Pulled Chicken, Sweet Potato Muffins, and Flowers for a Rainy Day

Ok. I made pulled pork, and it was extravagant. So, when I saw chicken on sale at the grocery store yesterday, I figured, why not?

Same recipe as the pulled pork:

3-4 onions, chopped
8 boneless chicken breasts (You can easily replace this recipe with a pork shoulder)
2 cups gingerale
BBQ Sauce--I used an entire bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's Honey BBQ and had extra for the sandwiches.

Put half of the onions on the bottom of slow cooker. Add the chicken. Put the rest of the onions on top. Pour the gingerale over everything. Set for 10 hours on low.

After 10 hours, it should resemble this:

Strain the chicken and onions and place in a pot. Shred the chicken using 2 forks. Now doesn't this look scrumptious?

Now, put the chicken and onions back in the pot, and toss it with BBQ sauce. Let it cook for another hour on low.

Then, I made a sandwich using whole wheat rolls, cheddar cheese, extra BBQ sauce, and the chicken. Deliciousness!

Next, sweet potato muffins. This comes from Runner's World Mag.

First, I threw 2 sweet potatoes in the oven at 400 for an hour.

Then, turn oven down to 375

Next, I added:
the insides of the sweet potato, mashed
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup butter (half a stick)
1/2 cup buttermilk

to a bowl and mix.

Fold in:
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt

Mix it up:

Put cupcake liners into the muffin tin, and fill about 2/3 of the way. Put in oven for about 20-25 minutes.

Voila:

And to make your day even brighter, Bradford flowers!:

September 1st PRs: Celebrate with Bradford's Pork and Beans

So Brad and I had a 5 mile tempo run to accomplish today. 2 miles easy, 3 miles fast. After nursing a recurring hamstring/groin injury, I was feeling nervous about that, though rather confident overall with my new kicks. So we kicked it up a notch. And then kicked it up again.

And posted a Turkey Trot reminiscent time of 42:41.

Holla! And that was with a pretty slow first mile.

So proud.

So, time to protein it up, though I now know that's a fallacy... but still...

Brad cooked tonight. First, we made organic green lentils, which I love. Very simple. Throw them in a pot, cover with water, bring to a boil, and then let simmer for 40 minutes.

In the meantime, we took Shea to the lake to play. Good times had by dog.

Next, we added Boston Baked Beans and chopped up hot dog pieces. Let it simmer for a few minutes more. And there you have it folks. Post run love.

Oh, and Giants football. XOXO World.

Running Your Butter Off

Comfort food. It's been absolutely freezing at the cabin for summer, dipping down to 50 degrees last night. Brrrr. So after a 3 mile training run (half marathon training), involving psychotic hills in higher elevations (harder to breathe just walking, let alone running), one needs comfort. In the form of carbo-loading. Hence, running your butter off!

Box of Whole Wheat Pasta of your choice
Pecorino cheese, shredded
4-5 tbsp butter
about 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

I like to add some olive oil and a bay leaf to the water as it boils. Then, add the box of pasta. In the mean time, whisk together a semi-roux using the rest of the ingredients. Butter, then flour, then cheese. I like to add the cheese at the end because I like the ooey gooey goodness of cheese. Less cheese sauce, and more melted cheese for me! I don't add any salt because of the pecorino cheese. Drain the pasta, add the sauce, toss, and enjoy some deliciousness after a very difficult workout! Yay.

P.S. Feel free to add veggies, chicken, etc. I was just country cooking (using what I had in the fridge).

Chicken Enchies for the Monday Evening Blues

Easy, healthy recipe

2-3 chicken breasts
8 corn tortillas
2 tbsp veg. oil
2 garlic cloves minced
2 tbsp chipotle peppers in adobo
1 tsp cumin
1/4 cup flour
1 can (14 1/2 oz) reduced sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup grated Mexican cheese
8x8 pan

Ok, so bring about 1/2 inch salted water to a boil. Toss in the chicken breasts and cover for 5 minutes on medium heat. Then remove from heat and let sit for 12-14 minutes until cooked through. With 2 forks, shred the chicken and set aside.

In a saucepan, heat the oil. Add the minced garlic until it smells like grandma's kitchen.

Then, add flour (I use wheat), chipotle, and cumin. Whisk for about 1 minute.

Then whisk in liquids: chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil, whisking, and then let simmer for about 8 minutes, whisking occasionally until it starts to thicken. Feel free to add salt and pepper to taste if you like. I usually don't.

Pour 1/4 cup of sauce into 8x8 pan. Add the rest of the sauce to the chicken.

Stack 8 corn tortillas (corn is important, don't use flour), and wrap in two layers of damp paper towels. Microwave for about 1 minute to warm.

Add the chicken to the tortillas and place seam side down. It's ok if they crack, don't panic. Cover the whole thing with cheese and place in an oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Voila!

Add sour cream, salsa and/or guac if you like.

Reheats nicely--serves about 4

Fresh Trout, and Trout Town, U.S.A. Unite

Goodness gracious. Trout caught in town is delicious! Unfortunately, Brad and I didn't catch the fish.... this time. We did, however, spend approximately an hour and a half today in Roscoe, NY (otherwise known as Trout Town U.S.A. as voted by a country-wide poll), learning the nuances of fly fishing. Which was awesome, by the way. So we thought it was only par for the course to consume some fresh just-caught-today trout tonight for dinner. So we headed to Main Street Farms, which I will have to create a separate post about in the near future, and purchased ourselves a dandy. We grilled up the entire fish, head and all, with a very simple recipe: some lemon juice, salt, pepper, and oregano. Wrapped the sucker in tinfoil, cooked it for approximately 12 minutes, 6, per side. While that was grilling, I sliced up some eggplant, and grilled that on top of tin foil for about the same time, with a simple dressing of oil and salt and pepper. Finally, I had some sugar sweet Georgia corn that I boiled for about 8 minutes in a mixture of water and milk. Everything was delicious, and after going on an 11 mile run/hike up and down insane hills, I was too tired to remember to take a picture. Sorry. But it was DELICIOUS.

Rainy Day Banana Bread

What's more comforting than mushy bananas, sugar, butter, and vanilla extra on a rainy Wednesday morning when you don't have to be at work until 9:30? Nothing, people. The answer is nothing!

1/2 cup to 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/4-1/3 cup butter, 1 egg, a pinch of salt, 3 old, black bananas (think of them as antiquated), and fold in a cup and a half of flour at the very end. Spray the bread dish with pam or butter, and put it into an oven set at 350. Give it an hour, and voila! Comfort.

How Loose is Your Goose? Eat More Chicken! Part II

Roasted the sucker at 250 for 3 hours and 40 minutes in a vertical roasting kit with 2 sweet potatoes and an onion on 3 of the 4 accompanying spikes. Visited my grandfather in the hospital, walked the puppy, gave the puppy a bath, greeted Bradford... Ya know. Lived life. Then, took the chicken out when the meat thermometer was between 170 and 180. Served it with a fast pasta salad on the side consisting of chopped green pepper, halved grape tomatoes, oregano, and a bit of olive oil. Whipped up some quick gravy using about 2tbsp of flour, the drippings, and some skim milk. Since the chicken was already covered in spices, I didn't need to add any to the pot. Voila! Dinner!

Delicious.

Two Parter! How Funky is Your (Whole) Chicken? Day 1

So, Bradford makes a mean turkey around Thanksgiving. I was uber impressed. So I decided to give him a run for his money and make a rotisserie-style chicken for no good reason. Mostly, because I've never cooked an entire bird before. Perhaps it was Brad's prowess, or having read Julia and Julia a year ago, but I decided that if I want to hold any clout in the kitchen, I need to tackle a bird.

Went to the grocery store. Bought white pepper. Didn't know that was a possibility. Also bought a 4lb bird, some onions, yams, and garlic. Did a little google research. Quartered an onion. Found out that giblets or whatever comes out of a chicken is already packaged. Weird. Pulled the package out of the chicken. Minced some garlic in the slap chop. Best 6 month anniversary present ever! "You'll love my nuts." You darn tootin'! Side note, sorry. Created a spice mixture that involved thyme, cayenne pepper, black pepper, white pepper, salt, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder. Rubbed the chicken on both the inside and outside. Stuck the quartered onion and some minced garlic where the pre-wrapped package of guts used to be. Guts went in the garbage. I'm not that creative, yet. Wrapped the whole bird in plastic wrap, twice. Stuck in fridge.

Going to roast that sucka tomorrow at approximately 3:30 PM in a funky stand-up contraption! Stay tuned...

Dante's Ravioli and Mint Juleps

Dante's, recently relocated from White Plains Road to Yonkers Ave, contains some delicious homemade ravioli, on top of their famously incredibly pastries. This Italian specialty store has been run by the same little Italian man forever. If you ask for the owner, he comes out in casual clothes, covered in flour, and greets you with a smile and a lovely Italian accent even though he's been living in America for over fifty years. He's owned this joint long enough that my grandfather claims he's been buying products from him for fifty years (take into account whatever a 90 year old's exaggeration is... or not). The pastries are out of this world perfection. Not too sweet, delectable cream, and beautifully packaged. You just can't go wrong. Love the cannoli. Yum.

We bought a 30 piece of the truffle oil ravioli for the Kentucky Derby and boiled them 'til they started to float. Due to lack of time, I just poured some of that Jersey tomato sauce on top, which I can buy at the grocery store, and I find to be pretty good substitute for "Mamie's sauce" (my grandmother's and the best. Sorry, that recipe will never be shared!) considering it's jarred. Then I crafted the perfect mint julep. As for Dante, I will definitely try Dante's lobster ravioli next, and in fall I'm looking forward to trying his pumpkin ravioli in autumn.

As for the mint julep:

Create some simple syrup: 1 cup superfine sugar with one cup water. Boil. Chop up fresh mint (amount depends on your taste, I love a lot of mint, so I went with three sprigs). Let sit for 24 hours at least, covered, in the refrigerator.

The next day, place some ripped mint at the bottom of a glass. Add a LOT of ice in a glass (crushed is the best way to go, but cubes work just fine). Pour 3 oz of your favorite bourbon (I know it's the KENTUCKY derby, but I went with Jack), and add 2-3 tablespoons of the simple syrup mixture (to taste). Stir it up and let it sit for a minute or two. Perfection!

Dining In: Salmon Quinoa Burgers

Ok, so one of my students wrote a research paper for me about cooking in vs. dining out, and statistically proved using fancy graphs and language that people should cook in more. You know, health, save money, avoid sodium and transfats, etc. etc. etc. Well, no problem here. One of the reasons this blog hasn't been updated in over a year is since Brad and I moved to Yonkers, I've been cooking. A LOT. So here's my salmon quinoa creation. One of the few things I've done without following/doctoring up some semblance of wholeliving.com recipe. Love that website, even if it is Martha Stewart.

Mix with your fingers in a giant bowl: canned wild Alaskan salmon, red onions, Italian breadcrumbs, a tbsp or 2 of Greek yogurt to make it moist, Mexican cheese mix (or any kind of shredded cheese really), and quinoa (follow the recipe on the package, it's ridiculously simple, you just boil it with some water) and a little cumin, curry powder, dash of chili powder, and of course, salt and pepper. I basically just dumped the kitchen sink into mine, making it with some sugar snap peas as well, which is more my style and probably doesn't work well for most people. I then heated up a frying pan with a tbsp of Italian olive oil, shaped the goo into burger-esque shapes, and fried the little buggers for a couple of minutes on each side. And they actually came out delicious. So take that, NYC over-priced restaurants.