Rainbow Chicken Roll

Chicken is a popular dish in our home and I’m always looking for new ways to make it.

  I was watching Sandra Lee’s Semi-Homemade Cooking the other day when she prepared this dish.  It looked simple and delicious and I decided to give it a try.  One thing that intrigued me about this dish was that it was something I could throw together early in the day, refrigerate and then pop in the oven just before I was ready to start dinner.  I love dishes like that!

I followed the recipe except for one small change.  Sandra’s recipe called for the addition of green beans.  Since there are fewer people in the family that like green beans I opted to switch out the green beans for chopped fresh broccoli instead.  It worked out perfectly.

RAINBOW CHICKEN ROLL

Recipe from Sandra Lee’s Semi-Homemade Cooking

• 4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 1 tsp. Seasoned Salt
• 1 tsp. Salt-Free Italian Seasoning
• 8 to 10 String Beans (*I used about 1/2 – 3/4 cup fresh chopped broccoli)
• 1 Small Carrot, julienned
• 1 Red Pepper, julienned (*I used a small red pepper & had some left over)
• 1/2 Cup Shredded Mozzarella
• 2 Cups Marinara Sauce (*You can used jarred or homemade)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Trim chicken breasts of any fat.  Lay flat on a cutting board and butterfly each breast 3/4 of the way through.  Lay each chicken breast on a cutting board, cover with a piece of plastic wrap, and pound to 1/4″ thickness.

Lay chicken breasts flat on a cutting board and sprinkle with seasoned salt and Italian seasoning. Place 3 to 4 strips each of the string beans, carrots and red pepper leaving 1/2-inch on the side furthest from you. Sprinkle each with 2 tablespoons cheese.  Roll chicken breast up and place seam side down in a medium baking dish.

Pour marinara sauce over chicken and place in oven. Bake 30 minutes basting with the marinara sauce halfway through cooking.

Remove breasts from pan. To serve slice each breast into 4 or 5 slices and fan on the plate with additional marinara sauce on the side.

**Note:  I did this early in the day, covered and refrigerated the dish, and then took it out when I was getting ready to start making dinner, preheated the oven and baked it. 

And additional note:  this dish took just slightly over one hour to cook in a covered casserole dish, so I would adjust the cooking time from the original recipe provided.

Enjoy!

Sausage & Pepper Pizza

The other night I was trying to decide what to make for dinner and thought about making up some Sausage and Pepper’s.  Then I thought about having some pizza instead.  That was when I realized I would just combine the two. 

In the past when I’ve used pizza crust, I’ve told you that I purchase the dough either from the store or one of our local pizza places.  I’m not one of those people who has the talent for bread and dough making.  And, I do believe it’s a talent that some people just seem to have. 

Finally, I decided to try my hand at my own pizza dough, and after making batch after batch of it, I won’t ever be buying a store bought dough again.  Well, actually, that isn’t true.  If it’s on sale or if I’m in a rush I would still buy the store made version.  But, I will admit that working with freshly prepared pizza dough was a wonderful experience.

Here is how I made just one of my most favorite pizza versions.

PIZZA DOUGH:

Pizza Dough recipe from Family Circle  Magazine 10/17/10 issue

• 1 Cup Warm Water
• 1 Packet Active Dry Yeast (* I used Freischmann’s Pizza Dough Yeast)
• 2 3/4 Cups All Purpose Flour
• 1 tsp. Sugar
• 1 tsp. Salt (I used Kosher, so I added a little extra)
• 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

Place water in a small bowl and stir in the yeast.  Let stand 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together 2 1/2 cups of the flour, sugard and salt.  Make a well in the center and add the yeast mixture and olive oil.  Stir until dough comes together and forms a ball.  Tur out onto a well floured surface and knead for 5 minutes, adding as much of the remaining 1/4 clour as needed.  Form into a disk and place in a bowl that has been lightly coated with olive oil.  Turn disk over and cover bowl with plastic wrap.  Allow to rise in a warm place for 2 hours. **SEE NOTE**

**NOTE:  If you find yourself making the dough on a cold day and don’t have a warm spot to place it, this is what I have done and it’s worked well.  I turn the oven to 200 degrees until just heated.  Turn off the oven and wait about 15 minutes.  Then I place the bowl with the dough, which I cover with a clean dish cloth, in the oven and allow to rise.  It will usually rise this way in less than an hour. 

TOPPING INGREDIENTS & INSTRUCTIONS:

• 1 lb. Sweet or Hot Italian Bulk Sausage
• 1 Red Bell Pepper, sliced
• 1 Medium Sweet Onion, sliced
• 1 1/4 Cups Pizza Sauce (Use your favorite here)
• 1 1/2 Cups Freshly Grated Mozzarella Cheese (or as much as you and your family prefer)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a large sauté pan, break up the sausage and brown completely.  This will take about 15 or more minutes.  You want to make sure the sausage is fully cooked and evenly browned. 

Once the sausage is done, remove it to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb any excess oil. 

In the same pan that you just browned the sausage in, add the sliced onions and peppers.  Depending on how lean your sausage is, you may have enough excess grease left in the pan to cook up the onions and peppers.  If you don’t, add 1 or 2 teaspoons of olive oil and sauté the peppers and onions until just soft.

Take your risen dough and form it into whatever shape you prefer.  I did this in a 16″ pizza pan and it came out perfectly. 

Since the toppings are pre-cooked, I decided to pre-bake the crust for a few minutes before adding the toppings. 

Place the dough in the oven and allow to pre-bake for about 6 – 7 minutes.  Remove from the oven and top the crust with the pizza sauce, sausage, peppers, onions and mozzarella cheese. 

Return the pizza to the oven and cook until the top is bubbly, the cheese melted, and the crust is a golden brown.

Sometimes, if I feel like the bottom of the crust is not cooking to the crispness I like, I will slide the pizza off the pizza pan directly on the oven rack half way through the baking process and finish it that way.  If you are using a pizza stone, you won’t need to do this.

Once done, remove from the oven and allow to set for a few minutes.  Slice into 8 equal pieces using a pizza cutter and serve.  Enjoy!

I’ve shared this recipe over at Kim’s blog (Previously known as “Quit Eating Out”) “Recipes to Run On”.  Check out Kim’s site by clicking on the link below and view some other links to some great bloggers.

 

Bernadette’s Texas Caviar

I don’t know the true origins of this dish as I’ve never researched it.  Did it originate in Texas or is that just a name for a dish similar in other areas, but called something different in each region?  I know I’ve had something similar when I was in Mexico, and something similar in my area, and I’ve seen it called everything from Bean Salsa, Bean Caviar, Bean Salad and, of course, Texas Caviar. 

Wherever the name originated from, I’m not concerned.  The only thing that concerns me is that it’s delicious.  Period.

I’ve seen it made with corn, celery, green bell pepper, tomatoes, and a number of other ingredients. 

This version is one friend’s of ours made recently and I just loved it.  If she had a blog I’d send you over to it, but she doesn’t so I can’t.  I did ask her for her recipe and I’ll share that with you today.  I’ve seen recipes for it made with bottled Italian dressing, but was intrigued when she told me she makes her own, which she cooks and than cools.  I think it’s this dressing that makes the difference in her dish.  I can eat it by the bowl, with some tortilla chips, on top of chicken or fish and any other way you can think of .

It’s simple and most definitely even better a day or two after you make it.  You can add to it whatever you like.  

Texas Caviar:

Ingredients:

• 1 Can Black Beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 Can Black Eyed Peas, drained and rinsed
• 1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
• 1 Red Onion, chopped
• 1/3 Cup Olive Oil
• 1/3 Cup Sugar
• 1/3 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar

In a small pot, heat the sugar, vinegar and oil.  Bring to a rapid boil and remove from heat.  Allow to cool to room temperature.

In a large bowl add all remaining ingredients.  Pour the cooled vinegar mixture over the top and mix well.  Cover and refrigerate for at least several hours before you plan to serve it or overnight is even better.

Enjoy!

Potted Pork Chops

 

This is another dish I grew up with, and yet another dish that as a child I could not appreciate.  Which of course means that now as an adult, I love this dish!

It’s simple, filling, and very full of flavor.  It’s also something different to do with pork chops.  Does anyone else find it hard to find new ways of cooking them?  I have a few recipes for them that I like to use, but I just never seem to find too many new and exciting ways to make them. 

But here is one way.

POTTED PORK CHOPS:

Serves 6

• 6 Thin Cut Bone-In Pork Chops
• 1 Large Red Bell Pepper seeded and sliced
• 1 Medium Yellow Onion sliced thick
• 1 Clove of Garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil (I use light tasting)
• 1 14.5 oz. Can Low-Sodium Beef Broth
• 1 tsp. Seasoned Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste

Begin by seasoning your pork chops with the seasoned salt and black pepper on both sides.

In a large dutch oven set on medium, heat up the olive oil.  Place three pork chops in and allow them to brown, very well on one side.  Then flip them over and do the same on the other side.  You want to get these nice and browned with a deep crust on the outside of them.  These are perfect:

Remove the first set of browned chops to a plate and keep warm.  Brown the remaining three chops and remove those to a warm plate.

Take your sliced onion and pepper and throw them into the pot and sauté them for a bit just to give them some color. 

Once they have some color, remove them to a separate bowl.  In the bottom of that pot you are going to have some delicious flavor.  To this you will add the beef broth.  Set it to a low simmer and using a whisk, scrape up all that goodness off the bottom of the pot. 

Add the pork chops back to the pot, place the onions and peppers on the top, and cover your pot.  Keeping it on a low simmer, allow these to cook for about 20 to 30 minutes. 

Remove the chops and the peppers and onions to a serving platter.  Set the burner to medium and reduce the sauce by half.  Pour this over the chops and serve.  I like this with rice or egg noodles, but since we are on a potato fest I’ll be serving these with roasted potatoes.  (Recipe to follow)