Jamaican Jerk Chicken w/ Mango Salsa

This is one of my favorite dishes for cooking for my family, but it's also great for entertaining, partly because it's pretty, but mostly because it's so damn good.

Jamaican Jerk Chicken Stacks

For the chicken:

1 bottle of Jamaican or Caribbean Jerk Marinade

2-4 chicken breasts (1 breast per 2 people)

Marinate chicken in jerk sauce for 24 hours. Grill or broil the chicken breasts. Or if you are lazy like me, throw it all in the crockpot for a couple of hours. When the chicken is done, cut it up into cubes and add a little of the jerk sauce to coat the chicken.

For the mango salsa, dice the following:

2-3 mangoes (I use frozen cubed mangoes from Trader Joes)

1 ripe avocado

1 red bell pepper

1/2 red onion

handful of cilantro

Mix together the ingredients below and then pour over the diced ingredients, mixing gently.

1 T. sugar

1-2 T. olive oil

1-2 T. white wine vinegar

pinch or two of kosher salt

juice from half a lime

If you are making the salsa ahead of time, hold off on the avocados until the last minute.

Rice

You can totally get away with regular white or brown rice. But I usually make a batch of coconut rice with some coconut milk, chicken broth, and minced ginger.

Other ingredients:

black beans, rinsed

shredded cheddar cheese

sour cream

So to make this masterpiece--layer on each plate first your rice, then your chicken, beans, and cheese. The mango salsa. And some sour cream on top to finish it off.

Leftovers are great as a wrap!

Tortilla Soup

INGREDIENTS

• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed chicken broth
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1 cup whole corn kernels, cooked
• 1 cup white hominy
• 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces
• crushed tortilla chips
• sliced avocado
• shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• chopped green onions

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium stock pot, heat oil over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic in oil until soft. Stir in chili powder, oregano, tomatoes, broth, and water. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Stir in corn, hominy, chiles, beans, cilantro, and chicken. Simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Ladle soup into individual serving bowls, and top with crushed tortilla chips, avocado slices, cheese, and chopped green onion.

I read every single review (all 114) prior to making this soup, so I changed a few things. It turned out wonderfully!! Here's how I did it: I diced two boneless, skinless chicken breasts and cooked them prior to starting with the olive oil, 2 cloves garlic and 1/2 cup diced onion. Then I added 4 cans condensed chicken broth (many people said the soup was very thick - chili-like consistency, and I wanted more of a soup). I also added a can of water (filled a broth can with water). I added the crushed tomatoes (28 oz), the hominy (15 oz), the diced green chili peppers (4 oz), 1 tsp each of cumin (instead of oregano as many reviewers suggested), lime juice and garlic powder, and 1/2 tsp of chili powder. I brought to a boil and let simmer for 1 hour (as others also suggested). Top with shredded monterey jack cheese and garnish w/ tortilla chips.

Pasta Fagioli

So a friend of mine used to make this for us years ago. He lived in Italy for a while and picked up some delicious authentic recipes. Pasta Fagioli translates to "pasta and beans." In the winter, this counts as a 'poor man's meal' or pantry meal for me if I use canned tomatoes. But if tomatoes are in season, you should definitely use them! This makes my whole house smell like heaven with fresh tomatoes and basil in the summer.

The recipe calls for adding the dry noodles to the sauce. I prefer to cook the noodles in a pot of salted water separately while the sauce is simmering so I don't have to "babysit" them quite so much.

Ingredients:

Olive Oil

Garlic

Sweet Onion

Basil

Tomatoes

Canned Cannellini/Great Northern beans (reserve a few for a garnishing the top of each bowl)

Salt and Pepper

Spaghetti noodles

In your blender or food processor combine: 3 T. olive oil, 2 springs of basil, 3 medium size tomatoes or 5 small tomatoes, 2 gloves of garlic, 1/2 cup onion. Blend.

Add: 1 can of great northern beans, rinsed. Salt and Pepper to taste. Blend. The beans absorb alot of the salt, so be generous with the salt.

Pour sauce into large stock pot and cook on medium. Reduce heat and allow sauce to simmer. Sauce will change from pinkish-orange to redish-orange. Once sauce is simmering add noodles.

When I add my noodles, I like to break them in half. Place right on top of sauce, then, take about 2 cups of water and pour into pot just covering noodles. Stir periodically on simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes ~ until water is absorbed.

Serve with generous helping of shredded parmesan cheese, the reserved beans, and a little extra basil.

No-Knead artisan bread

Someone gave me this recipe a few years ago. My only complaint about it is that I need to think about it ahead of time. I start this bread when I know I'm going to make soup/stew/pasta the next day. You can even start two loaves at once and bake them on consecutive days. Allowing it to rise an additional day just makes it better! Kolby claims this is as good or better than any ciabatta we buy at the store.

My notes: if I'm making two loaves and letting one rise an additional day, I'll "punch" the second loaf down with a spatula when I'm getting ready to make the first loaf, and then cover it up with saran wrap and let it rise and get bubbly again.

Also, for baking it I either use a metal mixing bowl and my pizza stone, or sometimes I'll dig out my cast iron camping dutch oven.

And to store the leftover portion, put it cut side down on a cutting board and store in the microwave.

Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery

Time: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.

Lentil and Sausage soup

My friend Nancy made a soup similar to this one night when she had us over for dinner. I tracked down a similar recipe on allrecipes that I make frequently and LOVE. This is Madeline's all-time favorite soup that I make. It makes a huge pot, so I usually freeze it in quart size ziploc bags for a few quick and easy dinners. Serve with yummy bread.

(The recipe calls for pasta at the end...I've never added the pasta.)

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage (I always use spicy Italian)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1 (16 ounce) package dry lentils, rinsed
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• 8 cups water
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 tablespoon salt, or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 pound ditalini pasta (optional)

Directions

1. Place sausage in a large pot. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Add onion, celery and chopped garlic, and saute until tender and translucent. Stir in lentils, carrot, water, chicken broth and tomatoes. Season with garlic powder, parsley, bay leaves, oregano, thyme, basil, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Cover, and simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until lentils are tender.
2. Stir in pasta, and cook 15 to 20 minutes, or until pasta is tender.

ENCHILADAS DE POLLO Y QUESO

5 T butter
1 cup chopped onion
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped or shredded
4 oz chopped green chiles
1/4 cup flour
1 T chili powder
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack
12 tortillas-I prefer flour

Melt 2 T. butter and cook onions until softened. Remove to a bowl. Add chicken and green chiles. Melt remaining butter. Blend in flour and seasonings. Whisk in chicken broth. Cook, stirring until sauce boils. Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream and ½ cup cheese. Stir ½ cup sauce into chicken mixture. Spoon chicken mixture into tortillas and roll up. Place in 9x13 pan. Top with remaining sauce and cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 for about 25 minutes.

Gingersnaps aka Pioneer Woman Molasses Cookies

I have a hard time giving Pioneer Woman credit for these, because 15 years ago my sister-in-law, Jen Blackham, gave me the gingersnap recipe her family had been making for years and gingersnaps have been part of my family's Christmas tradition ever since. The Pioneer Woman recipe is identical, except for the addition of cardamom. I'm not sure if the cardamom adds much, so if you don't have it, don't go spend the $8 on it. (Or if you live close, give me a call! I have two bottles.)

Now PW doesn't say to refrigerate her dough, but I'll tell you that if you don't you will have a very flat cookie. Which isn't necessarily a disaster--we used our first batch of flat cookies with pumpkin icecream to make icecream sandwiches and they were delicious. But I prefer my gingersnaps slightly undercooked and a little puffy. So I refrigerate before baking, and then take them out of the oven just after they start to crack.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Sugar
• ¾ cups Crisco (vegetable Shortening)
• ¼ cups Molasses
• 1 whole Egg
• 2 cups Flour
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• ½ teaspoons Ground Cloves
• 1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
• ¼ teaspoons Ground Cardamom
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• 2-½ teaspoons Baking Soda

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix sugar, shortening, molasses, and egg together until well combined. Dump in dry ingredients, stirring dry ingredients together lightly. Mix together until dough is combined.

Refrigerate for 2-3 hours, or overnight.

In your hands roll dough into walnut-sized balls, then generously coat each ball with sugar. Place balls on a baking sheet and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, allowing to bake for about a minute after cookies begin to crack.

Remove cookies from baking sheet and allow to cool…although these are delicious while still warm.