Grilled Chicken with Balsamic Tomato Sauce

I couldn't find the picture, but I liked this recipe for how good it was and, of course, how simple it was to prepare. I love simple yet tasty dishes. This is another I'd like to remember. It came from one of my parenting magazines.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
6 chicken breasts, skinless, boneless
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 cup canned chopped tomatoes, with juice

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in large saute pan over medium-high heat.
2. Add chicken and cook on each side until juices run clear. Remove chicken and keep warm.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add the garlic and saute 1 minute. And the remaining ingredients, stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove any browned bits. Cook sauce until slightly thickened, about three minutes.
4. Serve chicken with sauce spooned on top.

Inspiration: Canadian Family magazine, May 2009 issue.

Shepard's Pie

I've never made this dish before, but occasionally I crave it, therefore I wanted to find a keeper recipe. This one fits the bill for now. It's simple, not too fussy. I think I skipped the paprika and parsley garnish for extra simplicity.
Sheppard

Ingredients:

2 pounds potatoes, such as russet, peeled and cubed
2 tbsp sour cream, or softened cream cheese
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup milk or cream
salt and pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 3/4 lbs ground beef
1 carrot, peeled and chopped into circles
1 onion, chopped
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 cup beef broth
2 tsp Worcestershire
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 tsp paprika
2 tbsp fresh parsley leaves, chopped

Directions:

1. Boil potatoes in salted water until tender. Drain potatoes and pour them into a bowl. Combine sour cream, egg yolk and cream. Add the cream mixture into potatoes and mash until potatoes are almost smooth.
2. While potatoes boil, preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil to hot pan with beef. Season meat with salt and pepper. Brown and crumble meat for 3 or 4 minutes.
3. Add chopped carrot and onion to the meat. Cook veggies with meat 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
4. In a second small skillet over medium heat cook butter and flour together 2 minutes. Whisk in broth and Worcestershire sauce. Thicken gravy 1 minute. Add gravy to meat and vegetables.
5. Stir in peas.
6. Preheat broiler to high.
7. Fill a small rectangular casserole with meat and vegetable mixture. Spoon potatoes over meat evenly. Top potatoes with paprika and broil 6 to 8 inches from the heat until potatoes are evenly browned. Top casserole dish with chopped parsley and serve.

Inspiration: Rachel Ray's 30 Minute Meals from the Food Network web site.

Cranberry Sauce Pot Roast

This is a great recipe to make to use up leftover cranberry sauce and to have a break from poultry. The original recipe suggest cooking it in the oven, but I used my crock pot so I could fix it and forget it. Plus, we like that fall apart tenderness that happens in the crockpot.

Ingredients:

1 tsp canola oil
4 lb top sirloin roast, trimmed of fat
1.2 tsp salt
1 can (10 oz) low-sodium beef broth
1/2 cup cranberry sauce wtih whole cranberries
1/2 cup ketchup
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dry mustard powder
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp black pepper
8 medium potatoes, unpeeled, halved
4 large carrots, quartered

Directions:

1. Heat oil in large non-stick pan, sprinkle roast with salt, and brown roast on all sides.
2. Mix together broth, cranberry sauce, ketchup, onion soup mix, garlic, mustard powder, marjoram, thyme, and pepper in medium bowl.
3. Pour over roast in crock pot. Add carrots and potatoes.
4. Cook on high four 4-6 hours.

Inspiration: The Roast of Christmas Past, Crazy Plates cookbook

Roasted Turkey Roll

This is a pork recipe that I thought would be good on turkey. I was right. We had these rolled turkey breast roasts in the freezer to eat up. This recipe is supposed to be done over a BBQ as well, but I did it in the oven. It was worth remembering, so here it is.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup apple juice concentrate, thawed
2 tbsp honey mustard
2 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large shallot, minced
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 roast Turkey roll, or pork tenderloin

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients, except meat, in a small bowl.
2. Pour the marinade over meat in a big Ziploc bag. Marinate in refrigerator for two hours.
3. Roast in the oven at 375 F until its done according to a meat thermometer.

Inspiration: Love Me Tenderloin, pg 121, Crazy Plates cookbook

Hawaiian BBQ Beef Short Ribs

Again, I made this recipe to help fulfill my husband's request for Hawaiian BBQ. These were pretty good. We love beef short ribs around here. I added pineapple to the crock pot as well.

Ingredients:

Marinade:
1 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup water
2/3 cup sherry or wine
2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp all spice
3 tsp fresh ginger
2 tsp fresh garlic
1/2 cup ketchup

Sauce:
3/4 brown sugar
3/4 cup ketchup
3/4 soy sauce

Directions:

1. Cook short ribs in crock pot for 6-8 hours with marinade ingredients.
2. Grill ribs on BBQ for 10-20 minutes, basting all sides with sauce three to four times.

Inspiration: An culmination of online recipes.

Hawaiian BBQ Chicken

So simple and so good. After experiencing Hawaiian BBQ at a restaurant, my husband requested it at home. I tried this recipe and was pleasantly surprised. The fresh ginger is what makes it work. I never actually used fresh ginger until this recipe. I hooked.

Ingredients:

6 chicken thighs
1 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp fresh ginger

Directions:

1. Marinate the chicken thighs with the rest of the ingredients for 30 minutes.
2. Place them on the grill over medium heat. Grill thighs until juices run clear.

Inspiration: BBQ with Bobby Flay, Food Network web site