Zesty Chicken and Barely Soup

Ingredients:

3 chicken drum sticks

4 cloves of garlic finely minced

2 Carrots, diced

1 Onion, chopped

2 Stalks of Celery, diced

½ cup of Pearl Barley, rinsed

4-5 cups of Chicken Stock

1 tsp of dried Thyme

2 Tbsp of Oil

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp of onion powder

Zest of one lemon

Juice of one lemon

Salt and Pepper to taste

 

 

Process

1.     Boil the chicken until done in 2 cups of water, shred the chicken and set aside, reserve the chicken stock for later use.

 

2.     In a pressure cooker, ( you can use a large pot if you don’t have pressure cooker) preheat the oil over medium high heat.

 

3.      In the same pot, add the chopped onion, carrot and celery and minced garlic season with a little salt and pepper and cook the veggies until they have cooked down a bit, this should take about 5 minutes.

 

4.      Add thyme, garlic powder and onion powder and cook for 1 minute.

 

5.     Add washed pearl barley and add the chicken stock. Cover the lid of pressure cooker and cook on low heat for 45 minutes, by this time the  barley will be cooked the soup will thicken up on its own.

 

6.     Add salt and pepper to taste and garnish with parsley, add the shredded chicken, add the lemon zest and lemon juice and serve hot.

 

Note : If you do not have a pressure cooker you can cook in a large pot, the cooking time will increase to 1.5 hr and you will have to stir the soup at intervals.

Mouth watering Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Ingredients: 

1 lb Ball of Fresh Pizza Dough ( check out my dough recipe on “easy home made pizza’’ on the blog)

 1 lb Thin Cut boneless chicken

 1 Tbsp of Unsalted Butter

 ¾ cup of Hot Sauce, I used Franks

 About 1 Cup of Shredded Mozzarella Cheese or cheese of your choice

 1 tsp of dried oregano

 Salt and Pepper, to taste

 1/4 cup of thinly sliced onion, optional

 

 

Process

1.     Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. 

2.      Preheat a large skillet between medium and medium high heat.

 

3.      Add the butter and allow it to melt, add the chicken and cook it for 6 to 7 minutes or until mostly cooked through.

 

4.      Season with some salt and pepper, add the hot sauce, turn the heat to high and let the mixture cook until the hot sauce thickens.

 

5.      Roll your pizza dough into a 12” circle place it either on a pizza peel or an upside down baking sheet.

 

6.      Scatter your chicken and hot sauce all over the top and sprinkle the dried oregano and cheese all over the chicken.

 

7.      Put the pizza in the oven either on your pizza stone or baking sheet and let it cook for about 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown and crispy on the bottom.

 

8.      Slice and serve!

Healthy spicy Kale

Ingredients: 

1 Bunch of Kale, washed, ribs removed and cut into bite size pieces

 6 Cloves of Garlic, minced or sliced

 A Good Pinch of Hot Pepper Flakes

Juice of 1 lemon

 About 3 Tbsp of Olive Oil

 Salt and Pepper, to taste

 

Process

1.     In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté the garlic in the oil until lightly golden and fragrant, add the hot pepper flakes and sauté them for a  minute.

 

2.      Add the kale, turn the heat down to low, cover and let it cook for a few minutes or until the kale starts to wilt.

 

3.      Give it a good stir, cover it once again, increase the heat to medium and cook the kale for about 6 to 7 minutes or until it has wilted quite a bit but still has a bit of bite.

 

4.      Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir in the lemon juice. Serve right away!

Yummy Banana Walnut muffin

 

 

 

Ingredients: 

½ Cup of Vegetable Oil

 2 Eggs

 ½ Cup of Sugar

 3 Mashed Bananas

 ¼ tsp of Vanilla Extract

 1 2/3 Cup of All Purpose Flour

 1 tsp Baking Powder

 ½ tsp of Baking Soda

 ¼ tsp of Salt

 ¼ tsp of Cinnamon

 1 Cup of Chopped walnuts

 

Process

1.     Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a 12 piece muffin tin with muffin liners and set aside.

 

2.      In a small bowl add the chopped walnuts and 3 tbsp of flour and mix until all the chocolate chips are coated in the flour. Set aside. 

3.      In a blender add the first 5 ingredients and blend until all combined into a thick paste. Transfer it into a bowl.

4.      Add the flour and baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon to the batter and mix  until all combined (be careful not to over mix). 

5.      Fold in the walnut and flour mixture.

 

6.      Using a large ice cream scoop divide the batter into your muffin pan and bake for about 18 minutes.

Comforting Mussels in broth

Ingredients:

1lb of Mussels, cleaned, scrubbed and de beard

4 cloves of Garlic, sliced

2 Tbsp of dried parsley

Pinch of Hot Pepper Flakes

3 tbsp of tomato puree

2 Tbsp of Olive Oil

1 cup of White Wine or fish stock or chicken stock

 

Process

 

1.     Preheat the oil in a large pot over medium high heat, add the garlic, tomato puree, parsley and hot pepper flakes and cook for about a minute or two.

 

2.     Add the wine/stock and let it reduce by about half, about 3 minutes, season with salt and pepper.

 

3.     Add the mussels and cover with a lid, let it cook for about 5 minutes ( giving it a stir after 2 mintues) or until the mussels open up.

 

4.      Serve with some Italian bread.

Creme Brulee

Ingredients:

3 Egg Yolks

1/4 cup Granulated Sugar + 1 Tbsp for each serving

1 1/2 cups Heavy Cream

1 tsp Vanilla

1/8 tsp Salt

 

Process

1.     Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

 

2.      In a small saucepan on low heat, slowly heat the cream to a simmer but not boiling.

 

3.     Meanwhile, in a bowl, with a wish, whisk together the sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla. Slowly add the cream to the egg mixture whisking continuously making sure you don’t curdle the eggs. Add salt and whisk to combine.

 

4.      Divide batter into 5 to 6, 1-inch deep ramekins and place them into a deep roasting pan.

 

5.      Pour boiling water into the pan, just enough to come up half way on the ramekins. Bake for 35-45 minutes (custard should be set when gently shaken).

 

6.      Remove custards from water bath and let cool at room temperature for about 30 minutes, then set them in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours. (for best results, make these the night before you want to eat them)

 

7.      When ready to serve, let them come to room temperature for 10 minutes, top each one with 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar. With a small kitchen blow torch, ( or under broiler) heat the top of each custard until the sugar caramelizes evenly, but does not burn. (Keep your eye on it, because it happens very quickly, and the sugar will burn very quickly.

Beef Barley soup

Ingredients: 

1 lb of Beef cut into ½ inch cubes

4 cloves of garlic finely minced

2 Carrots, diced

1 Onion, chopped

2 Stalks of Celery, diced

½ cup of Pearl Barley, rinsed

4-5 cups of Chicken Stock

1 tsp of dried Thyme

2 Tbsp of Oil

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp of onion powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

 

 

Process

1.     In a pressure cooker, (you can use a large pot if you don’t have pressure cooker) preheat the oil over medium high heat.

 

2.     Cook the beef in the oil, Allow the beef to cook and develop some color, this should take about 4 to 5 minutes so its colored on all sides.

 

3.      In the same pot, add the chopped onion, carrot and celery and minced garlic season with a little salt and pepper and cook the veggies until they have cooked down a bit, this should take about 5 minutes.

 

4.      Add thyme, garlic powder and onion powder and cook for 1 minute.

 

5.     Add washed pearl barley and add the chicken stock. Cover the lid of pressure cooker and cook on low heat for 45 minutes, by this time the beef will be tender and barley will be cooked the soup will thicken up on its own.

 

6.     Add salt and pepper to taste and garnish with parsley and serve hot.

 

Note : If you do not have a pressure cooker you can cook in a large pot, the cooking time will increase to 1.5 hr and you will have to stir the soup at intervals.