Fresh grown basil meets chicken breast - wow

I love basil. It's used in so many savory dishes and they are so.............good; perhaps basil would be great when paired with lemon and a simple syrup when making lemonade. Fresh basil lemonade was made over the weekend and was well received. Having purchased several boneless skinless chicken breasts for dinner tonight; I thought why not use basil in the marinade - I just poured a small amount of olive oil, salt and pepper, the juice of a whole lemon and about three top portions snipped on my basil plant - chopped fine of course. In with the chicken and back in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. I browned the chicken in my black skillet on top of the stove; then into a preheated 375 degree oven. Baking time was about 45 minutes and I basted them a couple of times on both sides with - you guess it - basil butter - they were so good; I had to take a photo and then I said "why not post this one". My husband paid the nicest compliment when he said "these are much better than the chicken breast I ordered at Lone Star Restaurant last week". Wow - but he was right - they were tender and had a fresh flavor of basil and lemon. Try this - Neither of us have gotten into the grilling thing - we always burn the chicken, so I resort to my oven and very trust worthy black skillet.

New and different snack treat

Saw this great sounding recipe before the previous holidays for a Ginger Crunch and tried it recently. I did think ahead and prior to diving into it for tasting, took a photo. Recipe was on an Australian site so I had to convert from metric, but the results were very tasty (as Gayle often refers to a dish). Try it - you'll like it too.
For the crunch part: 1 cup butter, 1/2 cup white granulated sugar, 2 cups all purpose flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1 Tablespoon ground ginger and a pinch of salt. Mix all together and press into an 8 x 12 pan, greased and lined with parchment paper. Bake at 355 degrees for 20 minutes OR until golden brown.
While the crunch part is baking, mix up the icing portion. 1 cup sifted powdered sugar, 1/2 stick butter, 1/4 cup golden syrup, 2 tsp. ginger and 1/3 cup finely chopped candied ginger. Place all ingredients in a sauce pan and cook, stirring all the time for about three minutes. Time the completed baking of crust so you can pour the heated icing mixture onto crust as soon as you remove it from oven. Cool for a few minutes and when cooled enough - cut into squares.

What's For Dinner?

Got this link today in my email and just had to share with you all...this is a really cool website where you plug in items you have in your pantry and then a variety of recipes will come up using what you have on hand..how cool is that for those times you don't want to make another grocery store run or are trying to use up what you have on hand but have gotten tired of the same old recipes...check it out right here

It sure is hot here, 'down under'!!!

We are in the middle of summer here in Australia.

And it is hot.

And humid.

Thank heavens for air conditioning.

And salads.

Because cooking is the LAST thing I want to do at the end of a muggy day.

I made a DELICIOUS prawn dish the other night.

I will call it........

Coconut prawn salad.

Use whatever salad greens you like and lay them on a serving dish.

I used a mixture of rocket, spinach and mixed salad leaves.

Layer freshly steamed (but cold) asparagus over this.

You can also add spanish onions, finely chopped.

And baby tomatoes

And lebanese cucumbers.

And corriander!!!

LOVE corriander

Then, layer over your prawns....shelled, of course :)

Then, in a small saucepan, pour in I cup of coconut milk.

Get one tablespoon of rice flour and mix with a little of the milk.

Add this to the saucepan.

Heat gently until thickened, slightly. Like thickened cream

Add a tablespoon of fish sauce

A tablespoon of lime juice (or lemon juice)

A teaspoon of sugar.

And one or two finely chopped chillis.

I then pour this sauce into a plastic bottle with a nozzle.

Like a tomato sauce bottle.

When this sauce is cool, and just before serving, drizzle this sauce over your prawn salad.

This is also perfect with cooked chicken!!!

Pecan Pie Ice Cream

The same restaurant I posted about when I posted the soup recipe gets the credit for this Yummy recipe. I made a batch to take to my Mother's for Christmas Day and everyone loved it! If you love ice cream and pecan pie you will totally love this recipe. I guess you could make your own vanilla ice cream but I opted to buy a carton of Breyers...this is NOT the time for lowfat or sugar free my friends so let's keep it loaded with calories and sugar..

Pecan Pie Icecream

As I was finishing up this e-newsletter, my husband Michael called, asking if I could make some pecan pie filling to add to his ice cream recipe. Whether he admits it or not, the seasonal changes has entered his psyche as well.

Making pecan pie ice cream is quite easy to do. Of course, Michael makes his own delicious ice cream, but you can just use a high quality store bought carton of vanilla. Simply bake your pecan pie without the pie crust. Cool. Chop it up and mix in with the ice cream. Refreeze until firm. (If you like, you can add a few tablespoons of bourbon, just for kicks.)

Here is my pecan pie recipe if you don't have one of your own:

In a bowl, beat four eggs. Add 1/2 cup extra fine granulated sugar, 1/2 cup light brown sugar, 1/2 cup brown corn syrup, 1;2 cup light corn syrup, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, pinch of salt, 1/4 stick melted butter. Pour into greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 until done (35 - 50 minutes). Do not overcook. Toast 1 1/2 cups of pecans. Coarsely chop. Cool both filling and pecans before adding them to the ice cream.

**the last 10 minutes of baking I added my pan of pecans  to toast while the filling finished baking...

Tummy Warming Recipe

Snowy days like this are perfect for a delicious, tummy-warming soup and I thought I would share a quick and easy recipe with you. One of my favorite restaurants in my area, The Yancey House sends out a monthly newsletter; and the owner/chef Lucindy sent this Chicken Tortilla Soup for the month of December. To read more click here, YanceyHouse. Hope you enjoy the recipe!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is my favorite snow-time soup. Not only is it easy and just wonderful . . . add extra garlic and no one will get a cold! Enjoy!

Saute 1-2 large onions, chopped, in a little olive oil. along with a chopped jalapeno pepper (seeded), a carrot or two sliced, 6 ribs of sliced celery, and as many minced garlic cloves as you can handle (let's say 6), and 1 - 2 lb. boned, diced, raw chicken thighs or breasts. After a couple of minutes (don't burn garlic), add 2 tsp. ground cumin, 1 TB. chili powder, Tsp. salt, and 2 tsp. black pepper. Throw in a few shakes of hot pepper sauce, if you like, and 2 14-oz cans diced tomatoes and 40plus oz. of chicken broth. Bring to boil, then simmer for 1 hour. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Cut soft corn tortillas into strips and fry them. (I buy my chips instead of making my own) Once the soup is ready, top with tortilla chips, sour cream, cilantro, and grated sharp cheddar cheese. YUM!.

Easy Treat for Thanksgiving

A member of another message board I frequent posted the link for these "Edible Acorns"....I made a platter of them recently for my husband's birthday and the grownups were crazy over them...No baking involved so super easy...The "acorns" would look cute on a tray covered with faux leaves but I had used all  of mine in my Fall arrangements, so I had to settle for a doily...Here's the "Recipe":

• 
  
  bag of doughnut holes (found mine at Food Lion and had about 2 dozen in bag)
  
  
  
• 
  
  partial bag of toffee bits or you could use finely chopped nuts of your choice
  
  
  
• 
  
  icing of your choice (I used chocolate) or you can use peanut butter
  
  
  
• 
  
  a few pretzels, broken for little short stems
  
  
  

Ice top part of a doughnut hole with either icing or peanut butter. (I iced the tops of the doughnut holes and coming down the sides a little bit too)..roll iced part in toffee bits or finely chopped nuts...insert pretzel "stem" and place on tray...It's that easy!