Chimichurri Soft Tacos

El Gaucho's Chimichurri Blend is inspired by a thick sauce traditional to Argentina.  It's great as a marinade for flank steak and here, with chicken.  I started by making the marinade according to the directions on the back of the jar--using lemon juice, grapeseed oil and some salt (optional).  

Let that marinate for a couple of hours, but since it has lemon juice in it, you don't want to do this much longer than 4 hours because your chicken will get mealy.  If you are using, flank steak, overnight is fine.

Throw this on a grill--or in my case an indoor grill and grill till done.

Meanwhile, get some other toppings ready.  I sauteed up some red bell pepper and sweet onion in Roasted Garlic Grapeseed Oil.  Even though my husband and I are the only ones that eat these, I always do a lot because leftovers are great diced up in omelets, or on top of salads or even in sandwiches.

Pull the chicken off the grill and let rest a few minutes.

Then slice across the grain--this is especially important if you are doing this with flank steak--it will be much more tender that way.

Warm up some tortillas--flour or corn are fine, whichever you prefer.  I've been buying those unbaked tortillas from Costco lately--they are really good!

I topped my tortilla with the chicken, peppers and onion mixture, cheese (I would have rather had jack or even pepper jack, but alas my fridge only contained cheddar), lettuce and some cilantro.  I also spread my tortilla first with a little guacamole--that way you get a little guac in every bite instead of in clumps on top--great way to do sour cream too!  I love the Chimichurri blend--it's even on my Top 10 bundle.  Instead of grilling, I also just throw the chicken (or pork) in the crockpot with the same marinade mixture and then shred it at the end of the day--either way tastes great and so easy!

Pineapple Stuffed Jamaican Jerk Chicken

This is a recipe I adapted from an Everyday Food magazine recipe.  The stuffing is virtually the same, I just use the Wildtree Jamaican Jerk Seasoning, because it's sooo much easier and tastes just as good as the homemade one suggested by Everyday Food, but a whole heck of a lot less work!  This is totally company worthy, but easy enough for everyday too.  First, make the pineapple stuffing:

I use canned pineapple because I have a weird sensitivity to fresh, but I'm sure it would be fab with fresh as well.  Mix:

1 whole big can of pineapple (use tidbits or cut up chucks like I did), drained 

 juice of one lime

3 green onions, sliced

then season to taste with a bit of kosher salt, pepper and a bit of sugar.  

Next, prep your chicken.  Um, do my hands look old?  Anyway, just cut into the chicken horizontally with a sharp knife.  I stabilize with my hand firmly on the top of the chicken breast.  

Lift up the top and make sure you have a nice deep pocket.

Stuff with the pineapple mixture.  There is enough stuffing for about 6 large chicken breasts.

Lay on a baking sheet and season generously with the Jamaican Jerk Seasoning.  Bake at 450 until juices run clear or internal temperature is 170 degrees, I think about 25 minutes.  You can also broil them, and they'll get done faster.  I didn't because my broiler doesn't work that great.  

On the side I sauteed some onions just in the Natural Grapeseed Oil and then added in some fresh green beans.  I also made some Cilantro Lime Rice--it's a great accompaniment to anything with the Jamaican Jerk.  

I ended up overcooking the beans a bit, so it's not just bad lighting--they really are lacking in color, but doesn't the chicken look yummy?  Let me know if you try this!!

My First Giveaway!

Want to make this!?!

I thought so. This is Alfredo Pasta with Broccoli and Grilled Chicken--one of my all-time favorite Wildtree dinners. So, in an effort to determine if anyone besides my mother-in-law (hi Renae!) reads this blog and likes my recipes, I'm giving away some products!! This collection includes the Alfredo Extraordinaire, the Rancher Steak Rub and the Roasted Garlic Grapeseed Oil--everything you need to make this dinner, plus you'll have leftover product to try other recipes as well.

All you have to do to enter is leave me a comment (just click on the comment link below this post) and let me know which recipe on my tiny little blog is your favorite, or which one you'd like to try. If you'd like to book a tasting and get MORE FREE products, you'll get 3 extra entries into the drawing! Just let me know in your comments and I'll give you a call! This giveaway will be open until April 7 at noon and a winner will be chosen at random from all entries. Thanks and good luck!

Sliders

On page 13 of the new January catalog is a great little recipe for Tex-Mex Sliders. My kiddos have been begging for these--what's the appeal about little burgers? Well, I can tell you--they're great for kids and adults alike. The little ones only need one--no more cutting burgers in half or quarters for them. And the big kids (like dad) can have more than one, with different toppings on each. On one he had the classic toppings and on the other he had the Tex-Mex toppings. Fun!

I made the burgers according to the recipe found in the catalog. If you don't have a current catalog, I'm happy to email you one, but here is the recipe as found on page 13.

Tex Mex Sliders

Burgers:

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef

1 T. Hickory Smoked Grilling Grapeseed Oil

2 tsp. California Style Garlic Pepper Blend

Salt to taste

Cheddar cheese slices

mini burger buns or soft dinner rolls

Toppings:

Wildtree Guacamole, prepared according to package instructions

Wildtree Fiesta Salsa, prepared according to package instructions

Baby arugula (I used the spring lettuce mix from Costco)

Red onion, thinly slices.

Preheat grill or grill pan.

In a large bowl, combine ground beef, hickory oil, garlic pepper and salt. Mix well and form into 8 mini patties. Grill meat to desired doneness, about 4 minutes per side over medium-high heat. Add the cheese as soon as the burger is flipped to the second side. Grill buns until lightly toasted. Dress burgers with guacamole, salsa, arugula and onions and serve.

As you can see from the pics above, I made more than this recipe calls for--I used about 2 pounds of ground beef. If you're into weighing stuff, each little burger should weigh about 3 ounces. I tried to go a little smaller than that, but they shrunk up more than I would have liked.

For those of you that really know me, you know that I love to make bread. I make most of my own bread--buns are no exception. So, I made some dinner rolls, half whole wheat and flattened them out a bit for the buns. But seriously, store-bought dinner rolls are just fine. I'm just a little crazy like that.

Once again, our outdoor BBQ is still not working, so I used an indoor grill pan. Honestly I think even when it is working, these little guys would make Andy a little (ahem, a lot) irritated, so it's probably just as well to do them indoors, where you're not risking losing them through the grates.

I served them alongside some sliced oranges (thanks Dad!) Aren't they cute? Plan on 2 for each adult female or large child (such as your growing 11-year old boys) and 3 for adult males. Abby, 4 years old (I'm 4 1/2 MOM!) ate one.

BBQ Chicken and Winter Salad

I take lots of pictures of dinners that I make, but sometimes it takes me a while to actually post them. This is one of those meals, so the details may be a little vague!

I like to make salad most nights for dinner, but when tomatoes are not in season, I struggle. My sister Amy has taught me her formula for a winter salad. Basically on top of the greens of your choice you had a fruit, (fresh, dried or both) a nut and a cheese. Complicated--I know! This particular salad combo is one of my favorites.

I start by toasting some almonds. Now normally I would use slivered almonds, the kind without the skin, but I didn't have any of those and I just happened to have a couple cans of regular almonds that my Dad gave me, so I just coarsely chopped those. This also works great with pecans or walnuts.

Put the nuts in a non-stick skillet over medium low and let them warm up. This is key to proper carmelization of the sugar. If you add the sugar in when the nuts are still cold, it will burn before the nuts are toasted. Once you can smell the nuts starting to toast, stir them until all sides are a little toasted and then toss in a generous pinch of kosher salt and about 1 tsp. of sugar. I like to use this type of sugar:

but plain ol' white sugar works too. Stir continually at this point, letting the sugar melt and get all sticky on the nuts. When all the sugar is melted and the nuts are toasty, turn them out onto a plate to cool.

Break them up when they're all cool. This just takes a few minutes all together and makes a great addition to a winter salad.

Here's my salad, sans nuts. Not sure why the nuts aren't on top yet--it's a mystery to me when I look at these photos. But, as you can see, this salad consists of romaine lettuce, chopped apples, dried cranberries and cheddar cheese cubes. I served this with Wildberry Dressing, but I also like it with the Honey Mustard Vinaigrette.

I served this salad alongside BBQ Chicken. This is simply chicken breasts, grilled outdoors (back when our BBQ was still working!). Andy brushed the Toni's Over the Top BBQ Sauce in the last few minutes of cooking. This has some kick to it, but Drew practically licks it up with a spoon!

Later I made some chocolate chip cookies. Don't you just love those eyes!!

Grilled Fish and Home Fries

I'm way behind on posting and I have lots of great meals to post, so I'll be posting one right after another this week--I hope! For starters this week, I'll show you a great use for the Dipping Oils. I used European Dipping Oil-Chili for this fish, but the European Dipping Oil-Garlic or European Dipping Oil-Tuscany would be great as well. Simply brush the oil on a piece of Tilapia and place in a heated grill pan or an indoor electric grill (such as a George Foreman). Grill 5-7 minutes, until fish flakes with a fork.

For sides I made the Home Fries and garlicky green beans, but I don't have pictures of anything except the potatoes--woops! I actually made the green beans exactly like in this post. For my Home Fries, I like to add a little chopped onions, but other than that, I pretty much follow the instructions on the back of the Home Fries Seasoning--but I'm going to show you a shortcut. I think the most important thing with this blend is to use red potatoes or yukon golds--something in the waxy family. I definitely do not like this recipe using a regular russet potato--it turns out quite dry. My family devoured these potatoes in the pictures but the next time I made it I only had russets on hand and they hardly ate any.

So, chop up a little onion if you like and then cube your potatoes--this is the proportion I used--you can see I just used a little onion. The instructions say to cut and boil potatoes until almost cooked then do the frying. Well, I just don't like dirtying more pans than I have to, so I simmer the potatoes in the large non-stick skillet I plan to fry them in. When they are almost done (this takes only about 7-8 minutes because they are in small cubes) drain them with the lid and dump them back on the cutting board.

Heat a little Butter Grapeseed Oil or Natural Grapeseed Oil (or even Roasted Garlic Grapeseed Oil) in a non-stick skillet combined with an equal amount of butter--I use about 1 T. each for this amount. You can always add more later if you'd like. Saute your onion a bit. Then add the Home Fries Seasoning (1 teaspoon per pound of potatoes) and the potatoes back into the pan.

Stir fry until cooked through and golden delicious!

The finished meal--

Magean was so surprised that she actually liked this!

Chicken Noodle Soup--in a HURRY!

A few weeks back everyone in the house was sick--time for chicken noodle soup! But, I didn’t have a chicken to roast and then simmer for hours to make stock, blah, blah blah. What I had was 30 minutes to get dinner on the table. So, this is my in a hurry chicken noodle soup. I started with boneless skinless chicken breasts, because that’s what I had. You could easily use thighs here or a combination and it would be great. You actually don’t want to start with already cooked chicken because we need to develop some flavor since we don’t have a long cooked stock. Generously sprinkle with Herb Grilling Blend. This is my favorite recipe for this blend I've ever made! It adds a nice poultry seasoning type flavor because it has some sage--a great blend! Heat some Butter Grapeseed Oil (or Natural Grapeseed Oil) in a large stockpot and slap in those seasoned chicken breasts. You'll notice that there is a lot of liquid here in my pot--it's not all oil. Actually I was using frozen chicken breasts--I was that unprepared! Now walk away and let them brown--especially if you are using a nonstick pot like this one.

When you give the chicken a little time to brown without moving it, you'll get a rich golden browning which equals a lot of extra flavor in this short cook soup.

Beautiful! Now there is a major lack of pictures coming up because quite simply I was in a huge hurry to get this on the table. So just imagine a nice pile of cut onions, celery, carrots and green beans. Use what your family likes veggie-wise. I used 1 whole onion, 2 stalks of celery (not a favorite around here, but I feel the flavor is a must in chicken noodle soup) 5 or 6 carrots, sliced and about 1/2 pound fresh green beans, cut in half. After the chicken is nicely browned, remove from pot and place on a cutting board. (Note: your chicken need not be done all the way through--mine wasn't since it started out frozen.) Dump your veggies into the stockpot and brown them. You want to get some color on the edges, but not burned. My finicky electric stove has some trouble with this concept--hopefully you get along better with your stove. While the veggies are sauteing, shred/cut your chicken. If it isn't done all the way through, you won't be able to actually shred it--just get it into bite size pieces you want to see on your soup spoon.

Back to the pot: add some low-sodium chicken broth. I like the Pacific brand boxes or the Better than Bouillon base from Costco. The latter is what I used. You'll need about 8 cups--but again, depends on how your family likes it. You can always add more later on. Bring to a boil and add noodles of your choice (see my choice below!). Boil until noodles are almost done, then add the chicken back to the pot. Simmer gently until chicken is done through and veggies are tender. In case you're wondering, you don't want to add the chicken back to the pot before you add the noodles because you want to boil your noodles so they don't stick together but you only want to simmer when the chicken is in because you don't want to make it tough. Since you are using chicken breasts, you must be careful not to boil hard when the chicken is in the mix--it will dry it out. Check for seasonings--I added another teaspoon or so of the Herb Grilling Blend.

Now for the noodles: I have made these noodles lots of times, so they are fast for me. If you are really pressed for time, this isn't a good idea. Just throw in some wide egg noodles and call it good, vowing to try these another time. This noodle recipe has been in my family for as long as I can remember. See that little orange 3 x 5 card in the back--it's the original recipe my Mom wrote for me. My Mom always made them for turkey noodle soup after Thanksgiving. She likes to let them dry a bit before cooking, but as you know by now, I was in a hurry. You get a little more of a dumpling texture when you don't dry them. Honestly, my kids love them however I make them, so try them out--you'll be glad! I made these while the veggies were simmering.

Noodles

1 tsp. salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 eggs

1 T. oil (I used Natural Grapeseed Oil)

Blend salt and flour in a bowl. Crack eggs in a measuring cup and whisk up. Add water to make 3/4 cup total liquid. Pour egg/water mixture and oil on top of flour and blend with a fork. Dump on a lightly floured surface and knead 2-3 times until you have a cohesive ball. Roll out as thin as you can. Seriously, keep rolling. (see the above picture) Sometimes it helps me to divide the ball in half before I start so I don't end up with such a gigantic circle at the end. Cut into strips about 1/2 inch wide. Let dry a little, if you have time. Keep liquid at a good boil while cooking these so they don't stick together. It's okay if there is a little extra flour on the noodle surface when you throw them in the soup.

Noodles, and my lovely pink Corian!

The finished soup! Seriously make this the next time you have sickies in the house--the Herb Grilling Blend adds such a great flavor combined with the browning of the chicken--they'll never know it only took 30 minutes!

Mini Cheese Balls

Aren't these cute?? I love mini/bite-size food. I brought these to a Christmas party for an appetizer, and I thought with the Super Bowl coming up, that it was a good time to post some bite size snacks. I adapted an old recipe I had to use the Wildtree Garlic and Herb.

Here's what I did:

8 ounce block low-fat cream cheese

8 ounces finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1/2-1 tsp. Garlic and Herb Blend (you could also use the Garlic Galore or Cajun for an interesting kick!)

finely chopped fresh Italian parsley or finely chopped toasted nuts, like almonds.

With an electric mixer, blend softened cream cheese with the cheddar cheese and blend. This will be kinda hard at first, but keep going and pretty soon it will form a nice, uniform mixture. Taste and see if you want more garlic. I gave a range because I honestly can't remember how much I used. It is really your preference. Scoop these into tiny balls, about 2-3 tsp each and roll in parsley or almonds. I did some of both, as you can see, just for pretty presentation. Serve these with crackers--I used the Whole Wheat Reduced Guilt from Trader Joe's--they're yummy and pretty healthy!

Garlicky Breadsticks

I got the new Garlic Galore Blend in the mail a couple days ago and had to try it. I had a little extra dough from overestimating some pizza, so I rolled it out and cut it into strips and laid the strips on a stone (a cookie sheet would do just fine). Then, lift one end, twist, and stick it back to the pan. Like so. . .

Cover and let raise for 30 minutes or so, until they look a little puffy. This picture is actually taken after they've raised a bit (I think).

Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, get out your Garlic Galore and mix a teaspoon or so into 2-3 T. melted butter. Let soften while breadsticks are baking. Remove pan from oven and brush butter mixture onto partially baked breadsticks and sprinkle with finely grated Parmesan cheese. Pop back into the oven for 5-8 minutes until your house smells fantastic and the breadsticks are lightly golden brown.

I didn't want to over bake and make them crunchy--I wanted a soft interior. This is really more of a method than an exact recipe because it depends on how many you want to make and what type of dough you are using. You could easily use the Quick and Easy Pizza Dough Mix or the Whole Wheat Pizza Dough Mix for these. Serve with soups, pastas or alongside a salad--Yum!

Stir Fry

I was shopping at a local produce store and happened upon these little lovelies:

Hmmm. . .what can I make with baby bok choy? Since I love tiny food and I love bok choy, I bought them right up. For those that are feeling jealous right now, yes, that is pink Corian. I know, I know you're wondering where you can also get that color. Unfortunately, I'm quite sure (just hoping actually) that they stopped making that in the late 90s, right around the time this was put in. Anyway, on with dinner, luckily, I also had some Asian Potsticker Blend and some Pacific Fusion Sauce. First, dice some chicken breasts. I used 3 of the big ones from the Costco bags.

Season with the Asian Potsticker Blend--by season I mean sprinkle a generous amount over diced chicken, (above). Heat a large, non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Swirl in some Garlic Grapeseed Oil or Natural Grapeseed Oil. Dump in the chicken and arrange in a single layer, then WALK AWAY! Don't be tempted to "stir fry" the meat. Let it sit and develop a nice browned layer. I promise, you'll have much more flavor if you do these two steps: preheated skillet, don't stir. Don't worry, I have many a recipe that will review this critical procedure. Once the chicken is over half way done, season the other side with more of the Potsticker Blend and then turn. Okay, I'm going a little overboard, but really, doesn't this look beautiful:

That nice golden brown look is from the "walking away." Now cover it up to keep it warm.

Next add all of your "hard veggies" to the skillet. These would include long cooking veggies like carrots, onions (I like red), bell pepper, broccoli. Season with a little salt and pepper. Stir fry for a few minutes, then add your "soft veggies."

Here's where the bok choy comes is. Other soft veggies you could add here would be snap peas, zucchini, other greens, cabbage, etc.

When the veggies are almost done, dump the chicken and the accumulated juices back into the skillet and toss it all together. Add in your Pacific Fusion--you'll need about 1/2 cup for a skillet this size. I also added a can of diced pineapple (drained) because my kids love it! I like my sauce to be a little thicker as well. It's a great flavor as is, but if you want to thicken it up, just dissolve 1-2 T. of cornstarch in about 1/4 cup water. Stir mixture directly into the stir fry along with the Pacific Fusion.

Serve over a bed of rice. I used Jasimine rice here, but it would be great with brown rice or regular white rice as well. Enjoy!

Cajun Tilapia with Cilantro Lime Rice and Veggies

I really like the cajun blend, but so far had only tried it on chicken.  Not shocking--it was great on tilapia too!  I followed the directions on the jar, adding some grapeseed oil and some of the blend to the tilapia and let it sit for 20 minutes or so in a ziploc bag.

I put it on my indoor grill, because I find it difficult to grill fish on the outdoor grill.  That's probably more due to the fact that the guy who runs the grill wasn't home!  Therefore, it's difficult to grill outside since I don't do it (after that hamburger on fire a couple years ago, my eyebrows just refuse).

On the side I made up a quick pot of cilantro lime rice and lemony garlic veggies.  The rice is just according to the jar, no changes.  The veggies were made by using half zesty lemon GSO and half roasted garlic GSO, heated in a non-stick pan.  Add whatever veggies are in your fridge--today I used broccoli, yellow bell peppers and mushrooms.  Stir fry until desired doneness.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  This is so yummy with almost any dinner!