Friday Recipes

Enjoy!

EASY OVEN-BAKED CHICKEN FAJITAS

This is from the Tablespoon.com newsletter. Prep Time: 10 minutes; Total Time: 50 minutes; Serves: 9

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 large onion

1 medium red bell pepper

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 package (1 oz) Old El Paso™ fajita seasoning mix

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Old El Paso™ tortillas for soft tacos & fajitas (6 inch; from 8.2-oz package)

Sour Cream

Old El Paso™ Thick ‘n Chunky salsa

Chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. Cut onion and bell pepper into even slices; place in baking dish.

Cut chicken breasts into thin strips; add to vegetables in dish. Sprinkle with seasoning mix; drizzle with oil. Stir until combined and pieces are coated.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes, stirring once halfway through baking, until chicken is no longer pink in center.

Spoon small amount of chicken and veggies onto each tortilla. Top each with sour cream, salsa and cilantro, or your favorite fajita toppings.

CHICKEN GNOCCHI WITH BROWNED BUTTER

This comes from Tablespoon.com. It starts off, “This easy gnocchi skillet comes together quickly in a single pan!” Yummy, simple: what's not to love?

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1 package (16 oz) potato gnocchi

1/4 cup butter

4 cups baby spinach leaves or chopped kale leaves, stems removed

1 can (15.25 oz) Green Giant™ whole kernel sweet corn, drained

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

In 10-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Cook chicken breasts in oil 6 to 8 minutes on each side or until golden brown and juice of chicken is clear when center of thickest part is cut (at least 165°F). Transfer to cutting board; let rest 5 minutes. Cut into slices.

Make gnocchi in boiling water as directed on package; drain.

Melt butter in same skillet over medium heat; continue to cook 2 to 3 minutes or until butter is golden brown in color.

Add gnocchi, spinach and corn to skillet, cooking 3 to 5 minutes or until gnocchi is golden brown and spinach is slightly wilted. Add chicken, and cook 1 to 2 minutes longer or just until heated through. Top with Parmesan cheese just before serving.

ICE CREAM SANDWICHES

From the Food Network. To view this online, click here. Total Time: 1 hr 30 min., prep: 35 min; cook: 55 min; yields 6 sandwiches

Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 tablespoons shortening

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 (1-pint) containers ice cream (any flavor)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder. In another bowl, beat the butter, shortening, and sugar together with an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla, beating until smooth. With a spoon, stir in the flour mixture, stirring just until you have a smooth dough.

Using a 2 tablespoon cookie dough scoop, drop 6 mounds of dough on each baking sheet, leaving a couple inches between each cookie. Bake until the cookies are firm around the edges and soft in the middle, about 15 minutes. (For even baking, rotate the pans from top to bottom and back to front halfway through baking.) Using a spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool completely.

Meanwhile, turn the ice cream pints on their sides and use a serrated knife to slice through the containers, cutting each into 3 even rounds. Place the ice cream disks on a baking sheet and freeze until ready to assemble the sandwiches.

To assemble, peel the cardboard from the ice cream disks and sandwich each disk between 2 cookies. Serve the sandwiches immediately, or wrap individually in plastic wrap and freeze up to 1 week.

CLASSIC MARINARA SAUCE

This comes from Julia Moskin in The New York Times e-newsletter. Julia wrote, “Homemade marinara is almost as fast and tastes immeasurably better than even the best supermarket sauce — and it's made with basic pantry ingredients. All the tricks to a bright red, lively-tasting sauce, made just as it is in the south of Italy (no butter, no onions) are in this recipe. Use a skillet instead of the usual saucepan: the water evaporates quickly, so the tomatoes are just cooked through as the sauce becomes thick.” Time: 25 minutes; Makes about 3 1/2 cups, enough for 1 pound of pasta.

To view this online, go to http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015987-classic-marinara-sauce.

Ingredients

1 28-ounce can whole San Marzano tomatoes, certified D.O.P. if possible

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

7 garlic cloves, peeled and slivered

Small dried whole chile, or pinch crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 large fresh basil sprig, or 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, more to taste

Preparation

Pour tomatoes into a large bowl and crush with your hands. Pour 1 cup water into can and slosh it around to get tomato juices. Reserve.

In a large skillet (do not use a deep pot) over medium heat, heat the oil. When it is hot, add garlic.

As soon as garlic is sizzling (do not let it brown), add the tomatoes, then the reserved tomato water. Add whole chile or red pepper flakes, oregano (if using) and salt. Stir.

Place basil sprig, including stem, on the surface (like a flower). Let it wilt, then submerge in sauce. Simmer sauce until thickened and oil on surface is a deep orange, about 15 minutes. (If using oregano, taste sauce after 10 minutes of simmering, adding more salt and oregano as needed.) Discard basil and chile (if using).

CARROT AND PINEAPPLE CAKE

This yumminess comes from Ina Garten of The Food Network’s Barefoot Contessa. The email started off, “A whole pound of grated carrots goes into the batter for Ina's fan-favorite cake, but that's not even the half of it. It's loaded up with chewy raisins, crunchy walnuts and juicy, fresh pineapple too, so each bite is extra-chunky — and goes perfectly with classic cream cheese frosting.” Total Time: 1 hr 10 min; Prep: 10 min; Cook: 1 hr; Yield: 8 servings; Level: Intermediate

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/carrot-and-pineapple-cake-recipe.html?oc=linkback

Ingredients

For the cake:

2 cups granulated sugar

1 1/3 cups vegetable oil

3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 cup raisins

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 pound carrots, grated

1/2 cup diced fresh pineapple

For the frosting:

3/4 pound cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted

For the decoration:

1/2 cup diced fresh pineapple

Directions

For the decoration:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

For the cake:

Beat the sugar, oil, and eggs together in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light yellow. Add the vanilla. In another bowl, sift together 2 1/2 cups flour, the cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Toss the raisins and walnuts with 1 tablespoon flour. Fold in the carrots and pineapple. Add to the batter and mix well.

Divide the batter equally between the 2 pans. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool completely in the pans set over a wire rack.

For the frosting:

Mix the cream cheese, butter and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until just combined. Add the sugar and mix until smooth.

Place 1 layer, flat-side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake. Decorate with diced pineapple.

BUTTER-BRAISED ASPARAGUS

This is from David Tanis in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. He wrote, “For the first-of-the-season asparagus, keep it simple with butter, lemon and sweet herbs. For the best texture, peeling the stalks really makes a difference.” Time:20 minutes; makes 4 servings.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds large or medium asparagus

6 tablespoons butter

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon snipped chives

1 tablespoon roughly chopped parsley or chervil

1 teaspoon chopped tarragon, plus more for garnish

1 tablespoon chopped dill, plus more for garnish (optional)

Preparation

Snap off and discard the tough bottoms of the asparagus spears. If using large, thick asparagus, peel the lower ends with a vegetable peeler.

Put butter in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add asparagus in one layer and season with salt and pepper. Add 1/2 cup water, cover, and bring to a simmer. Cook until the asparagus is firm-tender, about 3 minutes. Take care not to overcook them; they should still be bright green. (They will continue to cook a bit once the heat is off.) Remove the asparagus from the pan and place on a serving platter.

Turn heat to high and simmer briskly until most of the liquid has evaporated, a minute or so. Add lemon juice and zest to the buttery juices. Turn off heat and stir in chives, parsley, tarragon and dill, if using. Check seasoning. Spoon the sauce over the asparagus, garnish with a few herb leaves, and serve.