Jenn’s Cook Book

Another recipe from Real Simple, this sweet and tart beverage is a tasty alternative to regular iced tea.

8 cups boiling water
8 tea bags
2 cups pomegranate juice
3-4 limes, thinly sliced
1/4 cup sugar (or to taste)

Pour boiling water into a heat resistant pitcher over tea bags. Seep tea for 10 minutes and remove tea bags. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Allow tea to cool to room temperature before refrigerating. Chill 2-3 hours.

Add pomegranate juice to tea and stir well. Pour into glasses over lime slices and ice. Garnish with additional lime wedges if desired.

From the magazine Cooking Light, “this sweet-tart beverage is refreshing on a hot day. Feel free to adjust the sugar to suit your taste.” Chill out with Ginger Recipe #9.

6 cups cold water, divided
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp chopped peeled fresh ginger
3 tbsp grated lime rind
10 mint leaves
1 1/4 cups fresh lime juice (about 6 limes)
lime wedges, for garnish

Combine 1/4 cup water, sugar, ginger, rind and mint leaves in a blender. Process until well blended. Cover and chill for 2 hours.

Add remaining 5 3/4 cups water and lime juice. Stir well to combine. Garnish with lime wedges, if desired.

This recipe is from the cookbook Million Menus. The sherbet has a texture similar to a frozen slush drink, so I turned mine into smoothies. Cool off with Ginger Recipe #4.

1 ripe musk melon (cantaloupe)
2 limes
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg white, lightly whisked
fresh or frozen strawberries

Peel, seed, and cut melon into small chunks. Juice limes. Combine melon, lime juice, and grated ginger into a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Pour into a large bowl.

Stir in sugar. Beat in egg white. Transfer to a freezer proof container and freeze for 6 hours.

Serve in scoops with strawberries.

To make smoothies (and avoid the wait time):

After beating in egg white, pour approx 1 1/2 cups of melon mixture back into blender. Add 3-4 large ice cubes. Process until ice is blended. Garnish with strawberries.

Strawberry-Melon-Ginger Smoothie: Add 1/3 cup milk and several strawberries, cut into chunks. Process in blender until smooth.

Once sherbet has frozen, omit ice cubes when making smoothies and add 1/2 cup hot water instead (to get the blender going).

Add other fruit as desired. Honey can be added or substituted for sugar. Beaten egg white is not essential to making smoothies.

This zesty recipe combines fresh citrus with sweet, sour, and spicy Asian flavors. Basil adds an earthy note to the dish.

1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
3/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp salt
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tsp grated orange rind
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp dark or toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp grated lime rind
1 pound fresh mushrooms, halved
3-4 large fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces

Combine first 7 ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook 1 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and add orange rind, oils, and lime rind. Stir well. Arrange mushrooms in a large bowl or shallow baking dish. Pour marinade over mushrooms, coating well. Toss in basil leaves, mixing mushrooms. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Marinading Tips:
Prepare mushrooms in the morning before work for a great side dish at dinner. If mushrooms are large, quarter them. You can also keep mushrooms whole and marinade for 24 hours. Serve cold or bake for 20-25 minutes at 350F after marinading, or use sliced mushrooms and simmer all ingredients in a large skillet over medium-high heat then serve over steamed rice.

This recipe is from Cooking Light’s special edition magazine “Chicken for Dinner.” The warm, tangy, slightly buttery sauce is the perfect comfort food on a cold day. You can substitute lemon if you don’t have any lime on hand.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
cooking spray
3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp lime juice, divided (one large lime, juiced)
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp water
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp butter

Trim fat off chicken and place between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap. Using a meat tenderizer or rolling pin, pound to 1/4 inch thickness. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil in a large, non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook 7-8 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove chicken from pan and keep warm.

Add chicken broth, brown sugar, 2 tbsp of the lime juice, and Dijon mustard to pan. Stir well, cooking over medium heat and scraping the pan to loosen browned bits.

Combine water and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add cornstarch mixture to pan, stir well with a whisk. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook 1 minute or until sauce begins to thicken slightly. Whisk in remaining 1 tbsp lime juice and butter, stirring until butter melts. Return chicken to pan and simmer 2-5 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly heated.

Remove chicken and place on serving plate. Pour sauce into a small bowl and serve on the side.

Serving Suggestion: this sauce goes great with steamed veggies like green beans and carrots. Mashed potatoes or potato wedges also go well with this dish.

Lime Tip:

To get more juice from a lime, roll the lime around on a counter top using the palm of your hand. You can also place the lime (or lemon) in the microwave for 5-10 seconds to loosen the juices. One large lime/medium lemon should yield about 3 tbsp.

Here’s a fun & festive variation of my favorite party drink. I’ve had sangria served in a variety of glasses, but I find plain drinking glasses work best. This works with dry wine or semi-sweet wine, my recommendation is St. Julian’s Simply Red.

1 bottle (750 ml) red wine
1 cup orange juice
2 oz (2 shots) white rum
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 lime, thinly sliced
1 cup halved strawberries
ice cubes
additional fruit for garnish, if desired

Place sliced fruit in a large punch bowl or pitcher. Add orange juice then red wine and rum. Stir well (it’s okay if the fruit gets crushed). Chill for at least 2 hours.

Remove fruit from sangria and place in serving glasses with ice cubes. Pour sangria over fruit and ice. Garnish with additional fruit as desired.

To make White Sangria, use white or blush table wine and substitute Peach Schnapps for rum.

Try mixing in other seasonal fruit, such as raspberries, watermelon, or peaches. Top with maraschino cherries and rim glasses with sugar!

Here is the latest creation to come out of Jenn’s Kitchen, including a new and improved recipe for Lemon Couscous.

Citrus Chicken

1/4 cup orange juice
1 tsp grated orange rind
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp grate lime rind
2 tbsp fresh thyme (remove leaves and discard stems)
2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground red/black pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tbsp olive oil
baby spinach

Combine first 8 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Trim fat off chicken and pound to 1/2 inch thickness with meat tenderizer or small skillet. Pour 1/4 cup juice mixture into a large zip-lock bag and add chicken. Seal and shake well to evenly coat chicken pieces; marinate for 5 minutes. Add oil to remaining juice mixture; stir well with a whisk. *Start boiling water for lemon couscous.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Remove chicken from bag and discard marinade. Add chicken to pan and cook 5 minutes on each side or until done and chicken is no longer pink. Place 1/2 cup of prepared Lemon couscous and 1 cup fresh baby spinach on each plate. Divide chicken evenly among servings, place on top of couscous and top each serving with 1 tablespoon juice mixture.

Lemon Couscous

1 cup water
3/4 cup uncooked couscous
1/4 cup sliced green onion
2 tbsp orange juice
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp red/black pepper

*Bring water to boil while chicken is marinating. Remove from heat and add couscous. Cover for 5 minutes, then fluff with fork. Stir in onions and remaining ingredients.

Serving Suggestions:

If desired, toss baby spinach in olive oil and top with grated carrots, sliced cucumber, chopped tomatoes and/or red pepper strips. Normally, I enjoy a contrasting flavor in the beverage, but for this dish I stayed in the citrus family by serving iced tea with lemon and red sangria with lemon and lime wedges (cherry and umbrella optional). As for dessert? Try this recipe with Lemon Poached Oranges, although plain orange slices would work too. The extra veggies and oranges add some nice color to the table and fresh flavors to compliment the main dish.

Last night, I tried a new combination and it worked really well. Here is the new recipe:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (these can be cut into thirds if very large, or you can use pre-cut chicken tenders instead)
3 tbps extra virgin olive oil
2 tbps honey, plus extra for drizzling
1 tbp lime juice (fresh, if possible)
1/8 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp basil
1/2 tsp minced garlic (or to taste)
dash of salt & fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven to 375F.

Trim fat off chicken and cut if making tenders. Set aside.

Combine oil, honey, lime, thyme and basil in a small bowl. If using a measuring spoon, alternate oil/honey/oil/honey/oil so that the honey doesn’t stick to the spoon, then add lime. Stir in garlic (lime and garlic seem to go well together).

Arrange chicken in a single layer in a baking dish (do not grease). Spoon honey/lime mixture over chicken. If chicken is not completely covered in pan, add extra oil to prevent burning. Drizzle a small amount of honey over the chicken (and lime if desired). Sprinkle with salt and fresh pepper.

Bake 20-35 minutes, depending on size of chicken pieces and type of oven. Stir/rotate chicken every 10 minutes or so, adding oil if sides of dish begin to burn. Chicken is done when the insides are no longer pink.

This went well with steamed broccoli and a dish of Parmesan Herbed Noodles (recipe to be posted soon). Because the noodles have such a strong taste, the spices for the chicken were decresed to allow the honey-lime flavor to come out and mesh well with the noodles.

This is a recipe I’ve been tinkering around with, making some modifications here and there, trying to come up with a great menu. Here’s what I have so far:

Honey-Lime Chicken

In my Million Menus cookbook, this was called “Sticky Lime Chicken,” but the general consensus was that it was too much lime. I’ve reduced the amount of lime and increased the honey to strike a nice, sweet-tart balance. Beware! This recipe is “in-progress,” and might still need some adjustments.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (these can be cut into thirds if very large, or you can use pre-cut chicken tenders instead)
2 tbps extra virgin olive oil
2 tbps honey
2 tbps lime juice (fresh, if possible)
1/2 tsp dried thyme (or 1 tbsp fresh thyme)
1/2 tsp basil
garlic, to taste (optional)
dash of salt & fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven to 375F.

Trim fat off chicken and cut if making tenders. Set aside.

Combine oil, honey, lime, thyme and basil in a small bowl. If using a measuring spoon, alternate oil/honey/oil/honey so that the honey doesn’t stick to the spoon. Stir in garlic if using (I’ve heard that lime and garlic go well together).

Arrange chicken in a single layer in a baking dish such as Corningware. Don’t overlap but try to keep dish as tightly packed as possible. Pour honey/lime mixture over chicken. If chicken is not completely covered in pan, add extra oil to prevent burning. Sprinkle with salt and fresh pepper.

Bake 20-35 minutes, depending on size of chicken pieces and type of oven. Stir/rotate chicken every 10 minutes or so, adding oil if sides begin to burn. Chicken is done when the insides are no longer pink.