BIZZY BAKES

It says, "thai" so I have to like the Thai Chicken San Choy Bau that we are making this week in our Donna Hay Wednesday group.  It was a bit spicy and the chopped chicken was a nice change of pace. Kayte selected this recipe from On the Shelf on page 124.   I tried it with the greens and it was very good and then I put it on spaghetti and it was spectacular.  My toddler granddaughter even liked it.  Must have been the hot sauce. I used romaine for the greens and I subbed in red pepper and added some Sirracha to spice it up to make up for the real chilis. Do check out the other cooks' dishes at our   Wednesday with Donna Hay site.

This week's recipe was selected by Kayte and is called Lemon-Tarragon Chicken with Squash Ribbons.  I have been wanting to make zucchini ribbons for a while but you know how something can fall under the radar which this did. It is so easy to do, I can't imagine why I waited.  I only used zucchini while the recipe called for both green and yellow squash,  Cooking for one means (to me) cutting back on some of the ingredients when it looks workable.  In this case, all I could see the yellow squash doing was adding color to the recipe which is nice but not a necessity. It was a good dish, a little too lemony for me but easily edible.  I would make it again and change the flavor slightly.  This may not be a common citrus to use in such a recipe, but I think I would like orange. You can share in everyone's results at our Eating with Ellie p age.  Please join us. Linked to:   Full Plate Thursday       Lou Lou Girls  ...

Three cheers for Gaye!!!! Gaye selected Shrimp Creole on page 184 on Weeknight Wonders. Shrimp, not being an option for a kosher cook, I substituted chunks of chicken. I was fortunate to find two cooked chicken breasts in my freezer and cut them up and we had a fabulous creole with them. I cut the amount of canned tomatoes down also. I thought it would be a soup, if I used the recommended amount. Hubby commented on how much he liked it twice. That is a really good sign. I agree with him. It was tasty and had everything needed for a meal in the dish. You can check what our other members made by going to Eating with Ellie website. Eating with Ellie is a group of cooks who enjoy Ellie's healthy and yummy recipes. There are no requirements to participate. Just link up the choice for the week. The book we are using, Weeknight Wonders, has a diversity of recipes and the real challenge is selecting with so many good choices. Linked to:         ...

This week, I was the lucky lady to select the recipe we have cooked for our Eating With Ellie group.  I asked someone to pick up the ingredients, I needed but must have made some mistakes.  I found a package of stir fry vegetables and separated the snow peas, added some of the green beans and used them.  I rarely keep scallions in the house so I subbed in red pepper. I did not like the mushrooms in the soup although I usually like mushrooms.  This soup lends itself to many vegetables.  Broccoli or spinach would fit right in.  The bok choy was an excellent choice by Ellie. I would make this again with some different veggies. To find out what our other cooks thought of this soup, stop off at EwE . Full Plate  Thursday         This is How We Roll          F oodie Friday           Foodie Friends Friday                ...

I love to leave the chicken breasts plump and not flatten them for this particular recipe.  We end up getting this juicy and most chicken immersed in flavor.   Crusty Chicken  Cutlets with Maple­ Mustard Sauce  ( adapted from  Cooking Light ) Ingredients: 4  skinless, boneless chicken breast halves 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper Cooking spray  2 tablespoons chopped red onion 6 tablespoons maple syrup 1/4 cup Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon water 1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill Breading: 2 cups gluten-free panko crumbs   Method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt and pepper. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium ­high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Combine remaining ingredients. Dip chicken in maple mustard sauce and then in panko crumbs. Add chicken to pan and cook on each side for a few minutes.  Remove chicken from pan and place...

   Margaret Selected  Asian Chicken and Vegetable in Foil Packets page 143  in Weeknight Wonders.  It is chicken cutlets topped with veggies and sauce made in aluminum foil packets.  I love the results but did not enjoy cooking in aluminum foil.  I think, it just made it messier.  I served this with rice and used some of the sauce and vegetables to mix in the rice. I would have enjoyed broccoli added to the vegetables or in place of the green bell pepper.  Actually, carrots, cauliflower, zucchini, peas, beans or squash would be good additions to the recipe (not all of them),  I would like sweet potatoes on top of the chicken as well .  This lends itself to be a versatile dish. Check out E ating with Ellie  to see what the other members did with their Asian Chicken and Vegetables.  You might want to see what we are making in the near future and if it appeals to you, feel free to join us. Weekend Potluck   ...

Oh, the silly things we do.......  We don't usually eat olives.  We don't particularly like them.  I had a bottle for the longest time and I never opened it so finally, I gave it away, right before I looked at what we would be cooking this month.  The result - no olives in this dish. I find, there is a lot to laugh at, in cooking, serving and eating.  Over the years, I bet, we all have stories that we still giggle over.  Just the other day, I followed a recipe to make a baked blintz.  I put the butter in the microwave to melt and only remembered it after the blintz was almost done baking.  What a wonderful mistake.  I can not imagine that dish being any better than it was and now, I know not to add more fat to this recipe. Hopefully, I will get that blintz blogged real soon.  It is scrumptious, Tonight we made this yummy baked chicken in a flavored mixture of deliciousness.  I let mine marinade for a while which made it eve...

This week was my turn to select a recipe and I chose a Maple Glazed Chicken.  I have cooked chicken with honey and/or maple syrup before and it was always good.  I made this weeks ago to beat the Passover rush.  It amazes me how quickly these weeks before Passover go by.  There is so much to do and we tend to jump from one phase to another and still run our lives as usual.  Looking back each year, I wonder how it is done.  Yet, no matter what, it appears we pull it off.  We have had deaths in the family a week before Pesach and we finished in time.  We had children getting married close to Pesach and we thankfully pulled it off.   You will find the recipe online as well as a video showing Donna making it.  To see what others have done with their chicken, check Wednesdays with Donna Hay. Our group welcomes new members so if you are a fan of Donna's and would like to join us, just jump right in. Linked to:   Waste Not Want...

Kayte chose Chicken Poached in Coconut Curry . I had thought about selecting this one also. I am a fan of chicken and coconut, only in certain forms. I do not like a cake with lots of coconut coating the frosting but I love using coconut milk in recipes or added shredded coconut to fruit salads. Chicken is good in almost any form with almost any seasonings. I did most of my cooking for Wednesdays with Donna Hay and Eating with Ellie ahead of time because of the oncoming Jewish holiday of Passover (Pesach). Ask any Jewish woman who keeps this holiday strictly how she feels the weeks before the holiday and I am betting , she will say, "Tired!!!!!!". I enjoy the work but I am exhausted and the blog has to take a backseat to other parts of my life. I did want to keep up as best as I could with the two groups mentioned ahead and I cooked whatever was possible ahead of time. I made this Chicken Poached in Coconut Curry, weeks ago and I don't remember the details bu...

This week, Peggy has chosen  Blueberry Chicken with Crispy Bread Crumbs   found on page 155 in Weeknight Wonders.  Each recipe brings me closer to Ellie and her wonderful recipes. Blueberries don't make for a good photo compared to peaches and peaches and New York don't go together well, in the winter.  Most of us are waiting for the warm weather and the peaches .  We had a lovely warm day and it is back to below freezing. I made this a few weeks ago since this is a super busy time of the year with Passover coming in a few short weeks and so much to do in preparation.  I hate to say, I don't remember too much about it other than we liked the chicken, but this is the case.  I am not sure if the blueberries were a good substitution . To see if anyone did find peaches and what they did with this chicken recipe, check out Eating With Ellie.

Margaret at Tea and Scones  selected this dish for our weekly Eating with Ellie.  I really couldn't make it since as a kosher cook, I don't combine cheese and poultry or meat.  Dairy and meat are kept completely separate even to the point that we don't eat them at the same meal. I did make the chicken dish without the Parmesan but the cheese is really the star of this recipe. You can see what the other women made by visiting the Ellie website . Next week, we will be making  Peach Chicken with Crispy Bread Crumbs. Are you an Ellie fan or do you want to simply try out a new cook or new recipes?  We welcome you to join us.  There are no requirements and the participants are the most warm and friendly group of women.  Just link up at Eating with Ellie.   (EwE)

Disclaimer:  I am not going to remove the saga of this wonderful chicken dish.  My terrific hubby found a way to rescue my photos and here it is, my Chicken Paprikash.  Under the line, you will find past history and a frustrating evening. Yummy.  Thanks to Kayte who selected this chicken dish.  I am not fussy about chicken dishes.  I usually like them but this time, we both loved this particular recipe.  Again, it was not a difficult recipe to make and  the results for us were cheers all around. ____________________________________________________ The dish is called Chicken Paprikash and I HAD some nice pictures of it until tonight.  My card filled up so I went to the computer to delete some of the older blurry photos that were taking up space.  When I tried to see the photos, nothing appeared.  It turned out, there is a computer problem. Hubby plugged it in somewhere else and I was ready to go until I tried to transfer the...

Glennis selected Grilled Tandoori Chicken Breasts from Weeknight Wonders - page 137. I think the world of Glennis. In the short time, I have known her, she has been a positive force and a happy voice within our group. Please explain to me how this lovely woman sent us out to grill in a temperature of only a few degrees. I do forgive her though since this was a fabulous dish and we both ate every bite and wanted more. I served it with a spicy quinoa dish with red bell pepper. They went well together. I did have to make a major change since the recipe called for yogurt and as a kosher cook, I don't use dairy and meat together.  Thanks to Tofutti sour cream - I had a good substitute. This recipe had mostly spices mixed in with the Tofutti sour cream.  It marinated for a short while and then was grilled.  Another easy dish that was not time consuming. Do check out what the other Ellie cooks have made and if there were any changes.   Eating with Ellie has al...

It is common for me, it bread chicken with different nuts, but not peanuts, which of course, are not really nuts. This was my first attempt and a very successful one at that.     I find good recipes in a variety of places and I think, I am the most successful with Cooking Light. Usually, healthy recipes run rampant and they don't lack for taste and appeal.  I was thinking that I could have mixed the honey and mustard with peanut butter and coated the chicken with that combination and then breaded it in the tortilla crumbs. The best part of this recipe is that it is baked and there is no grease to contend with. Peanut Chicken (adapted from Cooking Light) Ingredients: 2 tablespoons honey 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 1/3 cup peanuts 1 cup tortilla chips, crushed 4 chicken breast cutlets  Cooking spray Method: Preheat oven to 500°. Combine honey and mustard in a small bowl; stir well. Place peanuts and tortilla ch...

This week, Eating with Ellie, presented a real problem for this kosher cook. The recipe called for Pork Tenderloin so I substituted chicken. I wanted to see how this dish came together. Fennel, grapes and chicken (or pork in everyone else's case) didn't sound right but I have learned that some of those dishes that sound odd to me are the very best. This recipe was chosen by Gaye The Eating with Ellie group made Pork Tenderloin with Fennel and Grapes, which is found on page 119 of Weeknight Wonders, You can see the recipe  here . I used chicken breast, olive oil, fennel bulb, vegetable broth, red grapes, lemon juice and a tiny bit of black pepper. This was a cinch to make and timewise was a dream. We are having it for dinner so I don't know how much we will like it or not but based on the other Ellie cooks, I am pretty sure, this will be a success. Check out our EwE page a nd see what others cooked and what is coming up in the future. We would love to have yo...

This week,  for Eating with Ellie , I got to choose the recipe and I couldn't resist these Japanese Style Savory Vegetable Pancakes with Chicken.  I am not sure why she calls them vegetable pancakes with chicken.  Once there is chicken, we no longer consider them vegetable or at least, I don't. I loved these.  The taste and the texture were pleasing.  they were good with or without the sauce which was easy to make. I did sub in chicken for the shrimp which is not kosher, therefore not allowed for us.  I cut two cutlets into small pieces (one half inch) and browned them in a little olive oil.  I added them to the rest of the ingredients at the end. Japanese Style Savory Vegetable Pancakes with Chicken - adapted ingredients. This has 2 chicken cutlets 1 bag of shredded cabbage 4 large scallions, chopped 2 medium carrots, shredded eggs gluten-free flour low sodium soy sauce toasted sesame oil oil for cooking the pancakes For the sauce:...

By now, you must know that I have found only success with the recipes in Joy Bauer's  book and those found on her website.    Although the recipes are online and that means we can and should make them, I believe in supporting those chefs that give my family such pleasure in eating.  Based on that I recommend her book, Slim and Scrumptious .  It is a wonderful addition to your cookbook library and I can always find a recipe that fits my needs and desires. C hicken and Vegetable Curry   adapted from Joy Bauer Ingredients: 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 large onion, chopped 1 teaspoon turmeric 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger 2 tablespoons curry powder 1 head cauliflower cut into 1-inch florets, stem discarded or 1 large bag of frozen cauliflower 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained 1 (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, preferably no-salt-added Method...

I have been breading food with nuts since I found out my husband had celiac.  Sometimes, I mix them with corn meal, sometimes with corn flake crumbs, sometimes with GF bread crumbs, sometimes with chips, or whatever, I can turn into crumbs.  With a little seasoning, I have a tasty coating. I did not pound the cutlets down but left them plump.  We like them that way.  For this recipe, I thought it would work and it did.  Certainly, if you prefer thin cutlets, pound away. Rachel's recipe called for frying these in a shallow pan.  I opted out and baked them in the oven.  We just don't need the extra fat in our diet. Nutty Chicken Cutlets   (adapted from Rachel Ray) Ingredients: 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts,  Salt and pepper About 1/2 cup  almond crumbs 1 cup regular, whole wheat or gluten-free panko 1 teaspoon thyme 1 tablespoon parsley Flour, for dredging 2 eggs, beaten spray oil Method: Preh...

I make chicken weekly and over the years have made a variety of dishes.  I wonder which wins in quantity salmon or chicken.  Both are popular in our household.  Both are easy to adapt with different spices or with different vegetables.  Both go with pasta, rice or quinoa.   Here are just a few ideas on how to use chicken.  Each one has a link attached so you can find recipes, not my recipes but good ones.  I chose, from this Wikipedia list, the chicken dishes, I have made. Arroz con pollo Barbecue chicken Biryani Brown stew chicken Cashew chicken Chicken and dumplings Chicken bal ls Chicken curry Chicken Divan Chicken fingers Chicken Kiev Chicken Marengo Chicken marsala Chicken nugget Chicken paprikash Chicken pie Chicken salad Chicken soup Chicken tikka masala Chilli chicken Chinese chicken salad Coq au vin Country Captain Crispy fried chicken Fried chicken General Tso's chicken Kung Pao chicken Lemon chicken Orange c...

This is the first week of Eating with Ellie , the one and only Ellie Krieger, who cooks health consciously and deliciously.  The recipes, at this point are coming from the book,  Weeknight Wonders . About a year or so ago, we had a group of dedicated women who belonged to CEiMB (Cooking Ellie in My Belly), a name I never liked.  What I did like were the participants and the recipes.  Each week, hubby and I would kvell over the delicious meals, I made with ease and joy. I have three of Ellie's books and they are well used.   To be honest, in recent months, I have not been making recipes by Ellie, not for any good reason, just because........ The starting of the new group is good for me. I love the recipes, we have chosen for the first two months. A new group feels like an adventure. Although, I know most of the women participating, it is nice to regroup and cook together again. Some are already in the Donna Hay Wednesday group. We welcome anyone...