A NEW Gooseberry Patch Cookbook Giveaway!

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED!!!!!

Starting off the new year with a new Gooseberry Patch giveaway!!

This time I am giving away a copy of  Fresh from the Farmstand which is chock full of recipes that use all those favorite veggies and fruits from your local farmstand.  There are 6 chapters, from breakfast to dessert and so many delicious recipes to try.

This week I’ll be making and posting a few recipes from this cookbook!

Last night I made Quick 40-Clove Chicken submitted by Sharon Velenosi of Stanton, CA.  I halved the recipe since I was cooking for just Mr. Meat Eater and myself but I used about 30 cloves of garlic.  I did have to cook mine much longer than the recipe stated and I stuck it under the broiler for a couple of minutes to brown it up.  I squished the garlic on top of the chicken and it was delicious!

Quick 40-Clove Chicken

8 boneless chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
40 cloves of peeled garlic
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Season chicken with salt and pepper and drizzle with oil. Place in a baking dish in a single layer and scatter garlic cloves over the chicken.

Cover and bake at 400º for 20 minutes; sprinkle with parsley. Continue baking, uncovered, for 10 more minutes or until juices run clear. I ended up baking mine close to an hour but they were thick breasts; thinner ones would cook much quicker.

Makes 8 servings.

VIEW PRINTABLE RECIPE HERE!

Now for the giveaway ~ to be entered, just reply ON THIS POST ONLY that you would like to be entered.  The contest will run until Monday, January 16 at noon.   That’s it!  Easy peasey.   If you have any questions, just email me at a_recipe_a_day at yahoo dot com.

Happy Cooking!

Breaded Pork Chops, Italian Style

Rainy and dreary here today which always makes me think of food.  I have to fast for a blood test this morning so it’s a doubly difficult morning.

I’ll be the first to admit that I am not the biggest fan of pork ~ except for bacon, of course ~ but I really like this recipe.  The chops turn out very tender and really go with any side.  Mr. Meat Eater ate 3 of them I think so that should tell you something.

It’s a very easy recipe but it does use an oven-proof skillet so watch out for that.

Breaded Pork Chops, Italian Style

3 eggs, lightly beaten
3 tbsps milk
1 1/2 cup Italian-style bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsps dried parsley
2 tbsps olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
4 bone-in, center-cut pork chops

Preheat oven to 325º.

Combine the beaten eggs and milk in a small bowl. Mix the bread crumbs, Parmesan and parsley on a plate.

In an oven-proof skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Once heated, stir in the chopped garlic and saute for a minute or two and then remove from the skillet leaving the olive oil. You can toss the garlic or save for another use if desired.

Dip each pork chop into the wet mixture then into the dry mixture, coating evenly. Place coated chops in the pan and brown for about 5 minutes on each side.

Place the skillet with the chops in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.

Makes 4 servings.

Happy Cooking!

Oven Baked Bourbon Chicken

We made it back in one piece!  We had a great vacation ~ it was great seeing our son and our daughter ran her first half marathon and did a great job!  We are glad to be home and trying to get back in our routines.  The biggest lesson we learned is that Mr. Meat Eater and I are too old to make a 12 hour drive in one day anymore 😦  I will probably not be posting every day this week but will be soon.

I love bourbon chicken but for some reason haven’t made it in a long time.    I saw a recipe recently calling itself Bourbon Chicken but it doesn’t even have bourbon in it.  I would have thought that was a prerequisite.

This recipe is very easy but does need time to marinate.  Make sure you use the chicken thighs as I think they taste best in this recipe. as the white meat would dry out too much.  I have made this using Splenda brown sugar instead of regular and I have made about half the marinade but if you do make half the marinade, make sure to use the full 2 tbsps. of bourbon.  I usually serve with rice and stir fry vegetables.

Oven Baked Bourbon Chicken

3 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat and cut into bite-size pieces
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 lb dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons bourbon

Make marinade and add chicken. Pour into a large ziplock bag, and refrigerate several hours or overnight, turning occasionally.

Pour contents into a baking dish, cover, and bake at 350º for 45 to 60 minutes.

Serve over rice if desired.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Happy Cooking!

Easy Black Beans

We really like black beans and this recipe is great with any Mexican or Tex-Mex meal.  They are super easy to make.  As I posted yesterday, I really hate cilantro so I left it out of this recipe, too.  Add more or less cayenne depending on how much heat you want.

Easy Black Beans

1 (16 ounce) can black beans
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
salt to taste

In a small saucepan, combine beans, onion, and garlic, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and add the cilantro, cayenne, and salt. Simmer for 5 minutes, and serve. This recipe can easily be doubled if desired.

Makes 2-4 servings

Happy Cooking!

Garlic Chicken

I think I’ve tried just about EVERY garlic chicken recipe there is and I like them all.  This one is super easy and fast so it’s great for a weeknight meal or when you’re busy.  I used seasoned panko for the crumbs and this is one of the few recipes that I think breadcrumbs would have been a better choice. The real dark brown spots in the picture are just the extra garlic that I threw on top of the chicken.

Garlic Chicken

1 1/2 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup butter
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups seasoned bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 375º.

Melt butter with garlic. Dip chicken pieces in this mixture and then in the bread crumbs.

Place in a greased 9×13 baking dish. If there is any butter left over, pour over chicken.

Bake for 45 or until chicken is completely cooked and no longer pink.

Happy Cooking!