Chicken with Mole Sauce

Mole sauce?  What's that?

If you are asking yourself that question, you are in the same boat I was not too long ago.  First of all, it is pronounced with a Spanish pronunciation: moe-lay.  Let's just get that straight so you don't embarrass yourself.

Mole is a sauce that can be served several ways but the most common thing I've seen is it being poured over chicken and rice.  It is a spicy sauce with a flavor that is enhanced by a bit of chocolate.  I realize this sounds odd and have to admit that I used to shy away from it.  But once I gave it a shot, I found it to be quite flavorful and good.  See for yourself....

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
• 4 servings rice, cooked
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1/3 cup white onion, very finely chopped
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (grated dark chocolate can also be substituted and would probably be better!)
• 1.5 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp dried cilantro (or 1 and a half tbsp fresh chopped cilantro)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 can condensed tomato soup
• 1 (4 oz) can diced green chile peppers

Directions

• Heat oil in a sauce pan over medium heat
• Saute chopped onions until tender
• To onions, add chocolate, spices, garlic, soup, cilantro and green chile peppers
• Bring to boil and then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes
• Serve over chicken and rice

Chipotle Honey Glazed Chicken with Sweet Potatoes Plus Fiery Grilled Asparagus

 Two great recipes for the price of one in this post!  This recipe was shared with me a year ago by Tonia but I finally pulled it out and gave it a shot.  It got a big thumbs up at our dining room table and hopefully will at yours too!

Chipotle Honey Glazed Chicken with Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients

• 4 boneless chicken breasts
• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1 inch cubes
• 2 tbsp oil
• 4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tsp cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp cumin
• Chopped cilantro for garnish, if desired

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Toss cubed sweet potatoes with oil and place into a large casserole dish or roasting pan
• Place potatoes in oven for 20 minutes

• Into a small bowl, combine minced peppers, garlic, honey, vinegar, salt, cinnamon and cumin to make a thick paste.
• Rub paste evenly over each chicken breast
• When the potatoes have finished their 20 minutes in the oven, place chicken on top of them and return to oven for an additional 30 minutes or until chicken is done

Going into the oven!

• Garnish with cilantro if desired.

Fiery Grilled Asparagus

Here's a recipe that I picked up from one of those recipe cards in the grocery store.  It's definitely worth making again....and SOON!

Ingredients

• 1 lb asparagus
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tsp rice wine vinegar - I didn't have this so used regular white vinegar instead and it seemed to work just fine.
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted - I also didn't have this and omitted them but am sure they would be a nice addition
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Preheat grill to a medium heat and coat with a non-stick cooking spray
• Trip and discard tough ends of asparagus
• In a shallow dish, combine asparagus, oil, red pepper flakes, vinegar, sugar and salt and pepper
• Let stand 15 minutes
• Place asparagus on grill and grill 5 minutes, turning once
• After grilling, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve

And here's the picture of the delicious meal:

Mexican Turkey Burgers

Happy almost Cinco de Mayo!

Little known fact: Cinco de Mayo is NOT a celebration of Mexico's independence.  That is actually celebrated each year on September 16th.  Cinco de Mayo actually marks the unprecedented victory of the Mexican army over the French in the Battle of Puebla.  It is celebrated in the Mexican state of Puebla but more so in the United States.  The rest of Mexico could pretty much care less.

Crazy.

Anyway, here's a zesty dish with a Mexican flare in honor of Cinco de Mayo with which you may want to celebrate :

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 white medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1/2 cup whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 package taco seasoning (or make your own using this recipe)
• 1/3 cup dried bread crumbs
• 6 flour tortillas
• 6 tbsp sour cream
• 2 cups shredded lettuce

Directions

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees
• Heat oil in skillet over medium heat and cook peppers, onion and garlic until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly
• In a small bowl, mix salsa and corn.  Set aside
• In a larger bowl, mix tbsp of the salsa mixture with the sauted vegetables, turkey and taco seasoning
• Divide turkey mixture into 6 patties and press into bread crumbs, covering each patty evenly
• Arranged patties in a greased baking dish and place in oven for 10 minutes

• At end of 10 minutes, drain fluid, turn patties, and top with remaining salsa mixture

• Continue baking 10 more minutes or until internal temperature is 165 degrees
• Serve wrapped in warm tortillas and with sour cream and lettuce garnish

Fried Rice

When was the last time you were offered fried rice and said "no"? That's right...fried rice is always a yes. Especially when you can make it at home and not go to a nasty Chinese place for it :)

This recipe is kind of one of those ones where amounts of ingredients are not very important, as you'll see below. Just go with it. Short one ingredient? As long as it is not rice, you'll probably be alright. Serve as a side dish or as a main dish with a protein meat!

For this recipe, you will either need a wok or a sauce pan with high edges.

Ingredients

• 4 servings of rice, cooked and cooled - the cooling is helpful when mixing the rice with other things later but not imperative.
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-3 carrots (or 2 handfuls of baby carrots), finely chopped
• 2 eggs, scrambled
• 1 can peas
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 cup cooked meat, if desired (chicken, pork, shrimp, etc.)
• Olive oil

Directions

• If possible, prepare rice ahead of time and put in refrigerator to cool
• Place a small amount of oil in a saucepan over medium heat and saute carrots for 3 minutes

• While carrots are cooking, scramble eggs in another pan
• To saucepan, add the minced garlic and sliced onions. Add more oil if needed. Cook 4-5 more minutes until soft

• To the veggies, add all remaining ingredients and mix well.

We used smoked pork

• Heat through and serve!

Spicy Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork

I happened upon this recipe about a week ago and had been looking for an excuse to try it.  It makes a lot of food so I didn't want to do it with just me and my husband.  So I invited some friends over and gave it a shot.

O.M.G.  So delicious.  If only I could convey the fantastic smell of this dish to you through this blog.  Darn blogspot.  They need to do some upgrading...

So here's how you do it....

Ingredients

• 1 pork shoulder.  They generally come in the 5-7 lb range.  The packaging may read "pork shoulder butt".  Do not be afraid.

hehe...butt

• 1 (7 oz) can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce - I'd never purchased this before but found it in the grocery store aisle that had other types of "ethnic foods"

• 1 white onion, roughly chopped
• 2 cans Dr. Pepper
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Place the chopped onions in the bottom of a crock pot

• Season the pork shoulder with salt and pepper
• Place pork shoulder in crock pot, fatty side up
• Pour peppers and sauce on top of pork shoulder

• Sprinkle brown sugar on top
• Pour Dr. Pepper on top as well.

• Cook in crock pot on low for 8-10 hours - I did not have quite enough time for this so I did it on high for about 3 hours and low for another 3.  Turned out just fine!
• If possible, flip the pork shoulder over a couple times while cooking.  If you aren't around and can't, no biggie.
• When cooked, shred with two forks.

After the meat is cooked and shredded, you can do tons with it.  Serve it on burger buns as a sandwich, in warmed tortillas as tacos, or even on pizza.

For a little added flavor, we strained out the cooked peppers and onions and diced them up to be served on the side for those who wanted a little more of a spicy kick.  It was great!

Enjoy...we sure did!

Easy Sloppy Joes!

Who doesn't love a good sloppy joe?  The stuff in the can just doesn't cut it for us.  Next time you want some sloppy joe action, give this a try!

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp mustard
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/4 BBQ sauce
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Few splashes liquid smoke (if you have it.  don't go buy it for this recipe)
• Desired amount of spicy peppers if you'd like a little heat :)

Directions

• Over medium-high heat, brown the beef with the diced onion and bell pepper

• Drain fat, return to skillet
• Combine remaining ingredients and add to skillet
• Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for 30 minutes
• Serve over hamburger buns

I like mine "open face"
For the realistic sloppy joe eater :)

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Now HERE is a definitely favorite from this household.  I make a few pots of this every winter and this week marked pot number one.  Never has anyone expressed anything but love for this recipe.  Don't let the longish list of ingredients scare you off!  The recipe is derived from one I found online and modified to get as close to the one used at my favorite little Mexican place.

Ingredients

• 2 large chicken breasts (or equivalent amount), cooked and cubed
•  1 package taco seasoning, or make your own with this recipe
• 30 oz chicken broth
• 3 minced garlic cloves
• 24 oz stewed tomatoes
• 1 jar of your favorite salsa or about 3 cups (pretty much takes care of most of the seasoning!)
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1.5 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 chopped zucchini
• 2 diced avocados
• 1/2 bag baby carrots, chopped
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained

Directions

• Coat chicken with taco seasoning and cook chicken in small amount of oil.  When done, cut into cubes.
• Combine cooked chicken with all other ingredients into crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours
• Serve with tortilla chips and shredded cheddar cheese

Sorry no picture!  Ate this bad boy up before I thought about grabbing the camera :(  

Guess I'll have to make it again :)

Spicy Shrimp Pasta

Here's a gem of a recipe that I made for the first time last year and forgot all about until just recently.  It got two thumbs up this evening and hopefully, you'll try it too!

Ingredients

• 2 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed
• 1 lb penne or other tube pasta
• 1 large can diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes, or more to taste (in this out, we double it)
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Start water boiling and, when ready, cook pasta as directed by package instructions
• In a skillet, season shrimp with salt and pepper and cook in small amount of oil until opaque and cooked through - as I cooked this most recently, it occurred to me that it would be totally fine to start with pre-cooked shrimp for this recipe.  If you elect to do this, just set the shrimp aside for later.

• Remove cooked shrimp from skillet and set aside.  To skillet, add tomatoes (with juices), garlic, and red pepper flakes.  Cook, uncovered over medium-high heat until juices thicken, about 10-15 minutes.

• Add cooked pasta and shrimp to tomato mixture and continue to cook until heated through.

We served with shredded mozzarella cheese

Stuffed Crust Pizza

My husband and I had been talking about it for a few weeks and tonight, we finally got down to business and took a crack at making a stuffed crust pizza, originally made famous by Pizza Hut maybe 15 years ago.

First, we started off with this whole wheat pizza recipe that I have used with success a few times now.

Next, we took string cheese and cut it in half lengthwise and lined the outside of the rolled out pizza crust with it. We folded the crust over it.  Be sure to seal the crust very well around the cheese.

Not quite sealed all the way but you get the idea

 Then add your pizza sauce and desired toppings.  The pizza shown below is a knock off of our favorite pizza served at a little pizza joint about an hour from here.  The pizza is called "The Roadrunner" and consists of pepperoni, sausage, and green chiles.

Bake as directed by crust instructions and enjoy!

Check out that cheesy crust

It was delicious and we can't wait to do it again!

While I have your attention, I've got a quick product review for you.  Faithful readers will remember that, as is the New Mexico tradition, I frequently cook with green chiles. Something I haven't yet ventured into since moving to New Mexico is trying different...shall we say....abnormal green chile products.  A few examples are green chile ice cream, green chile wine, and green chile vinaigrette.

I'll be honest...some of this stuff freaks me out.  But this evening, with our Roadrunner Pizza, we popped open some green chile beer and gave it a shot.

It was great!  It smelled like green chile and had a vague aftertaste of the heat of a green chile but went down just as smoothly as regular beer.  Do not fear the green chile beer!

BBQ Chicken Burritos

This has been a favorite around the Moore household for as long as we've been married (3 years last week for anyone keeping score at home).

Ingredients

• 1 lb chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 oz) can corn, drained
• 1/3 cup favorite BBQ sauce 
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 4 tortillas, warmed

Directions

• Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat
• Add chicken to oil and cook for 2 minutes
• Add garlic and onions to skillet and continue to cook until the chicken is done all the way through
• To the chicken, onion and garlic, add the corn, beans and BBQ sauce and heat through - this amount of BBQ sauce will not seem like enough at this point but when you add the sour cream in the next step, it starts to take on the consistency that you are looking for.  Don't be tempted to add more (like I have done before!) because it will make it too soupy!
• Mix in sour cream and heat through

• Sprinkle with shredded cheese and allow to heat (without stirring) until cheese melts - about 2 minutes
• Serve in warmed tortillas

Bacon-Wrapped Maple Pork Loin

Ok friends and people I never have meet before this is AMAZING! I did not get a large pork loin b/c I feel like two smaller ones cook better with more flavor and it makes it easy for leftovers! See a review for yourself here.

For brining pork

• 8 cups water
• 1/3 cup kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup (Grade B or amber)
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed black peppercorns
• 2 sprigs fresh sage
• 1 large garlic clove, smashed
• 1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
• 1 (4- to 4 1/2-lb) boneless pork loin roast, trimmed (I used two smaller ones b/c I feel that they cook better and taste better, also great for leftovers!)

For roasting pork

• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup (Grade B or amber)
• 16 bacon slices (about 1 lb)
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon water

Brine pork:Combine all brining ingredients except pork loin in a 3- to 4-quart saucepan and heat over high heat, stirring, until salt is dissolved. Pour brine into a deep 4- to 5-quart pot; cool to room temperature, uncovered, about 2 hours.

Add pork to brine, making sure it is completely covered by brine, and marinate, covered and chilled, 8 to 24 hours.

Roast pork:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.

Pat pork dry (discard brine) and remove any strings, then transfer to a roasting pan. Stir together garlic

, sage, and 1 tablespoon syrup in a small bowl and rub all over pork. Lay bacon slices crosswise over loin, overlapping slightly, and tuck ends of bacon underneath loin.

Roast pork until thermometer registers 140°F, about 1 1/4 hours. Stir together 1 tablespoon syrup and vinegar until combined. Brush vinegar mixture over bacon slices and continue to roast pork until thermometer registers 150°F, about 10 minutes more. Remove from oven and let stand in pan 15 minutes. Transfer roast to a cutting board with a lip, reserving juices in pan, and let roast stand, uncovered, while making sauce.

Skim fat from pan juices and discard, then transfer jus to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Stir together cornstarch and water and whisk into jus. Simmer, stirring, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in remaining tablespoon syrup. Serve pork with sauce.

(Please note this picture was a leftover picture but oh so good!)

Pecan-Crusted Tilapia

Wow...it's been a while since either Tonia or I posted anything here.  I suspect that the long Thanksgiving weekend had something very much to do with it.  Hope that the holiday season is off to a great start for you and your families!

Here's a gem I just found.  From my mother-in-law's leftover pie ingredients, we had TONS of pecans and walnuts sitting around and I wanted to incorporate them into a dish.  See what you think:

Tilapia Ingredients

• 4 tilapia fillets
• 1/2 cup pecan halves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 3 tbsp butter

Golden-Butter Rum Sauce Ingredients

• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 shallot, minced (as a substitute, use 2/3 tsp minced onion and 1 minced clove garlic)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp rum (can substitute lemon juice)
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp orange juice
• 1 tsp honey
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions

1. Process pecans in food processor until finely chopped
2. Mix the salt, garlic powder and pepper together with the pecans
3. Dredge fish in finely chopped pecans (I was afraid of the pecans not sticking so I brushed the fillets with a little oil first)
4. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat
5. Add fish and cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until well browned and flaky
6. While fish is cooking, make Golden Butter Rum Sauce, starting by melting 1 tsp butter in a small sauce pan over medium-high heat
7. Add shallot and garlic and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally
8. Reduce heat to low and slowly whisk in rum, fruit juices, honey and salt, as well as the remaining 2 tbsp of better
9. Cook one more minute 
10. Serve sauce over the finished fillets

Bacon Wrapped BBQ Chicken

I always love a recipe that lists all its ingredients in the title :)  Try this one out.  I've made it for company a few times since first making it last Fall and it is always met with great satisfaction.

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts - or in these particular photos, 2 HUGE ones cut in half
• 2 apples, grated or pulsed in a food processor
• 1 cup of your favorite (or the cheapest!) BBQ sauce
• 8 slices bacon
• Juice from 1 lemon (okay...I realize this ingredient wasn't in the recipe title...sue me)

Directions

• Wrap two slices of bacon around each chicken breast and place in the bottom of your crock pot

• Put grated or blended apples on top of the chicken

• Squeeze lemon juice over top of the apples
• Pour BBQ sauce over top of all ingredients

• Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Note: 6-8 hours is the original recipe's directions however unless I fill up my crock pot by doubling the recipe, it always finishes much faster (4-6 hour range).  If there is a lot of extra space in your crock pot, you might think about this as you decide how long to leave your crock pot unattended.

Ryan Week Day 5 - Tater Tot Casserole

You will need:

• One GREASED 8x8 baking dish
• 1 pound of 96% lean ground beef (have to work hard to keep the figure)
• 1/4 cup chopped onions
• 1 can of green beans
• 1 can of cream of mushroom soup - if you do not enjoy cream of mushroom soup any creamed based soup will do.
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 small bag of tater tots
• 1 bag of finely shredded cheddar cheese

Pre-heat oven to 350

Brown green beef with onions, because I know how much Ryan loves onions I added almost 1/2 cup of onions for a bit kick!

While that is cooking, add your cream of mushroom soup along with you milk and mix well.

If any grease, drain.

Put the cooked beef with onions in the bottom of your greased baking dish. Add a small handful of cheddar cheese.

Then on top of that, add your drained can of green beans (please note that you can add whatever vegetable you wish, some people do enjoy this with corn or a mixed vegetable can also work nicely.) Once again a small handful of cheese.

On top of the green beans add your mixture of cream of mushroom soup and milk. Layer that with 2 handfuls of cheese.

If you wanted to get really crazy you could mix everything up, however I enjoy the layered look for serving.

Add Tater Tots in single layer on top of the whole baking dish followed by another small handful of cheese on top of that. (I did not use the whole bag of cheese)

Bake for about 30 minutes with the top covered with tin foil. Then take off the tin foil and cook for an extra 5-8 minutes till the tater tots look crisp!

Enjoy!

Dinner in a Pumpkin

Time for the last pumpkin recipe as promised.  I know it isn't the weekend (I've been posting a pumpkin recipe every weekend in October) but in case anyone wanted to try this one out, I thought I'd post it before all the pumpkins are gone.  


I've been making this recipe each October for about 3 years.  It can feed people at a small dinner party or make it with just you and someone else and have delicious leftovers!  It got great reviews at our dinner party just last night.

Ingredients

• 1 medium pumpkin (8-10 lbs)
• 2 lbs lean ground beef
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 2 cups hot cooked rice
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• Shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

• Cut a 3 inch hole in the top of the pumpkin and remove the seeds and pulp.  Reserve seeds for roasting later
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  
• Brown beef in a large skillet and drain
• Add celery and onion to beef and cook until tender
• Stir in remaining ingredients 
• Ladle the mixture into the pumpkin

• Place pumpkin on lightly greased baking sheet
• Bake in oven for 1.5 to 2 hours or until pumpkin is tender and filling is bubbling and hot throughout.

• Scrape the inside of the pumpkin to add some squash to each serving.  Sprinkle each serving with the shredded cheese!

Simple Spicy Peanut Stir Fry Sauce

Who doesn't love a good stir fry?  Below is a recipe for a Thai-style peanut stir fry sauce that is as good as it is easy.

• 2/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup peanut butter of choice.  I prefer chunky :)
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar - if you don't have any, you can substitute 1 part normal white vinegar and 1 part lime juice
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground red pepper

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and heat through while stirring.  Pour over stir fried vegetables and rice.

Veggies and sauce...rice on its way!

Maple-Glazed Chicken Breasts

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, (about 8 ounces), trimmed and tenders removed (see Tip)

Directions

1. Whisk syrup, soy sauce, lemon juice, garlic, ginger and pep

per in a small, shallow dish. Add chicken and turn to coat with the marinade; cover and refrigerate for at lest 2 hours.

2. Grill till done.

3. Meanwhile, pour the reserved marinade into a small saucepan

and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook until reduced by ab

out half, about 4 minutes. Liberally baste the chicken with

the reduced sauce and serve.

Teriyaki Pineapple Chicken

This meal is a favorite around my household and the bonus is that the effort-to-impressing-guests ratio is quite favorable!  This post is really a recipe for teriyaki sauce that can be used on so much more than chicken breasts, as shown here.  It is also good on wings, salmon and beef!

Teriyaki Sauce Ingredients

• 1 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Other Ingredients Necessary For This Particular Dish

• 4 chicken breasts
• 1 whole pineapple, peeled and cut into rings - canned pineapple rings will work as well but is considered to be sub-par in this house.  The flavor of a freshly cut pineapple is unmatched!  Don't be tempted!
• 4 servings cooked rice

Directions

• Combine teriyaki sauce ingredients.  The flavors will fuse best if they can sit in a container in your refrigerator for a couple hours before adding any meat for marinading.  If there is no time for this step, it's perfectly okay!
• Add chicken and allow to marinade for at least 2 hours.  
• Grill chicken until done
• Brush pineapple slices with leftover sauce and grill
• Serve chicken and pineapple over rice

Note: For a honey teriyaki sauce, add 1/4 cup honey to the sauce 

Broiled Tilapia Parmesan with Risotto and Vegetables

This blog has two recipes that I enjoy cooking together. The main dish is Broiled Tilapia Parmesan and Risotto with Veggies.

Broiled Tilapia Parmesan

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/8 teaspoon celery salt
• 1 pound tilapia fillets

Directions

1. Preheat your oven's broiler. Grease a broiling pan or line pan with aluminum foil.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Season with dried basil, pepper, onion powder and celery salt. Mix well and set aside.
3. Arrange fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan. Broil a few inches from the heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the fillets over and broil for a couple more minutes. Remove the fillets from the oven and cover them with the Parmesan cheese mixture on the top side. Broil for 2 more minutes or until the topping is browned and fish flakes easily with a fork. Be careful not to over cook the fish.

Risotto with Vegetables

• 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
• ½ cup chopped onion (1 medium)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 cup uncooked brown rice
• 3 cups chicken broth
• ¾ cup bite-sized asparagus or broccoli pieces
• ¾ cup seeded and diced tomato
• ¼ cup shredded carrot (1 small)
• ¼ cup finely shredded parmesan cheese
• 3 Tbsp. snipped fresh basil or parsley

1. In large saucepan cook mushrooms, onion, and garlic until tender; add rice. Cook and stir over medium heat about 5 minutes until rice is golden.
2. Meanwhile in another saucepan, bring broth to boil; reduce heat and simmer. Slowly add 1 cup of broth to rice mixture, stirring constantly. Continue to cook and stir over medium heat until liquid is absorbed. Add another ½ cup of broth and asparagus/broccoli pieces to rice mixture, stirring constantly. Continue to cook and stir until the liquid is absorbed. Add another 1 cup broth, ½ cup at a time, stirring constantly until the broth has been absorbed. (This should take about 15 minutes.)
3. Stir in remaining ½ cup broth, the tomato, and carrot. Cook and stir until rice is slig

htly creamy and tender. Stir in parmesan cheese and basil/parsley.

**I found that I needed to add more BOILING water to the rice then the 3 cups b/c it was not quite done**

BBQ Ribs

Who does not enjoy some good homemade BBQ Ribs. This recipe is fantastic!

You will need:

Sauce:
1 Large Onion
1 C Catsup
1/3 C Worcestershire sauce
1 t Chili Powder, 1 t Salt,  2 dashes Tabasco sauce
2 C Water

1 Rack Pork Baby Back ribs (Or however many would you like to cook)

Place ribs in the a baking dish, slice onions over the top of ribs, with half cup water. Cover with roaster lid or foil. Bake for two hours at 350.

I don't add the water the the sauce, however use the liquid from the bottom of the rib panand mix in with the the other ingredients (I add water if does not equal 2 cups) . Pour over the top of the ribs after two hours (Please note that that with the sauce that I double the sauce recipe for one rack of ribs.) Cover roaster again and bake for two more hours.

Remove foil and baste the ribs with the BBQ sauce in the bottom of roaster. Return to oven uncovered for the remaining hour.

They are so fantastic as they fall off the bone!

I love leftovers so I cooked two racks of ribs, and quadrupled the sauce recipe.