Chicken and Vegetable Tostadas

Ingredients
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons canola oil
12 ounces chicken breast tenders
1 cup chopped red onion (about 1)
1 cup fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears) (I used canned corn)
1 cup chopped zucchini (about 4 ounces)
1/2 cup green salsa (I used hot salsa, gave it a kick
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, divided
4 (8-inch) fat-free flour tortillas
Cooking spray
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Preparation
Preheat broiler.

Combine first 3 ingredients, stirring well. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the spice mixture evenly over chicken. Add chicken to pan; sauté for 3 minutes. Add onion, corn, and zucchini to pan; sauté for 2 minutes or until chicken is done. Stir in salsa and 2 tablespoons cilantro. Cook 2 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates, stirring frequently.

Working with 2 tortillas at a time, arrange tortillas in a single layer on a baking sheet; lightly coat tortillas with cooking spray. Broil 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Spoon about 3/4 cup chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla; sprinkle each serving with 1/4 cup cheese. Broil an additional 2 minutes or until cheese melts. Repeat procedure with remaining tortillas, chicken mixture, and cheese. Sprinkle each serving with about 3/4 teaspoon of remaining cilantro. Serve immediately.

Happy Holidays

Some reasons why it isn't even Halloween and I am looking forward to Christmas.

1. It has been a long year. With the move, the house still for sale in MN and all the real life things that have come along with that it will be nice for that holiday spirit to roll into town.



2. The move was tougher on Cooper than I had anticipated and I am excited for him to have something to really look forward to.



3. I got 50 sticks to earn Christmas money this year and I am looking forward to seeing that pay off on Christmas morning.



4. I already have Christmas presents stashed around the house.



5. Looking forward to care free time with the family.

Chad's pomegranate margarita

1 shot simple syrup
1 shot tequila
1 shot triple sec
1 shot lime juice
2 shots pomegranate juice

combine ingredients in shaker with ice and shake. serve over ice.

a note from "Real" America

So recently there has been talk about the "Real" America and the "Real" Virginia and so on.

So today I am going to step up and tell you something about what is real and not real. I don't care who it upsets. I don't care what your views are I am going to declare it loud and proud.

REAL CHILI DOES NOT HAVE BEANS.

There, I said. And I'm not going to do some back peddling announcement on CNN to try please those who put beans in their chili that I didn't really mean it. I said it and I mean it.

And for heavens sake, it sure as heck isn't served over spaghetti.

Here in "Real" America we call that spaghetti sauce.

Even with kids it's a tight election

So Cooper saw the Nickelodeon Kid's Pick the President and wanted to vote. So his voice was heard in this Nickelodeon election.

It seems like even with the kids this is a tight race.

General Tsao's Chicken

So this one is not from Cooking Light, but if you are like me and your favorite when you go to visit [insert favorite local chinese restaurant here] is General Tsao's Chicken, I think this is a pretty good recipe.


INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger root

3/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1/2 cup hot chicken broth

1 teaspoon monosodium glutamate (MSG) I did not add this

3 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into bite size pieces

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 teaspoon ground white pepper

1 egg

1 cup cornstarch

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups chopped green onions

16 chile peppers, sun-dried I used pepper mix, like crushed red peppers

I also put in some steamed broccoli


DIRECTIONS
To Make Sauce: In a large bowl combine 1/2 cup cornstarch and 1/4 cup water. Mix together. Add garlic, ginger, sugar, 1/4 cup soy sauce and white wine vinegar. Then add chicken broth and monosodium glutamate and stir all together until sugar dissolves. Refrigerate until needed.

To Prepare Chicken: In a separate bowl, combine chicken, 1/2 cup soy sauce and white pepper. Stir in egg. Add 1 cup cornstarch and stir until chicken is evenly coated. Add oil to help separate chicken pieces.don't need to add oil Divide chicken into small quantities and deep fry at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) until crispy. Drain on paper towels.

To Make Mixture: Place a small amount of oil in wok and heat until wok is hot. Add scallions and dried chile peppers and stir-fry briefly. Remove sauce from refrigerator and stir. Add sauce to wok. Then add fried chicken and cook until sauce thickens (add cornstarch or water as needed until sauce is as thick as you like it).

Round 2

It is hard to believe that round 2 of the medical trial is here. In an hour I will check in for the last of the two part study.

36 hours later and 22 sticks later I will be released.

A week and 3 more sticks and I will have completed the study and will be picking up my pay check.

It would be great if on Sunday you prayed for good phlebotomists.

Thanks and see you on the other side.

Balsamic-Glazed Chicken and Bell Pepper Sandwiches on homemade Focaccia

No-Fuss Focaccia

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil, plus additional for oiling the pan and drizzling the top of the dough
1½ cups (12 oz) warm water

1 tablespoon instant yeast or 4 teaspoons (2 packets) active dry yeast

1¼ teaspoons salt

3¼ cups King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour

Italian seasoning or dried herbs of your choice, for topping

Oil well a 9- x 2-inch-deep round or a 9- x 13-inch rectangular pan.

Combine the water with the yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the oil, salt and flour and beat on high speed for 60 seconds. Scoop the sticky batter into the prepared pan, cover the pan with a dry towel and let it rise at room temperature until it becomes puffy, 60 minutes for instant yeast or 90 minutes for active dry yeast.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Drizzle dough lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Bake the bread until it is golden brown, 35 to 45 minutes (depending on which size pan you put it in). Remove from oven, let stand 5 minutes, then turn it out of the pan onto a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature


Balsamic-Glazed Chicken and Bell Pepper Sandwiches

Ingredients

4 teaspoons olive oil, divided

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

1 1/4 pounds chicken breast tenders

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, divided

2 cups red bell pepper strips (about 2 medium)

2 cups vertically sliced onion (about 1 large)

2 (8-ounce) loaves focaccia bread, cut in half horizontally (I homemade worked great)

4 ounces provolone cheese, thinly sliced

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Preparation

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt over chicken. Add chicken to pan; cook 1 minute on each side or until lightly browned. Add 1/4 cup vinegar; cook 2 minutes or until chicken is done and vinegar is syrupy. Remove chicken mixture from the pan; cover and keep warm. Wipe pan clean with a paper towel.

Return pan to medium-high heat; add remaining 2 teaspoons oil. Add bell pepper and onion; sauté 7 minutes or until tender. Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/4 cup vinegar; cook 1 minute or until vinegar is syrupy.

Arrange chicken mixture evenly over bottom halves of bread; top with bell pepper mixture. Arrange cheese over pepper mixture, and sprinkle with black pepper. Top with top halves of bread. Place a cast-iron or heavy skillet on top of sandwiches; let stand 5 minutes. Cut each sandwich into 6 wedges.

blogging

UPDATE: No offense against your blog, I mean I really like your blog

Spicy Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs

This is another Cooking Light recipe.

I couldn't find boneless, skinless thighs, so I had to make them boneless, skinless myself. It wasn't too bad, but certainly adds a little prep.

The recipe has 321 calories per serving, so not too bad.

A serving consist of 2 thighs. Your milage may vary.

Ingredients

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper

8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs

Cooking spray

6 tablespoons honey

2 teaspoons cider vinegar

Preparation

Preheat broiler.

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken to bowl; toss to coat. Place chicken on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Broil chicken 5 minutes on each side.

Combine honey and vinegar in a small bowl, stirring well. Remove chicken from oven; brush 1/4 cup honey mixture on chicken. Broil 1 minute. Remove chicken from oven and turn over. Brush chicken with remaining honey mixture. Broil 1 additional minute or until chicken is done.

politicing

Only saw part of the debate last night. This pretty much sums it up.






(HT: texas in africa