Roasting Peppers

After you have rinsed and washed your peppers, place them on a hot grill or if you are staying inside place our peppers on one of your burners on your stove. Either way cook until one side blisters the skin and makes the skin turn black. DO NOT BURN YOUR PEPPERS.. There is a fine line between what you want and what could happen so be all over your peppers. 
Once your peppers are blackened and blistered place them in a  bowl and wrap it airtight with plastic wrap. Leave it wrapped at room temp for about 20 minutes, or cool enough to handle.  
Take peppers out and peel all away all the charred skin and you should have nothing but a naked pepper...On a Burner..

Skinny Relleno

Poblano Pepper 

Which means of or from Pueblo in Spanish

The Poblano is a mild chile pepper originating in the central region of Mexico. Dried it is called ancho pepper. While poblanos tend to have a mild flavor, occasionally and unpredictably a poblano can have significant heat.  One of the most popular pepper grown in Mexico, the tree is multi-stemmed and can reach 25 inches in height. the pod itself is about three to six inches long and about two to three inches wide.  The health benefits of poblanos includes, that they are relatively high in fiber, or like I like to say "fire in the holeeee!!!!!" So one day I needed to have a Chile Relleno. The problem is a traditional relleno is stuffed full of queso fresco (fresh white cheese), breaded and fried. You see I'm not one to fry things. I know this is a sin if your a faced paced American worker. I can remember one Christmas when someone gave our family a Fry-Daddy. We fried EVERYTHING. It was so fun.... Until we started frying pancakes, hot dogs and candy. It was kinda what you eat now at your county fair. Come to think of it. We would've made some money. So in my cooking ways which is to take any food dish and turn into something healthy WITH OUT losing the integrity of the flavor, I thought up this recipe.                                          Chile Relleno Start off by selecting great peppers and roasting them. Size does matter on this topic. You want to have at least 5 inches. Wash nicely and then place peppers on one of your burners or a hot grill to roast. This step is important to build flavor and to de-skin them.  (to learn how to roast these jewels click on my tecniques link). As the peppers are cooling and resting, this would be a great time to start your filling.                                                     Ingredients                                                     Makes  4 Chilies  4 4 oz chicken breast 1/2 tsp of salt 1/4 tsp black pepper 1/4 tsp Cumin 1/4 tsp poultry magic a pinch of red pepper flakes 1/2 of a medium yellow onion (chopped fine) 1 clove of garlic (chopped fine) 1/2 cup of fat free cram cheese 1 1/4 cups of shredded cheese part skim, Mexican blend 1 small can of diced green chillies                                                         Method Boil the chicken breast first in boiling water. Let the chicken cook a couple of minutes past ready about 15 minutes. This way it will shred up easier.  In a separate pan saute the chopped onion and garlic together until they are translucent. Add the shredded chicken and then the spices. Before you add the spices always, always mix the dry ingredients before adding them. This makes happy spices. WE don't want to go all the way with the spices before getting to know them.  Once everyone knows each other add the spice blend to the chicken and mix with the onions and garlic. Add the rest of the ingredients into a large mixing bowl and mix. Set aside and let cool.   Next... Its time to stuff our Chile's.  After you have taken all the char off of the peppers you are going to make a small slit along the pepper length wise. Be very careful as the peppers will be very delicate and you want to keep its shape. Once inside the pepper, remove all seeds. Place the filling inside the Chile and filling until it looks like a loaded baked potato.                                                     Next add a can of seasoned black beans to the casserole dish to cover the bottom about . Place stuffed peppers in a casserole dish on top of black beans. Sprinkle more shredded cheese on top and bake covered with foil on 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Remove and enjoy!! The bold taste of chipotle peppers is like no other. This dish is a great way to enjoy a summer night.

Preview

The Big Boy Tomato
One of the most popular of the tomato
plants. They take about 90 days
to harvest and can grow up to 3 lbs or more.
The best flavor is when its at least 1 lb and fully ripe.
We are growing these right now in our garden. We would be enjoying them more if a certain 4 year old didn''t like to pick the "green" ones...

 Big Boy Bruschetta

I know what your thinking... What is so glamorous about this bland looking appetizer. Well, some of the simplest snacks settle big boy appetites.  When I was little my Mom would whip up this tasty little treat. It was comforting and easy to make and eat. 

1 Fresh French Roll.

 (Ask the baker at the grocery store for the freshest. You will thank me for it)

1 Big Boy Tomato, very ripe

1/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese (2% fat)

2 slices of Turkey Bacon

Salt & Black Pepper to taste

Method

Pre-heat your oven to 350

Slice bread about 3/4 of an inch and place on baking sheet or flat pan

slice your big boy tomato

Place slice of the tomato on the sliced french bread

Season with black pepper and salt

Top with Turkey bacon and cheddar cheese

Bake for 15 minuntes or until bacon crisps and cheddar melts.

Now go crunch!!

Prosciutto-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin

As always, a big Thank You to News Channel 5 for the invitation to cook on Talk of the Town!

"Pork is Pink Chicken" - Macie 4 years old

It's an Apple! It's a Pear! Who cares! It's Dessert!

Simple as apple pie.. Well an Asian Pear.

I wanted to prepare something sweet and healthy using the new spices I got from William Sonoma. I love to experiment with sweet dishes. It's the ultimate challenge when it comes to preparing them healthy. My idea of dessert is, and please do not judge me. 1 scoop of whey protein and 1 beautiful box of instant sugar- free pudding with 2 cups of iced cold milk. So I wanted to see what these spices could do. 

Recipe

1  Asian pear cored and sliced in wedges

1/4 tsp of Cinnamon

1'4 tsp of Granulated Honey

1/8 tsp of nutmeg

1/8 tsp of salt

1/4 tsp of vanilla extract

1/4 cup of Part- Skim Ricotta Cheese

1 spoon full of Cool whip

Pure Maple Flakes 

Method

In a medium sauce pan, spray a little Pam to coat the bottom

 Set on medium heat

Mix your all dry ingredients together first to form one spice blend. 

Toss pears in spice blend and coat evenly

Place seasoned pears in heat pan and saute until  the pears are almost caramelized on both sides

Cover with the lid and continue cooking on low-med heat until the pears break down a little about 

(6-8 minutes)

Remove form heat, place on a plate. Make sure to spat out all the goodies left on the bottom of the pan and just top that off on the pears

In a separate bowl whisk together the ricotta cheese, and cool whip tell it's one smooth topping

Place the topping on top of the pears and finish with the maple flakes. You can use Gram cracker crumbs or even honey grahams if you like, just make sure you crush them up Throw them on top and enjoy with your favorite glass of bourbon or milk. Remember there are no rules.

Check this out Home Slice

Here's a quick and easy way to slice grape tomatoes in a flash!

These are actually baby Heirloom Tomatoes.
They have a nice aciditic and tangy flavor.

Pancake them in between two platesHolding the plates together, run a sharp knife between the plates.
Tip: If you run your knife through the tomatoes and
cannot slice right thorough, then you need to sharpen
your blade. The goal of this is to retain as much
juice as possible, which is all the flavor baby!!  

Congratulations you just saved 10 minutes!

Desperately Seeking Su - SUMAC!

 I hear a lot of people always say I don't know what we would do with out music. Can you imagine a life with out it? Can you imagine a life with out electricity, phones, facebook?  I actually think we would be fine with out facebook. I mean who wants to read about what someone is thinking...... Wait... Back to what I am thinking.  I could honestly not imagine a life with out spices. They are the essence of flavor - they make everything better! I mean pork is pork, an eggplant is an eggplant, but once you introduce Mr. and Mrs. Tandori and Sumac to the equation, well now you most definitely have a party planned for your mouth. Selecting spices can be overwhelming. I know. I stick to the basics, usually...  I just now started getting into more eclectic versatile spices and I've been cooking for more then 10 years.  Patience, I'm learning this new world also. But using a new spice should be similar to starting a  new relationship. Start slow and then gain confidence in that spice. I always think, you can always add more,  but you can't take it away, and in lower fat, healthier cooking the key is flavor and spice balance and don't forget to Taste, Taste, Taste!!!

Chicken Cacciatore

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Chicken Bryan

Mr. C's Chicken Breast

Chicken Sorrentino

Pasta Rambo