Zesty teriyaki

This is an extremely easy way to end up with delicious teriyaki chicken. The recipe uses thighs, which cook slowly and soak up all the flavor. Serve the chicken and a splash of yummy juices over rice. I'm using half brown rice and half white until my white is gone, and then it's just brown for us.

THE RECIPE:

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs*
1/3 c. soy sauce
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. bottled zesty Italian dressing
1/4 c. water

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place thighs in 8x8 baking dish. It's OK to overlap a little. The chicken will shrink. Mix sauce ingredients and pour over chicken. Cover with foil and bake for two hours.

*Don't substitute breasts unless you adapt the cooking time. Dark meat and white meat cook differently. I can't be held accountable for the results. :)

Don't skimp on shrimp

Do you like grapefruit? We do. And we really like this fun and unique shrimp salad with grapefruit. It might sound like a crazy mix, but it is delicious. After his first bite, my husband started nodding and said, "Yep. You can make this any time."

Note that the dressing recipe makes a lot. (The measurements are easier this way.) You could probably halve it. Or double the salad.

THE RECIPE:

1 1b. shrimp, cooked (veins and tails removed)
6 oz. spinach
1 grapefruit, peeled, sectioned and cut into chunks
Sugar (optional)
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 c. shredded Swiss cheese OR desired amount of crumbled feta
1/2 c. walnuts or pistachios*

Place grapefruit chunks in a bowl and sprinkle with sugar. Set aside while assembling remainder of salad ingredients. Toss in grapefruit. Pour dressing over individual servings as desired.

Dressing:

1/3 c. lemon juice
1/4 c. grapefruit juice
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. poppy seeds
1/2 c. oil (I used canola)

Mix first five ingredients, then add oil in thin, steady stream, whisking as you go.

*I used walnuts and toasted them under the broiler.

Happy as a clam

I love this clam chowder. The recipe is a tweaked version of Market Street Grill's. That's a top-notch seafood restaurant here. I replaced the sherry wine and lowered the pepper amount. It is a wonderful soup -- definitely the best clam chowder I know. It is creamy and flavorful. Dip a fresh chunk of French bread into it and you'll be happy as a clam.

THE RECIPE:

1 c. diced potatoes (1/2 inch)
1 c. diced celery
1 c. diced leek (or onion)
1 c. diced green pepper
1 c. diced carrots
2 6-ounce cans chopped clams, clam juice and all*
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp. salt
1 tsp. dried thyme
6 bay leaves
1 tsp. Tabasco sauce (this is a must)
2 c. water
1/2 c. apple or orange juice
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
3/4 c. butter, melted
1 c. flour
8 c. half-and-half

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Chop vegetables and put in large pot. Mix melted butter and flour, then pour into small baking dish (8x8 or smaller). Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, add remaining ingredients except half-and-half to pot and bring to boil. Sometimes I take out the black pepper altogether so we can add more Tabasco to taste later. We like the flavor. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender.

Add flour-butter mixture, which looks like fluffy little beads after being cooked. Mix until thick. Remove from heat and add half-and-half. Return to burner and heat through, stirring occasionally. Supposedly this serves 12, but I eat like a hog, so I'd say 8.

*About 3/4 cup clam juice

Savor the flavor

Here is a quick and easy weeknight meal: curried honey mustard chicken. Everyone in my family enjoyed the flavor. It has a little spice to it, but not too much for me, and I'm a wimp when it comes to spicy foods. I found the recipe on Allrecipes.com, and people there were saying they loved the dish even though they hate curry. I love curry, so this was a keeper! Plan ahead so you can marinate your chicken.

THE RECIPE:

1/3 c. butter, melted
1/3 c. honey
1/4 c. Dijon mustard
4 tsp. yellow curry powder
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts*
Cooked rice

Mix butter, honey, mustard and curry, then pour over chicken in baking dish. I cut my chicken into large strips, but you don't have to. Cover and refrigerate as long as possible to marinate. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake, uncovered, for about 45 minutes, or until chicken is done (depends on thickness). Serve over rice to sop up all the sauce. Don't let any of it go to waste!

*Technically, I mean chicken breast halves, because a whole breast includes both sides attached in the middle. Most people don't know that, though, because the stores usually sell them already split. So, I've just joined the lay crowd in leaving off the "halves" part. Very unlike me to give in. :)

A twist on the traditional

I only tried one new recipe for Thanksgiving this year. I made this old-fashioned applesauce pie and then sent it to the party with my siblings. My family and I stayed home and threw up all day. What do you do, right?

This pie is really great, though, for people like me who don't like all the chunks of baked fruit in traditional pies. This pie has all the flavor of traditional apple pie, with the custard-like texture of pumpkin pie. It is a snap to throw together, and it's a fun change from the usual.

The recipe is an Amish one from the book "New Recipes from Quilt Country."

THE RECIPE:

1 pie crust
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. butter, melted
2 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 c. smooth applesauce
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together ingredients and pour into pie crust. Bake for 45 minutes. It looks a little wiggly when it comes out. Allow to cool completely before eating so it sets.

Sweet seeds

We carved two big pumpkins this year for Halloween. After that, we had a nice pile of sloppy, gooey seeds. You'll see in the picture above how they ended up. Much better, eh? These cinnamon-sugar pumpkin seeds were pretty tasty. Last year, we tried a savory kind. It's fun to experiment.

THE RECIPE:

1 c. pumpkin seeds
1 Tbsp. oil or melted butter
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon

Rinse and drain pumpkin seeds. Just do your best to get the goop off. Lay out on cloth and pat dry. You can leave them to dry, but if you let them dry all the way, they will stick to the cloth a little. Heat oven to 300 degrees. On a cookie sheet, toss pumpkin seeds with oil until well coated. Mix sugar, salt and cinnamon, then toss with seeds. Spread seeds evenly on cookie sheet. Bake for one hour, tossing once halfway through.

Hidden treasure

I have been meaning to post this recipe for a long time. This is a unique pie that got high praise from people who tried it. I have to say it is one of the best I've ever tasted. It's a mixed berry pie, using fresh boysenberries and strawberries from our garden, and here's the surprise: The sweet berry filling is swirled with chocolate! That's why I loved it so much. I'm not normally a big fan of baked fruit. I don't like the chunks, and I don't like tartness. But chocolate makes everything worthwhile!

I made this pie more than once, adjusting the fruit amounts according to what I had on hand. You can do the same. Below, however, is the recipe with the ratios I liked best.

THE RECIPE:

2 c. blueberries
2 c. strawberries, halved
1 c. boysenberries
1/3 c. flour
2/3 to 3/4 c. sugar, depending on tartness of berries
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 to 3/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips*

Gently mix berries with flour, sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice. Allow to sit while making crust dough. Stir in chocolate chips, then pour filling into bottom crust. Make lattice-style crust on top or whatever design your heart desires -- something that allows ventilation. Brush top crust with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for 50 minutes. Line outer edges with foil if needed to prevent burning. I didn't need to do that. Let cool completely on wire rack before eating.

Crust recipe:

2 1/4 c. flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1/3 c. shortening
1/3 c. cold butter
8 to 10 Tbsp. cold water

Stir together flour and salt, then cut in shortening and butter with pastry blender until you have pea-sized crumbs. Mix in water until dough forms. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface. You'll need two 12-inch circles for a 9-inch pie pan.

*I made it both ways. I liked it with more chocolate, and my husband liked it with less -- he loves baked fruit, though, so he wanted the fruit to shine with just a hint of chocolate. I wanted chocolate in every bite.