Chicken Bryan with Sundried Tomato and Basil Lemon Butter Sauce

Oh man, the story that goes along with the making of this dinner is funny in so many ways, I don't even know where to start. First off, a big old hefty pat on the back to me. This was the first time I have ever cooked with wine. Ben and I have been dying to go on a date night, but we keep waiting until the last minute to call babysitters and they are all booked. Our favorite place to go on date nights is Carrabba's to order their Steak or Chicken Bryan. I thought it would be a nice gesture to surprise Ben with homemade Chicken Bryan even if the kids were playing with their food, sticking their fingers up their noses and jibber jabbering on either side of us.

 

After researching a few recipes online, trying to create a version of my own, I noticed they all used dry white cooking wine. I made the mistake back in college of looking for actual powdered wine, thinking that's what "dry" wine meant. Yeah, the grocery employee that I stopped to ask where the "powdered wine" was got a great chuckle out of that one. So at least this time I knew I was looking for an actual liquid. Instead of looking next to the balsamic vinaigrettes, where apparently they keep cooking wines, I moseyed on down the alcohol isle of the grocery store with my two kids looking for "white wine". Apparently white wine is a genre of wine! Haha! Who knew?! A few guesses and a whole lot of confused looks later I ended up just grabbing a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. Later in the checkout line I couldn't figure out why the cashier had stopped ringing up my food and asked to see my ID. That's weird, I haven't even used my credit card yet. Why would she need my ID. "Ma'am, I need your ID to buy the alcohol." Ooohhhhh, that makes sense. Duh.

Fast forward to making the actual meal, and I am in the middle of creating my flavorful lemon butter sauce that will be the make it or break it item of the dish. I go to open the wine and lo and behold there's a cork in it! Didn't think about how I was going to get that off. Crap! So I jam my 10 inch blade cooking knife into the cork and twist thinking it will magically pop open. Nope, just mangled my cork. I yell to Ben to run over to our neighbors who we have barely met, since with just moved in, to see if they have a wine opener. Completely embarrassed, yet completely willing, Ben runs next door and pops open the wine himself, not wanting to admit to our neighbor that he has no clue how to pull a cork out. Good thing he got it on the first try. Yay Ben!

And then comes the end of the meal preparation. The dreaded time of the day where I have to pretend that I actually have any kind of photography skills. Seriously, I hate taking pictures. Not my gift, not my talent. In order to get a decent picture I have to take it as the sun is going down in natural light. I've discovered that the best angles are achieved from laying down on my stomach. Again, having just moved in and not really knowing our neighbors, I felt a little hesitant taking my dinner outside to lay down and take pictures of it. Sure enough and with my luck, our other neighbors were outside enjoying the cool weather. Not even two minutes into taking pictures and my neighbor yells over, "Hey, are you okay over there?!" I pop up and reassure him that I'm fine. "Oh good," he says. "I thought maybe you had passed out or died." And then I introduced myself. Yeah, that's an awkward first impression.

 

So there. That's it. That's the story of the Chicken Bryan. And you know what? I would do it all over again because this dish was for real out of this world. Holy bananas was it good. A simply seasoned and grilled chicken breast with warm goat cheese on top, drizzled with a sundried tomato and basil lemon butter sauce. It doesn't get much better than that. Oh wait, yes it does. Fresh and creamy mashed potatoes! I think so. And so we may not have had our anticipated date night, but we did end our evening with a delicious rendition of our favorite meal. Love you babe!

 

Chicken Bryan

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

4 ounces goat cheese

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup finely diced onion

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1/2 cup julienned sundried tomatoes (not oil packed)

3/4 cup white wine, or cooking wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc)

1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

6-8 tablespoons cold butter

4 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves divided

 

Directions:

1. Heat grill or stove. Trim fat off chicken breasts. Generously salt and pepper each side of the chicken breasts. Set aside.

 

2. Shape goat cheese into 1/2 ounce circular discs about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. You should be able to make 8 discs out of the 4 oz. (2 for each chicken breast)

 

3. Prepare for sauce by chopping onion, garlic and basil. Squeeze lemon juice and make sure you can open your wine. Haha!

 

4. Place chicken on grill or sauté pan and cook for 5-6 minutes on each side or until no longer pink in center. For a properly sautéed chicken breast follow the instructions here, omitting the making the sauce part.

 

5. While chicken is cooking begin making sauce by heating olive oil over medium high heat. Add onions and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring constantly, until translucent. Add in garlic and sundried tomatoes. Cook 2 minutes more.

 

6. Pour in wine, lemon juice and broth. Add salt and pepper. Stir until bubbly. Reduce liquid by half as you are stirring, 3-5 minutes.

 

7. Reduce heat to low. Add one tablespoon chilled butter at a time to sauce. Stir butter until completely melted before adding next tablespoon. You can add anywhere from 6-8 tablespoons depending on your taste. Add more broth if sauce is too thick. Stir in fresh basil.

 

8. Warm oven to 200 degrees. Arrange chicken breasts on a platter. Place two discs of goat cheese on top of each breast. Allow cheese to warm through. Spread sauce over all chicken breasts and serve warm.

 

Serves 4

Seven Layer Green Pepper Salad

I'm usually a romaine, red leaf or green leaf lettuce kind of girl. I can't actually say it's because I prefer the taste over iceberg. Instead, I pretty much trick myself into thinking that it tastes better because I know it's healthier. That's the problem with knowing too much; you don't get to have quite the amount of guiltless fun with eating as you would otherwise.

However, there are those times that you just throw the rules out the window and eat what you want. Even if that rebellion just happens to be, well, eating an iceberg lettuce salad. Oh boy! Getting dangerous over here. Yes, I know salads are pretty much healthy no matter how you roll the dice, as long as they're not drenched in salad dressing, but they are more nutritious with the darker greens.

This Seven Layer Green Pepper Salad is just way too yummy to give up the extra crispness and coolness that the iceberg lettuce lends it. You'll be more than satisfied with these flavorful layers of lettuce, green bell peppers, onions, sweet peas, dressing, cheese and bacon. The even better part of this salad? It can be made up to a day ahead of time. In fact, it is better if it can sit in the fridge for at least a few hours so the lettuce absorbs the flavor and aroma of the bell peppers and onions.

So now it's time to get down and dirty, throw your hands up in the air like you just don't care, and make yourself some oh so sinful salad!

Seven Layer Green Pepper Salad

 

Ingredients:

4 cups washed and dried iceberg lettuce (about 1 head)

1 green bell pepper

1/2 yellow or white onion

2 cups frozen peas, thawed

1 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon sugar

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 cup fresh bacon bits

 

Directions:

1. Wash lettuce and pat well to dry. Put into salad bowl large enough to where you half about 1 1/2 inches leftover at the top after you dump the lettuce in.

 

 

 

2. Remove skin from onion and cut into thin strips, lengthwise. Arrange strips over lettuce. Cut more if needed.

 

 

 

3. Remove seeds from the bell pepper and cut into thin strips, lengthwise. Arrange strips evenly over onion strips.

 

 

 

4. Spread thawed peas evenly over onion strips.

 

 

 

5. In a small bowl mix together mayonnaise and sugar until well incorporated. Spread evenly over peas.

 

 

 

6. Sprinkle cheese over dressing mixture.

 

 

 

7. Arrange bacon bits evenly over cheese. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let chill in fridge until ready to serve. The longer it sits, the more flavorful it becomes. Make up to a day ahead of time.

 

Serves 6

 



Honeydew Melon Lemonade

If it was possible for a drink to have multiple personality disorder, this would be it.

It's crazy the kind of tricks your tongue plays on you with all of its "taste spots". I never really believed that certain parts of your tongue picked up on different flavors. It always seemed like all the flavors melded into one once I stuck something into my mouth. It could very well be that I tend to eat like a savage animal, shoving food in my face as fast as I can, instead of savoring each and every bite I take. Yeah, that could be it. Maybe I'll have to work on that.

 

For whatever reason, the first time I have ever been able to taste multiple flavors on my tongue was when I made this Honeydew Melon Lemonade. It was a trip! 

Sipping this lemonade literally makes you feel like you are drinking two totally different drinks at once. The moment the drink touches your lips you think it's a regular freshly squeezed lemonade, but then the second you swallow, you get this intensely subtle burst of honeydew melon. It's delicious! Chilling this drink for a few hours with fresh raspberries and mint leaves gives it an added touch of flavor...plus the vibrant colors are fun. We're getting fancy up in here!

I got the idea for this drink because of my mad "waste not, want not" OCD skills. I had lemons in my fridge that were on the verge of being too old. I had just bought an expensive tub of raspberries that nobody was eating, as always. My mint leaves had been chilling out in the fridge just waiting for me to think of something to do with them. And we had a deliciously flavored honeydew melon in the fridge that was just a little too soft for my liking. Too soft, huh? How about I puree it and add it to some lemonade?! Brilliant! Best of all, I completely cleaned out my fridge. Bingo!

 

Honeydew Melon Lemonade

 

Ingredients:

3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon honey

3 cups water

1 3/4 cups honeydew melon juice (about 3 cups cubed, before pureed)

1 cup fresh raspberries

7-8 mint leaves

 

Directions:

1. In a pitcher add lemon juice, sugar, honey and water. Set aside.

 

2. Cut honeydew melon into chunks. You'll need about 3-4 cups. Puree the chunks in a food processor until very smooth. In small batches, pour the pulp through a fine mesh strainer with a bowl underneath to catch the juice. Using the bottom of a spatula, push the pulp against the mesh to squeeze out all the juice. Once the juice has been squeezed out, discard the pulp and repeat with the next batch until all the honeydew melon juice has been strained. Once you have 1 3/4 cups honeydew melon juice, add it to the pitcher and stir.

 

3. Add raspberries and mint leaves. Chill in fridge for 3-4 hours. Add ice before serving.

 

Serves 6-8

 



Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

"Nom, Nom, Nom!"

Nom, nom, what?! I'll admit I just barely figured out what that meant. I was legitimately confused when I would see people posting food pics on their Instagram and Facebook accounts with the caption "nom, nom, nom". I had no clue what it meant. It wasn't until I watched a Jimmy Falon and Justin Timberlake skit online, poking fun at our society's hashtag obsession, that I put two and two together. That's the sound Cookie Monster makes when he's scarfing down handfuls of cookies! And boy is that sound dead on when your stuffing your mouth with an especially delicious homemade cookie. Or at least that's how Braelyn sounds anyway.

My poor little miss has been deprived of a really good soft and chewy cookie for a few months now. Sure she's just a kid and, in reality, anything with sugar will probably suffice her overly active sweet tooth. But, I'd like to think that there is no replacement for a warm, fresh out of the oven, chocolate chip cookie. And, for me, there is no replacement for baking cookies with my favorite sous chef by my side. So with these two "must haves" this perfectly gluten free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie was born.

I was so proud of this cookie that I even left free samples on my doorstep for friends to stop by and try. Too bad it was already in the 80's in Phoenix in February so they got a little soft and melty. However, the reviews were good and I think, no I'm confident, you'll agree that this simple little cookie will have you saying "nom, nom, nom" with every bite! And to my sweet Braelyn Boo, I love you my little Cookie Monster!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) butter, room temperature

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/4 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup coconut flour

1 cup sweet rice flour

1/2 cup potato starch

1 tablespoon corn starch

1 tsp. xanthan gum

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups rolled oats (gluten free)

2 1/4 cups or one bag chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a stand mixer add butter, shortening, sugar, brown sugar and eggs. Cream together until smooth. Add vanilla and buttermilk and mix until incorporated.

 

2. In a separate bowl whisk together coconut flour, sweet rice flour, potato starch, corn starch, xanthan gum, baking soda and salt.

 

3. Add flour mixture to mixing bowl and mix until combined. Pour in rolled oats and chocolate chips. Stir until evenly distributed.

 

4. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Scoop into 1 inch balls and bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned, rotating pan after 7 minutes of cooking.

 

5. Remove from oven and let cool. Enjoy with an ice cold glass of milk. Really, is there any other way???

 

Makes about 64 cookies



Sweet and Sour Country Style Spare Ribs

Comfort food. Who doesn't love comfort food? There is a reason this food is given a certain title. It just makes you feel good. To me comfort food is hearty, warm, saucy and...well...tasty. So yes, this Sweet and Sour Country Style Spare Ribs recipe is definitely in the category of comfort foods.

 

You know what? I actually left out a main defining factor of what categorizes a comfort food. Memories! Not just any memories, but the kind of memories that bring a smile to your face, a tear to your eye, a lump in your throat or a laugh in your belly. You get the picture, right? Sitting down and eating a comfort foods meal should transport you back in time feeling safe, warm and loved.

 

"Ribs huh?" That's probably what you're asking yourself right about now. "Ribs do it for you? What kind of gal sits down to a plate of shredded ribs and gets all cozy thinking about her family?" Yeah, that's right. This gal!

 

These ribs were a staple in my home when I was growing up. This entrée reminds me of our typical family dinner. It reminds me of sitting all together at the table, my dad slapping my elbow off the edge every few seconds and reminding me to chew with my mouth closed. I begged my mom to switch seats with me at the table for 15 years. She never agreed, although I do have good manners now. It also reminds me of the oh so daunting after dinner chores that my brother and I swapped every night, sweeping the floors and doing the dishes. We thought our parents were lazy making us do all the work. Ha! Being a mom now, boy was I wrong!

 

Though my memories may not be all mushy gushy, they're memories nonetheless and I wouldn't trade them for the world. And so here I am, making the same good food, sitting around my own kitchen table, telling my own daughter to chew with her mouth closed hoping that someday she will carry on the tradition.

 

These spare ribs are so tender and juicy and the sauce is just splendidly delicious. But isn't ketchup and sugar in anything great? Haha! Hey, this is where the moderation comes in. Just a spoonful of this sauce goes a long way, so start out small with your topping. The taste is perfectly sweet with a slight tang. You can opt to have this dish on top of rice, a baked potato or even in a sandwich. However you choose, I'm sure you'll love it.

 

Sweet and Sour Country Style Spare Ribs

 

Ingredients:

3 pounds boneless country style spare ribs (pork or beef)

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

3/4 teaspoons salt

dash of pepper

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon white vinegar

1 1/2 tablespoons tamari sauce (gluten free soy sauce)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon ketchup

4 cups cooked brown rice

1/4 cup chopped green onion for garnishing

 

Directions:

1. Fill a large pot halfway with water. Bring water to boiling. Place ribs in boiling water, cover and reduce to medium heat. Boil for one hour.

 

2. Meanwhile cook rice (time it so rice finishes cooking about 10 minutes after ribs are done cooking). 10 minutes before ribs are done, begin preparing sauce. In a medium saucepan combine sugar, cornstarch, salt and pepper. Whisk together. Add water and stir until ingredients dissolve. Add white vinegar, tamari sauce, vegetable oil and ketchup. Stir until combined.

 

 

3. Bring saucepan to a boil while stirring continuously. Continue stirring for an additional minute until thickened. Reduce heat to low, stirring occasionally until ready to use.

 

4. Once ribs are cooked, remove from water and transfer to a cutting board. Let sit for 10 minutes and shred by hand, discarding any fatty pieces, into a bowl. Once completely shredded pour enough sauce over the ribs to lightly coat the meat. Stir so ribs are evenly coated.

 

5. Assemble dishes by scooping rice onto plate, topping with saucy shredded ribs, and spooning some additional sauce onto plate. You may also garnish with freshly chopped green onions and cashews.

 

Serves 6