The Apartment Kitchen » peppers

Chicken Fried Rice

admin — Mon, 17 May 2010 13:54:03 +0000

I have never (before this post) made chicken fried rice. This is primarily because we never (and I mean never) have leftover rice. So when I made waaaaay too much rice last week aside some chicken, I excitedly got out my wok and made the first fried rice my kitchen has ever seen (outside of a takeout container).

Like most of the things I make, this can be customized with your favorite (read: leftover) meats and veggies. The result was delicious and so easy, I will be making too much rice from now on, just so I can make this the next day!

Chicken Fried Rice

Served 4
Leftover Potential: Reheats well and is pretty good cold – like leftover takeout!

2 bone-in chicken breasts (with skin
salt and pepper, as needed

1 Tbsp oil
1 1/2 cups diced Chinese sausage
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
1 stalk celery, minced
1 red bell pepper, minced
1 cup mushrooms, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp ginger, minced

2 1/2 cups leftover rice
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp garlic-chili sauce, or more to taste
1 tsp Oyster sauce

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Roast it in a 350 degree oven until cooked through, about 35 minutes. Let cool completely. Remove the skin. Dice the meat and reserve.
2. Heat the oil over medium heat in a wok or large saute pan. Add the diced sausage and saute until the sausage is on the crisp side and the fat is rendered. Remove the sausage and reserve.
3. Add the green onions, celery, bell pepper, and mushrooms. Saute until tender, about 6-8 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute more.
4. Add the rice to the pan and stir to combine. Add the chicken and sausage back to the pan, and toss to combine. Stir fry until the rice is heated through.
5. Season the rice with soy sauce, vinegar, chili sauce, and oyster sauce. Stir well to combine.

Mustardy Chopped Steak Sandwiches

admin — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 22:58:58 +0000

Over the weekend I was craving steak. Unfortunately, I’d already been out to a few restaurants and spent a little more than I usually do on the weekends. This sandwich (inspired by one I saw in the fall in Cooking Light), was the perfect solution. I was able to use a cheap cut of steak (really anything you see, as long as it’s cut thin, or you can cut it thin yourself), cover it in a delicious, flavorful sauce, and enjoy the deliciousness of a steak sandwich without the price tag. You could add any vegetables to the filling you like – peppers or greens would be a nice addition…and best of all, because it’s so simple (and the meat takes literally seconds to cook), it was done in no time – leaving me free to continue enjoying the incredible weather we’ve been having all week.

Mustardy Chopped Steak Sandwiches

Inspired by Cooking Light

Served 4

Leftover Potential: I scrambled the leftover steak into eggs with some cheddar for breakfast the next day.

12 oz thin cut steaks

salt and pepper, to taste

1 Tbsp oil

1 onion, thinly sliced

2 cups mushrooms, thinly sliced

3 Tbsp spicy mustard

1 Tbsp ketchup

1 Tbsp cider vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup cherry or peppadew peppers, minced

rolls

Tamale Pie

admin — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:40:59 +0000

Some of my more frequent readers can probably tell when I’m in a photo shoot at work – because I disapear from the blogosphere. Managing the photo shoots for the cookbooks the CIA produces is one of the busiest and most hectic parts of my job, and it often leads to me working odd hours. For the past week and a half, I’ve been getting home an hour or two later than I usually do. This is part of the reason I have been MIA.

The other is that a few days ago, I made this tamale pie for Matt. It only made a (deep) 9″ x 9″ casserole, but it has been lasting us for days (a rareity in our house). It reheats really well in the oven, and the flavors of the filling are only getting better as they sit. (Side note – this isn’t the best picture – I always have the hardest time photographing casseroles – but the cheesy crust should be appealing enough to get you to try this!)

Over the weekend I plan to get some serious cooking in – I’m taking a class to brush up on my knife skills, and cleaning my oven (a long over-due task). I’m sure a clean kitchen and house will inspire me to tackle next week!

Tamale Pie

Adapated from Mangio Dasola

Served 4-6.

Leftover Potential: Reheat in the oven – delish!

2 Tbsp oil

1 red onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 jalapeno, seeded, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb ground beef, pork, turkey, or chicken

1 (14 oz) can stewed tomatoes

1 (14 oz) can black beans, drained

salt and pepper, as needed

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

pinch cayenne pepper

1 (14 oz) can corn kernels

1 3/4 cups cornmeal

3 Tbsp all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 Tbsp sugar

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1 egg

2 Tbsp melted butter

grated jack cheese, for garnish

1. In a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and pepper and saute until the onion is translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and jalapeno and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute more.

2. Add the ground meat and saute until browned. Stir in the beans, tomatoes, and spices. Let simmer while you prepare the cornbread batter.

3. In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, and melted butter to combine.

4. Grease a deep 9″ by 9″ casserole dish. Pour 1/2 of the cornbread batter in the base, and cover it with half of the corn. Top that with the entire meat mixture on top, cover with remaining corn, remaining cornbread batter, and top with the cheese.

5. Bake in a 350 degree oven until baked through, about 30-40 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.

Spinach, Parmesan, and Pepper Stuffed Chicken with Cauliflower Rice

admin — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 20:27:40 +0000

This dish was born out of needing to use up a few fridge staples and a desire to make something a little unusual for dinner. Stuffing the chicken breasts we had seemed to be a delicious solution, and it was. I stuffed it with deliciously garlicky mixture of spinach, cheese, and peppadew peppers, and topped it with a hearty tomato sauce. I served it with a clever cauliflower dish I found on another blog – it took Matt quite awhile to guess what it was – and it was delicious!

Spinach, Parmesan, and Pepper Stuffed Chicken with Cauliflower Rice

Served 4.

Leftover Potential: Leftover filling makes an excellent omelette for breakfast the following day.

Stuffed Chicken

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 bag spinach (about 4 cups)

5 peppadew peppers, minced (or 1/2 a red bell pepper)

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

salt and pepper, to taste

4 chicken breasts

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 carrots, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 Tbsp tomato paste

3 cups crushed tomatoes

2 Tbsp fresh herbs, minced (such as rosemary, thyme, oregano, etc.)

salt and pepper, to taste

1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent, about 4-5 minutes.

2. Add the spinach and saute until it’s wilted, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in the peppers, cheese, salt, and pepper. Let cool completely.

3. Using a paring knife, cut a pocket into the side of the chicken breast. Go as deep into the chicken as you can without cutting it through to the other side. Stuff the pocket generously with filling. Secure with toothpicks or twine. Season the outside of the chicken with salt and pepper. Set aside.

4. Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and saute until the vegetables are tender, about 5-7 minutes.

5. Deglaze the pan with the tomato paste, then stir in the tomatoes. Bring the mixture to a simmer and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Season with herbs, salt, and pepper.

6. Pour the sauce into the base of a casserole dish large enough to accommodate the chicken. Place the chicken on top of the sauce, and roast in a 375 degree oven until the chicken is cooked through, about 10-13 minutes.

7. Spoon the sauce over the top of the chicken and serve.

Cauliflower Rice

Adapted from Kalyn’s Kitchen

2 Tbsp butter

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups cauliflower florets, minced

2 tsp paprika

salt and pepper, to taste

1. Heat the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent, about 4-5 minutes.

2. Add the cauliflower and saute until it begins to get crisp, about 4-5 minutes. Season with paprika, salt, and pepper.

Spiced Corn Soup with Sauteed Mushrooms

theapartmentkitchen — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 23:56:12 +0000

At the risk of sounding like a typical New Year’s Resolution maker, I am trying to eat healthier in 2010. Those of you who know me know I try to eat healthy at least most of the time (which makes it much easier and better when I go on a butter eating rampage). At any rate, as I often talk about, it’s easiest to make healthy food that’s delicious by working with it, rather than against it. It’s hard to make something healthy that inherently has a lot of cream or cheese or anything else in it – you’ll miss all that stuff too much if you eliminate it completely.

Corn is full of delicious starches, and in this pureed soup, it turns into a creamy, incredibly tasty soup. Combined with spicy peppers and savory sauteed mushrooms, it is unbelievably good (and also unbelievably healthy).

Spiced Corn Soup with Sauteed Mushrooms

Served 4.

Leftover Potential: Reheats well, though you might need to saute more mushrooms. Would also be great with shredded or ground meat mixed in, making it almost like a curry or stew.

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 small onions, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

4 cloves garlic, smashed

1 serrano chile, minced (or jalapeno)

1 two pound bag frozen corn kernels

2 (14.5 oz) cans chicken or vegetable broth

salt and pepper, to taste

1 (14.5 oz) can corn kernels

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp coriander

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 basket mushrooms, thinly sliced

1. In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and celery, and saute until the onion is translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add the chile and garlic, and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.

2. Add the corn kernels and broth, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Drain the liquid from the canned corn into the soup.

3. In a blender or food processor, puree the soup until it’s smooth. Return it to the pot, season with salt and pepper. Stir in the corn and spices, and simmer until good flavor develops, about 15 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan. Add the onion and saute until it is translucent. Add the garlic and mushrooms, and saute until the mushrooms are tender, about 4 minutes more. Season with salt.

5. Serve the soup with heaps of mushrooms on top (or, you can always stir the mushrooms in).

Mushroom Stuffed Sausage Burgers with Peppadew Peppers

theapartmentkitchen — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 01:26:55 +0000

**(What’s that? Another dish with sausage and peppadew peppers? Well, yes. I made my cooking “to-do” list at the beginning of the week. I had been craving sausage, but I was cooking for one until tonight when Matt came over. Rather than get stuck with a whole pot of leftovers, I cooked my white beans with sausage on Tuesday night and saved the remaining ingredients for a completely different dish a few days later. So you hardly recognized it, right?)**

Matt loves burgers. I like them too, because I enjoy warm sandwiches. Burgers are easy (and easy to make healthy if you like with lean meats like turkey and chicken and meat substitutions like grated veggies, beans, or portobello mushrooms). I’ve made quite a few types of burgers, but this is one of my all time favorites. Instead of turning to any of my go-to meats or meatless standbys, I used another of Matt’s favorites: sausage. I removed the casings, seasoned the meat, and stuffed the patties with mushrooms and herbs. We finished it off with leftover peppadew peppers for an all-around tasty and Italian-esque burger. It would be great with other toppings, too: sauteed peppers and onions, spinach, mozzarella cheese – get creative! This is a good basic canvas to work with.

Mushroom Stuffed Sausage Burgers with Peppadew Peppers

Served 4.

Leftover Potential: If you‘re only serving 1 or 2, freeze the meat formed into patties. Then you have a burger whenever you want!

1 lb Italian sausage (I used hot turkey sausage), casings removed

1/2 onion, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

3 Tbsp ketchup

2 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1 egg

1/4 cup bread crumbs

salt and freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup mushrooms, minced

1 Tbsp basil, chiffonade

2 tsp rosemary, chopped

2 Tbsp olive oil

4 toasted whole wheat buns

1/2 cup peppadew peppers, diced

1. In a large bowl, combine the sausage, onion, garlic, Worcestershire, ketchup, mustard, egg, and bread crumbs. Season with salt and pepper.

2. In a small bowl, combine the mushrooms, basil, and rosemary.

3. Form the sausage mixture into balls. Make a hole in the center, and stuff with mushroom mixture. Form the sausage into patties.

4. In a saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the patties and cook until browned on both sides and cooked through. If you’ve made thick patties, it’s best to cook them for 4-5 minutes per side, then finish them in a 375 degree oven until they are cooked through, 7-10 minutes more.

5. Serve the burgers on toasted buns with the peppadew slices.

Ingredient Spotlight: Olive Bar

theapartmentkitchen — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:42:15 +0000

The olive bar is one of the many loves of my life…and I don’t even like olives very much! Not only can you find more varities and better quality olives than those in glass jars on your grocery store’s shelves, you can get just the amount you need (ideal for an un-olive lover like me). Plus, there’s much more: pickled peppers (my favorite peppadews which are hard to find raw, pepperoncini, etc.), sundried tomatoes, roasted garlic, fresh mozzarella, and more. Just buy the amount you need (sometimes I’ll get just a few pieces of mozzarella so that I don’t end up eating a whole giant package – which I am known to do), or stock up!

photo courtesy of: www.thenewyorkcitytraveller.com

Ravioli with Roasted Chanterelles, Garlic, and Bacon with Pepadew Peppers

theapartmentkitchen — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 23:46:34 +0000

I scored some gorgeous chanterelle mushrooms from the storeroom this weekend. I felt like I’d been eating a lot of pasta recently, but I couldn’t help but think of making some fresh pasta that I could fill with the mushrooms. I roasted them with garlic, onions, and bacon and then sauteed the finished ravioli in butter with sweet peppadew peppers. The whole process would be easier with a pasta machine – but it is possible to do it with a rolling pin and some brute strength! I love making oversized raviolis that can hold a lot of filling – and they look so great on the plate.

Ravioli with Roasted Chanterelles, Garlic, and Bacon with Piquillo Peppers

Serves 2.

Leftover Potential: Make a big batch of the filling – it’s great in a number of dishes and keeps well.

Fresh Pasta Dough

2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

3 eggs

1 egg yolk

2 Tbsp olive oil

1. In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt to combine. Make a well in the center.

2. Add the eggs, yolk, and olive oil. Gently fold the flour over, mixing to combine.

3. Knead the dough until it is smooth and even, about 7-9 minutes. Cover the dough and let rest for at least 15 minutes before rolling out.

Filling

2 cups chanterelle mushrooms

1/2 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic

3 Tbsp olive oil

salt and freshly ground pepper, as needed

4 strips bacon, diced, cooked

eggwash, as needed

1 Tbsp butter

1/3 cup peppadew peppers, diced

2 Tbsp chives

1. Toss the mushrooms, onion, and garlic with the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Roast in a 375 degree oven until tender, about 10-12 minutes. Let cool.

3. Dice the filling until relatively fine. Toss with the bacon.

4. On a floured suface, roll out the dough until very thin, about 1/8″ thick (it’s easier if you divide the dough into quarters).

5. Cut the dough into squares. Spoon filling into half of the squares, and eggwash the other half. Top the filled sqaures with the eggwashed pasta, and press to seal.

6. Cook the ravioli in salted boiling water until tender, 6-8 minutes (or more depending on size). Drain.

7. In a large saute pan, heat the butter over medium heat. Add the ravioli and saute until lightly browned. Stir in the peppers and chives. Serve immediately.

Peanut Chicken Flatbreads with Peppers, Chiles, and Cilantro

theapartmentkitchen — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 01:06:07 +0000

The Thai Chicken Burgers I made last week were such a hit, that no one complained when there were leftovers. But I had quite a bit of peanut sauce left over, which inspired me to make this Thai Chicken Flatbread.

I used my favorite naan as the base, tossed some roasted chicken breasts in the peanut sauce, topped it with cilantro, bell peppers, scallions, and Thai bird chilies. When it comes out of the oven, top it with sweet chile sauce and enjoy!

Thai Peanut Chicken Flatbreads

Served 2.

Leftover Potential: We didn’t have any, as it was constructed primarily from leftovers, but this would re-heat like a normal pizza.

1 recipe Naan

2 chicken breasts, roasted, diced

1/2 cup peanut sauce

1 bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced

2 Thai bird chiles, thinly sliced

1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped

sweet chile sauce, as needed

lime, as needed

1. After the naan has rested, roll it out to about 1/8″ thick. Brush it lightly with melted butter or oil, and press into a sheet tray.

2. Toss the cooked chicken in the leftover peanut sauce. Spread generously over the base of the naan.

3. Top the chicken with the peppers, cilantro, and scallions. Bake the pizza in a 400 degree oven until the crust is crisp and the toppings are sizzling hot, about 10 minutes.

4. Let the flatbread cool slightly, then top with sweet chile sauce and serve with wedges of fresh lime.

Barbeque Chicken Tacos

theapartmentkitchen — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:30:54 +0000

Even after another BBQ week at work, I still hadn’t gotten my fill. I decided to spend the morning making my own barbeque sauce, that I later used to dress some shredded chicken to make some tacos. Let me tell you, this more than cured my craving – it was awesome! Sweet, spicy, and just plain good. Not to mention, very healthy! I used a few crumbles of blue cheese on top of the tacos, which was delicious, but could easily be left out (these tacos have TONS of flavor). To make this recipe even faster (and to not unnecessarily heat up the oven or the grill on a hot weekend) buy a rotisserie chicken at the store to shred. Also, in a pinch, you could use your favorite bottled BBQ sauce for a similar effect, though there’s really no reason to not make your own. The ingredient list looks long, but it all goes into one pot together – it’s easy and so SO good.

Try this recipe with my homemade tortillas. And if you’re wanting to make your own chicken to shred, just roast some chicken breasts (skin side up) in a 350 degree oven (generously seasoned with salt and pepper) in the oven for about 25-30 minutes.

Barbeque Chicken Tacos with Poblano Peppers, Onions, and Blue Cheese

Served 3.
Leftover Potential: These ingredients make some killer nachos the next day. Made 1 meal after the initial dinner.

Barbeque Sauce
1 Tbsp oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup crushed tomatoes (or tomato puree)
1/4 cup ketchup
1 Tbsp honey
3 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp sriracha, or more to taste*
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper*
2 tsp cumin

1. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until translucent. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant.
2. Add the tomatoes and kethup. Simmer to heat through. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for about 5 minutes.
3. Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender, and puree until smooth. Transfer back to the pot, and continue to simmer until good flavor develops, 15-20 minutes. Reserve until needed.

*Since this recipe uses hot sauce, chili powder, and cayenne pepper, it’s important to taste the sauce to determine that the right level of spice is acheived. I like my food very spicy, so I used 1 1/2 tsp sriracha and 1 tsp vinegar-based hot sauce and the result was very spicy on it’s own, but not as much so once it was on the chicken. If you don’t like your food too spicy, I would just stick with the chili pepper and cayenne, and nix the sriracha.

Tacos
2 Tbsp oil
3 poblano peppers, thinly sliced
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 (4 oz) can green chilies, diced
3 cups shredded chicken
barbeque sauce, as needed

blue cheese, as needed
green onions, as needed
tortillas, as needed

1. Heat the oil in a large saute pan. Add the peppers and onions, and saute until tender. Stir in the green chilies.
2. Toss the chicken with the barbeque sauce to coat. Make the tacos by layering the chicken mixture and sauteed veggies on the tortillas and finishing with blue cheese and green onions. Serve warm.