slow cooker moroccan chicken.

greetings darlings. i do not know if you have a slow cooker, but just in case you do, i thought i would share this absolutely delicious slow cooker recipe i found yesterday. cooked it. served it over a bed of rice. ate it. simply scrumptious. 

sadly i did not take a picture, but next time i make up a plate, i will take a picture and add it here.

Ingredients: 

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 2 inch pieces
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 3 fresh peaches - peeled, pitted, and sliced
• 1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans, drained
• 1 cup dried apricots, chopped
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1 Tbsp water
• 3 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted
• rice or couscous (i used rice)

Directions

Place chicken in the bottom of a slow cooker. Add the garlic, onion, tomatoes, peaches, garbanzo beans, dried apricots, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, coriander, and cayenne pepper. Pour in the chicken broth. Cook on Low for 5 hours.

Remove the chicken and keep warm. Mix the cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Stir the cornstarch mixture into the slow cooker. Cook on High until the sauce has thickened, about 15 minutes. Return the chicken to the slow cooker and heat through. Serve on top of rice or couscous. Garnish with fresh cilantro and almonds before serving.

tasty treats on a budget.

okay so i guess i was hiding under a rock when the memo was sent out letting us know that crab meat costs a small fortune. i always knew crab legs were pricey, but i thought that buckets of the meat would just be regular fishy prices. kinda like tuna....you want a fillet? lay out the cash. you want chunks? pick up a can el-cheapo. no dice with crab. needless to say i was astonished that 8 ounces of lump meat was $10.99. and this recipe requires 16 ounces. jeepers.

now i don't know about you, but the mister and i are on a budget, so i decided to get creative and try out the imitation crab (it does contain some crab, so it is not 100% imitation). 19 ounces for $3.99. now that's our kind of price! and it is already cooked, so you simultaneously save money and eliminate the need to worry and fret about cooking it all the way through. and happy times...the imitation meat worked brilliantly. we still have not had real crab cakes, but our tummies are appeased by the deliciousness of the fake crab cakes.

our semi-imitation crab meat.

once I got past that hurdle everything was delightfully straightforward. the crab cakes held together nicely and i was able to squeeze a bunch into the pan, so it only took two rounds to cook them all. i added wild rice to our plates. it was a perfect compliment to the vegetables. and the plate was delish delish delish. the mister and i have enjoyed it for lunch and dinner twice and we keep wanting more.

yummy yummy!!

and the pear cobbler? amazing.

crab cakes with roasted vegetables and tangy butter sauce.

ever since tasting a salmon patty, i have always wanted to try crab cakes, so here we go!!! this recipe comes to us from the folks at "cooking light" magazine. i also posted a recipe for a dessert to satisfy your sweet tooths.

ingredients for crab cakes:

• 1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
• 3/4 teaspoon old bay seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
• 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1 pound  lump crabmeat, drained and shell pieces removed
• 1 1/2 cups panko (japanese breadcrumbs), divided
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• cooking spray

ingredients for roasted vegetables:

• 21 baby carrots (about 12 ounces)
• 5 small red potatoes, quartered (about 8 ounces)
• 4 medium shallots, halved lengthwise
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 8 oounces haricots verts (french green beans), trimmed

ingredients for sauce:

• 2/3 cup chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons shallots, chopped
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons butter

directions:

1. 1. To prepare crab cakes, combine first 7 ingredients in a medium bowl. Gently fold in crabmeat. Gently stir in 3/4 cup panko. Cover and chill 30 minutes.
2. Divide crab mixture into 8 equal portions (about 1/2 cup each); shape each into a 3/4-inch-thick patty. Place remaining 3/4 cup panko in a shallow dish. Working with 1 patty at a time, dredge in panko. Repeat procedure with the remaining patties and panko.
3. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat both sides of crab cakes with cooking spray. Add 4 crab cakes to pan; cook 7 minutes. Carefully turn cakes over; cook 7 minutes or until golden. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil, cooking spray, and remaining 4 crab cakes.
4. Preheat oven to 450°.
5. To prepare vegetables, leave root and 1-inch stem on carrots; scrub with a brush. Combine carrots, potatoes, and shallots in a small roasting pan. Coat vegetables with cooking spray; sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Toss. Bake at 450° for 20 minutes, turning once. Coat haricots verts with cooking spray. Add haricots verts to vegetable mixture; toss. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
6. To prepare sauce, combine broth, shallots, and vinegar in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/4 cup (about 4 minutes); remove from heat. Stir in butter. Serve with crab cakes and vegetables.

source: cooking light magazine.

pear pie with streusel topping and caramel sauce.

just the other day the mister was asking me why i do not make pies more often, so i have decided to add a pie to this month's repertoire of recipes. happy baking!!!

bartlett or anjou pears work best in this pie. be sure to purchase firm, slightly under-ripe fruit for this pie since the pears soften and give off juice as they cook.

ingredients for pie:

• 3 ounces all-purpose flour, divided (about 2/3 cup)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon  ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 6 medium firm pears, peeled, cored, and cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick wedges
• 1/2 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough
• cooking spray
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces

ingredients for sauce:

• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons water

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. To prepare pie, weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 1 1/2 ounces (about 1/3 cup) flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Add juice and pears to flour mixture; toss gently to coat. Roll dough into an 11-inch circle; fit dough into a 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray. Fold edges under and flute. Arrange pear mixture in an even layer in prepared crust.
3. Combine remaining 1 1/2 ounces (about 1/3 cup) flour and 1/3 cup brown sugar in a bowl. Add 3 tablespoons cold butter to brown sugar mixture; cut in with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle butter mixture evenly over pears. Bake at 375° for 1 hour or until lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack 10 minutes.
4. To prepare sauce, combine 1/3 cup brown sugar, cream, and 2 tablespoons softened butter in a small, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in 2 teaspoons water. Serve at room temperature or slightly warmed with pie.

source: cooking light magazine.

substitution central.

ummmm...may? may? hello? where did you go? somehow or another may slipped right by and we never had a chance to whip up the may recipe. but better late than never, we hunted down the ingredients (sort of) and had a feast tonight and this post is back-dated so it will be sorted into the right month.

larger than life greens.

first there was no swiss chard in our grocery store, but ms. gingkochef had forewarned me that i might not find it. at first i was going to use spinach, but then i decided to go out on a limb and buy turnip greens. not necessarily my brightest moment. the sprayer had just finished dousing all of the greens, so i had to buy a sopping wet bunch. as it turns out, if you want turnip greens you have to buy the farm. yup. the bunch would not fit in the produce bag. and then it covered my hands and the floor and the grocery cart and the checkout stand with leaves. it got smashed when i crammed it into my bike basket, but it was still ginormous. the mister and i have still not decided what to do with the leftover greens.

the other substitution was the quinoa. apparently that is not available in our grocery store. totally unsure of how to deal with this missing ingredient, i opted to make orzo. never made it before and it is a small pasta...in pickel logic that made perfect sense. once again, this was not one of my shining moments. ever try to cook pasta with "just enough" liquid to be absorbed and still be al dente? right. it does not really work. so it was a bit slimy, but once mixed with all the other goodies, it stood its ground and seemed to do the trick of providing a foundation for the dish. i still wish i could have tried quinoa.

anyhow, the meal was complete with not too much craziness. it is actually a relatively simple recipe to put together, except that i have zero confidence in my ability to cook fish. but i did. and then we got to the hard part...neither of us is a big fish person, but we both ate it. the mister liked it. i did not. we both liked the mixture of yummies piled up next to the fish, but unless it is fish sticks, i think i am going to leave the fish cooking to the restaurants.

thanks for the recipe ms. gingkochef!!!!! :)

A Picture for Inspiration

They say a picture says a thousand words. Enjoy!

May Dinner - Champagne Salmon with Swiss Chard Quinoa

Hello ladies...

Where does the time go? I can't believe that it is already May, particularly because I never made April's meal. Hopefully we will be able to catch up. But, here is a recipe I have been wanting to make. I am not usually a big chard nor quinoa eater, so here goes. Also, I really like this blog's recipes. Happy cooking and eating!

Champagne Salmon with Swiss Chard Quinoa
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
2/3 cup quinoa
1 1/3 cups chicken stock
1 bottle sweet champagne
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 dried bay leaf
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 salmon filets (ours were 7 ounces each)
1/3 cup pine nuts
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 bunch Swiss chard, stem removed and coarsely chopped (2 packed cups)
1/3 cup golden raisins
Juice of half a lemon

Directions:
Place quinoa and chicken stock in a stockpot over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, place a lid on the pot, and simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until all water is absorbed.

Place champagne, vinegar, bay leaf, and 1 teaspoon salt in a stockpot over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and bring liquid to a simmer. Place salmon filets in the pot and simmer for 10 minutes or until salmon is cooked through.

Meanwhile, place pine nuts in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, or until toasted. Remove pine nuts from the skillet and pour in olive oil. Sauté red onion for 5 to 7 minutes or until tender; add garlic and sauté one additional minute. Stir in Swiss chard and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes or until wilted.

Place cooked quinoa in a large bowl and stir in cooked Swiss chard, pine nuts, raisins, lemon juice, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Serve poached salmon over quinoa. Makes 3 servings.

Nutrition: 684 calories, 30.1g fat, 7.0g fiber, 50.0g protein per serving
Cost: $5.54 per serving (not counting the champagne)

stupendous bo ssam.

okay, so i am not gonna lie..this recipe was daunting. first, the sheer quantity of meat. second, the overnight rest and six hours of cooking. third, where to procure kimchi? but all of these hurdles were easily overcome. at the end of the video, dude definitely says “it was six dollars for a four pound shoulder,” so i made the executive decision that this family was gonna use a four pound hunk of pork. done. the cooking time, while a bit unnerving is not that bad. after all, you only have to visit with the oven once every hour, so you can work on something else (like sewing a quilt) while you wait. finally, after reading the recipe countless times, it finally sunk in that the kimchi is used as a condiment…if it is missing, the meal will still go on.

the shopping list. naturally you have to gather the ingredients for the main recipe, but it must also be noted that this recipe calls for two sauces, which you need to make. like the kimchi, these are condiments, so you can probably buy something similar, but they are DELICIOUS and easy to make yourself. check out this bo ssam sauces post for the ingredients and instructions. i have to admit that i was not motivated to go on a kimchi hunt and it was not at our store, so we went without. the hunk of meat was readily available in the regular grocery store. i bought a half shoulder, because four pounds seems much more manageable. also i could not find bibb or butter lettuce, but luckily discovered that this is also called boston lettuce, which was plentiful. 

the cooking. so you wanna know how it went? weeeellll..it was definitely an interesting adventure. my plans went a bit astray on cook day, so i did not get started until 7:0opm, which meant the cooking continued until almost 2:00am. agg. the pork did not seem to give off a lot of juices, so i was “basting” with bits of blackened goo that were collecting in one corner of the pan. with about an hour to go i made the sauces and rice. relatively uneventful. carmelizing the sugar was a bit disastrous, because the drippings started burning and smoke was pouring out of the oven. yikes. but at 2 o’clock in the morning, after charbroiling our roasting pan and smoking up the entire house, the mister and i took our first bite of bo ssam. words cannot express the deliciousness. sooooooo goooooood. we had seconds. at 2:30am. on a school night. ridiculously scrumptious. ate it cold at lunch today. a. m. a. z. i. n. g.

bo ssam sauces and rice.

you might have noticed that the bo ssam recipe asks for 1 cup of a ginger-scallion sauce and 1 cup of a jalapeño-garlic sauce, but there are no instructions. luckily the sauce creation is in the video. since i already went through the video to unearth the ingredients and directions, i thought i would share to save y’all that step. also the rice is prepared similar to sushi rice, so I have included the instructions for that as well.

ginger-scallion sauce. combine ingredients and stir.

½ cup scallions, chopped

1 large pinch of salt

fresh black pepper

1 tsp soy sauce

a few shakes of vinegar

¼ cup neutral oil (example: grapeseed oil)

1 piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped (about a thumb-size piece)

jalapeño-garlic sauce. combine ingredients (except oil) in blender. start blender and slowly drizzle in oil.

2 jalapeños, roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed and roughly chopped

salt

pepper

dash of soy sauce

dash vinegar

neutral oil (an oil with a neutral taste, for example: grapeseed oil)

rice. rinse rice in cool water. bring rice and water to a boil. cover and simmer on low for 20 minutes. dissolve sugar in rice wine vinegar. mix into rice.

1 cup short grain rice (example: sushi rice)

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 ¼ cups water

Bo Ssam

I happened across this amazing website a few months ago, and have been wanting to try this ever since. Yes, it is a lot of meat. And you have to start the preparations the day before you want to eat it (so it can marinate over night). But it looks so very tasty and delicious. And isn't the video lovely?

Ingredients

• 1 (8- to 10-pound) bone-in pork shoulder or pork butt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon coarse salt
• 7 tablespoons light-brown sugar
• 1 cup Napa Cabbage Kimchi, for serving
• 1 cup Napa Cabbage Kimchi, pureed, for serving
• 1 cup Ginger-Scallion Sauce, for serving
• 1 cup Jalapeño-Garlic sauce, for serving
• 2 cups steamed short-grain white rice, for serving
• 3 to 4 heads Bibb lettuce, leaves separated, washed well, and spun dry

Directions

-Place pork in a large bowl or roasting pan.

-In a medium bowl, mix together granulated sugar and 1 cup coarse salt. Rub sugar mixture all over pork and cover bowl with plastic wrap; transfer to refrigerator for at least 6 hours and up to overnight.
-Preheat oven to 300ºF.
-Transfer pork to a large roasting pan, discarding any accumulated juices (or drain accumulated juices from roasting pan that pork is in). Transfer roasting pan to oven and cook, basting every hour with rendered fat in roasting pan, until meat is tender and easily shredded with a fork, about 6 hours.
-Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together remaining tablespoon coarse salt and brown sugar; rub mixture all over pork.
-Increase oven temperature to 500ºF. Return pork to oven until sugar has melted into a crisp crust, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve hot with kimchis, ginger-scallion sauce, jalapeño-garlic sauce, rice, and lettuce.

From: Working Class Foodies http://www.hungrynation.tv/wcfoodies

A Real Keeper

I can't wait to make this for my man. I can even see it being added to our repertoire of meals to serve to guests.
Polenta is not something I usually make and I picked up precooked polenta at Trader Joes, so I wasn't sure how it would work with this recipe. It was too firm to stir in the rosemary, but worked well just by sprinkling it on top.
Little things I did differently than the recipe were instead of a frying pan, I used a dutch oven. I knew that would work well in the oven and I wasn't as sure with my frying pans. Then when folding the chicken over, I used toothpicks to keep it in the taco shape.
This is so much fun!

stuffed yummity yum yum.

yummeeeeeeeeeeee yum yum yum.

 

i made this delight for the mister and i this evening. in theory this should have been a simple affair...make a shopping list and then follow the recipe. but in my world, nothing is ever simple. first i had the brilliant plan to make an apple pie to end the meal. then i thought i would use fresh chicken breasts instead of the ones in our freezer, which was quickly followed by the inspiration to buy the breasts with the bones, because i thought "oh sure, no problem, i can take out the bone" (note the singular form of "bone"). finally, i convinced the hubby that he need only eat a little snack, because "dinner will be ready soon." oh dear, oh dear.

i started with the apple pie, because after baking, the recipe said that before we eat it we should let it rest for two hours. oooookay. done. then i got started on the chicken. i am not sure what gave me the mistaken impression that chicken breasts have a single bone. they don't. they have an entire effing rib cage! whaaaat? egads. plan b. put those boney breasts back in the fridge and thaw out some frozen BONELESS breasts. done. and then we come to the part of the recipe where you have to butterfly the chicken. ummm...let's just say that i am not adept at butterflying chicken. but somehow i got some things resembling stuffed chicken into a frying pan and baking in the oven. done. so the plates are looking all pretty and i moved the frying pan out of my way.....EGADS!!! burnt the hand. ow. ow. ow. ow. the frying pan was fresh outta the oven and i forgot.

needless to say, i ate dinner while clutching ice cubes. but it was amazing. oh, except for the part where the mister declared that he does not like polenta. not at all. this is the second time i have made it for him, but this time it was made with water, so i thought maybe he would like it plain. nope. no such luck. anyhow, he and i loved loved LOVED the chicken. and the apple pie was rather tasty too.


GREAT CHOICE CHEF V!!

YUMMEE POLENTA!

This was absolutely scrumptious!

We skipped the mushrooms to be sure that Todd didn't go into anaphylactic shock (pesky allergy), and used parmesan instead of fontina because I brilliantly forgot all about the fontina when we were out shopping. Ohh, and I accidently bought chicken tenders instead of chicken breasts... but despite all this it all worked out. And it is definitely a keeper! Thank you Chef V.!

Stuffed Chicken with Rosemary Polenta

Ok ladies, sorry I missed the first delectible meal....I was out of town :( Newport OR to be exact.

So here is the next month's official recipe. Stuffed Chicken with Rosemary Polenta-from Sunset magazine (Nickel-I know you don't like rosemary so you may want to try leaving out the spice or add a little thyme or marjarom instead)

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 yellow onion, sliced
4 ounces sliced mushrooms
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
5 ounces baby spinach
1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
4 boned, skinned chicken breast halves (8 oz. each)
4 slices (4 oz. total) Italian fontina cheese
1 cup polenta
2 tablespoons butter, cubed
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 400°. Heat 1 tbsp. oil in a large ovenproof frying pan over high heat. Add onion, mushrooms, and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened and starting to brown, 4 minutes. Add lemon juice, spinach, and 1/4 tsp. salt; cook until slightly wilted, 4 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl.

2. Bring 4 cups water and 1/2 tsp. salt to a boil. Cover; turn off heat. Meanwhile, cut chicken breast from the side, stopping halfway through; unfold to lay flat. Place each between 2 pieces plastic wrap and, with a mallet or small saucepan, pound until 1/4 to 1/2 in. thick.

3. In frying pan, cook chicken in 2 batches, 1 tbsp. oil per batch, until brown on 1 side. Sprinkle each with 1/4 tsp. salt and transfer, uncooked side up, to a cutting board. Scoop 1/4 cup spinach mixture onto half of each breast, then top with a cheese slice. Fold chicken over filling like a taco shell; press to close.

4. Return chicken to pan (with juices) and bake until cooked through and cheese is melted, 10 minutes. Let sit 5 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, return water to a boil. Add polenta and cook, stirring constantly, until softened, 10 minutes. Stir in butter and rosemary. Divide polenta among 4 plates and top each with a chicken breast. Spoon broth over chicken.

6. EAT and hopefully say YUMMMM!

cranberry scones.

greetings darling lasses. only one week until our second official recipe. super exciting!! our first foray into our cooking club was gads of fun and i cannot wait to see what we are making next. while we wait i thought i would share a yummy recipe that the mister and i love. cranberry scones. yummmmmmeeee! we found this recipe in parade magazine, made a couple of adjustments, and voila....super easy and super delish breakfast treats. happy baking.

Ingredients

• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 Tbsp cold butter, cut into bits
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1 tsp raw sugar (optional)
  

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Whisk the egg and milk together in one bowl and the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in another.

Drop the butter into the flour and, using your fingers (I use a pastry cutter), cut and rub until the mixture is pebbly. Pour in the milk and egg. Mix with a fork until the dough is evenly moist. Add the cranberries and give the very sticky dough a few more stirs.

Turn the sticky dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough comes together into a ball. Gently pat the dough down and/or roll until a squarish shape that is about 1/2" thick (you can make this up to 3/4" thick depending on your preferences). With a sharp knife cut the dough square into 2" or 3" strips.

Cut these strips into rectangles and then cut the rectangles diagonally to make triangles (if the edges of your "square" are slightly rounded, do the best you can to come up with pieces resembling triangles). The recipe yields about 24 triangle scone bites.

Transfer the triangles onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet (I use a  silicon baking mat instead of the paper). These little ladies will rise up, but will not spread out so you can  put a bunch on one sheet (I put 12 on each sheet). Sprinkle the top of each scone with some raw sugar to create a crunchy top. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 22 minutes, or until the scones are golden brown. Cool for a few minutes. Serve warm and ENJOY!!!

*recipe is a variation of the Raisin Scones recipe from Parade Magazine
*inspiration for triangle shape came from watching Paula Deen make Sour Cream Scones on Food Network

Empanada Night at Chez Brooklyn

So sometime last fall, Mr T and I went to Williams-Sonoma to use some of the gift cards we had gotten for our wedding. We had a few dollars left on one of the cards, and Mr T spied this lovely little heart-shaped pie mold:

Clearly, this was a kitchen item we could not live without! Okay, so maybe we could mostly live without it -- after we got it home, it stayed, sadly unused, in its little box.

That is, until... empanada night!

The verdict: Yum!

In retrospect, it probably would have been a good idea if Mr. T & I had made a salad or something otherwise healthy and green to go along with these cheesy little wonders.

Ahh well.

Ginkochef, we did have a lot of filling left over, too:

We're thinking quesadillas later this week. How did you use your leftover filling?

We also have quite a few that we made but didn't cook-- we are going to try freezing these, uncooked, so we can just pop them in the oven for a tasty little treat when the fancy strikes.

Thanks, Pickel, for a delightful kitchen adventure!

chicken empanadas.

since this is our first go-round with our grub club, i thought i would stick with a single dish. the mister and i watched paula deen make these on the food network last week. they looked yummy and i wanted to try them...so here goes nothing.

Ingredients

• 3 cups chopped, cooked chicken
• 1 (8-ounce) package shredded Colby and Monterey Jack cheese blend
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie crusts
• Water

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Lightly grease a baking sheet. In a large bowl, combine the chicken and next 7 ingredients. Unroll 1 piecrust onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 15-inch circle. Cut out rounds, using a 3-inch cookie cutter. Re-roll dough as needed. Repeat procedure with remaining piecrusts, making 12 to 15 circles total. Arrange 1 round on a clean, flat surface. Lightly brush the edges of crust with water. Place 1 heaping teaspoon of chicken mixture in the center of the round. Fold the dough over the filling, pressing the edges with a fork to seal. Repeat with the remaining rounds and chicken mixture. (Up to this point, the recipe can be made ahead and frozen for up to 1 month). Arrange empanadas on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.

recipe and photo from Paula Deen on Food Network

club etiquette.

1. each month one lass will determine the month's recipe selection and post it on the first day of the month.
2. to maintain peak levels of amusement, the chosen recipe should be untested but intriguing (explanations describing the selection process are welcome).
3. when making a recipe selection, keep in mind that each kitchen is uniquely equipped and it is best to avoid recipes that require specialized machinery (stand mixer, ice cream maker, food processor, etcetera).
4. all lasses or their fellows or a combination thereof should cook and consume the recipe by the fifteenth day of the month.
5. the remainder of the month will be available for discussion and the hope is that we shall have fabulous feasts followed by delightful discourse.

a few extra notes:

1. put the name of the recipe as the title of the post - this will make it easier to find in the future.
2. please be sure to give credit wherever credit is due - feel free to provide links if the recipe is available online.
3. have a recipe you wanna share just because? share away!! other recipes are always welcome - but only one recipe (or meal) will be "the chosen" for the month.

welcome.

welcome welcome to our club dedicated to selecting, cooking, eating, and discussing new recipes. we are going to have a monthly "dinner date." one of us will pick a recipe that we've never before tried and all of us will make it. then we can talk about it. just like a book club, except we'll be a-cookin! here's the tidbits...

the first day of the month the recipe-selector for that month will post a new recipe. then we will all cook it. and then we can chat about it. this plan could be a flop or it could be fabulous. one thing we know is that it will be a feast! so get your cooking hats ready, because on february 1st your first recipe will be awaiting.

are you ready? get set!! cook!