Baked Asian Style Honey Chicken, Spicy Rice, Fried Zucchini

Bad picture, fantastic meal! My husband says that this is his new favorite meal, but he says that pretty much every night. It was awfully tasty, though!

Baked Asian Style Honey Chicken

Ingredients:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 cloves minced garlic
1 tbsp minced or grated ginger root
2 tbsp honey
2-4 tbsp sesame oil
salt and pepper to taste
2-4 tbsp soy sauce

Mix garlic, ginger, soy sauce, honey, and sesame oil together. Season with salt and pepper. Whisk. Pour over chicken breasts in a ziploc baggie or a baking dish. Let marinate 1 hour, turning chicken over once. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Spicy White Rice

Make rice as usual, in rice cooker or stovetop. Add a tsp (or more if you like it super spicy) of crushed red pepper flakes. Easy and yummy!

Fried Zucchini

1-2 zucchini
3-4 eggs
1 tbsp or so of milk
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup corn meal
salt and pepper
oil for frying

Cut zucchini into rounds. In a separate bowl combine eggs and milk, whisk together. In another bowl mix flour, cornmeal, salt and pepper. Dip zucchini rounds into egg wash, then coat with flour mixture. Fry in frying pan with oil (I use canola) until coating is golden and crispy.

Flat Bread and Baba Ghanoush

OMG, an update! It has been quite awhile.

We have so much eggplant in the garden it's insane, so we made baba ghanoush and flat bread today. So simple, so tasty! This recipe for flat bread was from an old Martha Stewart Living magazine, not sure which issue. It is the best flat bread I've ever had, really good.

Baba Ghanoush

Ingredients:

• 1 eggplant
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. Place eggplant on baking sheet, and make holes in the skin with a fork. Roast it for 30 to 40 minutes, turning occasionally, or until soft. Remove from oven, and place into a large bowl of cold water. Remove from water, and peel skin off.
3. Place eggplant, lemon juice, tahini, sesame seeds, and garlic in an electric blender, and puree. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer eggplant mixture to a medium size mixing bowl, and slowly mix in olive oil. Refrigerate for 3 hours before serving.

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Flat Bread

Ingredients:

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water
2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for surface
course sea salt
pinch of sugar
1 tbsp plus 1 1/2 tsp olive oil, plus more for bowl and drizzling

Combine yeast, sugar, and warm water. Let sit 10 minutes, until foamy. Stir well. Combine flour and salt. Add yeast mixture and oil. Mix until dough forms, then begin to knead on lightly floursed surface. Knead 3-5 minutes. Shape into ball and place into oiled bowl. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about an hour. Punch dough, divide into 4 pieces. Roll into 6 inch rounds. Drizzle each round with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Place on inverted baking sheet and let cook in 450 degree oven for approx 12 minutes. Let cool, then cut each in half crosswise and serve.

Ratatoille

This meal included about 95% ingredients from our garden. Exciting! I modified a few different recipes that I found.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 lg zucchini, cubed
• 1 lg sweet pepper, diced
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 3 tbsp wine, chicken stock, or veg stock (I used chicken)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• fresh basil and oregano
• salt and pepper to taste

Slice the eggplant in 1/2 inch slices, lightly salt and lay on a paper towel. This will draw out excess moisture and any bitterness in the eggplant. Let sit for about an hour, then rinse and pat dry and cut into cubes.

Saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil, until the onion is translucent. Add the eggplant, zucchini, pepper, tomatoes, stock, salt and pepper to taste. Bring to boil, lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Uncover and stir, then add the herbs. Let cook for another 5-7 minutes until the veggies are tender and serve! Great with brown rice or couscous!

Mediterranean Frittata

This is hearty enough to eat for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Mm! Adapted from a recipe in the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup half and half, light cream, or milk
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped roasted red sweet peppers
• 1/2 cup sliced kalamata or pitted ripe olives
• 1/4 cup slivered fresh basil
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• fresh basil leaves for garnish
• I also threw in some mushrooms and topped with some fresh grated parmesan cheese
  

Directions

Preheat broiler. In a large skillet (that can go in the broiler) cook onion, garlic, and mushrooms in the oil until tender.

In a bowl, beat together the eggs and half-and-half. Stir in feta, peppers, olives, basil, and pepper. Pour egg mixture over onion mixture in skillet. Cook over medium heat. As mixture sets, run a spatula around the edge so that the uncooked portion flows underneath. Continue until mixture is almost set. Reduce heat to prevent overcooking. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top of frittata. Broil 1-2 minutes, until top is set and cheese is golden. Garnish with fresh basil.

Pasta with Peanut Sauce

I had an intense PMS craving for peanut butter and carbs. MMm. I used spaghetti, but you can use any kind of pasta you have around!

Peanut Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 small chopped bell pepper
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 2 tbsp minced ginger root
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 jalapeno pepper, minced
• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce
• 3 tbsp honey

Directions

Heat oil over medium heat. Saute onions and bell pepper for a few minutes. Add garlic, jalapeno, and ginger. Cook and stir about 2 minutes. Stir in peanut butter, water, soy sauce, and honey. Whisk until smooth.

Barbeque Chicken Pizza

This pizza takes quite some effort, but TRUST ME, it is worth it. You can create shortcuts for yourself by making double batches of BBQ sauce and dough, or you can use store-bought (although I don't recommend it, the homemade stuff is the BEST!) Sorry about the picture, I forgot to take one until the pizza was almost all gone. That's how fast it goes around here!

Barbeque Chicken Pizza

Start the sauce first, it takes several hours of simmering to reduce.

BBQ Sauce Ingredients

• 1 quart apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup margerine
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup ketchup
  
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• salt & pepper to taste
• one little squirt of honey =)

Add all ingredients to a saucepan. Bring to a rapid boil, reduce heat, and simmer until sauce is thick. I've had it take an hour, and I've had it take 3-4 hours. I don't really know what the trick is to get it reduced faster.

For the crust:

Ingredients

• 1 tsp white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 tbsp yeast
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

Dissolve sugar in the warm water. Add yeast, and let sit 10 minutes until it is foamy. Stir in olive oil and salt. Mix in the wheat flour and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour. Knead on surface floured with the remaining flour for 10 minutes. Place in oiled bowl, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour. Remove dough and separate into 2-3 pieces, depending on the thickness you want your dough. I do 3 parts because I like thin crust. Form into tight balls, and let rise, covered, for another 45 minutes. Lightly sprinkle countertop with cornmeal and roll the dough out with a rolling pin on top of the cornmeal so that it coats the bottom. Form crust, if desired. Place on cookie sheet or pizza stone and poke holes into the bottom of crust with a fork. Pre-bake crusts in oven for 5 minutes at 500 degrees. Remove and let cool.

For Pizza Topping

Ingredients

• Pre-cooked chicken (cook with olive oil, salt and pepper in 400 degree oven for 30 mins)
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 1 bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped

Shred pre-cooked chicken. Top the crust(s) with BBQ sauce, then layer the cheese, onions, chicken, and cilantro. Bake in 425 degree oven for 14-16 minutes.

Ricotta Gnocchi with Mint-Basil Pesto

This was so good! I like the addition of mint to the pesto, really refreshing but not overpowering. The ricotta gnocchi is awesome!

INGREDIENTS

• Gnocchi:
• 1 (8 ounce) container ricotta cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, or as needed I used closer to 2 cups
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Stir together the ricotta cheese, eggs, Parmesan Cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a large bowl until evenly combined. Mix in 1 cup of flour. Add additional flour if needed to form a soft dough.
2. Divide the dough into 3 or 4 pieces, and roll into 1/2-inch-thick ropes on a floured surface. Cut each rope into 1-inch pieces
3. Add the pieces to a pot of lightly salted boiling water, in small batches. Gnocchi is done when it floats to the top of the water, about 1-2 minutes.

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Mint-Basil Pesto

• 20 fresh basil leaves
• 10 fresh mint leaves
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons ricotta cheese
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Blend all ingredients together in food processor until smooth. Add more olive oil as needed.

Guest Blogger: The Husband's Famous Bruschetta

My husband makes the BEST bruschetta in the world. Seriously, the best. We ate this all the time when I was pregnant with Keira. Hello, cravings! I would make him run to the store in the middle of the night for prosciutto. Lucky guy! The recipe is informal, adjust to your own tastes. We don't measure around these parts.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 loaf French bread
• 4 cloves roasted garlic (adjust to taste, we love garlic)
  
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
  
• 8 slices prosciutto (1 slice for each piece of bread)
• large bunch of fresh basil
• a few sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 1/2 cup to 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
  

Directions

First, put the balsamic vinegar and brown sugar in a small sauce pan over medium heat on the stove to make a balsamic reduction (stir occasionally). Slice the French bread at a bias, should yield about 8 slices or so. Place the slices of bread on a cookie sheet under the broiler for a minute or two, until slightly toasted. Meanwhile, chop up the rosemary and mix it with the olive oil and Italian seasoning in a small bowl. When the bread is toasted, remove it from the oven and rub the tops with the roasted garlic. Brush the oil and herb mixture on top of the bread, then place one slice of prosciutto on top of that. Sprinkle the tops with parmesan cheese and place under the broiler until the cheese is bubbly and slightly browned. Chiffonade the basil (roll it up and cut it into long, thin strips like confetti) and add it to the top of the bruschetta. Drizzle the balsamic reduction over the top and serve!

*we also usually add tomatoes but we didn't this time*

Baked Eggplant with Savory Cheese Stuffing

Stuffed Eggplant, originally uploaded by Dayna Riley.

Remember that eggplant from earlier? Yeah, this is what it looked like after cooking. Mm!

I got the recipe from Brinnalee, who got it from Cooking Light

The only change I made to the recipe is that I used store-bought breadcrumbs instead of making my own. I served it alongside brown rice.

Ingredients

2 medium eggplants, each cut in half lengthwise (about 2 pounds)
Cooking spray
1 (1-ounce) slice white bread
1 teaspoon extravirgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
1 1/4 cups finely chopped red bell pepper
1 cup finely chopped seeded plum tomato
1 teaspoon chopped fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup (3 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°.

Score cut side of each eggplant half by making 4 crosswise cuts. Place the eggplant halves, cut sides down, on a foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 25 minutes or until tender. Remove from oven; cool on pan 10 minutes. Carefully remove pulp, leaving a 1/3-inch-thick shell; reserve eggplant shells. Chop pulp.

Reduce oven temperature to 350°.

Place bread in a food processor; pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs measure 1/2 cup. Drizzle the breadcrumbs with olive oil, and pulse to combine.

Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes. Stir in the chopped eggplant, bell pepper, tomato, oregano, and garlic; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and cook 5 minutes or until liquid evaporates, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in cheese, parsley, salt, and black pepper. Stuff each eggplant shell with about 1/2 cup onion mixture; sprinkle with breadcrumb mixture. Place on a baking sheet; bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated and lightly browned.
Yield

4 servings (serving size: 1 stuffed eggplant half)