Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Chicken Tarragon with Cheese Sauce

If you fast forward to the 3 minutes 50 seconds mark on this video, it will be me making the recipe below. That first part of the video is me talking about sale items at Macey's grocery store (in Utah) this week. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • ¼ cup finely chopped green onions
  • 1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
  • ½ cup whipped cream cheese
  • 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
  • 1 ½ teaspoons coarse black pepper
  • 1 package (9 oz.) refrigerated Linguine noodles
Method:

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, and cook until chicken is no longer pink. Remove chicken from skillet and keep warm. Add onions to skillet and stir, scraping to get the brown chicken bits off the bottom of the pan. Whisk in evaporated milk, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, tarragon, salt and pepper. Cook, whisking constantly, until sauce thickens. Stir in chicken and heat through. Prepare pasta according to package directions, pour sauce over pasta and serve immediately

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Cafe Rio Copy-Cat Recipes



Sweet Pork
Ingredients:
  • 1 (3-5 lb.) sirloin or boneless pork loin roast
  • 1 cup medium or hot salsa (don't use mild--not enough flavor)
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
Method:

Place ingredients in a greased 3 ½ - 5 quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat 8-10 hours. Shred pork with a fork or potato masher before serving. Use meat in salads, burritos, or tacos.

Cilantro-Lime Rice
Ingredients:
  • 1 cup uncooked converted white rice
  • 1 teaspoon butter
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon grated lime peel (zest)
  • 1 can (15 ounces) chicken broth
  • ¼ cup water
  • 2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 3 Tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro
Method:

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, lime zest, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook 15-20 minutes, or until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl, combine lime juice, sugar, and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice. Serve warm.

Creamy Tomatillo Salad Dressing
Ingredients:
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 envelope Ranch Salad Dressing
  • ½ envelope Fiesta Ranch Salad Dressing
  • 6 tomatillos, husked and cut in half
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • Juice from 2 freshly squeezed limes
  • ¼ cup freshly chopped cilantro
Method:

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour over pork and rice in a salad, or use as a dip for tortilla chips. Store in refrigerator up to 1 week.


Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Yummy Valentines Day Goodies...


Mini - Strawberry Ribbon Cakes
Ingredients:
  • 1 (18.25-ounce) white cake mix
  • 1 1/4 cups white cran-strawberry juice
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 egg whites
Glaze:
  • 6 tablespoons strawberry preserves
  • 1/8 teaspoon red food color
  • 1/2 cup strawberry preserves
  • 1 tablespoon white cran-strawberry juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon strawberry extract

  • Cool Whip, if desired
  • Fresh Mint Leaves, as a garnish if desired
Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray mini bundt pan with cooking spray and set aside. Using a rubber spatula gently combine cake mix, juice, oil, and egg whites in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. Remove 1 cup of batter and transfer to a small bowl. In the removed batter bowl, stir in raspberry preserves and food color and mix until well combined. Pour half of white cake batter into prepared mini bundt pans. Top with raspberry cake batter. Pour over the remaining half of white cake batter. Bake in preheated oven for 38 to 40 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Remove and cool completely.

Combine all glaze ingredients in a small saucepan and heat through over medium heat until syrupy. Drizzle over cooled cake.

Strawberry Fruit Salsa
Ingredients:
  • 2 kiwis, peeled and diced
  • 2 apples - peeled, cored and diced
  • 8 ounces raspberries
  • 1 pound strawberries
  • 2 tablespoons white sugar
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons strawberry preserves
  • 10 (10 inch) flour tortillas
  • Butter flavored cooking spray
  • 2 cups cinnamon sugar
Method:

In a large bowl, thoroughly mix kiwis, apples, raspberries, strawberries, white sugar, brown sugar and fruit preserves. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat one side of each flour tortilla with butter flavored cooking spray. Cut into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle wedges with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. Spray again with cooking spray. Bake in the preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat with any remaining tortilla wedges. Allow to cool approximately 15 minutes. Serve with chilled fruit mixture.

Cinnamon Cherry Buns
Ingredients:
  • 1 can (21 ounces) cherry pie filling
  • 1 tube refrigerated cinnamon rolls
Method:

Spread pie filling into a greased 8-in. square baking dish. set aside icing from cinnamon rolls. Arrange rolls around edge of baking dish. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes. Cover and bake 10 minutes longer or until golden. Spread icing over rolls. Serve warm. Makes 8 servings.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Marinades and Rubs to Spice Up your Meat!



Best Sweet Dry Rub
Ingredients:
  • ½ cup white sugar
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup kosher salt
  • 2 Tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 Tablespoons dried minced onion
  • 1 Tablespoon paprika
  • 1 Tablespoon garlic salt
Method:

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Use desired amount on meat about 60 minutes prior to grilling. Store extra rub in an airtight container. Makes 1 ½ cups dry rub.

Spicy Dry Rub
Ingredients:
  • ½ cup freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ cup cayenne pepper
  • 1 cup dark brown sugar
  • 3 Tablespoons kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Method:

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Use desired amount on meat about 60 minutes prior to grilling. Store extra rub in an airtight container. Makes 2 ¼ cups dry rub.

Basic Rub Recipe
Ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup garlic powder
  • 1/2 cup kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup black pepper
Method:

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Use desired amount on meat about 10 minutes prior to grilling. Store extra rub in an airtight container. Makes 1 ½ cups dry rub.

Homemade Italian Rub
Ingredients:
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • ½ teaspoon basil
  • 3 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
Method:

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Use desired amount on meat about 60 minutes prior to grilling. Store extra rub in an airtight container. Makes about 2 Tablespoons dry rub.

7-Up Marinade
Ingredients:
  • ¼ c. oil
  • ½ c. soy sauce
  • 1 (12 ounces) can 7-up
  • ¼ - ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • Up to 5 pounds of Chicken or beef
Method:

Mix up all ingredients and place in a large Ziploc back with your choice of meat. Marinade over night for best flavor and grill.

Sean's Secret Sauce
Ingredients:
  • ½ of bottle (about 18 ounces) hickory smoke BBQ sauce
  • 1 cup Dr. Pepper
  • ½ cup ketchup
  • 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 Tablespoon cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
  • 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
  • 4 Tablespoons finely diced sweet onion
  • 1 Tablespoon salsa
Method:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. This sauce is best refrigerated for at least 8 hours prior to using, but can be used immediately. Marinate meat in sauce at least 30 minutes before grilling. Makes 2 ½ cups.

Island Style Marinade
Ingredients:
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • ¼ cup finely chopped green onions
  • 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons sesame oil
  • 1 Tablespoons minced garlic
  • 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Method:

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Marinate meat at least 30 minutes before cooking. Makes 1 cup.

Texas Sauce
Ingredients:
  • 3 cans (8 ounces) tomato sauce
  • ¼ cup sweet onion, finely minced
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon honey
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
Method:

Combine all ingredients together in a saucepan, bring to a simmer over medium low heat.