Chicken Paprika a la Lesznik

I have heard great things about this recipe while working at the hospital so of course I had to have it. So compliments of one of my very favorite anesthesiologist I now have his very delicious recipe. It makes a lot so can be good for a family or for left overs if you are solo. It is so unbelievable easy and it is the ultimate “forget about it” recipe.

Ingredients:
Olive oil (enough to cover the bottom and coat the chicken a bit)
1 tsp. salt
2-3 tbsp. Hungarian Paprika (I got this from a Fresh Market…this seasoning is key)
1 large sliced onion.
1 whole cut up chicken (you can get this already cut up or you can do it yourself. I don’t recommend putting in the backbone; it is near impossible to get all those little bones out)
1 large sliced green pepper
1 large tomato cut in wedges
1-2 tbsp. sour cream

Directions:
1. In a large stock pot saute onions in olive oil, salt, and paprika.

2. Add chicken and coat with the seasonings and oil. Keep the heat low to avoid the chicken from browning. Cover and cook for 30mins.

3. Add tomato then cover and cook for another 30mins.

4. Add sour cream and cover and cook for another 20min.

5. Uncover so the sauce thickens.

6. Make sure chicken is cooked all the way through. It should fall off the bone.

7. Best served over egg noodles or a spaetzle type noodle.

ENJOY 🙂

Compliments of Dr. George Lesznik

Honey Cajun Pork Tenderloin

I’m picky when it comes to pork but I really liked this. It was very tender which is hard to do with pork. Pork very easily become chewy and tough.

Ingredients:
4 tbs butter
2 tbs honey
1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin, trimmed
1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1/2 tsp black pepper
3/4 cup water

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a ovenproof pot, heat butter and honey over medium heat until melted.

3. Sprinkle pork tenderloin with Cajun seasoning and black pepper.

4. Brown each side for 5 minutes in the honey butter. Lower heat if honey begins to burn.

5. Place pot in oven and roast uncovered for 15 – 20 minutes*.

6. Remove pot from oven and transfer the pork to a plate. Cover with foil.

7. Add water to the pot and stir over medium heat. Simmer for about 5 minutes, until sauce is reduced slightly.

8. Slice pork on the diagonal and drizzle sauce over top to serve.

**So I wasnt sure if my pot was oven-proof so I did things a little different. I transferred my pork and sauce to a roasting pan. Well this messed the sauce up a bit so I just made new sauce. It tasted fine but I’m sure the sauce would have been thicker if I did it the way they recommended. But know if you pot is not oven-proof the recipe is still doable and it is still delish!!

Crockpot Chicken Tacos

Easy and crowd-pleasing. This is easy to make for two people or for 10 people. I love eating this for lunch for the next few days after I cook it too. I personally do not like spicy food but if you do you can make your tacos with spicy salsa. You can really make this to your liking. Are you ready to be amazed at how simple this is……

Ingredients:
Chicken breast
Taco Seasoning
Salsa

Directions:
1 step…throw it all in the crockpot and cook on low for 6hrs.

So use own discretion on how much of taco seasoning and salsa to use to how much chicken you are making. I usually put 4 chicken breast with 1 packet of taco seasoning and 1 jar of salsa. But if you want a stronger flavor then add more. So it’s really up to you how you want this to turn out.

Oh and to shred to chicken just take a fork, stick it in the middle of the breast, and twist…it shred beautifully!!!

Garlic Shrimp Pasta

Hope you have your toothbrush handy because after eating this you will need it. I love garlic but I don’t think I’m in love with oregano as much…aaaand this recipe has ALOT of both. So I’m not saying this is a bad recipe but I will say it isn’t my favorite. Advantage to this recipe is you can tweak it to fit you likings. So next time I will not add so much oregano. And I will probably add some basal to sweeten it up a bit. I forgot to save the 1/4 cup of water to add to the sauce (honestly because I thought it would just make it watery and who the hell likes watery pasta) but I might try it next time because the bread crumbs soaked up everything. Soooo at the end of the day I think this recipe has potential but it definitely needs some tweaking!!! So if you are feeling adventurous give it a try but change it up a bit. Ohhh completely forgot…the pasta is great. I had honestly never even heard of it before. Its like thick spaghetti straws. Its hallow in the middle. I will definitely be buying it again!!!

Ingredients:
1lb fresh, peeled, deveined shrimp
10 cloves garlic (aka 10 small spoonfuls of diced garlic from the jar)
1 stick of butter
1/4 cup oregano
lemon juice (1 lemon)
salt and pepper
1lb buccatini
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs (I used Italian bread crumbs to add flavor)
parmesan (for serving)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. On a lined baking sheet, mix the shrimp, garlic, oregano, lemon and the butter (cut into small pieces) salt and pepper.

3. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook the pasta according to package instructions.

4. Bake the shrimp mixture for 10-15 minutes, until shrimp is just cooked through.

5. Remove from the oven Drain the pasta and reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

6. Add the shrimp mixture and pasta together and make sure it is well incorporated. If there looks like there isn’t much sauce, add a little bit of the pasta water until the pasta is well coated.

7. Add the bread crumbs and some fresh oregano. Toss to incorporate. Top with parmesan.

Kaytucky Chicken

The minute I see a recipe with cream cheese in it I know it’s probably going to be good so deciding to try this was a no brainer. I love making stuffed chicken so if you want an easy stuffed chicken recipe this will be great for you. The good thing about this recipe is once you make it once the possibilities are endless. I already have things I want to add to it next time.

Ingredients:
4 chicken fillets
4 frozen puff pastry sheets (You will need to defrost them. Leave them on your counter for about 45mins)
4 oz cream cheese (the firm kind)
few rashes of bacon (I just got regular butchers cut bacon)
flat-leaf parsley
1 spring onion
1 large egg
pepper
salt

Directions:
1. Cook bacon then chop up and put in a mixing bow. I threw my bacon in the food processor for a second to save time.

2. Thinly chop up the spring onions and fresh parsley and add to bacon. (I used dried parsley but next time I want to do fresh but it tasted fine with dried) Add a pinch of pepper then mix everything together until its well blended. I also added a little garlic….garlic makes everything better 🙂

3. Cut a large, deep slit down the middle of the chicken breast and start stuffing.

4. With the fully defrosted pastry sheet place the chicken face down in the middle and wrap the pastry around the chicken.

5. Beat the egg and brush the pastry with the egg. It acts as a glue so get the edges really good to avoid it from falling apart.

6. Bake at 400degrees for 30-35mins.

If you wanted to mix it up you can make pretty much any cream cheese mixture . If you want to add a kick try adding chili powder or red pepper flakes. Or make a more italian style mixture with more herbs and spices. I might even try sausage instead of bacon. Possibilities are endless!!!

The Perfect Steak

So you already know my stance on meats and veggies so step one to cooking a good steak is…well a good steak. I’m not even saying your steak has to be a filet because the cut can be your preference…serloin, ribeye, whichever. If you are buying your steak off a shelf, wrapped in plastic wrap then you are probably buying a sub-par steak. However, if you are picking out your steaks from a butcher well…your eating a good steak!!! TRUST ME…the difference is astronomical!!! So now that step one is down there is step two…marinadeee!!! My all time favorite is a full bottle of Stubs Beef Marinade and couple of good squirts of Worcestershire sauce marinading all day before you grill to perfection! I promise you will looove…yum yum 🙂 Oh and don’t ruin your steak cooking it well done. If you want beef jerky go to 7-11!!!!

Paula Deen Crock Pot Mac-n-Cheese

Now I have never heard of having macaroni and cheese for Thanksgiving dinner but my boyfriend thought it was unheard of to not have macaroni and cheese so that lead me to search the internet for a good recipe (because you know I’m not going to cook something out of a box for Thanksgiving). Being a little peeved that I was cooking yet another dish to please one man I was not going to be baking mac-n-cheese because my oven had enough to do that day so the crock pot was going to have to do. Well….I was very wrong. Not only is crock pot mac-n-cheese amazing, its extremely easy, and holy cow taste good left over. So needless to say this will be included in my Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners but also a few nights in between. Just beware…anything Paula Deen is amazing because it is VERY unhealthy!!!

Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
4 tablespoons butter
2 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed cheddar cheese soup (I couldnt find cheddar soup so I used one of those Progresso Recipe Starters. They have one in a cheese flavor.)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:
1. Boil the macaroni in water for six minutes. Drain.

2. In a medium saucepan, mix butter and cheese. Stir until the cheese melts.

3. In slow cooker, combine cheese mixture and add the eggs (I omitted the eggs), sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper. Add the drained macaroni and stir again.

4. Cook on low for 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

SERIOUSLY…could it get any simplier???

Compliments of Food.com

Sweet and Sour Chicken

This is AMAZING. Very tasty and a good crowd pleaser!!!! This is one of those recipes that will make you feel like your on Top Chef. And I promise you will never use flour again when you are frying chicken.

Ingredients:

Chicken:
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil

Sauce:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. While the oil is heating, cut the chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Place the cornstarch in a gallon-sized ziploc bag. Put the chicken into the bag with the cornstarch and seal, tossing to coat the chicken.

3. Whisk the eggs together in a shallow pie plate. Dip the cornstarch-coated chicken pieces in the egg and place them carefully in a single layer in the hot skillet. Cook for 1-2 minutes and then flip each piece over to cook on the other side until nicely golden but not all the way cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish and repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.

4. Mix the sauce ingredients together in a medium bowl and pour over the chicken in the baking dish. Bake for one hour, turning the chicken once or twice while cooking to coat evenly with sauce. Serve over hot, steamed rice.

Compliments of MelsKitchenCafe.com

Simple Pan-Seared Scallops

I was home alone one night and usually that means I’m going to cook an over the top dinner and by over the top I mean spending a little extra money. Well scallops are one of my favorite seafoods. My mouth is water just thinking about seared scallops. Now if you are going to make this recipe you need to get yourself a good bottle of white wine. For one it is a requirement because wine is needed in the recipe but two because why the hell wouldn’t you want a good white wine with scallops?!??!!

Ingredients:
4 large dry scallops
salt
pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup white wine

Directions:
1. Pat the scallops dry with towel or paper towels. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the
scallops (both sides).

2. Heat olive oil in a frying pan over high heat.
When oil is hot, place the scallops in the pan with at least one or two inches between
them.

3. After two minutes, the base should
be browned nicely. Flip the scallops and cook for another minute or until base is
browned. Remove from heat and set on serving dish.

4. While still on high heat, drop a spoonful of butter into the pan. Move the butter around the pan until melted completely. Pour in the wine and use a whisk to scrape the brownings from the pan and stir it into the
liquid.

5. Leave the heat on high and let the sauce boil until it reduces to desired
consistency. Immediately remove from heat and serve with scallops.

Best Salmon Seasoning EVER!!!!

I love salmon!!! It’s just so tasty. It is however, one of those meats that must be bought at a Fresh Market. I guess what you will learn is that I think all meats and veggies should be bought at a Fresh Market…Wal-Mart or Food Lion’s meats just don’t stand up to what a Fresh Market has to offer. Now, that being said, I’m not saying do all your grocery shopping at a Fresh Market because that is a waste of money. Ketchup is ketchup and bread crumbs are bread crumbs BUT Wal-Mart salmon is not fresh Atlantic salmon and a Walmart filet is not a Hertford filet. So blah blah onto the seasoning. I found this seasoning one day and it was a life changing. I literally bypass salmon recipes because I wont pass up putting this particular seasoning on my salmon. So…drum roll please…..the best salmon seasoning ever is Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Magic Salmon Seasoning. I give my salmon a healthy seasoning, put on my baking stone, cook for 20mins and waaalaaaa…perfection!!!