Author: ajeanneinthekitchen

The other day Mike and Larry were out playing golf so Lauren and I went to one of our local farmers’ markets. It was a bustling event. We picked up some delicious fresh goodies that I turned into dinner and dessert for the four of us after.

Lauren and I split a box of fresh, delicious Palisade peaches. I got some more farm fresh jalapenos, and some homemade jams. One was a cherry lime jam, that I turned into a sauce with one of the jalapenos for some chicken.

It was a simple, easy-peasy meal that I was mentally preparing while we were at the farmers’ market as I was talking to Marlene Stroud, from Marlene’s Garden at comarlensgarden@gmail.com, the producer of the fabulous homemade jams and jellies. Our discussion was my inspiration for dinner. I used the cherry lime jam she made as the sauce for my chicken. YUM! Her jams and jellies were so good, she was almost out. She said she had started the day with a wide selection of jams and her crates were full. When we got there she was almost sold out. WHOOOOO HOOOOO!!!!! I love it when small businesses flourish. 🙂

Cherry Lime Chicken

I made a simple reduction sauce as both my marinade and then the sauce for the cooked chicken after. It was cool and refreshing with just the right amount of heat.

4-6 chicken breasts

1 jar of cherry lime jam or a combination of both

1 jalapeno, roasted, peeled, seeded and diced fine

1/2 cup limeade

Roast the jalapeno over an open flame until it is completely charred on the outside. Let it sweat for about 20-30 minutes in a plastic bag, then remove the skin and the seeds, rinse and dice fine.

Place everything in a sauce pan or skillet and cook for about 5 minutes or until the jalapeno has softened a bit.

Then pour about 1/2-3/4 of the sauce over the chicken and let marinade for at least 2-3 hours in the refrigerator before grilling.

I also made some vegetable kebabs and ribs that we cooked up as well. Lauren made some couscous and that completed the meal. It was a perfect summer supper.

Cook the remainder of the sauce and reduce it until the liquid has evaporated by about 1/2 for your topping. When the chicken is cooked, pour some of the reduction sauce on top and enjoy. This is a perfect way to enjoy some of the summer freshness.

Things don’t have to complicated in order to be good. Keep it simple and enjoy the finer things in life, such as sharing a good meal with good friends. Life is good and I am definitely living the good life. I made a peach and cherry galette for dessert, using some of my fresh peaches, but more on that later. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay cool, stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

There is something about cinnamon that just captivates us all. It is a very versatile spice that is used for both sweet and savory dishes around the world. It is also used in perfumes and as a digestive medicine. It is an old spice that has been around for 1000’s of years and was considered to be a luxurious spice that was coveted the world over.

Cinnamon is grown in many tropical parts of the world form Southeast Asia to South America. It comes from the several tree species in the Cinnamomum genus. Here are some fun facts about cinnamon that are certainly new to me, and I be they are to you too.

• Cinnamon doesn’t have a sweet taste but does amplify the sweetness in other ingredients.
• The better quality cinnamons are more breakable (fragile).
• The average cinnamon tree grows to 60 feet in height.
• Cinnamon acts as a natural preservative.
• Cinnamon sticks are also called quills.
• Just smelling the wonderful odor of cinnamon boosts brain activity.

So now that we all know a little more about cinnamon, it it is easy to see why it is such a popular spice, used in every culture around the world.

I use a lot of cinnamon. Mostly I use it in the European/American way, which is for sweets, cakes and cookies. Although I also use it a lot in different ethnic savory foods, such as when I am cooking Indian, or Thai or Middle Eastern dishes. This time I used it to make a cinnamon roll cake. Yep, it’s cinnamon rolls without the roll, and made like a cake instead. This is a much less time consuming way to make it since you are not using yeast, and the cake does not need any proofing time.

Once again, these were a big hit and were gone in an instant. Poor Larry. He loves cinnamon rolls and cakes, and he only got to try a little bit. I didn’t save any for him. But, he got more than I did. As usual, I make all these treats but rarely get a chance to have any myself, since I wait until everyone else has had their fill, which usually means there are none leftover for me. That’s OK though. I certainly DON’T need the additional calories and I can enjoy them vicariously through everyone else. 🙂

Cinnamon Roll Cake

Preheat the oven to 350* F or 190* C.

Spay a 9×13 baking sheet with cooking spray.

The Cake

1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup or 2 sticks softened butter

2 eggs

1 cup milk

2 tsp vanilla

3 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Combine all the dry ingredients and set set aside.

Mix the sugar and butter together until creamy, then add the eggs and beat in between each addition. Add the vanilla. Add 1/2 the flour and milk and mix, then repeat until it is all mixed together.

Spread the batter out evenly in the prepared pan.

The Filling

4 TBSP melted butter

1 cup brown sugar

2-4 tsp cinnamon – of course I used the 4

4 TBSP flour

4 TBSP water

1 cup chopped nuts – I used pecans, but you can use whatever type of nuts you like.

Combine everything together until it forms into a thick paste. Then spread evenly on top of the cake batter.

Bake for about 40 minutes or until the cake is set and a toothpick that is inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Let the cake cool a little, but you want it to still be warm when you add the frosting on top.

The Frosting

2 cups powdered sugar

2 TBSP melted butter

1 tsp vanilla

3-4 TBSP milk

Mix everything together until it is well blended and all the sugar has dissolved. Spread the frosting evenly over the cake and slice it up to share.

You can serve it warm or at room temperature. Either way, it will disappear in no time. In this case, much to Larry’s dismay. He was so hoping there would be some leftover. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

BLT’s are popular sandwiches that are comprised of bacon, lettuce and tomato on toast that is spread with mayonnaise. This is an iconic American sandwich, though it gets its roots from the British tea sandwiches that were popular around the Victorian era. It is believed to be a variation of the club sandwich, which includes turkey as well. Believe it or not, BLT’s are the 2nd most favorite sandwich in America. Personally, I don’t get it. I am NOT a fan, though I love and eat all the ingredients all the time. A BLT sandwich to me is just a teaser, and still leaves me hungry. But I do like club sandwiches.

However, that being said, if you take all the ingredients of a BLT sandwich and toss them together with chunks of cooked chicken, well, that’s a completely different story. I just need more stuff in it.

I made the salads more like a Cobb salad than a BLT, but they came out great and we gobbled them up. We tend to eat a lot of salads for dinner when the mercury soars and the temperature rises, meaning I am always on the lookout for something new and fresh.

Chicken BLT Salads

12 oz Romaine lettuce, chopped rough

1 lb chicken breast, cooked and cubed

1 lb bacon, cooked and cut into chunks.

1 lb cherry tomatoes, cut in 1/2

1/4 cup green onions, sliced

3/4 cup mayonnaise, divided

3-4 TBSP red wine vinegar

salt & pepper to taste

4 large slices of thick bread, cut into cubes

hard boiled eggs, sliced, optional

shredded cheddar cheese, optional

avocado chucks, optional

Cook the bacon and cut into large pieces and set aside.

Cook the chicken in the bacon grease until done.

Spread some of the mayonnaise on both sides of the bread slices and either grill or bake until lightly browned and crispy. Then cut into chunks. I had a little leftover pesto sauce that I added to the mayonnaise to make pesto croutons.

Combine the rest of the mayonnaise, salt, pepper and red wine vinegar to make your dressing.

Toss everything together, right before you are ready to serve, and you now have a chicken BLT salad. You can toss everything else together, and hold the croutons and dressing out until just ready to serve too.

Larry and I both like hard boiled eggs on our salads, and he likes cheese and I like avocados, so those were all added at the end as toppers for the salads.

These are delicious, easy-peasy salads that are also quick to make and healthy to eat. So even though I will pass on a BLT sandwich, when it comes to a salad, I will always say yes to “tossing the BLT”. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

Because today is Sunday, and Sundays are supposed to be the day of rest, I am going to take it easy today and just let someone else do the talking for a change. I don’t feel like thinking today. So, I am going to give you more thoughts on food from a few famous chefs instead. 🙂

This is so true. Taste should always be the reason why foods is placed on the menu.

Again, very true. Jamie Oliver is so right on this.

Remember the K.I.S.S rule – keep it simple (stupid).

Yes indeed! This is what keeps cooking fun.

The more colors you eat, the healthier the dish. Plus we eat with our eyes long before we taste what’s on the plate.

Truer words were never spoken. How can things be bad when eating a cookie , or better yet, two?! 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

Meatloaf is a traditional all American meal that has been around for ages. Or is it? It’s roots really hail from Germany, Belgium and Scandinavia and is a cousin of the Dutch meatball. It became a popular American dish from the immigrants of these countries back in the 1800’s, though it is also believed to have been around In Medieval Europe since around the 5th century, or even longer, perhaps dating back to the Ancient Romans.

Meatloaf was originally a hodge podge of different meat scraps cooked together, like many other casseroles and shepherd’s pie. It was a way to stretch protein. It was a way to use up excess vegetables. It was a ragtag orchestra of ingredients on the verge of expiration. And it made music more uplifting than anyone could have anticipated.

Americans embraced meatloaf with more fondness and fervor than perhaps anyone else, to a point where it’s often mentioned alongside hot dogs and hamburgers as one of the country’s iconic dishes and essential comfort foods. Its narrative in this country includes an early chapter set in colonial times, when German immigrants made scrapple, an amalgam of ground pork and cornmeal that established the meat-starch union at the core of most meatloaves. The first recorded recipe for the modern American meatloaf is from the late 1870s, according to the food historian Andrew Smith, who told us that it instructed the cook to finely chop “whatever cold meat you have.” That meat, he said, would likely be beef, because New Englanders killed their cows before winter, when feeding them would prove more difficult, and tried to take full advantage of every last bit of the meat, looking for uses for the cheap cuts. Meatloaf was such a use. To the chopped beef they added pepper, salt, onion, slices of milk-soaked bread and egg. You’ll find these very ingredients and steps in many a meatloaf recipe today. But back then, Smith said, meatloaf wasn’t for dinner. It was for breakfast.

Meatloaf became a staple of many Americans’ diets during the Depression, because it helped home cooks extend precious protein farther than it might otherwise go, so that more people could be fed with less meat. By then meat grinders were common and meat grinding less difficult, two developments that helped to popularize meatloaf. In the 1940s meatloaf was an emblem of wartime ingenuity; this was the era of Penny Prudence’s “Vitality Loaf,” made with beef, pork and liver. The Culinary Arts Institute published a recipe for Savory Meat Loaf that called for beef, vegetable soup and cereal. And it has been a staple to the American diet ever since.

Traditionally Americans serve meatloaf topped with some kind of a tomato sauce, like ketch-up, though many different kinds of sauces are used to top it. I like all kinds of sauces on mine, at different times if course. These tomato based sauces are used to caramelize the mixture when it bakes and takes on a smooth texture. As with anything that has been around for a long period of time, there is always more than one way to make a meatloaf, and everyone thinks their own particular way is best.

Larry was hungry for meatloaf the other day, and I hadn’t made it in a while, so it was long over due. But again, I am always looking for more fun and adventurous ways of cooking things, especially when it comes to tweaking the classics. 🙂 I used to get in trouble for this all the time while in culinary school, but my favorite Chef Instructor, Chef Andre Aversein, would usually support me in the end with his comments of “Jeanne,(pronunced jan, the French way) dis is good”, in his very heavily French accent. I made the meatloaf bacon wrapped this time, with a brown sugar-Heinz 57 glaze. And as Chef Andre would say, “dis is good”.

Wrapping the meatloaf in bacon was about the only real difference to how I normally make my meatloaf. It is an addition I like, and I will continue to make, that is until I find something I like better. 🙂

Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf with A Brown Sugar Heinz 57 Sauce Glaze

Make the glaze first then set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350* F or 190* C.

Spray a 9×5 loaf pan well with cooking spray, then line it with aluminum foil.

The Glaze

You can use either ketchup or Heinz 57 sauce. I didn’t have enough ketchup opened, and I was too lazy to go downstairs and pick up another bottle, so I used Heinze 57 sauce, which I actually prefer over ketchup anyway.

1/2 cup Heinz 57 sauce

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

4 TBSP white balsamic or white vinegar

Mix together thoroughly and set aside.

The Meatloaf

1 lb ground beef

1 lb ground chorizo

1 onion, diced

1 TBSP garlic

2 large eggs

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 cup milk or yogurt

salt & pepper to taste

1 tsp Tabasco sauce or hot sauce, or to taste

1 cup either crushed saltines, breadcrumbs or uncooked oats

8-12 slices bacon

Cook the onions in butter and olive oil for about 5 minutes, or until the onions are softened. Add the cooked onions to the meat mixture. I have used both breadcrumbs and oats, and I like them both equally, so it comes down to your own preference.

Combine all the ingredients together and mix well with your hands.

Add it all to the prepared loaf pan and spread it out evenly. Add about 1/2 the sauce to the top of the meat loaf.

Layer the bacon on top of the meatloaf.

Place in the oven to bake for about 1 hour, or until the internal temperature reaches 160*F or 71*C. Then let it cool for about 20 minutes to set before slicing it. Top with more of the sauce before serving. Then serve with your favorite side dishes. I served it with traditional American side dishes, mashed potatoes and green beans warmed bread and with a red blend on the side.

Meatloaf is good comfort food that is good at all times. Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

We all know brownies are great on their own, but sometimes, they need a little something else to elevate their status a bit more. Chocolate is one of those delicious flavors that goes well with many other great flavors, like cherries, raspberries, peanut butter, to name a few. And oranges, especially with dark chocolate.

The combination of oranges and chocolate is one that has been around for centuries. It has been a popular combination since the 1400’s. In China, people would dip orange segments in chocolate and give them to their lovers. From there, chocolate oranges travelled across established trade routes heading west. By 1400 it found its way to Sicily, and spread from there. Today the combination of dark chocolate and oranges is popular all over the world.

The combination of dark chocolate and oranges is just magical. Chocolate and orange bring out the best in each other. The natural sweetness in the orange complements the bitterness of the chocolate, and the darker the chocolate, the better the flavor. These two flavors go so great together because of the contrast between the citrusy, tart fruit and the sweet, rich chocolate. It’s an obvious example that opposites attract. I paired these two great flavors together to make some chocolate and orange brownies.

Every week I offer a wide variety of goodies for my church coffee cart. I usually have 3 or 4 different kinds of baked goods, and often have fruit as well. Unfortunately, fruit on its own has a very limited shelf life, but that shelf life is extended by cooking with the fruit. I had some small Clementine or Mandarin oranges and I decided to mix them with my brownies, turning them from good comfort food to something WOW!

I started with my Ghirardelli Brownie Mix and just made a few simple adjustments to transform them. I was inspired by craving something sweet the other day, and while rummaging through my pantry, saw some chocolate orange candy (still unopened, by the way). And I already had the Clemintines, so, I though let’s just see what happens when I combine them together. I LIKE it!!!

Instead of using water in the mix, I substituted orange juice. I also added some orange extract to the mix as well. Then I just baked them as I would normally.

I also had some leftover frosting that I added some orange food coloring and orange extract to. I piped a little dollop onto each brownie and added an orange segment on top. Simple changes that had a dramatic effect. 🙂

Not only did this bring my brownies to a new level, but I got to use up some of my leftovers as well, which you all know makes “The Queen” (of leftovers) and I both very happy.

Have fun. Be creative and play with your food. 🙂 Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

Mel is still accepting photos and recipes for the Annual Great Blogger’s Bake-Off-2023.

It is so so so exciting to see the variety of baking creations pouring in. How in the world it is that everyone thinks up completely different bakes – I love it. That is the wonderful thing about creativity – there is nobody else quite like you.

Not long to go….

Send your photos and recipes to Mel at crushedcaramel@gmail.com

In just over a week from now, WordPress is going to be flooded with baking contributions and special features from the incredible creative talents who inspire and encourage us. So…if you know other WordPressers who are lovely and who can bake (or who can’t bake but are willing to give it a go!) we welcome you to invite them along!

Our sunflowers are in full in bloom and glory right now. We have many different varieties of sunflowers too. They are everywhere. Ours in our backyard are in proud display as well. But these giant sunflowers really caught my eye. They must be about 12 feet tall, and just look so happy. Sunflowers are always such happy flowers. 🙂

These flowers were looking at the world over the fence, just saying hi. These are not my sunflowers, just some I saw on my adventures.

Brighten your day and follow the sun like the sunflowers. Don’t worry, be happy. Have a great day and make everyday great. 🙂

We eat a lot of chicken. And I try my best to vary our chicken dishes as much as possible. Thankfully chicken is one of the most versatile proteins around, and lends itself beautifully to so many wonderful recipes. There is always a new recipe to try and the supply is endless. 🙂

This time I made chicken with creamy spinach and artichokes. I served it all over rice with a delicious crisp chardonnay to complete the meal.

You can cook your own chicken, or you can cheat like I did, and start with a cooked rotisserie chicken. I tend to cook my own more in the cooler months, and cheat more often in the hot summer months. I mean, how can you go wrong when Costco’s rotisserie chicken is so good and so reasonably priced, right?! You pay $4.99 for a whole cooked chicken, and for just the two of us, we can get quite a few meals from that. It’s much cheaper than buying and cooking a chicken, and just as good too.

Chicken with Spinach and Artichokes

If you are cooking your own chicken, season it with salt, pepper and thyme, and brown it in a very hot skillet with butter and olive oil. Or you can cheat and use cooked chicken, and just put it in the mixture later to heat up.

4 6-8 oz chicken breasts

2 tsp fresh thyme

salt & pepper to taste

1 shallot, minced

1 TBSP garlic

10 oz fresh baby spinach, stems removed

2 cans artichoke hearts, drained

1/4 cup Peruvian peppers, optional

1/3 cup dry white wine

1 TBSP lemon zest

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

butter and olive oil for cooking

If you are cooking your own chicken, brown it first. Once it is browned, removed it from the heat and set aside.

Get a skillet very hot, then add the butter and olive oil. Cook the shallots and garlic and cook for about 2-3 minutes.

Add the wine and cook for a couple of minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Add the spinach and seasonings. Then add the cream and mix thoroughly.

Add the artichoke hearts and Peruvian peppers and re-add the chicken. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for about 5-7 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated and everything is heated through.

Serve it over rice or pasta and enjoy. I like to spoon a bit of the sauce over the rice or pasta then add the chicken, and top it off with more sauce.

I know you will enjoy this quick and easy meal just as much as we did.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

I LOVE my wines, as you all know. I prefer dry white wines, especially in the summer, but I drink a lot of red wines too. I like many different kinds of wines, red and white, from all over the world. But good wines don’t have to be expensive wines. “Good” can mean many things, and can mean something different to everyone. But for me, a good wine is something I enjoy drinking, with or with out accompanying foods.

The other day we were at Costco, our favorite place to shop, and we saw this special case sale of this Portuguese wine. The whole case was only $57. That breaks down to under $5 per bottle. We were reluctant to try it, knowing absolutely nothing about this wine, but we did buy a case. I actually really like it a lot too. In fact, I liked it so much, we went back and bought another case the next day, just because we have no idea how long this sale and/or this wine will be available.

This is a dark, ruby red blend. It has a very fruity forward, with hints of cherries and plums, and has a velvety, smooth finish. I was very pleasantly surprised. It will go with most dishes that would go well with red wines too.

When we were in Spain last time, we had similar experiences as well. We could buy some delicious Spanish wines for 4-6 Euros per bottle. Of course we indulged in this guilty pleasure.

So, next time you are buying wines, and you see something different offered at a discounted price, take a chance. You just never know. You may really like it, and you may end up liking it a lot. And if not, it still won’t be wasted. You can use it for cooking wine too. I cook with wine all the time. 🙂

You can wine or you can whine. The choice is yours. I prefer to wine. Cheers!