Pardon My Kitchen

Unique Arroz con Gandules

2012-03-07T08:19:00.003-08:00

Sofrito

1/2 Green Bell Pepper

1/4 of a large Onion
1/4 large tomato

3-4 garlic cloves or a heaping tablespoon of chopped squeeze garlic

Tablespoon of dried Parsley or a bunch of fresh if you have it

Cilantro to taste - if you like it

Cut all this stuff up into little bits. I used an immersion blender to get it good and mushy. You can use a food processor or a blender.

Unique Arroz con Gandules Ingredients Continued

1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil

Sofrito from above recipe

1 Can of Black Beans

1 Cup of Peas or Frozen Peas

1 Packet of Sazón Seasoning

2 cups of water as called for to cook the rice

1 8 oz box of Goya Yellow Rice or something similar

Alright here is the quick version:

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook the sofrito in the oil for about a minute. Next add the black beans, peas, and sazon. Mix well and cook until peas are no longer frozen (1 minute). Add the water and bring to a boil. Pour in the rice. Boil for one minute, then turn the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes or according to rice instructions. Fluff and eat!

Spiced Sweet Potato Fries

2011-08-23T14:25:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

Cooking spray or other pan-greasing oil
1 lb Sweet Potatoes, cut into even fries
1/2 TSP Cumin, Paprika, Chili Powder, Salt
1/4 TSP Freshly Ground Pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Lightly grease a large flat pan or cookie sheet with cooking spray and set aside.

Cut the sweet potatoes into similarly-sized fries. This is so they'll finish cooking at the same time. You should get about 16 fries from a medium-sized 1/2 pound potato.

Mix the spices together. Place all of the ingredients except the olive oil into a large ziploc-type bag. Shake for about 30 seconds and coat the fries with the spices. Next, put the olive oil into the bag, close it, and shake again for 30 seconds to coat the fries evenly with oil.

Cook for 20 minutes, flipping half way through.

Notes: You can reuse the bag, just wash it afterwards. Salt afterwards if desired.

Roasted Tomato Insalata Capresi

2011-08-23T14:10:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

1.5 - 2 tomatoes
3-4 sliced garlic cloves
1/3 ball mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
8 fresh basil leaves
a few drizzles of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
pinch of salt

Directions
Cut the tomatoes in halves. Turn them so that the flat side is down and place several slits into the back of the tomatoes with a knife. Insert the slices of garlic into the backs of the tomatoes. Place the tomatoes on a piece of tin foil and then create a pouch with the tin foil. Wrap the tin foil so that the edges are 'sealed' close.

You can cook this in several ways, all for about 5-6 minutes. I chose to use my George Forman Grill - easy and no clean up! Use a stove-top grill, a charcoal grill, or even the oven. I think the George Forman is ideal because it heats both sides at once.

While the tomatoes are roasting (smell that garlic!), place the cheese and basil in a shallow dish, drizzle with olive oil. Place the tomatoes in the center of the dish once cooked, flat side down. Sprinkle a dash of salt on the tomatoes. Drizzle again with oil.

Notes: I used a leftover tomato, hence the 1.5 tomatoes. Use what you've got! Licopene/nutritional benefits of these dishes. Save the foil for leftovers. Salt brings out the flavor of tomatoes.

BBQ Chicken Pizza on Whole Wheat Flatbread

2011-08-12T22:53:00.000-07:00

This Is Addictive

Up until recently I had been using Publix pizza dough (from the bakery) as a base for my pizzas. It's pretty good, and it's fast, so it was a good option. However, this week I was looking for something different: something less about the bread and more about the pizza. I thought making a flatbread may be the way to go - especially since it is much faster than making traditional pizza doughs from scratch. I made this version twice in one week, two different ways. Below you'll find the recipe I enjoyed most.

What I cook each night often depends on the leftover ingredients in the fridge that may be adaptable into a new meal. If you have some leftover jarred tomato sauce available, it would be perfect for this recipe because you don't need much. The barbecue sauce I chose to use was Bull's-Eye Sweet and Tangy. I like it because it has no HFCs and fairly simple ingredients.

One note that may help you in this recipe: before topping the flatbread, be sure to loosen it from the pan. It will make things easier once the pizza is ready to eat.

Just out of the oven.

Flatbread Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried parsley
⅛ teaspoon black pepper
2 eggs, lightly beaten
⅔ cup skim milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a rimmed pan or baking sheet.
In a large bowl, stir together flour, salt, parsley and black pepper. Mix in eggs and milk; stir well.
Pour batter into prepared pan and spread with a spatula until evenly coated. Don't worry, the mixture will be fairly thick but too wet to kneed.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until crust is set.

Adapted from: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/crazy-crust-pizza-dough/detail.aspx

Topping Ingredients

Spread the cheese evenly on top of the sauce.

2 tablespoons olive oil
½ small onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped or frozen bell peppers equal to one pepper, chopped
⅓ - ½ pound raw chicken breast, cut into small pieces
1 cup barbecue sauce
½ cup tomato sauce
1 - 1½ cups of shredded mexican cheese blend or colby-monterey jack blend

Directions

Yum!

Set your oven to broil. Warm olive oil in a skillet or frying pan on medium-high heat. When a small piece of onion sizzles in the oil add all of the onions and peppers. Sauté for about 1 minute, then add the chicken and 1/2 cup of the barbecue sauce. Cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 3-4 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken pieces. Remove from heat.

Mix together the remaining 1/2 cup of barbecue sauce and the tomato sauce. Spread evenly on the prepared flatbread. (At this point I like to drain the liquid from the chicken mixture carefully from the pan and pour it on the crust.) Next, spread the cheese evenly on top of the sauce.

Finally, spread the chicken/onion/pepper mixture onto the pizza. Put the pizza in the oven and watch it carefully. Cook for about 2 or 3 minutes on broil. You're just looking for the cheese to melt and brown if you can do that without burning your flat bread.

Remove the pizza and enjoy!