Garlicy, peppery chicken & potatoes

This is an old standby of mine - the kinda recipe I give to my husband over the phone so he can make if I'm running late :)

Ingredients:
4 Chicken breasts
1 -2 tbs red pepper flakes
salt & pepper to taste
Garlic cloves - a whole head, peeled, whole
olive oil
potatoes - how ever many you need
aluminum foil
2 oven safe dishes

Main Course

• In an oven safe dish I place my cleaned (trimmed fat) chicken breasts
  
• Cover the chicken with olive oil
  
• add about a tablespoon of red pepper flakes to the olive oil (add up to two if you like things hot)
• place 1/2 of the cloves in the dish in the olive oil
• Cover with foil
  
• Bake at 400 degrees until cooked - which should be about 30minutes

To make the side of potatoes with it -

• mix some olive oil; red pepper flakes; salt & black pepper and toss cubed potatoes in it
• place in oven safe dish and bake with the olive oil you coated it in....sometimes I add a little extra than just a coating so they don't stick to the dish.
• The Potatoes will take longer than 30 minutes so they should be placed in the oven first so that the chicken doesn't dry out while waiting for the potatoes
• 
  
• TIP: I've tried cooking the chicken & potatoes together in one dish and it just hasn't worked for me b/c the potatoes don't get that crispiness that I love so much - they get too mushy bc they are nearly drowned in olive oil when cooked w/the chicken.
• I also like to serve this with a veggie so I recommend steamed broccoli...you can always add some of the left over olive oil from the chicken to the broccoli for extra flavor...also I sometimes remove olive oil and use it for bread dipping - especially since its got those HUGE cloves of garlic that are in it and ALL tasty!
  

Hope you enjoy!!! :)

My homemade Fried Rice...

Adam wanted fried rice ( he hates rice almost any rice) so I , like a good wife, decided to make this with the salmon I have been lusting over in my head. So with all that I had in the house and a recipe from www.ehow.com I improvised!

Need:
2 eggs
matchstick carrots
peas
2 cups of long grain rice cooked and chilled (the longer the better!!!)
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 cloves of minced garlic
1tsp red pepper flakes
cooking oil
cooked cut up meat if you like (pork, shrimp, chicken)
WOK :)

How to do it!

• Cook your rice

FYI - the 2 cup measurement is POST cooking.
I cooked mine in chicken bullion so it picked up that flavor.
Cook the rice either the night before so it is COMPLETELY cooled prior to frying OR
Cook your rice and then cool it in the freezer for some time...CANNOT be warm!!!
ALSO long grain is the best bc it will not become STICKY like short grain rice will...if you like sticky then disregard this but true fried rice isn't.

• Saute your onions with minced garlic, red pepper flakes and ginger.
  
• We didn't add any veggies/meat bc we dint have it at home- but at this point:

• Add your veggies and meat and cook for 5 minutes.

• When rice is "ready" add it to the wok and mix it in
• Create a circle with your rice mixture and crack open two eggs into the pan...you will want to scramble these in the center and when it looks cooked...integrate in into your rice mixture.
• Once you have done this you can add the soy sauce and mix...cook rice for a few more minutes and it should be done.
• During cooking I added some leftover sesame seeds from my salmon (recipe in blog) and that gave it a nice flavor too...

Enjoy!

Sesame Seed Encrusted Wasabi Salmon... Quick and somewhat impressive

Adam and I loved this last night! It looked great, and tasted great! - I will post a pic soon - it is great if you are having company and want something you can make REALLY quick plus its unique.

What you need:

• Salmon - I bought a 1lb bag of salmon and it was cut in four small pieces which were great for cooking with.
• wasabi powder
• 2 tablespoons half and half
• water
• sesame seeds
• cooking oil
• soy sauce
  

Cook it!

Prepare wasabi sauce:

• Ok for every 1 tsp of wasabi powder you need to add 1 tsp of water...this is just a drizzle over the top of your salmon so you can make as little or as much as you want but remember its HOT I used about 6...could have used less bc Adam yelped a couple times...oh well LOL. Blend it with spoon/fork
  
• Set it aside for 10 minutes to thicken
  
• After 10 min -add the 2 tablespoons of half and half and stir
  

• Thaw salmon if it is frozen and pat dry with a paper towel
• Coat each side in sesame seeds...be generous some fall off while transferring and cooking.
• Coat frying pan with oil and place salmon in pan...cook until it is flaky
• After Salmon is cooked - put it on the plate and drizzle with wasabi sauce.
• Have some soy sauce available for dipping on the side.
  
• ENJOY!

I served this with homemade fried rice...recipe on this blog!

FUN! Stoli Vanilla Java Jolt

This recipe is taken from the Cheesecake Factory drink list! ~Obrigado! (thank you)~
pic from istock photo






Stoli Vanilla
Bailey's Irish Cream
Godiva Chocolate Liqueur
Godiva Espresso Liqueur
Half and Half
ICE!

Equal Parts of each into a martini glass...A-Mazing!!!!
YUMMY!!!

Shrimp Scampi Pasta

Recipe from Gourmet /April 2006

Pic from istock photo
4 servings




What you need:

• 1/4 c olive oil
• 1 lb cooked peeled shrimp
• 4 large garlic cloves chopped
• 1/2 tsp dried hot red pepper flakes (more if u like it HOT)
• 1/2 c dry white wine
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 5 tbsp unsalted butter ( I typically use a little more than this for better coverage)
  
• 3/4 lb capellini (angelhair)
• 1/2 c chopped parsley

DO IT!

• heat oil in skillet and saute garlic
• ADD red pepper, wine, salt and pepper cook over high heat & stir
• Add butter to skillet stir until melted
• ADD shrimp
• Cook your pasta per its directions
  
• Serve shrimp and sauce over pasta and ENJOY!
  

Portuguese Octopus - yeah that's right!!!

What you need:
1 octopus - we get them at specialty stores frozen w/ ink removed already
1 large onion chopped
Olive oil
1 can large tomato sauce
2 tablespoons of Portuguese allspice ( if you need it I can always send you what the ingredients are...I believe its tumeric, paprika & ground orange peel)
1/2 tbs paprika
1 tbs black pepper
1 tbs red crushed pepper
1/2 can of Guiness
3/4 c red wine (traditionally Portuguese wine which is pretty sweet so use your equivalent)
1 packet of Sazon Goya
1/2 dozen small potatoes cubed

DO it!

• Skin the octopus hood and webbing and cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
• Sautee onion in olive oil and then add octopus once onion has softened
• Octopus will excrete ALOT of water during this time - do not discard it...and it will be pinkish...this is ok...the octopus decreases alot in size at this point as well...
• Once it starts to look "cooked" - looks harder/tough comparitively you will want to add it to a large soup pot w/ onions
• Add potatoes to this pot - RAW - they will cook in octopus' juices
• Add beer, wine, tomato sauce and stir
• Bring to Boil
• Add remaining dry ingredients (sometimes i also add hot sauce for extra kick)
• Stir frequently and bring to boil
• Cover and simmer for 45-75 minutes (time varies depending on the toughness of the octopus)
  
• You want to stir this pretty regularly or else it will begin to stick to the bottom
• You will know it is cooked bc the potatoes will be VERY soft and you should taste the octopus...it will NOT be chewy if it is completely done...
• This cook time usually takes the full hour and ten/fifteen for me to cook...and prep time is laborious to say the least...it takes both Adam and I doing the skinning and cutting for this to be 1/2 process...BUT SO WORTH IT!!!

Please feel free to email me with any questions if you truly want help making this.
The spices can be a little off bc I usually dont measure anything out and make this "to taste" as it is a family recipe. BOM APETITE!!!!

(botom pic is what they look like frozen...like a small basketball)

My Oh My Mahi Mahi Almondine

What you need:
Mahi Mahi
1/2 c olive oil
1/3 cup lemon juice
3tsp minced garlic
salt and pepper
1/3 c slivered almonds
2tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp minced parsley (or flakes)

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
  

• Thaw and then dry fillets with paper towel
• Saute almonds and butter for a few minutes until things look toasty
  
• Then add parsley and slowly add the lemon juice
• Place thawed mahi mahi in an oven safe dish (i use my square pyrex dish)
  
• Place lemon and almond mixture over the Mahi Mahi and add salt and pepper (to your taste)
• Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake in oven until fish is flaky
  

This is so quick and easy...Mahi Mahi doesnt take very long to cook either so just watch your fish!

My Taco Bake :)

What you need:

• Flour tortillas ( I am using low carb high fiber wheat tortillas they smell amazing and are so soft just in the package)
• Ground Turkey
• Packet of your choice Taco seasoning
• Olive oil
• Fat Free refried beans - I like them with jalepenos in it!
  
• Mexican blend cheese
  
• Salsa/fresh diced tomatoes
  
• Fat Free Sour cream
• Chopped Onions

Layer & Bake:

• First I coat a frying pan with olive oil and brown my ground turkey with onions and follow directions on the back of the Taco seasoning packet (water and packet usually)
• AFter it is browned I begin layering!
• I use a square pyrex dish I have and start my first layer with the
  
• tortilla
• refried beans
• tortilla
  
• then meat & sprinkled cheese
• tortilla
• meat/cheese
• tortilla
  
• beans
• tortilla
• meat/cheese
• tortilla
• Sprinkle cheese on top
• Bake until cheese is thoroughly melted on top as you've already cooked your turkey on the stove top...
• Cut as if you were serving pie and then add some sour cream and salsa (sometimes Guacamole) as you desire... I LOVE THIS!!!
  
• Remember - Make thin layers so that this doesn't end up a HUGE portion size

YUMMY!!!

What's for dinner?

SO thanks to fellow Jknottie Abybaby - I have decided that planning our weekly meals is not only a good idea, it is a time saver and makes grocery shopping less random and time consuming!! So thanks April and here we go...

Thursday - Chicken Teriyaki (have to post this low carb recipe its AMAZING) w/broccoli
Friday - Almondine Mahi Mahi (so easy and quick!) with cauliflower mash
Saturday - Salmon (unsure how I am cooking that one just yet) veggies
Sunday - Ham with sliced pineapple and wheat mac n cheese (Adam loves ham & mac for some reason so I made it a healthy wheat :) )
Monday - Cajun shrimp with onions and peppers & brown rice so easy I cant even take it!
Tuesday - Buffalo Chicken breast (also another Low carb recipe I am trying out that sounds amazing) side is TBD....
Wednesday - Taco Bake...its my own version of like a layered taco pie ... recipe coming soon....
Thursday - Pizza Night - we have frozen pizza or Boboli once and a while - Adam works one night and plays hockey another...we need easy! :)
Friday- Chicken something or other - Ok i forgot! :^D

Then we head to Massachusetts for the weekend so NO cooking here :)

Following week I am totally trying Clara's Gnocci w thyme and butter recipe!!!

Mashed Cauliflower

For those of you looking to decrease the amount of mashed potatoes you have at your house and substitute them with veggie goodness :) This is for you! Adam hates healthy and loves this!
It tastes like garlic mash when you are done :)

What you need:
1 head of cauliflower
1tbsp half and half
1/2 stick of butter or equivalent in margarine
two cloves of garlic
pinch of salt and black pepper

Easy as 1-2-3!!!

• Boil some water in a sauce pan and add cauliflower and peeled garlic cloves, salt & pepper.
  
• Once cauliflower has softened drain water but KEEP garlic
• Add all the cauliflower and garlic to a food processor with butter and half & half
  
• MIX until smooth and texture is like good ole' mash potatoes!
  

Great thing about cauliflower is that it often takes the flavor of the food you are working with so pairing it with anything is possible!

Chicken/Shrimp Mozambique

This is a meal that you can find frequently making the table at my house. Our friends come over for dinner alot and although I love to try out new Portuguese dishes on them, it seems they always love this one the MOST!

What you need:
Chicken - I use about 2lbs for this
Franks hot sauce
1 stick of butter
Lemon juice (alot)
Goya Sazon packets - con culantro y achiote *this item can be found in the international food section of your supermarket OR in the Mexican food area - if not, let me know and we can figure something out :)
Garlic - I use a whole head b/c I love Garlic but you can use 1/2 if you prefer
Oh and a large frying pan with a cover :)

Let's Make It:

• Ok Begin by trimming fat off your chicken breast and chopping it into small 1x2 chucks or pieces and set aside in a bowl.
• Cover the chicken with the lemon juice until it about 1/2 way covers the chicken.
• add 3 packets of Goya Sazon con culantro y achiote to the bowl and mix
• add Hot sauce and mix in bowl - I usually put about 4 -5 tablespoons in it bc I LOVE IT HOT but 2-4 will give you mild spiciness :)
  
• Let the chicken marinate for a little bit while you prepare the garlic...
• Melt the stick of butter (sometimes I even add another 1/2 stick for better coverage-your choice) and once it is melted, sautée the garlic in it until garlic softens (dont burn it OR turn it brown)
  
• Then add your chicken - JUST the chicken in the butter - not the sauce it has been marinating in just yet...
• Cook the chicken on the stove top at med heat, then after a few minutes, flip the chicken and add the marinade - not sure why this is but that's how Vavo does it :) (my grandmother)
• Once you add the marinade - bring it to a boil/bubble and put the cover on it and lower the heat and let it simmer until chicken is cooked through
• Mind you - the lower the heat, the longer it takes to cook the chicken, the juicier the chicken - I learned that from a beautiful old woman in Greece who cooked the most moist and tender chicken I have ever had!
• Warning- this takes time and patience - some of which I often to not readily have in my cabinets!
  
• Once the chicken is done - I just serve it right out of the pan onto the plate and LOVE it with brown rice and broccoli or some mashed cauliflower....
• sometimes I cook my brown rice and add a 1/2 - whole packet of Goya to the rice to give some flavor too.

SO here is one of my favorite Portuguese dishes to make - I hope you enjoy it! Also note that you can substitute the chicken for shrimp and mmmm....you have a great Seafood dish!

***oooh another warning - this meal is ORANGE and might blind you!!! It's bright orange in fact - and the packets will stain your fingernails and fingertips (temporarily) so just be careful***

Enjoy!

Parmesan Crusted Chicken Alfredo

I have made this once - I created in through reading several online postings about low carb food and wah-la! We got this and it was SO yummy and easy!

You need: Eggs, parmesan cheese (crumbled kind), olive oil, chicken and bottled alfredo sauce
oh and some wax paper & aluminum foil!
Preheat Oven to 400-450 degrees:

• First you cut up your chicken breast into strips
• Beat the egg
• Lay out a large work space with wax paper and spread parmesan cheese all over it
• dip each piece of chicken into the egg and then roll in the cheese until it is well coated/covered
• Once all pieces are dipped, spread them onto a frying pan that has been just coated with olive oil and cook chicken on low-med heat
• Once parmesan is starting to crisp remove it from the frying pan and place it into a large glass pyrex dish OR other oven safe dish
• Lay each piece of chicken down alongside eachother - preferably not ontop of eachother
• Then cover it in alfredo sauce (I personally LOVE the Garlic alfredo)
• Cover the entire thing with aluminum foil and bake until cooked
  
• ENJOY!!!

This tastes great with noodles or pasta of any kind and the parmesan subs for breading and actually came out crispy! It tasted really moist and delish - cant wait to make it again...BUT watch your portion size! Thats my healthy tip of the day!

So what's with the title!?!

Oh here we go- the launch of my new blog! I finally found some time to get this thing going! So to speak to my title... I am the daughter of two Portuguese immigrants and a staple of our meals has always been chourico (pronounced ::sha-reese::). It is a type of sausage that is made with various Portuguese spices - and quite "spicy" and tasty - and we use it in everything it seems.

But it is more than JUST a food. My husband, Adam, is. well...not like "us" - he's a...mut. haha, he's 1/2 French Canadian and 1/2 a mess of other stuff but either way he's not Portuguese and has very quickly picked up on the fact that we even use the word Chourico as a term of endearment...so not uncommon for Adam to pick up the phone when dad is calling and say:
Hey what's up Chourico?

And so I close with - where's the chourico? - well damned if I know...I had Sbarro for dinner!