Cassie-b

Sooo Busy

Yesterday, I spent a day at work doing very little.  Virus, you know.  Everything I do at my job is on the computer.

Today, the virus (and the new virus) seem to be contained, so I spent today doing 2 days’ work. 

I’m kind of tired.  Sorry to complain, but I bet there’s a few folks out there with a similar situation.

Tequila Sunrise

(Title Credit:  Eagles / Desperado / 1973)

Oh, wait - that’s my format!  Oops!!

OK - Empress here again for my final recipe recommendation.  Looking back on my entries, I guess I like chicken, huh?  Once again, this is straight from Atkins and very, very yummy!

Tequila Chicken

¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1½ ounces tequila
1½ tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
½ stick butter

1.  Heat oven to 400°F.  In a large bowl, combine oil, cilantro, tequila, cumin, garlic, salt, pepper and cayenne.  Add chicken and toss to coat.
2.  Transfer chicken to a baking sheet.  Bake 12 to 14 minutes, or until largest piece is cooked through.
3.  Removed from oven and top each breast with a small pat of butter and let melt.

For extra flavor, top these breasts with shredded Colby Jack cheese, sour cream and salsa picante just before serving.

This is a really tasty recipe.  I never thought I’d end up using tequila in a recipe!  I thought that was what I used in a shot glass!! 

Enjoy!

Oh, and welcome back, Cassie-b!!

Buzz Gratin Potatoes.

Hiya.  Buzz here.  Just so you know, this is probably the best Au Gratin Potato recipe in the entire world!  Let me know what you think.  It is wonderfully creamy and cheesy and, well, au gratin-y. Oh and it’s easy, too!

5 Large baking potatoes - sliced into 1/4 inch slices
1 large onion - sliced into rings
salt and pepper to taste
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Cups milk
2 Cups shredded Cheddar cheese

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Butter a 1 quart casserole dish.
2.  Layer 1/2 the potatoes into the bottom of the buttered casserole dish.  Top with onions (trust me - it’s delicious) and then cover with remaining potatoes.  Season with salt and pepper.
3.  In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Mix in the flour and salt, and stir constantly for one minute.  Stir in milk.  Cook until mixture has thickened.  Stir in cheese and continue stirring until all cheese is melted. Pour cheese sauce over potatoes and cover casserole with aluminum foil.
4.  Bake 1 1/2 hours.

Mmmm.  I’m remembering now how much I love this and I just may have to say ‘Nuts to Atkins’ today and make this!  You should do the same.

Enjoy.

Burrito Beef

Empress here, again!  In keeping with the recipe theme, and the Atkins theme (sorry, Cas!), here’s a recipe that we just tried and it’s quite good and REALLY easy!

Burrito Beef

2 pounds boneless beef chuck (we used London broil)
¼ cup green salsa (we used regular salsa ‘cause we couldn’t find any green salsa!)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 green onions, chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
2 teaspoons chili powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon salt

1.  Trim fat from beef.  Place beef, salsa, garlic, green onions, jalapeño, chili powder, cumin and salt in slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low 8 hours until beef is very tender.
2.  Remove beef and shred with two forks.  Mix beef with ½ cup cooking juices before filling tortillas.

We didn’t have the low-carb tortillas at the time so we ate this alone served with a cool cucumber salad.  It was great!

Oh, and don’t be afraid that there isn’t much liquid in the slow cooker.  I fretted all day thinking that the slow cooker would burn up, but by the time we got home, there was quite a bit of liquid!  Amazing!

Enjoy!

And if you’re looking for a place to get really good low-carb breads or tortillas, I can recommend Aspen Ice Cream.  It’s a place in Florida that is run by two wonderful and friendly women, but you can also order online and they are very good at getting your orders out to you quickly and accurately.  Go give ‘em a try!

Chicken Adobo

Another recipe to share from the Atkins vault.  This one fits on every single diet unless you’re a vegetarian.  This is so yummy.  We modified the vinegar content - the recipe calls for all white vinegar but we do half and half with white and red wine vinegar.  It gives it more of a full flavor.

Chicken Adobo

½ cup white vinegar
½ cup red wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 bay leaf
1½ teaspoons whole peppercorns, lightly crushed
½ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
6 whole chicken legs, cut into drumstick and thigh pieces
1 cup water
3 tablespoons canola oil

1.  In a large glass baking dish, mix vinegar, garlic, bay leaf, peppercorns, and soy sauce; add chicken and toss to coat.  Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator 1 hour.
2.  Transfer chicken and its marinade to a large saucepan.  Add water and heat to boiling over high heat.  Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes.  With tongs, transfer chicken to a plate to cool.  Boil cooking liquid until it is reduced to 1 cup, about 10 minutes.  Let sauce cool and strain into a small saucepan.  Skim off fat and reheat.
3.  Pat chicken dry with paper towels.  In a large skillet, heat oil over high heat until very hot.  Brown chicken in batches, about 2 minutes per side.  Transfer to a deep platter and pour hot sauce over chicken.

Try this with some sautéed squash or a tossed salad and a nice glass of chilled chardonnay (I highly recommend William Hill Reserve - on sale at the PA liquor stores this month for $17.99).  It’s a great summer meal!

(See how nicely I’m behaving over here???)

Zucchini Rescue

Don went off to play tennis today, and came home with 2 fairly large zucchinis from one of the tennis player’s gardens.  I happen to have an, “Oh My God this is delicious” soup recipe using zucchini of any size.  The ingredients sounded kind of weird to me originally, but I’ve made it many times, and really enjoy it. 

So, for all of you with “all that zucchini”, here’s a good recipe to try:

Cream of Zucchini Soup
4 cups chicken stock (2 cans and a little water will do)
4 medium zucchini sliced ( I used 2 fairly large, they looked like they could be divided into 4 mediums)
2 carrots, sliced
1 chopped onion (Vidalia if you have it)
1 package cream cheese (8 ounces)
salt & pepper

Cook zucchini, carrots and onion in broth. Puree in blender with cream cheese.
It thickens a little as it cools.  Freezes well if you have too much.