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Sunday, May 30, 2010

Dill Potato Salad



I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekend. The kickoff to summer! Summer to me is spending time with friends and family, camping, swimming, and of course cook outs!!!! My herbs and vegetable plants are abundant on my deck. The aroma of the sweet basil, fresh dill, and rosemary fills the air! I am anxious to begin to make many dishes with these fabulous fresh herbs. I am waiting anxiously for the first buds to appear on my tomato and pepper plants!
With the onset of cookout and grilling season, I will begin with sharing a fabulous recipe for potato salad. Every time I bring this dish to a picnic I receive rave reviews and many request for the recipe. I hope you will like this as well!!

2 pounds of idaho potatoes, peeled, quartered
6 eggs hard boiled
2 tablespoons freshly chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Place your potatoes in a large saucepan filled with cold salted water and cook on medium heat until tender for about 20 minutes. In a sauce pan place you eggs. Bring water to a boil, turn off heat and cover for 15 minutes. When cool, peel and slice the eggs.

Drain potatoes, transfer to large bowl and set aside to cool for a bit. When the potatoes are cooled slightly add the eggs, dill, chives, & mayonnaise. Drizzle with lemon juice and toss gently to coat. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Ricotta Chicken Pasta w/Broccolli


My daughter is a great cook. She attends Parkway where she studies the culinary arts. She is always saying how much she loves ricotta cheese. Now, I didn't think I did. My husband is very firm on his opinion on meat only ravioli. And the site of ricotta cheese and cottage cheese makes him queasy. So, when I decided to try and incorporate ricotta cheese into a recipe I had to hide the container. HAHAHA! Well, he liked this. Now, he did not LOVE it, as he likes beef in pasta. But, this was received well by the children! This recipe is a modified version of a pasta dish that is from Rachel Ray's 30 Minutes Meals. (A great cookbook given to me by my good friend Kellie B.)

Ingredients:

1 pounds whole wheat rigatoni
2 bundles of broccoli, cut into florets
2 Tbsp. of olive oil
1 pound of chicken breast
5 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 Tsp. thyme
1/2 Tsp. nutmeg

Please read through all the directions before starting. It will make this much easier!

Cook the pasta el dente in heavily salted water. Reserve 1 cup of the water from pot and drain. While pasta is cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the broccoli for 4 minutes and shock immediately in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. Cut the chicken breast into 1 inch pieces. Heat a large pan with the olive oil and cook the chicken and garlic for about 6 minutes, or until chicken is cooked the entire way through. To the pan, add the broccoli, pasta, ricotta, parmesan cheese, and the reserved cooking water. Add the thyme and nutmeg. Salt and pepper to taste. Toss until creamy. Enjoy!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Apple Pork Chops


My husband loves applesauce with his pork chop. So I came up with an easy recipe that gives him this taste. It was a hit with the kids too! Hope you enjoy!

4 pork chops
1 Tbsp. flour
1/2 sliced onion
1 cup apple juice
1 apple peeled and diced
1 Tbsp. butter

Season flour with salt and pepper. Lightly flour pork chops. Add 1 Tbsp. of butter to a skillet on medium and melt. Brown pork chop on both sides. Stir in onion, apple juice, and apple. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 7-8 minutes.