TJ's Mediterranean Pasta Salad

INGREDIENTS: 

-full bag of fusilli noodles (black bean noodles or lentil noodles work great, and make this dish gluten free!) 

Handful each of

-kalamata olives

-roasted marinated red peppers

-artichoke hearts

-frozen corn, A half a bag

-chicken, 6 tenders or thighs. Or 3 chicken breasts. 

-8 cherry tomatoes

-1/4 red onion

-5 radishes

-1 clove elephant garlic, or a few cloves regular garlic

To taste 

-goat cheese

-Parmesan cheese

INSTRUCTIONS 

In a skillet, cook off finely diced garlic with butter, till translucent.

Add seasoned chicken (I liked garlic salt and pepper) when half cooked, start shredding it with two forks. (If it starts out frozen, cook in fryer till fully defrosted, finish cooking in pan and shred)

Place chicken and garlic in a separate bowl with frozen corn, and let residual heat thaw corn.

Cut cherry tomatoes to preferred size and blister in pan till umami flavour is strong. Roughly chop remaining veggies, fresh and marinated.

Do not waste any oil from the marinated veggies, as this will be our sauce. 

Mix everything thoroughly into a large bowl sprinkling in the cheeses to preference. Season with salt and pepper to taste, mushroom salt pairs nicely.  

Balance is important. Especially with the marinated veggies as the oil is important and also filled with flavour.

TJ's Curried ButterNut Soup

Ingredients:
1 large butternut squash.
1 1/2 heads of garlic, smashed.
2 Shallots, finely diced.
3 TBSP Red curry paste.
2 cans coconut (cream, milk or combination).
4 cups strong veggie broth.
Some (4 or 5?) chicken thighs, sliced thinly against the grain.
A bunch of broccoli. Be generous.
Some yellow/Dutch potatoes.
A bunch of crushed/chopped peanuts.

Instructions: Cook this is a stockpot. Cast iron is a good idea.
• Peel squash. Quarter it. Remove seeds & goop.
• Rub squash with high-temperature oil.
• Roast squash: 45 minutes at 425. Turn halfway through.
• Cook curry paste for two minutes.
• Add shallots and garlic. Cook 'till translucent.
• Dice the cooked squash. Add to curry, onions, garlic. Re-heat.
• When it's hot, add broth & coconut. Re-heat again. Blend 'till very smooth with immersion blender.
• While it’s simmering, cook chicken, broccoli & potatoes separately (Reminder: they take different times). Season liberally with salt & pepper.
• Combine solids with blended liquids just before serving. Dust with peanuts.
• Serve and enjoy!

Comment: This is delicious! 

TJ's Succotash

 INGREDIENTS: 

-1red bell pepper

-1 green bell pepper

-1orange bell pepper

-1 red onion

-1 Zucchini, small

-1 yellow squash (or two Zucchini if you can't find the squash)

-1 bunch of cilantro

-corn (frozen or fresh)

-Seasonings: salt, pepper, garlic, cayenne, paprika

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

Basically try to have equal amounts of everything, though if the onions tip the balance, it isn't a bad thing.

Dice everything really finely.

Sauté red onions till translucent, add Zucchini, sauté for a couple minutes, add peppers and corn. 

Season to taste with salt, pepper, garlic, cayenne, and paprika. Add more heat as you like. Add cilantro at the end.

(Thoughts: I think a little white pepper would go nicely, and fresh jalapeños or serranoes will also go well.) [I may try it with de-seeded scotch bonnets.]

Cook till a happy texture. Avoid mush.

McBert Chili

(Prep time 20 minutes cook time 6+ hours)

Ingredients 

-veggie stock box or equal Better-than-Boullion 

-1 can embasa chipotle peppers in adobo sauce 

-dried peppers (Anaheim, jalepeno, pasilla, habenero)

-1 white onion

-2 cans of black beans

-2 cans of kidney beans

-2 small cans of green hatch chilis 

-½ T anchovy paste

-steak chunks 

-soy chorizo

In a large sauce pan start heating the stock, add dried chilies. Our preference is 2 pasilla, 3 jalapeno, 1 habanero. 

Open the tin of adobo sauce and chipotle remove stems, and blend the contents. Add to stock.

Let simmer down until you are happy with the density of flavour. Remove the hotter peppers when happy with heat level. Remember it will get a little hotter. 

While it is simmering, coarsely chop the onion. In a large pot or crock pot, put the beans, the green chilis and the onion in the pot. Stir in anchovy paste. Turn on low.  

Remove the last of the dried peppers, and pour stock into the pot. Let cook on low for at least 6 hours.

When satisfied with flavour and thickness, chop steak into 1" cubes, and sear in a hot pan. Remove chorizo from casing, stir in with steak and add to chili. Let cook on low for an hour or until steak is cooked and very tender. 

I love this chili. Really flavorful. Really dense flavors. 

We served it for dinner with a small dollop of sour cream, and I had it for leftovers with a slice of sharp cheddar cheese. 

Rosemary Salmon with roast veggies

Ingredients:

For Vegetables:

1 cup or more  new potatoes

1 cup or more Brussels sprouts, halved

½ tsp Everything But the Bagel seasoning salt.

½ tsp lemon pepper

    (I used ground pepper and dehydrated lemon)

A couple sprigs of fresh rosemary, chopped finely.

A small pinch cayenne pepper

Olive oil

For Salmon:

1 good size (6 – 10 oz) salmon steak.

Olive oil.

Salt & pepper to taste.

Several sprigs of rosemary, whole

1 lemon (divided).

3 cloves of garlic, halved

Instructions:

Wash the vegetables. Drain well. Put them in a larger mixing bowl. Mix spices together. Drizzle olive oil over the vegetables. Add spices and stir well, until veggies are coated.

Spread coated veggies on parchment paper on a baking tray, and bake at 375º for 10 minutes.

Brush salmon with olive oil. Heat frying pan. Add garlic, lemon, rosemary. Drizzle with olive oil. Add fish to hot fry pan next to the other goodies. If your fish has skin, score it gently and rub a small amount of salt into the slices, then cook it skin side down, with a little oil. When the fish is about ⅔ cooked (you'll see it if you look at the side of the fish) then flip over onto the bed of rosemary.

After the first 10 minutes, turn veggies, and bake for another 10 minutes. Then broil for 5 minutes.

Serve the fish on the rosemary bed, with veggies next to it.

Candlelight is optional.

TJ’s Curry Fried Chicken

Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts, cut into “chicken tenders” size.

Sauce:

3 cloves garlic

1 TBSP fresh ginger

2 TBSP sweet onion

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp yellow curry powder

1½ TBSP tomato paste

Mix this together in a blender until it’s a paste. Add a little olive oil if needed to make this a medium thick sauce to coat chicken with. Sauté the sauce until it’s dark brown. TJ describes this as “almost burnt.” Set aside.

Fill a large (cast iron) fry pan half full of water, and heat to boiling. Add chicken and boil until the outside of the pieces is done, but the centers are still raw. Discard water.

Add sauce, and cook over medium heat until chicken is nearly done. Increase heat to maximum for the last few minutes just to dry the sauce and get it firmly soaked into the meat.

Waffle Browns

Apparently, cooking with a waffle iron is a “thing” now. Or so I am informed by my daughter the librarian. She & I worked this out in conversation last night.

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen hashbrown potatoes (feel free to use fresh)

½ cup frozen hashbrown sweet potatoes (or fresh)

⅓ cup sweet onion, sliced thin, cut into hashbrown size

3 strips bacon, cooked (not crispy), sliced to hashbrown size

1 TBSP bacon drippings

1 tsp dried oregano

1 TBSP olive oil

2 TBSP honey

½ tsp dried tarragon

Salt and pepper to taste

Butter

Fry the bacon: mostly done, but not crispy. Defrost frozen things. Mix potatoes, sweet potatoes, onion together gently. Add sliced bacon, bacon drippings, spices, oil & honey. Mix together gently.

Shape into a rough patty, and place 1 pat of butter on top.

Pre-heat waffle iron. Oil bottom plate. Place the patty (with butter on top) onto waffle iron; close & press down.

When cooked through, remove from waffle iron. Serve immediately. Top with shredded cheese, a fried egg and/or drizzle with honey if you like. 

Caution: Be sure to re-oil the waffle iron before every batch!

 

Breakfast Orange Bread

Main dough:

⅓ cup milk

1 tsp dry yeast

1½ TBSP sugar

Whisk together, and microwave for 15 seconds. Let it sit for a few minutes until the yeast starts working. This is a good time to create the filling.

Add:

1½ teaspoon olive oil,

⅓ tsp salt

1 cup white flour

Mix quickly together with fingers or a wooden spoon. This is to take seconds, not minutes.

Filling:

3 slices of dehydrated oranges, without peels

1 teaspoon dried stevia leaves, chopped

The contents of one bag of Stash Mango-Passionfruit herbal tea, without teabag

1½ TBSP half and half

1 TBSP white sugar

Load these into a small-size food processor and blend for several minutes, until the particles are very fine.

(Optional: Let the bread rise once for 30 minutes)

Turn the bread dough onto a floured board and sprinkle more flour on top, on the sticky places. Press it flat (it should make a circle 10” – 12” diameter). Cover one half of the surface with ⅓ of the filling mixture. Fold the empty half over the covered half, and press flat again. Cover one half of this new surface with the second ⅓ of the filling. Repeat a third time.

Shape into a roll: 1¼” diameter x 4 or 5” long. Let it raise for 30 minutes, or until doubled in size. Cook for 20 minutes at 350 degrees, or until done.  

This came from TJ's inspiration. It was good inspiration!

One loaf. Serves 2 or 3.

Barbecued Chicken with Orange-Basil-Bourbon Sauce

YIELD Makes 3 servings

                                                                                                                  

INGREDIENTS

3          boneless skinless chicken breast halves (halved lengthwise)

1          cup fresh orange juice

¾         cup dry white wine

2          tsp grated mandarin orange peel

½         cup sliced sweet onion (consider red onion)

3          mandarin oranges, peeled & separated into slices

¼          cup sliced fresh basil leaves or 2 teaspoons dried Thai basil

1          TBSP good bourbon

1          tsp sweet onion powder

1          TBSP rice flour

¼          cup blue or chevre goat cheese

PREPARATION:

Combine orange juice, wine and orange peel in saucepan; bring to a boil. Stir in onion, mandarin slices, bourbon, garlic; cook and stir until onion is tender and mandarin slices are coming apart. Reduce heat, and simmer until reduced to ⅓ original volume.

Coat chicken with olive oil; season with garlic powder, white pepper and caraway seed. Barbecue over medium flame until done.

SERVE:

Place one or two pieces of chicken on a dinner plate. Sprinkle with bleu cheese or chevre cheese. Spoon sauce over chicken and cheese. 
Enjoy. 

A collaboration of TJ and her Papa.

Japanese Omelette

TJ Version (dairy/wheat-free &; healthy-ized a little). Inspired by Tamagoyaki.

Ingredients: 

(double ingredients for larger version)

2 large eggs
½ TBSP brown sugar
½ tsp mirin sauce
¼ tsp sesame oil
salt & pepper to taste
Oil for cooking

Beat all the ingredients together with a fork or chopsticks. Don’t use a whisk since you don’t want it to get foamy.

Pour some of the mixture into a hot, well-oiled non-stick pan (we use a well-seasoned 8" cast iron frying pan). The edges will cook more quickly; stir the middle of the mixture until it's "nearly done."  Then flip the whole thing over for a few seconds until it forms a skin, fold it into thirds, and serve.  

TJ's Yummy Salad!

Courtesy, Chef TJ McLain

(3 servings)

Ingredients:

Mixed salad greens (lettuce stuff) several large handfuls
Beef steak strips from premiere selections (it's at Costco but its just yummy spiced beef thin strips): a big handful
Smashed up dry ramen (very fun!) one package, no flavoring
Bacon, 6 strips (2 each)
Feta cheese, small handful
Chopped almonds, a handful
Cranberries, just a sprinkling
Green onions 4 or 5 of the stock or heads or whatever you call them.
And one apple, chopped up into chunks. Fairly small.

I put it in a pot with the lid and shook everything all up, so all the flavors get mixed up together.

Toppings:
Dribble with extra virgin olive oil, and some balsamic vinegar.
Or put with pepper
Or leave it alone
(all three are good.)

IDEAS!
So we thought maybe replace the beef with smoked salmon.
Or replace the apples with Satsumas or oranges.
Ooh ooh! Pears would be good too!

BBQ Chicken with onion Sandwich

1 frozen chicken breast
2 pieces toast
BBQ sauce (to taste)
Onion (to taste)
Parmesan Cheese (to taste)

Defrost chicken breast, 8 minutes give or take average size. On grill (or whatever) cook till done on the outside. Cut it in half (fillet) then cook with raw side facing down.

Once done put one half (or both but it's hard to fit your mouth around it with both) on toast. Spread BBQ sauce on both slices, or you wont taste it depending on which end is up (I like to use thick 'n spicy brown sugar BBQ sauce) slice up onion, depending on how much you like onion, (me being obsessed with onion, I put a whole slice on it!). Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and put together.

And enjoy.

With this chicken I get a little more creative with spices but not a lot or it's to much.


Courtesy TJ McLain, a CreativeBug.

Chicken Caesar Sandwich

1 frozen chicken breast
1 Leaf of romaine lettuce
2 pieces toast
1 Caesar Dressing (to taste)
Parmesan cheese (to taste)

Defrost chicken breast, 8 minutes give or take average size. On grill (or whatever) cook till done on the outside. Cut it in half (fillet) then cook with raw side facing down.

Once the chicken breast is done, put one half (or both but it's hard to fit your mouth around it with both) on toast. Spread Caesar dressing on the other piece of toast. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Put your leaf (break it in half so it will fit) on the toast. Put the bread together and enjoy.

I like to spice my chicken with only salt and pepper. The dressing spices the sandwich well enough alone.

Courtesy TJ McLain, a CreativeBug.