Look No Further: Best Marinade You Will Ever Make

I am a huge believer in marinating.  It is simple, easy, extremely flavorful, and most of the work is done in your fridge, while you are off seizing the day!  Before I became I teacher, I had a job that allowed me to meet many different interesting people.  I got to know two wonderful Brazilian women, who passed on this amazing marinade.  The below recipe is for chicken, but this recipe is great on seafood as well (if using seafood, just marinate for about 30 minutes.)  It may seem like a lot of ingredients, but if I don't have a few of them, I use what I have and believe me, it always turns out amazing.

Ingredients:

Bone in, Skin on Chicken Breast (I never used to get the bone in or skin on, but it adds so much to the flavor of the chicken and keeps the breast meat moist, which is hard to do.  When I am ready to eat, I discard the skin to keep the meal low in fat.)
Juice of 2 lemons
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
1 - 2 tbs. of dijon mustard
1-2 tbs. of soy sauce
1/4 cup of white wine
handful of herbs, your choice (for this dish, I usually add rosemary, parsley and dill - the more herbs, the better!)

Marinate overnight, all day, or just for a few hours.  It will taste good, believe me.

In a casserole dish, add all of your marinade ingredients and mix together with a whisk or spoon.  Your marinade should not be as thick as a paste, but not super runny either.  If you need to add more dijon, add more dijon.  If you need more liquid, bump up the wine content or lemon.  There really is no messing up this recipe.  Add your chicken breasts and coat.  Lift the skin and add marinade under the skin.  This ensures every bit of that chicken will be flavorful.

Cover in fridge and let it works its magic.

When you are ready to cook, heat oven to 375 degrees and bake the dish (chicken and marinade) covered in foil for about 20 minutes.  Remove the foil and spoon marinade over chicken to baste it and bake uncovered for about 15-20 more minutes, until chicken is cooked.

I tend to let the chicken cool, take it out, shred it and add it back into the marinade, which now turns into a yummy sauce.  Add any sides you like, but I love to make a chicken bowl out of this recipe:
Brown Rice
Arugula
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Shaving of Parmesan
And the yummiest chicken you will ever have!
(If you are strapped on time, this chicken bowl is great with just shredded rotisserie chicken that is ready made at the grocery store.  But if you have time, make this recipe and you will soon be sending this marinade recipe to everyone you know!)

Stretch-a-Buck: Baked Orzo and Shrimp

I am always looking for a new shrimp recipe.  Shrimp are low in fat and inexpensive.  I have been experimenting more and trying to create my own recipes, which can be all together risky if it is unsuccessful and you are stuck in the middle of the week wishing you had ordered take-out.  However, I felt pretty confident on this particular Monday.  I put together a few recipes I have seen and created this dish.  It was a hit!

Ingredients:
1 - 1/2 cups of orzo
1 8oz can of tomato puree or crushed tomatoes
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 cup of crumbled feta
sprinkling of parmesan cheese
sprinkling of Panko bread crumbs
sprinkling of red pepper flakes
1 tbs. of italian seasoning
a handful of chopped parsley or basil
1 - 1/2 lbs. of uncooked, cleaned shrimp (not baby, but not jumbo either)
squeeze of lemon juice

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees

Make the orzo according to the box.

In a sautee pan, heat 1 tbs. of olive oil (don't go nuts on the oil, this is where recipes can become more fatty than they need to be.)  Cook the onion and garlic until transluscent, lightly sesasoning with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes (adjust according to how spicy you like your food - I find just adding a touch, just bumps up the flavor without being hot), and the Italian Seasoning.  Add the can of tomato puree and bring to a boil.  Before adding your shrimp, lightly season with salt, pepper, and a sprinkle of lemon juice.  Add the shrimp to the pan and cook shrimp, stirring often.  Add the drained, cooked orzo, herbs, and stir to combine.

Spray a casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.  Pour half of the orzo mixture into pan, sprinkle with feta, and then pour the rest of the orzo mixture into pan.  Top with remaining feta, parmesan cheese, and the Panko bread crumbs.  I sprinkle the top with the tiniest bit of olive oil to help it brown.

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes and then finish it off in the broiler for about 3 more minutes to get even more brown and crispy.

Serve with a side salad or your favorite green vegetable.

YUM!

There Is No Time Like the Present: Bake Bread

I have had this blog for some time now, but have not actually sat down to add to it!  So here I am.  I decided to create a cooking blog because I not only love to cook, but actually, have become quite obsessed! I think I started my love of cooking when I got married in 2009 and had someone to cook for.  I hope this blog inspires you to get into the kitchen more and create dishes that will bring your friends and families together.

Sundays are usually my days to experiment with new recipes or try more involved recipes since I have the extra time.  Today I made Ellie Krieger's Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Bread.  I tend to bake using low-fat recipes and they usually just taste, well ... low-fat!  I really loved this recipe and it is one of the best low-fat bread recipes I have ever made.  When you need a little extra comfort or want to try making bread for the first time, try this recipe!

Ingredients for 2 loaves

• 2 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting
• 2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1/4 cup nonfat dry milk or 1/4 cup of regular nonfat milk
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons canola oil, plus more for brushing
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons instant dry yeast
• Cooking spray
• 2/3 cup raisins
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

Directions

Make the dough.

Measure out 1 1/4 cups very warm water and check the temperature; it should be 120 degrees F to 130 degrees F. Combine both flours, the dry milk, egg, canola oil, honey, salt, yeast and warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix 3 minutes on the lowest setting, then increase to the next highest setting and mix 5 more minutes. The dough should be soft and sticky.

Let it rise.

Transfer the dough to a large bowl coated with cooking spray. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until the dough has nearly doubled in size, about 1 hour, 30 minutes.

Soak the raisins.

Dry raisins will rob moisture from the bread, so soak them first in boiling water until plump, about 30 minutes. Drain and pat dry.

Fold the dough.

Transfer the dough to a floured work surface. Picture it as a loose square. Lift up one side of the dough and fold about one-third of it across; press down on the dough with spread fingers to remove any air bubbles. Repeat with the remaining 3 sides of the dough.

Add the filling.

Mist two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans with cooking spray. Divide the dough in half; roll out each half into an 8-inch square. Brush each square with canola oil, then sprinkle with the cinnamon (it's high in antioxidants!), brown sugar and raisins.

Form the loaves.

Roll up each square of dough into a tight cylinder; place seam-side down in the prepared pans. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until the dough fills the pans and springs back when touched, about 1 hour, 30 minutes.

Bake the bread.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Brush the loaves with canola oil and bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the pans and transfer to a rack to cool completely.