Garlic Chicken Thighs

Easy Garlic Chicken

Ingredients
•1/2 cup butter
•3 tablespoons minced garlic
•3 tablespoons soy sauce
•1/4 teaspoon black pepper
•1 tablespoon dried parsley
•6 boneless chicken thighs, no skin
•dried parsley, to taste


Directions
1.Preheat the oven broiler. Lightly grease a baking pan.

2.In a microwave safe bowl, mix the butter, garlic, soy sauce, pepper, and parsley. Cook 2 minutes on High in the microwave, or until butter is melted.

3. Arrange chicken on the baking pan, and coat with the butter mixture, reserving some of the mixture for basting.

4. Broil chicken 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until juices run clear, turning occasionally and basting with remaining butter mixture. Sprinkle with parsley to serve.

Some cooking alternatives:
***Instead of broiling it, I bake it at 375 for about 45 minutes,stirring every 15 minutes or so.

***Also bone-in thighs, and broiled with rack set at second from top for about 30 minutes.

Summer Squash

Mom's Summer Squash Recipe

• Prep time: 5 minutes
• Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 lbs squash and/or zucchini, sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, seeds removed, sliced
• 2 smallish tomatoes or one large tomato, peeled and cut into wedges
• 1/2 yellow onion, peeled and sliced
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped
• Olive oil
• 5 or 6 slices of cheese - jack or cheddar
• Basil, either dry or chopped fresh
• Salt and pepper

Method

1 Put onion, garlic, squash, bell pepper into a large saucepan with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Put on high heat and brown the vegetables slightly to develop flavor. As you are browning, sprinkle either dried basil or chopped fresh basil on the vegetables. When vegetables are slightly browned, remove from heat, add the slices of cheese, and cover the pan.
2 In a separate stick-free fry pan, put the tomatoes and cook at medium hi heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want to let the juice from the tomatoes evaporate some. After 5 minutes, add the tomatoes to the rest of the vegetables and stir. Salt and pepper to taste.
Yield: Serves 4.

Hasselback Potatoes

Hasselback (Accordian) Potatoes
submitted by Melanie~The Sisters Cafe

6-8 medium potatoes (russet, yukon, red)

Olive oil (or melted butter)
Salt (or seasoned salt)
Garnish: Chopped fresh herbs such as chives or Italian parsley
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut potatoes into 1/8- 1/4 inch thick slices, crosswise, but do not cut all the way through to the bottom.  The slices should be very thin and to about a 1/4 inch from the bottom.  A little tip is to put a small wooden spoon or chopstick at the bottom of the potato to stop your knife from accidentally cutting all the way through.   Place in roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil (or melted butter), making sure some gets in between the slices. Sprinkle with salt and pepper  to taste.
Roast for about 45- 60 minutes, depending on the size of your potatoes and the thickness of your slices. As the potatoes bake, the slices will fan out and the edges will crisp up.
**Also if you are short on time, I have sliced them first then micorwaved for 10 minutes before drizzling with oil and seasoning.  Fisnish in the oven for about 20 minutes or until crisp.**
Remove potatoes from oven and place potatoes on a serving dish. Sprinkle with chopped fresh herbs if you desire. They are also wonderful without herbs,  as pictured.

Variations

Sprinkle potatoes with freshly grated Parmesan cheese during the last 10-15 minutes of baking.
Drizzle your favorite pesto across the tops before baking.
Recipe Source:  My Mother in law Beth

Weekly Menu (TJs)

Monday - Dinner at Katie's
Tuesday -  French Onion Soup, Salad, Hasselback Potatoes
Wednesday - Carne Asada Tacos, Summer Squash
Thursday - Pizza, Spinach
Friday - Garlic Chicken Thighs, Carrot Souffle
Saturday - Spaghetti Carbonara, Collard Greens
Sunday - Frozen Orange Chicken, Broccoli
Monday - Steak Sandwich, Bok Choy

Breakfasts
Oatmeal Pancakes
Oven Pancakes
Overnight Baked Oatmeal
Overnight Blueberry Muffins
Cinnamon Rolls
Fried Green Tomatoes, Hash Browns, Bacon
Oatmeal Pancakes

Spaghetti Carbonara

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound bacon, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound fresh spaghetti, cooked al dente
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• Salt
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions

In a large saute pan, over medium heat, cook the bacon until crispy, about 6 minutes. Remove the bacon and drain on paper towels. Pour off all of the oil except for 3 tablespoons. Add the garlic. Season with black pepper. Saute for 30 seconds. Add the crispy bacon and the pasta. Saute for 1 minute. Season the eggs with salt. Remove the pan from the heat and add the eggs, whisking quickly until the eggs thicken, but do not scramble. Add the cheese and re-season with salt and pepper. Mound into serving bowls and garnish with parsley.

Baked Sweet Potato Chips

Ingredients

• 2 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed and sliced 1/8 inch thick
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, preferably sea salt
• 1 lime, cut into wedges, for serving

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, with racks in center and lower positions. Divide sweet potatoes between 2 rimmed baking sheets. Drizzle with oil, toss, and spread them in a single layer on sheets. Bake, flipping once, until centers are soft and edges are crisp, 22 to 25 minutes. Sprinkle with salt, and serve with lime wedges.

Collard Greens

• Prep time: 5 minutes
• Cook time: 20 minutes

We use bacon fat here primarily for flavor. Bacon fat provides an excellent balance to the natural bitter of the collard greens. That said, you can easily skip the bacon fat and just use a little more olive oil.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs collard greens, tough stems discarded, leaves chopped
• 2 Tbsp medium onion, chopped
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 2 teaspoons bacon fat
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp dark sesame oil (Dynasty or comparable)
• Chili pepper flakes, a pinch
• Salt, a couple pinches
• Sugar, a couple pinches

Method

1 Use a large skillet with a tight fitting cover. Melt bacon fat and heat olive oil on medium heat. Sauté onion until transparent, a couple of mintues. Add garlic and and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
2 Mix in the greens, sesame oil, chili pepper flakes, salt, and sugar. Cover and cook until tender, 8-15 minutes. (Note that young collard greens will cook up relatively quickly. Older greens may take upwards of 45 minutes to tenderize.)
If you want, serve with barbecue sauce.
Yield: Serves 4.

Baby Bok Choy with Cashews

Baby Bok Choy with Cashews Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup chopped green onions, including green ends
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 pound baby bok choy, rinsed, larger leaves separated from base, base trimmed but still present, holding the smaller leaves together
• 1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil
• Salt
• 1/2 cup chopped, roasted, salted cashews

Method

1 Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium high heat. Add onions, then garlic, then bok choy. Sprinkle with sesame oil and salt. Cover, and let the baby bok choy cook down for approximately 3 minutes. (Like spinach, when cooked, the bok choy will wilt a bit.)
2 Remove cover. Lower heat to low. Stir and let cook for a minute or two longer, until the bok choy is just cooked.
3 Gently mix in cashews.

Stromboli

1 frozen bread dough

1/8 lb ham, sliced (2 oz)

1/8 lb hard salami 

1/8 lb provolone (buy 1/4 lb at the deli, make 2 and freeze 1)

mozzarella cheese

1/2 tsp dried basil, divided

1/2 tsp dried oregano, divided

melted butter or olive oil

cornmeal

Next time, try with mushrooms and spinach...

Set out bread dough to thaw. Once thawed, spread the dough out on a cookie sheet or silpat (which works perfect). Layer the ham and then the salami along the middle of the dough going lengthwise. Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp each of basil and oregano then layer on cheeses. (I used approximately 1 cup shredded mozzarella but it’s entirely up to you how much you want!) Sprinkle with remaining basil and oregano. Wet edges of the dough and fold over the long edges and roll up the ends. Brush olive oil over dough and sprinkle lightly with corn meal. Carefully flip stromboli over and repeat on other side. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-22 minutes. Serve with hot spaghetti sauce for dipping. Enjoy!

Pasta Alfredo

From the Food Network:

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried fettucine (we like mini bowties)
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Fresh parsley, for garnish, optional

Directions

Cook the fettucine in a pot of rapidly boiling salted water until al dente. Drain in a colander, reserving 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking liquid.

While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add shallots and saute until tender. Add heavy cream and bring to a boil. Cook until sauce has reduced slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Return the pasta to the pot it was cooked in, set over medium-high heat along with the reserved cooking liquid. Add the butter-cream mixture and half of the Parmesan and toss to combine thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan and garnish with parsley, if desired. Serve immediately.