Chicken and Mushrooms in Tomato Sauce

Creating a simple recipe by using most of the ingredients already on hand is a good way to enjoy easily-prepared, healthy meals every day. That has been my primary purpose to encourage people to start cooking more at home.

Ingredients:
1 skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
5 oz white button mushrooms, thickly sliced
1/4 cup white wine
1 small white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt or more to taste
1 tbs tomato paste
1 fresh tomato, finely chopped
Fresh chives, cilantro, or green onions chopped

Directions:
Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add white onions and cook, stirring for 5 minutes until the onions are softened but not brown. Add garlic and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Add chili powder, coriander, and cumin. Cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add chicken, mushrooms, and tomato paste and stir until all the ingredients are blended. Add white wine and fresh, chopped tomato. Season with salt and black pepper. Turn heat down and simmer until sauce is thickened (about 10 minutes). Transfer to a serving dish, sprinkle with chives, cilantro, or green onions on top, and serve immediately.

Fish and Homemade Tomato Soup

In less than 30 minutes, this hearty seafood soup will be served. Canned tomato soup can be used if fresh tomatoes are not available.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb of fish, such as tilapia, cod, or catfish, cut into chunks
2 large tomatoes, blend in the Vitamix
2 cups chicken broth
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, roughly chopped
1/2 cup white onions, chopped
1 cup white wine
2 tbs oil
Fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper
Green onions, chopped

Directions:
In a 5 quart soup pot over medium-high heat, add oil and then cook the garlic, onions, celery, and parsley for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, mushrooms, broth, and white wine. Bring to boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Add fish and cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into a serving bowl. Sprinkle with chopped green onions.

Stir-Fried Chicken and Green Peppers

Stir-fried dishes first need a good stir-fry sauce. Bottled stir-fried sauce with a good name is good but expensive, but most of the ingredients in the sauce are very easy to make at home. For a more complicated sauce, most cooks have to make a trip to an Asian grocery to buy more authentic ingredients, such as hoisin sauce, oyster, fermented black bean paste, etc. However, simply using soy sauce, sesame oil, dry sherry, and wine vinegar will easily create a simple stir-fried sauce. The rest of the dishes are up to each cook who uses  his or her own taste to add on the vegetables and the protein that is needed. Also, ginger and garlic are common spices used to give a stir-fry sauce an Asian flair. I sometimes add these spices at the beginning to flavor the meat, but these spices can be used just before adding the sauce, as well. To make a good stir-fried dish, the stir-fried sauce should not be cooked too long. Therefore, stir-fried dishes are quick and easy to put together for dinner.

Ingredients:
1 skinless, boneless chicken breast, shredded
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp cooking wine
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tbs oil
Sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbs soy sauce
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp dry sherry
1 tsp cornstarch
Spices
1 tbs ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Vegetables
2 cups green bell peppers, shredded
1 cup white onions, thinly sliced
Garnish with chopped green onions

Directions:
In a mixing bowl, combine chicken, soy sauce, wine, oil and cornstarch. Let meat marinate for 20 minutes.
Heat 1 tbs oil in wok. Briefly stir fry bell peppers and white onions. Remove from wok. Clean wok and add 1 tbs oil. Sauté the spices briefly. Then add chicken. Cook chicken until there is no trace of pink. Add sauce and bell peppers back. Turn heat to high and quickly add green onions. Mix them together. Serve.

Quick Sweet Apple Bread

This recipe is from a small community cook book that I had a chance to read a long time ago. The ingredients are so easy to remember, so every time I want to make quick bread for morning breakfast, I make this one. Double or triple the quantity of ingredients to feed a large crowd.

 Ingredients:
Dry ingredients:
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup raisins
Wet ingredients:
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup coconut oil
3 tbs chia seeds gel (mix 1/8 tsp chia seeds to 2 tbs water)
2 cups apples, peeled, coarsely chopped
Grease and flour an 8” x 4” loaf pan

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°.
Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, and set aside.
Use a handheld mixer to beat sugar, oil, chia seeds gel, and eggs until smooth. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix with a few strokes. Stir in chopped apples and mix well. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Salmon with Mushroom, Tarragon Sauce

Salmon in mushroom tarragon sauce is a balanced approach to maintain a healthy diet. The usual heavy cream used to make this sauce will be replaced with skim milk. I found that Dijon mustard and the garlic also go well together in this recipe. Eating food in moderation will make every minute of eating every meal enjoyable. As always, small changes with yield big results!

Ingredients:
Two 6 oz salmon fillets with or without skin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbs fresh chopped tarragon
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 cups white button mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup skim milk
1 tbs lemon juice
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil
2 tsp Dijon mustard

Directions:
To make sauce
In a medium saucepan, heat oil. Add onions and garlic. Stir and cook until fragrant. Add mushrooms and cook until mushrooms are softened (about 3 minutes). Add white wine. Cook until reduced in half. Meanwhile, mix skim milk, chicken broth, and cornstarch until well combined. Stir the broth in the pan. Add fresh tarragon. Bring broth to boil, and then simmer until thickened. Whisk in Dijon mustard and a lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Keep the sauce warm.
In another non-stick saucepan over medium-high heat, add oil and butter. Sprinkle salmon on both sides with about 1/4 tsp of salt and pepper. Grill salmon fillets for 3 minutes on each side. Place salmon onto a serving dish and pour the tarragon sauce on top.

Filet and Dijon Mustard Sauce

Grilled or pan fried fish with honey mustard sauce is a quick and easy meal to die for. It is an elegant meal that one can find in a small country inn served by a fireplace. It is a totally romantic meal!

Ingredients:
Two 6 oz tilapia fillets
Sauce:
3 tbs honey mustard
1 tsp honey
1 tsp brown sugar
3 tbs soy sauce
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbs white wine
1 tbs cream horseradish
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Others:
1 tsp oil and butter for each fillet
1 white onion slice
Steamed broccoli or cabbage

Directions:
In a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients and mix well. Marinate the fillets in the sauce for 1 hour.
Remove the fillets and save the marinade for glaze. In a cast-iron pan over medium-high heat, add oil and butter. Place fish and grill 3 minutes on each side. Cook the marinade until thickened and brush both sides of the fillets.
To serve the fillets with caramelized onions:
Melt 1 tbs of butter in a large frying pan over medium-low heat until foaming. Add 2 cups of halved and sliced paper thin onions. Let them cook, stirring occasionally, until they are deep golden brown and caramelized (about 30 minutes). Season well with salt and pepper.

 

Cinnamon Buns II

I think cinnamon buns are as American as apple pie, and these buns can also be on my worst diet list of foods that could jeopardize my waistline. Every cook has his or her own version. My recipe is made with mashed potatoes, which will improve the softness of the buns. The whole kitchen smells heavenly while baking these buns.

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1/4 cup plain mashed potatoes
1 egg
2 tbs unsalted butter
2 tbs nonfat dry milk
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups bread flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
Filling:
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbs unsalted butter, softened
Vanilla frosting:
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbs milk

Directions:
Put all the ingredients except the filling and frosting in the order listed above into a bread nachine's pan. Set the bread machine to the dough/manual setting. At the end of the dough cycle, remove and punch down the dough. Let dough rest for 5 minutes before hand shaping.
Prepare filling and frosting and set aside.
Generously sprinkle flour on the work surface. Roll out dough into a 16” x 12” rectangle. Spread the filling evenly onto the dough. Roll up dough in a jelly-roll fashion to form a 16 inch long cylinder. With a sharp knife, cut the cylinder into 12 twelve equal size pieces. Butter a 13” x 9” glass pan and place the 12 pieces, cut side up, into the pan (space 2 inches apart). Cover with kitchen towel and let rise for another hour or until double in size.
Preheat oven to 325°. Bake buns for 15 minutes. Increase the temperature to 350° and bake for 10 more minutes or until golden brown. Remove and let cool completely before frosting.
To make mashed potatoes, peel and cut medium potatoes into quarters. Boil until soft and tender. Drain. Use masher to mash the potatoes until smooth. Cool to room temperature before using.