I realize it’s been two whole months since I posted a recipe so am way overdue. I made this delicious meal last month, and it’s super easy to put together. I cooked the chicken on top of the stove, but you can definitely use the grill if that’s your preference.
Ingredients
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
3 tbsp. honey
2 tsp. chile paste (like Sambal Oelek)
Directions
Preheat burner to high.
Using 2 tbsp. olive oil, cook chicken for 4-5 minutes without moving them, then turn over and finish cooking on the other side.
Transfer chicken to a small plate or bowl and set aside.
Combine vinegar, soy sauce, honey and chile paste in small saucepan. Stirring with a whisk, bring to a boil, and continue cooking for four minutes or until reduced to 1/3 cup.
Pour sauce over chicken, as much or little as desired.
Sweet and Spicy Broccoli
Ingredients
12 oz. package of broccoli
2 tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tbsp. dark sesame oil
2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
Directions
Cook broccoli using your favorite method. (I prefer to steam)
Combine all ingredients (except broccoli) in a small bowl, stir well and drizzle over broccoli.
I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July with your family and/or friends, and you got to indulge in some really good eats! I came across this recipe yesterday, and it looked so good, I just had to make it. I tweaked it just slightly to suit my taste, and it came out incredibly delicious!
Ingredients
1/2 cup water
1 tsp. ground cumin
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 (7-oz.) can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 cup canned tomato puree*
1/4 cup cider vinegar
3 tbsp. honey
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 sandwich rolls
1-2 slices Swiss cheese (or you favorite kind)
Directions
Combine water, 1 tsp. cumin, 4 sliced garlic cloves, and chicken in a large saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook 10 minutes or until chicken is done. Drain, and place chicken on a cutting board. Cut chicken across grain into thin slices; keep warm.
Remove 1 tbsp. adobo sauce from can; set aside. Remove 1 chipotle chile from can; remove seeds, finely chop and set aside. Reserve remaining chiles and adobo sauce for another use. (If you want more heat, remove 2 tbsp. adobo sauce and use 2 chiles.)
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tbsp. minced garlic; sauté 3 minutes or until just beginning to brown. Add 1 tsp. cumin; sauté 1 minute. Stir in tomato puree; cook 4 minutes or until mixture thickens to a paste-like consistency, stirring constantly. Stir in reserved 1 tbsp. adobo sauce, 1 chopped chipotle chile, vinegar, honey, Worcestershire, and 1/8 tsp. salt. Add sliced chicken to sauce; simmer for 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
Preheat broiler.
Split rolls in half; arrange in a single layer, cut sides up, on a baking sheet. Broil 1 minute or until lightly toasted. Remove top halves of rolls from baking sheet. Divide chicken mixture evenly among bottom halves of rolls, and top chicken mixture evenly with cheese. Broil chicken-topped rolls 2 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven, top with roll halves and serve immediately.
* A substitution for tomato puree is to use 2 tbsp. of tomato paste mixed with 1/2 cup water.
I fully realize this is my third recipe for boneless beef ribs, but figure everyone can use another great and easy crock pot recipe, right? This literally takes about ten minutes to throw everything together prior to cooking. The sauce is just slightly different from my other recipes, but equally as delicious. You can use your favorite barbecue sauce, but I think homemade is always better. A lot of people like searing their ribs prior to cooking them (including me) as it gives a nice, caramelized crust, but it’s not a “must-do”. I’ve including the instructions on how to do that, but feel free to skip it if you desire.
Ingredients
2 lbs. Chuck boneless beef short ribs
1/2 cup ketchup
3 oz. (half can) tomato paste
6 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. honey
1 tbsp. molasses
1/2 tsp. cayenne
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 cup chopped onion (or 1 tsp. onion powder)
1 tsp. Kosher salt
2 tbsp. olive oil (if searing the ribs)
Directions
Heat 2 tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat
Season ribs with salt & pepper, and sear on both sides until lightly browned.
Mix all ingredients in crock pot until brown sugar & salt are dissolved.
Add ribs & stir to coat. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours or high for 4.
On a recent episode of The Chew, Daphne Oz and Mario Batali had a chicken wing cook-off, and after seeing Daphne’s ingredients (and that hers were baked), I had to try them right away. Needless to say, they did not disappoint. I love the fact that the marinade on these babies caramelize while baking, which makes them a bit crispy. Oh, and the dipping sauce… yummy!!! Since I’m a huge fan of anything sweet, the sauce was perfect for me, but if you’d like it with a little more twang, reduce the half cup of honey by a couple of tablespoons (1/2 cup = 8 tablespoons).
Ingredients
For the Wings:
2 dozen chicken drumettes
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/2 cup honey
2 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves (minced)
Salt and pepper to taste
For the Dipping Sauce:
1 tbsp. sambal chili paste
1/2 cup Honey
2 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. grated ginger
Directions
Combine all the ingredients for the drumettes in a bowl and toss the wings to coat.
Place in the refrigerator and marinate a minimum of two hours and preferably over night.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Remove drumettes from the marinade and season with salt and pepper.
Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and arrange the drumettes so they are not touching. Brush generously with the leftover marinade.
Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes, or until deep golden brown, rotating the tray half way through and flipping the wings over.
While chicken is baking, combine all of the dipping ingredients and whisk together.
I came across this recipe a while ago, and bookmarked it to try another time. I was at the store over the weekend, and saw a bag of pistachios, which immediately brought my memory back to this dish. However, I highly recommend you buy pistachios already shelled as it took me a bit of time to crack open each pistachio to get a cup worth’s of nuts. And that way… you won’t get disappointed when you come across those shells that are not cracked at all and can’t be opened. Another recommendation I have is to butterfly/split/cut the chicken breasts in half, or you could use chicken tenders. I find the chicken is more tender when they’re a little thinner, and quite frankly, I just prefer them that way. In a nutshell (no pun intended), I found the combination of the herb mustard mixture combined with the pistachio-panko crust was simply divine! Oh, and when paired with the mustard cream sauce… WOW!!!
Ingredients
1 cup shelled raw pistachios (about 4 ounces)
1/2 cup Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
4 tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 tbsp. light mayonnaise
1 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil (or 2 tsp. dried)
1 tbsp. chopped fresh dill (or 1 tsp. dried)
1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves, butterflied
UPDATE: My expert Nordstrom Cafe taste-tester friend came over to my office yesterday to try out the dressing, and after she paused for a minute, I knew something wasn’t right with the vinaigrette . She said it was still very good, but not THE dressing. So, it was back to the drawing board. I did another search last night, and came across a recipe that credited the Nordstrom’s cookbook as the original source. I was fairly confident this was the one, but decided to wait since I was having lunch there today with my friend. We both ordered the same item as mentioned below, so I got to taste the dressing. Yep, it was different. I also decided to purchase the cookbook to be absolutely sure I had the correct recipe 🙂 Both recipes do have all of the same ingredients, but in different quantities. I’ve noted the changes below, with the correct measurements in bold. I just made this again using the updated, official recipe from Nordstrom’s cookbook, and am thrilled to report that this is the real deal and tastes exactly like what is served in the restaurant!
A few months ago, my good friend, Danette, invited me to join her and some other coworkers for lunch at Cafe Nordstrom. My first thought was, whaaaaat… they have a restaurant? Being that I’m a HUGE fan of Nordstrom’s, of course I was going to try it out. We went to the one in the South Bay Galleria mall in Redondo Beach, which ironically, is pretty close to where I live. The way the cafe operates is you place your order and pay at the front counter, sit down at a table of your choice, then a server brings your meal, beverage, etc., and continues to wait on you. It’s pretty cool, in my opinion. Okay, moving on to the food. I ordered their California Grill sandwich, which consists of roast turkey, tomato, bacon, swiss cheese, avocado, and garlic aïoli, on grilled sourdough bread (SO GOOD) and a side salad with… cilantro lime vinaigrette. My friend told me the dressing was amazing and addicting, and she was spot on! So of course, I was on a mission to find the recipe, and after just a little research, I did. Happy happy, joy joy!
The First Attempt
Ingredients
1/41/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar
2 tsp.1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp.2 tsp. chipotle purée *
32 tbsp. honey
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 big bunch1 cup cilantro, roughly chopped, most stems removed (I used approx. a little over a cup)stems & leaves
3/4 cup canola oil
* Making the chipolte purée is super simple. I purchased a can of La Costena chipolte peppers in adobo sauce (pictured below), and simply put the contents of the can in a food processor (can use a blender), and voila, you have purée! You can also buy the purée already made, which comes in a jar.
Directions
In a blender or food processor, combine lime juice, rice wine vinegar, garlic, purée, honey, and salt. Blend together well until thoroughly processed and smooth.
With the machine running, gradually add the oil in a thin steady stream to form an emulsion. (I found this difficult using my blender as it splattered a bit, so I added a little oil at a time, pulsed, then repeated until the oil was gone)
Add the cilantro, and pulse or process to combine.
Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Refrigerate until you are ready to serve. Whisk well before tossing the dressing with the salad.
Hope everyone had a happy and safe 4th of July holiday! I went to an amazing party with out-of-this-world food, and zoned in on a goat cheese appetizer that was insanely delicious… which I made a significant dent in since I wholeheartedly love the combination of goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and balsamic vinegar!!! Fortunately, I had the pleasure of meeting the lovely woman, Alicia, who brought the dish and quite ironically, after I attempted to recreate it last night, she contacted me on here. So I now have THE recipe for this incredible appetizer, which she kindly shared with me. She’s also a blogger, so check out her site by clicking on her name or going to my Blogs I Like page, and clicking on What Manhattan Beach Needs Is link.
Enjoy!
Shown here with roasted pecans.
Ingredients
8-10 oz. goat cheese log
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
4 tbsp. honey
5 whole sun-dried tomatoes, diced
3 fresh basil leaves, chopped finely
Roasted pine nuts
Directions
Place goat cheese in a bowl, set aside.
In a separate bowl, add balsamic and honey, and warm in microwave just enough to stir.
Add sun-dried tomatoes and basil to balsamic mixture.
Pour over cheese and top with pine nuts.
Marinate for about an hour. *
Serve with crackers (I like Trader Joe’s sesame thins) or thinly sliced bread.
* If you marinate in the fridge, make sure to let stand at room temperature for approximately 30 minutes.
I discovered this recipe last summer and totally fell in love with it, and just realized that I didn’t post it on here. My bad. The combination of the spices with the cider vinegar and honey, makes this both a sweet and spicy dish, which I just can’t seem to get enough of.
Yields: 4 servings
Ingredients
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. ground red pepper
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
Cooking spray
6 tbsp. honey
2 tsp. cider vinegar
Directions
Preheat broiler.
Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken to bowl; toss to coat.
Place chicken on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray.
Broil chicken 5 minutes on each side.
Combine honey and vinegar in a small bowl, stirring well.
Remove chicken from oven; brush 1/4 cup honey mixture on chicken. Broil 1 minute.
Remove chicken from oven and turn over. Brush chicken with remaining honey mixture. Broil 1 additional minute or until chicken is done.
Growing up in Upstate New York, Buffalo wings were practically a staple in everyone’s diet. I recall ordering them numerous times, okay, a LOT, while in college, and having them delivered to my dorm. Needless to say, I was amongst the many who gained “the freshman 15”, which then carried over into my sophomore year, as those wings were nowhere close to being in the healthy category. I do still love having wings from time to time, but now choose to have them baked and not fried, thus allowing my conscience to remain at ease. I’m happy to report that this recipe will do the same and is guilt-free.
Ahhhh… brie. I wasn’t always a fan, but now, I sing a different tune and can make a meal out of it (and have). This past Thanksgiving, I hosted dinner at my house, and wanted to have some appetizers for my guests to snack on before the big “event” (aka dinner), and decided to make a brie wrapped in a puff pastry as one of the hors d’oeuvres. It’s quite simple to make and there are so many different variations you can try. For this recipe, I just used cherry Craisins and honey because I was low on time. However, the original recipe I found, called for cherries, rosemary, pecans and honey. I think cranberries would be also be great, as would orange marmalade, but feel free to experiment. Also, if you want to cut down on calories and fat, Président makes a light Brie which is 50% less fat and about 30% less calories than regular Brie.
Ingredients
1 egg
1 tbsp. water
1/3 cup Craisins
1/4 cup honey
1/2 of a 17.3-ounce packagePepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet), thawed
1 (12-ounce) Brie cheese round
Directions
Heat the oven to 400°F. Beat the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork or whisk. Stir the craisins and honey in a small bowl.
Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry sheet into a 14-inch square. Cut off the corners to make a circle.
Spoon the mixture in the center of the circle. Top with the brie.
Brush the edge of the circle with the egg mixture. Fold the pastry up over the cheese to cover. Trim the excess pastry and press to seal. Brush the seam with the egg mixture.
Place seam-side down onto a baking sheet.
Decorate the top with the pastry scraps, if desired.
Brush with the egg mixture.
Bake for 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.
Let stand for 45 minutes – 1 hour. (Very important to let it stand, otherwise all of the cheese will ooze out)
Cooking For Love 
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