Lemon-Feta Chicken Breast

Serves 4

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
4 (8 oz.) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
8 tbsp.crumbled feta cheese
4 tsp. chopped scallions
Homemade Pico de Gallo

1.  In a large bowl, mix lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper.  Add chicken breasts and marinate in the refrigerator for up to 2 hours.  [I marinated mine for 2 hours.]

2.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Remove chicken from marinade and sear in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 3 to 5 minutes on each side until it is a lovely golden brown.

3.  Place chicken in a 13x9" glass baking dish.  Top each breast with 2 tbsp. feta cheese and 1 tsp. scallions.

4.  Bake for 30-35 minutes or until juices run clear.

Serve this with your favorite, homemade, fresh pico de gallo by putting a small dollop on the top of the cooked chicken breast when serving.  Serve remaining pico de gallo on the side.  THIS IS DELICIOIUS! and easy! and beautiful! and healthy!

Brent Ririe's Famous Cheesecake - Cupcake Style

I won't share the recipe here as I think we all have it, but Lisa and I found that Dad's Cheesecake recipe can be applied to cupcakes to make individualized servings! Simply divide the crust and filling mix among 12 cupcake tins and you're good! Here's our picture.

You probably still want a fork and plate to eat these as the crust can be a little crumbly... but they sure are good!  Top with raspberries or other fruity goodness.

Orzo Pasta with Roasted Vegetables

Ingredients:

• 1 small eggplant, peeled and 3/4-inch diced (I like zucchini better)
• 1 red bell pepper, 1-inch diced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, 1-inch diced
• 1 red onion, peeled and 1-inch diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 cup good olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 pound orzo or rice-shaped pasta

For the dressing:

• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
• 1/3 cup good olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

To assemble:

• 4 scallions, minced (white and green parts)
• 1/4 cup pignolis (pine nuts), toasted
• 3/4 pound good feta, 1/2-inch diced (not crumbled)
• 15 fresh basil leaves, cut into julienne

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Toss the eggplant, bell peppers, onion, and garlic with the olive oil, salt, and pepper on a large sheet pan. Roast for 40 minutes, until browned, turning once with a spatula.
Meanwhile, cook the orzo in boiling salted water for 7 to 9 minutes, until tender. Drain and transfer to a large serving bowl. Add the roasted vegetables to the pasta, scraping all the liquid and seasonings from the roasting pan into the pasta bowl.
For the dressing, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper and pour on the pasta and vegetables. Let cool to room temperature, then add the scallions, pignolis, feta, and basil. Check the seasonings, and serve at room temperature.

Mike's Rib Rub

Dry Rub:
   2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
   1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
   1 teaspoon Chili Powder
   1 teaspoon Black Pepper

BBQ Sauce of Your Choosing

Preparation:
On the Bone Side of the ribs there is a skin-like membrane that needs to be removed.  By removing the membrane your ribs will be more tender and you will be able to get more flavor into the meat.  To remove the membrane from the rack, take a a blunt knife (like a butter or table knife) and slip it under the membrane along the end bone. Move the knife around a little to loosen the membrane so you can get a good grip on it. The membrane is a slippery skin, so grab it with a paper towel and you shouldn't have any trouble lifting it right off.

Once the membrane has been removed, mix the above rub and sprinkle it evenly on both sides of the rack of ribs.  With your hands (can be gloved), rub the mix into the meat as well as you can.  This can be done several hours before you cook the ribs to allow for the seasonings better penetration.

Wrap the ribs tightly in tinfoil and place on a cookie sheet.  The ribs should be placed with the bone-side up.  If possible, fold the bottom tinfoil to catch all of the fluids which will improve the taste of the ribs.  

Cooking:

When ready, heat the oven to 225 degrees.  Place the ribs in the oven and bake for 4 - 5 hours.  You will know they are done based on the tenderness of the ribs.  Try pulling on a bone and if it begins to separate, they are done.  You can also use a toothpick to insert between two bones.  If it goes through easily, they are done.

Remove from the oven and baste with a BBQ sauce of your choice (Sweet Baby Ray's... mmm!).  Place on a preheated grill on high and sear both sides to cook in that favorite sauce.  Watch them carefully though as the sugar in the sauce is prone to burn easily.  

Serving:

Once cooked to your liking, take them off the grill and serve!  Put some dipping bowls around the table of additional BBQ sauce for others to use and plenty of napkins.  Enjoy!

Mandarin Orange Salad

We had this salad with Shea and Emily awhile ago and Emily asked for the recipe.  No more secrets about how much sugar is in the candied almonds!

Donna Jenkins

Serves: 4-8

1/4 head lettuce 

1⁄2 cup celery 

2 chopped green onions 

1 can mandarin oranges 

3⁄4 cup slivered almonds 

1⁄2 cup sugar

Brown almonds & sugar in pan on the stove then set aside when done.

Salad Dressing: 

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons vinegar 

1 tablespoon parsley 

1⁄2 teaspoon salt 

1⁄3 cup oil

Mix together dressing.  Mix all ingredients together and mix dressing in with the salad.

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

Tip: When shredding the chicken, quarter the cooked breasts and place in a tall mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer and beat chicken until shredded to your liking. This gives a nice restaurant-style shredded look and is much easier than the fork method!

⅓ cup honey
¼ cup lime juice (about 2 large limes)
2 to 3 teaspoons chili powder
2 large cloves of garlic, finely minced
     OR ½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 large breasts), cooked and shredded
12 corn tortillas
2 cups of Mexican cheese blend, shredded
1 14-ounce can of green enchilada sauce (mild or medium, to your taste)
½ to ¾ cup of heavy cream
1 tablespoon of chopped cilantro, to garnish

Prepare the Chicken: Place the cooked and shredded chicken in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.  In a small bowl, place the honey, lime juice, chili powder and minced garlic or garlic powder. Whisk together thoroughly to combine. Pour this mixture over the chicken and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to marinate 30 minutes or up to 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Prepare the Tortillas: While the chicken is marinating, heat a large griddle till a drop of water skitters across (about 350˚). Spray the surface with non-stick cooking spray or oil it with a little canola oil in between each round of tortillas. Heat tortillas about 20 seconds on each side till warm and flexible and some golden brown spots have appeared. Remove the tortillas from the griddle and keep them between a couple of paper towels until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 350˚. Spray the sides and bottom of a 9x13” baking dish lightly with cooking spray.

Prepare the Enchiladas: In a medium bowl, combine the enchilada sauce and the heavy cream. Spread about ½ cup of the mixture in the bottom of the oiled baking dish. Add a large spoonful (about 2 tablespoons) of the chicken mixture to the center of each tortilla in a line. Cover the chicken with a large tablespoon (or big pinch) of cheese, then roll the tortilla up from one side to make a rolled enchilada – it will be more of an overlap on the seam side that rolled tightly. Place the enchilada seam side down in the baking dish starting at one end with the long edge parallel to the longest side of the pan so that you end up with two columns of six enchiladas each.

Repeat with the remaining chicken, cheese and tortillas. You will use about 1 ½ cups of the cheese for the filling and set the remainder aside for topping the enchiladas in the pan. Add the remaining marinade mixture to the enchilada sauce and cream mixture, if desired. Pour this mixture over the top of all the enchiladas. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Bake the enchiladas at 350˚ for 30–35 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly and starting
to brown on top. Serve with sour cream, black beans, and rice or a green

Salmon Delight

As we finished our salmon for dinner tonight, there was Salmon Skin (sadly) left on our plates. Not knowing what to do with the skin from the wild salmon.... we thought of a genius idea! Let me tell you what we did..

1.We gathered all of our salmon skin and cut it in bite-size pieces. How exciting!
2. Mix it into Winston's bowl of dry dog food.
3. Enjoy!!:)

Do realize that despite the human food in dog food, it is most likely not for your taste..