Grilled Jerk Chicken

4 tsp curry powder
4 tsp ground cumin
4 tsp paprika
3 tsp ground ginger
3 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp coarsely ground pepper
4 bone-in chicken breast halves with skin (8 ounces each)
4 chicken thighs with skin (4 ounces each)
               
In a small bowl, combine the first eight  ingredients; rub over the chicken pieces.  Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.  Grill the chicken, covered, over indirect medium heat for 30 – 40 minutes or until juices run clear.  Yield:  4 servings

Normally I cook with boneless, skinless chicken but this recipe called for bone-in with skin.  I removed the skin anyway because we have just gotten use to eating our chicken that way and plus it's healthier.  Now this recipe has a LOT of spices but I have to say that I didn't really taste all of them once it was done.  To me, it could have used a little more salt.  It smelled good while it was cooking and looked really delicious and it was, you just need to either salt it at the table or maybe and another 1/2 tsp to the rub.  It was easy to prepare and you didn't have to make a mess in the kitchen to put it together and clean up was a snap!

Special Grilled Veggies

1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp lemon-pepper seasoning
1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed (I used fresh green beans)
1 large red onion, sliced and separated into rings
1 large sweet red pepper, cut into strips
1 large sweet yellow pepper, cut into strips
In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the first six ingredients; mix well.  Add the vegetables and turn to coat.  Seal and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight, turning once. 
Drain and reserve marinade.  Place vegetables in a grill basket or disposable foil pan with slits cut in the bottom.  Grill, uncovered, over medium-high heat for 5 minutes.  Turn; baste with reserved marinade.  Grill 5-8 minutes longer or until the vegetables are tender.  4-6 servings

Here is another easy to prepare and clean up dish.  You add all the ingredients to a large zip lock bag and I just cooked it on foil on the grill so there wasn't anything to clean up.  I substituted green beans for asparagus because I am not a fan of asparagus.  (there is a story there but I won't go into it right now :)  This would make a great side dish next to anything you cook on the grill.  Fresh, tasty and healthy. 

Plum Good Summer!

Well readers, if you have been keeping up with me on Facebook you are aware of the bumper crop of plums I’ve had this year.  I have harvested 138 pounds of fresh, juicy, sweet delicious plums from just one tree.  It’s been about four years since we have had a good crop of plums and in all the years I’ve had the tree we have never had a crop this good.  One of the first things I wanted to plant when we moved to the country was a plum tree.  When I was a little girl, my grandmother had a plum tree right outside her back porch door.  Every year she would make the best plum jelly you ever ate.  I wanted to be just like her in many ways and so I planted the plum tree with the intentions of making jelly for my family just like she had made for hers.

		2012 Plums VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

My freezer is now stocked with 7 gallons of juice ready to be made into jelly.  It takes four cups of juice to make a batch so my dad and I figured that there is enough to make at least 56 pints of jelly.  Needless to say, everyone in the family, everyone that’s a friend of the family and maybe even a few strangers will be getting a jar of jelly from the Davis kitchen this fall. 

My niece and I were joking around the other day about how I could greet people with a jar of jelly.  A jelly for any occasion if you will.

“Merry Christmas, have some jelly"

“Congratulations on the job promotion, have some jelly”

“Past your exam, have some jelly”

“Having a bad hair day, have some jelly”

“Happy Anniversary, have some jelly”

“Sink clogged, have some jelly”

Well, you get the picture.  I could start an ‘any occasion jelly’ business.  Celebratory Jelly, Sympathy Jelly, New Baby Jelly, Bon Voyage Jelly.  Jelly for all your special needs.

I will begin the jelly making process as soon as my new Ball Jam and Jelly making machine arrives in the mail.  Just ordered one today thanks to a link sent to me by my sister in law who is also expecting her supply of jelly in the near future.  As soon as the machine arrives and I make a trip to Sam's for 100 pounds of sugar, those jelly jars will start rolling off the assembly line real soon.  Stay tuned for pictures and recipes!

Devil’s Food Fudge Cookies

1 package Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Devil’s Food Cake Mix

2 large eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine cake mix, eggs and oil in large bowl.  Stir until thoroughly blended.  Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts or pecans.  Mixture will be stiff.  Shape dough into balls and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.  Bake for 10 – 11 minutes.

 

Chicken Marsala

1 package of Lawry’s Tuscan Style Chicken Marsala Seasoning

1 pound of chicken breast cutlets (thin) I used two packages

1 1/2 pounds of sliced, fresh mushrooms

1/2 cup red wine

1 cup water

2 tbs butter

Olive Oil

Follow basic directions on the seasoning packet to prepare chicken and mushrooms.  (I seasoned my chicken with salt and pepper before adding to the pan.)  Brown chicken in oil and set aside.  Sauté mushrooms in remaining oil (add 1-2 tbsp more if needed)  and cook for 3 minutes.  (I added a tbsp of butter here.)  Add the seasoning packet and 1 1/2 cups water. (Here is where I changed it, I added 1/2 cup red wine and 1 cup of water) stir sauce to combine then let simmer.  (I added another tbsp of butter to the sauce to make it a bit richer and thicker)  When sauce is ready add chicken back to the pan and simmer.  Can be served with pasta, rice or potatoes.

This is the first time I have tried this season packet and I have to say that it is the shortest short cut from another regular chicken dish to OMG! GOOD chicken dish!  I had a dish similar to this at a restaurant called Brio, they called it Chicken Under A Brick (cuz it was flattened that way) and it had Marsala sauce on it just like this!  When I first opened the seasoning packet I stuck my finger in to taste the mix before I added the water.  I wanted to see if it was going to have the same flavor base as the Brio dish I had had and it did so that is when I decided that it would be better made with red wine instead of just water.  Who am I kidding, everything is better when it’s made with wine!  Anyway, for a quick, impressive, flavorful one dish dinner you can’t loose with this one.  I’m serving mine with garlic mashed potatoes and a field green salad with raspberry vinaigrette! 

Lindy’s Banana Nut Bread or Muffins

1 1/2 sticks butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 eggs, separated

4 large ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup sour cream

3 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

3/4 cups chopped pecans

1 tsp vanilla

Grease and flour 4 small loaf pans or two 9x5 loaf pans or 12 muffin cups.  (I just sprayed them with Pam and they didn’t stick at all.)  Cream butter and sugar.  Add egg yolks, mixing well.  Mix in mashed bananas.  Measure 1/2 cup milk then add enough sour cream to make one full cup.  (about 1/2 cup sour cream, maybe more)  Sift together flour, soda, salt and cinnamon.  Add the flour mixture and the milk mixture alternately to the banana mixture till combined.  Mix in pecans. 

Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into batter.  Bake at 300 degrees for 45 – 60 minutes if using loaf pans.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes if making muffins.  Bake until golden brown and done in the center.  Makes 2 large loafs 4 small loafs or 24 muffins.

This is my sister’s recipe and it is really good.  To me, they are not too sweet, just right and super moist.  I use to think that this recipe took all day to make, that was before I started improving my cooking skills.  Now, these muffins can be whipped up in no time and if you make them into muffins that cuts down on the cooking time too.  When I have baked goods in the oven the quicker I can get them on the table into waiting paws of hungry men, the better!  I used walnuts in mine instead of pecans and they worked just fine. 

This recipe came from a little cookbook my sister put together after my Grandmother passed away that was a collection of a lot of her recipes along with some of the other women in our family.  Just like the “little tin box” of recipes that I have, it’s filled mostly with recipes for sweets and desserts!  Grandmother had her priorities!

Chicken Parmesan

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt plus more to taste

1/2 tsp black pepper plus more to taste

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to uniform thinness

2 tbsp butter

1/2 cup olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 cup wine (white or red)

three 14.5 ounce cans crushed tomatoes

2 tbsp sugar

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, plus more for sprinkling

1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 lb thin linguine or other pasta cooked al dente

Mix the four sand and pepper on a large plate.  Season the flattened chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper then dredge them in the flour mixture.  Set them aside.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt the butter in the olive oil until sizzling.  Fry the chicken breasts until nice and golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes on each side.  Remove the chicken from the skillet and keep warm.  Without cleaning the skillet, add the onion and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes or until the onions start to brown.  Pour in the wine and scrape the bottom of the pan, getting all the flavorful bits off the bottom.  Allow wine to cook down until reduced by half, about 3 minutes.  Pour in the crushed tomatoes and stir to combine.  Add the sugar, salt and pepper to taste.  Stir, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes so the flavors can marry.  Add the chopped parsley and the 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, stir to combine.  Carefully lay the chicken breasts on top of the sauce and completely cover them with the remaining 1 cup grated Parmesan.  Cover the skillet and simmer until the cheese is melted and the chicken is heated through, about 5 minutes.  Place the cooked pasta in pasta bowls or on plates, then cover it with sauce.  Lay a chicken breast on top of each serving and sprinkle with more parsley.  Serve immediately.

Well, we finally had a hit this week!  the men folk at the house gave this one a thumbs up.  My husband said anything was better than the “leather” we had a couple of nights ago.  I won’t go there right now!  This dish made a huge portion and it was very filling and tasty.  I served it with a side of Pasta Ala Vodka and garlic toast.   Yummy!  I did make a few slight changes as I let the chicken simmer in the sauce first and then when I assembled the dish I added the grated Parm on top last, sprinkled with parsley and then microwaved to melt the cheese about 30 seconds.  My group was hungry and there wasn’t time to add the cheese first, in the dish and let it melt that way.  Another thing that I would change about this recipe is, instead of turning the chicken in just flour, I would turn it in Italian breadcrumbs instead to give the chicken a little more flavor. 

I saw Pioneer Woman make this dish on her Saturday morning cooking show and I wondered how she could call it Parmesan chicken when I hardly saw her put anything in it to make it taste that way.  Using Italian breadcrumbs, to me, would bring out more flavor.  I would make this dish again, especially for my Bearkat who is away at school.  He loves Chicken Parmesan but is busy at school playing with rocks.  I’ll make it for him the next time he comes home!