Creamy Lemony Chicken Sausage Orzo

Creamy Lemony Chicken Sausage Orzo

This one-pot meal is a great addition to any recipe book. This recipe might be your go-to on nights when your fridge is nearly empty or you just don't have the energy to prepare a fancy dinner. Here, orzo gets toasted in olive oil that’s infused with the flavors of lemon, garlic, and butter before cooking in a flavorful chicken broth amped up with tomatoes and dried oregano. When they simmer, the starch they produce gives the sauce a creamy texture that is reminiscent of risotto. It's a quick and easy dinner to prepare because everything is prepared in a single pot in less than an hour. Topped with fresh Parmesan and freshly ground black pepper.

“Eating is so intimate. It’s very sensual. When you invite someone to sit at your table and you want to cook for them, you’re inviting a person into your life.” — Maya Angelou

Tender, Juicy and Delicious Meatballs

It is an undeniable fact that meatballs are a gift. The height of perfection when it comes to products containing ground meat.

After seasoning, the meatballs are formed, pan-fried, and cooked in gravy. Accompanied by some roasted carrots and potatoes. You may enjoy this with some steam rice as well.

"For me, the cooking life has been a long love affair, with moments both sublime and ridiculous. But like a love affair, looking back you remember the happy times best." - Anthony Bourdain

Mexican Chicken Stew

Mexican Chicken Stew

I credit Dave Lieberman of the Food Network with inspiring me to make this version of Mexican chicken stew. This tasty, filling, and quick Mexican chicken stew is so easy to prepare. It's a favorite for busy evenings and tastes great. I like to play around with different recipes that use rotisserie chicken, but you can cook and shred your own chicken if you'd rather. I prefer chunks over shredded. The tender, shredded rotisserie chicken adds to the stew's deep, flavorful flavors.

FYI. You will notice that i made some minor changes like I prefer chunks of meat over shredded.

"Hard work should be rewarded by good food." - Ken Follett

Beef Rendang

A delectable dish from the Minangkabau ethnic group in Indonesia, beef rendang is indigenous to the country. The dish was introduced to Malaysia during the Melaka Sultanate era, when Minangkabau settlers from Sumatra moved to the southern region of the Malay peninsula.

Rendang is a curry made using slow-simmered beef that lets the flavors seep into the flesh. A recipe that takes hours to prepare on the burner. Depending on the desired result, the dish must be cooked in coconut milk with all of the spices for a specified length of time. The original recipe needs to be cooked for two to three hours minimum until dry. To ensure you have leftovers, I suggest that you make a big portion. Over the next day, the flavors and aroma intensify. Perfect with a bowl of steam rice and your veggies of choice.

FYI: Rendang, creating it from scratch may seem difficult or time-consuming to someone who works. You can take a shortcut by using Rendang paste. This will shorten the preparation period.

"Cooking is all about people. Food is maybe the only universal thing that really has the power to bring everyone together." — Guy Fieri

A Happy New Year To All

There is a lot of pressure to have the greatest year ever. Don't get me wrong. Though it certainly didn't go as well as I had hoped, it's still great in many respects. Even when my hopes for the outcome were not realized. Establishing intentions and expectations is beneficial, in my opinion, as they can be our compass. Nevertheless, clinging to them too firmly can prevent us from really experiencing life as it is. It's our unpredictable nature that sustains us when reality falls short of our expectations, which happens most of the time. I discovered that when we fully embrace the unexpected, we may experience the most treasured experiences and insightful teachings.

Here’s to an even brighter 2024 to all of us!

“Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans.” ― Allen Saunders

"My mama always said, Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." -Forrest Gump

Beef and Broccoli

Broccoli and beef go well together, and this quick and simple stir-fry makes the most of it. There are several of recipes for broccoli beef, but my favorite is the one that calls for sesame oil. This is a basic stir-fried dish that is enhanced by the sweet taste of the nutty sesame oil. You can customize this stir-fry dish to use any protein or vegetables you have in your kitchen, and it still gives a fantastic mix of flavors and textures. This meal offers a flavor of traditional Chinese takeout. One of my mother's favorites.

“I am not a glutton - I am an explorer of food” ― Erma Bombeck