Main Courses | Simple By Cindy

Chicken with Honey-Soy Sauce

Jun. 29
2016

I was looking for some fast and easy chicken recipes. After selecting a few, I chose all my favorite ingredients and created my own recipe.

The most important thing to know about cooking chicken is how to brown it. The crispy skin gives it a delicious added texture and yummy goodness that will ensure a flavorful outcome. You do not even need to add a sauce if you want a quick dinner. Just brown it up and serve; it will still be wonderful and tasty.

I found the sauce to be a perfect compliment to this dish. It was sweet and salty, and added a whole new layer of flavor.

It was on the dinner table in less than an hour and my family adored it!

It serves 6 people and I know they will love it!

Ingredients for Chicken with Honey-Soy Sauce

1/2 cup of butter or margarine (1 stick)
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp. soy sauce (you can also use low-sodium)
3 tbsp. honey
3 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
4 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. salt, divided
1 tbsp. pepper, divided
6 chicken thighs, skin-on

Drizzle chicken thighs with 1 tbsp. salt and 1/2 tbsp pepper.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

Place chicken thighs, skin down in skillet. Do not overcrowd skillet, or chicken thighs will not brown.

Set your timer for 7 minutes. Do not move chicken thighs.

Drizzle 1 tbsp. salt and 1/2 tbsp. pepper over the other side of chicken thighs.

After 7 minutes, turn over chicken thighs and cook for about 5 minutes.

If you have to do this in batches, lower your timing by 3 minutes each side. This is because the oil gets very hot and the chicken will cook faster after each batch.

Preheat oven to 350.

Take chicken out of skillet and set aside.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter or margarine, garlic, soy sauce, honey and parsley.

Cook until the butter melts, take off stove and set aside.

Place chicken in a baking dish, skin side down, and pour the butter mixture over it.

Place in the pre-heated oven. Set your timer for 10 minutes.

After the 10 minutes, turn the chicken over and set oven to 425.

Place the chicken into the oven for 15 more minutes, or until tops of chicken are crispy golden brown.

If they are not, turn your oven to “broil” and cook for 2 minutes, until tops are crispy golden brown.

Remember each person’s oven cooks at different times, so watch carefully.

Take chicken out of oven and place on serving dish. Serve hot.

It’s that simple!

Baked Dijon Salmon

Jun. 10
2016

This is a perfect recipe for salmon. It is light, healthy and most importantly, fast and easy.

When buying salmon, you may want to stay away from the farm-raised brand. They are fed with chemicals and antibiotics. Some farm-raised salmon are raised on farms that use more sustainable methods, but you can never be sure. Farmed salmon contains much more fat than wild salmon, and has far less healthy omega-3 fats. Buying wild salmon may be a little more expensive, but is a much more healthy choice.

This method of making salmon has become my favorite. It has a sweet and tangy glaze that is topped with a delicious combination of breadcrumbs and pecans. At first, I was reluctant to use the pecans, but I was happy I did. They provided this yummy crunch that made each bite scrumptious.

This is a wonderful way to prepare salmon. It comes out flavorful, juicy and flaky. I will definitely make this again and again. Make it for your family or company, they will love it!

This recipe is courtesy of Giada DeLaurentis and provides 4 luscious servings.

Ingredients for the Baked Dijon Salmon

1/4 cup butter, melted
3 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tbsp. honey
1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/4 cup chopped pecans
4 tsp. chopped fresh parsley
4 (4 ounce) fillets salmon
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 wedge of lemon, for garnish

Preheat oven to 400.

In a small bowl, stir the together butter, mustard and honey. Set aside.

In another bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs, pecans and parsley.

Brush each salmon fillet with the honey-mustard mixture.

Sprinkle the tops of the fillets with the bread-crumb mixture.

Bake salmon 12-15 minutes in the preheated oven, until it flakes easily with a fork.

Season with salt and pepper and desired, garnish with a wedge of lemon.

It’s that simple!

Green Beans with Cherry Tomatoes, Mozzarella and Basil

Jun. 3
2016

There many so many wonderful chefs that have easy recipes to explore. Among my favorites is Lydia Bastianich.

Her current and archival recipes are always reliable, and I will be posting a few of my favorites in the weeks to follow.

This recipe was created after a trip her daughter had made to Italy. Her daughter had remembered a recipe that had fresh green beans, cherry tomatoes and cubes of fresh mozzarella. Lydia took it one step further and added breadcrumbs and cheese.

Lydia calls this a “gratinate”.

What a wonderful and delicious outcome. Anything with the addition of cheese and breadcrumbs is bound to be successful.

I have met Lydia in person and she is a warm, endearing woman, who enjoys sharing her recipes and cookbooks with people and loves the feedback she gets from them.

Make this recipe. You won’t be sorry! It serves 6 people and is scrumptious!

Ingredients for the Green Bean Gratin

1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
3/4 pound cherry tomatoes (about 3 cups), preferably small cherry tomatoes, cut into halves
1/2 pound fresh mozzarella
4-6 fresh basil leaves, sliced into thin shreds (chiffonade)
1 cup grated Parmigiana-Reggiano
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs (I used 1 cup)
3 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 375.

Arrange a rack in the top half of oven.

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.

Trim both ends of the green beans.

Place the green beans into the boiling water. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until they are bright green and still firm enough to snap.

Drain and place them in a large bowl filled with ice water. Let them sit for a bit to stop cooking process.

Drain the beans again and sprinkle with salt.

Cut the mozzarella into 1/2 cubes.

Toss the grated cheese and breadcrumbs together in a small bowl.

Lightly grease the baking dish with a teaspoon or more of the butter.

Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the cheese-and-bread-crumb mix on the bottom of the baking dish.

green beans breadcrumbs on bottom of dish

Mix together the green beans, tomatoes, cubes of mozzarella and basil slices.

Drizzle all over with olive oil and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt and toss together so green bean mixture is well coated.

Place into the baking dish, scraping up all the crumbs.

Sprinkle over with remaining breadcrumbs, cut the rest of the butter into small pieces, and scatter them all over the top.

Place the dish in the oven.

Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate dish to the front of the oven and bake another 10 minutes.

Check to see if the top is browning and bake for a few minutes more, until the top is dark golden and crusted.

If the crumbs still look pale after 20 minutes, raise the temperature to 400 or 425 and bake until you can see it is done.

Serve the gratinate in the baking dish.

It’s that simple!

Lemon Red Snapper with Herbed Butter

May. 27
2016

If you are looking for a fantastic, easy main dish, look no further!

This red snapper recipe was amazing. Red snapper is a light, mild white fish that is delicate and moist. It can be broiled, baked or grilled and can be combined with many different types of seasonings. This recipe lets you make your own choice.

The ingredients are so simple, yet the finished dish comes out beautifully. The paprika, herbed butter and fresh lemon combine to complete the red snapper. The simplicity of this dish makes it a “must try”.

Make this red snapper dish. It will make you look like a real “chef”. Your family will love it and so will you because it is a scrumptious, healthy choice for dinner.

This recipe is courtesy of Myrecipes.com. It will serve 4 very happy people.

Ingredients for Red Snapper

Juice of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lemon
Cooking spray
4 (6ounce) red snapper or other firm white fish fillets
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika
2 tbsp. butter, softened
1 1/2 tbsp. chopped fresh herbs (such as rosemary, thyme basil, oregano or parsley (I used thyme, oregano and parsley)
Fresh herb sprigs (optional)

Preheat oven to 425.

Cut lemon into 8 slices.

Coat baking dish with cooking spray.

Place lemon slices in pan in a single layer.

Grate remaining lemon to get 1 tbsp. lemon zest. Set aside.

Place fillet on top of lemon slices.

Combine salt, paprika and pepper.

Sprinkle evenly over fish.

Bake for 13 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

While fish bakes, combine reserved lemon zest, butter and herbs in a small bowl.

When fish is finished, top each fillet with herbed butter. Garnish with fresh herb sprigs.

It’s that simple!

Pasta, Pesto and Peas

May. 25
2016

I have been making a lot of pasta dishes lately. I am not sure why, but who doesn’t love a good pasta dish?

When I came across this pasta dish courtesy of Ina Garten (who is one of my favorite go-to chefs), I knew I had to try it. Don’t let all the ingredients intimidate you. Once you prep each item, it will go very fast. The difficulty level of this recipe is “easy”. Trust me.

Setting up each ingredient first is called a “mise en place”. Garlic and onions are chopped and liquids and spices are measured before you start making the dish. Taking the time to do this will enable you to be more efficient and end up saving you time in the long run. You can concentrate on the cooking process and enjoy it more with much less worry.

You can always prepare the pesto several days before and store it in the refrigerator or freezer (the instructions to do this are included below). This will cut down on your prep time as well.

Now I’ll return to this wonderful recipe. The pasta, spinach and pea combination is delightful. The nuts add a pleasing texture. The creamy pesto sauce just perfects the recipe and is heavenly. I love the addition of the mayonnaise and lemon juice. Ina just gets it right every time.

Just a note: I mixed the pesto with the pasta a little at a time. There is a lot of pesto so be cautious when adding it in. You can always use the rest of this delicious sauce on another pasta dish.

This Pasta, Pesto and Peas serves 12 and each one of your family or guests will love it!

Ingredients for the Pasta

3/4 pound fusilli pasta ( 1 1/2 cups)
3/4 pound bowtie pasta (1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup good olive oil
1 1/2 cups pesto (recipe below)
1 (10- ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
3 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/4 cups mayonnaise
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 1/2 cups frozen peas, defrosted
1/3 cup pignoli (pine nuts)
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
3/4 tsp. black pepper

For the pesto:

1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup pignoli (pine nuts)
3 tbsp. chopped garlic ( about 9 cloves)
5 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 1/2 cups good olive oil
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Cook the fusilli and bow tie pastas separately in a large pot of boiling salted water for 10 to 12 minutes until the pasta is al dente. Them mix together.

Drain and toss into a bowl with the olive oil. Cool to room temperature.

In a bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, puree the pesto, spinach and lemon juice.

Add the mayonnaise and puree.

Add the pesto mixture to the cooled pasta and then add the Parmesan, peas, pignoli, salt and pepper. Be sure to add the pesto a little at a time, until you get the desired amount. Do not overdress the pasta.

If you have any pesto left, follow the intructions below to store it.

Mix well, season, taste and serve at room temperature.

For the pesto:

Place the walnuts, pignoli and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade.

Process for 15 seconds.

Add the basil leaves, salt and pepper.

With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until the pesto is thoroughly pureed.

Add the Parmesan and puree for 1 minute.

Use right away or store the pesto in the refrigerator or freezer with a thin film of oil on the top.

Note: Air is the enemy of pesto. For freezing, pack in containers with a film of olive oil or plastic wrap directly on top with the air pressed out.

It’s that simple!