Honey Lime Chicken with Rice

Ingredients:

• 4 servings of boneless, skinless chicken breasts (if large, cut into planks)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 3 limes worth of juice, stripping a bit of pulp out as you do so
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
• 1 teaspoon cumin 
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon chili powder 
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup uncooked Jasmine rice.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Directions:

If using larger or thicker chicken breasts, cut into smaller or thinner strips.  Salt and pepper and place into cooking dish.  You want to use one that will allow the marinade to pool around the chicken breasts.

Whisk together olive oil, soy sauce, honey, lime juice, minced garlic, minced ginger, cumin, and chili powder.  Pour over chicken.  Cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate for up to 24 hours.  If a longer marinating time, turn the chicken before bedtime and then against before placing it into the oven.  If marinating a shorter time, turn the chicken a few times to evenly marinate.  I prepared this dish whilst cooking another so that it could marinate a full day.

Cook the chicken for 35 minutes at 350 degrees.  

While the chicken is cooking, cook one cup of Jasmine rice.  Allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes before serving, pouring the marinade over the rice.

Myrtle's Note:  Again, I changed the cooking time. I prefer cooking chicken at 350 degrees for a longer time than 400 degrees or higher for a shorter time.  The recipe also has cayenne pepper as an alternative, but I personally believe chili powder is the choice that works with the rest of the ingredients.  The ginger was also marked as optional, but who wouldn't want to include it ... as well increase the amount a bit?  

I also changed this to a chicken and rice recipe because the marinade never thickened into a sauce and, thus, essentially did not really coat or strongly flavor the chicken.  To me, the rice was a perfect compliment because it soaked up the sauce and allowed me to eat up all that flavor from the marinade.  

Finally, I paired this with sautéd thin asparagus, cooked in olive oil and Kulp's garlic seasoning salt.

Yield:  4

Source:  modified from http://hungryhannahs.wordpress.com/2012/08/03/honey-lime-baked-chicken/

Baked Mustard Lime Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 pound skinless boneless chicken breast
• ½ cup fresh lime juice
• ¼ cup dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees


Directions:

Combine lime juice, mustard, olive oil, chili, salt and pepper and whisk together until ingredients are well combined.

Rinse chicken breasts, pat dry and place in a baking dish that will keep them snugged together so the marinade surround them.

Pour marinade over chicken, cover and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes or up to 6 hours

Bake at 350° for 35 minutes uncovered.  Allow chicken to rest for 5 minutes before serving.  Serve with extra sauce spooned over top.

Yield:  4 servings


Myrtle's Note:  I am not a cilantro fan, so I made it without (see original recipe for how much to add).  I also cooked the chicken much longer than the original recipe.  Since the chicken was barely cooked at the original time, my recipe states the adjusted time.  I also cooked mine in the French Oval dishes, since I need single servings.  I liked that there was extra marinade around each breast, but it meant that the chicken did not look the way the original recipe photo looked.  However, it was tasty, and the sauce thickened as I cut and dipped each bite of chicken into it.


Source:  http://www.elanaspantry.com/baked-mustard-lime-chicken/

Sautéed Summer Squash with Ginger, Garlic, and White Wine

Ingredients:

• Summer squash
• Minced ginger
• Minced garlic
• Sea salt
• Cracked pepper
• White wine
• Butter

Directions:

[This is another Myrtle-doesn't-measure recipe that I wanted to remember because I forget the things I like to eat, that I know how to cook, and this bit of inspiration turned out rather tasty to me.]

Wash the summer squash, cut off both ends back to the seeds, and slice into rounds.  I think of a summer squash per person as a serving.  The photo below shows one cooked.

Toss the slices into a large frying pan with butter, salt, pepper, garlic, and ginger.  I used, perhaps, a tablespoon of butter for the squash, but I would not use a tablespoon per squash.  By this I mean, when I am doubling or increasing quantities, I measure by eyeballing coverage of the bottom of the pan.  It should not dry out, but neither should the squash drown in everything.

I have linked to my favorite way of using garlic and ginger, specifically the rather convenient product by Gourmet Gardens.  So, my measuring is squishing out measurements of minced tubes.  In this case, I did about an inch or what might be a rounded teaspoon of both garlic and ginger.

Salt and pepper to taste.

I added the wine after the butter, salt, pepper, ginger, and garlic were all mixed around in the pan.  I had left over Savon Blanc and poured in a generous dumping from the bottle, knowing the alcohol would burn off as the squash cooked.  Somewhere between an 1/8 to a 1/4 cup, I would guess.

Sauté on medium heat, turning frequently until nicely browned.

Peanut Butter and Nutella Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients:

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs (15 cracker sheets; Keebler is best)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 16 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup Nutella
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Directions:

Line an 9x9 pan with foil (to easily remove bars after cooking), grease the foil, and set aside.

Crush 2 cups of graham crackers, preferably with a food processor, and put in a small bowl.  Add sugar, salt, and butter and thoroughly mix everything together.  Then press the crust evenly into the bottom of the pan. Bake crust until set, approximately 12 minutes.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, heavy cream, and vanilla, and beat until combined. Pour half of the cream cheese mixture into a separate large bowl and set aside. Add Nutella to the remaining half of the cream cheese mixture. Beat until smooth and creamy. Set aside.

Clean your wire beaters. Add the peanut butter to the reserved half of the plain cream cheese mixture. Beat until smooth and creamy.

Spread the peanut butter cheesecake mixture carefully over the cooled crust. Next, gently pour the Nutella cheesecake layer on top of the peanut butter layer and spread evenly.  When spreading the Nutella cheesecake layer on top of the peanut butter layer, it’s helpful to gently drop spoonfuls of the batter onto the layer in various spots and then smooth using a spatula. This prevents pooling in the center and ensures that both layers are even in thickness.

Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the center jiggles slightly when the pan is gently nudged. Cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before cutting into 16 bars.

Myrtle's Note:  I am not an Oreo fan, so I switched the crust base to graham cracker.  In fact, whilst making this with my friend Marie, we made the base half Oreo and half graham cracker.  If you wish to use Oreos, mix 2 cups Oreo cookie crumbs (about 2 full rows of cookies in a standard package) with 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted.  We were also not interested in cooling our dessert for 3 hours, so we put the bars in the freezer to finish setting.

Yield 12-16

Source:  http://www.canyoustayfordinner.com/2013/02/17/peanut-butter-and-nutella-cheesecake-bars/

Grilled Corn on the Cob with Cheese and Lime

Ingredients:

• 4 ears corn
• 1/4 cup crema (or half mayonnaise/half sour cream)
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne 
• 3 ounces cotija (or feta)
• Lime wedges

Directions:

Pull the husks back from the corn and clean off all the silk.  Put the husks back in place and immerse in water to soak for 10 minutes. Drain well.

While the ears are soaking, lightly grease the grill and pre-heat to medium-high.  Cook the corn for 10 minutes with the husks still in place.  Then, pull back the husks and cook an additional 5 minutes to brown and finish cooking the corn.  Turn at least once during the final 5 minutes.

While the corn is grilling, whisk together crema and cayenne pepper.  After removing the corn from the grill, spread the corn with the crema mixture.  Then crumble cotija on top of the ears.  Serve with fresh lime wedges.

Yield:  4


Source:  The Gourmet Cookbook, Ruth Reichl, p. 536

Ritz Summer Squash Casserole

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 cups sliced summer squash
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 cup whole milk
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 sleeve Ritz crackers

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


Directions:

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in medium skillet or saute pan over medium-low heat. Add squash and garlic and cook until tender.

To a large bowl, add eggs and lightly whisk. Add cheese and milk and whisk into egg until well-combined. Add cooked squash and onions to egg mixture and stir well to combined. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in skillet used to cook squash and onions. Add to squash casserole mixture. Add cayenne pepper, if using, along with salt and pepper. Stir well to combine.

Spray a 9×13 casserole dish with cooking spray and pour squash casserole mixture into the baking dish. Top evenly with crushed Ritz crackers. 

Place in preheated oven and bake 45 minutes, or until top has lightly browned and casserole does not “jiggle” when the dish is moved.

Allow to sit for about 3 minutes before serving.

Myrtle's Note:  It is often hard to at least halve recipes, for the single person, but this one worked.  Since I do not like onions, I omitted the medium chopped onion that was to be cooked with the squash and substituted garlic.  I also added a couple of dashes of onion powder.  I actually browned/sautéd the squash instead of just cooking it until it was soft (translate that, my slices had brown crispy spots).  I also wondered about the "sleeve" of Ritz crackers because the only boxes I could find were squatty, not tall.  I ended up using about 2/3 of a sleeve for my halved recipe to have a nice thick coating.  Finally, I added extra cheese.  What could it hurt, right?  I cooked the halved recipe in a 6x6 Corning Ware casserole dish that I had.  

PS  I would LOVE a lesson on how you measure out cups of sliced summer squash

PS2  I happen to think "does not 'jiggle'" is the BEST cooking direction I have ever come across!!

Yield:  6-8

Source: http://addapinch.com/cooking/2013/02/16/squash-casserole-recipe/#.Uip46xaBjFK