Another Healthy Meal – Ultimate Chicken and Spinach Salad

Hello again culinary fans,

I’m still on my mission to make healthy meals so last night I tried something I saw in the Sunday’s Journal/Sentinel, but of course I had to put my own spin on it.   Here’s how it goes:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

4 tablespoons WildTree garlic grapeseed oil

3 stalks celery chopped

1 large granny smith apple cored and sliced

½ red onion chopped

¼ cup toasted pine nuts (toasted in a dry non-stick pan until browned)

1 cup blue cheese dressing

8 ounces baby spinach leaves washed and dried

¼ teaspoon paprika

¼ teaspoon WildTree Adobo seasoning
¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

I washed and dried the chicken breasts and seasoned them with the salt, pepper, paprika and Adobo seasoning (I use this stuff all the time… love it).  Then I heated two of the tablespoons of garlic grapeseed oil in a sauté pan on med-high, seared the chicken breasts on both sides to get a nice brown crust then lowered the heat to medium and cooked the breasts the rest of the way through.  When done I put them on a plate, covered to keep warm, and using the same pan and the remaining garlic grapeseed oil, sautéed the apples, celery and onion until they were tender (about 6-7 minutes).  While these were cooking, I put the cup of blue cheese dressing in a saucepot and heated it gently until it was warm-hot, not to boiling though.

Plating was easy.  Start with a bed of spinach leaves; add the apple, onion & celery mixture, then place a chicken breast on top of that, spoon some of the warm blue cheese dressing on that and top it all off with some of the toasted pine nuts.  WOW, this is one of the best chicken salads I have ever tasted.  A definite keeper and believe it or not, the leftovers were great the next day for lunch… even cold.

This is another great tasting and very healthy meal that will satisfy most anyone (that likes chicken).

That’s all for now, thanks for listening

My Virtual Project

A Healthy Meal – Pork Chops and Spicy Broccoli Robe

Hello again culinary fans,

If you haven’t already guessed, I’m trying to cook more health conscience meals lately.  The doctor told me to lose 15 pounds, lower my cholesterol and “Lay off the salt” (a fate of those that like to EAT).  He put me on the D.A.S.H. diet (DASH spells “no fun”).   Well, by now you know that I can’t totally lay off the salt, but I CAN use less and be more judicious about what I cook.  I used to eat eggs and sausage for breakfast quite often.  Lately I’ve been eating cereal, like Special K for breakfast… with SKIM milk no less.  For lunch I’ve been eating light as well… turkey, whole grain bread, tomato lettuce… you get the picture.  It’s not TOO bad but certainly not like the old days.  However, I’m happy to report that over the last few weeks I’ve lost 5 pounds… still a way to go but we’re on the right track.   SO… Thinking along those lines was the inspiration for this dinner.  Here are the basics.

2 boneless pork loin chops 1” thick
2 tablespoons WildTree garlic grapeseed oil
2 slices of thick bacon
1 red bell pepper chopped
3 cloves of garlic minced (can’t stop using the garlic)
1 bunch of broccoli robe (that’s pronounced “Rob”… I think)
¼ cup of 50% Italian seasoned bread crumbs and 50% grated parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon WildTree Hot Chili pepper & garlic blend spice
½ teaspoon WildTree Jalapeño pepper blend spice
½ teaspoon WildTree Adobo seasoning
¼ teaspoon Basil
¼ teaspoon Oregano
½ cup chicken stock

I washed, dried and seasoned the chops with kosher salt (sparingly), seasoned pepper, WildTree Adobo Seasoning (one of my favorites) and a pinch of WildTree Jalapeño Pepper blend (Yup, bring on the heat).  I sprinkled the bread crumb mixture on both sides until coated (a very thin coating).  I seared both sides in a hot pan with WIldTree Garlic Grapeseed Oil (about 2 minutes per side).  When the chops were browned on both sides I slid the pan into a 350 degree oven to finish cooking (about 12 – 14 minutes).  I cooked the bacon until crispy and set aside.  In the same pan I added the garlic and red bell pepper to cook for about 3 – 4 minutes.  I blanched the broccoli for a couple of minutes and then tossed it in the pan along with the chicken stock, Basil, Oregano and the WildTree Hot Chili pepper & garlic blend.  That cooked for another 4 – 5 minutes tossing lightly.

When it was all done, I plated the chops and with a tongs, placed a nice sized portion of the broccoli next to each and topped that with the crumbled bacon.  That’s IT, just pork chops and a spicy broccoli salad.  A nice healthy meal that tasted really good, had just the right amount of spice and heat (at least for me), and along with a glass of red wine made for a great dinner.  Light but filling.

This is another one that will go down in the Schuele Cook Book, but in a NEW chapter called… “Healthy Cooking”… (who knew?).  It may be healthy, but using the WildTree spices to “kick it up a notch” is what made it taste so good.

That’s about it for now, thanks for listening

My Virtual Project

Something to do with Chicken when you’re TIRED of Chicken

Hello again culinary fans,

Sorry for the delay in posting here, work has been crazy.  I had to come up with a relatively quick meal for dinner and all we had in the freezer was boneless chicken breasts (I got a ton of them on sale at Pick N’ Save).   I took two out and defrosted them while I chopped:

1 cup of celery
1 cup of mushrooms (crimini)
1 cup of carrots
1 cup of yellow onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 Jalapeño (including the seeds)

I washed, dried and seasoned the chicken with kosher salt, seasoned pepper, WildTree Adobo Seasoning (one of my favorites) and a pinch of WildTree Jalapeño Pepper blend (Yup, bring on the heat).  I seared both sides in a hot pan with WIldTree Garlic Grapeseed Oil and a pat of butter.  When the chicken was browned on both sides (but not cooked through), I removed them to a plate and tossed in the onions.  I cooked the onions for about 4 – 5 minutes until they were just getting soft, then I added the garlic, Jalapeño, celery, carrots and mushrooms.  I sautéed that for about 8 minutes until the veggies were beginning to get soft and then I added a dusting of corn starch.  I mixed it in and then added some chicken stock, about a cup.  I let that simmer and thicken for a couple of minutes and then added the chicken breasts back in, covered the pan and let it simmer for about 15 minutes, until the chicken registered 170 degrees on my instant read thermometer.  While this was simmering I steamed a cup of brown rice in chicken stock (I also added a couple of pinches of WildTree Garlic Galore to the stock… go figure).

When everything was done, I plated the rice, placed a chicken breast on the rice and covered that with the veggie-gravy.  Holy Smokes, you’ve never tasted chicken like this before.  What an awesome combination of flavors and just the right amount of heat.  This was a relatively quick meal (albeit for all the chopping at the beginning), healthy (what could be better than chicken and vegetables?), and the best part…. One portion of this was only 455 calories.  For an entire dinner, that’s pretty darn good.

A little creativity, some WildTree products and viola… another winning meal for the books.  I’m adding this to our Schuele Cook Book as “Chicken & Vegetables w/ Rice”.  We will definitely be making this one again.

That’s about it for now, thanks for listening

My Virtual Project

Meatloaf Wars

Hello again culinary fans,

It’s been a few more days than normal since my last entry.  Susi and I are going through a complete office make-over and things have been VERY hectic.  I thought for this entry I would compare WildTree’s “Just Like Mom’s Meatloaf Mix” to my own home made meatloaf, of which I take great pride.

I use a combination of 2/3 ground beef and 1/3 ground pork in my meatloaf.  To that I add diced onions and sometimes diced green pepper, although I didn’t add the green pepper to this batch because Susi doesn’t like cooked green pepper.  Other than that, I used the WildTree recipe verbatim, which is:

2 lbs. Ground Beef

1 pkg. Wildtree Just Like Mom’s Meatloaf Mix

¼ cup Soy Sauce

2 eggs, slightly beaten

¼ cup Skim milk

½ cup Ketchup or Chili Sauce

The recipe gives you the option of using Chili Sauce in place of the Ketchup.  Now, if you’ve read my previous posts, you know I like to kick things up a notch… SO… I used Szechwan Chili Sauce instead of Ketchup (BAM).

OK, here’s where I made a SLIGHT boo boo.… (dramatic pause)… in my home made meatloaf, I add Ketchup to the meatloaf mix before I form the loaf.  I did that with this recipe using the Szechwan Chili Sauce instead.  Only AFTER mixing the ingredients and forming the loaf did I realize that in WildTree’s recipe, you spread the Ketchup or the Chili Sauce OVER the loaf once it is formed in the meatloaf pan… OOPS.  Oh well, what’s done is done.

Given that slight screw-up, this may not be a totally fair comparison.  That being said, I went ahead and baked the loaf according to the recipe.

It came out Great.  It was a bit spicy because the Chili Sauce was blended in with the meat instead of being spread over just the top.  At any rate, I really loved the heat of this meatloaf (go figure).  I’m sure that had I followed the recipe to the letter, it would have been great for even the average pallet.  The way mine turned out, you really did need to like the HEAT (which you know I do).

So for a quick and easy meatloaf that is delicious and hearty, WildTree’s “Just Like Mom’s Meatloaf Mix” really does the trick nicely.  If you want a standard meatloaf that tastes great, use the Ketchup.  If you want to kick it up a notch, use the Chili Sauce (but remember to spread it over the top of the loaf… Dohhh).

Do I prefer that to my own home made version?  It’s a very, VERY close call, and given the slight snafoo in my preparation, I’ll call it a draw (but I do plan to try the chili sauce in my version).  WildTree’s version is much easier to prepare too… no measuring of spices.

That’s about it for now, thanks for listening

My Virtual Project

Smothered Pork Chops – A recipe you’ll absolutely LOVE

Hello again culinary fans,

I don’t know about you but I love good pork.  I use pork tenderloin quite often because of it’s flavor and tenderness.  The other pork I like to use is bone-in pork chops.  The bone helps keep the meat moist and flavorful.  I have a recipe for smothered pork chops that I think you’ll like if you try it.  Here’s how it goes:

3-4 bone-in pork loin chops, each about 1.5 inches thick

2 Tbs. WildTree Garlic Grapeseed oil

2 Tbs. butter

1 yellow onion, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 red bell pepper cut into 1 inch pieces

3-4 celery stalks cut into 1 inch pieces

5 green onions (scallions), thinly sliced keeping the white and green portions separate

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp. minced fresh thyme

3 Tbs. all-purpose flour

2 ½ cups chicken stock

¼ cup heavy whipping cream

1 tsp. hot sauce (keep some extra handy for serving)

Steamed rice (I used brown rice steamed in beef stock)

I started by seasoning the chops on both sides with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, WildTree Adobo seasoning and WildTree Hot Chili Pepper & Garlic blend (I love the heat).  In a large skillet I heated the Grapeseed oil on medium high, browned the chops about 3-4 minutes per side and when done, transferred them to a plate.

I reduced the heat to medium-low, melted the butter, added the onion, stirring to scrape all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan until the onion was translucent, about 4 minutes.  I added the bell pepper, celery, the white portion of the scallions and the garlic.  I covered the pan and cooked, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables were tender, about 8 minutes.  I added the thyme and the flour, stirring to combine the mixture while pouring in the chicken stock.  Once the mixture was simmering I returned the pork chops to the pan nestling them into the sauce, covered the pan and let it simmer for 10 minutes.  I turned the chops over and cooked them until the internal temperature read 160 degrees on my instant read thermometer (near the bone).  Then I took the chops, put them aside, covering them with aluminum foil, and stirred the cream into the sauce and brought it to a boil, cooking until thickened to my desired consistency.  Then I added the green portion of the scallions and the hot sauce.  I tasted it to make sure the seasoning was as I wanted.  I had to add a little more garlic (what a surprise) so I used a couple of pinches of WildTree Garlic Galore.

When the rice was done, It went on the plate first, as a bed.  Then the pork chop, then I poured the gravy on top of the pork chop making sure to use enough to cover a good portion of the rice.

I absolutely LOVED, LOVED the gravy.  The vegetables, onions and garlic were so tasty; I could have eaten that with the rice all by itself and been happy.  Then I cut into the pork chop and holy crap (sorry), what a combination.  The WildTree spices made my taste buds dance.  You really have to try this recipe.  You won’t be sorry.  I ate the leftovers for dinner the next night and it was as good as the first night.

That’s about it for now, thanks for listening

My Virtual Project

A Quick Appetizer – WildTree Scampi Blend To the Rescue – AGAIN

Hello again culinary fans,

We had a very busy week and were having company over on Friday night.  We had to come up with some appetizers because we decided to shelve dinner in favor of some “Finger Food”, something to graze on throughout the night.  We wanted a couple of hot choices as well as a few cold ones.  We did some standards like assorted cheeses, crackers, sausage, veggies & dip, etc.  but wanted to also add a couple of not-so-standard ones.  I love shrimp but wasn’t up for a standard shrimp cocktail so here’s what I did:

I got some Jumbo shrimp, deveined (I don’t know about you but I hate deveining shrimp) with tail on.  I peeled them, washed them and put them in a mixing bowl with the following:

• WildTree garlic grapeseed oil (have I mentioned that this is my favorite?… I buy it in 50 gallon drums… LOL)
• A little salt & pepper
• 1 clove garlic – minced
• about a teaspoon of WildTree Scampi Blend seasoning
• a pinch of WildTree Bayou Blend for a hint of New Orleans flair
• a pinch of WildTree Jalapeno pepper blend for a splash of heat
• Finely chopped chives
• Finely chopped scallions

I combined all the ingredients and arranged the shrimp on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil.

When the time was right, I slid them into a 350 degree oven for about 6-7 minutes, until they were just pink.  I pulled them out, placed them on a serving tray along with a small bowl of cocktail sauce.  HOLY COW… they were fantastic.  A big hit.  The combination of WildTree spice blends made this dish a real winner.  The cocktail sauce wasn’t even needed.  The taste of the shrimp stood on it’s own.

I think out of the 17 – 20 shrimp on the platter, I must have eaten 10 (oink).

The other hot appetizer we chose was black bean cakes that my wife Susi made.  I don’t usually like that sort of thing, but these tasted great too.  I’ll write about these on another post… but for now,

Thanks for listening

My Virtual Project

Scavenging for a Quick Meal – WildTree Scampi Blend To the Rescue

Hello again culinary fans,

OK, it was Monday night and we had worked all day.  We had to take the puppy to obedience class at 6:15pm and there was nothing for dinner.  We didn’t have a lot of time and I hadn’t been to the grocery store so all we had in the freezer was a chicken breast and some frozen sweet corn.  In the fridge we had a tomato and there was one onion.

Hmm… What to do with this…  Here’s what I did.

I defrosted the chicken breast, cut it into thin strips and put it in a mixing bowl.  To that I added some WildTree Garlic Grapeseed Oil, a bit of sea salt, some fresh ground pepper and a teaspoon (sort of heaping) of WildTree Scampi Blend seasoning.  I chopped the onion and the tomato and grabbed the frozen corn from the freezer.

I sautéed the chicken until it was almost cooked through and then added the chopped onion, 2 cloves of minced garlic and two tablespoons of butter.  I let that cook for about 5 minutes while I boiled some water.  I put a couple of tablespoons of kosher salt in the water and about 8 ounces of linguine (luckily we had some in the pantry).  When the pasta was el dente, I reserved some of the pasta water and drained the rest.  I added the frozen corn to the pan, the zest and the juice of half a lemon, some of the reserved pasta water and one more teaspoon of the WildTree Scampi Blend.  I mixed that all up and added the pasta.  When that was combined and bubbly, I added the chopped tomato and about a tablespoon of parsley.  After a few gentle stirs to combine everything, we were ready to eat.

What can I say?  This was not your classic Chicken Scampi recipe but it tasted great.  It had all the components that I like; Meat, Vegetables, Pasta, and a great taste.  The WildTree Scampi Blend saved the day.  This meal was short, sweet and delicious.  It took all of 20 minutes from start to finish and we made it to puppy class on time.

Until next time,

Thanks for listening

My Virtual Project