Grilled Chicken and Peach Flatbread Sandwich

A few months ago, I had lunch in a recommended tea room in Victoria and enjoyed a chicken and peach sandwich. Now that was something I wouldn't have thought to combine in a sandwich, but it was delicious!  We have been enjoying B.C. peaches 'every which way' lately, and I came up with a grilled chicken and peach flatbread sandwich which went over well!  

• 2 naan bread
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• pesto (optional) 
• 4 oz. mozzarella cheese, sliced or shredded 
• 2 chicken breasts, seasoned and grilled
• 1 peach, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1-2 tablespoons fresh basil, shredded
• balsamic reduction, for drizzling

1. Brush olive oil on one side of each naan bread, and arrange oiled side down on work surface.
2. Spread one side of naan bread with pesto (if desired) and place mozzarella cheese on top.
3. Slice chicken breasts and arrange pieces over the cheese.
4. Lay peach slices over the chicken.
5. Sprinkle with shredded basil.
6. Drizzle balsamic reduction over the peaches.
7. Top with second naan bread, oiled side out. 
8. Carefully place on grill over medium-low heat. (Can also be done in a pan on the stove-top.)
9. Grill about 3 minutes per side (flipping carefully), or until cheese has melted and bread is lightly browned.
10. Remove from grill; cut through the center to serve.

Serves 2.

 

Lazy man's Perogies Gluten free

Lazy man's perogies are my husband's comfort food and he asks for this dish more often than anything else. It is easy  to make and is great reheated so I make a big enough pan to last several meals.

I am so happy that I can buy good gluten free lasagna  noodles that no one can tell the difference from the regular wheat ones. I buy the Tinkyada brand readily found in most grocery stores.

I never measure ingredients for this, so I paid a little extra attention last time I made it so I could post a more accurate recipe. (you can make this any size pan you wish, just adjust the ingredient amounts)

You need ... for a 9 x 12 inch baking dish

• box of  lasagna noodles 
• one large container of  creamed cottage cheese 
• one egg yolk
• 'ready to eat' farmer sausage (optional) 

Method

1.  I don't pre-cook my lasagna noodles - you can if you like. 
2. Place sliced sausage on bottom of baking dish.  Cover with noodles - note which way you lay them. 
3. Mix 1 egg yolk into the cottage cheese  and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Spread over noodle layer. 
4. Top with another layer of noodles laying them crosswise from first layer. 
5. Make gravy  (see recipe below) and  spread over top of second layer of noodles
6. Cover loosely with a sheet of tin foil and bake for about 40 minutes at 350 degrees F. 
7. Remove from oven and let it sit for a few minutes before serving .  

Gravy

• 2 tablespoons butter 
• 1/2 medium sized onion finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt 
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups of half and half 
• 1 tablespoon potato starch

1. Cook chopped onion in butter in saucepan on stove element, until onions begin to golden.
2. Mix potato starch with half-and-half  and salt and pepper - add to chopped onion 
3. Cook, stirring, until it thickens 
4. Remove from heat and pour over the top layer of lasagna noodles.

Flashback Friday / Oven Fried Sesame Paprika Chicken

I had not made this chicken for a very long time. It was so moist, crispy and best of all EASY, why had I forgotten about this recipe? I first posted the recipe back in 2010. I served it with Roasted potatoes, and a tossed salad. This amount of flour was enough for 4 large chicken breast halves.

• 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 egg well beaten mixed with 2 tablespoons water
• 4 bone in chicken breasts, or 6-8 bone in chicken thighs. (Skin on or off, your choice)

1. Combine the dry ingredients.
2. dip the chicken in the flour mixture, then the egg mixture and once more in the seasoned flour. 
3. Place the chicken skin side up on a well greased foil lined baking pan for easy clean up. 
4. Brush with melted butter.
5. Top with Sesame seeds. 
6. Bake at 375 degrees (Fahrenheit)  for 45-60 minutes depending on the size of chicken pieces used. 

The baking powder in the coating contributes to how crunchy the chicken is. A good alternative to fried chicken.

Cherry Waldorf Jello Mold

This is a recipe that takes us back to the 70's. Recently I had good reason to host such a party and it was fun to be reminded of some of the dishes we don't make anymore. If you have not given away your jello mold, why not try it?  It's a nice addition to a buffet.

Ingredients:

• 3 small pkgs cherry jello
• 2 1/2 cups hot water
• 2 cups cold water
• 1 apple, chopped fine
• 3/4 cups celery, chopped fine
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped fine

1. Prepare jello mold by wiping the grooves with an oiled paper towel.
2. In glass bowl, dissolve jello with hot water, stirring well, before adding cold water.
3. Spread apples, celery and nuts around the bottom of the mold.
4. Carefully pour in the jello.
5. Allow to set overnight. 
6. When ready to unmold, dip jello mold into hot water for about 10 seconds. Cover with a flat plate and tip over to invert the mold. The Tupperware jello mold has a center part that can be removed first. Do this slowly watching to see if it drops. If not, dip into hot water once more. Serves 10 - 15

Rainbow Pasta Salad

Simple and delicious.  Chock-full of crunchy veggies and a tangy dressing, this pasta salad is the perfect addition to a picnic or BBQ buffet table.  Use your favorite pasta or the kids' favorite...macaroni!  I did 'the recipe x five' for a BBQ for 60 a few weeks ago.

• 8 oz. dry pasta
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste 
•  3 hard boiled eggs , peeled and chopped
• 1 cup diced red bell pepper
• 1 cup julienned carrots
• 3/4 cup diced celery
• 1/4 cup diced red onion
• 1 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

1. Cook pasta in salted water according to directions on package.  Drain and rinse with cold water; cool completely. (Add a little olive oil to pasta before cooling to prevent pieces from sticking together.)
2. Stir together mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, mustard, honey, and season with salt and pepper.
3. Add pasta to a large mixing bowl along with eggs, red pepper, carrots, celery and onion. Pour dressing over and toss mixture to evenly coat. Serve or store in refrigerator to serve within 24 hours.
   
   Serves 10-12.

 

Quinoa Crust Vegetable Pizza

My granddaughter and I made this quinoa crust vegetable pizza together. She had made this before and brought the recipe along as well as her tips and thoughts. It was fun to cook with her. She donned one of my aprons and the kitchen became a busy bustling place as we both did our separate jobs to bring it all together. You can add your choice of vegetables to this pizza and use your favorite cheese. I used a nacho type mix of cheese but feta would really be good too. This pizza tasted so good.

• 1 cup quinoa
• Cold water
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 6 tablespoons pizza sauce
• 1/3 cup sliced mushrooms 
• 1/3 cup sweet peppers (a mix of red and green), chopped finely
• 3/4 cup shredded cheese, I used a nacho mix, feel free to use your favorite
• Basil leaves

1. Place quinoa in a medium sized bowl, cover with water by at least 2 inches. Let stand at room temperature 8 hours. No need to cover the bowl.
2. After 8 hours drain quinoa in a fine sieve and rinse well.
3. Place quinoa, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons water in blender and puree until smooth. The batter should look like pancake batter, not too thin or thick but just right to pour.
4. Place a 10" cast iron frying pan in a 450º oven for 8 minutes.
5. Remove pan from oven (don't forget to use your oven mitts because the pan is really hot), add coconut oil and return to oven for another 3 minutes to melt the oil.
6. Pour batter in pan and spread evenly with a spoon.
7. Place back in oven and bake for 15 minutes until crust is golden in color. Remove from oven and flip crust over, return to oven and bake another 8 minutes.
8. Remove pan from oven, spread pizza sauce on crust, and cover with toppings. Sprinkle cheese over the top and bake for another 7 minutes or until cheese is melted.
9. Sprinkle with basil leaves before serving.
10. Serves: 2 if you are serving a salad to go with it.

This is what the crust looks like when it's baked.

Here are the cooks and sometimes it just takes a lot of maneuvering to get the photo just right.

Cream Cheese Pastry

I made Judy's Peach Pie but wanted to try a new crust recipe with a cream cheese pastry which was delicious.

• 3 1/3 cups flour
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup cold butter
• 1-8 ounce package cream cheese
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

1. Combine the dry ingredients and work in the butter and cream cheese until you have a crumble texture. Add the cream. 
2. At this point the dough may be chilled for an hour for easier handling, but I made my pies immediately. 

I found this crust not to be as flaky as my other one, but richer and very tasty. This amount makes 2-8 or 9 inch double crusted pies. Just double the filling if you are using Judy's recipe for peach pie. I highly recommend you do as peach pie is awesome!!! 

Pavlova - Flash Back Friday

With all the fresh fruit available at fruit stands in our valley right now, I thought you might like to be reminded of this Pavlova

It not only highlights the fruits in season but is so delicious.

A truly beautiful dessert to place before your guests.

• 3 egg whites at room temperature (I use large eggs)
• 1/3 cup sugar (1st amount)
• 2/3 cup sugar (2nd amount)
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 teaspoon vinegar

• 1  1/2 cups whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons icing sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• fruit of your choice. Fresh berries are great, as are fresh or canned peaches, nectarines, pineapple, kiwi or a combination.

1. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks begin to form.
2. Add 1st amount of sugar, a few tablespoons at a time, beating very well between additions. I was told to check that the sugar had dissolved before adding the next amount. You can check by tasting a bit of the meringue to see if there are any grains of still sugar intact. This can take a long time so I don't always beat it that long.
3. Beat in vanilla and vinegar.
4. Mix cornstarch with the 2nd amount of sugar and continue to add sugar in small amounts beating well in between each addition until meringue is very thick and most of the sugar is dissolved.
5. Cut a round of parchment paper to fit a pizza pan. You can sprinkle the pan with a bit of water before putting the parchment down so it sticks to the pan. Alternately you can use foil which is lightly buttered.
6. Pile the meringue on to the parchment in a circle about the size of a dinner plate. Using a spatula or spoon, push the meringue to the outside edges and indent the centre so it is lower than the sides.
7. Place in centre of a 300 degree F oven and bake for 1 hour.
8. After one hour, turn oven off. DO NOT OPEN OVEN DOOR until it is completely cold. (I usually bake my pavlova just before going to bed and leave it in the cold oven overnight.)
9. Whip cream with icing sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form.
10. Pile the whipped cream into the centre indentation of your pavlova. (You can do this a couple of hours ahead or right before serving.
11. Top with cut up fruit or arrange fruit slices in a circular design. Do not put the fruit on until just before serving or the meringue will soften.
12. Cut into wedges to serve.

Blueberry Sheet Pie

 It's mid August already, but I'm still taking advantage of all things summer. One summer treat is stopping by the local market each week and finding bins filled with fresh picked fruits and vegetables.
 Summer also brought company, and we had the rare treat of having my brother Wes and sister in law Kim from Kiev, along with local family over for Sunday lunch. Blueberries were just ready and so I decided that a Blueberry Sheet Pie would be our dessert. Using this dough recipe you can pretty much use any fruit you want. I've used apples, peaches and blackberries and they are all really wonderful! 

Have you noticed the new video clip here on the blog? You can find it on the upper right side bar. Hear Lovella share where all our book royalties go. Wes and Kim are working with Music Mission Kiev and there are a few photos in the video of the people they help. We are able to partner with them through our Celebrations Cookbook sales. 100% of the Royalties from that book go to help those less fortunate in the Ukraine. Listen to hear about our other project as well. Thank you for continuing to support our projects when you purchase one of our 3 cookbooks. 

This recipe is for a pan measuring 13"x18"

Pastry:

• 3 3/4 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 cups cold butter, cubed
• 3 egg yolks, plus enough milk to measure 1 1/3 cups

1. In a mixing bowl combine flour and salt.
2. Using a pastry cutter (or I use a cheese grater) cut or grate cold butter into flour mixture until very fine.
3. Divide egg yolks and whites. Place egg yolks into a measuring cup and add cold milk to measure 1 1/3 cups. (save whites for topping-see instructions below) Whisk together until yolks are broken up. Add this mixture to the flour and butter mixture.
4. Stir with a fork to combine. 
5. Turn mixture out onto a lightly floured counter and knead until dough comes together into a nice smooth ball. Flatten and wrap in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator while you prepare fruit.

Fruit:

• 9 cups fresh (or frozen) blueberries 
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch **if using frozen berries stir in 2 tablespoons cornstarch**
• 1 scant cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups crushed Cornflakes or Special K cereal

1. Gently stir corn starch and sugar into the berries. Set aside.

Assembling Pie:

1. Take dough out of refrigerator and divide in half.
2. Roll first piece of dough out on a lightly floured surface until it is very thin and fits your pan size. ** A tip for pie dough is to roll the rolled out dough around your rolling pin. Place over your pan or pie plate and gently unroll the dough to fit your pan.**
3. Sprinkle the bottom crust with the crushed cereal.
4. Top with the prepared fruit.
5. Roll out second piece of dough and using the same method, roll onto your rolling pin and unroll over the fruit. Don't worry if it tears a little or does not quite fit right to the edges. 
6. If you have any dough hanging over the pan cut it off. You can even use it to 'patch' the top if need be. If you can you can now pinch the top crust to the bottom one, but if for some reason your crusts don't come together it's all fine. It will still bake up beautifully. Randomly prick the top crust with a fork.
7. Now take the egg whites that you saved when making the dough. Beat until soft peaks form.
8. Spread the beaten egg whites over the top crust using your hands or the back of a spoon. 
9. Bake in 375º F oven for 35-45 minutes. The egg whites will turn a nice golden brown and become slightly crusty. This is what really takes this pie to another level. 
10. As soon as the pie comes out of the oven drizzle it with a simple icing of approximately 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 3-4 tablespoons water and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir these 3 ingredients together and just drizzle over hot pie.

This is best eaten on the day it's baked as you want the texture of the egg whites to remain crusty. 

Carnitas Enchilada Casserole

This throw together casserole will work with a variety of leftover meat. We cooked a large portion of Carnitas (Pork Butt slow cooked with Mexican seasonings) and had lots of shredded pork leftover so we enjoyed this layered enchilada casserole.

Ingredients:

• 1 large can green enchilada sauce (approx. 28 ounces)
• 12 corn tortillas
• 1 can of pinto beans (approx. 12 ounces)
• 4 cups leftover meat shredded or chopped
• 3 cups of grated Mexican blend cheese

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Pour a thin layer of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.
3. Layer 6 of the corn tortillas on top of the sauce.
4. Distribute the meat over the tortillas.
5. Distribute the pinto beans over the meat.
6. Pour the remaining sauce evenly over the meat and beans.
7. Top this with 6 more corn tortillas and press down.
8. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the tortillas.
9. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the cheese melts and mixture bubbles and is heated through. 
10. Serve hot with a side of greens.
11. Refrigerate any leftovers.

I had a package of the mini street taco size of corn tortillas so I used 8 of them on top instead of 6 regular sized ones. If your family really enjoys cheese you can top with more than 3 cups and put an extra layer of cheese on the first layer of tortillas before you add the meat. You can use grated Cheddar or Jack Cheese instead of the Mexican blend.