Recipe Review from 4/1/13

A surprisingly busy week that had our household going in opposite directions for most of it.  I participated in my work's quarterly blood drive (I'm starting gallon #5!), the Husband was off to the credit union's annual meeting, Ben-dog was in for his yearly dental cleaning, I subbed two extra yoga classes in addition to my usual four...yeah.  Busy, busy week.

And then it SNOWED again.  Bother.

Day 16 of Spring in Northern MN

The Husband is making progress on getting the ice and construction debris cleaned out of the man barn. As temps warm up, the ice on the floor is melting, and he's trying to prevent the nails and sawdust from going down the drain.

The Husband was in charge of lunches and meals last week and he made TWO new recipes.

Bell Pepper Corn Soup (Eating Richly Blog)  Vegan and GF
The Husband picked this recipe and made it for our lunches.  I was unable to talk him into guest blogging, but will quote him as saying: "Aahhh...I cooked it and [the Wife] said it was good."

It was really good actually.  Flavors reminiscent of creamed corn, a bit of tang from the peppers, and just a hint of sweetness from the celery.  I had some leftover basmati rice in the fridge which I tossed on top of my lunch and I thought that was really outstanding.

2 TBS olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 cups finely chopped bell peppers
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 stalks celery (our addition)
2 cups frozen corn
4 cups vegetable stock
4 sprigs thyme (additional to garnish)
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp fresh ground pepper

Heat olive oil in a large pot on medium high.  When it shimmers, add red onion, bell peppers and garlic.  Stir to coat and cook 3-5 minutes until softened.  Add frozen corn and stir again, let cook another 3 minutes.
Add vegetable stock and leaves from four thyme sprigs and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and let simmer 10 minutes.  Remove 2 cups of the soup and puree with an immersion blender.  Add red pepper flakes, kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to the puree.

Return puree to the soup pot and stir.  Serve garnished with fresh thyme


Honey Bacon Mustard Chicken Strips  (Cooks.com)   Gluten free (watch the mustard ingred.)
Husband selected and made this dish as well.  He didn't have any comments so I'll fill in:  this came together very quickly.  He served it over pasta, so he started the pasta (campanelle) before cooking the chicken.  This turned out awesome.  I loved the tangy-sweetness of the honey-mustard sauce over the chicken and noodles.  This could easily be served over rice, or oven roasted veggies like carrots, zucchini, and sweet potatoes.  Definitely thicken the honey-mustard sauce, but our chicken never did get to the 'blacken and sticky stage'...actually that sounds a bit unappealing.  Our sauce was gravy thick and nothing blackened.

Photo by ScifiwithPaprika.

2 lbs chicken breast (we used one package of three)
2 teaspoons bacon fat (we have some rendered in a jar in the fridge for things like this)
3 tablespoons mustard (Husband used Honey-Dijon mustard)
2 tablespoons honey (Husband cut back to 1 tbsp because of the honey already in the mustard)
1 teaspoon salt 

pepper, to taste

1) Cut thawed chicken breast into strips 2 inches thick.
2) Melt bacon fat into pan. (recipe author noted: I usually grill up some bacon to garnish the chicken with. That amount of fat will do.)
3) Add chicken to pan while hot and fry for 2 minutes.
4) After two minutes, add the mustard and honey sauce. If you need more, add more. Sprinkle salt over chicken.
5) Continue cooking until the chicken is done. A great aroma will start to come from the chicken and it will start to blacken and get sticky on some parts.