Jenn’s Cook Book

A Jenn Original Recipe! I wanted to make a simple dish to go with the Macaroni & Zucchini Salad the other night, and this is what I came up with:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/3 cup basil, chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 onion, coarsely chopped
3 green onions, sliced
1/4 tsp salt
fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Combine basil, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil in a large bowl. Finely dice about a third of the chopped onion and add to basil mixture. Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and place in basil mixture, turning to coat.

In a large non-stick skillet coated in oil or cooking spray over medium heat, arrange coated chicken breasts and top with any remaining basil mixture. Cook 8-10 minutes on each side, or until chicken is well browned and cooked through.

Add remaining chopped onion and green onions to skillet. Saute with chicken, scrapping any browned bits from the pan, until golden. Remove from heat and serve chicken breasts topped with sauteed onion mixture. Season with pepper as desired.

Pictured here with Macaroni & Zucchini Salad and fresh tomatoes from the Farmer’s Market:

One of my favorite snacks is pretzels dipped in mustard, so I created this Smokey Mustard Dip. It’s not spicy, but you could easily make it hotter by using spicy mustard. You could also make it sweeter with honey mustard.  

1 cup chopped onions
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 small (8 oz) bottle of prepared mustard

Combine onions, garlic, smoked paprika, and cumin in a frying pan coated in cooking spray. Saute over medium heat for 5 minutes.

Place onion mixture in a food processor or chopper with pepper and mayonnaise. Puree until mixture is smooth. Add mustard and mix thoroughly.

Serve warm immediately or refrigerate and serve later cold. Goes well with pretzels, crackers, or raw veggies.

The original recipe for this soup came from Cooking Light magazine. Over the past few months, I’ve adjusted the recipe slightly and with each attempt it has gotten better. Here is the most recent incarnation, I hope you enjoy it.

cooking spray
1 cup diced onion
2 garlic cloves, minced (1 tsp)
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 package frozen broccoli florets
2 cups whole milk
1/3 cup flour
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp pepper
1 package (14 oz) Velveeta cheese
shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
chopped green onions (optional)

Coat a large, heavy-duty saucepan with cooking spray. Saute onion and garlic over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes. Add chicken broth and broccoli. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. Cook over medium heat, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Whisk together milk and flour. Slowly pour into pan, stirring constantly, and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in paprika and pepper. Cut Velveeta into small cubes. Remove from heat and add Velveeta, stirring until completely melted. Let soup stand 10-15 minutes over serving. If Velveeta does not melt easily, place pan over low heat.

For serving, top individual bowls with shredded cheese and green onions as desired.

Here is an update on an old recipe, made a little healthier with some slight adjustments. The adjustments did not effect the overall taste of the dish, but definitely reduced the fat and sodium content.

1 lb 94% fat free ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1 (15 oz) can low-sodium whole kernel corn, drained
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup salsa
1 1/2 cups reduced-fat shredded cheddar cheese
1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
taco shells or flour tortillas, warmed
toppings, such as lettuce, diced tomatoes, salsa, sour cream
hot cooked spanish rice, such as Vigo’s Saffron Yellow Rice (made with “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Light” instead of regular butter)

Cook ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring until beef crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain well. Remove beef, wipe skillet with a paper towel.

Saute onion in hot oil in the same skillet. Add beef, chili powder, cumin, and salt. Cook 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally and coating beef with spice mixture. Stir in corn, tomato sauce, water, and salsa. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 8 to 10 minutes or until liquid is reduced.

Top evenly with cheese and cilantro. Cover, turn off heat, and let stand for 5 minutes or until cheese melts. Build tacos by layering meat mixture, desired toppings, and rice.

This saucy dish comes from Real Simple magazine. It’s a little spicy and goes well with rice or an egg noodle side.

1 tbsp oil
1 lb chicken breast, cut into 1-inch strips
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, do not drain

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add chicken, cook 5 minutes ot until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove from pan and keep warm.

Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic to pan. Saute 4 minutes or until tender. Return chicken to pan. Stir in cream and remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes or until chicken is done and sauce is slightly thick.

Punch up the spice by adding 1 tsp red pepper flakes. Serve over hot cooked rice.

In the cookbook Million Menus, there is a recipe for Carrot and Orange soup. It calls for grated carrots, potatoes, onion and orange juice to be fed to a food processor or blender. I tried this and didn’t really care for the consistency of the soup (think baby food). In my version, I’ve added a few more ingredients and made it a broth-based soup.

6 to 8 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 to 3 small sweet onions, grated
16 oz (2 pkg) sliced or quartered mushrooms
2 garlic cloves, minced (1 tsp)
1 large baking potato, peeled and grated
7 to 8 (1 1/2 lbs) carrots, grated
4 to 5 ribs celery, chopped or diced
1 large orange, zested and halved
several springs fresh thyme, leaves removed
salt and pepper

Pour broth into a medium saucepan over low heat. Melt butter in a large, heavy duty saucepan over medium heat. Add mushrooms, onion and garlic and saute until mushrooms are tender, about 7-10 minutes. Salt to taste, about 1/4 tsp.

Add potato, carrot and celery. Stir well to incorporate mushroom mixture. Stirring constantly, cook for 5 minutes or until vegetables are heated through.

Add enough broth to cover vegetables. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Return pan with broth to low heat.

Add the zest of 1 large orange and leaves from thyme, about 1 tbsp each. Squeeze in juice from orange. Add more broth until soup reaches desired thickness. Let soup simmer for about 3 minutes. Add pepper to taste, 1/8 to 1/4 tsp.

Remove from heat and let soup sit covered for 5 minutes. Skim off any film that floats to the top. Serve warm with crusty bread and sliced cheese.

Preparation Suggestions:

Dice, chop, grate or slice your veggies anyway you want, the above are just my suggestions. You can also add any other veggies you might like in your soup.

Go vegetarian by using vegetable broth and olive oil instead of butter. Cut calories by using a butter substitute such as I Can’t Believe Its Not Butter Light.

Use fresh ingredients, not pre-cut varieties.

This is a revision to a previous post (December 5th, 2006). The original recipe comes from Cooking Light.

1 cup minced onion
2 cloves minced garlic (1 tsp)
3 cups chicken broth
1 package frozen broccoli
2 1/2 cups 2% milk
1/3 cup flour
10 oz Velveeta processed cheese
1/4 tsp pepper

In a large, heavy-duty saucepan coated in cooking spray, saute onion and garlic for 3 minutes over medium-high heat. Once mixture begins to brown, add chicken broth and broccoli. Stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes.

Whisk together milk and flour. Slowly pour into pan and stir well. Cook 5 minutes or until soup begins to thicken, stirring constantly (don’t bring to a boil). Add pepper and remove from heat. Add Velveeta cheese and stir until cheese is melted.

Serve with thick, crusty bread. Top with shredded cheese, crumbled bacon, green onions, and sour cream as desired.

From AOL Food, here is a great recipe for tacos without using prepackaged taco mix. This is similar to the filling in Mexican Lasagna (posted August 2nd, 2006).

1 lb ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1 (15 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup salsa
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
taco shells or flour tortillas, warmed
toppings, such as lettuce, diced tomatoes, salsa, sour cream
hot cooked spanish rice, such as Vigo’s Saffron Yellow Rice

Cook ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring until beef crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain well. Remove beef, wipe skillet with a paper towel.

Saute onion in hot oil in the same skillet. Add beef, chili powder, cumin, and salt. Cook 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally and coating beef with spice mixture. Stir in corn, tomato sauce, water, and salsa. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 8 to 10 minutes or until liquid is reduced.

Top evenly with cheese and cilantro. Cover, turn off heat, and let stand for 5 minutes or until cheese melts. Build tacos by layering meat mixture, desired toppings, and rice.

Quick and easy to make dip, perfect for parties. Can be made with reduced fat products.

1 package (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 cup reduced-fat or regular mayonnaise
1 package (3 oz) 1/3 less fat or regular cream cheese
1 onion (6 oz), peeled and minced
1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
2 baguettes, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 350F

Squeeze spinach well to remove liquid. With a mixer, beat spinach, mayonnaise, cream cheese, onion, garlic, 1 cup parmesan cheese, and pepper until thoroughly combined.

Spread mixture into a greased baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese and the paprika.

Bake until hot in center and lightly browned on top, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Serve hot to spread on baguette slices. Crackers or tortilla chips can also be used.

From Taste of Home:

5 cups uncooked wide egg noodles
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp garlic salt/powder
1/4 tsp onion salt/powder
1 1/3 cups milk
8 oz process cheese (Velveeta), cubed
2 tbsp dry bread crumbs
1 1/2 tsp butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350F

Cook noodles according to packaged directions, drain and keep warm. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a small saucepan, stir in flour, garlic salt and onion salt until smooth. Gradually stir in milk, bring to a boil, cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat and add cheese, stirring until melted.

Gently stir in noodles. Transfer to a greased shallow baking dish (2 quarts). Toss bread crumbs in 1 1/2 tsp butter and sprinkle over top of noodles. Bake, uncovered, for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Serves 6, recipe can be doubled.