arroz con pollo

mood: phlegmatic
listening to: sleigh bells :: tell 'em/infinity guitars

happy 2011! ha ha, it's been a long time. while it's september and this is the first time i'm posting anything, i've been making some new dishes. for whatever reason, i haven't been taking pictures and i'm been hella lazy. in any case, this is a dish that i got to try while in costa rica and it's got some crazy flavor. you can adjust the measurements as you like as it is a pretty simple recipe to make. i even made the dish into a formation of a volcano with lava coming out of it... just like they did it in CR.

Ingredients: 2 chicken breasts 1/2 red onion, sliced 1 green pepper, diced 4 garlic cloves, minced 2 cups brown rice 1 lime, squeezed 14 oz can chicken broth	1 tsp salt 1 tsp ground black pepper 1 tsp paprika 1 tsp cumin 3 tbsp olive oil 1/2 cup white wine 1 ham steak, cubed

Preparation:
- slice chicken breasts into 1 in. cubes and the sprinkle pepper, salt, cumin and paprika over top
- heat oil at medium heat and then put chicken into saucepan. cook until chicken is light brown
- add in sliced green pepper, onion, ham steak and garlic into saucepan
- cook for a few minutes and then add brown rice, chicken broth and wine and stir
- cover the saucepan for about 20 mins on medium heat, stirring occasionally

"balls to the walls" pesto chicken pasta

mood: mystified
listening to: flying lotus :: beginners falafel/melt!/gng bng

first off... i cannot take credit for the name of this recipe. i was experimenting in the kitchen, throwing some ingredients together, and when it was finished, i had a hard time coming up with a name. one person suggested 'balsamic pesto chicken pasta', which is great, but someone else blurted out this name which was too good to be true and there is the etymology of the dish name.

this is relatively easy dish to make, which came out very tangy and the marinade held quite well in the chicken. you may want to use more pesto than i did. i purposely used less, because it can get overwhelming and the amount i used was perfect for me.

one note: because it's warm out here, i was able to use the grill. if you live in a cold weather climate, the possibility of this may be less likely.

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast
balsamic vinegar
garlic powder, sprinkle
worcestershire sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
green onions, sliced
1 small jar of pesto
artichoke hearts
whole grain rotini pasta

Preparation:
- in a bowl, marinate chicken in worcesteshire and balsamic mixture with garlic powder sprinkled over top, overnight
- once marination is complete, cook on grill till you have some good grill lines on chicken
- in a large pot, bring water to a boil and add in pasta on medium heat
- in a saucepan, add garlic cloves and green onions and cook till slightly brown
- add in pesto sauce and artichoke hearts
- when chicken is done, cut into pieces and add to pesto mixture
- serve mixture over top of pasta

you could just as easily marinate it in italian dressing as well.

grilled chicken with sun-dried tomato pesto and artichoke hearts

mood: charismatic
listening to: scorn :: can but try/part of

in case you missed it, it was my birthday this past weekend... (insert happy birthday song)
thank you... anyways, in celebration of my birth, i tried to make something a bit more simple with some ingredients that i haven't been able to use as of yet. this quest let me settle on this recipe which allowed me to use artichoke hearts, a vegetable that i've become quite fond of lately. in any case, this is a very easy recipe that shouldn't take more than 45 mins to make. it will require you to use a grill, so for those of you in the east, you may want to try making this one sooner than later, since that white stuff will be falling on the ground shortly.

Ingredients: 3 chicken breasts worcestershire sauce white vinegar lime juice louisiana hot sauce balsamic vinaigrette oregano	basil salt 2 garlic cloves, minced 14.5 oz can of dice tomatoes 15 oz can of artichoke hearts, drained 3/4 cup of sun-dried tomato pesto 1 sm can of sliced olives

Preparation:
- marinate chicken in mixture of lime juice, worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, vinegar, balsamic vinaigrette, salt, oregano and basil for 15-20 mins.
- grill chicken
- in a separate pot, mix tomatoes, olives, artichoke hearts and pesto on medium heat
- add in oregano, basil, garlic and salt and mix on low heat
- when chicken is grilled to your liking, remove from grill and serve tomato/artichoke mixture on top of the chicken.
- in the picture is a san francisco sour dough french loaf, but choose whatever bread you want

grilled chicken with jalapeno and cilantro sauce

so it's been a while and i've slacked once again, but i've found a good one where the basis actually comes from a site that i have some familiarity with. meals.com had a dish that really caught my attention, but as usual, i kicked things up a notch. the original recipe called for 5 ingredients... i added in a bunch more. enjoy!

Ingredients: 3 boneless chicken breasts yellow pepper, sliced red pepper, sliced 5 green onions, chopped lemon juice tabasco sauce 1 tbsp. of canola oil 3 cups of brown rice pinch of salt Marinade: 2 tbsp. of white vinegar 2 tbsp. of soy sauce 2 tbsp. of worcestershire sauce sriracha sauce lemon juice chili powder cumin powder olive oil/balsamic vinegar dressing

Jalapeno/Cilantro Sauce: 2 tbsp. of white vinegar 4 green onions 2 large cloves of garlic 1 in. of ginger 2/3 cup of cilantro, chopped 4 jalapenos, sliced 2 tbsp. of lemon juice 2 tbsp. of worcestershire sauce tabasco sauce peppercorns fennel seed coriander seed

Preparation:
- place chicken breasts in marinade (if possible, marinate for a few hours)
- when ready, place chicken pieces on grill; grill until chicken is ready, set aside
- in blender, combine all ingredients for jalapeno and cilantro sauce
- make 3 cups of brown rice
- in a sauce pan, heat canola oil until ready; add chopped green onions and peppers
- heat on medium heat and add lemon juice, tabasco sauce and a pinch of salt
- when ready, serve chicken, onions and peppers over rice
- pour jalapeno/cilantro sauce over top

that's all... enjoy!

cajun chicken and shrimp pasta

i made this recipe once a long time back, but i also realized how fatty and unhealthy it was at the time as it called for some heavy whipping cream, which isn't exactly a heart's best friend. so i took this opportunity to experiment with a substitute and i think that it turned out pretty well. the recipe i made before involved only chicken, so i kicked things up a notch and threw some shrimp into the mix for some added creole flavor.

Ingredients: 2 chicken breasts shrimp 1 yellow pepper 1 red pepper 1 green pepper green onions cilantro whole wheat penne rigate pasta 5 garlic cloves sour cream cajun seasoning butter white vinegar balsamic vinegar worcestershire sauce soy sauce lemon juice lemon pepper chili powder ground basil sriracha sauce tabasco sauce

Marinade: chicken pieces shrimp cajun seasoning white vinegar chili powder worcestershire sauce tabasco sauce soy sauce lemon juice Sauce: sour cream balsamic vinegar white vinegar

Preparation:
- coat pan with butter and heat on medium-high, add garlic
- places marinated chicken/shrimp pieces in pan (shrimp cooks quickly so remove shrimp after 5 minutes)
- reduce to medium heat, add in vegetables and stir
- reduce to low heat, add lemon pepper, ground basil and shrimp
- separately, boil and cook pasta
- separately, create sauce with half a small tub of sour cream and balsamic and white vinegar (stir thoroughly)
- on low heat, add sauce to pan and cook for 5-10 minutes
- serve with pasta as a base and chicken, shrimp and vegetables in sauce on top