Mojito-Rubbed Chicken Breast

Last night's meal was a huge success! I had a lot of fun making it, too. And since I promised a recipe if all turns out, here it is! I hope you enjoy!

Mojito-Rubbed Chicken Breast with Grilled Pineapple

Ingredients
4 medium (1 1/2 pounds) skinless, boneless chicken-breast halves
2 limes
1 tablespoon(s) olive oil
1 medium (3 1/2 pounds) pineapple, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
1/4 cup(s) loosely packed fresh mint leaves, chopped
Salt and pepper
Cinnamon

Directions

Prepare outdoor grill for direct grilling on medium, or preheat large ridged grill pan on medium.

Meanwhile, with meat mallet, pound chicken (placed between 2 sheets plastic wrap) to an even 1/2-inch thickness.

From 1 lime, grate 1 teaspoon peel and squeeze 2 tablespoons juice. Cut remaining lime into 4 wedges; set aside. In small bowl, combine oil, lime peel, and juice. Lightly brush pineapple on both sides with lime mixture; set aside remaining lime mixture in bowl.

Place pineapple slices on hot grill rack and cook 10 minutes or until browned on both sides, turning over once. Shake a bit of cinnamon over the pineapple while cooking.

Stir mint into remaining lime mixture and pat onto both sides of chicken. Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper to season both sides. Place chicken on hot grill rack and cook 5 minutes or until chicken is browned on both sides and no longer pink throughout, turning over once.

Serve chicken with pineapple and lime wedges.

Have a delicious meal!

(Also, this meal was given to me by a friend and original appeared in Good Housekeeping. I did modify it a bit.)

Week 4: More Rhubarb

I spent most of last week biking to work. It was an exhausting jaunt each way, but well worth it. I'd say I'm forming a habit! I had to open every day last week (except Monday), so I was able to get out and enjoy the weather, until Saturday. We had crazy wind that day (go figure, we are in SD), so I opted to drive to work. Since I had to work that morning, I wasn't able to go to the Farmer's Market to pick up my produce, so I sent manfriend in my place. Needless to say, by the time my shift at work was over, I was thrilled to have my car so I could get home faster and find out just what he picked up that morning.

When I got home, I found another bunch of rhubarb, another single kohlrabi, a small bag of broccoli, another bunch of lettuce, another bunch of green onions, and another (cringe) bag of mint. Great. Broccoli, kohlrabi onion and lettuce: fine, awesome, I can do stuff with those. But the second round of rhubarb and the second bag of mint... I was intimidated, and a little disappointed to be honest.

Fortunately, I've been talking about this blog at work and sharing my food experiences with coworkers and patrons and all have been very supportive, enthusiastic and helpful. (Thank you, thank you to all! You have no idea how much more fun this is!) On Tuesday I was chatting with a patron and she was telling me about an amazing sauce she made this weekend, and when I inquired what was in it, she said rhubarb. Yay! Now I have something to try! She put it over a pork roast, and I think I'm going to try it over a pork loin on Sunday. (I know, I wanted to try to use all the produce BEFORE the next pick up, but I don't foresee any time to make it since tonight is Mojito-Rubbed Chicken Night). The sauce she described is super easy, but I haven't tried it yet, so once I have, I'll be sure to give you an update and a recipe.

For the mint, I mentioned that tonight is Mojito-Rubbed Chicken Night. A coworker knew that I was having a mint block and she passed on a recipe to me that I'm thrilled to try! It sounds super easy and really delicious, so I'll be sure to give an update about that, as well.

As far as the rest of the produce goes, it has been very useful in salads, on a sandwiches and as a side dish last night. (The broccoli was PHENOMENAL! I know, it's just broccoli, but it was really good and I really hope I get another bag of it soon!)

Sorry it has taken me so long to get this post up, and thank you for being patient. I'll get recipes to you all soon, I promise!

Have a delicious day!

Testing 1, 2, 3

I am under the impression that I may not have my blog set up correctly; it seems people aren't able to comment on my posts. So, dear followers, I ask this one favor... please comment on this (or another) post, just so I know it's working. If it's not, I will figure out how to change it.

Thank you for your help!

Also: I have a few new recipes to post. Beer Cheese Soup, anyone? I'll get it typed out soon.

Have a delicious evening!

Week 3: The Rhubarb Cake

Yesterday was bliss. I got to sleep in, make a killer breakfast, spend time with manfriend, AND make my very first rhubarb cake. I've been fortunate enough to enjoy rhubarb cake nearly every year (it's a spring time must in my family), this was the first one I've ever made; although it seems maybe a touch undercooked, I really don't care because I think it tastes MARVELOUS! A slice of that with a glob of vanilla ice cream on top: wonderful!

As far as our breakfast yesterday goes, I made Christmas morning pie... a pie crust filled with sausage, eggs, peppers, onions and cheeses... it was magnificent. It's one of the easiest breakfasts ever created, and it looks and tastes really impressive. (I think the swiss cheese in it is an unexpected surprise). I found the basis for the recipe on a food blog last winter, and I did end up making it for my manfriend's family on Christmas morning. Although it's already named, I'm not entirely convinced by it, so I may have to rename it. I'll post the recipe at the bottom. Moving along...

Needless to say, we did get a bunch of rhubarb in our CSA bag this weekend. We have a new assortment of produce, and I'm pretty excited about it, too! We found a bunch of lettuce, a bunch of fresh spinach, a bunch of radishes, a bunch of rhubarb and a lone kohlrabi. Uses for the lettuce, spinach and radishes are easy to find, but the rhubarb and kohlrabi may prove to be more of a challenge...

I was talking to a lady at work the other night, and it seems that one can dice the kohlrabi and boil it, then mash it, or one can use it in stir fry... I have yet to really look into what I intend to do with it, but both seem like logical options. I'll be honest: I'd never seen kohlrabi before, at least not actively, so I obviously have no experience with it or have any idea what to do with it, let alone know what it tastes like. Therefore, if anyone has any ideas, please share them! I only have one bulb with the leaves still attached, and it's about 3 inches across, so not exactly a little guy.

As for the rhubarb, I used most of it in the cake I made (recipe follows), but I still have one stalk left and I'm not sure what do with it, so suggestions for that are welcome, as well!

So without further ado, here is the family rhubarb cake recipe. Hope you enjoy!

Have a delicious day, and I'll be back to update you again soon.

Rhubarb Cake a la Aldrich Family Tradition

Prepare 1 yellow cake mix according to package directions and pour into a greased 9x13 pan

Layer 4 cups of diced rhubarb over the cake

Sprinkle 1 cup sugar over rhubarb (I used half this amount and the cake turned out great... you can sugar to taste)

Pour 2 cups of heavy cream over all

Bake 45-50 min. until brown on top and looks set but will still be jiggly.

If you're using frozen bags of rhubarb, it will probably take 2 bags and DON'T thaw them first; the rhubarb gets all watery.

Christmas Morning Pie (soon to be renamed)...

Note: this recipe makes two pies... you can cut it in half and just make one, which is what I typically do.

1 (12 oz roll) breakfast pork sausage
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2 (9 inch) unbaked frozen pastry shells
6 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped sweet red pepper
1/3 cup chopped green pepper

Cook onion and sausage in a skillet until sausage is fully cooked.
Drain sausage and mix in cheese.
Place half of mixture in each frozen pastry shell.
Combine peppers in a bowl. Sprinkle half on the mixture evenly over each pie.
Combine eggs and milk together. Pour half of the mixture over each pie.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 55-60 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.

This recipe is very open to interpretation; in the past, I've added mushrooms, extra onions, experimented with different sausage, etc... play with it and make it your own. One tip, though, is to put the pies on a baking sheet to cook; the filling typically hovers on the edge of overflow and may bubble while it cooks.

A staple in our meal rotation...

Last night manfriend and I finished off the bag of produce from last Saturday, and now I can hardly wait to pick up the next one tomorrow morning! We really haven't done anything too crazy and exciting with our produce yet, but I suppose that could be because we haven't really found anything crazy and exciting in the bags yet. That will come with time, though, and repetition... I think after we get green onions for the 17th time we might have to be a bit more creative than just putting them in salad or eating them raw (although I think I'm genetically predispositioned to never get sick of eating raw green onions... thanks, Aldrich blood).

Last night I made Chipotle Sour Cream Chicken; it's simple and delicious and we always have the ingredients on hand just in case we run out of other dinner ideas. To pair with it, we made baked red potatoes and cooked peas... not the most creative dinner ever, but it worked. Now I just need to see what comes in tomorrow's produce bag and plan a more exciting menu for next week... I'll keep you posted and let you know how it all goes. Below is the recipe for Chipotle Sour Cream Chicken.

Happy weekend-ing! I hope you have a delicious time!

Chipotle Sour Cream Chicken

Chicken breasts
Sour Cream - enough to coat each breast
Bread Crumbs - we like to use Panko - a cup or so... enough to thoroughly coat the chicken breasts
Chipotle Seasoning - to taste

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray the bottom of a baking pan. Mix together the bread crumbs and chipotle seasoning. Coat the chicken breasts in sour cream, then coat in the bread crumb mixture. Place coated chicken breasts in baking dish and place in oven. Cook for 30-45 minutes, until chicken is thoroughly cooked. (Our oven is ancient and unreliable, so we always seem to have to cook everything longer than the recipe requires, so check your chicken after 25 minutes or so, and cook accordingly).

It's way simple, and way good! I hope you enjoy!

A bit of a late start...

Sorry for the delay, folks.... I have been under the weather for the past few days, so most of my time was spent reading or sleeping. Now on to the produce update!

I picked up my second bag of produce Saturday morning, and I was greeted with a number of delicious-looking products: a huge, beautiful bunch of lettuce, a vibrant bunch of radishes, a bunch of green onions, a bag of red potatoes, and a bunch of garlic leaves. (I don't think I'm leaving anything out...)

Anyway, we finished up last week's produce in salads and whatnot, and most of our produce this week will end up the same, but last night I used the potatoes and garlic leaves to create a FABULOUS side dish! All is did was scrub the potatoes and cut off the eyes, then quartered them and boiled them in vegetable broth until they were soft. Then I drained them, added a dash of salt and pepper, a spoon of Land-o-Lakes Light Butter, a handful of chopped garlic leaves and a handful of chopped parsley. "WOW!" is the reaction I got from manfriend, so they must have been good. The main course of our meal was a pork loin covered in coarse ground mustard and roasted at 425F for 45 minutes (our oven is ancient and not reliable). Mmmmmmm..... one of the best meals I've cooked in a long time!

I did have a bit of an accident last night, though, while chopping the parsley... I was honestly just thinking, "Huh, I'm surprised I've never injured myself with this sharp knife," when I cut into my pointer finger pretty good. No stitches or doctor visit required, but I will definitely need to wear a bandage for a while.

As my neighbor growing up would always say, "The stupid shall suffer." Suffer I did, but the meal was oh so worth it! It was quick, easy and will definitely be on our menu again very, very soon.

Hope you have a delicious day!

The Second Week of Grab-bag Produce

So today's the day! I get to go find out what my mystery bag includes!

Last week's pickings were delicious all week; we used most of it in salads, and I'm still trying to figure out what to do with the mint. Fortunately, it lasts longer than a week, so I still have some time; however, I'd like to make a plan for it before it's too late! If anyone has any ideas for cooking with mint, please let me know! I know you can use it in adult beverages, but I'd like to find other ways to use it, too.

So my little sister leaves for Africa today, and I've got to get some errands run before I meet her at the airport at noon, so best be boogy-ing!

Have a delicious day, all! I'll write later when I have my new bag of produce.

Tove

Flavor is everything...

Tonight I joined my parents for one of my favorite meals ever... fried mushrooms. That's right: morel mushrooms dipped in egg then rolled in crushed saltines and fried in a cast iron skillet of butter... oh so terrible for my figure, but OH SO WORTH IT! I feel really fortunate, actually, to be able to enjoy morel mushrooms each year. Mushroom hunting has been a family tradition for decades, and the fruits of the labor involved are more than worth the effort. Many pay way too much money to enjoy the wonderfulness that are morels; my family gets to spend time together, exercise and then indulge in fatty-foods... sounds like it couldn't be better!

While at my parents house tonight, I was telling them about my involvement in a CSA, and they asked about it and what I got. I realize that I haven't posted an update about the produce, so here goes:

I had never before realized just how different farm-fresh foods taste compared to foods shipped and ripened en route from Mexico... it's astounding! The bunch of green onions we received are a good 18 inches long, and so FLAVORFUL all the way to the tip. You know, most of us buy green onions at the grocery store and use about 6 inches of them since the rest is mushy and flavorless anyway; well, not these. These tasted like real onions all the way to the end... it was life changing!

I'm planning to make something delicious to take to my parents house on Sunday for Mother's Day, and I was telling my mom about the adorable carrots I found in my CSA bag... she thought it was hilarious that I called carrots adorable, but it's hard not to when they look just like the carrots found in Whinnie the Pooh cartoons. Alas... they may be enjoying a dish of adorable carrots come Sunday afternoon.

This is going to be a GREAT six months :)

I hope today was delicious and that tomorrow is just as grand!

Onions, carrots and lettuce, OH MY!

Well, since I last wrote I ventured down to the Falls Park Farmer's Market today to pick up my first bag of produce from Warner Farms. (If you're from the Sioux Falls area and haven't been to the Falls Park Farmer's Market, you NEED to go... great produce/plants/products that are all grown/made locally).

I came home and pulled out each and every last piece of food, and in my bag I found: a bunch of green onions, a beautiful bunch of lettuce, a pound of carrots, a bunch of radishes, and a handful of mint. While I'm not entirely sure what to do with the mint, I have a feeling I may make a few delicious cocktails with it later in the week. Everything else will be sampled today in a garden salad I'm planning for lunch. After that, I foresee a couple more salads, some raw munching (onions and radishes), and some candied cooked carrots.

I'll keep you posted and maybe take a picture or two.

For now, I'm off to make a salad, and then whip up a batch of Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies for a friend.

Happy afternoon-ing!

The First Day: Before the Pick-up

Well, I'm finally doing it. I've been talking about writing a food blog for quite some time, and today is the day it all begins.

I made a decision last night to join a CSA (community supported agriculture), so each week for the next 26 weeks (6 months), I will get a bag of fresh vegetables that were grown locally. Each week I will have no idea what will be in the bag; all I know is that I am guaranteed 5-10 different vegetables each week. My challenge is to be creative with these vegetables and to have consumed them all by the time I pick up my next bag; I suppose there may be some carry-over from week to week, but the goal is to use each piece of produce before it spoils. Sounds easy enough, right?

I'm as giddy as a grade-schooler on Christmas morning, so I think it's about time for me to go collect my first bag and start making plans for each and every piece of produce inside. Wish me luck, and I'll keep you updated on what I receive and how I plan to use it.

Happy food makes happy people; I hope you have a delicious day!