Tomato barley salad

I lied again. Another post sans sugar. I promise I will cease my lying once the new year begins. I have a few more hours.

I have been on the frugal side lately, so I scoured our pantry for a salad ingredient in anticipation of a family gathering. I had purchased pearl barley on sale a few months ago, and spotted it on the top shelf. Perfect! So here you go, friends, a totally made-up, yet delicious and healthy salad for your next gathering. Your family and friends will love it. Mine did.

By the way, a giveaway is coming in the next day or so because I love you all so much! Stay tuned!

In a large saucepan, combine:

1 1/2 cups uncooked pearl barley

3 cups water

Place pan over medium heat and cook until simmering. Simmer, covered, for 45 minutes, or until liquid is dissolved and barley is tender. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a medium bowl, combine:

Cooked barley

1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered

1/4 red onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped

2 tablespoons basil, chopped

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

Mix well.

Refrigerate until ready to serve. You will love this, I promise, even sans sugar. 

Enjoy! Happy 2013, friends!

Printable recipe: Tomato barley salad

Artichoke and sun-dried tomato stuffed chicken breasts

I have felt mildly to moderately insane over the past few days. Dan has been immersed in a skydiving course, so the little boys and I have been flying solo. I try not to speak of bodily fluids too much on my food blog, but I will just say we have had our share of bodily-fluid-related incidents, as well as our share of meltdowns, tantrums and outbursts. Weee! Fun times! People keep telling me that one day I will miss this crazy time in our lives, so I do my best to absorb every bit of it. Even when it gets crazier than I ever could have imagined life to be.

One of the things that always keeps me feeling sane is cooking and baking! I was happy when a friend asked if I had any stuffed chicken breast recipes on my blog because I did not! I was more than happy to come up with a few options for her. Here is my first attempt. Another will follow in the next few days. Enjoy this one! I will definitely make it again.

Preaheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Coat two 9x13-inch baking dishes with cooking spray and set aside.

In each of 10 defrosted chicken breast halves (I made a huge batch, so cut back, as needed), cut a slit horizontally into the breast without going all the way through to the other side.

Chop an 8-oz. jar of julienne sun-ripened dried tomatoes.

Drain and chop a 13.75-oz. can of artichoke hearts.

Chop fresh basil to equal a 1/2 cup.

In a medium bowl, combine:

The chopped sun-dried tomatoes

The chopped artichoke hearts

The chopped basil (I debated between adding basil or fresh spinach; spinach would taste great, too!)

8-oz. package crumbled feta cheese

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Mix well.

Divide the mixture between the 10 chicken breast halves and spoon into the openings.

Seal the ends as best as possible and secure with 2 toothpicks each. Divide the chicken between the 2 prepared baking dishes and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.

Remove the toothpicks and serve warm.

Printable recipe: Artichoke and sun-dried tomato stuffed chicken breasts

Fresh greens salad with orange-basil vinaigrette

Along with this unbelievably gorgeous weather comes my increased yearning for salads. There is something about nice weather that makes me want to consume salads at every meal, perhaps served with a rim-salted margarita on the rocks. I definitely have my standard go-to salads that I make a lot in the summer-time, but I also love experimenting with new combinations. I spotted blood oranges at the grocery store the other day and decided to add them as an ingredient in a salad dressing. And so, there in the produce aisle, this super simple yet delicious little salad was conceived.

In a medium bowl, combine:

2 heads Artisan lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces

20 cherry tomatoes, halved

1/4 cup dried cherries

1/4 cup feta cheese

Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

In a small bowl, whisk together:

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Juice from 1/2 of a blood orange (substitution: Juice from 1/4 of a regular orange)

1 teaspoon dried basil

Salt and pepper, to taste

Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Just before serving, drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss.

Happy summer! Or spring! Or winter! Or whatever season it is right now.

Printable recipe: Fresh greens salad with orange-basil vinaigrette

Spicy Thai basil chicken

My hubby has been rockin' the kitchen lately. He has a really creative side to him, and I love when he expresses it with food. This is a recipe he has been perfecting for a while, and he made me promise not to write a post about it until he got it juuuust right. We were both extremely happy about how it turned out the other night, so I have been granted permission to share it!

By the way, it is another beautiful day here in Minnesota. I am loving this weather! I can't wait to get myself out of the house today. It's haircut day (I love haircut day!), so I get to venture out sans boys for a bit. Weeee!

In a medium bowl, combine:

1 cup fresh basil leaves

1 1/2 cups water

Fully immerse the basil in the water and let the leaves soak for 10 minutes.

Do the following prep work while the basil is soaking:

- Cut 4 defrosted chicken breast halves into 1-inch cubes.

- Thinly slice 3 shallots.

- Mince 8 large cloves of garlic (add to the bowl with shallots).

- Thinly slice 10-20 Thai chili peppers. 

Drain the water from the bowl with the basil leaves.

Tailor the amount of peppers used to your liking. A good substitution for 10 Thai chili peppers would be 5 serrano peppers.

Heat 3 tablespoons of peanut oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add the garlic and shallots and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.

Add the chicken and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes, or until the outsides of the chicken pieces turn white.

Add the chili peppers to the skillet, along with:

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon fish sauce

Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.

Add the basil leaves and cook until they become shriveled, about 2 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in 3/4 cup chopped unsalted peanuts.

Serve warm, over noodles or rice.

Printable recipe: Spicy Thai basil chicken

Apricot and basil shortbread tart

 

This is Week #34 of my 2011 cooking challenge! Click on the above graphic to view all P&TC recipes. All recipes created for this challenge come from the Food and Wine Annual Cookbook 2010: An Entire Year of Recipes.

The end of August, and the end of SUMMER, my dear beloved summer, is approaching, which means I am attempting to squeeze in as many summer-time recipes as I can. I love summer recipes. Salads, fresh fruits and vegetables, anything on the grill, ice cream, cold cold margaritas, I could go on and on..  

I was excited to make this apricot tart because I thought it would be a fresh, light end-of-the-summer (sniff) treat. It was totally scrumptious. I have to mention that the shortbread crust on this thing? OMG! Better than the best Christmas cookie I've ever tasted. LOVED IT TO PIECES.

First, make the pastry cream.

In a saucepan, combine:

3/4 cup whole milk

5 tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup packed fresh basil leaves

Bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and let stand for 15 minutes. 

Remove the basil from the pan.

In a bowl, whisk together:

1/4 cup whole milk

2 large egg yolks

2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

Slowly whisk the yolk mixture into the warm milk in the saucepan. Bring to a simmer over moderate heat, whisking constantly until very thick, 2 minutes. 

Remove from the heat and whisk in 2 tablespoons unsalted butter until melted. 

Scrape into a bowl and press plastic wrap directly onto the surface. Refrigerate until chilled, 2 hours.

Looks like lemon curd, doesn't it? Well it is a little bit shocking when it tastes nothing like lemon curd!

Now make the pastry (the yum yum delicious pastry that I'm madly in love with).

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. 

Spray a 14x4-1/2-inch rectangular tart pan with a removable bottom with nonstick cooking spray. Or do like I did and use a 9-inch round tart pan without a removable bottom.

Add to a medium bowl:

1 large hard-boiled egg yolk

1 stick plus 6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

(Do you see a person in a coffin? Or perhaps a child sleeping?)

Beat with a hand mixer at medium speed until smooth, 2 minutes.

Add:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup potato starch

1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

Beat at low speed until just combined.

Using lightly floured hands, press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan. Refrigerate the crust for about 30 minutes, or until chilled.

Bake the crust for about 25 minutes, until golden. Cool for 1 hour.

Now prepare the topping!

Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange 6 apricots, halved, cut side up, on the paper and sprinkle all over with 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar.

Roast in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the apricots are tender and lightly browned. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Unmold the crust onto a serving plate and spread the cream evenly in the crust. Arrange the apricots on the cream, cut side down, and brush all over with 1/3 cup melted apricot jam.

Cut tart crosswise into strips and serve.

You might notice that I left the tart in the tart pan and cut it like a pie. It worked just fine this way!

Decorate with basil leaves, if desired.

ENJOY!

Click here for a printable recipe!