to take in flavors.

1 small cucumber, finely shredded
1/2 head green cabbage, finely shredded
3 TBS. vinegar
1 TBS. lime juice
1 can green chiles (optional...use to taste)
1/2 tsp. ground oregano
1-2 tsp. salt

Directions:

Add carrots and peppers to frying pan, turn on medium-high and cook until semi-tender, add a little water if needed. Cut up chicken, add to carrots and peppers, add salsa and taco seasoning. Cook until chicken is almost done. Add zucchini. Stir all together and cook until chicken and zucchini are done.

Preheat oven to 425. Spray each side of tortilla with non-stick cooking spray. Sprinkle to desired amount with chili powder. Make a fist-sized ball of tin foil for each tortilla. Place each tortilla so it makes a dome over the tin foil ball. Bake for about 8 minutes or until crispy and lightly browned.

Add a layer of refried beans, chicken mixture, the salad toppings and salsa de repollo. Serve fresh! mmmmmmm.

Black Bean and Cous Cous Salad by Guest Chef Emily

1 c. uncooked cous cous
1 can chicken broth
3 T EVOO
3 T fresh lime juice
2 t red wine vinegar
½ t groud cumin
10 green onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 c. frozen corn
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained
½ c. cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste

Bring broth to a boil and stir in cous cous- cover, remove from heat and let stand 5 min

In a small bowl wisk together olive oil, lime juice, vinegar and cumin. In large bowl add onions, peppers, corn, beans and cilantro. Mix well and add dressing- toss to coat. Fluff couscous well and add to the bowl of veggies. Salt and pepper to taste.
Refrigerate until ready, I think it’s better served the next day.
Serves 6-8

Introducing Guest Chef Emily

Not only is this guest chef one of my favorite cooks...she is also one of my favorite people. Emily has a handful of great recipes in her collection that she'll be sharing this week, and I know from personal experience that her meals are not to be missed...mmmm, my mouth just waters thinking about her food! She is a talented cook and you don't want to miss her concoctions. Stay tuned this week for Emily's recipes!

Black Bean Soup by Guest Chef Nanette

This soup tastes great, and couldn't be easier to make!

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 (15 ounce) can refried black beans
1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
2 cups cubed cooked ham
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
ground black pepper to taste
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup sour cream
Bunch cilantro
DIRECTIONS
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, bell pepper, carrot, and garlic, and cook 5 minutes, until tender. Mix in the refried beans, whole beans, and chicken broth.
Bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Mix in ham, cumin, salt, and pepper. Simmer 20 minutes. Garnish with Cheddar cheese, sour cream, salsa, and cilantro to serve.