A Summer Salad

Warm Summer Salad:

-Baby Arugula or Any Other Salad Leaves

-Red Pepper

-Yellow Pepper

-Red Onion

-Cherry Tomatoes If You'd Like.

-Regular Onion, Chopped up

-a Shallot, Chopped

-a Few Mushrooms, Chopped
-sugar snap peas

Garlic Powder, Salt and Pepper to Taste

Put the Salad Leaves in a Bowl and Fry Up the Onion, Shallot, Peppers and Mushrooms With Garlic Powder Salt and Pepper. Once They Are Nice and Browned Let Them Cool Off So As Not to Wilt the Leaves. It's Great With Any Dressings but I Usually Serve it With a Raspberry Vinaigrette- Raspberry Jam, Olive oil Salt and Pepper and 1 Teaspoon Balsalmic Vinegar and I Heat That Over a Low Flame, Let It Cool Before You Put It Over Salad.

 

Recipe: Hearty Potato Leek Soup

Potato Leek Soup:

Ingredients:

4 Potatoes- chopped into small-medium pieces

2 Leeks- Green Parts Only-Sliced into rounds

3 Tablespoons Butter

2 Teaspoons Vegetable Soup Mix

4 Cups of Water

1 Teaspoon Parsley

1 Teaspoon Dill

1/2 Teaspoon Paprika

Salt and Pepper to Taste

1/4 Cup Heavy Cream

Method:

1. Place the 3 tablespoons of butter in a medium pot over a low flame until sizzling a little. 

2. Add the pieces of potato and leek to the sizzling butter in the pot. Allow them to brown for a few minutes.

3. Add the 4 cups of water, 2 teaspoons of vegetable soup mix and parsley, dill, paprika, salt and pepper. 

4. Stir to combine. 

5. Raise the flame to medium and let it boil to about half it's size for half an hour or until potatoes are nice and soft.

6. At this point you can process. (Most of the time I prepare chunky soups rather then creamy)

7. Add the heavy cream immedietly before serving. (I don't add heavy cream to this recipe every time I make it but it makes it nice and smooth.)

Thanks for reading! Enjoy!

Gigi.

Recipe: Sesame Chicken

 

This is my husbands favorite chicken dish. So it's pretty requested in my house. It takes time to do all the breading but it pays off when I see how much he enjoys it! I usually try to be pretty modest when I describe my food but this one seriously tastes like it is straight from a local Chinese takeout. 

 

 

Here's the recipe so that you can try it as well:

Sesame Chicken

Ingredients:

For the chicken: 

1 Package of Chicken Cutlets

2 Eggs

Cornflake Crumbs for breading

-Enough vegetable oil to deep fry

Sauce:

1 Onion, chopped into small pieces

a little veg oil to fry the onion

3/4 Cup Brown Sugar

1/2 Cup of Hot Water

1 Cup of Ketchup

Sesame Seeds

The sides:

2 cups Basmati Rice

Stir fry: 

Stir Fry Veggies

1 Teaspoon Soy Sauce

1 Teaspoon Vinegar

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Sugar

Sprinkle of Garlic Powder

Method:

1. Break the eggs onto a plate, bowl or dish and place some corn flake crumbs onto another plate, bowl or dish to create an easy breading station. 

2. Take the chicken cutlets and pound them flat on both sides with a meat mallet. Then slice them into nugget sized pieces.

3.  Dip pieces of chicken cutlets in  the egg and then in the corn flake crumb, turning them to coat  them completely. Then repeat the first step- dip them back in the egg and roll them back in the corn flake crumbs.

4. Fry them in an inch of oil or in a deep fryer for about 2-3 minutes or until they are golden brown. 

5. As you remove them from frying place them on a paper towel lined plate to soak up excess oil.

6. Next step is to  prepare the sauce. Start be chopping the onion into small pieces and frying it in a little vegetable oil. Once the onion is translucent and cooked through place the rest of the sauce ingredients in the frying pan with the onions and let it come to a boil and combine. 

7. Place the pieces of breaded chicken in a 9x13 pan and preheat the oven to 350.

8. Pour the sauce over the chicken in the pan and place it in the oven for 15 minutes . You can cover it with foil but we like it to get crispy so we leave it uncovered.

9. While the chicken is baking prepare the side dishes- Start with the rice- pour the basmati rice into a pot of salted boiling water on a small - medium flame. Let it boil and cook while keeping a constant eye on it and stirring here and there until it looks fluffy and ready. 

10. Now prepare the stir fry-  I like to use mushrooms, baby corn and sugar snap peas but you can use whatever veggies you prefer. Take the veggies and fry them in a bit of olive oil. After a few minutes add the soy sauce, vinegar, garlic powder and sugar. Stir it and allow it to cook until it becomes saucy and cooked.

11. Plate everything immediately before serving. Take the pieces of chicken and place them on the plate put the rice and stir fry on the plate as well. Pour some of the sesame chicken sauce over the rice if you would like and serve warm. 

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy!

Don't forget to leave your comments and subscribe by email or with google connect!

Until next time, 

Gigi.