And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt. - Sylvia Plath
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Friday, January 12, 2007,11:30 AM
Julie the Cook
Time for a silly and random brag.
So this past summer I started entering recipe contests mostly as a way to make myself come up with new and creative meals. It's kinda silly but fun at the same time. There are all sorts of contest - themed ones, brand named ones, and the biggies (Southern Living, Pilsbury, National Chicken, and Build a Burger). I enter, if I win- great; if not, I have a new recipe.
Well I finally won one. I am an Honor Roll winner (3rd place) in the February Better Homes and Gardens Tacos with a Twist contest. Not only is my name in the newest issue, they sent me a framed certificate, printed copies of my recipe that fit in the BHG cookbook, and (best of all) a check. The certificate is a tad over the top, but it was all fun anyway. The funniest part is that when I made this recipe Mike told me that it was one I really didn't need to make again. Hmm... So if you really care - here is my 3rd place winning recipe for -
Grilled Tuscan Chicken Tacos
2 large skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp lemon-pepper seasoning
1 8-oz. pkg. sliced fresh button mushrooms
1 14 -oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
2 Tbsp snipped dried tomatoes
1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 cup dry white wine
3-4 Tbsp bottled Caesar salad dressing
8 8-inch flour tortillas
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Brush chicken with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Sprinkle with lemon-pepper seasoning. For a charcoal grill, place chicken on the rack on an uncovered grill directly over medium heat. Grill for 10-12 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink, turning once halfway through grilling. (For a gas grill, preheat grill to medium; adjust for direct cooking. Place chicken on grill rack directly over heat. Cover and grill as above.) Cut chicken into thin strips; cover to keep warm.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook mushrooms, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper in the remaining 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat about 5 minutes or until mushrooms are tender, stirring occasionally. Carefully add wine. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 5-8 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated.
To serve, spread salad dressing over one-half of each flour tortilla. Top with chicken strips and mushroom mixture. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Fold unfilled half over filling. Makes 4 servings.
Enjoy!
So this past summer I started entering recipe contests mostly as a way to make myself come up with new and creative meals. It's kinda silly but fun at the same time. There are all sorts of contest - themed ones, brand named ones, and the biggies (Southern Living, Pilsbury, National Chicken, and Build a Burger). I enter, if I win- great; if not, I have a new recipe.
Well I finally won one. I am an Honor Roll winner (3rd place) in the February Better Homes and Gardens Tacos with a Twist contest. Not only is my name in the newest issue, they sent me a framed certificate, printed copies of my recipe that fit in the BHG cookbook, and (best of all) a check. The certificate is a tad over the top, but it was all fun anyway. The funniest part is that when I made this recipe Mike told me that it was one I really didn't need to make again. Hmm... So if you really care - here is my 3rd place winning recipe for -
Grilled Tuscan Chicken Tacos
2 large skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp lemon-pepper seasoning
1 8-oz. pkg. sliced fresh button mushrooms
1 14 -oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
2 Tbsp snipped dried tomatoes
1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 cup dry white wine
3-4 Tbsp bottled Caesar salad dressing
8 8-inch flour tortillas
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Brush chicken with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Sprinkle with lemon-pepper seasoning. For a charcoal grill, place chicken on the rack on an uncovered grill directly over medium heat. Grill for 10-12 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink, turning once halfway through grilling. (For a gas grill, preheat grill to medium; adjust for direct cooking. Place chicken on grill rack directly over heat. Cover and grill as above.) Cut chicken into thin strips; cover to keep warm.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook mushrooms, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper in the remaining 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat about 5 minutes or until mushrooms are tender, stirring occasionally. Carefully add wine. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 5-8 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated.
To serve, spread salad dressing over one-half of each flour tortilla. Top with chicken strips and mushroom mixture. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Fold unfilled half over filling. Makes 4 servings.
Enjoy!
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Thursday, December 08, 2005,11:09 PM
chocolate crap
So for the last day or so I have been attempting to make holiday goodies with chocolate and have had mixed results. Recipes that I've never had issues with before went seriously wrong and (sin of sins) I have ruined a decent amount of chocolate. For example - I made three batches of fudge with differing results (none of which were the outcome I was looking for). One batch is a smooth truffle like candy - yummy, but not really fudge like. Another batch is very soft with toffee like consistency. Then the final batch is brick hard. Then I was melting chocolate to dip things in (like nilla wafers and pretzels) and one batch burnt. It makes no sense given that I did everything exactly the same for every batch! Anyway, so we had this mass of burnt chocolate with peppermint undertones and I was getting quite upset about how I kept ruining the chocolate. So we started playing with the chocolate and since it looked pretty much like a giant turd, Mike took it outside and dumped it in the snow (see picture below). So there is a very large turd-like piece of burnt peppermint chocolate in our yard which was really silly at the moment but yeah.... anyway the point is I need to stop making crap and actually get some edible stuff made sometime soon!