{roasted asparagus with wine mushroom sauce}

here's another recipe owing credit to the costco overload. fortunately, you can't go wrong with these veggies, or with this combo so, it's all good.
{roasted asparagus}
INGREDIENTS
12- 15 asparagus spears, ends trimmed where necessary
1/2 tablespoon seasoning salt
1/2 - 1 tablespoon fresh cracked pepper
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
DIRECTIONS
cover roasting pan or baking dish in foil. heat oven to 425. mix all ingredients well. roast for 25 minutes.
while that's baking make...
{mushroom sauce}
INGREDIENTS
1 T. butter
1/2 T. oil
3 cups chopped cremini mushrooms {or mushroom of your choice}
pepper
1/4 c. dry white wine
DIRECTIONS
heat oil and butter over medium heat until foam subsides. add chopped mushrooms and pepper to taste. sautee for 3 minutes, until barely soft. add wine and stir, allowing to reduce. stir, while simmering and steaming, for another 3 or 4 min.

remove asparagus from oven and pour mushrooms over them to serve.

...mine are in foil in the picture because i removed them using the foil from the pan and made a little foil packet to keep them warm.

yum!

dark beer braised chicken, asparagus and mushrooms

i have tons of asparagus and mushrooms due to a costco overload. plus i've been wanting to practice braising. i like braising because it's a one-pot-meal and keeps the meat nice and moist. this was roughly adapted from a cooking light cookbook i got for christmas. you could make it with any vegetables you have. just saute root vegetables a bit longer than you would something more tender like asparagus. i used a lemon pepper seasoning mix i have to season the chicken, but imagine fresh lemon zest would be even better. it had coarse pepper though so definitely use coarse or freshly ground pepper.


{chicken braised with dark beer}
adapted from cooking light: way to cook
3 T. flour
salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 T lemon zest
4 boneless chicken thighs
2 T. butter
1 T. canola oil
1 to 2 c. cut asparagus
1 to 2 c. sliced mushrooms
1/2 c. chopped shallots (i just used a yellow onion b/c i had no shallots but they'd be much better)
2 T. dry parsley
1 bay leaf
8 - 10 oz. dark beer (I used Fireman's Four --which isn't really dark)
2 t. white wine vinegar
DIRECTIONS
Combine flour, salt, pepper and lemon zest. Coat chicken in flour mixture. Heat butter and oil in large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken to pan; saute 5 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove from pan. Add shallots and a tablespoon or so of the beer, saute until opaque. Add asparagus, reduce heat to medium, saute until just tender. Add mushrooms, dried herbs and more salt, pepper and lemon zest if desired. Return chicken to pan, nestling into vegetables. Stir in beer until chicken is mostly but not all the way submerged. Bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat. Simmer 30 minutes or until chicken reaches 160 degrees.

Remove chicken and vegetables from pan. Add vinegar, 2 T. flour to liquids in the pan and increase to medium. Stir constantly while bubbling until reduced and slightly thickened. Pour over veggies and chicken. Add fresh chopped parsley if you have it.

This can be done with any cut of meat, bone-in pieces may take longer to cook.

{image via apartmenttherapy}

{stuffed bell peppers remix}

i made these tonight. I used two bell peppers, a can of black beans, two little zucchinis, one little potato, two celery stalks and Gruyere cheese. Onion garlic, parsley and spices the same. So yummy once again. I liked the addition of the black beans a lot but missed the creaminess afforded by the tomato.make them with whatever's in your veggie drawer! eat the leftover insides for lunch or mixed with orzo or rice!

::peppermint mocha with starbucks via::

an at home use for starbuck's instant coffee using microbrewed beans. omit coffee for peppermint hot chocolate and substitute peppermint extract for vanilla extract for simple hot chocolate.

{peppermint mocha}
INGREDIENTS
8oz milk
1 packet starbucks via instant coffee
1 1/2 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 tablespoon sugar or other sweetener
1/4 tablespoon peppermint extract
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
DIRECTIONS
{stovetop}
in very small pot, heat milk slowly, stirring often, over low heat. when just warm add all ingredients and stir continuously with a wooden spoon until dissolved. pour into mug.
{microwave}
heat mug filled with milk until just warm, about a minute. stir in all ingredients and mix well. heat about 45 seconds more, stirring briskly once in between and again at the end.

top with whipped cream or marshmallows!

pesto rubbed trout

for my pizza and pasta adventures, central market's dip slash sauce bar thing is perfect for purchasing the exact amount of pesto needed for one or two dishes. their pesto is SO good. this is even better when you can find trout on sale, like i did, and salmon can easily substitute as well.

pesto rubbed trout
serves 3-4
INGREDIENTS
1 lb fillet trout
1/4 cup basil pesto
DIRECTIONS
Rub the pesto generously over the fish. Really rub it, like with the back of a spoon. Cover and marinate 30 min. Heat oven to 425 and line a baking sheet with foil. Bake skin side down 8 - 10 min until fish begins to look slightly opaque and flakes with a fork. Use a metal spatula to slide fish off skin, as skin will stick to the foil.

gingerbread men

these were yummy, fun and made my kitchen smell like christmas!
molasses cookies slash gingerbread men
adapted from all recipes.com and betty crocker
INGREDIENTS
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 c. brown sugar and 3/4 c. white
1 egg
1 tablespoon water or orange juice or orange liquor
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons white sugar
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the water and molasses. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture.
{for gingerbread men}
Divide dough in thirds; wrap each third in plastic. Chill for at least 1 hour or overnight. Before rolling out, let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. If after refrigerating the dough feels too soft to roll-out, work in a little more flour.

 Place a dough third on a large piece of lightly floured parchment paper or wax paper. Using a rolling pin, roll dough 1/8 inch thick. Refrigerate again for 5-10 minutes to make it easier to cut out the cookies. Cut into desired shapes.
{for molasses cookies}
Shape dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten slightly.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

chicken and root veggies with wine & rosemary

i think this is called braising. it was good and i think next time i will try it with a non-non-stick pan to be sure that the chicken as well as the carrots and potatoes, or whatever root veggies i use next, really brown a bit before adding the liquid. i think a big pot or dutch oven may be best, rather than a large covered nonstick sauce pan --which is what i used and it got a little crowded. i also think after browning everything, you could throw all this in the oven and it would turn out just great. i, however, was interested in minimizing clean up. but then that brings us back to the dutch oven idea.
anyway, this was good and is something i am interested in perfecting since, as i've previously mentioned, we have rosemary growing wild around here.
i think i'm done. here's the recipe.
chicken and root veggies with wine & rosemary
adapted from all recipes & the two of us and friends by jessie carry saunders
INGREDIENTS
4 bone-in chicken breast thighs or breasts, with skin
2 teaspoons seasoned salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 large onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, chopped into bite sized pieces
2 small potatoes chopped into bite sized pieces
4 cloves garlic, minced & divided
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
{optional sauce}
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons flour

DIRECTIONS
this would have been even better if i had NOT used a non-stick pan. more crispy goodies.
Season the chicken liberally with pepper and seasoned salt. Loosen skin and stuff half of diced garlic and chopped rosemary into skin. Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once butter’s foam subsides, add chicken and cook until well browned on all sides. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.

Lower the heat, add the onion, and cook and stir until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, carrot, and potato, and cook and stir an additional 3 minutes.

Pour the chicken broth into the pan {I added only about 1 1/2c. because my pan was getting crowded}, and bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir in the wine and reduce heat back to low.

Return the chicken to the pan and place rosemary sprigs among them. Simmer covered on low until chicken breasts are no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, about 40 minutes. Serve chicken and vegetables with sauces from pan or make separate sauce {it's just thicker}
{sauce}
Remove chicken and vegetables from pan and remove pan with liquids from heat. Allow to cool enough to skim off some fat and remove rosemary sprigs. In another pan, heat 2 T. olive oil over medium heat and once glistening, add flour, stirring or whisking continually. Add slowly until desired thickness: chicken and wine juices from pan, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Serve over chicken.