Jenn’s Cook Book

I’m back in the kitchen! For your enjoyment and consumption, I bring you this spicy, sweet, savory sauce with cherries, orange, and cayenne pepper. While I served the sauce over chicken, this would also be great over pork chops or a pork tenderloin. I used a blood orange for this recipe, but a regular navel orange would work just fine. Blood oranges can be hard to find, though usually available until Spring, and they have a slightly raspberry taste to them.

I also used a fancy Cranberry-Blood Orange Tea Jam from Republic of Tea in place of the preserves, but you could substitute a number of jams or jellies: orange marmalade, cherry preserves, even another berry-flavored jelly. Using frozen cherries cuts down on prep time and allows this recipe to be made in any season, but pitted fresh cherries would be great too.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 bag (12 oz) frozen unsweetened dark sweet cherries, thawed 
1/4 cup red wine
1/2 chopped onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1 orange, zest and juice
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne (red) pepper
1/8 tsp cumin
1 tbsp cherry preserves

Preheat oven to 350F or broiler. Lightly coat a baking sheet or broiler pan with cooking spray.

Season chicken with salt and black pepper as desired. Bake or broil 20-25 minutes until cooked through and no longer pink.

Meanwhile, combine onion and garlic in a medium saucepan coated lightly in cooking spray. Saute over medium heat for 3-5 minutes.

Add cherries with any liquid from the bag and red wine. Using the back of a spoon, lightly rush the cherries (leave some cherries whole). Zest and juice orange into saucepan. Add remaining ingredients and stir well. Bring to boil and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

To serve, spoon hot sauce over chicken breasts. Shown with steamed asparagus and Spicy Sweet Potatoes (the Spicy Cherry Sauce goes great with those potatoes!).

Want a bowl of comfort food? Try this simple and quick recipe for a homemade “Alfredo” style sauce. Toss this sauce with any pasta, such as angel hair or fettuccine. I prefer whole wheat pasta, it seems heartier to me, but that’s my personal taste. This sauce is warm, creamy, and soothing after a harsh winter day. There is no need to add salt to this sauce, as the condensed soup has enough sodium.

1 can condensed cream of mushroom and chicken soup
1 can-ful of milk
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
fresh ground black pepper

Over medium heat, combine condensed soup and Parmesan cheese in a small saucepan. Fill empty soup can with milk, add it to the saucepan gradually, until sauce is at desired consistency. Stir well, heating sauce for 10-15 minutes until smooth (do not bring to a boil, reduce heat if needed). Top with ground pepper to taste, serve immediately over pasta.

If you bring the pasta water to a boil first, the sauce will be ready by the time the pasta is cooked. Spoon sauce over pasta, top with additional Parmesan cheese if desired.

This pasta was inspired by a Giada De Laurentiis episdoe of Everyday Italian. The original recipe, called Thimbles with Mushrooms and Artichokes, has pasta with a creamy, light Marsala sauce. I updated the recipe with asparagus instead of artichokes and added some garlic. Instead of “thimble” pasta, any twisty shape pasta will work. I used a corkscrew shaped pasta, one of my favorites. Try this for a quick and tasty dinner.

3 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt, plus 3/4 tsp
1 lb mushrooms, trimmed, cleaned, and finely chopped
1 cup dry Marsala wine
1 lb pasta
1/2 lb fresh asparagus, halved lengthwise and crosswise
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Place the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and 1 tsp of the salt. Saute, stirring occasionally, until all the moisture has evaporated and the mushrooms have cooked down, about 10 minutes. Add the Marsala and continue cooking until almost all the wine has evaporated, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Stir in remaining 3/4 tsp salt. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the asparagus and continue to cook until pasta is tender but still firm to the bite and asparagus is crisp-tender, another 5 minutes. Drain the pasta and add it into the mushrooms, Marsala, and onions. Add the cream and Parmesan and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in parsley and pepper.

Serve immediately, topped with additional Parmesan if desired.

Here is a quick and simple dinner from Everyday Food magazine. The frozen peaches do not need to be thawed and are a real time-saver. To easily grate the fresh ginger, peel a finger of ginger and freeze overnight in a zip-lock bag. The flavors in this recipe are fresh and light, with a touch of Asian flair. The original recipe calls for bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts, but I prefer boneless, skinless. Adjust the red-pepper flakes to your tastes. Serve with Coconut-Ginger Rice.

1 bag (1 lb) frozen peaches, unthawed
2 red onions, halved and sliced 1/4 inch thick
salt and pepper
2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1/4 tsp to 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, to taste
3 to 4 chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 450F

Place peaches and onions on a large rimmed baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Toss with ginger, soy sauce, 1 tbsp vegetable oil, sesame oil, and red-pepper flakes.

Rub chicken with remaining teaspoon vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange chicken (skin side up, if using skin-on) among peaches and onions.

Roast until chicken is opaque throughout and no longer pink, about 25 minutes. Serve chicken over rice, topped with peaches and onions.

Pears and parsnips are in season during the fall, but also work well in the winter. Parsnips will be easy to find, but use a careful eye to avoid pears that are past their prime as the selection will be picked over this time of year. This recipe comes from Everyday Food magazine and originally called for chicken thighs and legs, but I substituted boneless, skinless chicken breasts. The recipe also calls for 1 large parsnip and 1 large white turnip, but I used 2 large parsnips instead. I am going to post the recipe as I prepared it.

2 large parsnips, peeled, halved length-wise and cut into 1 1/2 inch lengths
2 small or 1 large red onion, cut into 1 inch wedges
2 tbsp red-wine vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 tsp dried thyme, divided  
2 tbsp fresh or 2 tsp dried parsley
salt and pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tbsp honey
2-3 medium to large pears, firm but ripe, halved, cored, and cut into 1/2 inch wedges

Preheat oven to 375F

On a large, rimmed baking sheet, toss parsnips and onions with vinegar, 1 tbsp olive oil, and 1/2 tsp thyme. Season with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper.

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Rub parsley and remaining 1/2 tsp of thyme on chicken. Push vegetables to edges of baking sheet and arrange chicken breasts in the middle. Bake 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine honey and remaining 1 tbsp olive oil. After 20 minutes, brush chicken with honey glaze. Toss pears with vegetables and bake an additional 10-15 minutes, until pears are warmed through and chicken is no longer pink. Serve immediately.

Shown below served with Vigo’s Yellow Saffron Rice:

Want to give your turkey something a little but extra? Try this maple roasted recipe from Everyday Food magazine. The turkey stayed very moist, without constant basting. I used store-bought stuffing made with chicken broth (use a little extra than the package indicated for moist, more flavorful stuffing). You can add a little homemade touch to your stuffing by adding chopped onions, celery, and/or apples. Apples would also go great with this maple glaze.

1 turkey 12-14 lbs, thawed  
salt and pepper
butter
1/3 cup maple syrup
ready made stuffing

Preheat oven to 350F

Remove neck, giblets, and liver from turkey as package describes. Rinse turkey and pat try. Place stuffing in turkey and secure appropriately. Place turkey on a rack/roasting pan. Pour 2 cups water into roasting pan.

Brush turkey with melted butter and season generously with salt and pepper. Tent turkey with aluminum foil and roast for about 1 hour.

After about an hour, baste turkey with pan drippings or additional butter. Add more water to pan as needed. Repeat this process again in an hour.

After 3 hours, remove aluminum foil and baste turkey with maple syrup. Continue to baste with syrup every 15-20 minutes until turkey reaches 180F (about 3 1/3 to 4 hours). Continue to add water to pan as needed. Let turkey rest 15-20 minutes before removing stuffing and carving the meat.

This recipe pairs pork with red wine, fresh rosemary, garlic, and red onions. Adjust the proportions according to the size of the pork tenderloin. I used red cooking wine, but you could also select your favorite red wine. Please welcome another Jenn Original Recipe.

1 large (4 to 5 lb) or 2 small (2 lb each) pork tenderloins
2 tbsp olive oil
fresh ground black pepper
2 tbsp minced garlic
5-6 fresh rosemary sprigs
1 medium red onion
2 pkg whole mushrooms
1 1/2 cups red wine or red cooking wine
2 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp warm water

Preheat oven to 400F

In a large roasting pan, rub olive oil and minced garlic over pork tenderloin. Top with fresh ground black pepper and pour 1/2 cup of red wine over pork. Roast, uncovered, 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, roughly chop onion and strip leaves from half of the rosemary sprigs. Rinse mushrooms and toss with chopped onion and striped rosemary leaves. Arrange around pork and pour remaining 1 cup red wine over pork and mushrooms. Top pork with remaining rosemary sprigs.

Continue to roast 25-30 minutes, until roast is done but still slightly pink and tender in the center. Baste with pan juices and wine occasionally. Remove from oven and let stand 10-15 minutes.

Remove whole rosemary sprigs from pork. Thinly slice pork and arrange roasted mushrooms and onions around pork slices. Pour pan juices into a small saucepan or serving bowl.

Combine cornstarch and warm water, whisk into pan juices. Serve sauce with pork and mushrooms.  

Shown below, with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli:

Here is a quick recipe that works for one or more! Bright lemon mixes with dill and whole wheat pasta for a great weeknight dish. Adjust the recipe for the number of servings you would like.

whole wheat pasta
salt and pepper
1 lemon
olive oil
fresh snipped dill, or dried dill
parmesan cheese

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Measure the number of pasta servings and cook to package directions. Drain pasta and seperate into bowls.

Into each bowl, add 1 tsp olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, 1 tsp fresh dill or 1/4 tsp dried dill, 1 tbsp parmensan cheese, and fresh ground black pepper. Grate a little lemon zest on top of each bowl. Toss well and serve!

Shown below, with whole wheat angel hair pasta:

This simple and delicious recipe is a Jenn Original! Use pre-sliced mushrooms or buy whole and slice your own.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large pkg (8 oz) mushrooms
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped 
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp dried tarragon
1/2 cup water or white wine

Over medium heat, warm oil in a large skillet. Trim fat off of chicken and pound chicken to an even thickness. Season with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper.

Add chicken to warmed skillet and brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Remove chicken and set aside on a plate.

Add butter and sliced mushrooms to skillet, scraping the bottom of the pan. Saute for 5 minutes and add tarragon and water (or wine, if using).

Return chicken to pan, along with any accumulated juices on the plate. Cook until chicken is done and no longer pink, about 5-7 minutes.

Serve chicken with mushrooms and sauce on top.

 Shown below, with brown rice and vegetables:

Here is a hearty dinner dish with a kick of spicy flavor. This recipe uses the Spicy Paprika Rub from Everyday Food with ground beef and boxed Velveeta shells and cheese. You could also use ground chuck or sirloin, and pick the meat/fat ratio you like best (I used 94/6).

1 lb ground beef
3 tsp Spicy Paprika Rub
1 family-size pkg of Velveeta Shells ‘n Cheese boxed dinner

Bring a pot of water to a boil over medium heat. Add shells and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain well and set aside.

Meanwhile, brown beef in a large skillet over medium heat. Once beef is no longer pink, add Spicy Paprika Rub (drain beef first if desired). Saute for 3-5 additional minutes.

Add shells to beef and pour cheese pouch over dish. Mix well, combining beef with shells and cheese (to warm the pouch, place on a non-burner part of the stove while everything else cooks).

Serve immediately.

Shown below, with Apples Roasted with Root Vegetables: