Grilled Asparagus and Shiitake Tacos

Ingredients:
3 TBS Canola Oil
4 Garlic Cloves, crushed with press
1 tsp ground chipotle chile
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded
1 bunch green onions, trimmed
8 corn tortillas, warmed
1 cup homemade guacamole
Lime wedges
Cilantro sprigs
Hot sauce, for serving

Directions:
Heat grill on medium. In a large baking dish, combine oil, garlic, chipotle, and salt. Add asparagus, shiitakes, and green onions; toss to coat. Grill asparagus until tender and lightly charred, turning occasionally; 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer vegetables to cutting board. Cut asparagus and green onions into 2" lengths and slice shiitakes. Serve with corn tortillas, guacamole, lime wedges, cilantro, and hot sauce.

Notes: We just cook the asparagus and shiitake mushrooms in butter and salt, and we cut before we cook. The original recipe is good, but this way is easier, and tastes so much better! We heat up the tortillas on a cast iron skillet with butter. The green onions we just chop up and serve raw. The homemade guacamole we just use avocados mixed with Herdes salsa, lime, and salt. Also, we smoke chicken tenderloins and chop them up before serving.

Source: Good Housekeeping

Suprêmes de Volaille aux Champignons

We made this Julia Child recipe last night. Our thermometer was broken so it gave us the wrong reading on our chicken, and it was way overcooked. We thought smoking the chicken would taste delicious with the flavors of the sauce. Also the sauce was so amazing, we thought it should be doubled (or even tripled, who knows! It was amazing). So here is our adjusted version.

Ingredients:

Chicken tenderloins

Salt

Pepper

10 TBS butter

2 TBS minced shallots

1/2 lb sliced mushrooms

1/4 tsp salt

Fresh, minced parsley 

Lemon Juice (maybe)

For the sauce:

1 cup pinot noir

1 cup beef stock

2 cups whipping cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400º. Season chicken with salt and pepper and put on the smoker. Heat the butter in an oven proof pan until it is foaming. Don't brown. Stir in the shallots and sauté, without browning. Then stir in the mushrooms and sauté lightly for a minute or two, without browning. Cover and place in oven for 15 minutes. (I'm sure you could skip this, this is where the chicken was cooked, but I am keeping this step in because it made the mushrooms this amazing texture).

Remove pot/pan and add the stock and wine. Boil down quickly over high heat until liquid is syrupy. Stir in the cream and boil down again over high heat until cream has thickened slightly. Off heat, taste the sauce and add salt, pepper, and lemon drops to taste. Pour the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with parsley and serve. Serve with steamed green beans and possibly rice. (Although we were glad we didn't make rice as planned because the sauce was that amazing)

Source: Julia Child

Aloha Mango Chicken Salad with Creamy Mango Passion Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

Salad:

1 head romain lettuce
1 mango, diced
1/3 cup gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
1 red pepper, diced
1/4 red onion, diced
4 chicken breasts, cooked, diced
1 cup tortilla strips

Creamy Mango-Passion Vinaigrette:

2 TBS Dijon mustard
1/2 mango, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 lime, juice only
2 TBS rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 garlic clove

1 tsp chili paste or chili garlic sauce

3 tsp honey

1/4 cup olive oil

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions: For the salad, combine the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. For the dressing, combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Toss dressing with salad. Top with tortillas. Serve immediately. 

Chicago's Best Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:
oil
chicken, chopped
onion, diced
mushrooms, sliced or chopped
carrots
celery
white wine
heavy cream
peas
puff pastry



Directions: Heat oil on pan and add chicken, onions, and mushrooms. Then add carrots and celery. Deglaze with white wine. Chicken isn't cooked through yet. Once chicken is cooked, add heavy cream. Add peas. Let simmer down. Pour in oven safe bowl and top it with puff pastry and cook in oven.

Source: Johnny O'Hagan's

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast cooked and shredded
2 carrots, sliced
3 ribs celery, sliced
1 cup frozen peas
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp celery seed
Thyme
1/3 cup butter
1 3/4 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup flour
2/3 cup milk
2 -9 inch unbaked pie crusts

Directions:  Heat oven to 425º. Melt butter in a large saucepan and sauté celery, carrots, and onions. When veggies are close to being soft add in frozen peas and cook until veggies are soft and onion is translucent. Add flour to coat vegetables. Add broth and milk a little at a time. Add salt, pepper, celery seed, and thyme. Stir and simmer over low heat until thickened.

In a deep dish pie pan, lay out one pie crust and add chicken. Pour vegetable mixture over the chicken. Place second pie crust over the pie and seal. Cut slits in the crust to vent. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden.

Source: Stephanie Westwood