Pressure Cooker Chicken Tacos

This recipe is a variation on a family favorite that we got to try this Christmas when we visited the midwest. I've been telling the husband for years that we should try his family's famous pork tacos with chicken, but I make the recipe so rarely that he was afraid of trying something new and ruining his once a year taco experience. I'm so happy that he enjoyed this version when we were visiting the rest of the family during the holidays, because these are so much healthier than the pork version that I'm much more likely to make them more than once a year for him. Thanks to the two K's (my sisters-in-law) for forcing my husband to try Chicken tacos! I surprised him by making these during the week this week and he was so excited he almost couldn't believe it. It's the little things in life, I guess!

Pressure Cooker Pork Tacos

Step 1 Ingredients:
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast, diced into 1" pieces
1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup water

Place above ingredients in pressure cooker. Once pressure regulator is gently rocking, cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow pressure to release of its own accord. Remove pressure cooker lid and shred chicken.

Step 2 Ingredients:
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/2 - 3/4 tsp of ground red pepper (cayenne)

Add Step 2 ingredients and mix well. Stir well and allow to simmer on medium low for about an hour or until nearly all the liquid is absorbed into the meat. Serve with soft flour tortillas and usual taco toppings (traditional for my inlaws include shredded lettuce and chopped tomatoes, but extended friends & family like cheese and sour cream, too). Makes about 6 servings of 2 tacos (but good luck stopping at 2!).

Scallops Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce

I had a bag of Bay Scallops from Trader Joes, and I had no idea what I wanted to do with them. I just knew that I wanted to do a pasta dish. After searching a little online, I found this recipe and blended it a little with what I pictured in my head. This was delicious. I would order this at a restaurant, it was perfect for my tastes. Bay scallops are a little bit sweeter than Sea Scallops, and they are smaller, so they cook faster (and are even easier to overcook, so be careful!). I'm really excited that I've been able to try cooking scallops at home. They are a nice alternative to the usual protein choices that I make. For those of you who don't like seafood, I would imagine this recipe would taste pretty good with chicken as well.



Scallops Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce
1 small bag Bay Scallops, thawed and drained
1 Tbs Butter
1/2 cup white wine
1 large shallot, diced (about 2 Tbs)
1 clove garlic
1 cup heavy cream (I used nonfat 1/2 & 1/2)
1 small can (14.5 oz) crushed tomatoes
1/4 to 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 Tbs chopped fresh basil (I used 2 Trader Joes basil cubes)
1/2 lb whole wheat linguine pasta
Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse and pat the scallops dry. Heat the butter in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the scallops and saute for one minute. Add garlic, shallots and wine. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes or until scallops are done. Remove scallops from pan with slotted spoon, reserving liquids. Add tomato, cream and pepper flakes and reduce by half. Add basil and scallops and toss with hot pasta. Serve with parmesan cheese.

Keyesville Classic 2010

Not really food related, but I had to post a picture to show why we love the Keyesville Classic mountain bike race in Lake Isabella, CA. Even though I get funny looks when I say we are travelling to "an hour east of Bakersfield," which truly sounds like the middle of nowhere. I think that is the best part - it IS the middle of nowhere, and it is absolutely beautiful. It reminds me of why we love the sport of mountain biking so much!

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

I think there is something with males and the mint/chocolate combination. So many guys I know say this is their favorite ice cream & candy combination. My husband is one of them. He loves mint chocolate chip ice cream. We were watching the Food Network the weekend before St. Patrick's Day this year and the Neely's were making some mint chocolate chip ice cream. The husband immediately declared that the ice cream should be my special St. Paddy's recipe, since it is green. Not necessarily Irish, but I thought the husband was being awfully cute, so I obliged. The recipe is straight out of my Cuisinart Ice Cream maker manual (a variation on their basic vanilla ice cream, which is not cooked). This recipe, like most homemade ice cream recipes, is very rich, but since I was making my husband's favorite flavor and not my own, I didn't care how fattening it was (I had a couple very small bowls, but it wasn't calling my name each night!). I was particularly pleased with the dark chocolate mini chunks from Whole Foods. They were a perfect mix-in for ice cream - deep chocolate flavor, but small enough to not hurt your teeth while eating. I'm going to try and use my ice cream maker more this Spring & Summer, so stay tuned!



Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream (from Cuisinart)
1 cup whole milk, well chilled
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups heavy cream, well chilled
1 1/4 tsp peppermint extract
6-8 drops green food coloring (or to your liking)
3/4 to 1 cup mini chocolate chips or mini dark chocolate chunks
In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer or a whisk to combine the milk and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 – 2 minutes on low speed. Stir in the heavy cream, food coloring, and peppermint extract to taste. Turn machine on, pour mixture into freezer bowl through ingredient spout and let mix until thickened, about 25 – 30 minutes. Stir in chocolate chips during last 5 minutes of mixing. Freeze in airtight container at least 2 hours before serving.

Homemade Pizza Dough

One of the first things I wanted to make with my new KitchenAid mixer was homemade pizza dough. It seems this is a good first step with working with yeast, and that is definitely something I will be pursuing with my mixer. Pretty much everything that Annie makes on Annie's Eats looks fantastic, but I've particularly been inspired by her yeast baking, so I went with her dough recipe. I was impressed by how easy this dough was, and I think I was able to learn enough with this recipe to help me with future yeast recipes (my oven, preheating, is too hot for the rising dough to proof on top of it, but if I put a large wooden chopping board on it prior to the dough bowl, it is perfect). I made this with half deluxe pizza toppings (pepperoni, mushrooms and bell peppers) and the other half with bell peppers and tomatoes. I think the deluxe side turned out much better, as the best homemade pizza has dry toppings, in my opinion. I'm looking forward to experimenting with lots more flavors & toppings in the future. I followed Annie's recipe exactly, so I won't repeat it here.

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies

In February, we had houseguests. Refugees from the midwest snowstorms, I should say. The husband and I were happy to serve as home base for Santa Barbara training camp for our Ohio transplants. One of this pair happens to be my blog's biggest stalker, and as a thank you for letting them escape to some warmer weather, she sent me this recipe for Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies. This was a fun recipe, and it came together quickly using my new KitchenAid stand mixer. Yes, folks, I was already gravitating towards more baking, but this new fantastic toy will definitely lead to more sweet treats in my future. This dough would have killed my previous hand mixer, as it is a very thick dough. The stand mixer had no problems with this dough. The cookies turned out chewy and soft, and the cherry flavor really shined through. I did have problems with melting the chocolate for the glaze, but I've always had problems with finding the right heat for our microwave for melting chocolate. Hopefully, this will improve with practice! Thanks to K for this tasty and unique recipe.

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies (from my sister-in-law)

For Cookies:

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1 egg

1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 jar maraschino cherries

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

For Topping:

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp cherry juice from maraschinos

In mixing bowl, cream margarine, egg, sugar and vanilla. Add flour, cocoa, baking powder & soda. Dough will be stiff. Refrigerate. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Use knuckle to make indents. Push one cherry halfway into each ball. Melt chocolate chips, then add milk and cherry juice and mix well to combine. Spread topping over each cookie (it will not run or melt in the oven). Bake approx 9 minutes at 350 degrees.

Taco Pasta Casserole

If you haven't figured it out yet, I really enjoy casseroles. They are comfort on a plate, and they make great leftovers. I run into trouble finding casseroles that are healthier. So many American casserole recipes are based in creamy condensed soup and/or covered in cheese. I was very excited to see this recipe from Joelen's Culinary Adventures, as Joelen is one of my favorite bloggers out there, and I knew she wouldn't have any condensed soup in her casserole. The best part of this casserole recipe is that it is adaptable. If I don't have one of the ingredients, I can toss in something else, and I can certainly adapt this to more in season vegetables if I want. As expected, this casserole was great as leftovers, too.

Taco Pasta Casserole (adapted from Joelen's Culinary Adventures)

1/2 lb dry short whole wheat pasta

1 Tbs Olive Oil

1/2 medium onion, diced

1/2 lb lean ground turkey

2 Tbs Taco Seasoning

2 Tomatoes, seeded & chopped

1 bell pepper, diced (mine was yellow)

1 can black beans, drained & rinsed

1 cup salsa (I used Medium)

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 cup shredded Cheddar Jack cheese

1 green onion, sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large pot, fill with water and let it come to a boil. Add pasta and cook until slightly under done. Drain. Meanwhile, in a saute pan, add the oil and saute onions until softened. Crumble in the ground turkey and brown. Add the taco seasoning, tomatoes, and bell pepper strips. Saute until vegetables soften. Add beans and salsa then add salt & pepper to taste. Toss the ground beef and vegetable mixture until incorporated. Top the pasta with shredded cheese and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until cheese melts and lightly browns. Before serving, top with sliced green onions for garnish. Serve hot and if desired, serve with guacamole and/or sour cream.