String Beans with Garlic

So I made these beans tonight and Jacob and Zach said they were the best beans they ever had.


From the Barefoot Contessa
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds French string beans, both ends removed (I bought mine at Walmart in a little bag)
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon good olive oil
2 to 3 garlic cloves, sliced
Freshly ground black pepper
Directions

Blanch the string beans in a large pot of boiling salted water for just 1 1/2 minutes. Drain immediately and immerse in a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. When they are cool, drain and set aside.

Heat the butter and olive oil in a very large saute pan over medium heat and cook the garlic for 1 to 2 minutes, tossing occasionally, until lightly browned. Add the string beans, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss together. Reheat the string beans and serve.

Peanut Butter Crunch Granola

This recipe is from my sister-in-law, Tami. I just made it today and keep grabbing handfuls as I walk by. Its tasty. The peanut butter is not overwhelming.. its just right. I made half the recipe just to try it out and it made a heaping cookie tray full, so depending on how much granola you will eat, you may want to do half.

Mix together:
10 cups oatmeal (not instant)
2 cups Grape Nuts (for crunch)
1 small bag coconut (optional)
2 cups wheat bran
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup walnuts, seeds, almonds (optional)

Boil for 1 minute:
¾ cup brown sugar
1 cup canola oil
1 cup honey
1 cup peanut butter (or less if you prefer)

Remove from heat and add
2-3 teaspoons vanilla

Pour over oat mixture. Bake on cookie sheet for 15-20 minutes at 325 until golden. After baked and while still hot you can add any dried fruit you want. (I added craisins and it is delish)

Pupusas

Someone I know was asking about good Mexican restaurants around town. One person mentioned a couple pupuserias, even though they're from El Salvador, not Mexico. I'd heard of them, so thought I should give them a try.

I found various recipes, most pretty similar. The one I followed the closest was this one for pupusas de queso, although I filled them with other stuff, too.

The dough is pretty much just the same as for corn tortillas:

2 C corn flour (masa de harina or maseca)
1 C water

Just mix that up, adding more water as needed, until it has the consistency of play-dough and so when you squish a chunk of it flat, the edges don't crack. Separate into 8 balls, shape into little cups, fill with refried beans, chicken, cheese, etc. I made half with refried beans and half with chicken with taco seasoning. I added some cotija and monterrey jack cheese to each. I recommend giving cotija cheese a try if you haven't.

Seal up the little cups, so you end up with a ball with the filling inside, and then smoosh it so it's the size of a pancake, keeping the filling inside and the masa outside as much as you can.

Pan fry them a couple minutes on each side. I sprinkled a little salt on top of them to add a touch of flavor. I made them pretty mild so the kids would like them, but you could stuff them with jalapenos or other spicy stuff. It would be good with salsa, sour cream, cilantro, or anything else you might eat with tortillas. They eat pupusas in El Salvador with a pickled cabbage; since I didn't have time for the pickling process, I just pan fried some cabbage with Mexican gray squash and served with cilantro lime rice.

You could probably fill them with some dessert fillings and come out with a pretty good treat. Or you could just spread nutella on your chicken and cheese pupusa.

Dijon Roasted Chicken & Potatoes

I made up a recipe for dinner tonight and it was quite tasty and very easy. Give it a try.. I also need to write it down so I remember how I made it. They had bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts on sale & I like roasted chicken that way.. it turns out more moist and flavorful than boneless, skinless, I think.

4-5 bone in, skin on chicken breasts
6-8 red or yukon gold potatoes (mine were garden fresh.. even better)
1/2 onion (sliced)

Sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
1-2 T dijon mustard (I used a grainy, country style Grey Poupon dijon)
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1/2 t. garlic powder
juice of 1/2 a lemon

Mix the sauce together until well combined. Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet (can line with foil for easy clean up). Brush the sauce onto the chicken. I tossed the potatoes in a bowl with just olive oil, salt & pepper and then placed the potatoes all around the chicken on the pan. Put the onion slices on top of the chicken. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes until the chicken is done (165 on a meat thermometer) & the potatoes are tender. I would have included carrots in the mix with the potatoes, but I didn't have any.

Peanut Butter Playdough

I got this recipe from my friend Becky. Its a fun snack/activity once in a while.

1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 cup honey
1 cup powdered milk
1 cup powdered sugar

Mix all together in mixer until its a dough consistency. You may need to add a little more powdered milk or sugar to get it just right. Give the kids a glob of it to play with/eat with cookie cutters, raisins, chocolate chips, etc. I usually give the kids their portion to play with and then use the cookie scoop to make the rest into balls and store in the fridge. Then I can snack on the leftovers & its easier to give the kids one little ball than a whole mound of it.

Chicken Tikka Masala

The recipe is from allrecipes.com. I took out the salt, since it called for an absurd amount in both the marinade and the sauce. Just sprinkle some on at the end to taste. Some commenters said it's a lot better if you add a teaspoon or two of garam masala to the sauce. I need to get me some of that. You can do the sauce with something not so calorie-laden as the heavy cream, but it won't be quite as good, so that's your call.

When I made it, it was okay the first day, but seemed a little gritty and tasted like there was either too much cumin or maybe like I'd burned the spices somehow. The leftovers the next day were awesome. It was much better after the flavors in the sauce had time to mix and settle down some.

I'd recommend just mixing up both the marinade and the sauce the day before. Let it marinate overnight and let the sauce settle overnight, and it should be much better.

And if anyone can come up with a good naan recipe to go with this, let me know.

Serve with Basmati rice.

Ingredients

1 cup yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
4 long skewers

1 tablespoon butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
salt to taste
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Directions

In a large bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper, ginger, and 4 teaspoons salt. Stir in chicken, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat a grill for high heat.

Lightly oil the grill grate. Thread chicken onto skewers, and discard marinade. Grill until juices run clear, about 5 minutes on each side.

Melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and jalapeno for 1 minute. Season with 2 teaspoons cumin, paprika, and 3 teaspoons salt. Stir in tomato sauce and cream. Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Add grilled chicken, and simmer for 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter, and garnish with fresh cilantro.