Greek Chicken Bread Salad

So I was supposed to make this, but a football game at a friend's house made me get home late.  D made it instead.  He said it was easy.  Both of us liked it a lot.  He said it was more flavorful for dinner than lunch.

Would make again...especially because the rest of the bread was used Vietnamese Chicken Sandwiches.We had with Olive-Almond Green Beans.

Greek Chicken Bread Salad

Photo by ALB

Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients

3 ounces cubed French bread baguette, crust removed
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1 cup sliced red bell pepper (about 1 large)
1/2 cup sliced pepperoncini peppers
1.5 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about 1/3 cup)

Preparation
1. Preheat broiler to high.

2. Place baguette cubes on a baking sheet; coat with cooking spray. Broil 2 minutes or until edges are browned, turning once.

3. Reduce oven temperature to 425°.

4. Combine oregano and next 5 ingredients (through crushed red pepper) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk; set aside.

5. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat; coat pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle chicken evenly with black pepper and salt. Place chicken in pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until browned. Place pan in oven, and bake at 425° for 10 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove pan from oven. Let chicken stand 5 minutes; slice thinly across the grain.

6. Add bread cubes, lettuce, bell pepper, pepperoncini peppers, and feta to bowl with oregano mixture; toss well. Place about 1 1/3 cups salad on each of 4 plates. Top each serving with about 3 ounces chicken.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 325; Fat: 14.2g; Saturated fat: 3.4g; Monounsaturated fat: 8.2g; Polyunsaturated fat: 1.5g; Protein: 30.5g; Carbohydrate: 18g; Fiber: 1.9g; Cholesterol: 75mg; Iron: 2.2mg; Sodium: 562mg; Calcium: 88mg

Cooking Light JANUARY 2013

Olive-Almond Green Beans

D made these with the Greek Chicken Bread Salad.  Of course, he didn't use olives because I despise them.  We were both surprised with the taste because they were extremely buttery, and they don't have butter in them.  Would have again.

Olive-Almond Green Beans

Yield: Serves 4 (serving size: about 1/2 cup)

Ingredients

Photo by: Photo: Johnny Autry/Randy Mayor;
Styling: Cindy Barr/Lindsey Lower

1 pound trimmed green beans
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup sliced toasted almonds
3 tablespoons chopped pitted kalamata olives (didn't use)
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
1/8 teaspoon salt

Preparation

Cook green beans in ­boiling water in a large saucepan 3 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain well. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add green beans, ­almonds, olives, lemon rind, and salt. Cook bean mixture 2 minutes, tossing well.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 129; Fat: 9.2g; Saturated fat: 1.1g; Monounsaturated fat: 0.0g; Polyunsaturated fat: 0.0g; Protein: 0.0g; Carbohydrate: 0.0g; Fiber: 0.0g; Cholesterol: 0.0mg; Iron: 0.0mg; Sodium: 254mg; Calcium: 0.0mg

Cooking Light JANUARY 2013 

Chicken, Potato, and Leek Pie

I made this and it was very easy.  Well, it was easy once someone at Kroger showed me what Leeks looked like and once my friend told me which side of the leek to use.

Prep went quickly.  It needs a little more salt and pepper but I would make again.

I used matchstick carrots because I didn't know we had regular carrots in the drawer.

Chicken, Potato, and Leek Pie

Yield: Serves 6 (serving size: about 1 1/4 cups)
Hands-on:22 Minutes
Total:1 Hour, 5 Minutes

Ingredients

Photo by: Photo: Francesco Tonelli;
Stylist: Philippa Brathwaite

1 slice smoked bacon, chopped
1 1/2 cups cubed red potato (about 8 ounces)
1 cup chopped carrot
6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
3 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups sliced leeks (about 2)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
1/2 (14.1-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough
1 tablespoon fat-free milk
1 large egg white

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 450°.

2. Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until almost crisp, stirring frequently. Increase heat to medium-high. Add potato and carrot to pan; sauté 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken; sauté 3 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour and next 3 ingredients (through pepper); sauté 1 minute, stirring frequently.

3. Slowly add broth to pan, stirring constantly; bring to a boil. Cook 2 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring occasionally. Spoon mixture into a 1 1/2-quart glass or ceramic baking dish. Top with dough, folding under and pressing down on edges to seal.

4. Combine milk and egg white; brush mixture over top of dough. Cut small slits in dough to vent. Bake at 450° for 30 minutes or until crust is golden. Let stand 10 minutes.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 298; Fat: 11.9g; Saturated fat: 4.5g; Monounsaturated fat: 3.6g; Polyunsaturated fat: 3g; Protein: 18g; Carbohydrate: 31g; Fiber: 2.2g; Cholesterol: 62mg; Iron: 2.1mg; Sodium: 561mg; Calcium: 42mg

Cooking Light AUGUST 2012

Ella's Baked Ziti

My brother made this for Christmas Dinner.  I have no clue if it was easy or not. But I do know it was good.  I think it made about 12 servings...

Ella's Baked Ziti

Photo by ALB

Ingredients
1 pound of large ziti noodles
1 pound of ground beef
1 pound of Italian Sausage
2 cans of diced tomatoes
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, diced
1 TBSP dried oregano
1 large bottle of tomato sauce (like Ragu or Barilla)
2 boxes of frozen spinach
1 container of Ricotta Cheese
2 pound of mozzarella cheese
1/2 C of Parmesan

Preparation
Heat oven at 375.
Cook the ziti according to the package instructions.

Brown 1 pound of beef and sausage. Mix in and sautee 2 cans of diced tomatoes, 1 onion, garlic, 1 bottle of sauce, and oregano.

Microwave the 2 boxes of spinach and squeeze the water out of it.

Mix in with the noodles, along with half the container of Ricotta with the noodles. Then mix in the meat mixture. The rest of the Ricotta can be used for another use.

Layer half in a 9x13-inch pan. Top with half of the mozzarella cheese. Other half of the noodle mix. Another layer of cheese, and with Parmesan Cheese. Bake at 375 until the cheese is bubbly, about 15 minutes.

Ella's Texas Toast

So I rarely ever make Garlic Bread or any semblance of it at home. It never tastes good and always tastes like I have skimped on ingredients. For Christmas, my brother was cooking and told me he was making this recipe from his friend, Ella. I didn't really read the recipe, just got the ingredients (sort of).

The result...I really had to watch what I ate. The bread was so good. D liked it, Bro liked it, and my dad liked it.

Yum!

Ella's Texas Toast

Toast (and Salad)
Photo by ALB

Ingredients
A loaf of French Bread
1/2C of Butter, softened
2 C Mozzarella
1C Parmesan
Garlic Powder
Oregano or Italian Spices

Preparation
Heat oven to 375.
Cut the French Bread slice into one-inch slices.
Melt butter in a medium size pot. Dip each slice in the butter on both sides.  Place on baking sheet.  Sprinkle with Garlic Powder and Italian Spices. Then put a little mozzarella and Parmesan ( don't put a lot of the Parmesan; it will over-power)
Bake in oven until lightly brown and bubbly, 8 minutes.

Bro's notes: I used oregano instead of Italian spices.  I also could not find French bread so I got Italian bread.

Ezra Pound Cake's Mom’s Monkey Bread

My "work husband" mentioned this recipe. I didn't need to know about this. He mentioned 2 sticks of butter. Surely Ezra Pound Cake had made this. And sure enough, I found the recipe on her site.

I showed it to my brother and to D. They said yes we should have it. So we did. It was really easy to make. I REALLY need to stop looking at EPC if I want to fit in my pants. This was delicious.

Mom’s Monkey Bread

From Rebecca Crump (EzraPoundCake.com)

Ingredients
2 LARGE CANS (16.3 OUNCES) REFRIGERATED BISCUITS
1 CUP (2 STICKS) UNSALTED BUTTER, MELTED
1 1/2 CUPS SUGAR
2 TABLESPOONS CINNAMON
1/2 CUP PECAN HALVES

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a bundt pan or tube pan with non-stick spray. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
Cut the biscuits into quarters. Dip each piece in butter, roll it in cinnamon sugar, and place it in the pan. Sprinkle pecans onto the biscuit pieces at random.
Pour any remaining butter evenly over the biscuit pieces in the pan.
Bake for about 40 minutes or until the top springs back when touched. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert onto a plate, and serve immediately.

Christmas Breakfast Casserole

Um, YUM!  We had this on Christmas.  D made it on Christmas Eve, and popped it in the oven on Christmas Morning.  Very easy, very good.

I got the recipe from EzraPoundcake. Her website is really evilly good.  I really need to stop looking at it.  HAHA!

Will have again.

Christmas Breakfast Casserole

There’s a lot of sausage and cheese in this recipe, so if you need to dial it back, feel free. It’s meant to be a once-a-year splurge.

From “Southern Living Heirloom Recipe Cookbook”

Hands-On Time: 18 minutes; Total Time: 58 minutes, plus 8 hours for chilling
Makes 6 servings

Ingredients
1 POUND GROUND PORK SAUSAGE
6 SLICES WHITE SANDWICH BREAD, TORN INTO PIECES
1 CUP (4 OUNCES) SHREDDED SWISS CHEESE (we used slices)
1 CUP (4 OUNCES) SHREDDED SHARP CHEDDAR CHEESE
1 1/2 CUPS MILK
1/2 TEASPOON DIJON MUSTARD
3 LARGE EGGS, LIGHTLY BEATEN
1/2 TEASPOON WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE
1/4 TEASPOON SALT
1/4 TEASPOON PEPPER

Preparation
Grease an 11- x 7-inch baking dish.
Cook sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring often, 8 minutes or until sausage crumbles and is no longer pink; drain well.
Arrange bread in a single layer in prepared baking dish; top with sausage and cheese. Combine milk and remaining ingredients; pour over bread mixture. Cover and chill 8 to 24 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 40 minutes or until set.