For those of you who thought we’d fallen off the face of the planet or indulged in a fatal culinary experiment, worry no more, we’re still alive and well.

Dave & I have decided to go into hiding as we revamp the Kitchen’s entire look. We’re working diligently behind the scenes and hope to re-launch very soon with a brand new look and awesome ideas, and yes, many experiments in store too, we’re certain you’ll love it.

Till then, please be patient and make sure to follow us on twitter for updates @AmateurKitchen and feel free to write us anytime at admin@theamateurkitchen.com if you have any suggestions, ideas or even tell how dull life has been without us around and maybe a few words of encouragement too as we struggle with coding, cooking and eating, hee hee..

Will keep you posted!

Cheers,

Chef Dee and the Amateur Kitchen

You’ll be seeing quite a few dishes featuring the awesome Taco Bowl, as it’s easy to make and adds that extra spin to the usual same old same old. Try it out someday, it definitely is a simple meal.

Although there are molds made to help create the perfect taco bowl, you can still use any oven proof deep bowl to achieve a similar result. Just lightly grease your mold of choice with cooking spray to prevent sticking and fit the tortilla into it well. Bake until it starts to brown and crisp slightly, about 10-15 minutes at about 375 f (190 c). Easy right?

Now a salad is a salad, no quantum physics there, add what you like as much or as little as you like it. Whether you choose Mixed Greens, Lettuce, Green Onions/Scallions, Tomato, Corn, Cucumber, Pepper, Cold Meat of your choice, Pickled Jalapenos, and topping it all with Shredded Cheese and Dressing of your choice, the possibilities are truly endless. Just make sure serve your salad immediately if you decide to toss it with the dressing before the Taco shell starts absorbing the dressing and falls apart. We suggest layering your ingredients and topping the salad with the dressing right before serving.

For our salad, we used Lettuce, Green Onions/Scallions, Cherry Tomatoes, Corn, Pickled Jalapenos, chopped Honey Ham, Shredded Cheese and topped all off with a Fat Free Italian Dressing, and of course a little salt and pepper to taste.

Give it a try and let us know how it works out.

Ingredients for Two Servings

2 Whole Wheat Tortillas

Lettuce or Mixed Greens

Cherry Tomatoes

Corn

Green Onions/Scallions

Pickled Jalapenos

Chopped Honey Ham

Shredded Cheese

Fat Free Italian Dressing

We’ve made enough tweaks to the basic chicken recipe you’d find in a slow cooker manual or book and called it our own, and who knows, in time you may do the same!

First off, we’re using the smaller 2qt slow cooker for this one, keeping the 6qt for special events where bigger batches are called for. That said, if you need to make more than 2-4 servings, just double the recipe and you’ll be fine.

To start, you need 1.5lbs of Skinless Boneless Chicken Thighs, making sure to remove as much of the visible fat and veins as you can as it’ll make the result much more appealing. Grate 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger and mince enough Garlic Cloves for 2 tablespoons. Of course, if you’re apprehensive to using Garlic, use half of that though it may not be as yummy, so we’re taking the blame for that, hee hee. Add 2 teaspoons of Brown Sugar, 1 teaspoon of Salt, 1/2 teaspoon of Red Pepper Flakes and 2 tablespoons of Instant Pearl Tapioca to thicken, blend well then add 3-4 tablespoons of coarsely chopped Cilantro and 2 cans of Diced Tomatoes. You can substitute one can for a Roasted Garlic and Onion can of Diced Tomatoes for extra flavor.

Once you have all your ingredients ready, place the Chicken Thighs in your slow cooker first, then top it with the sauce mixture and if needed, add enough water so it reaches up to 1/2 an inch from the top of the pot. Set it on High for about 3.5hrs or low to 6.5hrs. When time’s up, stir and adjust the seasoning if needed and let it cook for an additional 1-2hrs. The Chicken Thighs will break down in the sauce for the most part and can be served with your choice of Whole Wheat Couscous or Rice.

Enjoy!!

Ingredients for Two Servings

1.5lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs

2 cans Diced Tomatoes (can substitute 1 can for the seasoned variety like Roasted Garlic & Onion)

1 tablespoon of grated Fresh Ginger

2 tablespoons of minced Garlic (or less if you really must)

3-4 tablespoons of coarsely chopped Fresh Cilantro

2 tablespoons of Instant Pearl Tapioca (can be substituted with another thickening ingredient)

2 teaspoons of Brown Sugar

1 teaspoon of Salt

1/2 teaspoon of Red Pepper Flakes

Another dish we’ve perfected, keeping it simple and adding to the flavors of a great fish.

Make sure to preheat your broiler while you prepare your ingredients.

In a mixing bowl add the juice of half a Lemon, 2-3 tablespoons of Olive Oil, 1 tablespoon of Fresh or Dried Dill, some Paprika, or Cayenne Pepper if you prefer it spicier, Garlic Powder, Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper to taste. Mix well and spoon over one side of your fish, start with the one that will be served facing down. If your Salmon has skin on, that’s the side facing up when serving, so start broiling the other side first.

I prefer my Salmon rare, but Dave likes his well done, and the plot thickens, hee hee. But nah, after spooning the Citrus Herb Mix over the fish, broil the well done one first for about 2 minutes, then add the other and flip both over after 1 to 1 1/2minutes. Spoon the Citrus Herb mix on that side as well and broil an additional 2 minutes then remove. If there’s any of the Citrus Herb Mix left, spoon some more over the fish and sprinkle a little Fresh Ground Pepper on top and server over steamed vegetables. We chose a frozen mixture of Lima beans, chopped Broccoli, Carrots, Onions and Celery, but there are many healthy, nutritious and simple options out there you won’t get tired of it anytime soon = )

Ingredients for Two Servings

2 portions of Salmon

1/2 Lemon

1 tablespoon Fresh or Dried Dill

2-3 tablespoons Olive Oil

Paprika (or Cayenne Pepper if you prefer)

Garlic Powder

I package of steamable or microwavable Frozen Vegetables of your choice

Although you can grow sprouts in a variety of containers, we’ve opted to use sprouters to help make the watering, harvesting and storage processes easier. Selling under $15 online or at stores and the seeds ranging between $0.5-3, depending on how fancy a variety you select, makes it a very smart investment.

First, soak the seeds in hot water and in a warm place overnight to swell a bit, some will sprout a little by that time too. Transfer the seeds to your sprouter/container of choice and wash or soak briefly in warm water twice daily, keeping them in a well lit warm place, maybe near a window. Try to remove any shells as you wash, otherwise, be thorough before eating. We’ll tell you more about each when harvesting.

Below are a few favorites and some experimental or new to our kitchen.

The above are Snow Peas and Sunflower Seed sprouts, though we’ve yet to successfully grow the later, the Snow Peas are yummy and grow quickly like a couple of days quick! If you look closely at the picture, you’ll see some have begun sprouting already.

Above are: Zesty Mix, Beets, Radish and the delicious, high in Vitamin C, Mung Beans.

The Zesty Mix grows quickly and is great on salads or as a garnish as it’s a fresh mixture of several varieties. The Beets we haven’t tried before and are crossing our fingers for great results, of course, we’ll keep you posted. The Radish sprouts are good too, tangy and smaller in size, but very good.

Finally, our favorite, the Mung Beans, very tasty, quick growing and you can manipulate their color by alternating their placement between light and shade, where they’ll grow green or white respectively. They’re great in everything, whether topping, garnish, sandwich or salad and way too easy to grow, did we also mention VERY good for you?

Above are Mustard and Alfalfa sprouts, we don’t really have much experience growing either, so not much to say just yet. Sounds good just the same though. The seeds are a little smaller than the rest, even after soaking, so we decided to grow them in a sprouter with smaller openings at the bottom. Other than that, we’ll just wait and see.

And finally comes our biggest, strangest and least appealing of experiments yet. Now the only reason we grew these two together was a result of a slight misstep where some of the Broccoli sprouts ended up in the Basil sprouts and there was no way to separate the two. So, we decided to make a mix them and hope for the best. Will keep you posted for sure, though this looks like it could turn out a little ugly(-ier)

After 10-15 minutes, remember it’s already cooked, unwrap and broil 1-2 minutes longer for the skin to turn slightly golden.

Thats pretty much it! Serve with a healthy portion of vegetables, side salad and dinner is, once again, served!!

Ingredient for Two Servings

Half a Roasted Chicken

Fresh or Steamed Vegetables

Salad Green, Green Onions/Scallions, Tomatoes and Fat Free Salad Dressing

Another broiled dish of lovely white fish, hee hee, silly.

Anyhoo, for this fish we went to the AeroGarden and snipped off some Fresh Dill, Savory and Chives, seasoned the fish lightly with Cayenne Pepper, Garlic Powder, Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper, then chopped our herbs and spread them evenly on both sides, sprayed a little Fat Free Cooking Spray and into the broiler it goes.

It won’t take long to cook so peak in after 2 minutes and it’ll probably be time to flip it over. Once lightly golden on both sides it’s ready to eat, just heat up some frozen veggies. We like keeping it light so we use Cauliflower, Broccoli, Carrots and maybe some Lima Beans for added texture, of course, if fresh vegetables are accessible that’s always preferred. Chop a small side salad and enjoy a healthy nutritious and colorful meal!!

Ingredients for Two Serving

2 portions Fillet of Swai Fish(

Fresh Herbs: Chives, Savory & Dill

Cayenne Pepper

Garlic Powder

Fresh (or Steamed) Mixed Vegetables

Salad Greens, Tomato, Green Onions/Scallions and Fat Free Salad Dressing

Begin by mixing your favorite herbs in a small bowl. We used Paprika, Garlic Powder, Dried Basil, Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper, you can of course alter or add your own favorites. We then rubbed the mixture onto both sides of the meat, sprayed some Fat Free Cooking Spray and popped it in the broiler on a little rack allowing the fat and juices to drip. Cook about 5mins per side, and till you know the exact duration it’ll cook in your broiler, check 1-2 minutes earlier to ensure it doesn’t burn or dry up.  Once done spoon over some of the juices onto your Pork Chops and serve with your favorite salad and mixed vegetables.

Easy right?

Ingredients for Two Servings

2 portions of Pork Chops

Your choice of herbs: Paprika, Garlic Powder, Dried Basil, etc..

1 package of steamable or microwavable Mixed Frozen Vegetables

Salad Greens

Green Onions

Cherry Tomatoes

Sprouts to garnish

Fat Free Salad Dressing

It’s easier to store, move or leave on the counter and quickly cooks a great dinner for two with leftovers for an additional meal, which will save room in the fridge too and is easier to experiment with, as opposed to a bigger one.

Here is another experiment that went REALLY well.

We had some leftover turkey meat that was kept for a sandwich but we decided this would be much healthier. We cut the meat up into tiny pieces, added 1/2 cup of Orzo, another of Mixed Frozen Vegetables of your choice, some chopped Mushrooms, a can of diced Tomatoes and enough Chicken Broth to cover up to an inch below the top of the pot. As always, cookers will vary but a good starting point would be to check back in 2hrs. Taste, season with salt, pepper and some garlic powder. Of course, for the more adventurous out there, spice it up with your choice of herbs and spices, maybe some cayenne pepper, cumin, red pepper flakes, dill or cilantro would be great examples to experiment with.

Let it cook an additional 1-2hrs for the flavors to blend, adjust seasoning if needed and add 2-3 tablespoons Fat Free Sour Cream and let it cook an additional 1/2 an hour. Serve as a stew as is or over Whole Wheat Couscous, Rice or Rolls. Enjoy!!

Ingredients for Two Servings Plus!!

1/2-1 cup of Turkey cut into small pieces

1/2 cup of uncooked Orzo

1/2 cup Mixed Frozen Vegetables

1 can Diced Tomatoes

1/2 cup chopped mushrooms (optional)

Approximately 2-3 cups of Chicken Broth

Herbs & Spices of your choice

2-3 tablespoons of Fat Free Sour Cream

Eh, it happens right?

After a quick pantry scan, we grabbed a few items we never even remembered buying and this is what we came up with.

For the sauce we sauteed some Dried Porcini Mushrooms, that were soaked for a few minutes beforehand, added a couple of minced Garlic cloves and a little Olive Oil along with a can of Cooked Chicken we never knew we had nor needed. Until now that is.

Meanwhile, prepare the Pasta as directed. In a separate saucepan on medium low heat, we whisked 1/2 cup of Fat Free Milk with a teaspoon of Soup & Sauce Thickener, which can be substituted for Cornflour or Starch, we continued whisking, ensuring there were no lumps, until it reached the thickness we prefer. We seasoned it with a little salt and pepper and a handful of chopped Parsley, added the Mushrooms and Chicken and cooked about 5 minutes longer for the flavors to blend and towards the end added about 2-3 tablespoons of Grated Parmesan Cheese. When done we adjusted the seasoning as needed, stirred in the cooked Pasta and coating it well with the sauce and served it, topping each serving with more grated Parmesan and Fresh Ground Pepper to taste. If you wish you can either make a simple side Salad to serve along with your Pasta or just a couple of toasted slices of Bread rubbed with a clove of Garlic.

And that’s pretty much it, all unplanned, yet delicious just the same.

Buon Appetito!!

Ingredients for Two Servings

2 servings Whole Wheat Pasta

1/2 cup Dried Porcini Mushrooms

1 can Cooked Chicken

2-3 Garlic Cloves, minced

2-3 tablespoons of Olive Oil

1/2 cup Fat Free Milk

1 teaspoon of Sauce & Soup Thickener (can be substituted with Cornflour or Corstarch)

A few sprigs of Parsley, chopped

2-3 tablespoons of grated Parmesan Cheese, and a little more to taste for topping