Chicken & Chocolate...A Monkbot Smorgasbord
Here it is folks...the official food post.
Come here to swap recipes...share thoughts about food...obsess about chocolate...whatever.
I know, I know...it probably should be Chicken and Waffles. But I'm here to keep it real for my peeps...and we don't give a flying flip about waffles. We're (apparently) about the chocolate here.
So...since Monkbots don't conform to other group idiosyncrasies...it's Chicken and Chocolate time!
Look for a permanent link to this page on the right-hand side of the page.
And, as always, keep it clean.
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Labels: Food
posted by shelley @ 2/23/2007 02:53:00 PM
51 comments
51 Comments:
I'm eating the tiny M&M's right now. They sure are cute.
Yay for Shelley, chicken and chocolate and a yummy pic of El Supremo Monkbot eating BBQ. I've never seen that pic, but he is adorable as always.
HC4S got me hooked on Lindt truffles--the white chocolate variety is especially good. The insides are some kind of magic, voodoo stuff that melts in your mouth.
Bama, I lurve M&M's. Not a big fan of the minis. I like the regular heated in the microwave for about 20 secs. I know, weird!
Well, I'm only eating the mini's b/c they were a gift!
I LOVE Lindor Lindt truffles! Especially the white chocolate!! Yummy! Yummy!
Ok so I tasted this really cool thing last week, one of these things you look at and go ewww but when you taste its like mmmmmmm It was chocolate dipped chips. They had took those salted rippled chips and dipped them in milk chocolate...OMG..my two fav snacks rolled into one..my charity were selling them for profits..I think I bought them all!! Dont knock them till you try them..they are amazing!!!! There is nothing I can think of better...oh wait..there is..chocolate dipped Taylor..mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
OMG Lee..nice to know Im not the only weirdo that loves melted chocolate..I leave candy bars and M & Ms in the sun to melt before I eat them..mmmmmmmmm not a problem here in Houston... Microwave no necessito!
Chocolate dipped potato chips sound wonderful!
I'm hungry...I'm also dieting...so, sad....
:(
Hey, I like chocolate covered pretzels, so why not potato chips? Who thought up that evil sweet/savory fat laden treat? Evil genius!
Speaking of chocolate covered pretzels, I made some last week. Making soft pretzels from scratch was fun and way easier than I thought it would be.
I am a big fan of Harry and David's Truffles. Now we are talking serious chocolate! Of course I am someone who thinks the chocolate dipped cone at the DQ is fabulous! What would be a Southern chocolate dessert? A chocolate chess pie? Just wondering. This is making me hungry. LOL
hits sally with a wet fish :)
remember folks...keep it clean.
no food on taylor or any another person.
thanks
I humbly beg for forgiveness.. I realised after I posted it...and thought crappp here comes the wet fish again!!!.. apologies to all I offended.
Sally x
Come out, come out wherever you are little Monkbots across the ocean. Claire and Rowan, the chocolate thread has arrived. No limit to our revolutionary plans.
Sally, I often have to sit on my hands to keep from writing the things that I'm thinking--don't worry we've all been there. :)
no sweat, sally. i'm here to talk you down from that proverbial coffee table whenever you need it! ;)
okay...hatson, there is such a thing as chocolate chess pie...but i'm a traditionalist when it comes to chess pie. i like it plain.
y'all are all killing me with talk of fine chocolate and truffles and chi=chi and la la.
give me a pint of Bluebell Cookies 'n' Cream ice cream and a bottle of chocolate Magic Shell and I'm content for hours.
Magic Shell is just that, Magic. I attempted to take the high road and show a little more sophisticated palate, but you are so right. I was given magic shell in a beautiful package for Valentine's Day. You guys are great.
Ah, so here it is. The official food thread. Lee! I am soooo addicted to those damn Creme Eggs!! I had to physically walk away from the chocolate display in my local supermarket earlier today. Temp-TAY-shun!!! (pun not intended, but a happy coincidence nonetheless!!)
So, who's gonna be the first to post a recipe?? I'm working on a healthy carrot and parsnip soup combo as we speak. Yum-tastic!! (...she says, trying to pry her fingers away from the mountain of chocolate-related recipes she has accumulated...)
Uhh - guys, for the benefit of us foreigners, what's Magic Shell??
Magic Shell is an ice cream topping made by Smucker's. When you pour it on ice cream it magically freezes and creates a chocolate hardened shell(hence the term magic shell) Here it is sold near other toppings. I would be happy to send you some to try!! Gee, am I an enabler???? By the way, I have never cooked a parsnip in anything. I will check it out!
Claire... they sell it in Asda! Next to the ice cream freezers..you have to try it! The mars bar one is excellente! FIY I live in Houston but Im a scot.
Sal x
I don't post often...but I read this blog everyday. I enjoy Shelley's writing and video and all the comments of her great friends.
I was born in the boothill of Missouri, but have lived in Michigan since I was 4. And right now I have sauerkraut & wieners in the crockpot.
Mashed potatoes and macaroni with stewed tomatoes (and I like some thick tomato sauce also) make nice accents on one's plate with the kraut & hotdogs. I can't say if that combination is 'southern'...but many of the things I cook or eat come from my southern family background. ~~~Leroy's Sharon
Sally - I remember buying a topping with those hardening properties called Ice Magic. Haven't thought of it for years! You guys are a bad influence...hee hee.
Well, Claire, as for the you know whats, I bought a pack of eight on Thursday, late shopping with my little girl, who asked for - like - one of them. One little fondant-filled choccy swoonfest. Guess who ate the other seven? They also come in real eggy boxes, numbering a dozen. Is this Cadbury's take on "The Big One" for which we campaign?
3 HAIKU on buying multiple Creme Eggs.
One I did not buy.
Selling them in packs of eight
Ensnares the greedy.
More I could have bought.
They sell them in packs of twelve -
I feel virtuous!
Am now distilling
Tomorrow's rebound hunger
In my pancreas.
Not that creme eggs are done any justice by the austere 3 line 5/7/5/ syllable format...but I am trying to cut back on adjectives which would have me calling a taxi and going to buy more YUMMY CREME EGGS ( THWACK! Slaps self back into yogurt mode.)
Have been good today, tho. :D Yogurt and toast with Marmite and cottage cheese. Any other Marmite lovers out there?
Anon - your crock pot meal sounds absolutely delicious!
Mmmmm....Magic Shell...I just discovered that we had some in our pantry yesterday...too bad you can't eat it plain--would that be to barbaric (or once again however you spell it)?
EASY and almost HEALTHY (use canola oil:)
BROWNIES
6 Tblspns cocoa
2 sups sugar
2 cups self-rising flour
1 cup canola oil (vegetable oil)
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
Mix all in one bowl, pour and spread into 9x13 baking dish sprayed with (don't tell shell) Crisco baking spray with Pillsbury flour (easier than wiping with crisco and dusting with flour) Then bake at 350 degrees for about 30-35 minutes (knife must come out clean) And eat'm up with vanilla ice cream.
that's 2 cups of sugar, of course you could eat them for SUPper if you wanted to:)
OK, here is one for you guys, it is off the chocolate topic, but food none the less. It is also one of those "don't knock it 'til ya try it" foods.
I was visiting a friend in Northern Wisconsin. We went out for pints and pizza. They ordered the pizza without me really paying attention and when it came...I had no idea what it even was. I tried it and just about died from pure tastebud satisfaction! I want to kiss the person that had the idea of putting Sauerkraut on a PIZZA! I often crave it...and I'm not pregnant!
Chaos...Good to see ya again...I love extra cold cheese on my pizza. Sauerkraut is a new one on me.
Chocolate......................Sorry got lost for a moment there.
But my all time favorite and I am looking for a good recipe is Sticky Toffee Pudding. Anyone have that?
PS- could we PLEASE for the love of MonkBot, stop refereing to peanut butter? Thank you.
What is marmite? Is it marmalade? These regional differences are fun. Now,about sauerkraut on a pizza..... not so sure.
Hatson - Marmite is a savoury spread, brilliant on toast. It can be added to soups and stews, if you are a person who cooks, but I love it under cheese or baked beans on toast. It has a unique flavour. Think it is a sort of yeast extract, but that sounds horrible and Marmite is the biz. It has celery extract, other mysterious vegetable extracts and loads of vitamins. In fact, Marmite may well be my only source of vitamins, cos I don't imagine Creme Eggs contain many!
The ingredients are listed on the drop down nutrition menu on the "eat Marmite" link. There are some funny adverts to watch on the official site too. As it inspires strong feelings for or against, the manufacturer advertises Marmite with the jingle, "You eithjer love it or hate it!" Seemingly - well, according to the site, anyway, 25% of British people take it with them on holiday.:)
Dear Cajun Division...
I would LOVE a good seafood gumbo recipe! I have never made it because for something this important, I like the recipes to have someone's stamp of approval.
I can live without chocolate, but neva without seafood!
One of my faves of the year has been ....
Blackened Scallops ( just toss scallops in blackening seasoning and grill) Serve on Tortilla Chips with Guacomole.... margarita optional for some (not me!)
Texan -- Just for you...SEAFOOD GUMBO from an authentic Cajun....
1st you need a Roux. Not sure if you can get Kary's or Savoie's Roux in the jar where you are, but if you can get a jar. Or, get Tony Chachere's Instant Roux mix and follow the directions on making a Roux. If you can't find either of those, then you'll have to make one. A bit more complicated and requires your undivided attention, but still not rocket science.
ROUX
2/3 cup of vegetable oil
1 cup of flour
Mix in a skillet on medium-high heat, preferably cast iron and preferably gas hear. Stir constantly until the mixture becomes the color of Taylor's brown jacket (Hershey bar color).
Gumbo ingredients:
1 big onion, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
1 rib of celery, chopped
2 tablespoons of chopped garlic
2 quarts of COLD water
Tony Chachere's Seasoning
Salt
3 lbs. of shrimp, peeled (I use the large--jumbo are too chewy)
3 dozen or 3 quarts of oysters (usually can find in the seafood section in quarts)
Oyster Juice from Oysters
2 lbs of lump CLAW Crabmeat (Can add actual crab claws for "character" and flavoring)
Onion Tops
Parsley, chopped
Season peeled Shrimp with generous helping of Tony Chachere's seasoning and salt.
Add the cold water and Oyster juice and stir. Add Roux, onions, bell pepper, celery, and garlic. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes.
Add Tony Chachere's and Salt to taste.
Add shrimp, then bring back to a boil and lower heat again and simmer for about 30 minutes.
Add oysters and crab meat and cook at same tempature for 10 minutes.
Add chopped onion tops and parsley just before serving. Serve over rice.
C'est Bon. Enjoy.
Just for an added bonus, here's a VERY EASY Crawfish Etoufee' Recipe
2 lbs of Crawfish Tails
1 can of Campbell's Cream of Shrimp Soup
1 bag of Seasoning Mix (Onion, Bell Pepper, Celery)
2 large tablespoons of chopped Garlic
3/4 cup of butter or margarine
Tony Chachere's Seasoning
Salt
In sauce pan, brown seasoning mix and garlic in butter until soft and transparent.
Add Soup (mixed with milk per the can directions).
Season to taste with Tony's and salt. Add Crawfish Tails and simmer for 15 minutes.
Serve over rice.
DD...
I will love ya foreva and eva and eva and eva! Etoufee is one of my all time favorites! What a bonus!
Can't wait to try this! YUM!
Suzi-q and Double D...thanks for sharing actual recipes.
I've made those brownies...they are very easy and VERY yummy.
DD...it's so funny that you posted the gumbo (brown roux rules) recipe today...I was just asking my folks if they had my grandma's recipe for Easter Gumbo.
this is perfect.
Okay...let me say...I hate sourkraut. Absolutely can't stand it.
So the idea of putting it on pizza flips my lid...and not in a good way.
However, in Biloxi (where i grew up) all the Pizza Huts keep squeeze bottles of French dressing on the table because that's what we do on the Mississippi Coast...French dressing on pizza. Deliscious.
DD....
Can you 'splain...
"1 bag of Seasoning Mix (Onion, Bell Pepper, Celery)"
Tex -- usually in the frozen food section, where the veggies are there's a mix of onions, bell pepper and celery called "Seasoning Blend", I believe.
I get mine at Winn Dixie...Southern Home or Pictasweet brands. If you can't find it, use 1 large onion chopped, 1/2 bell pepper chopped and 2 stalks of celery chopped.
wayne newton baby!
Dagnabbit suzi-q, you had to go and post a brownie recipe, didn't ya! I'm gonna have to make them... :)
Question: does it have to be cocoa? I have some drinking chocolate powder lurking in the cupboard that I could use up in this recipe, but would cocoa give a more chocolatey taste...? The chocolate powder(Cadbury's, naturally!!) is only 25% cocoa solids.
claire...allow me to speak for suzi-q.
yes...it has to be cocoa. :)
Then cocoa it shall be, Shelley!! :)
*dons coat and hat to brave the elements to buy cocoa powder and eggs.*
Yay Claire! Hunting down ingredients in the pouring rain - you make me proud - and a little jellis! Am goin to make them too, they sound da bomb!
Thanks Susi Q!
Speakin of Chicken and Chocolate:
Quick Chicken Mole
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 chipotle peppers, roughly chopped
1 (10-ounce) can chicken broth
2 tablespoons peanut butter
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 (5-pound) chicken, cut into 8 pieces
Toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds), for garnish
White rice, for serving
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent. Add garlic and spices and continue to sauté to toast and develop flavor. Add diced tomatoes, peppers, chipotles, broth, peanut butter, and chocolate. Simmer for 10 minutes. Strain and puree until smooth.
Sear the chicken in a heavy bottomed hot sauté pan over medium-high heat until browned on both sides. Add to casserole dish, cover with sauce and braise the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Garnish with pepitas and serve with white rice.
Here's an easy fish recipe. I have been using Alaskan pollock fillets that I buy frozen at my grocery store, but any mild white fish would work.
Fillet Provencale
2 small onions, sliced
2 tbsp butter
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 can 16 oz stewed tomatoes, chopped (sometimes I buy the pre-seasoned ones)
1 can 4.5 oz sliced mushrooms, drained
1/8 tsp basil
6 fish fillets
salt, pepper
In a 12 x 8 dish (I use my large oval corningware casserole dish), combine onion, butter & garlic.
Cook covered with plastic wrap in microwave on high for 3 to 3-1/2 minutes.
Stir in tomatoes, mushrooms and basil
Cook covered on high for 3 minutes, then on medium for 3 to 4 minutes.
Meanwhile, season fish with salt & pepper. Roll up and arrange seam side down in sauce mixture.
Spoon sauce over fish.
Cook covered on high for 5 to 6 minutes or until fish is done.
Let stand, covered for 5 minutes before serving.
Another fish recipe. My husband isn't much of a salmon fan if I grill it or anything like that, but he likes this, and the salmon is canned! Go figure. It does actually taste strangely fresh. It's actually a Weight Watchers recipe, but he doesn't know that.
;-)
Salmon Croquettes
Ingredients:
One 14 3/4-ounce can pink salmon, drained
1 celery stalk, minced
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1 egg
1 tablespoon snipped dill
1/2 cup wheat germ (I never buy wheat germ, so I use bread crumbs instead.)
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cups mixed salad greens
1/2 lemon, cut into wedges
POINTS value per serving: 4
Preparation:
1. Place salmon in a medium bowl; pick out and discard skin (leave bones in), then mash with a fork. Add celery, scallions, egg, and dill; mix well. Form into 12 log-shaped croquettes. Place the wheat germ on a sheet of wax paper; roll the croquettes in the wheat germ.
2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil. Gently add croquettes; cook until lightly golden, 3-4 minutes on each side. Serve on salad greens, with lemon on the side.
Per serving: 165 calories, 8 g fat, 1 g fiber
keep 'em coming y'all I am taking notes! These all sound great!
I just tried this recipe last night. My family liked it...
Spicy Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs
(Cooking Light March 2007)
19 min prep time
2 tsps garlic powder
2 tsps chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground red pepper
8 skinless boneless chicken thighs
Cooking Spray
6 Tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1) Preheat broiler.
2) Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken to bowl; toss to coat.
Place chicken on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray.
Broil chicken 5 minutes each side.
3) Combine honey and vinegar in a small bowl, stirring well. Remove chicken from oven and brush with the honey mixture. Broil 1 minute. Flip chicken and brush the other side with honey. Broil 1 minute or until chicken is done.
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 chicken thighs)
Calories 321 , Fat 11g, Protein 28g, Carb 27.9g, Sodium 676 mg
Okay...dead easy FISH
Any white fish (Sole, Tilapia, Orange Rough, Flounder Cod, scrod, etc)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
put fish on foil lined sheet
pat with butter or rub with Extra,Extra virgin Olive Oil (butter is better)
Sprinkle with dried minced onions (found in spice isle)
Sprinkle with good hungarian Paprika (I love Szeged)
Bake for 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.
Dead easy and really tasty
Alright -- from the Southwest. Fairly quick and a nice crockpot recipe.
Carnitas
One pork roast (if you can find a FRESH ham, that is good, but any nice, lean roast will do)
One can of Herdez Salsa Casera (seven ounce can for a small roast, the fourteen ounce jar for a big one or two little ones)
One sliced onion
The juice of two limes (four if making a big batch)
One bunch of fresh cilantro, rinsed and chopped (avoid the stems)
1 tablespoon of minced garlic (add more if making a big batch)
Warmed flour tortillas
Canned black beans, drained
Sour cream (fat free or regular)
Put the roast in the crockpot, mix together the salsa, lime juice, and garlic. Slather it on the roast. Add onion slices and fresh cilantro. Cook on low all day until the pork shreds easily.
Serve on tortillas with sour cream and black beans. Very yummy. I make the double batch and have them for leftovers all week. You can use beef, like a pot roast, but we prefer the pork.
oh, and I did try marmite. I liked it a lot, as it is nice and salty. It has a strong yeasty smell and I was scared that I would reek from it.
Mind Doc you are a brave woman
Is Marmite like Veggimite? (remember from the Men Down Under?)
I'm too brain dead to contribute a recipe. I'll have to think on it and comment later. Most of my recipes I make up and they vary from time to time, so I'll have to figure out how to make them make sense to you guys.
Rowan, loved the haikus. Genius!!!
I am loving the recipes !! Here is my seafood contribution. It is somewhat figure friendly.
Pan-seared Moroccan Salmon
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon freshly minced garlic
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 pinch dried red chili pepper, crushed, or to taste
1 pinch salt
1 pound salmon fillets (skinless)
Olive oil spray
Directions:
Serves 3
In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients except the salmon. Stir to create a paste.
Rub the paste to evenly cover the salmon fillets. Place on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 5 minutes to 2 hours.
Preheat a 10-inch nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Spray with oil and add salmon. Cook 2 minutes per side, then lower heat to medium. Continue cooking until inside reaches desired firmness.
Nutritional Info
Calories: 293
Saturated Fat: 2g
Calcium: 28mg
Sodium: 88mg
Fiber: 0g
Total Carbs: 2g
Protein: 39g
Total Fat: 14g
Cholesterol: 110mg
Oooh, fab recipes! Have no excuse now, not to learn to cook! I would need to have you all round for dinner, to save me eating everything myself!
Leejolem - thanks!:) Marmite is a little like vegemite, but stronger, more flavoursome, more piquant. Vegemite is okay if there's nothing else on the shelf, but it is a bit like buying carob instead of choccy....just sayin!
Can you get it in the US?
Y'all are so welcome for the brownie recipe and now the peace de resistance:)
Crawfish Bisque (do not have your cholesterol checked the day after eating:)
one stick of salted butter to saute a bunch of green onions (make them sweat) add a can of young niblet corn and continue saute-ing:) Add whatever crawfish (peeled from the crawfish boil the day before-kept in refrigerator) Usually our family stops short of eating the fifty pounds Dad buys by about a pound. Continue saute-ing with peeled crawfish, sprinkle heartily with Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning then begin to add 1/2 and 1/2 cream, alternating with milk (I have used whole milk, 2%,1% and skim, but it takes more 1/2 and 1/2 cream:) Once you have filled the pot (a big one) be sure to add to taste Zatarain's concentrated Shrimp and Crab Boil (this is very hot and spicy, but remember that you have a lot of milk products to line your stomach:) so add and enjoy but do so dribble by dribble!!! Keep a supply of fresh french bread (Desporte's if you can get it) to soak in the bisque for a delightful meal.
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