Southwestern Chicken

My boyfriend was craving southwest chicken. He is a salsa fan. He often picks up the organic salsa in the produce section when he is craving salsa and eats it with his eats his eggs. So he told me that he wanted a southwestern chicken dish. I remembered in my cookbooks that I have a Southwestern Cookbook  from Favorite Recipes published in 1989. So I decided to make....

Keam's Canyon Chicken
Makes 4 servings
4 cups tortilla chips, processed into rough coarse crumbs with a food processor or crushed in a plastic bag with a rolling pin
1 chicken, cut up into pieces (recipe calls for 3 to 3 1/2 lbs but can be as big as 4 1/2 lbs), or various chicken pieces you like
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 package (1 1/4 ounces) taco seasoning mix
2 to 3 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
1/2 cup sour cream or more
1 medium avocado if desired
1 lemon, cut into wedges
Salsa
Preheat your oven to 350 F. Place tortilla chips on a large plate. Mix butter and taco seasoning mix in pie plate. Dip chicken in butter taco mixture than cover with tortilla chips than place in a 13x9x2-inch pan. Bake, uncovered, 1 hour or until juices run clean .

To serve:
Arrange chicken on a bed of shredded lettuce, top with sour cream (or place it on the side), along with the salsa, and a slice of avocado if desired.

The dish went over very well. It was might tasty. Maybe the only extra it needs now is a little guacamole?

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Hawaiian Salmon With Pineapple Salsa

My dinner tonight. The fish and salsa are yummy. The salsa even has a nice kick to it. Here is the recipe which originally came from Food.com.

Hawaiian Salmon With Pineapple Salsa
A lovely way to fix salmon from the Hawaiian Islands. I got this recipe from Kosher Cooking. — Oct 26, 2004
6 (6 ounces) salmon fillets
1 small red onion, finely chopped
2 teaspoons olive oil, plus
2 (8 ounces) cans crushed pineapple
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
½ cup golden raisins
4 teaspoons lemon juice, divided
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 teaspoons minced fresh ginger, divided
3 cups torn fresh spinach
1 medium red bell pepper or yellow bell pepper, diced
3 cups torn fresh romaine lettuce
6 servings Change size or US/metric | 30 minutes 15 mins prep
1. Rinse the salmon in cool water and pat it dry.
2. In a bowl combine 2 teaspoons oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 1 teaspoon ginger.
3. Coat both sides of fish with the mixture and refrigerate for up to an hour.
4. While the fish marinates prepare the Pineapple Salsa.
5. Heat the remaining oil in a medium skillet.
6. Add the yellow pepper and onion and sauté until soft about 4 minutes.
7. Add the crushed pineapple, raisins, cayenne and remaining lemon juice and ginger; sauté until pineapple is warm, about 4 minutes longer.
8. (Salsa can be made ahead up to 24 hours; but bring to room temperature before using.).
9. Grill or broil the salmon, turning once, until fish is barely opaque in the center, and just begins to flake when tested with a fork about 2 minutes per side for 3/4-inch thick fish steaks.
10. Enjoy!

The recipe was pretty easy. Here is a picture of the ingredients needed.

The salsa has a nice sweet sour taste.

And I broiled the salmon....

Very appetizing!

My First Pork Roast

The time has come for me to make my first pork roast, and that I did.  I thought it looked so beautiful when it came out of the oven. I roasted some potatoes while I cooked it. Here is the recipe I used.

Honey-Ginger Pork Roast

Weathertop Lodge Bed and Breakfast, Waitsfield, Vermont

Ingredients

One 5-pound center cut boneless pork loin

1 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger root

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons salt

honey

Run knife between fat and meat to form pockets on top of roast. Using a long-bladed knife, insert grated ginger into pockets. In small bowl, mix olive oil, ground ginger, and salt. Place pork in roasting pan and brush with oil, ginger, and salt mixture. Bake at 350 degrees, allowing 30 minutes per pound. About 15 minutes before roast is done, brush meat completely with honey. Allow roast to stand 15 to 20 minutes before slicing.

• You found this recipe on 1st Traveler's Choice Internet Cookbook. (www.virtualcities.com)

I did make a small change to the recipe myself. Instead of using a 5 lb center cut pork loin I used a 2.5 lb mini pork loin.  It took an hour and a half to roast.

 It was scrumptious. You pour honey over the pork once it comes out of the oven. It lends a nice sweet taste to the pork.

 Here it is on a plate. I know -- the vegetables are missing! I ate mixed vegetables on a different plate. I know how important it is to get those greens.


And have you tried salsa and chips from Trader Joe's?

Here is a closer look at the salsa.

What makes it even more appetizing is to see what it looks like in a bowl and with a chip.

 It is so good. I love the flavor of the peaches. I never knew peaches in salsa could be so heavenly until I tried it. It would serve as a wonderful appetizer for Thanksgiving.

Try something new, and whip something up in your kitchen.