I Can Cook That | Food and Beverage Recipes

Couscous-Stuffed Chicken

I haven’t posted a chicken recipe on here since September! I figured it was definitely time to change that. I really don’t eat much chicken so I guess I’ve gone a long time without even making it without realizing. I have been on a couscous kick so when I came across Cooking Light‘s recipe for Couscous Stuffed Chicken I was pretty pumped. However, I apparently do not possess the skill to create pinwheels with chicken. What they lack in beauty though they most certainly make up for in flavor!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup uncooked couscous
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
3 tablespoons chopped plum tomato
2 tablespoons kalamata olives, chopped
2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 minced garlic clove
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. First make the couscous. Add the broth to a small pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the couscous. Cover and let stand for 4 minutes.

Add the couscous to a small bowl and fluff with a fork. Allow to cool. Add the chopped tomato, olives, feta, olive oil, parsley, lemon zest, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper.

Place chicken between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound to 1/4 inch thickness. (I failed at this step. My pounding brought it by no means close to 1/4 inch thickness. Next time I make this, I think I’ll try it with chicken tenderloins instead).

Add the couscous mixture on top of each piece of chicken.

Roll up and secure with wooden picks. Pretty sure this should have looked prettier than mine ended up.

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a large oven proof saute pan over medium-high heat. Coat with cooking spray and add the chicken rolls. Cook for six minutes until the chicken is browned. Turn over and bake at 400 degrees.

The original recipe said 5 minutes. Because my pieces were so thick it took closer to 20 minutes.

So yeah. My presentation isn’t going to win me any awards. BUT this dish tastes so good! The chicken remained really moist and flavorful.

The couscous mixture was fantastic. I am not the biggest fan of olives so I included fewer in my rolled up chicken (which meant my olive-loving boyfriend got more in his mixture. No complaints from him).

I think thin chicken tenderloins would work much better with these if you are big on presentation.

Sauteed Spiced Pears with Pecans Over Ice Cream

This recipe is a result of having all of the ingredients in my kitchen, and my endless sweet tooth. Pears hold up really well to being cooked so I thought they would be great with traditional baking spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves) and some pecans for crunch. I also had a bit of ice cream left in my freezer so I used the pears and pecans as a topping.

Ingredients:

1 bosc pear, peel, cored, and cut into slices

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

A pinch of cloves

1/4 cup pecans

1 scoop French vanilla ice cream

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Review of Routin 1883 Gourmet Syrups & Cocktails

One of my favorite parts of blogging is when I’m given the opportunity to sample products and give my honest review of them. I love the chance to try something new and to incorporate it into recipes. So when Routin 1883 contacted me to sample some of their gourmet syrups, I was excited to dust off my bartending kit and concoct some tasty beverages. The company produces gourmet flavors for use in cocktails, specialty coffees, Italian sodas, etc. The syrups, manufactured in the French Alps, have no preservatives, GMO’s, or high fructose corn syrup (they are even gluten free). Routin 1883 was kind enough to send me a bunch of different samples so I tried to highlight each of them to review.

To try the vanilla, I added the syrup to a traditional White Russian (I thought it sounded like it would be delicious, I was right!)

Ingredients:

2 ounces vodka

1 ounce Kahlua

1/2 ounce vanilla syrup

Top with cream

To make, add ice cubes to a glass. Pour vodka and Kahlua over the ice. Add the vanilla syrup and stir. Fill with light cream and serve.

The vanilla syrup held up nicely to the strong coffee flavor of Kahlua and was an awesome complement to this already delicious drink. After a sniff of the syrup I decided to go with a 1/2 ounce instead of an ounce because it seems to be quite strong.

The coconut syrup meant I could pretend it is summer. I added it to rum and pineapple juice for a taste of the islands.

Ingredients:

2 ounces light rum

1 ounce coconut syrup

fresh pineapple juice

Add ice cubes to a tall glass. Pour rum and syrup over the ice. Fill with pineapple juice and serve.

This is so refreshing. It’s a perfect escape from the winter weather and would also be perfect as a pitcher in the summer months. Coconut and pineapple just go so well together.

I decided to use the raspberry syrup to make a raspberry rickey: a gin rickey with raspberry flavoring.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 ounce gin

the juice of 1/2 a lime

club soda

1 ounce raspberry syrup

Add ice to a short glass. Add gin, lime juice , and raspberry syrup and top with club soda.

This was another really refreshing drink. The syrup wasn’t sugary so it didn’t take away from the bite you’d normally get in the original version of this drink. You could also serve it straight up (no ice) if you’d like. Just mix it in a shaker and pour into a glass.

For the caramel syrup, I thought it might be fun to try a flavored martini. I happened to have sour apple liqueur in my apartment (I have no idea why) so a Caramel Apple Martini immediately popped into my mind.

Ingredients:

2 ounces sour apple liqueur

1 ounce vodka

1 ounce caramel syrup

Add ice to a shaker. Pour in apple liqueur, vodka, and caramel syrup and shake. Strain into a martini glass rimmed with a cinnamon-sugar mixture.

This tasted exactly like a candied apple. The caramel’s sweetness really helped tone down the sour apple flavor of the liqueur.

Next up, a frozen strawberry-champagne daiquiri. I had some champagne left over from New Years Eve that I just put into an ice cube tray. I thought this would be a perfect use of those champagne ice cubes.

Ingredients:

2 ounces light rum

1/2 ounce triple sec

1 ounce strawberry syrup

6 strawberries

juice of one lime

1/2 teaspoon sugar

5 champagne ice cubes

5 normal ice cubes

You’ll need normal ice in there too because champagne doesn’t freeze entirely. Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until frothy. The champagne might bubble a bit. Pour into a glass and serve.

I think champagne should be the base of every strawberry daiquiri from now on. The strawberry syrup added a much bolder flavor to the daiquiri than strawberries alone would without adding a typically syrupy, sugary taste to it. It really enhanced the daiquiri!

Last but not least, I made what I’ve dubbed a Toasted Martini.

Ingredients:

2 ounces chocolate liqueur

1 ounce espresso (cooled)

1 ounce roasted hazelnut syrup

Add ice to a shaker. Add the chocolate liqueur, espresso, and syrup and shake. Strain into a martini glass rimmed with cocoa powder.

Do I even have to mention how amazing this was? I could drink this all day. It was like a grown up chocolate milk, definitely my favorite. The hazelnut flavor was amazing!

Overall I think I gravitated more to the syrups that would go nicely in coffees (which is next on my list to try): Roasted Hazelnut, Vanilla, Caramel, and Coconut. But the fruit flavors were really nice as well! They are actually flavored with real fruit juice which is very noticeable. They don’t have that normal “syrupy” taste at all. Routin 1883 has tons of different flavors on their site so be sure to check them all out. They also have plenty of recipes if you’re looking for inspiration!

Rose Water Sugar Cookies

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, I figured February 14 was the perfect holiday to use rose water again. (I originally used it for a Rose Scented Berry Prosecco, which would also be lovely for Valentine’s Day). What better way to incorporate rose water but in sugar cookies? I adapted a traditional sugar cookie recipe from Allrecipes.com, and then also added a drizzled rose water icing to make these Rose Water Sugar Cookies.

Ingredients:

Rose Water Sugar Cookies:

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon rose water

Rose Water Icing:

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1/8 teaspoon rose water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 drop of food coloring, if desired

Guest Post from Christina of Spaghetti & Meatballs

I am so excited to announce my first guest post on I Can Cook That! I couldn’t ask for a better first guest poster. This delicious risotto recipe comes from Christina of Spaghetti & Meatballs. I’ve mentioned on here quite a few times my affinity for risotto. It was actually the first dish I made that helped me realize cooking isn’t nearly as difficult as I imagined. This particular risotto is a must try: the creaminess you expect from a risotto without the 30 minutes of constant stirring!

But first, a little bit about Christina and her blog. Christina invites us to explore Italian through her blog. She is a truly wonderful writer (she works as a freelance writer in the Philadelphia area) with posts that contain not only recipes that make your mouth water, but information about Italian food products (tomatoes, pasta, etc.), commentary on interesting articles from magazines, and a look into some of her family’s Italian food traditions. Definitely take the time to check out her blog, it is a great source of information, recipes, and just an overall great read!

So before I ramble on, let me pass it on to Christina:

Risotto is so deliciously decadent that it can turn any dinner into a special occasion. But despite my soft spot for the dish, risotto was relegated to the once-in-awhile section of my recipe book. Every risotto I’d made required significant prep time – including at least 30 minutes of nonstop stirring as the rice cooked.

Then I found a Real Simple risotto recipe that sounded too good to be true. Instead of constantly stirring, waiting for the rice to thicken, you just pop the entire pot into a preheated oven. I’d never heard of making risotto this way, but since Real Simple is one of my favorite recipe sources, I decided to take the leap.

Ingredients:

(this makes 4 servings)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 shallot, chopped

kosher salt and black pepper

1/2 cup dry white wine

3 cups low-sodium vegetable stock

1 cup Arborio rice

1 cup frozen peas

4 ounces flat-leaf spinach, roughly chopped (about 2 cups)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan (1 ounce), plus more for serving

Heat the oven to 425° F. Melt the butter in an ovenproof pot over medium-high heat. Add the shallot, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the shallot is soft.

Pour in the wine and stir until it has almost evaporated. Then stir in the broth and rice. Bring the mixture to a boil.

Cover the pot and put it in the preheated oven. Cook until the rice is tender and creamy, about 20 minutes. (While the risotto cooked, I had plenty of time to chop spinach and grate Parmesan for the next step.)

Stir in peas, spinach, Parmesan, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

Sprinkle with additional Parmesan and serve.

The risotto turned out just as creamy and rich as others I’ve made the traditional way. I’m thrilled I found a time-saving technique for one of my favorite dishes that doesn’t sacrifice taste for convenience.

I can’t believe I’ve made it 26 years of my life without knowing this technique. It’s brilliant! And the colors are just beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing this with us Christina! To check out additional recipes and posts from Spaghetti & Meatballs, pop on over to her blog!

Homemade Hot Chocolate with Marshmallow Hearts

The simplest actions can really make your day. Sometimes all you need to turn a day around is a simple pick me up. This hot chocolate is a really easy way to put a smile on your, or your loved ones, face(s). It’s also a perfect Valentine’s Day drink! I found this cute recipe on Martha Stewart.

Ingredients:

(this makes 2 cups)

4 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons plus one teaspoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
4 tablespoons finely chopped dark chocolate
2 marshmallows

Continue reading Homemade Hot Chocolate with Marshmallow Hearts

Super Bowl Snack Roundup

Need some super bowl appetizer inspiration? I have a bunch of recipes that would be perfect for the game! I thought I’d make it a bit easier to find them.

Dips:
Roasted Eggplant & Feta Dip
Baked Brie
Roasted Beets with Tahini
Cilantro-Lime Hummus
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Fresh Salsa
Parsley Hummus with Pine Nuts
Baba Ghannouj

Bites:
Pancetta Crisps with Goat Cheese & Pear
Caprese Tomato Bites
Sriracha Deviled Eggs
Crab Stuffed Mushrooms
Kara-Age Popcorn Shrimp
Fried Okra
Fontina Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Dates
Curly Endive Prosciutto Mozzarella

Bigger Meals:
Sausage, Pepper, and Onion Sandwiches
Venison Chili with Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Muffins

Enjoy!

Mango Couscous with Salmon

I really don’t like winter. I know we are having quite a mild winter in Philly this year but it goes past the cold and snow. I miss sunlight. And sitting outdoors. And most of all, I miss summer foods. So I decided it was time for a little peek into summer: Mango Couscous with Salmon. (I found the recipe on Taste of Home).

Ingredients:

Salmon:

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

Salt & pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley, divided
2 salmon fillets (6 ounces each)

Couscous:
1 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup couscous (I used tricolor, because it’s so darn pretty)
1 plum tomato, chopped
1 medium mango, peeled and chopped

Mango Sauce:
1 medium mango, peeled and cut into chunks
the juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon honey
2 fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

In a pot, bring the broth and butter to a boil. Stir in couscous. Cover and remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes, mango, and 1 tablespoon parsley.

Combine the olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon parsley in a bowl.

Rub on the salmon.

Heat a grill pan over medium high heat. Spray lightly with cooking spray. Add the salmon to the pan skin side up. Cook for 3 minutes. Flip the salmon and cook for 4 minutes, or until cooked to your liking.

While the salmon is cooking, combine the mango, lemon, honey, basil, parsley, water, and mustard in a blender.

Puree for 1-2 minutes.

To serve, add the salmon and couscous to a plate. Spoon the sauce over the salmon.

Look at those colors!

What I love most about this dish is you get to enjoy mango two ways: sweet within the couscous and tangy within the sauce.

I made this for my boyfriend and he loved it! He was all but licking his plate clean. He even started trying to eat off of mine!

So.. I think it’s safe to say this is a winner. 🙂

Chilled Raspberry Shooters

I fell in love with this recipe for Chilled Raspberry Shooters initially just on the photo; they are so pretty! The original recipe from Taste of Home is actually more of a savory dish but one of the comments mentioned using vanilla yogurt instead of sour cream so I decided to take their suggestion. This take some preparation, so if you plan on using this to impress guests with a slightly different but amazing dessert, be sure to give yourself a few hours before the event.

Ingredients (makes 6):

2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons cranberry juice
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons sugar
3 pints plus 6 fresh raspberries, divided
2/3 cups french vanilla yogurt
1 tablespoon whipped topping, divided

Continue reading Chilled Raspberry Shooters

Strawberries with Chocolate Cream

Valentines Day has come early to I Can Cook That! Ok, not really. I made them for a party recently, but they would be perfect for a Valentines Day dessert, or with your coffee in the morning! I found this recipe on Taste of Home. After reading the reviews, a few people suggested adding some powdered sugar to sweeten up the chocolate cream. I love anything sweet, so I took their suggestion!

Ingredients:

1-1/2 ounces dark chocolate, grated, divided

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup whipped topping

2 containers of fresh strawberries, halved

I used dark chocolate bars from Trader Joe’s. They come in 1.75 oz little bars so I used two of those 1.75 oz bars. Take the first bar and melt over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

In a small bowl, add the cream cheese, vanilla, powdered sugar and whipped topping. Beat with a hand mixer until smooth.

Add the melted chocolate and beat until combined. Add the mixture to a plastic zip lock bag.

Cut off the lower corner and pipe onto the strawberries, with the cut side up.

Using a grater, grate the remaining chocolate over the strawberries.

These are really simple, and really tasty too!

I think the addition of the powdered sugar was a good idea. Fresh strawberries can be a bit tart, so it was nice to add some extra sweetness within the chocolate cream.

The cream cheese adds a nice smoothness to the chocolate cream. They are so pretty too, aren’t they?

You can make these ahead of time and then pop them in the refrigerator until needed.

Mussels in White Wine Garlic Sauce

It’s very rare that I make a meal without some kind of goal in mind. I’m not terribly creative, so I usually do at least some research before making a meal: read a magazine, google a recipe, ask a family member, or have a craving from a restaurant I want to try to make at home.

I guess my subconscious was channeling a craving for Bona Cucina‘s mussels in white wine because I kind of sort of ended up with that at the end of my cooking, so here’s my version of their Mussels in White Wine Garlic Sauce. I was just trying to whip up a quick meal, so I actually didn’t take any photos until the finished product (whoops) but I thought I’d share it anyways. I still had some mussels left over from when I made Angel Hair Pasta with Mussels in a Red Pepper Sauce so I figured I should use them.

Ingredients – serve 2 as an appetizer, multiply as needed (get all ingredients here):

1 dozen mussels, scrubbed and debearded
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
2-4 garlic cloves, minced (depending on how much you want to offend those around you)
1 shallot, minced
Chopped parsley
2 tablespoons butter

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Goat Cheese Stuffed Lamb Burgers

Oh yes, you read that correctly. A delicious grilled lamb burger, with goat cheese inside. I have been craving Goat Cheese Stuffed Lamb Burgers for a good week now and finally managed to find ground lamb (which was surprisingly difficult for some reason) to make them. I used a recipe off of Finish Your Broccoli‘s blog that she made a while back to make the actual burger. I took some liberty in making it but for the most part it’s basically the same.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground lamb
3 tbsp plain yogurt
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 tbsp minced fresh mint
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
Pinch cayenne
4 oz log goat cheese
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp chopped basil
Tzatziki
Sliced cucumber
Pita bread or hamburger buns, toasted

Add the ground lamb, plain yogurt, panko, mint, salt, pepper, cumin, and cayenne to a large bowl.

Mix to combine.

Add the goat cheese, olive oil, parsley, and basil to a small bowl.

Mix to combine.

Take the meat mixture and divide it evenly into four patties.

Make a well in each patty and add an equal amount of the cheese mixture into each well.

Form the meat patty around the cheese mixture.

Heat a grill pan (or grill) and cook the burger to your liking. Because they are so thick, you might need to cook them long and slow.

Grill the hamburger buns or pita bread.

Top the burger with tzatziki and sliced cucumber.

And there you have it!

You bite in and get a really delicious, moist burger.

With a flavorful, gooey center.

Mmmm.

This is EXACTLY what I was craving. And it’s really quick! What more could you ask for?

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

So I realized today that this post for Homemade Macaroni and Cheese is my 200th! How crazy is that? Okay, back to your regular programing… time for an awesome recipe for Homemade Macaroni and Cheese!

Winter weather really makes me crave comfort food. When it snows (like it did this weekend) my need for comfort food escalates.

I’ve been looking for any excuse to make another mac and cheese recipe, so I jumped at the chance to make it during the snow.

I originally printed out this recipe from Cooking Light, but I changed it so much to fit what I could find it’s barely recognizable. The overall method is basically the same though.

Ingredients:

1/2 an onion, diced
1 bay leaf
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 1/4 cups 1% low fat milk
1 box uncooked elbow macaroni
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
4 ounces cubed sharp cheddar cheese
4ounces cubed gouda cheese
Panko breadcrumbs
Grated fresh Parmesan cheese
Fresh parsley, chopped

Continue reading Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

Who honestly doesn’t love crab stuffed mushrooms? Little bite sized bits of happiness: mushroom, crab meat, cheese, and crunchy bread crumbs. I always have my fingers crossed that these party staples show up as an appetizer at any and all social events. So I thought it was about time that I attempted to make them myself. I finally whipped up a batch of theses crab stuffed mushrooms to eat while watching the games on Sunday. They are actually quite easy to make and are awesome right out of the oven or cooled to room temperature. Taste of Home had a great recipe I decided to try. My only “big” change was that I substituted Old Bay in for the cayenne. I’ve spent many a summer on the Chesapeake and now can’t eat crab without at least a little bit of this seasoning!

Ingredients:

1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon Old Bay
1 can (8 ounces) crabmeat, drained, flaked and cartilage removed
2 containers of fresh baby bella mushrooms
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Cooking spray

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Caprese Tomato Bites

I know, I know. It’s January. What the heck am I doing posting a Caprese recipe? I had a craving for a Caprese salad and I can’t bring myself to buy large tomatoes so out of season. Cherry tomatoes always seem to be around the same level of taste all year long, so I thought this might hold me over until the spring. The recipe incorporates all ingredients found in a traditional Caprese salad, while making it into a cute appetizer bite. I found this recipe on Taste of Home and mainly stuck to the recipe, with a few changes based on what I could find.

Ingredients:

1 pint heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved
3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
1/2 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, torn into smaller pieces
6 fresh basil leaves
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Continue reading Caprese Tomato Bites