Pesto Chicken Sandwich

It's a Tuesday night, and I wanted to make something relatively easy; thus I made some tasty pesto chicken sandwiches. Also, these are great for Cody to take for lunch. Not to mention, The Biggest Loser is on TV tonight, so I shouldn't be eating all the cookies and caramels. These will be a better choice! 

 What you'll need:

Your choice of bread: kaiser, chibatta, etc.

Pesto

Chicken breast (I use 3 so that I have leftovers*)

Goat cheese

Bell Peppers (red was on sale! Yay!)

Chicken seasoning(s) (I used Montreal seasoning and "Jamaican Me Crazy")

Add the chicken to the pan, and season with the chicken seasonings.  Our friend Higgins bought us a grill pan for our wedding, and we use it all the time!

Cook for about 4 to 5 minutes per side.

Once the second side has cooked, remove from the heat, and let the meat rest for a few minutes.

While the meat is resting, cut up the bell peppers.

Cut the chicken thinly.

Add a bit of oil to a pan, and heat the bell peppers for a few minutes. I usually only cook a few at a time in case I don't need them all. For leftovers, I like to leave the bell pepper raw.  

Toast the bun, add pesto to the top, and the chicken to the bottom.

Add bell peppers.

Add chunks of goat cheese. YUM!

Ready to eat! Cody should be home from the library soon, so I have time to make several more for lunches tomorrow!
  

* I use the leftover chicken for quesadillas, fajitas, or for the top of salads. Leftover bell pepper is great for when I'm feeling snacky.
 

Soft Caramel Candies!

What you will need:

2 sticks butter

2 1/4 cups light brown sugar

1 (14 oz) can of sweetened condensed milk

1 cup light corn syrup

1/8 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Add butter and brown sugar to a large pot.

Pour in the sweetened condensed milk. 

It helps to spray the measuring cup with cooking spray so that the corn syrup comes out easier.

Add corn syrup.

Turn on medium-high heat, add a candy thermometer, and begin stirring.

The mixture gets bubbly pretty quickly.

STOP cooking the moment the candy thermometer reads 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Any hotter will make brittle, and any less will still be runny when it cools. Remove the pot from the heat.

Off of the heat, add the vanilla extract.

Be careful because the caramel will bubbly up when you add the vanilla.

Butter a 9 x 13 inch pan.

Pour the caramel into the pan.

I like to cover mine with a rack and a towel as it cools so that it does not gather condensation. Let the caramel cool for at least an hour.

While the caramel is cooling, cut cellophane paper into 4 x 4 inch squares to wrap the individual pieces.  

After cooling, score the top of the caramel with a knife to create a template of 1 inch squares. Use kitchen scissors to cut out pieces and wrap them individually (use tape to secure). 

These caramels are tasty treats to give as gifts to friends. They also keep for quite some time! Hope you enjoy!

God bless you and your food!

Corned Beef!

The first time I had corned beef was at Cody's parents' house, and wowee! It was tasty! I thought it was difficult to make, but now I know that it is not too complex. Connie, Cody's mom, is an inspiration when it comes to cooking, and the corned beef definitely comes from her. Thanks Connie!

What you'll need:

Oil and water

Flat cut corned beef brisket 

3 garlic cloves

2 bay leaves

Carrots and potatoes

Topping: Horseradish and spicy brown mustard 

Cabbage (I did not have any this time)

Pressure cooker (optional...but you're going to want it)**see note below

Corned beef is pretty easy to find in a package that also comes with a seasoning pack. Flat cut is good (point cut would also work).

When you take it out of the package, pat it dry on both side.

Remove some of the fat. In this picture I have already removed A LOT of fat.

Get the oil hot (about 3 Tbls), and then brown both sides a bit. I always feel as though I could brown it more, but then I get scared. Anyway, I usually let it go about 4 minutes each side.

This side has been cooked for about 4 minutes. Once the other side is browned remove the pot from the heat.

Quarter the 3 garlic cloves and add to the pot with two bay leaves.

The seasoning package came with the corned beef, but it is really just pickling spices that you can buy in the spice aisle.

Add the spice packet or pickling spices.

Make sure the pot is off the heat, and add about 4 cups of water. Then, return to  high heat.

Add the top and lock.

For my pressure cooker, I have to wait for the yellow pressure  button to pop up to know that the pressure has built up.

Once it pops up, turn the heat down a bit, and start the cooking time. I let it cook for 1 hour.

When the cook time is over, I use the quick release to reduce the pressure faster. I recommend putting a towel over the steam release for the first minute or so. The first time I did not cover it, and it melted the paper on a calender that was hanging on the wall five feet away. haha!    

After a while the steam and pressure reduce. If you want it to go even faster, run it under water, and the temperature and pressure reduce very quickly.

Once pressure is reduced, remove the brisket  to a pan.

The leftover liquid is great for cooking the vegetables--so much flavor!

Cut up the potatoes into about 1 inch pieces.

Add the potatoes and carrots. Re-pressurize the cooker and cook the veggies for only 4 minutes. If you have cabbage you can now cook it by itself for 2 minutes. The pressure cooker drastically reduces cook time for everything! 

We like to put a topping of equal parts mustard and horseradish on the corned beef. If you told me two years ago that I would like horseradish, I would not believe you. Long story short, you should try it.

Mix it up!

Shmear it!

Put the pan under the broiler in the oven for 5-10 minutes depending on how crunchy you want it.

Take the veggies out, and start serving!

Yumkins! Try it; you'll like it!

**If you don't have a pressure cooker, the brisket still has directions on the package for cooking without one(boiling in a pot or cooking in the oven). The veggies can just be roasted in the oven (with olive oil, salt, and pepper) at 425 degrees for about 45 minutes.
***My pressure cooker is 6 quarts made by Fagor. I got it for Christmas, but it seems as though you can get one from $40-$80.

God bless you and your food!