23 Saturday Nov 2019
Posted in Barbecue, Food, Healthy Cooking, Meat, Thanksgiving, Turkey
Tags
We started barbecuing our turkey years ago! It’s so delicious and it frees up your oven for all the other stuff you need to cook. Best of all, it gives my husband something to do! LOL!
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
09 Sunday Oct 2016
Tags
Baked, basil, dipping sauce, Easy, Honey Mustard Chicken, low-fat, Quick
We all have our go to foods, but sometimes you just crave something different. I’ve eaten honey mustard sauces out, but I’ve never made my own. Heck, I seem to remember that McDonalds has a honey mustard sauce for their chicken nuggets. I almost never eat fast food, so honestly don’t know if they still have that sauce or not, but they did when I worked there in high school! Anyway, the other night I had some chicken breast tenders thawed out and thought I would make some honey mustard chicken. These couldn’t have been any easier and my family loved them! They had a great, tangy flavor!
Tip: Before you start brushing the raw chicken with the sauce, set some aside for dipping with your meal. I made the mistake of diving in with the basting brush and once the sauce was tainted with raw chicken it was unusable unless I cooked it. It’s easy to make more sauce, as it is just equal parts of mustard and honey.
Honey Mustard Chicken
1 pound chicken
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1/2 cup prepared yellow mustard
1/2 cup honey
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together your mustard and honey. Set some aside for dipping later and don’t put your basting brush in it, so it’s not contaminated with raw chicken. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray or line with parchment paper. Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper and lay on baking sheet. Baste both side of chicken with honey mustard sauce and then sprinkle with fresh basil. Bake chicken 30-45 minutes until cooked through. Cooking time will vary based on the size of your pieces. My chicken tenders cooked pretty quickly, but full size breasts or thighs will take longer. Serve extra sauce with cooked chicken for dipping!
Enjoy!
05 Monday Sep 2016
My mom wasn’t known for her cooking skills, but she had a few recipes that I just loved! Unfortunately, I lost her recipe that inspired this dish, but I faked it and it turned out wonderfully! This is basically chicken in a white wine reduction sauce that is place in a hollowed out bread bowl. The bread soaks up the sauce and is so delicious! You eat the chicken and tear apart the bread and have a piece with your dinner. Yummm!!!! This is a visually beautiful dish and fun to eat. It’s perfect for impressing your dinner guests!
This is a recipe you could play with. You may have your own saucy meat dish that would be good served in the bread bowl. Give it a try! In this picture, you might be able to see that I actually didn’t have a bread bowl, but I used sliced French bread. I had some bread on hand that had gotten a tiny bit stale and was starting to harden. It was perfect for this dish! The sauce soaking into the bread softened it right up and gave it a delicious flavor.
Chicken With Artichokes and Olives in a Bread Bowl
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup white wine (I only had Marsala wine on hand, so I used that, but you could use your favorite white wine for cooking)
2 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 box of frozen artichoke hearts
1 – 4 oz can black olive slices, drained
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
Salt and pepper
1 large or 2 small sourdough rounds, cut off the top and hollow out or several slices of French or sourdough bread
Pour olive oil in a skillet and heat over medium high heat. Once pan is hot, place chicken in pan. Season with salt and pepper. Brown the meat on each side about 4-5 minutes each. Reduce the heat under your pan to medium and remove chicken from pan and place on an oven-safe plate, it can still be pink in the middle. Place chicken in a 275 degree oven to keep warm while you deglaze your pan. Pour wine and chicken broth in pan and stir to remove chicken bits from the bottom of the pan. Whisk in Dijon mustard, add artichoke hearts, olives and garlic and stir. Simmer sauce and allow to reduce. This should take about 30 minutes. Add chicken back to pan and continue to simmer and spoon sauce over chicken, so it can take on some of that wonderful flavor. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook chicken another 10 minutes or so. Place your bread in an oven-safe baking pan. Transfer chicken into baking pan in the bread bowl or over bread slices and then pour sauce and all contents of your skillet over the bread, trying to cover equally so all parts of the bread will soak up sauce. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. Ensure your chicken is cooked through, but don’t burn your bread.
Enjoy!
27 Saturday Aug 2016
Yesterday I got some spicy Italian turkey sausage on sale at the grocery store. I knew I had some orange bell peppers, so Sausage and Peppers came to mind. I didn’t have any sandwich rolls and we hadn’t had mashed potatoes in a while, so I decided to serve it with the potatoes. This was a great combo! The sausage and peppers had tons of flavor and the sauce was great with the mashed potatoes. My husband said the dish reminded him of Shepard’s Pie with an Italian spin on it. This would be a great, hearty winter comfort food!!!
I thought the spicy sausage gave it just the right amount of spice without being overwhelming. If you really don’t like spicy foods you could substitute with sweet sausage and the dish would be just as good.
I can’t completely take credit for this recipe. I started by looking at one of Giada de Laurentiis recipe on the Food Network site, but I altered it based on what I had (or didn’t have) on hand.
Spicy Sausage and Peppers
1 pound spicy Italian turkey sausage
3 tbsp olive oil
2 medium bell peppers, sliced – I prefer red, orange or yellow over the green.
1/2 white onion, sliced
Salt and pepper
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 – 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup red wine – I used Ménage A Trois Midnight (It’s nothing fancy, but it’s a good, affordable table wine). Giada used Marsala wine in her recipe. I’m curious to try this. It would completely change the flavor of the dish as Marsala wine has a very distinctive flavor.
Add olive oil to frying pan and brown whole sausages over medium heat. When browned and almost cooked through, remove sausage to a cutting board and allow to cool a bit. Meanwhile, brown your peppers and onion in the frying pan for about 5 minutes. Then add your basil, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper and cook for 2 more minutes. Slice your sausage into 1″ slices. Add tomato paste, tomatoes and wine to frying pan and stir until mixed well. Add sausage back to the pan. Cook another 5-7 minutes until sausage is cooked through and sauce is thick and bubbly.
This was great served with the mashed potatoes. It would also be good over pasta or served on sandwich rolls.
Mangia bene!
13 Saturday Aug 2016
Tags
Earlier this week, I was trying figure out what to make for dinner and I noticed I had about a pound of leftover BBQ tri-tip roast and maybe a 1/4 pound of left over shrimp. I was in the mood for Chinese food, so I decided to put these two leftover meats to good use and make some shrimp fried rice and broccoli beef. I’ve made fried rice several times before. This was my first time taking a stab at broccoli beef. I impressed myself! This dish turned out really good! The meat stayed tender, the broccoli was still firm and not over cooked, and the sauce had a great flavor and texture. These dishes really weren’t difficult to make, but they were certainly delicious and a great way to make use of leftovers.
If you check out my fried rice recipe, you’ll see how you can also use leftover rice to make this dish.
Broccoli Beef
3 tablespoons cornstarch, divided
1⁄2 cup water, plus
2 tablespoons water, divided
1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 lb boneless round steak, cut into 3 inch strips (I used left over BBQ tri-tip roast cut into strips)
3 medium heads off broccoli, cut off stalks and separate florets
1/2 red onion, chopped
1⁄3 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
In a bowl, combine 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 2 tablespoons water and garlic powder until smooth.
Add beef and toss. This goes for raw or pre-cooked beef.
Spray large skillet with non-stick spray and heat to medium high, stir-fry beef until beef reaches desired doneness or if using pre-cooked beef until heated through, remove and keep warm.
Give pan another spray on non-stick spray if needed and Stir-fry broccoli and onion for 4-5 minutes.
Return beef to pan.
Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger and remaining cornstarch and water until smooth; add to the pan.
Cook and stir for 2 minutes.
Enjoy!
17 Sunday Apr 2016
Tags
Carrots, Cooking, ground turkey, Hash, healthy, potatoes, ranch dressing, recipe, spicy
It was one of those nights, where I didn’t have a specific plan for dinner other than using stuff I had on hand that needed to be eaten! I hate wasting food, so this used some fresh veggies I had on hand and the ground turkey that needed to be used. It turned out to be a delicious, hearty dinner that had a nice amount of spice to it. It would be a great meal for a chilly evening. As tasty as it is, the ingredients are pretty basic, so chances are you’ll have them on hand and most people will enjoy this dish. You can always dial the spice up or down depending on your tastes.
Hearty Hash
4 russet potatoes, diced
2 carrots, peeled & diced
1/2 medium white onion, diced
1 pound ground turkey
1 packet ranch dressing mix
1 – 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 – 6 oz can tomato sauce
Salt and pepper
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (These could be left out to dial back the spice quite a bit.)
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried parsley
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking pan with non-stick spray. Pour diced potatoes into pan and spread In single layer. Lightly season with salt and pepper. Bake for 30 minutes.
Spray a frying pan with non-stick spray, brown ground turkey with onions and carrots. One the meat is cooked through, add ranch dressing mix, tomatoes, tomato sauce, peppers, paprika, parsley and potatoes. Stir and cook until veggies are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Enjoy!
02 Saturday Apr 2016
My 17 year old daughter wanted to make dinner last night. All she would say was she was making burgers. She was being very secretive about what exactly she was doing with them. Low and behold it was a stuffed burger with surprise ingredients in the middle. These were stuffed with tomato, onion,cheese and relish. They were delicious!!! I’ve been trying to keep my posts really healthy, but this recipe was too good not to share!
My daughter, with some help from her dad, cooked these plump beauties on our charcoal grill. You can’t beat the taste of a charcoal grilled burger! The only better thing is a stuffed, charcoal grilled burger!
Stuffed Surprise Burger
This recipe comes from “365 Ways to Cook Hamberger and Other Ground Meats” by Rick Rodgers.
2 eggs
2 lbs. ground beef (85% lean)
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbsp prepared mustard
1 large tomato, cut into 6 slices
1 small red onion, cut into thin slices
6 thin slices of cheese, we used pepper jack, but take your pick!
2 tbsp pickle relish
Prepare a hot fire in a grill. In a large bowl, beat eggs with a fork. Working as quickly as gently as possible, add ground beef, Worcestershire, salt, and pepper and mix well. Form into 8 patties about 1/2 inch thick.. Spread mustard over 4 patties, then layer on tomato, onion and cheese slices, trimmed to fit,if necessary. Spread relish over cheese. Place remaining patties on filled patties and pinch edges together to enclose filling and create 4 stuffed burgers.
Place patties on an oiled grill set 4-6 inches from the coals. Grill, turning once, until well browned outside but still pink and juicy inside. Cook about 14 minutes for medium or shorter or longer if desired. They should be cooked long enough to melt the cheese inside. The stuffing will keep burgers flavorful and juicy!
Meanwhile, open up buns and toast on sides of grill til warm and lightly browned. Place cooked burgers in buns and let everyone choose their own fixings. Personally, I just dipped mine in Ketchup and it was perfect!!!
We served our burgers with a side of oven-baked, seasoned curly fries. It was a great Friday night family dinner!!!
Enjoy!!!
27 Sunday Mar 2016
I had a conversation in which we ranked chicken parts. Yes, a very important debate here. This judgement was based on taste, not nutritional value or ease of cooking. No other parts were under consideration. In other words, you can have the feet. We decided: 1. Thighs 2. Drumsticks 3. Wings 4. Breasts To celebrate: […]
https://whatfoodimade.wordpress.com/2016/03/20/chicken-with-leeks-apples-and-cider/
25 Friday Mar 2016
Posted in Cooking, Food, Healthy Cooking, Meat, Recipes
Tags
cheesy grits, Cooking, Food, healthy, oven fried chicken, recipe, southern
I have struggled with my weight my whole adult life, so I am always looking for ways to make delicious meals with less fat and calories. Like my site’s slogan says, “Love to eat, love to cook and trying to keep it healthy!” My latest endeavor was to make fried chicken and cheesy grits that wouldn’t add 10 inches to my hips! I believe I can declare success! The fried chicken was crispy and tasty and the cheesy grits also tasted fantastic and had a nice texture to them. We had some vegetables with this dinner too. I promise!!!
I’ve made oven fried chicken before, but I had never used buttermilk or panko before. I just happened to have some of each of these leftover from a previous recipe. The buttermilk marinade gave the chicken a nice tang and the panko mixed with spices gave it extra crunch and a whole lot more flavor, which I love on my fried chicken.
I am a California girl, born and bred, and did not grow up eating grits. I have to admit that I am NO grit expert. I know people in the south can be very particular about their grits. I have had shrimp and grits in a restaurant and I loved it! My daughter also made some one night and they were also very good. Normally, I would make mashed potatoes with fried chicken, but we had just had them the night before, so I thought I would try my hand at grits. What was I going to do about the fattening cheese though? Got to have that in cheesy grits! I happened to have some Laughing Cow cheese wedges on hand. I have cooked with these before and they melt very nicely, so with this and some fat free milk I was ready to go!!!
So if you’re craving some southern inspired food, but want to keep it as healthy as possible, give these two recipes a try!
Oven-fried Chicken
1 pound chicken
1 cup buttermilk
Salt and pepper
1 cup Pankow
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp garlic salt
Pepper
1/2 tsp Cajun Seasoning
1/2 tsp paprika
Canola Oil Spray
Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Put chicken in a re-sealable bag and pour in buttermilk. Massage chicken in bag making sure all pieces are covered with buttermilk. Marinate chicken in fridge for 2-3 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour panko, flour, garlic salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning and paprika in a shallow, flat container and mix well. Lay chicken, one piece at a time, in the panko and press to coat, turn over and repeat on the other side. Place chicken on baking sheet lined with parchment paper or sprayed with non-stick spray. Spray all chicken pieces lightly with non-stick spray. Bake for 45 minute or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 170.
Cheesy Grits
1 cup quick cooking grits
3 Laughing Cow cheese wedges
3 1/2 cups fat free milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat milk over medium heat until it begins to bubble around the edges. Stir in cheese and melt. Whisk in grits until desired consistency, if too thick add a little more milk, if too thin a little more grits. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Mine came out a creamy texture.
22 Tuesday Mar 2016
Posted in cooking, Food, Meat, Recipes, Slow Cooking
Tags
Carrots, Cooking, Corned Beef and Cabbage, Food, potatoes, recipe, Slow Cooking, St. Patrick's Day
My youngest daughter’s birthday is on St. Patrick’s Day and she wanted to go out that day, so our traditional dinner of corned beef and cabbage was put on hold. But that’s OK!!! Corned beef can be kind of pricey and I was happy to get it on sale after the holiday. It tasted just as good a few days after the holiday! Better actually! Since it was Sunday, not Thursday, I had all day to pamper this meal. This particular version was the best version I’ve ever made. Tons of fantastic flavor and beautiful colors!
One difference you’ll notice, is that I choose to use red cabbage. Our German family, loves pickled red cabbage, so I kind of go that route with this dish. As I’ve mentioned in numerous posts, I’m not a huge fan of cooked carrots, so I opted to cook my carrots separate from my corned beef and cabbage. I did use some of the liquid from the corned beef, so I got the same fantastic flavor, but everything else did not take on the flavor of the carrots. I just simmered these in a separate pot. They took on the great flavors of the liquid!
I also chose to serve mashed potatoes. I had a large group, so the corned beef and cabbage filled my slow cooker. This is why I opted to go with mashed that I could cook in a separate pot. I actually included a couple of turnips too. I just boiled those right along with the potatoes and the mashed them all together with some fat free sour cream, fat free milk, fresh garlic, salt and pepper.
You’ll also notice the wedge of Irish soda bread. I blogged that recipe yesterday. It was incredibly good and so easy to make!!!
Slow Cooked Corned Beef and Cabbage
4 pound corned beef brisket with seasoning packet
3 1/2 cups beef broth
3 bay leaves
3 garlic cloves,pressed or diced
1/2 yellow onion, sliced
1 1/2 heads red cabbage, shredded
3 cups fat free chicken broth
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp pepper
In slow cooker, add corned beef, garlic, onion and beef broth. Put seasoning packet from corned beef and bay leaves in cheese cloth packet or herb infused and submerge in broth in slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 hours. Add red cabbage and chicken broth. Continues to cook for 2 hours.
After 2 hours, uses a slotted spoon to transfer cabbage to another pot. Spoon in about 1 1/2 cups of liquid from the slow cooker. Add vinegar, sugar and pepper to cabbage and simmer for a few minutes.
While cabbage simmers, remove corned beef from slow cooker and slice against the grain. We like to serve our corned beef with various types of mustard. I really liked mine with a Hawaiian Honey mustard we had on hand. Dijon is really good too!
Enjoy!
Inside Kel's Kitchen 