Fresh Basil "Chimichurri"

When your trusty basil plant keeps producing fragrant green leaves night after night it can sometimes seem hard to keep up. Pesto sauce gets a little boring - try this Latin spin that is based on a Chimichurri.

Blend together basil, 1/2 c olive oil, 3 garlic gloves, 1 tsp crushed red pepper and a squeeze of lemon to make it extra fresh. Serve on top of any grilled meat or vegetable.

VIDEO POST! Pan Roasted Chicken with Ratatouille Sauce

It has been really fun using my new Flip Camera to record recipes. And so far I have gotten some great feed back...and even had a friend make something new because of my video! They say a picture says a thousand words - so what about a video? I know that personally I often look up videos of new cooking techniques because so many of us are visual learners. This recipe really turned out amazing. As I say in the video its fast, easy and really is perfect for company as it makes a great presentation. Don't be afraid of the hard to spell French name - Ratatouille is a wonderful vegetable dish that is a perfect recipe to have when your summer garden is making you see green (zucchini that is!)

I used two Newman's Own products in this recipe - Family Recipe Italian Dressing as a marinade for the chicken and Cabernet Marinara as part of the ratatouille. I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts as I find them much more flavorful than the standard boneless, skinless chicken breast. However, if you wanted to serve this with on the bone chicken breasts I think that would be a great option as well. Also feel free to serve this over brown rice, another type of pasta or even something more exciting like quinoa or couscous!

Click the link for the full recipe and instructions

White Chicken Chili

With the North East in the middle of one of the worst winters in memory, its no surprise that hearty, warm soups are being requested more often. For me, it seems like I can barely go a day without having a soup of some kind! New Jersey is pretty much know for its diners - often open all night and serving up what generally is pretty close to homemade comfort food. Diners are not really know for bending to the newest food trend, classics like tuna melts, greek salads and even meatloaf are the staples of these places served with a cup of their homemade soups and a scoop of pudding for dessert. But that is their charm - no matter what diner you do to you almost don't need a menu because you know what they serve...it hasn't changed in probably 50 years!

I recently had a delicious bowl of chili at the Windsor Diner in Clark, NJ and I just couldn't stop thinking about it for days. It was everything that a bowl of chili should be...and came with ample sour cream and salsa on the side so you could dress it up as you wished. This White Chicken Chili on the other hand, is pretty much the complete opposite! While it is delicious, warming and comforting it is more delicate rather than hitting you over the head with a hunk of ground beef. I have tried other recipes before but this was a new one for me and I think that it came out really well. I used my 7.5Q dutch oven to make the chili and let it cook in there for a few hours in the oven to really marry the flavors together. It was a little more soupy than my other attempt but I actually liked it and felt it had more flavor... use a bit less chicken broth if you would prefer a more stew/chili appearance.

click through for the recipe! 

Lightened Up Cassoulet

Traditionally a French dish, cassoulets use a variety of rich meats to flavor a baked bean dish. This rustic dish is like many other baked bean dishes made around Europe - there are as many recipes as there are grandmothers out there! This dish is simple and easy to make - don't be scared by the long ingredient list. It works wonderfully as a lazy Sunday afternoon project when you have time to sit and wait for the flavors to combine perfectly. This will also work for slow cookers - so feel free to prep it in advance and come home to a delicious hot meal.

Generally, very rich meats like goose or duck are used as the main ingredient with additions of pork sausage and bacon to give flavor to the white beans. I decided to lighten my dish up by using chicken thighs and chicken andouille sausage. I do think that a bit of bacon would have been an excellent addition lending some of the smokey flavor that bacon is famous for to the dish. I also strayed from the original by using a mixture of red kidney beans and white cannellini beans which was more a decision based on my pantry supplies than tastes. I also didn't have any onions in my house...but I added some shallots to compensate.

 

Click through for the recipe!