New Kitchen Toy!

Early this month was my birthday, I turned the big 3-0. As a gift, my parents gave me a food processor. So today I made the Chicken Bruschetta Pasta from Pampered Chef. It really made this recipe a million times easier. No more fine chopping, I can add the tomatoes in the wedges the recipe suggests.

Husband is listing off all the things he wants me to make with the processor. He wants a pesto sauce and home made salsa. I guess you can watch for those recipes when I find out what works.

Pot Stickers and Chow Mien

I love those frozen pot stickers you find at the whole sale food stores. I snack on those things like I'm getting paid to. I always wondered how hard could it be to make them myself. So I gave it a shot.
The pot stickers.......
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds ground chicken
1/2 cup shredded green cabbage
1/3 cup chopped green onion (4 medium)
2 teaspoons chopped gingerroot
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1small red bell pepper, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
1egg white
1package (10 ounces) round wonton skins
2 cups chicken broth
4 teaspoons soy sauce
Mix all ingredients except wonton skins, broth and soy sauce.
Brush each wonton skin with water. Place slightly less than 1 tablespoon chicken mixture on center of skin. Pinch 5 pleats along edge of half of circle. Fold circle in half over chicken mixture, pressing pleated edge to unpleated edge. Repeat with remaining skins and chicken mixture.
Spray 12-inch skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium heat. Cook 12 pot stickers at a time in skillet about 3 minutes or until light brown; turn. Add 1/2 cup of the broth and 1 teaspoon of the soy sauce. Cover and cook 5 minutes. Uncover and cook about 1 minute longer or until liquid had evaporated. Repeat with remaining pot stickers, broth and soy sauce.
The Chow Mien....
Ingredients
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. fresh ginger, grated
ground black pepper, to taste
2-3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
3 (5.6 oz) packages refrigerated Yaki Soba noodles (found in the produce section of the grocery store)
2/3 c. chopped celery (chopped diagonally)
1 medium-sized onion, thinly sliced
2 c. chopped cabbage
In a small bowl combine soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and black pepper. Set aside.
Remove Yaki Soba from packages and discard included flavoring packets. Rinse noodles well, drain, and set aside.
Heat oil in a large wok or skillet. Add celery and onion and saute for about 1-2 minutes or until onions start to become soft and transparent. Add cabbage and saute an additional minute or so.
Toss Yaki Soba noodles and soy sauce mixture with the vegetables over medium-high heat for an additional 2-3 minutes or until noodles are heated through.
It was so easy to make both the pot stickers and the chow mien. I am going to have to try both again with some changes. First, although I found the pot stickers tasty, I found them soggy as well. Either I did something wrong or I need a different recipe to suit my taste. Also in the chow mien I used Napa cabbage. It worked great in the pot stickers but just didn't taste well in the chow mien. I might try using bok choy next time.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

I hope all you moms out there are enjoying your day!

I received a beautiful piece of art by my daughter. It was a lovely portrait of me. Hubby cooked a delicious breakfast and even cleaned up after himself. He bought me roses and a card. I have gotten so many wonderful hugs and kisses from my daughter and its only 10:30 am. I will be going to my own mother's house in a few hours. Then we will come home again for dinner. Hubby is making dinner tonight as well.

I need to start getting ready so I will have to cut this short. Enjoy your mother's day!

Chicken Bruschetta Pasta from Pampered Chef

Recently went to another Pampered Chef party. I know, I sound like I'm addicted or something but they are all fundraisers for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. I do have a shopping list a mile long but that will be over time. I have plenty of Pampered Chef parties in my future. The consultant made this wonderful pasta dish that everyone said would be something my husband would love. He usually makes a bruschetta every time we have a party so everyone associates bruschetta with my husband. Here is the Pampered Chef recipe for Chicken Bruschetta Pasta.

Chicken Bruschetta Pasta Ingredients:

 2 Chicken Breast
3-4 Plum Tomatoes
3/4 c. Olive Oil
2-3 Cans of chicken broth *to cover pasta in DCB
1 lb. Farfalle
4-6 Leaves of fresh Basil
3 Cloves of fresh garlic
1 Tbsp Pampered Chef Italian Seasoning Mix
Salt and Pepper (dash of each)
fresh Parmesan Cheese

Place chicken breast into a large ziplock bag and flatten them with meat tenderizer. This will allow them to cook more quickly and evenly. After flattening them, place them in the deep covered baker with some PC Italian Seasoning.

 Cook for 8-10 minutes (longer if not flattened). Chop with salad chopper and remove from baker.

 Break pasta in half, put in baker. Pour chicken broth over spaghetti until it is covered. Microwave for approx. 16-17 minutes, mixing a 8 minutes. Add fresh basil, a little olive oil into manual food processor.

Use garlic press to mince 3 cloves of garlic into manual food processor. Slice tomatoes into wedges (veggie wedger works wonders!) and add to manual food processor. Add salt and pepper.

 Drain pasta from DCB. Mix chopped chicken, pasta and olive oil mixture together, grate parmesan cheese on top and serve!

Well of course I don't have every thing pampered chef but I do have plenty of cooking supplies that can get the job done just as well. So don't think you need the deep covered baker or the manual food processor (though those are both great products that I would love to have) you can substitute with your own items. I used a blender instead of the food processor. Would of been better to have the manual food processor and any food processor than a blender but it got done. I also used my Corningware to cook this in instead of the deep covered baker. My substitute was a package of Pampered Chef Italian Seasoning Mix was a package of Wishbone Italian Dressing and Seasoning Mix.

Hope you enjoy this one, my hubby certainly did.

Terrible Day in Boston

The Boston Marathon is a long standing tradition. We here in Boston take great pride in our city, it's people, the history, and traditions. To have such an awful attack during such a day as Patriot's Day, a time of remembrance of all those people that forged our nation, during such an iconic event as the marathon, it has shaken us all to the core. Though my heart goes out to those families of the victims from today's attack. I feel we here in the Boston area, as a community, need to rise up from this tragic event and carry on. We are a strong community, we are tough, we are fighters, and we will hold true to the memory of those who came before us, those people that fought for freedom. They had unwavering strength, they were afraid but never let that fear stop them from going on. We can't let those that feed off fear to win. We will move on, help those who are in need of healing. But rest assure that Boston will fight to find out who is responsible and those people will feel the weight of justice. This day will forever be remembered here in Boston.

Pasta e Fagioli

Nothing like having a hot soup on a chilly day. And when we are all feeling like we are coming down with something Pasta e Fagioli is the perfect thing to take that chill away. It's comfort in a bowl!

Ingredents
1 pound ground beef
1 small onion; diced 1 cup
1 large carrot; julienned 1 cup
3 stalks celery; chopped 1 cup
2 cloves garlic
2 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes
1 15-oz can red kidney beans; with liquid
1 15-oz can great northern beans; with liquid
1 15-oz can tomato sauce
1 12-oz can V-8 juice
1/2 cup beef broth
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 pound Ditali pasta; (1/2 package)

Brown the ground beef in a large saucepan or pot over medium heat. Drain off most of the fat. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic; saute for 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients (except pasta), and simmer for 1 hour.

About 50 minutes into simmer time, cook the pasta in 1 1/2 to 2 quarts of boiling water over high heat. Cook for 10 minutes or just until pasta is al dente, or slightly tough. Drain.

Add the pasta to the large pot of soup. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes and serve.

I served it with a bit of freshly grated parmesan. It hit the spot. I'm now sitting with the hubby watching the Bruins game wrapped in several blankets. The lovely warm feel has now worn off. At least it got me through clean up.

Tangy Orange Chicken with Green Bean Mandarin Salad

I made a orange chicken that had a bit of a kick to it. With a green bean salad on the side. It was a great dinner....

Orange Chicken

Ingredients:

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken, chopped into bite sized pieces
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
white pepper
oil (for frying)
1/2 cup cornstarch, plus
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon ginger root, minced
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed hot red chili pepper
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
1 tablespoon rice wine
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Orange Sauce for Stir Fry:

1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons water
5 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons white vinegar
1 orange, zest of

Directions:

It is easier to prepare the orange sauce first. Put soy sauce, water, sugar, white vinegar, and orange zest in a bowl. Whisk it up and set aside. In a large bowl stir together egg, salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon of the oil and mix well. Stir cornstarch and flour together. Mix flour mixture and egg mixture. Add chicken pieces, stirring to coat. Heat oil for deep-frying in wok or deep-fryer to 375 degrees. Add chicken, small batches at a time, and fry 3 to 4 minutes or until golden crisp. (Do not overcook chicken). Remove chicken from oil with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels; set aside.

Clean wok and heat 15 seconds over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil. Add ginger and garlic and stir-fry until fragrant; about 10 seconds. Add and stir-fry crushed chiles and green onions. Add rice wine and stir 3 seconds. Add Orange Sauce and bring to boil. Add cooked chicken, stirring until well mixed. Stir water into remaining 1 tablespoon cornstarch until smooth and add to chicken. Heat until sauce is thickened. Stir in sesame oil last minute. Take off heat and serve over rice.

Green Bean Mandarin Salad

1/2lb fresh green beans
1 can of mandarin oranges
Ground pepper (lightly to taste )
Olive oil to drizzle
Balsamic Vinegar

Clean green beans. Boil green beans to al dente. Throw green beans in large bowl of cold ice water. Drain. Add can of mandarin juice and all. Toss in pepper and oil. When green beans are well coated add Balsamic vinegar to taste. Serve cold.