How Does My Garden Grow?

With the addition of peppers! (They are in the yellow pots on the sides) I have been talking about getting peppers to plant since my herbs are doing pretty well at this point. I love the idea of being able to walk outside and get ingredients rather than having to run to the grocery store. Also the fact that it saves money doesn't hurt my feelings any either. My sister and brother-in-law got me some pepper plants for my first mother's day, serrano peppers and cayenne peppers.

I can't wait until I can add these to some dishes and spice things up! :)

Garlic Cream Chicken and Rice

Ok, finally another food post! I realize this is a food blog and my past two entries were about my anniversary/my life, but hey, it's my blog. I can post anything I want. I can even be a little attention-whorish sometimes. ;)

But now, I am back with food. Tonight we had Garlic Cream Chicken. I've had this recipe saved for a while, but for some reason I just haven't made it yet. I changed it a lot, but the biggest change was that the original recipe called for 3 heads of garlic (for 4 chicken breasts) and you were to leave the cloves whole through out the cooking process. Now we love garlic at our house, but have you ever heard the saying, "too much of a good thing?" I decided to cut down on the garlic a lot and to press it so that you wouldn't bite into a chunk while eating your chicken.

I served the chicken over rice to soak up the wonderful garlic sauce. It really is a great recipe!

Garlic Cream Chicken and Rice
Source: Adapted from Elizabeth's Cooking Experiments, which she adapted from www.adamandmonika.com

6 cloves garlic, pressed
4 chicken cutlets (or 2 full size breasts)
salt & freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 tbsp butter
1 1/2tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tbsp flour
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
flat leaf parsley, rough chopped, for garnish
cayenne pepper, sprinkled over the top

Season chicken liberally with salt & pepper. Heat the butter and oil n a large deep pan over medium heat. Sauté chicken until nicely browned (~5 min per side). Chicken does not have to be fully cooked at this point. Transfer chicken to a plate and get the rice cooking.

Add garlic to the pan, lower heat to medium, and sauté until soft. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Add stock and bring to a boil. Return chicken to the pot. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove chicken to a platter and cover with foil.

Add cream and boil for about 3 minutes. Plate rice, sprinkle parmesan cheese over the rice. Add a little sauce then chicken and more sauce. Top with parsley and sprinkle with cayenne pepper.

12 months makes a big difference...

I was looking through my wedding pics and this just happened to make me laugh. I thought I'd share...













Me on my wedding day, 12 months ago:




















Me yesterday, a little over 7 months pregnant:










My how things change! LOL! I sure wish I had that tan right about now! I didn't realize how white I am until it was staring me in the face.

Happy Anniversary to me!!

One year ago today I changed my last name and promised to put someone else above myself for the rest of my life. I can not believe it has already been a year! And if you will please do the math, our baby is not due until NEXT month...that's right, we were married a whole 4 months before getting pregnant! ;)

Anyway, we are going out to dinner tonight to celebrate. We aren't doing big gifts since the baby is coming soon and that is pretty much the biggest gift ever!

So, I leave you with some pics of that perfect day 12 months ago...

Mothers Day...

I'm not technically a mom yet, but give me about 7 weeks and I will be. ;) My husband got me the PBK diaper bag I wanted for my first (almost) mother's day. Yes, I picked out my own gift. I personally see nothing wrong with that! It's a win-win situation for everyone.

For my mom, I wanted to make a dessert she would enjoy. We are all going to my grandmothers to hang out and have pizza so none of the mom's have to cook. I thought something sweet would be nice so I started thinking about some of my mom's favorite things. She loves chocolate turtles. You know, the chocolate, pecan and caramel candies? I found a recipe for a Chocolate Turtle Tart and knew I'd hit the jackpot. It sounds exactly like something she would like. This would also allow me to use my new cast iron pan I purchased several weeks ago if I made it into tartlettes. Of course you can only make 6 with that pan, so I also used a muffin tin.

The tartlettes in the muffin tins turned out better than the cast iron pan. I think it needs to be seasoned more thoroughly because they stuck and didn't come out near as pretty as I wanted.

I also had a hard time with the caramel. It was a lot harder to make than than I thought. Overall they came out ok though. Not as pretty as I'd envisioned, but Taylor ate 3 for dessert after dinner tonight and he said they were excellent! At least they tasted good even if they weren't as pretty as I would have liked.

This is what the cast iron pan produced. If you look closely on the left side you can see where I had to destroy it to get it out of the pan. I tried to camouflage it as best I could. :)

Chocolate Turtle Tart

Source: About.com

Serving Size: 16
Preparation Time: 4:00

For the crust:
3 2/3 cups pecans, halves or whole, to be processed in Cuisinart.
1 1/4 cups sugar
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the Filling:
1 pound fine semi-sweet chocolate
2 cups heavy cream

For the Caramel Sauce:
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup crushed pecans (garnish)

Crust: In a food processor blend pecans and sugar together, add melted butter in a steady stream until combined well. Turn out mixture into a 12' tart shell pan with removable bottom. Press into 1/8" thickness on bottom and 3/8" for sides. Bake at 350 for approx. 20-25 min. or till toasted then cool.

Filling: Bring cream to a boil and pour over coarsely chopped chocolate. Mix until chocolate is melted and mixture is combined well. Pour onto cooled crust and refrigerate for 3 hours. May be stored over night.

Sauce: In a heavy sauce pan, heat and melt the butter, add the sugar and cook until medium brown not burnt. Remove from the heat and add the heavy whipping cream, be ready for it to boil up quickly and be ready with a utensil to stir it. Mix thoroughly until mixture turns a rich golden color, it will darkens lightly as it continues to cook with its own retained heat off of the burner. That is the reason you do not bring the butter-sugar mixture to the color you want to end up with but you stop short of that color since it will darken. If you bring the sugar-butter mixture to the color you want to finish with you will end up with a burnt caramel. This can happen, and you may find that you toss out the first attempt and the second try will be perfect. Straining the caramel through a small strainer will create a smoother texture of caramel but is not necessary.

To Serve: Drizzle warm, not hot, sauce over thin slices of tart, garnish optional with chocolate curl or pecan half.

Dinner in a bowl

When I made the sauce for the ribs Wednesday night there was a ton leftover. That was fine because we both really liked it and I had already planned to make grilled chicken tonight, so it became BBQ grilled chicken. Yum! But what to go with it???

I have some fresh corn I stuck in the freezer and of course we always have potatoes, so my mind wandered to a dish I threw together right after Taylor and I got married. I had grilled some chicken and made sautéed potatoes for dinner, but Taylor had to work late. So, I just cubed the grilled chicken and threw it in a Tupperware dish with the potatoes for him to heat up when he got home. He loved it! He ate it right out of the container and said he liked having the chicken and potatoes all mixed together. He has asked for it several times since then. I really do have an easy to please husband.

Tonight I decided to do a similar dish and add some corn to the mix this time. This was super easy and quick and of course fabulous! I think this may be the best meal I've had/made in a long time. All the flavors went perfectly together! I ate so much I am now reclined back sighing and watching my belly jump as Logan enjoys it too. Ha!

Oh, and I got to use the first little sprigs of cilantro from my garden in a bag!! I was so excited!

Jaime’s BBQ Chicken, Potatoes and Corn Bowl

4 chicken cutlets (or 2 chicken breasts pounded thin)
1 cup Southwestern BBQ Sauce, plus more for basting
4 ears fresh corn
1 tbsp paprika
1/2 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp melted butter
4 medium red potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp onion powder
salt and black pepper, to taste
juice of 1/2 a lime
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Place the chicken in the BBQ sauce to marinate while you prepare the other items.

Wash the potatoes and prick them several times all over with a fork. Microwave for about 5 minutes or until tender. Let cool. When they are cool enough to handle, dice them. Heat a skillet over medium high heat and add the olive oil. When the oil just starts to smoke it means it is ready for you to add the potatoes. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp of the onion powder and let them sit and get crispy. When you see the edges browning up, toss them around, but be sure you get them back in one layer. Now add the other tbsp of onion powder. Once they are all crispy and brown, remove from the heat and let them hang out until you are ready for them.

Shuck the corn and add the paprika, cumin, garlic powder, cayenne pepper and salt to the melted butter.

Preheat your grill and add the chicken and the corn. I like to put a little olive oil on my grill before I preheat it so the chicken doesn’t stick. Baste the chicken with the BBQ sauce and the corn with the butter each time you turn it.

Once the chicken and corn are all grilled and yummy looking, take them inside. Cut the corn off the cob into a serving bowl. Add the potatoes and toss. Cube the chicken and add to the mix and squeeze the lime juice over it all Top with cilantro.

9.5 out of 10!

Brace yourself, coming at you is another Emeril recipe. I don’t know why when I am searching through hundreds of recipes his always stick out for me. Maybe it is because a lot of his food is spicy and garlicky…my two favorite things! (I’m not even sure if garlicky is a word, but you get my point)

Tonight we had BBQ pork spare ribs, Emeril style. I’ve only made ribs one other time in my life and they were good, but I underestimated how much cooking time they would require. Tonight I went in with my eyes wide open. I knew I would not be eating until after 8:00 p.m. Don't worry, I had a snack. ;)

This was a true test of my BBQ skills. Ribs are Taylor’s favorite meal…ever. He is also a traditionalist, so I was worried he would think the ribs were not up to his standard since I am not known for going the traditional route; hence the Emeril recipe. He was pleasantly surprised. He gave these ribs and sauce a 9.5 out of 10!!! My cooking has never been so flattered. He even said the ribs were great even without the sauce but the sauce was the perfect complement. The sauce is spicy though! It starts out sweet and then gives you a good kick at the end.

The only thing I would do differently is not put the sauce on the ribs while they are on the grill or at least just put a very thin layer. The sugar in the sauce caused it to make a pretty thick crust that just made for messy ribs. If you don't mind messy ribs, go ahead and cake on that sauce!

Pork Spare Ribs with Southwestern Barbecue Sauce

Source: Emeril

2 slabs pork spare ribs, about 3 pounds each - I only used one as you can see
2 tablespoons liquid crab boil
2 teaspoons, plus 1 tablespoon salt
3 bay leaves
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne
Southwestern Barbecue Sauce, recipe follows

Place the ribs in a large Dutch oven or stockpot. Cover with water and add the crab boil, 2 teaspoons of the salt, and the bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and drain.

In a bowl, combine the sugar, paprika, chili powder, black pepper, remaining tablespoon of salt, and cayenne. Pat the ribs dry and rub well with the spice mixture.

Lightly oil the grill rack on a barbecue grill, and preheat to medium-low (about 250 to 275 degrees F). Arrange the ribs on the rack and cover (with foil or upside down hotel pan). Cook, turning every 20 minutes, until tender, about 2 hours, replenishing charcoal as needed. During the last 20 minutes of cooking time, baste the ribs with the sauce, turning twice. Remove the ribs from the grill and serve the ribs with remaining sauce and fried pork rinds.

If you want to make this dish in the oven: After rubbing ribs with spice mixture, place them in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 10 minutes. Remove. Slather ribs with BBQ sauce, wrap in heavy-duty plastic wrap, then wrap in foil, and return to the oven to bake for 1 1/2 hours.

Southwestern Barbecue Sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onions
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons chopped chipotle chiles in adobo, with adobo sauce
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
4 cups tomato sauce
1/2 cup molasses
2 teaspoons dry mustard
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until the onions are lightly caramelized, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and chiles, and cook for 1 minute. Deglaze the pan with the vinegar and lime juice and cook until the liquid is reduced by half, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the adobo sauce, tomato sauce, molasses, mustard, bay leaves and salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until thick, stirring occasionally, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain.
Yield: 4 cups