Chicken Coq a Vin

I found this dish off Yahoo's Shine Food website, and thought that it was worth trying because it is different than any of the recipes I have been making lately. It was a tasty combination of flavors, my only suggestion would be to make the sauce just a little thinner than what my ended up looking like. And, as you can see, I made mine with rice instead of the pasta, because I didn't have any left. But there were no complaints about the rice in my house :)

Recipe source: Better Homes and Gardens

ingredients

• 2-1/2 to 3 pounds meaty chicken pieces (breast halves, thighs, and drumsticks)
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• Salt and black pepper
• 12 to 18 pearl onions or shallots, peeled
• 1-1/4 cups Pinot Noir or Burgundy
• 1/4 cup chicken broth or water
• 1 cup whole fresh mushrooms
• 1 cup thinly sliced carrot (2 medium)
• 1 tablespoon snipped fresh parsley
• 1-1/2 teaspoons snipped fresh marjoram or 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram, crushed
• 1-1/2 teaspoons snipped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
• 2 slices bacon, crisp-cooked, drained, and crumbled
• Snipped fresh parsley (optional)
• Hot cooked noodles (optional)

directions

1. Skin chicken. In a large skillet cook chicken in hot oil over medium heat about 15 minutes or until light brown, turning to brown evenly. Drain fat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add onions, Pinot Noir, broth, mushrooms, carrots, the 1 tablespoon parsley, dried marjoram (if using), dried thyme (if using), bay leaf, and garlic. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 35 to 40 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink (170 degrees F for breasts; 180 degrees F for thighs and drumsticks). Add fresh marjoram and thyme (if using). Discard bay leaf. Transfer chicken and vegetables to a serving platter; keep warm.
2. In a mixing bowl stir together flour and softened butter to make a smooth paste. Stir into wine mixture in skillet. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper.
3. Pour sauce over chicken and vegetables. Sprinkle with bacon. If desired, top with additional parsley and serve with hot cooked noodles. Makes 6 servings.

French Pastry Puffs

A friend of mine blogged about these on her cooking website (www.triedandtasty.com ), and I thought they looked tasty and pretty easy to make. I was right. I even substituted gluten free flour for the real deal and they tasted light, fluffy and like a French pastry puff.
Source: The Cook Next Door

4 1/2 cups flour
4 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp salt

Mix all dry ingredients together and set aside.

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup shortening
3 eggs

In your mixer cream shortening and add sugar and blend well and then add eggs (it is best if you use room temperature eggs, but it will work if you don’t) one at a time until blended.

Then alternate adding dry ingredients to creamed mixture with 1 1/2 cups milk (whole is best). Keep alternating between the wet and the dry…ending with milk until all is blended. Grease mini muffin tins well with shortening. Spoon batter into tins. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes. These will not get really dark brown on top so use a toothpick to check if done.

Melt in a bowl 1 cup of salted butter. In another bowl mix together 1 1/2 cups sugar and 3 tsp cinnamon. After muffins are out and cooled for a few minutes out of the pans, dip tops in butter and then roll in sugar and cinnamon mixture. This recipe makes 8 doz mini muffins

Warm Cranberry Wassail

This is my favorite cold weather drink. Well, I do love me some Bailey's Irish Cream and coffee but this wassail is appropriate for all ages so I guess it is a little more versatile. :o) I got the recipe from my friend, Jan Massie, so I must give all credit to her. Go make it for your next gathering or even make it in small batches just for yourself (I just did!).

Ingredients

- 1 64oz bottle Ocean Spray Cranberry juice cocktail

- 2 1/2 c. apple juice

- 1/4 c. sugar

- 3 cinnamon sticks

- 1 t. all spice

- 1/2 t. nutmeg-

- orange slices

-whole cloves

Preparation

Combine all ingredients except garnishes (oranges and cloves) in a large saucepan. Heat to boiling, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Strain wassail to remove spices (I use a really fine mesh strainer). Place in a heat proof punch bowl or crock pot (I use a crock pot and already have it heated before I pour the wassail in or the wassail will cool down). Garnish with orange slices studded with cloves.

Taco Pasta

I found this recipe on a blog I stumbled upon while searching for a different recipe, called Plain Chicken. I've made it twice now and love it. Glendon calls it "healthier, better tasting, less preservative, homemade Hamburger Helper" and I guess it kind of is. It is quick and easy to make and tastes great too. A very family friendly meal and heats up great as leftovers! Enjoy!

Ingredients

- 1 pound ground beef

- 8 ounce small dry pasta (I use shells)

- 1 small onion, chopped (or 1 Tbsp minced onion flakes)

- 1 clove garlic, minced

- 1 cup salsa

- 1 packet taco seasoning (I only use half a packet)

- 3 ounce cream cheese

- 1/2 cup sour cream

- Salt and pepper

- Shredded Cheese for topping (I use cheddar and mozzarella)

Preparation

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook pasta according to the package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water. Set aside.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the ground meat and onion over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Once the meat is cooked through, drain off the excess fat and mix in the garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Mix in the salsa and taco seasoning and let simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes.

3. Stir in the cooked pasta, cream cheese, sour cream and reserved pasta water, and continue stirring until the cream cheese is melted and the sauce is well blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with shredded cheese and more sour cream and salsa if desired.

Yield: Between 5-6 servings

Smoky Black Bean Soup

If you are looking for a really easy soup recipe for a cold fall day, this is one of them. It took me a total of about ten minutes to put this soup together, and it has a great smoky chipotle flavor. Of course you can add a little of your own spices if you want to make it hotter, but for me and my tame taste buds, I just stuck to the recipe.

I found this one on Yahoo Shine but was from Cooking Light

(15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup water
1 (14.5-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup chipotle salsa
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Avocado-Lime Salsa (see recipe below)
Reduced-fat sour cream (optional)

1. Place beans in a medium saucepan. Mash beans slightly with a potato masher. Stir in water and next 3 ingredients. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes. Uncover, and cook 2 minutes or until soup is slightly thickened. Ladle soup evenly into each of 4 bowls; top evenly with Avocado-Lime Salsa, and, if desired, sour cream. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 cup soup and 1/4 cup salsa).

CALORIES 172; FAT 5.7g (sat 0.9g, mono 3.4g, poly 0.8g); PROTEIN 7.4g; CARB 29.7g; FIBER 11g; CHOL 0mg; IRON 3.1mg; SODIUM 572mg; CALC 60mg

Avocado-Lime Salsa
Prep: 5 minutes

1 cup diced peeled avocado
1 lime
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
1/8 teaspoon salt

1. Place avocado in a small bowl. Grate rind from lime and squeeze juice to measure 1/2 teaspoon and 1 tablespoon, respectively; add to avocado. Add cilantro and salt. Toss gently. Yield: 1 cup (serving size: 1/4 cup).

CALORIES 55; FAT 5.2g (sat 0.8g, mono 3.2g, poly 0.7g); PROTEIN 0.7g; CARB 2.9g; FIBER 1.7g; CHOL 0mg; IRON 0.4mg; SODIUM 76mg; CALC 5mg

Sweet and Sour Chicken Drumsticks

I saw this recipe on Yahoo's Shine food blog and thought they sounded really good. And I was right, they are delicious. And they way that the sauce is made, you actually feel like you are eating something that is healthy but sounds like it could be bad :)

Anyway, the recipe is from EatingWell.com. I made white rice with the chicken and used the remainder of the sauce to pour over the rice....Taaaasty.

ingredients

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cider vinegar, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
8 chicken drumsticks (about 2 pounds), skin removed, trimmed
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
directions

Preheat grill to medium. (No grill? See Broiler Variation, below.)
To prepare dipping sauce, combine orange zest, orange juice, water, honey, 1 tablespoon vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon salt and coriander in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Whisk cornstarch and the remaining 1 teaspoon vinegar in a small bowl until smooth. Add to the saucepan and return to a boil, whisking until thickened, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Stir in mint.
Sprinkle drumsticks with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Oil the grill rack (see Tip). Grill the drumsticks until crispy on all sides and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 165°F, about 15 minutes total. Serve the drumsticks with the dipping sauce on the side. Broiler variation: Position oven rack in the upper third of the oven; preheat broiler to high. Prepare sauce (Step 2). Coat a broiler pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle drumsticks with salt and pepper (Step 3), then broil, turning once, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 165°F, about 15 minutes total.
To oil the grill rack: Oil a folded paper towel, hold it with tongs and rub it over the rack. (Don’t use cooking spray on a hot grill.)
I used the broiler method since we don't have a grill right now. Half way through broiling the chicken I basted a little of the sauce on the drumsticks, and it made them turn a nice golden brown with some additional flavor to the outside of the chicken.


Nutritional Information:
Per serving: 255 calories; 8 g fat (2 g saturated fat, 3 g mono unsaturated fat); 93 mg cholesterol; 16 g carbohydrates; 29 g protein; 1 g fiber; 389 mg sodium; 315 mg potassium Nutrition Bonus: Selenium (27% daily value), Vitamin C (15% dv).

Marmalade French Toast Casserole

(photo courtesy of Becky Luigart-Stayner; Leigh Ann Ross, CookingLight.com)

I made this when my in-laws were visiting and I think we all loved it (unless they were just humoring me ... but either way, I loved it)! Such a delcious and easy take on french toast. I got it from CookingLight.com. Please oh please serve it with orange syrup, it makes it SO much better (at least in my opinion).

To make the orange syrup you simply add one teaspoon orange rind and two tablespoons juice per 1/2 cup syrup then warm it in the mircrowave. So good!

Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1 piece)

Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 (16-ounce) sourdough French bread loaf, cut into 24 (1/2-inch) slices
- Cooking spray
- 1 (12-ounce) jar orange marmalade
- 2 3/4 cups 1% low-fat milk
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I added a little cinnamon too)
- 6 large eggs
- 1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts (I used pecans instead)

Preparation
1. Spread softened butter on one side of each bread slice. Arrange 12 bread slices, buttered side down, slightly overlapping in a single layer in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Spread marmalade evenly over bread (I only used half the jar and it was enough); top with remaining 12 bread slices, buttered side up.

2. Combine milk and next 4 ingredients (through eggs), stirring with a whisk. Pour egg mixture over bread. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

3. Preheat oven to 350°.

4. Sprinkle casserole with walnuts (or pecans). Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until golden. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Nutritional Information
Calories:293 (28% from fat)
Fat:9g (sat 3.2g,mono 2.2g,poly 2.3g)
Protein:9.1g
Carbohydrate:46.4g
Fiber:1.6g
Cholesterol:116mg
Iron:2.2mg
Sodium:315mg
Calcium:132mg