Saturday 30 November 2013

Baked Chicken Noodle Casserole

Another one of those cooking recipes that is very easy to do, well-suited for the rush weekdays and lazy weekends, not to mention a chicken recipe that will lift your spirits up, Baked Chicken Noodle Casserole is, perhaps, a member of the healthy chicken recipes that is sent from heaven. 

If you're feeling a bit tired from your work, your relationship, your busy schedule and want to relax and take it easy, this is the perfect recipe for you. It's easy since you just throw in all the ingredients you need and wait for it to cook until it's nice and bubbly. 

Ingredients:
  • 6 oz. whole grain egg noodles
  • 6 tbsp. olive oil
  • 8 oz. (1 can) sliced mushrooms, rinsed and drained
  • 6 tbsp. flour
  • 1 2/3 cup fat-free chicken broth
  • 1 cup skim milk
  • Salt to taste
  • 1/2 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
  • 1 cups chicken tenderloin, cooked and diced
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1/2 cup low-fat grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 2 1/2 – 3 qt. baking dish.
  2. Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain.
  3. While noodles are cooking, heat olive oil over low heat in a large skillet. Add mushrooms and sauté until tender.
  4. Blend in flour and stir until mixture is smooth and bubbly.
  5. Slowly add chicken broth, milk, salt and pepper, stirring constantly until thickened. Stir in chicken, peas and cheese. Add noodles.
  6. Spoon mixture into baking dish. Sprinkle extra cheese over top, if desired. Bake uncovered 20 to 25 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

Thursday 28 November 2013

Quinoa Pudding

Among many cooking recipes, perhaps, quinoa recipes are known to be one of the healthiest. Quinoa is slowly making its way up to the top as one of the most used and flexible ingredient that you can find in a kitchen. Not too shabby, right? 

Well, most people who discovered the healthy benefits of quinoa are substituting it to rice. Like in this certain recipe, unlike the normal rice pudding, we will, today, make a quinoa pudding. 


Quinoa is also packed with nutrients and rich in protein so it is perfect for those who are in a low-carbohydrate diet. The flavor of quinoa is like brown rice, a bit nutty, but with a texture like oatmeal, soft and fluffy. This makes it perfect for making pudding.

I assure you that this recipe will only take about 40 minutes of your time or less. It's a healthy recipe that one must know. 

Ingredients:


  • ¾ cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
  • 1 ½ cups water
  • 2 cups milk
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • 2 medium ripe bananas
  • Salt to taste
  • ½ teaspoon butter
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Procedure:


  1. In a saucepan, combine water and cleaned quinoa. Boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium low, cover saucepan and continue simmering about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
  2. Combine together the milk, brown sugar, bananas and salt, blend using a blender or a food processor until smooth. Then pour in milk mixture in the saucepan with quinoa. 
  3. Put saucepan back over medium heat. Continue cooking, 5-15 minutes or until mixture thickens and becomes creamy, stirring occasionally. When done, remove from heat, blend in butter and vanilla extract. Serve warm.

Wednesday 27 November 2013

Chicken and Salmon Satays Recipe

Today, we will be uncovering this amazing salmon and chicken recipe (with salmon). Do know that this certain recipe requires: (1) marinade; (2) cutting and skewering the salmon and chicken; and (3) grilling. 


For this certain recipe, I will discuss it in parts.  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MARINADE
Ingredients/Utensils
  • Cutting board
  • Sharp knife
  • Grill
  • Chicken
  • Salmon
  • Sesame oil
  • soy sauce
  • Lemon juice
  • rice wine vinegar
  • garlic
  • olive oil
  • salt
  • cilantro

Preparation Instructions
  1. Go over to the marinade bowl.
  2. Put 2 tablespoons of Soy sauce and lemon juice, and then 1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar.
  3. Take the olive oil and drizzle it into the base, whisking the mix as you do.
  4. Take the tip off of the garlic and then finely chop it. Then add salt to it.
  5. Mash the garlic down with your knife.
  6. Put the garlic paste into the marinade.
  7. Divide the marinade into two with another bowl.

For Chicken

  1. Go back to the chicken and cut from an angle on the chicken evenly, slightly thick bite size pieces.
  2. Place these slices into the marinade and mix them in.
  3. Take a little cilantro and pull it into pieces on top of the chicken.
For Salmon
  1. Take the belly flap off of the salmon.
  2. Then cut the salmon into a filet shape. This will define its desired length. Then continue cutting it into bit sized pieces.
  3. Put the salmon into the second bowl of marinade and pull apart some cilantro above it, putting the pieces on it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SKEWER & GRILLING
Ingredients/Utensils
  • Cutting board
  • Sharp knife
  • Grill
  • Aluminum Foil
  • Skewers
  • Baking Pan
  • Pre-marinated Chicken
  • Pre-marinated Salmon
Preparation Instructions
  1. Take the skewer and push them to the tip of the meat but don't break through.
  2. Lay foil down the edge of the grill and then turn on the grill on a temperature of your choosing, the lower the more cooked it will be and the higher the faster the grill marks will appear. Take the foil and fold it to the length of the skewer.
  3. Lay the wood part of the skewer over the foil with the meat on the grill.
  4. Once they have the grill mark on both sides they are ready to go on a baking pan.
  5. Place them apart from each other on the baking pan.
  6. Place them in the oven and keep an eye on them. The salmon will take about a minute but the chicken will take 2-3 minutes. Cook according to what the eye thinks is good as most of the cooking was done on the grill.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DISHING OUT
Ingredients/Utensils
  • Strawberry or olive Platter
  • Skewers
  • Snack bowl of your choosing
  • Martini Glass
  • Pre-cooked Pre-skewered Pre-marinated Chicken
  • Pre-cooked Pre-skewered Pre-marinated Salmon
  • Thai Chili Glaze
  • Basil
  • Lemon
  • Flat Leaf Parsley
Preparation Instructions
  1. Layer the Salmon skewers in the strawberry platter.
  2. Place the Chicken skewers into a snack bowl in which the wooden ends stick outwards for easy grabbing.
  3. Take a little flat leaf parsley to one of the the edges of the bowl and place where you feel it is right.
  4. You can take a lemon twist and put it on top of this. Take a lemon and slice off a round piece that's thin. Cut about halfway in and twist it to make a lemon twist.
  5. Take a little basil and set it at one of the ends.

For dip dish
Take a martini glass and pour some Thai chili glaze in it.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday 26 November 2013

Napkin folding for a romantic dinner

Planning a romantic dinner date? Why not do it in your own backyard or perhaps in your own dining room?  Now that's done and okay. What about your food? Have you chosen the perfect cooking recipes for your loved one? And don't buy takeout! That's cheating! Make sure that you prepared yourself that ambrosia! So, done with food, right? What about the nectar? Of course, do remember that you must match your ambrosia to a nectar. The Greek gods and goddesses wouldn't have lived without those combination. Make sure that your love must feel like a Greek god/goddess for this special evening. What about the table setting? Did you set out your special plate? The one you bought specifically for this night or those lovely pieces your grandmother bestowed upon you. Now that's all and done, what about your napkins? Why, of course, napkins are an essential part of a table setting!

Napkins to a table setting is compared as the perfect necklace to a woman's elegant gown. It makes the whole romantic dinner perfect. It's the accessory to it. But do make sure that when you do napkin folding, it won't outshine your own homemade gourmet meal. 
The *most* common technique (and perhaps cliche and expected) in napkin folding for a romantic dinner is shaping them into hearts and flowers. Red as a color scheme is also not unusual for this sort of events. Nowadays, any color combination if properly executed can evoke romance – off white and beige, pink and magenta or even black and white. The table linen, centerpieces,  china, flatware, glassware and other secondary elements to a meal should go together. 
There are some extra efforts to be undertaken to successfully translate this concept into a romantic table setting and not look cheap. Using dainty vintage cotton or linen napkins (as long as they’re intact and not falling apart) rather than store bought polyester blends may in itself already evoke some element of class and romance especially if the theme is carried throughout the china, glassware and of course the food served.
Now that I have imparted my knowledge on you, I wish you luck on your romantic dinner date with your special someone.  I wish that Eros and Aphrodite guide you in showing your love the best night of his/her life. 

Monday 25 November 2013

Organic Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Healthy chicken recipes are really hard to find. There's always that unending question, "But wouldn't it be bland if I remove the chicken skin or if I only cook the chicken breasts?" If you don't play your cards right, then it will definitely bland and who would like to eat a dry, bland meal? I'm pretty sure you don't. 

But you don't necessarily need to sacrifice your diet just to have a very tasty meal. So, as a help, here is one of the cooking recipes that I came across that will definitely help our fellow brethren that are undergoing a diet but still want to satisfy and please their taste buds: Organic Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts.  

One of the common problems in cooking chicken breasts is that it dries out easily, there is a high chance it will be bland as it consists white meat. But in this certain chicken recipe, we will solve that problem. By stuffing it with spinach, cheese, aromatic spices, this bland boring meal turns to a gourmet that both adult and children will love!

To ensure that chicken breasts are moist and tender, moist and tender, rub it with an ample amount of healthy oil like olive oil. 


Are you ready to uncover this recipe? Ready your cooking skills and let's get cooking!


Ingredients:
  • 2 pkg. (10 oz. each) frozen chopped organic spinach, thawed
  • 1 cup shredded low-fat organic Swiss cheese
  • 3/4 cup low-fat organic ricotta cheese
  • 1/3 cup grated low-fat organic Parmesan cheese
  • 1 clove organic garlic, minced
  • 3 tbsp. organic white onion, finely chopped
  • 1/2 tsp. course ground black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
  • 6 boneless, organic skinless chicken breasts
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 tsp. paprika
  • 1/2 tsp. organic dried thyme
  • 1/2 tsp. organic dried oregano
Preparation Instructions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 15 X 10-inch baking pan by lightly greasing or spraying lightly with cooking spray.
  2. Squeeze moisture from spinach. Put in a large bowl, along with the cheeses, garlic, onion, pepper and nutmeg. Stir to combine.
  3. Cut a slit lengthwise through the center of each chicken breast to form a pocket. Stuff each chicken breast with the spinach mixture. Place chicken pieces in baking pan.
  4. In a small bowl, combine oil and remaining spices. Brush mixture over chicken breasts.
  5. Bake, uncovered, 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, or until meat is cooked through.
Enjoy your originally bland chicken meal turned into a gourmet meal!