Month: March 2021

Naan Bread

by

I make a lot of bread of all different kinds and styles. Naan was one I hadn’t tried until a couple of years ago. The first recipe I tried it called for sprinkling some cornmeal on a pizza stone and baking the bread in a very hot oven. After I cooked a few, the smoke detector went off. Turns out the high heat started burning the cornmeal on the pizza stone. So, the best method I have found is cooking it in a non-stick pan on the stovetop. It takes a little time but is well worth it.

Start by combining the warm water, yeast, and sugar. Don’t add the salt in this stage, sugar feeds yeast and salt kills yeast. It should start frothing fairly quickly if the temperature of the water is just right.

Now add 3 cups of flour and the salt. Mix that in. Add another 1/2 cup of flour and mix. If the dough is still sticky, add a couple tablespoons of flour at a time until the dough forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Remove the dough, spray the bowl with cooking spray and put the dough back in the bowl. Cover and set aside until doubled, about 1 hour.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking oil. Punch down the dough and remove onto a lightly floured surface. I form the dough into a log and try to cut into somewhat equal portions.

Roll the dough into balls and place on the parchment lined sheet tray. Spray the top of the dough balls and cover with plastic wrap. Let that sit for about 1/2 hour.

Now get your cooking set up ready. I have oil for brushing the dough, a pan heating up on the stove on medium low, some garlic for sprinkling on, and some foil to put the finished bread in so I can put it in my oven to keep warm while I’m cooking all of them. You are ready to start cooking.

This is the biggest non-stick pan I have, so I can only cook 2 at a time. Brush the bottom of your pan with a little olive oil; this step is not necessary, but it adds a good flavor.

For each ball, pick it up and stretch it with your fingers, kind of like pulling pizza dough. Don’t worry about the unevenness of the dough. Place the dough in the pan and brush to tops with a little olive oil and sprinkle on some granulated garlic if you desire.

Flip after a couple of minutes and cook the other side. It’s ok to flip several times, I do that so I don’t burn my bread.

Watch the color of the dough, you can tell as it changes color if it is cooked.

Each one should take about 5 to 7 minutes to cook all the way through.

I have found that my pan gets hotter as I’m cooking so I have to turn down my burner during the cooking process. I start out with it on the 4 setting and end up finishing on 2 or 2 1/2.

It doesn’t matter what size you want to make your Naan, as this is a great pull off what you want to soak up the sauce or dip into whatever your are eating bread.

Enjoy!

Print Recipe

Naan

Naan is an easy bread to make and pairs well with just about any Indian or Asian style foods as well as a lot of American foods that we eat with a bit of bread.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Resting Time1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time2 hours 10 minutes
Course: Bread
Cuisine: Asian, Indian
Keyword: Bread
Servings: 10 each
Calories: 175kcal
Author: Eating With Deb

Equipment

  • Stand Mixer
  • Large saute pan
  • Sheet tray lined with parchment paper

Ingredients

  • 1 ¼ cups water 110 115°
  • 1 tsp active dry yeast
  • ½ tsp sugar
  • 3 ¾ cups flour
  • 2 tsp sea salt
  • Olive oil for brushing
  • Granulated garlic for sprinkling

Instructions

  • In a large mixing bowl*, add water, sugar, and yeast. Mix and let stand until frothy (about 20 minutes).
  • Mix in 3 cups of flour and salt. Add another ½ cup of flour and mix. If dough is sticky keep adding flour a little at a time until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball.
  • Remove from bowl and spray bowl with non-stick cooking spray and return dough to the bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside until doubled in size (about 1 hour).
  • Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking oil. Punch down dough and form into golf ball size balls (or slightly larger). You may need some flour on your work surface while doing this step. Put the balls on the pan, spray the tops with cooking oil and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside for about ½ hour.
  • Using a non-stick pan, heat it on the stove top. Don’t turn burner on past about 4 or the dough will cook too fast, burn and be doughy. (I found after the first couple I had to turn down the burner to 2 or 2 1/2.) Depending on the size of your pan, will depend on how many you can cook at a time.
  • Brush bottom of pan with a little olive oil. Stretch each ball into an oblong shape and place in the pan, don’t crowd or let them touch. Brush tops with olive oil and sprinkle with a little bit of garlic, if desired. Using a spatula or tongs, flip after a couple minutes. You can keep flipping so they don’t burn. Total cook time will be about 5 to 7 minutes. Repeat until all dough is cooked.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

*I use my stand mixer and dough hook for all breads. This will need the dough for you, otherwise you will have to need the dough by hand for about 5 minutes once the flour and salt is added.
• You can make larger or smaller balls depending on the size of the final piece you want or the size of your pan
• I tried a recipe that cooked them in the oven on a pizza pan using cornmeal so they didn’t stick to the pan, but I set off the smoke alarm because the oven temp has to be at 500° and the cornmeal started burning
• You can set up a foil bowl or a pan in the oven on warm and as you cook them remove them to the oven to keep warm until done and ready to serve
• If made ahead, wrap bread in foil and put in a 350° oven until warm

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 175kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 468mg | Potassium: 62mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 2mg

Rice in the Slow Cooker

by

It doesn’t get much easier than cooking rice in a slow cooker. I have a 1-quart cooker that I use because I only need to make a little at a time for my small household. If you need to make more, it’s the same, just use a larger cooker.

Sometimes I still cook rice on the stovetop, but mostly I use the slow cooker method, especially when I’m making a stir fry. I can start the rice and not worry about it, then deal with prepping and cooking the rest of my dish.

The one thing I don’t have in this picture is cooking spray. I have forgotten to spray the inside of my crock and have had the rice stick a little bit. So spray it first. Add the broth and the rice and give it a stir. Put the lid on and turn it to high. Walk away for 2 hours.

Come back, and check the rice to see if it is done. It may take a little more liquid or longer cooking time for different rices and slow cookers, but this works every time for me with brown basmati rice, which is pretty much all I use when I want plain rice with a dish.

You can switch out the chicken broth with a low sodium one, or even a vegetable broth. It is important to have flavor in the cooking liquid in order to give your rice some flavor. But if you prefer just plain water, by all means, go ahead and use it.

Print Recipe

Rice in the Slow Cooker

Rice is easy to make, but in the slow cooker, it's even easier. No boiling over on your stove top or worries about running out of liquid and burning it.
Prep Time3 minutes
Cook Time2 hours 30 minutes
Course: Dinner, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Rice, Slow Cooker
Servings: 3 cups
Calories: 316kcal
Author: Eating With Deb

Equipment

  • 1 quart slow cooker

Ingredients

  • 1 cup brown basmati rice
  • 3 cups chicken stock or veggie stock or water

Instructions

  • Spray slow cooker crock with non-stick cooking oil.
  • Add rice and stock and stir.
  • Turn on the cooker to high and cook for 2 to 2 ½ hours, depending on your slow cooker. If rice isn’t quite done you can add a little water or stock and continue cooking.

Nutrition

Calories: 316kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 346mg | Potassium: 422mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 7IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 2mg

Chicken Cordon Bleu Fingers

by

I love Chicken Cordon Bleu, but it is a lot of work to make, so when I do I make a lot and freeze them for future dinners. But I thought there must be an easier way. So I turned it into chicken strips wrapped with cheese and prosciutto and breaded before being cooked in an air fryer. This makes a great appetizer or entree for adults and kids alike!

It’s fairly simple to gather and prep the ingredients. Just slice the chicken into strips, make sure your mozzarella cheese is sliced, combine the flour and seasonings, beat the eggs with water, and combine the parmesan with the bread crumbs. The prosciutto comes sliced and placed between sheets of paper.

Now place a slice of mozzarella on the a chicken strip, fold around the chicken if it’s too wide or break off some of the cheese. Then take a slice of prosciutto and wrap it around the chicken and mozzarella. Try to cover all of the cheese.

Now we are ready to bread them.

Dip in the flour, then the egg, then the bread crumbs. With each step make sure the chicken strip is fully coated. If I cannot enlist someone else’s help for this process, I use one hand to take the chicken from the flour through the egg and into the breading. Then I use the other hand just for the breading part. Otherwise you start getting a huge build-up of the flour, egg and breading on all of your fingers.

Ok, time to cook. I spray the bottom of my air fryer basket, put the strip in, this will take two batches, and then spray the top of the chicken. I recently learned that you should use a non-aerosol cooking spray for this. I guess with some air fryers, aerosol sprays will eventually chip the coating off of the air fryer basket.

Put the basket in the air fryer, turn on to 360 degrees and cook for 5 minutes. I have a little mozzarella seeping out, but overall I did a good job getting it all coated. Flip the chicken over and cook at 360 degrees for another 5 minutes.

The chicken should be at 165 degrees at this point and is ready to eat. I like dipping them in warm marinara sauce.

Enjoy!

Print Recipe

Chicken Cordon Bleu Fingers

Chicken Cordon Bleu is time consuming to make, so I turned it inside out and cooked it in an air fryer for a much quicker method to making one of my favorite chicken dinner recipes.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Dinner
Cuisine: American, French
Keyword: Air Fryer, Chicken, Chicken Cordon Bleu
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 879kcal
Author: Eating With Deb

Equipment

  • Air Fryer
  • Knife and cutting board
  • 3 Medium to Large Bowls

Ingredients

  • 2 each chicken breasts
  • 24 slices mozzarella cheese
  • 12 slices prosciutto

Flour Mixture

  • ½ cup flour
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
  • 1 pinch sea salt
  • 1 pinch black pepper

Egg Wash

  • 2 each eggs
  • 2 tbsp water

Breading

  • 1 ½ cup bread crumbs Italian seasoned
  • ½ cup Parmesan cheese shredded

Instructions

  • Cut chicken breasts into strips, about 6 strips per breast.
  • Mix flour mixture.
  • Beat eggs and water.
  • Combine bread crumbs and cheese.
  • Put a slice of mozzarella cheese (break slices in ½ if they are too wide) on each side of the chicken strip and wrap with prosciutto. Set aside and finish the rest.
  • Dredge in flour mixture, eggs, and then bread crumbs. Set aside and finish the rest.
  • Spray bottom of air fryer basket with a non-aerosol cooking oil spray and place chicken strips in basket. Spray the top of the chicken strips.
  • Turn on air fryer to 360 degrees and cook for 5 minutes. Flip over, cook at 360 degrees for 5 minutes. Check temperature to see if the internal temp of the chicken has reached 165 degrees.
  • Serve with warm marinara as a dipping sauce.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

You may need a few more or fewer slices of mozzarella cheese or prosciutto depending on how you sliced your chicken. Just be sure to keep them separate so as to not cross-contaminate any leftovers with raw chicken. Better yet, if someone else is around, get a helper.
If the chicken slices are too long to wrap the prosciutto completely around it, cut them in half. It's important to seal the cheese under the prosciutto and breading to prevent cheese from seeping out during cooking.

Nutrition

Serving: 3slices | Calories: 879kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 52g | Fat: 53g | Saturated Fat: 28g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 161mg | Sodium: 1733mg | Potassium: 293mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1267IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 1093mg | Iron: 4mg

Jamaican Jerk Beef and Vegetables

by

I love the bold flavors of Jerk dishes, but they can take time to make. Don’t let the cooking time on this recipe scare you away, most of that is the rice cooking time. This one has minimal hands-on prep, and time to let the beef and veggies marinate, all of which can be done while the rice is cooking.

After you get your rice cooking, mix your marinade, trim and cube the beef and cut the vegetables.

Remove 1/3 cup of the marinade and stir it in the beef. Then add your vegetables to the rest of the marinade and stir in.

Now set it aside and wait for about 30 minutes. Give each a stir once or twice while waiting.

Heat a large saute pan, on medium high heat and add the beef and marinade. Saute for about 5 minutes until the beef is brown.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the veggies plus the marinade they were in. Stir and saute for 3 to 5 minutes until the sauce is thickened and veggies have slightly cooked but are still crunchy.

Put some rice in a bowl and top it with the beef, veggies, and sauce, and you have a one bowl, delicious, bold dinner.

Enjoy!

Print Recipe

Jamaican Jerk Beef and Vegetables

Jerk dishes have very bold flavors that awaken the taste buds. Many of them are time consuming and require a lot of different seasonings. I made this simple, and most likely you have the seasonings in your pantry. Switch out any of the vegetables you may not like or replace the beef with turkey, or go vegetarian and replace it with seitan or portabello mushrooms.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time55 minutes
Resting Time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 10 minutes
Course: Dinner, Entree, Main Course
Cuisine: American, Jamaican
Keyword: Jamaican Jerk, Jamaican Jerk Beef, Jerk
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 417kcal
Author: Eating With Deb

Equipment

  • Large stainless steel saute pan
  • 4 quart sauce pan or larger
  • 1 large bowl
  • 1 medium bowl
  • Knife and cutting board

Ingredients

Marinade:

  • ½ cup soy sauce
  • 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
  • ¼ cup canola oil
  • ½ cup beef stock
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 tbsp thyme dried
  • ½ tsp. cloves
  • ½ tsp nutmeg
  • ½ tsp allspice
  • 1/2 each yellow onion diced
  • 2 each jalapeno peppers seeded & minced
  • 1 tbsp garlic fresh, minced

Beef and Veggies:

  • ½ pound beef cut into bite-size pieces
  • 1 each zucchini or yellow squash, cut into bite-size pieces
  • 1 each tomato cut into bite-size pieces
  • 1 each green bell pepper cut into bite-size pieces
  • 2 cups mushrooms sliced
  • 2 cups broccoli florets

Rice

  • 1 cup brown basmati rice
  • 3 cups chicken stock

Instructions

  • Put the rice and chicken stock in the saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 40 to 45 minutes until done.
  • After you've started the rice, it's time to make the marinade for the beef and veggies.
  • For the marinade, in a large bowl combine soy sauce, red wine vinegar, canola oil, beef stock and cornstarch. Whisk until the cornstarch is dissolved. Then mix in the rest of the ingredients.
  • Trim and cut beef steak into cubes and put in a bowl. Remove 1/3 cup of the marinade and toss it with the beef.
  • Prepare the veggies and add them to the other bowl with the rest of the marinade. Let the beef and veggies soak for about 30 minutes.
  • Heat a large, stainless steel sauté pan and add the beef along with the marinade. Sauté on medium high for about 5 minutes until the beef is brown.
  • Reduce heat to medium and add the vegetables and marinade. Stir in and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes until cooked through and everything is hot.
  • Serve over rice.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

If you are watching nutrition information, 1 cup of just the beef, veggies, and sauce without the rice cooked in chicken broth:
Calories: 120; Carbohydrates: 4g; Protein: 9g; Fat; 8g; Cholesterol; 27mg; Sodium; 39mg; Sugar 1g.
To reduce the amount of sodium, cook the rice in a low sodium chicken or vegetable broth.
I like to serve this on a bed of kale or spinach for a healthier/lighter meal.

Nutrition

Calories: 417kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 1335mg | Potassium: 631mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 284IU | Vitamin C: 32mg | Calcium: 64mg | Iron: 3mg

Tarragon Dijon Penne (with Chicken and Veggies)

by

If you’ve never tried tarragon, here is your chance. For spices I rarely use I buy in bulk at my local grocery store, that way I can buy the amount I need. Most grocery stores have a bulk spice section now, so I don’t clutter up my already cluttered spice cabinet and rack and I have fresh spices when I need them.

Cooking time is fairly fast once this gets started so you will want all your ingredients gathered and prepped before you start.

Then, bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a lot of sea salt and the penne pasta. You will need to cook pasta to al dente which will take about 12 to 15 minutes (check the package instructions).

Once the pasta is in the water, heat up a large saute pan, add the oil and chicken. Saute the chicken until brown. Then add the veggies, except the spinach, shallots, garlic, and dry seasonings.

Stir and cook for about 5 minutes.

Then stir in the dijon and half and half. By now your pasta should be ready to be drained.

Drain your pasta, do not rinse, and reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water, you need it to bring your sauce together and make it more saucy.

Add the pasta and spinach (I used some arugula this time also) to your pan and give it a good stir. Stir in the pasta water until you are happy with the consistency and sauce.

Cook just until the spinach is wilted.

I like to top with with some shredded parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

Print Recipe

Tarragon Dijon Penne (with Chicken and Veggies)

This one bowl dinner is sure to be a hit with your family. You can keep it vegetarian by replacing the chicken with some chopped portabello mushrooms or seitan. Go dairy-free using a milk alternative, or even gluten-free with one of the good gluten-free pastas that are on the market. No need to stick to penne, bowtie pasta works well with this dish too.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Chicken, Dijon, Pasta
Servings: 8 cups
Calories: 214kcal
Author: Eating With Deb

Equipment

  • Large stainless steel saute pan
  • Large Sauce Pan
  • Cutting board and knife

Ingredients

  • ½ pound penne pasta
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 pound chicken breast cut into bite-size pieces
  • 1 each red bell pepper diced
  • 2 cups mushrooms sliced
  • 2 cups broccoli florets and stems, chopped
  • 3 handfuls spinach
  • 1 tbsp garlic fresh, minced
  • 2 tbsp shallots minced
  • 1 tbsp tarragon dry
  • ¾ tsp sea salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • ½ cup half and half room temperature
  • 3 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • ½ cup reserved pasta water

Instructions

  • Gather and prep all ingredients. Measure half and half and leave out at room temperature.
  • Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add sea salt and penne. Cook according to package directions until al dente (about 12 to 15 minutes).
  • Once pasta is in the water, heat a large saute pan, add oil and chicken. Cook until the chicken is golden brown.
  • Add veggies (except spinach), shallots, garlic, and dry seasonings. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes. Add dijon and half and half.
  • By now the pasta should be ready. Remove ½ cup of the pasta water, drain and add pasta, spinach, and pasta water to the chicken mixture. Stir until the spinach is melted.
  • Top with some parmesan cheese.
  • Enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 214kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 341mg | Potassium: 441mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1295IU | Vitamin C: 26mg | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 1mg