Chicken with Tomato, Mushroom, Onion & Olives

This is the easiest, yummiest and healthiest chicken ever. It takes like 5 minutes to prepare, and then you just stick it in the oven. When you pull it out 30 minutes later, you have perfectly moist and seasoned chicken with fresh vegetables.

Ingredients:
-Boneless, skinless chicken breast (one for each person you are trying to feed), you will use one breast per package
-1/2 tomato per package, sliced into rounds
-1/4 onion per package, slicedinto rings
-2 mushrooms per package, sliced
-a few olives per package, diced
-1 clove garlic per package, chopped
-olive oil, a few tablespoons per package
-salt
-pepper
-oregano

Directions:
1. Lay two large sheets of foil down, one on top of the other. Spread a few tablespoons of oil down in the middle.
2. Coat chicken breast with salt, pepper and oregano.
3. Layer (in this order): tomatoes, chicken, onions, mushrooms, olives, garlic. Drizzle a little more olive oil over the top.
4.Bring the foil together and roll it down and in to form a package around your chicken.
5. Bake at 425 for 30 minutes.

Warm Spinach Salad with Toasted Pecans

I know that it's been forever since I posted anything. Sue me, I'm a college student. However, I am making up for it by giving you the recipe for the yummiest spinach salad that ever existed. Once again, The Asian Rose restaurant inspired me. I had a spinach salad there last week that was wonderful, so I had to try my own. Here it is.

Ingredients:
-a few cups of loose, fresh, spinach leaves
-several cherry tomatoes
-1/2 cup bell pepper
-1/2 red onion
-2 cloves garlic
-1/4 cup pecans
-soy sauce
-sesame oil
-balsamic vinegar
-sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Chop pecans and veggies
3. Toast pecans in a little olive oil for 10-15 minutes
4. Stir veggies (except spinach) together with olive oil in skillet til softened
5. Stir liquids and sugar together, to taste. Use less vinegar than soy sauce.
6. Add spinach, a little soy mixture, and pecans to skillet.
7. Stir, serve and eat!

Hiatus

Sorry about the lack of warning.  This was a unplanned hiatus.  Seriously, I meant to blog while I was here at my moms' house, but I've faced the facts: it just isn't going to happen.  The kitchen here is insane.  No offense mom, if you're reading this, but it drives me a little crazy to cook here.  My kitchen isn't much bigger, but it has all my stuff in it.  What can I say, I'm picky.  In addition, my mind has been occupied with other things, such as hanging out with the friends and family and reading every Haruki Murakami book ever written.  I will blog again soon, I promise.  I don't know if anyone has really missed my blog, but truthfully I have missed writing it.  I'll be back to blogging in a week or so when I get back home.

(Not So) Secret Pomegranate Carnitas

This is the way I ate my carnitas: on a tortilla smothered in goat cheese.

 The truth is, I'd rather share the recipe than hoard it.  That's why I'm calling them (Not So) Secret Carnitas, rather than my initial inclination to call them Secret Carnitas.  The secret ingredients are mentioned in the directions, but not on the ingredients list.  I was inspired to create this recipe after working with the Chevy's Cookbook recipe several times.  They use Pepsi, I'm using sprite for a lighter and more fruity flavor.  They use OJ, and I am using several different juices.  The method is the same.  Anyway, enough with the explanations, here's the goods:

Ingredients:

-1 lb pork butt or shoulder

-2 cloves garlic, chopped

-2 or 3 teaspoons paprika

-a pinch of cayenne

-salt & pepper

-1L of Sprite or maybe more, get a 2L bottle

-1/2 cup orange juice

-3 squirts lemon juice

-2 or 3 pomegranates

-3 tablespoons of shortening

Directions:

1. Cut the pork into cubes.  Remove the excess fat.

2. Combine paprika, cayenne, garlic, salt and pepper in a large bowl.  Toss the pork cubes in this mixture.

3. Pour in about 2 cups of sprite, the OJ, and the LJ.  Squeeze the juice of two pomegranates into the bowl.  Strain the juice through your (clean) hands so the skin doesn't get in there.  Let the seeds in though.  Stir.  Cover the bowl and marinate it in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.

4.  When you are ready, take the pork out of the fridge.  Heat the shortening in a large pot until it starts smoking.  Then (carefully) put the pork into the shortening, reserving the marinade.

5. Brown the pork in the shortening for fifteen minutes.

6. Pour the reserved marinade into the pot.  Stir and then simmer for 2 hours.  (I know, it takes a long time, but it's worth it.)  

7. Cover with additional sprite, and add pomegranate juice as needed to cover.  *Psst: you can also add little bit of honey or sugar once everything gets cookin'!

8.When the pork is ready it will be dark and very moist.  It should sort of fall apart when you get ahold of it.  

9.To serve, warm a tortilla in a tiny bit of oil and heap a couple of pork pieces on top.  I spread *goat cheese on my yellow corn tortilla and layered the carnitas on top of that. The perfect taco?  Could be.  You could add whatever condiments you want.  Oh yeah.