Honey Plum Soy Chicken

This is a Pioneer Woman recipe from her latest cookbook. The original recipe called for an entire bottle of soy sauce, but I reduced that amount to a 1/4 cup and to be honest that was still a little too much. We also used cherry preserves rather than plum and plumogranate plumcots in place of the regular plums, for just a little more fruit flavour. Apart from being a little salty from the soy sauce we both really enjoyed this.

8 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs

3 cups red wine
3 bay leaves
13 oz plum preserves (I used cherry)
1 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 plums, pitted and chopped (I used plumogranate plumcots)

Place the chicken thighs in a large bowl with two cups of red wine and the bay leaves, cover and refrigerate for an hour.

In a small bowl mix together the preserves, honey and soy sauce.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil.  Remove chicken form the red wine, brown in the olive oil.  Add the garlic, remaining cup of red wine, plums and preserves mixture.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for about an hour until the chicken is cooked through.

Chili Con Queso Pasta Bake

This is a Rachael Ray recipe that I found on pinterest. It sounded good and we both like all the ingredients but unfortunately neither one of us really loved the final dish. There's nothing wrong with it, it was fine, but we both thought it was a little bland which is strange considering it does have quite a lot of spices in it.

1 lb pasta
1 lb ground beef
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground coriander
2 tbsp chili powder
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 jalepeno, diced
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp all purpose flour
2 cups milk
2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup fresh parsley
1 can diced tomatoes

Preheat oven to 350.

Cook the pasta according to package directions.

While the pasta is cooking, brown the ground beef with the garlic, jalapeno and onion, cook for 5 minutes, drain the grease from the pan.  Add the cumin, coriander and chili powder and turn the heat to low.

In a saucepan, melt the butter and add the flour.  Cook for a minute or two, whisk in the milk.  When the milk starts to boil add the cheese and parsley, once the cheese has melted add the tomatoes.

Drain the cooked pasta and add it into the pan with the ground beef, pour in the cheese sauce and stir to combine.  Transfer to a baking dish. top with more cgeese and bake for 20 minutes.

Menu Plan Monday

Monday:  Thai green chicken curry, jasmine rice

Tuesday:  Tomato soup and BLT's

Wednesday:  Eight layer casserole, salad

Thursday:  Herbed roast chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans

Friday:  Eating out

See other menu plans over at Organizing Junkie

Pineapple and Honey Ribs

Randal loves bbq and especially ribs, and I know I have said it before, but it's just not my favourite thing. I am always looking for different rib recipes that will give Randal his bbq fix but will be different enough from that bbq sauce flavour so that I can enjoy it also. These pineapple honey ribs from Snappy Gourmet are so good, I think I have found my new favourite rib recipe, the pineaple and lime really add so much flavour to the honey bbq sauce and Randal loved them also.  The only thing I changed about this recipe was the cooking method, because unless Randal is home to grill them I always cook ribs low and slow in the oven.
 

1 rack of pork ribs

3 tbsp caribbean jerk seasoning

1 cup honey barbecue sauce

1 1/4 cup chopped pineapple

3 tbsp lime juice

Line a baking sheet with foil, put the ribs on the foil and cover with the caribbean seasoning. cover with the foil and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Put the bbq sauce, pineapple and lime juice in a food processor and blend until smooth, refrigerate until ready to use.

Heat oven to 275.

Brush the bbq sauce onto the ribs, cover with foil and bake for 4 hours, basting the ribs every hour with the bbq sauce.

Menu Plan Monday

Monday:  Chili con queso pasta bake, salad

Tuesday:  Honey plum soy chicken, jasmine rice

Wednesday:  Pineapple and honey bbq ribs, potato salad, corn on the cob

Thursday:  Chicken cordon bleu pasta, salad

Friday:  Eating out

See other menu plans over at Organizing Junkie

Country Captain

This is another one of those recipes I have had saved for a long time.  I don't know why I have waited so long to make it because this turned out to be one of the best meals I have made in a while.  It's part chicken curry part chicken stew served on rice. This recipe does make a lot, so I froze half of it and for another week.

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup raisins

1 tbsp curry powder

1 tbsp garam masala

1 tsp dried thyme

1 1/2 tsp salt, plus more for seasoning

1/2 tsp black pepper, plus more for seasoning

6 slices bacon, chopped

12 chicken thighs, skin on

1 large dried chile, such as guajillo or pasilla, split, seeds removed

1 lb peeled and sliced carrots

2 cups diced yellow bell peppers

2 cups diced onions

3 cloves garlic 

1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

2 tbsp ginger

2/3 cup toasted almonds, chopped

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Pour the broth into a small pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the raisins and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the curry powder, garam masala, salt, and black pepper.

Over high heat fry the bacon until lightly browned, transfer the bacon to apaper towel.

Season the chicken thighs with salt, pepper and the dried thyme. Brown the chicken in batches over medium-high heat in the bacon fat until they are golden brown. Add the reserved bacon fat. Remove the chicken and set aside.

Add the chile and fry in the fat, about 30 seconds per side, until very fragrant.  Add the carrots, bell peppers, onions, and garlic and cook until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, spice mixture, ginger, and the raisins and their broth and the bacon. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer until the tomatoes have cooked down  and the sauce has thickened, about 8 minutes.
Pour the vegetable mixture into a large baking dish and place the chicken thighs in the sauce.  Cover loosely with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until the sauce has thickened further and the chicken skin is just beginning to crisp, about 15 minutes more.
Serve with  rice and garnish with the almonds, and parsley.





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Banana Pudding

This banana pudding recipe from Hilah Cooking was so easy to make, and it's so good I'll never make boxed pudding again.  I was actually really surprised at just how quick this was to make, it's really not much more effort than making the cook and serve puddings and this way you know exactly what went into it.
 

1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 cups whole milk
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large banana, peeled and sliced
vanilla wafer cookies
 
In a saucepan over medium heat combine the sugar, cornstarch, and milk. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved, add egg yolks and butter and stir constantly until it starts to bubble.  Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and leave to cool.
 
To assemble the banana pudding you can either make one large bowl or as I did, individual puddings.  Place a layer of vanilla wafers on the bottom of the dish, followed by a layer of banana and a layer of pudding. Repeat layers and end with vanilla wafers. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

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