Creamy Wild Rice Soup

4 C Water
½ t salt
½ C uncooked wild rice
3 T chopped green onions
¼ C shredded carrot
3 T chopped pecans
6 T butter or margarine
1/3 C flour
2 cans (14 oz each) chicken broth
½ C diced fully cooked ham
¼ t pepper
1 C half and half cream
Green onion strips, optional

In a large sauce pan, bring water and salt to a boil. Add rice. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 50-55 minutes or until tender. Remove from the heat. Let stand for 10 minutes; drain and set aside. Can make white rice instead.

In a soup kettle, sauté the onions, carrots, and pecans in butter for 30 seconds. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually add broth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat. Add the ham, pepper and wild (or white) rice. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes or until carrots are tender. Reduce heat. Add cream and heat through (do not boil). Garnish with green onion strips if desired. Yield: 4 large servings, 8 small servings.

Monte Cristo Sandwiches

I made these last week and I didn't make enough of them. We (Kathryn's family) loved them. It was a fun change up for dinner. You can half this recipe for small numbers. I have doubled the original recipe here.

Slices of bread for 5 to 7 sandwiches
Dijon or honey mustard
Slices Mozzarella cheese
Slices of deli ham
Slices of turkey breast
4 eggs
1/2 milk
4 T. maple syrup
Salt, pepper, and nutmeg
Powdered sugar
Blackberry jam

Spread mustard on both sides of each sandwich slice. I went light with the mustard. Put slices of cheese, ham and turkey and make the sandwiches.
In a separate bowl combine, egg, milk, maple syrup, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Coat sandwiches in egg mixture. I recommend not dunking them too much. If the sandwich gets to saturated, it takes a long time to cook through. Cook in frying pan in hot butter until cheese is melted and bread in golden brown. When sandwich is done, sprinkle with a dusting of powdered sugar. Serve with blackberry jam on the side for dipping.

Apricot Balsamic Chicken

I made this tonight and we (Kathryn's family) all loved it. I got the idea from a recipe online but changed to my liking. It was a quick meal with lots of flavor. The Montreal Chicken seasoning and the hint of rosemary is what made it so good to me. And of course, I love balsamic vinegar.

2 Tbs olive oil
2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken
(I used chicken breast and filleted them and cut them in half so they cook faster)
Salt and pepper
Montreal Chicken seasoning
rosemary leaves, chopped
1/2 cup of apricot jam
scant 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup chicken stock (I used bouillon & water)
onion powder to taste

In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.
Season the chicken with salt, pepper and Montreal Chicken seasoning. When the oil is hot and ripples, add the chicken and brown 5 minutes, then turn and sprinkle with rosemary to your liking (I only did just a little for my family). Cook until the chicken is tender and cooked through, about 5 minutes more.
In small bowl, stir together the jam, vinegar, stock, and onion powder. Pour over chicken. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes. I used homemade a light apricot jam, so it just a hint of sweet. You can use orange marmalade also.
Serve with rice or mashed potatoes. I served it with rice flavored with chicken bouillon, steamed asparagus, and green salad. Yummy!

Butter Chicken

Just made this tonight for my girlfriends who came out for a girl's night.  We absolutely loved it so much.  Todd raved about it as well.  Remy only had one bite though...  This is honestly one of my new favorites, and will be on the menu often!  The only hard thing was finding the spices.  I had to go to several stores to find the coriander and the cardamom.  Luckily, maybe you already have those, otherwise, you're gonna want them to make this dish over and over!  The cilantro makes this to die for.  I made butter dips with this as well (I figured we were going with the 'butter' theme right?) and they went well together.  I had a recipe for Naan (Indian flat bread) but didn't have the gumption to experiment with that.  Maybe next time.

•4 pieces Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
•5 cloves Garlic, Minced
•1 teaspoon Salt
•½ teaspoon Black Pepper
•½ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
•¼ teaspoon Ground Coriander
•¼ teaspoon Cumin
•¼ teaspoon Cardamom
•1 whole Lime, Juiced
•1 whole Onion, Diced
•¼ cups Butter
•1 can (14.5 Oz. Can) Tomato Sauce
•1 can (14.5 Oz. Can) Petite Diced Tomatoes
•1 pint Whipping Cream
•1 bunch Chopped Cilantro, to taste
•2 cups Basmati Rice (or However Much You Want)

Preparation Instructions

Combine first 9 ingredients and marinate overnight.
Saute the onion in the butter until soft. Add marinated chicken and cook about 10 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Cook for 30 minutes over medium-low heat with the lid on. Add the whipping cream (I have used light cream or half-and-half also) and cilantro just before serving over Basmati rice. (or any rice you want to use)
Note: this is a little spicy, but you can cut back on the cayenne if you want.  I did 1/4 tsp of cayenne and it was a perfect little kick, but do the full 1/2 if you want a lot of kick (but not unbearable).

Image and Recipe via Tasty Kitchen

Pasta a la Checca

A few years ago the kids and I were getting groceries at Harmons when we passed by a sample cart. This pasta dish is what we got to sample and the kids and I loved it so much that we asked for the recipe. We made the recipe a few days later and have continued to make it as it has become a family favorite. We especially like to make this dish in the summertime when we have fresh tomatoes and basil out of our garden.

2 Tbsp. olive oil
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp. butter
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh basil, chiffonade
4 oz. angel hair pasta, cooked
Asiago cheese, shredded
toasted pinenuts

Saute garlic in olive oil. Add broth and reduce by half. Add butter, tomatoes and cooked pasta and bring to a boil. Add basil and serve in a bowl. Garnish with cheese and pinenuts.

Shanna's notes: If we don't have asaigo cheese (actually I don't think we have ever bought any), we use parmesan cheese or our favorite, Mizithra cheese, which I find at Smith's in the deli cooler.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I got this recipe when I worked at Sundance several years ago. It is a Davies family favorite.

3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 med. red onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. cumin seed
2 qts. chicken stock
3 cups chicken, cooked
3 cups Roma tomatoes, chopped
3 cups corn
2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro
avocado
lime wedges
tortilla strips

Saute onion, garlic, and jalapeno in olive oil. Add crushed cumin seed and heat through. Add chicken stock and remaining ingredients (chicken, tomatoes, corn, and cilantro). Simmer 30 minutes. Top each bowl with a lime wedge, chopped avocado, tortilla chips or strips and more cilantro.

Shanna's notes: I like to make this soup when I have chicken leftover from a Costco rotisserie chicken. If not, can broil chicken tenders or breasts sprinkled with seasonings in the oven. For the corn I use the frozen white corn and for the cumin seed usually just ground cumin.

Baked Balsamic Chicken

Ok I feel inadequate posting a recipe when I'm amongst such wonderful cooks, but this is a recipe that I found once on the internet trying to find something interesting using stuff I already had on hand. As a result: I love this because it's super easy, doesn't take very long (prep is almost nothing), uses ingredients I usually have on hand anyway, and it really is pretty yummy. In mine and Carter's opinions.

Baked Balsamic Chicken

4 chicken breasts
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsps dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper (obviously fresh ground is better but if I don't have any I just use regular.)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange chicken in a dish, pour vinegar over them. Sprinkle evenly with oil, oregano, salt & pepper. Bake 20 minutes, baste with juices. Bake 20 minutes more. Serve with juices spooned over.

Carter and I often eat this with rice, which I kinda thought sounded weird at first (it was Carter's suggestion) but it actually goes well we think. And I can throw the rice in the rice cooker at the same time I start making this and it all gets done at the same time. But of course you could do whatever.

Baked French Toast

We tried this and loved it! It's great for a quick dinner on one of those nights you don't know what to fix! So yummy with the cinnamon sugar, there's no need for syrup.

1/4 cup butter
4 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
8 slices bread

Melt butter in a 10x15 pan. Mix sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly in pan over butter. Dip bread in egg/milk mixture, soaking well. Place in pan. Bake at 400 10-15 minutes. Let stand one minute before serving. Lift pieces out and flip over to serve.

Creamy Black Bean Salsa Chicken

This is another great crock pot recipe that our family loves. We got it from a good friend here in BV, Suzanne Garcia.

Put 2-4 chicken breasts in a crock pot. Cover with-
1 cup salsa
1 can black beans
1 can corn
1 cup chicken broth
2 Tbl. taco seasoning
Cook 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low. Just before serving, add sour cream and shredded cheese. Serve over rice. Can also serve with tortilla chips.

Pistachio-Almond Cake

Hey, this is for all you Leprechauns out there. Actually it is so yummy anytime of the year. I got the recipe from my mother-in-law (the other Susann)!
Pistachio-Almond Cake
1 pkg yellow cake mix
1 pkg pistachio instant pudding (4 serv. size)
4 eggs
1 1/4 Cup water
1/4 Cup oil
1/2+ tsp almond extract
7 drops green food coloring

Blend all ingredients. Beat for 4 minutes. Bake at 350 for 40 min (or until done). Bake in sprayed bundt pan. Cool for 15 min, then remove from pan to cool on rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or frosting.

Frosting:
1/4 C butter melted
1 T milk
1 tsp vanilla
powdered sugar