Things to do with basil...

It has been a weird year for growing.  My vegetable garden is completely wacko.  The tomato plants are gargantuan, yet the tomatoes are not ripening very quickly.  The Sweet 100s are awesome, the Juliets are doing well, but the larger tomatoes - the Rutgers, Better Boys, and Cherokee Purples are slow going.  The peppers are doing well, the summer squash is delicious, but no zucchini.  Someone at my yoga class who also has a veggie garden is having the same trouble.  This makes me feel better, as I am feeling a bit like a failure in the veggie growing arena this season.  She also suggested that I throw some bee balm around the garden to pollinate my zucchini. I nodded.  Bee balm, yes.  Later, I thought where do I get that?  Does anyone know?  I will have to ask her next time I see her at class.  When she said it, I was still sort of in the yoga-relaxed zone and it did not occur to me that although I have heard of bee balm before, I have absolutely no idea what form it comes in and where to obtain said product.  Argh!

The basil, on the other hand, is prolific as heck.  It must like this weather we have had. (Africa hot)  I am planning on making and freezing pesto, of course, but I also want to use this basil when it is oh-so-fresh-and-deliciously-basily-good.

Here are two recipes I have tried using fresh basil that are AH-MAH-ZING!

First, a recipe that my mom turned me on to that completely deserves its name:

The Best Steak Marinade in Existence
(yes, that is really the name of the recipe.  and it is.)  I tried another braggishly-titled recipe this summer called The Best Chicken in the World, and it was NOT.  It wasn't even so-so.  I threw the recipe away.  Seriously.  But I promise this one lives up to its name.

First, start with some soy sauce, some olive oil, some lemon juice, some Worcestershire sauce. 

Then add some garlic powder, white pepper, hot pepper sauce, chopped parsley, chopped garlic, and chopped basil.

The recipe calls for dried parsley, dried basil, and dried minced garlic, and I have made it that way.  (Probs not the dried garlic, as I always have fresh, but the dried herbs, yes.)  However, in season, fresh is always best.

Whisk it up and marinate your steak for up to 8 hours.

The Darling Hub has been into charcoal grilling, an endeavor I completely endorse.  This spring we invested in this chimney charcoal starter thing (a small investment - I think it cost less than $20, and it has completely revolutionalized our charcoal grilling).  This contraption is awesome.  The coals are ready so quickly, and it is foolproof.  Charcoal makes grilled food taste so much better!

Here is the link to the orignal recipe from allrecipes.com
The Best Steak Marinade in Existence

Next, I tried a chicken salad with basil.  It was quite good, but a little too garlicky.  I did not take any photos... it has been that kind of a summer. Sigh.

A few days ago, I tried another basil recipe.  Winner-winner-chicken-dinner!  It is called Thai Chicken with Basil Stir Fry and it is dee-lish (if you are into Thai food, which we are).

Start by heating water to make some yummy jasmine rice.

Then, stir fry up some onions, ginger, and garlic.  Add some cut up chicken breasts.

This smells super good, btw.  The garlic and ginger.  Swoon.

Then mix up some sauce with coconut milk, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, fish sauce, and red pepper flakes.  One word of advice:  the recipe calls for 3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes.  I would rate this as pretty spicy.  It made my lips burn a little.  It was a tad hot for me, quite hot for Tiny Dancer, and perfect for the Darling Husband.  I think I would notch it back to 1/2 teaspoon for general consumption and 1/4 teaspoon if you want mild.

Pour the sauce over the chicken, etc. in the pan and simmer.  (Yeah, I forgot to take a picture of this part.)

Then, add some sliced shitake mushrooms.

Shitake mushrooms are fun for two reasons.  One, they are fun to slice.  Two, you can yell "Oh Shitake!" while you are cooking with them.

Last, throw in 1 and 1/2 cups of sliced fresh basil.  (The recipe also calls for sliced green onions, but the Darling Hub no like so I left out.  It was still delicious!)

That's alotta basil, and I love it!  Stir it up a bit until the mushrooms and basil are wilted and warm and then serve over rice.

Okay - I have no idea why this picture is coming up sideways on my blog.  I saved it rightwise in my folder.  Weird.  But you get the idea.  It was SOOOOO good!  I can't wait to make it again. 

Here is the link to the recipe, also from allrecipes.com 
Thai Chicken with Basil Stir Fry

YUMMA!  (This is the new saying in my family.  It comes from a hilarious YouTube video. If you would like to laugh your head off at something totally G-rated that you can show your kids, check this out.  It will make anyone laugh, from two to seventy-two.  I know, because we have tested it.)

Happy eating and laughing today!

Yummy, yummy, yummy

I found this recipe on a really cool website.  It is called They Draw & Cook, and it is as fun to look at as it is to cook from.  This recipe is called Chicken with 30 Cloves of Garlic.  It is made with chicken thighs and garlic, two of my personal faves, so I had to try it.  It was so easy, and so delicious!  We had kind of a cool, rainy weekend and so it seemed perfect. It smelled fabulous while it was cooking. 

Start by peeling 30 cloves of garlic.  Make sure your significant other also eats this dish, and you will have NO problems!

Scatter half of the garlic cloves in a 9 x 13 pan.  Then top with 8 - 10 skinless chicken thighs.  Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 3 tablespoons of white wine, some fresh chopped parsley, some dried basil and oregano, and the rest of the peeled garlic.

Then, cover tightly with foil and bake for three hours at 250 degrees.  DO NOT PEEK!  I promise it will be done.

We were so hungry when it came out of the oven, I forgot to take a picture of it.  The chicken is moist and delicious and then we spread the garlic cloves on crusty french bread.  OMG.  Yum!

I used the left over chicken to make Chicken a la King, which I poured over pastry shells.  I smashed up some of the garlic and added it to the sauce with the mushrooms and red peppers.  So good!  This chicken would also be perfect in a Chicken Potpie.  I will be cooking chicken thighs like this many times this winter and then shredding the leftover chicken to use in all of those yummy comforting chicken dishes we love in the cold weather months.

Angel Chicken

The blizzard had been predicted for days, so I had gone to the grocery store on Sunday and stocked up on ingredients for some new recipes I wanted to try.  I bought the February 2011 issue of Midwest Living because the cover advertised it as a "Top Ten Issue" and I am a sucker for Top Ten lists.  It also featured "Top slow-cooker recipes" and I have been craving anything made in a slow cooker lately.  It is definitely the weather. We have had a very cold and snowy winter here, and the smell of something cooking in the slow cooker on a cold, snowy day just makes me feel happy.  I tried the recipe for Pulled Pork Sandwiches on Sunday, and I liked it pretty well.  The meat was really tender, but I wasn't crazy about the sauce.  Too much root beer taste.  I am going to do some tweaking on it, and I will post my recipe it if I think it is improved.  Yesterday, during the blizzard day grading marathon I decided to try the recipe for Angel Chicken.  I started around noon, and it took me about 30 minutes to get it all ready and in the pot.

The recipe calls for chicken breasts, button mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, dry Italian dressing mix, Golden Mushroom soup, Philly cream cheese with onions and chives, some dry white wine, and butter, salt, and pepper.  First, salt and pepper the chicken breasts and brown them in a pan with a little olive oil.

While the chicken is browning, put the sliced shiitake mushrooms in the slow cooker.  Clean the button mushrooms and quarter them.  Place them in the slow cooker too.

I used four large chicken breasts.  One change I made to the recipe is I cut the browned chicken breasts into chunks (about four pieces per breast).  I thought it would be easier to serve this way, and there is no way the younger kids would eat a whole large chicken breast.  I think this was a good move.  Place the chicken on top of the mushrooms in the slow cooker. (I forgot to take a picture of this step... I am no Pioneer Woman!)  Then, make the sauce by melting some butter, adding a package of Italian Dressing mix (I used Good Seasons), the Golden Mushroom soup, cream cheese, and white wine.  Melt and stir everything together and then pour over the mushrooms and chicken in the slow cooker.

The recipe says to cook on low for 4 to 5 hours.  About halfway through, I decided to turn it up to high to simmer the chicken a bit more (it was not cooked all the way through, just browned) and then after about an hour, I turned it back down to low.  I don't know if this was necessary or not, but the chicken and sauce turned out perfectly.  Just before dinner I made a green salad, heated up some crusty bread, and cooked some angel hair pasta.  I served the chicken mixture over the pasta, and it was delicious.  (Sorry I don't have a picture - by 6:30 when we eat dinner it is so dark around here that pictures don't turn out so well...)  Everyone loved it!  Yum, yum, happy, happy.