I love the flavors of ginger, garlic, and cinnamon… cooked together with coconut milk and tomatoes. Big bites of carrot, celery, and potato make this a hearty meal. This curry is so delicious. I like my curry rich and thick. This turned out just perfect!

Vegetarian? Substitute white mushroom halves for the chicken and use veggie broth instead of the chicken broth. If you don’t want/like mushrooms, just use some extra veggies like broccoli or snow peas.

INGREDIENTS
3 Tbsp Butter
1 Onion, chopped
1-inch piece Ginger, peeled and finely chopped
4 cloves of Garlic, finely chopped or minced
2 Tbsp Garam Masala
½ tsp Cinnamon
4 Chicken Thighs, boneless & skinless, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
1 (15-ounce) cans Coconut Milk
2 cups Chicken Stock
2 Carrots, peeled and chopped
1 Green Bell Pepper, chopped
1 Potato, peeled and chopped
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
2 Tbsp cilantro leaves, plus more for garnish
1 lemon, juiced
Kosher Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper, as desired

METHOD
Heat the butter in a large heavy sauté pan.
Add the onions, ginger and garlic and cook on medium low until the onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the Garam Masala and cinnamon.
Add the chicken and cook on medium for about 5 minutes.
Add the tomato paste, coconut milk, chicken stock, carrots, bell pepper, potato, tomato and cilantro leaves.
Cook on medium heat until it comes to a simmer.
Turn to medium low and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the veggies are soft.
Stir in the lemon juice.
Taste and season with salt and pepper, as desired.
Garnish with cilantro.
Serve with your favorite rice.
Enjoy!

I love meals like this ~ super easy to put together and delicious! The chicken becomes moist and tender as it bakes with the veggies and herbs… which becomes the sauce for your pasta. This dish is so wonderfully aromatic as it bakes, it fills the house with the woody scent of fresh rosemary and lets you know that a delicious dinner is about to be yours!

I’ve entered this dish/recipe in a contest in hopes to be the next featured chef on Plated!

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup Olive Oil
2 Chicken Breasts (I used boneless with skin on)
1 Red Tomato, cut into bite-size pieces
1 Yellow Tomato, cut into bite-size pieces
1/3 cup Kalamata Olives, or olive of your choice
10 large Capers (or 2 Tbsp of small Capers)
5 cloves of Garlic, sliced
2 fresh sprigs of Rosemary
3 or 4 fresh Basil sprigs
3 or 4 fresh Parsley sprigs
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Serve on top of Bow Tie Pasta (or pasta of your choice), cooked according to package directions
Fresh Grated Parmesan Cheese, optional

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Drizzle some olive oil in the bottom of your baking dish.
Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper, and place in the baking dish.
Place tomatoes, olives, capers, garlic, basil, parsley and rosemary evenly in the baking dish.
Drizzle generously with olive oil.
Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on top.
Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
In the last 15 minutes of cooking the chicken, cook your pasta.

To plate:
Place a generous spoonful or two of pasta on the plates.
Place a chicken breast in the center of each plate and top with the veggies, herbs and sauce.
Top with fresh grated Parmesan Cheese, if desired.
Enjoy!

Who doesn’t love chicken wings?! These Honey Soy Chicken Wings are both sweet and savory. I love the flavor combination of the cilantro, lemon and ginger. Yummy!

INGREDIENTS
2 lb Chicken Wings and/or Drumettes
1 cup Soy Sauce (I like to use low sodium)
1 Tbsp fresh Ginger, grated
2 Tbsp fresh Cilantro, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 Lemon, juiced
Kosher salt
Freshly ground Black Pepper
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Butter
1/2 cup Honey
Toasted Sesame Seeds, for garnish – if desired

METHOD
In a large bowl combine soy sauce, ginger, cilantro, garlic, and lemon juice to create a marinade.
Set aside.
Rinse chicken wings or drumettes and pat dry.
If using wings, remove tip and discard; separate each wing at the joint into 2 pieces.
Place wings in a shallow dish and pour the marinade on top.
Toss well to coat and refrigerate for 2 hours or longer.
Remove wings from marinade and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper.
In a large frying pan melt the butter and olive oil over medium-high heat.
Add the honey and chicken wings and sauté for about 7 minutes, or until browned on each side.
Continue cooking the wings on medium heat, turning them over often to coat them as the glaze reduces and the wings are sticky and cooked through.
Garnish with sesame seeds and serve.
Enjoy!

The town we live in now does have a few good Mexican/Spanish restaurants, but none have Paella on the menu. So, when I started craving the Paella that I used to enjoy at Casa Escobar, I decided to make my own. Here’s my rendition. I added pork, chicken, shrimp, mussels and lobster to my Paella. You can use the base I have here and add whatever seafood or protein you’d like. Just want shrimp? Add just shrimp! Make it to your own tastes.

I have to admit, it was not as good as the Paella made at Casa Escobar. However, it totally satisfied my craving!

INGREDIENTS
3 to 5 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 lb. piece of Pork (shoulder or loin)
1 lb. Chicken thighs (skinless boneless)
1 Onion, diced
1/2 Green Bell Pepper, diced
1/2 Red Bell Pepper, diced
5 cloves of Garlic, diced
2 cups Rice (short grain – Bomba rice is best)
5 large pinches of Saffron
3 Tbsp fresh Parsley, chopped
1 – 16 oz. can of Diced Tomatoes, with juice
3 cups Chicken Broth
8 oz. Clam Juice
1 Tbsp Tabasco
1 cup Peas (frozen)
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp fresh ground Black Pepper
2 Lobster Tails, split
10 Shrimp, peeled and deveined (leave tail on)
10 Mussels, cleaned

METHOD
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large saucepan (I used my Wok), add about 3 teaspoons of olive oil over medium heat.
When pan is hot, cook the pork on all sides, until well-browned.
Place pork in the oven to continue cooking for another 20 minutes.
Next, cook the chicken completely.
Remove from pan and set aside.
Add more olive oil to pan.
Add in the onion and peppers.
Saute for about 5 minutes.
Add in the garlic.
Saute for another minute or so.
Add the rice and saute for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the rice gets golden in color.
Add the saffron and parsley, being sure to break up the saffron with your fingers.
Saute for about 5 minutes to release the oils of the saffron.
Add in the diced tomatoes (with their juice), chicken broth, clam juice, Tabasco, peas, salt and pepper.
Cut the chicken and pork into large chunks and add it to the pot.
Stir together, cover and allow to cook for about 10 to 15 minutes (without stirring).
Next place your lobster tails, shrimp and mussels on top, pressing them down into the rice a little.
Cover and continue to cook for another 12 minutes (without stirring), until the mussels have opened and the shrimp is pink (halfway through turn the shrimp over).
Remove from heat and let rest, covered, for about 10 minutes.
Serve with a dollop of sour cream on top.
Garnish with lemon wedges, if desired.
Enjoy!

NOTE: Paella should have a nice toasted bottom, called Socarrat… which is why you shouldn’t stir the Paella in the last 20 minutes of cooking.

INGREDIENTS
4 lbs. of the meat of your choice (steak or chicken)
4 cloves Garlic, crushed
Juice of 3 limes
Juice of 2 lemons
1/2 cup fresh Cilantro, chopped
1 Tbsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
1/4 tsp Oregano
a little Fresh Ground Black Pepper

METHOD
Add all the ingredients into a gallon size plastic baggie.
Mix together and add the steak or chicken.
Seal the baggie and place in the fridge to marinate (at least 5 hours).

Woke up this morning to another rainy day. So, of course I started to make Chicken Soup with Rice at 7:30 a.m. using the leftover slow roasted chicken I made yesterday! I hadn’t planned on making soup, but I did have all of the ingredients that would make a perfect soup, except I didn’t have celery!! Celery is one of my favorite ingredients in chicken soup, I love the flavor and to me it’s necessary. But, I’m not cooking in my own kitchen, where celery is always in my fridge. We’re happily staying at a friend’s house while they are on vacation for a week. Honestly, it’s like a vacation for me, as well….. let me backtrack a bit.

You may have seen the previous post about moving from Los Angeles to Tennessee. I even posted pictures and a description of the house that we were buying. Unfortunately, those plans fell through just 2 days before the closing and we found ourselves without a place to move into! Now, at that point, it’s been a month since we left Los Angeles. This consisted of a week of traveling across country with our 2 Frenchies (Duke & Sophie), our bird (Sunny), 2 frogs (who unfortunately did not make it) and a snail named Gary (who’s doing just fine), pulling a u-haul. After arriving in Tennessee, we had been gratefully staying in a friend’s guesthouse for 3 weeks, counting the days until we moved into our house which was to be September 1st. Meanwhile, our 28,000 lbs. of “stuff” was on it’s way in the biggest moving van I have ever seen! It arrived just on time and currently all our “stuff” is being stored in a large warehouse.

September 1st came and went and we’re in the process of house hunting yet again. There is a great house (that was our 2nd choice before) that we’ve got our eye on with a great property, and even a large structure to build a commercial kitchen in. The raised garden beds are already in place, with plenty of room for an orchard and chickens. That would be heaven to me! But we’re going to take our time and continue to look because after all this turmoil, we don’t want to ever move again!

INGREDIENTS
7 cups chicken broth (of course homemade is best)
3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 white onion, cut into 1 inch pieces
5 mushrooms, sliced
1/4th red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup of uncooked Arborio rice
2 cooked chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
Parmesan Cheese, as garnish, if desired

METHOD
Add chicken broth to large pot.
Add carrots, onion, mushrooms and bell pepper to broth.
Bring to a boil over medium heat and allow to cook for about 5 minutes.
Add the rice to the pot.
Continue to cook over medium heat until rice is almost tender, about 15 minutes.
Add chicken and garlic and cook for another 5 minutes.
Turn off heat and add parsley.
Taste and season with salt and pepper, as needed.
Garnish with some Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Enjoy!

I love the delicious refreshing flavors of this salad… soy sauce, honey, Mandarin oranges and almonds. What’s not to love! Plus, using leftover chicken makes this salad come together in minutes.

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS
For Asian Sesame Salad Dressing:
1/4 cup Rice Wine Vinegar
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce (I use low sodium)
1 Tbsp Honey
1 tsp Sesame Oil
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 tsp Ginger, minced

For Salad:
2 Chicken Breasts, sliced or diced (I used leftover Rotisserie chicken)
1 head Romaine Lettuce, cut small
3 or 4 Scallions, diced
1 small can Water Chestnuts, drained
1 small can Mandarin Oranges, drained

For Garnish:
sprinkling of Black Sesame Seeds, toasted
1/4 cup Almonds, slivered

METHOD
Whisk all the ingredients for the salad dressing together in a small bowl.
Set aside.
In a large bowl place the chicken, lettuce, scallions, water chestnuts and mandarin oranges.
Pour salad dressing over salad and toss to coat.
Divide the salad into two portions and top with some black sesame seeds and slivered almonds.
Serve immediately.

TIP: When I buy fresh ginger I store it in the freezer in a ziplock freezer bag. It lasts a long time. Plus, when it’s frozen it’s super easy to grate the whole ginger for recipes… you don’t even need to peel it!