Chicken Cacciatore Thanks to Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers

I’m still a little behind, so today I’m offering up a recipe from my friends Lois Winston and Caroline Mickelson. So click here to visit the fabulous Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers blog for a very tasty recipe for Chicken Cacciatore!

Did you know “cacciatore’ is Italian for hunter? This style of meal was prepared hunter-style with whatever vegetables and meats were at hand.

Also, please take a moment to visit with me at Paranormal Dimensions! I’m sharing some behind the scenes details on my latest release in THE REBORN vampire novel series.

April 9, 2013November 26, 2018

Honey Cinnamon Roasted Chick Peas #Recipe #Healthy

Before we get to today’s recipe, please take a moment to visit with me at my Smartgirls SciFi interview and a spotlight at Books a la Mode!

Now for the recipe, kind of. My friends and I were chatting about diets in general and to be honest, it’s more about a lifestyle change and not just a diet. You go off diets and then you have that rebound that I’ve done more times than I care to think about.

So this time I am committing to a change that will be more permanent. I’ve almost eliminated soda from my life. I limit myself to one a day. I’m drinking more water and watching my carbs. I went off a bit this weekend and all I could think about on Monday were bagels, muffins, donuts and all those things that I know do not sit well with me.

I’m also trying to deal with cholesterol that’s a little too high and that prompted a discussion of honey and cinnamon. Apparently this combination has been touted as a cleanse, but apparently the two can also help lower your cholesterol.

So I’ve been having both in my coffee and oatmeal, but I thought I’d search out a fun way to combine these two! Lucky for you I found an interesting recipe for Honey Cinnamon Roasted Chick Peas!

Thanks to The Pastry Affair for the recipe. I can’t wait to try it out this weekend since I think I’ve got a can of chick peas sitting around. I usually use them to make hummus, but this sounds far tastier!

February 26, 2013February 26, 2013

Barley & Leek Risotto #Recipe

In my family, we ate rice almost every night in one way or another. Whether as a side dish, combined with beans, in chicken and rice, or in a comfort food of fried eggs over rice, it was there every day.

In my husband’s Italian family, it was pasta every day. Even their family dog ate it every day.

Which makes adopting a low carb diet quite a challenge. But I will say this: I’ve lost nearly 23 pounds in about two months, so it’s definitely working!

One challenge has been having a side dish that’s got the mouth feel and taste of rice, but is healthier. I’ve mentioned quinoa and you could probably substitute that in this recipe. But why not try another healthy whole grain: Barley?

Barley’s dietary fiber gives your intestinal health a boost and can also help to lower cholesterol. Plus it’s a good source of niacin, a B vitamin and has been known to help people with Type 2 Diabetes with their glucose and insulin responses. For more information on all this, you can click here.

Today I’m giving you a recipe I’ve adapted after watching Mary Ann Esposito and her Ciao Italia show. Did you know that Mary Ann has been on the air for 23 years, making her show the longest running cooking series in America?

Thanks, Mary Ann! I love your recipes and advice on great Italian food.

But for now, here is my version of a barley and leek risotto.

Barley and Leek Risotto

1 cup barley (be sure to rinse it first; you can also soak it for an hour to reduce cooking time)
2 cups vegetable and/or chicken broth (keep this heated)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup diced mushrooms
1 cup sliced leeks (Be sure to thoroughly rinse. Leeks can have lots of dirt between the leaves)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/8 cup fresh parsley minced

Put 1 tablespoon olive oil in a stockpot and heat on high. Add the mushrooms and brown them. Then add the leeks and sweat them down for about a minute. Add another tablespoon of the olive oil and once it’s hot, add the barley and toast it a bit. Coating the grains in oil will help keep them from clumping.

Add the hot broth, a cup at a time. Stir until the broth is almost absorbed, then add the second cup of broth and cook down at a low simmer. Keep stirring and checking to see if the barley is al dente.

Once the barley is al dente, add the tablespoon of butter and cook it a bit more. Finally, stir in the parmesan cheese and parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste here. I say hold up on the salt since the broth and/or parmesan have enough, but that’s up to you.

Serve as soon as you can. You don’t want to let it clump as it sits.

Also have additional parmesan on the table to add to the top of the barley! Voila. A simple and tasty risotto dish.

If you don’t have leeks, you can substitute shallots, scallions and/or regular onions. It’s just that leeks have a milder, almost asparagus taste. They’re actually known as the “poor man’s asparagus.”

Also, keep those heavier, bigger leek greens. Next time you’re making a soup, clean them, tie them together with butcher’s twine and toss them in. They impart wonderful flavor to any broth!

Hope you enjoyed today’s recipe!

October 9, 2012July 8, 2019

Choriburger Recipe on Tip Tuesday & Blog Tour #Giveaway

Thanks for those who suggested it was time for some more recipes. I love to cook and try to experiment whenever I get a chance. Today I have for you a recipe inspired by some amazing sliders from Cubacan in Asbury Park.

But first, please take a moment to visit with me on my KISSED BY A VAMPIRE blog tour as I stop by the wonderful United by Books blog! Follow the instructions there for a chance to win an autographed copy of THE CLAIMED along with some SWAG.

And now back to recipe time! This “choriburger” is a mix of regular ground beef and either fresh or dried chorizo sausage. Personally I prefer the dried sausage because it gives a little more flavor to the burgers, but it’s up to you on how much chorizo flavor you like and also, availability of either the dry or fresh chorizos.

Just one word of warning, make sure you’re not buying hot chorizo sausages unless you really want something very very spicy.

This mix also makes some delicious sliders or if you’re watching carbs, serve it over shredded lettuce and/or Napa cabbage with a salsa-based sour cream sauce (recipe also included below!).

Choriburgers

1 pound ground beef (either 80% lean or 85% lean).
If using the dried chorizo, go for the 80% lean to give you some extra moisture.

1/2 pound fresh chorizo sausage, casings removed.
If you are using dried chorizo, about 1/4 pound either ground or finely chopped. For a stronger chorizo flavor, use half a pound.

2 tsp sweet paprika

Mix the ground beef and chorizo together and sprinkle with the sweet paprika. Don’t work the meat too much or compact it too tightly. That’ll just make for a hard, dry burger. Same goes for when you go to shape the patties.

Set the mixture aside for at least half an hour in the fridge before shaping the patties to let the flavors meld.

Cook to your liking, but remember that the paprika you added and the paprika in the chorizo will impart color to the meat so it may look rarer than it really is. One little hint to keep moisture in the burger, when you put the patties on the grill, make an indent with your thumb in the middle of the pattie to create a little well. That will keep some of the juices in the burger rather than running off onto the grill.

Serve on buns or even better, some nice Portuguese bread rolls. If you want to top it with cheese, keep with the theme and use a nice slice or two of Manchego cheese.

For a special sauce to use on the burgers and/or your lettuce, try this: Mix half a pint of sour cream with your favorite green salsa. The green salsas are milder and their flavor works fabulously with these choriburgers!

Enjoy!

January 25, 2011February 16, 2011

Spaghetti Squash Bake

This recipe will take a little bit of time to make but it is definitely worth the effort, especially if you are trying to watch bad carbs and need the taste of some comfort food along the lines of mac and cheese.

The first thing you need to do is to prep the squash.

Directions for the squash:

Cut the squash lengthwise
Scoop out the seeds
Lightly grease a baking dish and lay the squash open/flat side down on the dish.
Bake at 375 for approximately 35-40 minutes (until you can pierce the rind and the flesh beneath is soft)
Cool a bit until you can handle.

Directions for the cream sauce:

I will never again make a cream sauce doing it the hard way with a roux and milk. Nope, this is much easier, creamier and less fattening.

Use half a bar (4 oz) of low-fat/fat free cream cheese. Soften with about a half cup of milk.
Mix in about a cup of low fat cheddar cheese. Keep a half cup of cheddar cheese as a topping (You can also use swiss or any other kind of cheese you like, but I love cheddar!)

Directions for the bake:

Lightly grease a 2 quart baking dish. Preheat the oven to 350.
Pick up the squash and with a fork, shred the inside into a mixing bowl (you can even do it directly into the bowl with the cream and cheddar mixture.) The inside should come out in strands that look like spaghetti hence the name of the squash. Use only half the squash. You can keep the other half to be eaten with garlic and oil or even tomato sauce.
Mix the squash, cream cheese and cheddar mixture. Transfer to the baking dish and cover with the remaining cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 for approximately 35-45 minutes until bubbling hot.

This squash bake makes a great side dish to any meal and will have you enjoying a creamy cheesy mix that is lower in fat than traditional mac and cheese and will help you get a dose of vegetables as well.

Hope you enjoyed today’s recipe! Next week I’m going to be offering up an entire collection of recipes in one book titled Recipes for the Romantic Soul. It’ll be a freebie that you can download and I hope you’ll enjoy that as well.

Photo Credit: Forest & Kim [email protected]

December 15, 2010

Murder, Mayhem & Chocolate

Today I’m doing a holiday visit over at the Carina Press romantic suspense authors blog on which I’ll be writing off and on during the course of the coming year – NOT YOUR USUAL SUSPECTS.

So what do murder, mayhem and chocolate have in common? Why not pop on over and visit with me and Bobbie (aka Sunny) Cole as we discuss those three key ingredients for a romantic suspense. LOL!

And just in case your feeling the winter bite today, let my personal assistant (don’t I wish!) bring you a little something to chase away the chill or try the marvelous Chocolate Chile Recipe over at NOT YOUR USUAL SUSPECTS.

November 9, 2010December 4, 2023

Citrus-Marinated Roast Pork

During my recent visit to the wonderful blog of my friend and fellow author Kelly Moran, I was asked about my signature dish for Christmas. Now in my house, Christmas Eve is a mix of Italian, Cuban and American foods, but the signature dish has to be the Cuban-style citrus-marinated roast pork.

We, because it is a family affair to cook this dish, start preparing it the night before after a trip to Union City, New Jersey to pick up some Cuban staples and the pork leg.

I’m normally feeding anywhere from 15 to 25 people on Christmas Eve, so I need a really really big pork leg (pork shoulder/picnic ham/pernil). I normally get a piece of pork that weighs around 25 pounds, but you can buy a much smaller piece and adjust the cooking times (more on that later).

Ingredients:

Directions:

Juice all the above citrus into a large pot. We use one of those large buckets in which your grocery store deli get its potato salad, etc. Drop by and ask them for one! Ours is only used for the Christmas Eve pork.

The citrus mix should be sour, but with a strong hit of sweet (the navel oranges and grapefruit really help with that). You should have enough citrus juice to fully cover your piece of pork. Once you’ve tasted the sweet/sour mix, then add 3 to 4 bay leaves, about a half cup of garlic (less for a smaller piece of pork) and about 1/4 cup of cumin. Mix this all up.

Take your piece of pork and make multiple slits in it so that the marinade can penetrate into the meat. Place the pork leg in the citrus juice, cover and refrigerate. You’re probably wondering how I keep that big a bucket cold? Put the bucket in one of those big party tubs, place it in your garage (which should be slightly colder anyway) and fill the tub with ice. It should be icy cold in the morning unless you are in a really hot environment in which case you will need to keep on adding ice to keep the meat cold.

In the morning (around 6 a.m. or so) pre-heat the oven to 425. Remove the pork from the citrus and place it in a large roasting dish. Keep some of the citrus juice, bay leaves and garlic for use as a marinade. Discard the rest. Ladle about 1 to 2 cups over the pork and then stick the pork into the oven for one hour at 425. For a small piece of pork, cut down this initial high temp roast accordingly. For ten pounds make it around 30 minutes, anything smaller than that no more than about 15 minutes.

Do not baste the pork during this high heat roast.

When the high heat roast time is up, baste the pork and lower the oven temp to 325. Then cook until the meat pulls away from the bone in the leg and is starting to fall off. Marinate every half an hour during the cooking process. For a 25 pound pork leg, I will cook it for about 8 to 9 hours. The pork will turn this beautiful mahogany brown and just melt in your mouth.

For smaller pieces of pork, adjust the cooking times. A 10 pound picnic ham may take only about 4 or so hours. The key is to keep on basting and cooking at a low temp to keep the meat juicy.

If the pork begins to brown too much, just cover with aluminum and keep on cooking until the meat is fork tender.

Hope you enjoyed today’s Tuesday Tip. Here’s a shot of family and friends sitting around the Christmas Eve table, waiting to start the big meal!