Foodcation

So with the weather we have been having recently all I have been thinking about is getting away from the cold on some tropical island.  Unfortunately my finances and accumulated time or should I say unaccumulated time at work won't let me do that right at this moment.  So until I can take the much deserved vacation(which is on the horizon-in case you cared), I have to try and bring the vacation vibe to me.  You can transport yourself to an island destination through the right combination of flavors.  My foodcation started with a libation cause a fruity drink always makes me think of laying on a beach.  I will share the recipe with you also, unfortunately I forgot to snap a shot to post for the blog so you'll have to use your imagination a little on that.  Anyway, the recipe I want to share with you is a Caribbean inspired chicken dish that is easy to recreate.  The dish is showed below with fried sweet plantain but you can easily add some rice flavored with cilantro and lime rice to make a meal.  So all aboard and let get ready to take a trip to the Caribbean.

Caribbean Chicken w/Fried Sweet Plantain

Ingredients:

4 4oz boneless skinless chicken breast

1 cup of mild(or hot if you like) salsa

1/2 cup canned pineapple tidbits plus 1/4 of the juice from the pineapple

1/8 cup hot sauce

2 tbsp. wet jerk rub

1/2 cup chopped scallions

1 tbsp. lime juice

Directions:

Mix all of the ingredients except for the chicken in a bowl and set aside.  Season the chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Heat a large sauté pan and add 1 tbsp. of oil.  Add chicken to the pan and cook until browned on each side.  Once chicken is browned add salsa mixture to pan, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 mins.  Garnish with and left over scallions and pineapple and serve with fried plantain or add rice for a complete meal.

Bonus Drink Recipe-Tropical Sunrise:

In a large container mix one cup light rum, frozen concentrated pink lemonade(thawed), 1/2 cup cranberry juice, 3/4 cup ginger ale, and 1/2 cup of pineapple juice. Serve over ice.

Enjoy and Keep Simply COOKING!!!!!



Get Your Man Meal

So the saying goes, "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach".  While I'm not entirely sure that a good meal alone is enough to get your man to put a ring on it.  I do know that I haven't come across a man yet that doesn't like to eat and isn't happy if they find a woman who can cook.  So at the very least, if your skills in the kitchen are as impressive as the rest of what you have to bring into the relationship, the fact that you can throw down in the kitchen will be icing on the cake and should at the very least buy you a ticket on love's train if not take you on the full ride.  Now its time to decide what make to put our man under your spell. While no two men are alike and you should definitely cater to your particular man's palate, I find that a lot of men enjoy hearty full flavored meals.  Whenever I think about a hearty man's meal, I always think about steak and potatoes.  But I didn't want to make the typical steak and potato meal, so I decided to change it up a bit by adding a little spice to my meats and swapping out white potatoes for sweet potatoes.  Again you should cater to your man's preferences, if your man doesn't eat beef, you can easily swap out the beef for chicken or pork.  So I hope you give this recipe a try.

Chipotle Steak w/ Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Sautéed Green Beans

 

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the Steak:

4 Chuck Blade Steaks 4-6 oz (or whatever cut of steak you like)

1 can chiles in adobo sauce 7 oz

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 tbsp. chopped garlic

2 tbsp. lime juice

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tbsp. brown sugar

meat tenderizer

1 tbsp. Montreal steak seasoning

1 tsp garlic and herb seasoning

1/3 cup BBQ sauce

For the Potatoes:

4-5 medium sized sweet potatoes

3 tbsp. of butter

3 tbsp. of brown sugar

1 tbsp. maple syrup

1/2 cup of half and half

1 tsp. cinnamon

For String Beans:

1 bag frozen whole green beans

1 tbsp oil

1 tbsp chopped garlic

1 small onion sliced into thin slivers

1 tsp crushed red pepper flake

1 packet of Goya vegetable and salad seasoning

Directions:


For the Steak:
Pierce steak with a fork all over and sprinkle with meat tenderizer on both sides.  Season with Montreal steak seasoning, garlic and herb seasoning, and BBQ sauce toss all ingredients together thoroughly covering the steak with the seasoning.  Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to overnight to marinate.  While steak is marinating prepare chipotle sauce by adding the chopped garlic, chicken stock, brown sugar, lime juice, cumin, 2 chiles in adobo and 3 tbsp. of sauce from chiles into a blender and process until smooth.  Heat a grill pan oven medium to high heat.  Remove steak from fridge and let get room temperature.  Once Steak is room temperature brush steak with prepare chipotle sauce and place sauced side down on grill and brush top side of steak with sauce. Cook until nicely browned 5-6 mins.  and turn steak over to cook on over side for an additional 8-10 mins for medium well.  (For medium cook for additional 5-7 mins once turned, for medium rare cook for additional 3-5 mins once turned). Brush steak again on both sides with sauce and let sit for 5 mins before serving.  Reserve any remaining sauce to serve over steak if you want extra sauce.


For the Potatoes:
Peel and chopped potatoes into 1 inch cubes. Place potatoes in a medium pot and cover with water. Cover pot and let boil for 20-25 min until potatoes are tender. Drain potatoes and return to pot. Add butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon and mash. Slowly add half and half and continue to mash until they reach desired consistency. Once desired consistency is obtain cover to keep warm until serving


For the Green Beans:
Heat oil in medium sauté pan. Add garlic, onion, and crushed red pepper. Cook 2-3 mins. Add green beans to pan, sprinkle Goya seasoning and mix to evenly cover all green beans. Place cover over pan and cook 15 mins. Stir during cooking to prevent burning and get even cooking.

Hope You Enjoy and Keep SIMPLY COOKING!!!