Czech Foods Recipes

Incase it is not already obvious by the main ingredient in this recipe, I am currently in America visiting family.  I thought I'd try out a couple recipes over the next weeks using ingredients that are easier to find in America.  First up was an idea I'd been holding onto for a while, chicken using flavored crackers as the bread crumbs.  In this case, I have opted for Cheez-Its!  If you can get past their amazing glowing orange exterior, you are sure to love them as much as I did. You will need: 3 large chicken breasts 3 cups Cheez-Its (original) crackers 1 1/2 cup sour cream 2 tsp spicey brown mustard (or 2 1/2 tsp yellow mustard) salt and pepper for seasoning Non-sticking cooking spray or low-cal oil spray Note: For added cheesiness add in 2-3 Tbsp of cheddar cheese powder to the sour cream/mustard mixture (you can lift this powder from a kraft mac n cheese dinner box or find it in some grocery stores) 1. Preheat oven to 375 F. 2. Rinse chicken and chop into bite size pieces

Once, there was a recipe that looked oh-so-very-tasty. It was a pasta with a fava pesto sauce. Fava beans were beautifully photographed in the half-shell. Scattered across the brown paper bag they were purchased in, the green, slightly fuzzy, pods had been discarded and a steaming plate of pasta was in the forefront. I made it within days. And it sucked. I mean, it was so bitter even copious amounts of cheese (my usual fix-it) left me feeling pretty disappointed. Still, ever curious about the world of favas, I did some asking around. Illumination my friends, pure fava illumination. There is a double shell. Yep. Now, if you want to eat them raw, snack-style, the double shell need not be removed. In fact, one doesn't even notice it. But if you want to cook them, even slightly, the outer jacket of the fava bean has got to go. The way to do this is get a pot of water boiling, and in the meantime, start popping the fava beans out of the pods. Then toss in the pot and boil for 1 minute.

Cooking can be as simple or as complex as you make it. A long rambling recipe can be such a joy to read and an inspiration with scrumptious results. A quick post-market lunch of hand-made tortellini and mushrooms picked lovingly by the same elderly man who sold them to you can be so ultimately satisfying in such a different way. What we sometimes forget, however, is the tremendous impact of the people whom we are cooking for. It's almost like dating. First, you have the compatibility factors. How much salt, any dietary restrictions, and other personal preferences. But then comes something less tangible. Chemistry, I believe it is often called. It transcends the actual contents of the meal and touches a much more personal level. You can cook and eat with someone who likes the exact same things as you, but something just doesn't click. Maybe they are too critical, or not critical enough. Maybe they desire a formal presentation and you are more of a pan-to-plate kind of a cook. Wh

I have so many interests, that I am always trying to think of solutions, which would make my life easier. I love to accomplish a lot of things in the shortest time possible. I can now bake a bread that my family loves without much effort. It literally takes me 10 minutes to measure ingredients, pour them into a bread machine and few hours later, after machine kneads, rises, and bakes the dough, I am pulling a delicious bread out while my family is already nibbling on it. I also love one thing about it - no fake additives, no chemicals. Just pure yummy simple bread. Most of the time it is usually gone the same day. I have an old bread machine from William-Sonoma, which I have been using for nearly 20 years and it came quite handy many times. So if you have a bread machine, try this recipe. It will even save you few dollars. Ingredients: 1 and 1/2 cups water (warmed for 1 minute in the microwave) 1 TBSP milk 2 tsp sugar 1 tsp salt 2 tsp dry fast rising yeast 1/4 cup rye flour

In my kitchen I have one of those small black Krups electric coffee grinders that I love to use every morning. I have had this gadget for about twelve years as it was a Christmas present from my parents. There is some definite satisfaction to the whirling sound and pulse of grinding up the beans to begin the day. I also enjoy the pleasant aroma produced by grinding up coffee beans. I believe this gadget seems too limited to be used strictly for coffee beans. There are a number of practical items that this device can safely chop and grind before reaching for other gadgets. I understand a bean grinder was designed for coffee beans only and coffee purists will tell you so. There are those times though when laziness sets in and you can get by using a coffee grinder to grind up many other items without having to reach for the bulky food processor or blender. As long as the grinder is wiped clean of debris before and after each use, it should do a great job of grinding and not cross contamin