Chicken Marsala

Chicken Marsala used to be a favorite of mine and would order it all the time at the Cheesecake Factory. And ONLY at the Cheesecake Factory. I didn't like the Chicken Marsala at the Olive Garden or any other Italian restaurants. It had to be from the Cheesecake Factory. And then I tried to order it again when I became pregnant because I was craving it. Huge mistake. It made me nauseous and I have never ordered it since. Must be the pregnancy hormones. lol! I have since given birth and still couldn't stomach the idea of eating their Chicken Marsala, so I end up usually ordering something else. In an attempt to rekindle my love for Chicken Marsala, I looked for a recipe that I could make at home. I've tried making Chicken Marsala in the past, but it was never successful. This time I looked at a few recipes and combined them together. This is what I came up with. Its almost as close to the taste as the Cheesecake Factory's. And I actually liked it!

4 boneless , skinless chicken breast (which I cut in half)
1 cup flour
2 tsp. dried oregano
salt & pepper
2 Tbsp. oil
3 slices of bacon, cut into pieces
8 oz sliced Bella mushrooms
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups Marsala wine
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley

1) In a shallow dish, combine flour, oregano, salt & pepper to taste. Coat chicken with the seasoned flour, shaking off excess flour.

2) Heat oil in a skillet. Add chicken and cook on each side for 3-4 minutes. Remove chicken and set aside.

3) Add bacon to the pan and sautee until browned, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen the browned bits. Remove bacon once its been browned. Add mushrooms and cook until mushrooms begin to brown. Add garlic and cook for another minute (do not let garlic brown). Turn off the heat and slowly add the Marsala wine. Turn on the heat to high and cook for 5 minutes until sauce reduces to almost half and is almost syrupy (note: if sauce is not syrupy enough, take a few tablespoons of the sauce into a small bowl and mix 1 Tbsp. of flour. Stir vigorously to remove lumps and then return to the pan to help thicken the sauce).

4) Remove pan from heat and add lemon juice. Return the pan to the heat and whisk in the butter, 1 Tbsp. at a time, until it is incorporated. Season with salt and pepper and add parsley. Place chicken back into the sauce to coat. Serve over your favorite buttered pasta.

Peanut Butter Ice cream

I was craving some type of Peanut Butter dessert one day and I came across this recipe. I've had this recipe for a while now and haven't really tried it yet. So I decided to make it today. It tasted pretty good, but I guess I lost that Peanut Butter craving. I'm sure it would've been awesome then. Hubby said it tasted pretty good and "very Peanut Buttery." I didn't have too much chocolate chips in hand, so I added all that I had left. Which wasn't much. I'm sure it would've been better if I had more chocolate in it.

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup smooth peanut butter

2 2/3 cups half & half

pinch of salt

1/3 tsp. vanilla

crushed peanut butter cups or chocolate chips

1) Puree peanut butter, sugar, half & half, salt, and vanilla in a blender until smooth. Chill mixture thoroughly.

2) Freeze mixture according to your ice cream maker's instructions. Once it has finished churning, Fold in peanut butter cups or chocolate chips. Pour in a container with a tight-fitting lid and freeze for 6 hours or overnight.

Vegetarian Samosas

You know that almost every Asian culture has its own version of an eggroll. I guess you can say that this is an Indian style eggroll. This is another great recipe that my good friend, Kiran, and her mom were kind enough to share with me. Traditionally, the crust on the outer part of the samosa is made from scratch, but I was suprised when Kiran told me that her family just uses Tortillas as the crust. She said it tasted just as good as the one you would make from scratch. It sounded pretty easy, so I jumped on the idea. The difficult part was making them into perfect triangles. I'm still working on that.

1 Tbsp. oil

2 tsp. cumin seeds

1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger

1/4 cup frozen peas

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. red chili flakes (or 1 Tbsp. minced green chilies)

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

2 cups chopped boiled potatoes

1 medium onion, chopped

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1/2 tsp. garam masala

1/2 tsp. turmeric powder

flour tortillas (soft taco size)

paste of flour and water mixture

1) Heat oil in a pot. Add cumin seeds and cook for about a minute. Add ginger, peas, salt, lemon juice and chilies. Cook for another minute.

2) Add boiled potatoes and mix well. Let mixture cool completely.

3) Once mixture has cooled, return to heat and add onions, cilantro, garam masala and turmeric powder. Continue cooking until mixture is well incorporated.

4) Cut flour tortillas in half. Roll into a cone shape. Stuff the cone with the potato mixture. Fold the open-end over to close. Seal with the flour paste. Deep fry the samosa until golden brown. Serve with cilantro & mint chutney (recipe to follow).

Cilantro & Mint chutney

I've found that Samosas taste better with cilantro & mint chutney.

2 cups cilantro leaves
1 tsp. red chili flakes
2 cloves garlic
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
water
salt to taste

1) Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Add water a little at a time to get your desired consistency. Chutney will last 3-4 days in the refrigerator.

Girls night in

It wasn't really all girls. Since he's part owner of the house, hubby joined in on the fun. lol!

Its been a while since I got together with my old girlfriends from high school, so I arranged a get-together at our house for dinner tonight. I ordered kabobs and rice for dinner from my favorite take-out Kabob place, Superior Kabob. I also made a side dish of Tzatziki sauce (recipe to follow). Charity arrived with a green salad that I had requested her to bring. And Araceli soon came after, bringing a fruit tart from Porto's. One of my favorite bakeries. Unfortunately, Marina couldn't make it because she was getting ready to move into her new house tomorrow (yay! congrats marina!).

The kabobs and rice were a hit. Salad and fruit tart is always a plus too. I had a really fun time catching up with them and getting updates of what has been going on in our lives for the past 3 years. We're gonna have to do this more often. We always say that whenever we get together, but it never happens. So I'd settle for once every 3-6 months. Its great getting together around great food and great friends.

Tzatziki sauce

In an attempt to see if I can save money by making my own (plus I forgot to buy some), I decided to try to make Tzatziki sauce for my get together with the girls tonight. You'll see Tzatziki sauce in a lot of Mediterranean menus and has many different names for it. Tzatziki sauce is actually the Greek name for this awesome cucumber yogurt sauce. This turned out awesome with the Kabobs and rice pilaf I bought for dinner. This recipe calls for thick Greek yogurt, but you can also use plain yogurt that you strain the liquid out of. It turns into the consistency of soft cream cheese. Which is what I did.

48 oz plain yogurt, strained out of its liquid

4 cloves of garlic, finely minced

1 cucumber, seeded and finely chopped

1 Tbsp. dill

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 tsp. lemon juice

salt to taste

1) Combine lemon juice and oil in a medium bowl. Fold in yogurt and mix well.

2) Add garlic according to your taste, cucumber and dill. Mix well. Add salt to taste.

Turkey Meatloaf

My husband is a meat and potato kind of guy. And he loves any type of meatloaf. I've tried quite a few meatloaf recipes and this one has been the best I've tried. Its adapted from Giada Di Laurentis' Stuffed meatloaf recipe. It comes out really moist and flavorful. Its great with mashed potatoes. This is another great make-ahead recipe that I like to do.

1 small onion, grated
3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

2 eggs

1/4 cup ketchup

1 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. black pepper

2/3 cup bread crumbs

1 cup grated parmesan

1 1/2 lb. ground turkey

1/2 cup marinara sauce

3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1) Pre eat oven to 350 degrees F.

2) Whisk together the first 7 ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in parmesan and bread crumbs. Mix in ground turkey. Place mixture into a loaf pan leaving about a 1-inch border around the edges.

3) Spoon marinara sauce over the meatloaf and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake uncovered until meatloaf is firm to the touch and has pulled away from the sides of the pan, approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Banana Bread

We always have a lot of bananas in hand to make smoothies for my daughter. But we also always have too much of them that they end up all browning. This is a great way to use up your bananas without having to throw them away.

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 /2 cup mashed bananas
1 3/4 cups sifted flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Combine first 3 ingredients and beat until frothy.

2) Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt. Add to wet mixture. Add bananas (and nuts if you decide to use) and blend thoroughly.

3) Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour or until toothpick test comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes and serve.