"Un-fried" Squash

As I mentioned in my Fried Squash post, southerners love their fried squash. It can be breaded or battered. But... since we're trying to be healthy here, I decided to try an un-fried version! I think it tastes just as good as the fried version! In fact, it was so good I didn't feel like it needed any kind of dipping sauce. It was delicious on its own.

"Un-fried" Squash

Makes: 4 servings

2 summer squash

1/2 cup canola oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp dried Italian herbs

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp sea salt

• Rinse the summer squash and pat them dry. Cut the squash into 1/2" circles. Set aside.
• Make the marinade by mixing together the canola oil, garlic, herbs, pepper flakes, and salt.
• Add the squash and marinade to a gallon size plastic bag, then toss to coat the squash. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
• Remove the squash from the marinade and grill on high for 2 minutes per side.
• Serve as an appetizer or as a side dish.

Fried Squash

Fried squash is another southern treat that I was sadly deprived of until I moved to Charlotte. Apparently it's a big deal around here. Southerners love their fried squash. Almost as much as fried pickles haha! I've seen some people use a batter on their squash and some people bread it. I like it both ways, but today I decided to bread it. And... since it's swim suit season, I'll decided to try my hand at some "Un-fried" Squash. They both came out excellent if I do say so myself!

Fried Squash
Makes: 4 servings

2 medium summer squash
2 cups plain bread crumbs
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried Italian herb mix
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2/3 cup flour
4 eggs
1/4 cup milk
canola oil for frying

  

• Fill a stainless steel fry pan with 1" of oil and preheat over medium-medium-high.
• Rinse the summer squash and pat them dry. Then cut them into 1/4" slices. Set aside.
• Mix together the bread crumbs, salt, garlic, herbs, and cayenne pepper.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk.
• Dip the squash into the flour, then the egg mixture, then the bread crumb mixture.
• Once all of the slices of squash are coated in bread crumbs, lay them out in a single layer on a plate and allow to sit for at least 5 minutes. This will allow the breading to harden a little bit and prevent cracking when you fry it.
• Fry the squash in batches, making sure not to overcrowd the pan. Once the squash is golden brown, about 3 - 4 minutes per side, remove from the oil and allow to drain.
• Serve with dipping sauce such as marinara.

Taiwanese Pepper Chicken

A Chinese buffet opened up recently near us. I love buffets especially when it comes to Chinese food. I always want a little bit of everything. But most Chinese food restaurants serve their dishes in family style platters. So we end up ordering around 5 different dishes and then come home with enough left-overs to feed a seven nation army. Anyhow, we decided to try out the new buffet on father's day and we ended up trying a new dish we had never had before: pepper chicken. We loved it so much, I knew I had to come home and try to recreate it. Well, after a few weeks, I had actually forgotten all about it. Then, like a sign from the universe, I stumbled across a recipe for Taiwanese salt and pepper pork while I was browsing the Food board on Reddit. The recipe looked really similar to the chicken we had so I used it as inspiration for this chicken dish. I should note that the dish we had at the restaurant had green bell peppers in it. I didn't happen to have any bell peppers when I made this. But I did have some jalapeño peppers from my garden and, since this family has a pathological love of all things spicy, I thought it would make a decent substitute!

Taiwanese Pepper Chicken
Makes: 4 servings

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 egg
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp flour
3 tbsp corn starch
2 tsp cracked black pepper, divided
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red chili pepper, sliced
1 jalapeño pepper, sliced
canola oil for frying

  

• Fill a stainless steel pan with 1" of oil. Preheat oil over medium-medium-high heat.
• Cut the chicken breasts into 1" cubes.
• Mix together the egg, soy sauce, and 1 tsp of the cracked pepper.
• Toss the chicken in the egg mixture.
• Add the flour and corn starch. Toss to coat.
• Fry the chicken in the oil for about 3 - 4 minutes until it is golden brown and cooked through. You'll probably need to do this in two batches so you don't overcrowd the pan.

• Remove the chicken from the oil and set aside.
• Allow the oil to cool and then transfer it to a holding container so that you can dispose of it later. Reserve about 2 tbsp of the oil in the pan.
• In the reserved oil, saute the garlic and peppers until fragrant, about 1 minute. Then add the remaining 1 tsp of cracked pepper.

• Toss the chicken in the garlic and pepper mixture. Serve with rice and vegetables.

Note: if you don't have an electric spice grinder (I don't!) then it will take you an incredible amount of time to grind up the amount of black pepper needed for this recipe. You're definitely going to feel the burn in your arms. But... it's worth it! I promise!

Crispy Pork Chops

If you haven't noticed from my posts, we mostly eat chicken. Matt can't really eat steak because of his braces - poor guy, only 6 more months to go! So tonight I decided to change it up with some pork chops. I shallow fried them with crunchy panko bread crumbs. Something to note about shallow frying, you really shouldn't ever use a non-stick pan for deep frying or shallow frying. Non-stick pans are made for cooking in medium to low heat. The extremely high temperatures achieved by frying with hot oil can cause the non-stick coating to warp and flake off. So make sure you're using stainless steel for this recipe.

Crispy Pork Chops

Makes: 4 pork chops

4 thin boneless center cut pork chops

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

1/2 seasoned salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 cup flour

1 egg

1 tbsp milk

canola or vegetable oil for frying

• Combine the panko, seasoned salt, and cayenne pepper. Set aside.
• Whip together the egg and milk, set aside.
• With a meat tenderizer, pound the pork chops flat. This will help them cook more evenly and quickly.
• Dredge the pork chops in the flour, then the egg wash, then the panko mixture. Set aside while the oil is heating up.
• Fill a heavy bottomed stainless steel frying pan, heat about 1/2" of oil over medium heat.
• Once the oil is very hot, place the pork chops in the pan. If you're using a medium pan, you may need to do this in batches of two at a time. You don't want to overcrowd the pan.
• Cook the pork chops for about 3 - 4 minutes per side until they are brown and crispy and fully cooked on the inside. Allow to rest for two minutes before serving.
• I served mine on a bed of collard greens. Yum!

Baked Chiles Rellenos

Chiles rellenos is a traditional Mexican dish. Typically, they are made with a roasted poblano pepper, stuffed with meat and cheese, then coated in an egg batter and fried. My version is a little bit different. Mine are made with anaheim peppers. I also skipped the meat. And I figured since we're already stuffing the thing with cheese, maybe we can skip the frying and bake it instead. This method of slow roasting makes the peppers nice and sweet.

These can be served with beans and rice for a great Meatless Monday meal. Or you can serve them as a side for chicken or fish.

Baked Chiles Rellenos
Makes: 4 servings

4 anaheim peppers
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

• With a small paring knife, cut the tops off of the peppers and remove the seeds.
• Mix together the three cheese.
• Stuff each pepper with 1/4 of the cheese mixture. The peppers are long and skinny so you'll probably need to stuff them a little at a time.
• Once the peppers are stuffed, place them all side by side on one large piece of aluminum foil. Fold up the foil making sure that it's tight against the tops so that the cheese doesn't come out when it melts.
• Bake at 350° F for one hour until the peppers are fork tender. Allow to cool for five minutes before serving.

Buffalo Wing Pizza

I struggled with the name for this post. I wanted to call it "Man Pizza" because it definitely meets the definition of whatMatt considers man food. But I decided that "Man Pizza" wasn't descriptive enough. So here we go with Buffalo Wing Pizza!

I made this pizza with pre-made frozen popcorn chicken. I'm normally not too keen on frozen food, but we had a coupon for these and I decided to try them. They were actually really good! That being said, if you don't want to get frozen chicken, you could make your own buffalo wings with my recipe for Boneless Buffalo Wings or you could even grill some chicken and cut it in to strips.

Buffalo Wing Pizza
Makes: 1 large pizza

1 package pre-made pizza dough
1/3 cup wing sauce (such as Frank's)
8 oz package of shredded pizza cheese (mozzarella and cheddar blend)
2 oz crumbled blue cheese
8 oz popcorn chicken
8 oz bacon
Cornmeal

• On a surface coated with cornmeal, roll out the pizza dough. Transfer the dough to a baking sheet or pizza pan that has been lightly greased and coated with cornmeal. Set aside and allow the dough to rise for about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, crisp the bacon. See my Tips & Tricks about how to cook bacon. Once cooked, chop up the bacon then set aside.
• Cook the popcorn chicken according to the directions. Mine took about 20 minutes. Once cooked, chop up any pieces of chicken that are too big. You want them all to be bite sized.
• Prick the pizza dough with a fork to prevent bubbles from forming in the dough (FYI: this is called "docking").
• Spread the wing sauce evenly over the pizza dough. Feel free to use more or less, depending on how spicy you want it.
• Sprinkle the entire package of pizza cheese over the pizza. Top with blue cheese, then bacon, then the chicken. If you're really crazy (like my husband) you can even toss the chicken in some wing sauce before you put it on the pizza.
• Bake the pizza at 375° F for 25 - 30 minutes until the cheese is melted and the dough is golden brown.
• Allow to cool for about 2 minutes before serving.

If you're not sure what to do with your left-over blue cheese, check out my recipe for Black & Bleu Cheeseburgers.

Queso Poblano

Matt and I love salsa con queso. Probably a little too much haha! I put that stuff on eggs, broccoli, roasted corn, grilled chicken, just about anything I can possibly think of! This is my own special version made with roasted poblano peppers. I love poblanos; they're a very mild pepper and have a great flavor.

This dip is made with American cheese. It's really important that you get the kind from the deli. The stuff that comes in individual wrapping is highly processed and won't work out in this recipe. Also note, this recipe calls for evaporated milk which is not the same thing as sweetened condensed milk. That would be a pretty awful surprise ha! So make sure you look at the label.

Queso Poblano
Makes: 10 servings

2 poblano peppers
1 lb American cheese
12 oz can evaporated milk
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin

• Roast the poblano peppers. Rinse them well then wipe them down so that they are completely dry. Place the peppers on a baking sheet then place them under the broiler as close as they can get. Roast for about 10 minutes per side until the skin is blistered and charred.
• Once the peppers are roasted, place them in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let them sit for at least 30 minutes.
• Remove the peppers from the bowl, remove the stem and seeds, remove the charred skin, then dice the peppers into about 1/2" dice.

  
 

• Mix together the cheese and evaporated milk in a medium sauce pan. Place the sauce pan over medium low heat and stir constantly until the cheese melts and the dip is thickened, about 10 minutes.
• Remove from the heat, stir in the poblano peppers, garlic, onion, and cumin. The dip may seem a little bit thin but it will thicken quite a bit as it cools. If the dip gets too thick, just heat it up again.

Serve with tortilla chips, soft flour tortillas, and/or vegetables for dipping.

Honey Lime Chicken

This is another one of those recipes that I just kind of pulled out of thin air. I wasn't sure what to make for dinner so I looked around to see what we had. Honey and lime are a pretty classic flavor combination. You see it a lot in southwestern dishes as well as Thai dishes. I went more in the Asian direction with this one and it was yummy! I made this with chicken breasts, but you could also use chicken thighs or even chicken wings.

Honey Lime Chicken

Makes: 4 servings

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup corn starch

1/2 tsp salt

Marinade:

2 tbsp lime juice

3 tbsp honey

1 clove garlic, finely minced

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sambal oelek or chili garlic sauce

• Combine the lime juice, honey, garlic, soy sauce, and chili sauce. Set aside.
• Cut each of the chicken breasts in half length-wise so that you have four thin chicken breasts.
• Pour half of the marinade into a plastic bag with the chicken and marinate it for 10 - 30 minutes. You don't really want to do more than 30 minutes with an acidic marinade like this because it will make the chicken mushy.

• While the chicken in marinating, combine the flour, cornstarch, and salt. Set aside.
• Remove the chicken from the marinade, then toss in the flour mixture. You want just a very thin coating on the chicken. This is going to create a thin, delicate crust.
• Deep fry the chicken at 350° F for 3 - 5 minutes total until deep brown and cooked through. Or cook in a heavy bottomed skillet filled with 1/2" of oil on medium heat for 3 - 4 minutes per side.
• Remove the chicken from the oil and allow to rest.
• While the chicken is resting, heat the other half of the marinate in a small sauce pan over medium heat for 4 - 5 minutes until the sauce bubbles and just starts to thicken. Remove from the heat.
• Plate the chicken then spoon some of the sauce over each piece. There will only be a very small amount of sauce but it's strong stuff so it will be plenty for four pieces of chicken.
• Serve the chicken over white rice, brown rice, rice pilaf, couscous, or quinoa. This dish pairs really well with some bok choy that has been chopped, sauteed until al dente, then tossed with just a little bit of soy sauce.

This was great as is but I can't wait to try it on the grill. I think it will be even more delicious!

Loaded Chicken & Black Bean Burritos

I had some left-over rotisserie chicken from the Buffalo Chicken Blasts that I made the other day so I decided to use it up in these Loaded Chicken & Black Bean Burritos. I also boiled the bones to make chicken stock. Waste not, want not! Anyhow, these burritos are really yummy with chicken, but you can also leave out the chicken for Meatless Mondays.

Loaded Chicken & Black Bean Burritos
Makes: 8 Burritos

2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
15 oz can of black beans
4 oz can of green chilies
1/2 cup salsa verde
1/2 medium yellow onion, 1/2" dice
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
8 burrito size flour tortillas
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese

  

• In a saute pan, cook the onion in the olive oil over medium heat until the onion is soft and translucent, about 10 - 12 minutes.
• Add the chicken, black beans, green chilies, salsa verde, cumin, cayenne, garlic, salt, and pepper. Stir and continue to cook on medium about 5 minutes until heated through.
• Sprinkle about one ounce of cheese on a tortilla then melt the cheese either in the microwave or under the broiler.

• Spread 1/8th of the chicken mixture down the center of the tortilla then roll up like a burrito.

• Serve with sour cream, salsa verde, sliced green onions, etc.
• Note: If you don't want to use a rotisserie chicken, you could bake two chicken breasts at 400° F for 20 - 25 minutes, then chop up.

Cheesecake Factory Copy-Cat: Buffalo Chicken Blasts

Matt and I love the Cheesecake Factory. The last time we went there, I had the best filet mignon I've ever had in my life! Anyhow, they have an appetizer there called Buffalo Chicken Blasts. It's basically wontons filled with buffalo chicken and then chicken fried. Does it get any better than that?! This is my second attempt at a copy-cat recipe for these and I think I've gotten pretty close. Let me know what you think!

Buffalo Chicken Blasts
Makes: 16 pieces

2 cups cooked, chopped chicken
4 oz cream cheese (1/2 brick), softened
1/4 cup hot sauce (such as Frank's)
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
16 egg roll wrappers
2 eggs
2 tbsp milk
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp dill
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp cracked black pepper

• Preheat a deep fryer or heavy bottomed dutch oven filled with oil to 375° F.
• Combine the chicken, cream cheese, hot sauce, and cheddar cheese. Note: I used a rotisserie chicken for this. If you don't want to use a rotisserie chicken, you could bake two chicken breasts at 400° F for 20 - 25 minutes, then chop up. The chicken mixture will kind of look like a sticky mess at this point. That's ok, don't worry.

•  Make the egg wash by beating together the eggs and milk. Set aside.
• Mix the flour, garlic, onion, parsley, dill, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
• With a pastry brush, brush two sides of the egg roll wrapper with water (these are usually found in the produce section next to the tofu). Then fill the wrapper with two tablespoons of chicken mixture, about the size of a golf ball.
• Fold over the egg roll wrapper to form a triangle and seal the edges, making sure to press out any air from inside the wrapper.
• Dip the triangle in the egg wash, then the flour. Shake off any excess flour.

First batch is ready to go!

• Deep fry the triangles for two minutes on each side. My deep fryer can only fit two at a time.

• Once cooked, drain off any excess oil by placing the triangle on a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet. Like so:

• Allow to cool for a few minutes. The filling will be hotter than the blazes of hell and damnation. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Note: You can make a smaller version by using wonton wrappers instead of egg roll wrappers. This would make a great party appetizer.

Black & Bleu Cheeseburgers

Cheeseburgers? Again? Yes!

Cheeseburgers can be a really easy weeknight meal and totally customizable. If you mix up the flavors, it won't seem like you're eating the same thing all the time. Here are a few of my favorite ways to customize a burger.

Add-ins (added right in to the ground beef): onions, garlic, peppers, cheese, worcestershire sauce, steak sauce.
Spices (sprinkled on top of the burgers before cooking): cajun seasoning, steak seasoning, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder.
Toppings: guacamole, avocado slices, bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayo, aioli, mushrooms, onions, peppers, various cheeses (pimiento cheese, bleu cheese, cheddar, havarti, gouda, pepper jack, fresh mozzarella, etc).

Black & Bleu burgers are a favorite of this family.  But if bleu cheese isn't your thing, you can leave it out and the burgers are still great on their own with the cajun seasoning!

Black & Bleu Cheeseburgers
1 lb lean ground beef
4 oz crumbled bleu cheese
1 tsp cajun seasoning (a.k.a. blackened seasoning)
5 slices american cheese
5 hamburger buns

• Mix the crumbled bleu cheese into the ground beef. Be careful not to over-mix or this will cause the burgers to come out dense and dry.
• Form the beef into 5 even patties.
• Sprinkle the cajun seasoning on both sides of each burger.
• Grill on medium high heat until cooked well-done.
• Remove from heat and place a slice of american cheese on each burger.
• Serve on toasted hamburger buns.

I'm almost embarrassed to call that a recipe because it's so ridiculously easy. But it can be easy to get stuck making the same things all the time. I hope this inspired you to revamp some of your go-to recipes.

See this article for an explanation of why you should always cook your hamburgers well-done.

Classic Guacamole

I've got to be honest, there is absolutely nothing special about this recipe. It is just like the hundreds of guacamole recipes you'll find if you just Google the topic. However, sometimes a classic is just what you need. No fancy additions or spins on the original. Just pure and unadulterated. I love guacamole and it's super easy to make. There's no reason to buy the store bought stuff with all the salt and preservatives.

My guacamole is a mild recipe. I know what you're thinking, and no, I haven't lost my mind. I actually prefer a  mild guacamole. I like the avocado to be the star of the show, not the heat.

Guacamole
2 Ripe avocados
1 Clove garlic
1 Roma tomato
1 Jalapeno pepper
2 Tbsp lime juice
Salt

• Cut the avocados in half. Give the pit a good whack with your knife then twist. This is the easiest way to remove the pit. If this method makes you nervous, you can always just give the avocado a good squeeze instead.
• Scoop out the avocados with a spoon and drop them into a bowl.
• Toss the avocado halves with the lime juice so they don't start to oxidize and turn brown.
• Mince the garlic super fine - you don't want to bite into a large chunk of raw garlic!
• Cut the top off of the jalapeno then cut it into quarters. Scoop out the seeds. Lay each quarter flat on your cutting board then cut out the fleshy membrane that was holding the seeds. All of these steps will remove a significant amount of the heat. If you like spicier guacamole, leave the seeds and membranes on the pepper.
• Cut each section into 1/8" match stick size strips. Then finely dice so that you have a 1/8" dice.
• Add the garlic and jalapeno to the avocado and lime juice mixture. Mash up the mixture with a fork. You can make it chunky or creamy, depending on your preference.
• Cut the tomato in half. With a spoon, scoop out the seeds and fleshy membranes in the center of the tomato. You'll be left with two hollow shells basically.
• Cut each section into 1/4" strips. Then dice so that you have a 1/4" dice.
• Add the tomatoes to your guacamole.
• Add salt to taste. Matt and I prefer only a little bit of salt so I add about 1/8 tsp. You may need more, depending on personal taste.
• Run and hide so you can eat it all before anyone realizes you've made guacamole!

Note: you may want to put on gloves to cut the jalapeno. If you don't wear gloves, make sure that you thoroughly wash your hands afterward and for the love of God, don't touch your eyes or nose for several hours after cutting the jalapeno.

Chicken Quesadillas

This is another recipe that took me a while to perfect. Even now, I still make little adjustments to it, depending on what I'm in the mood for. As you know by now, Matt and I love Tex-Mex style food and really anything spicy. Quesadillas are a great, easy Tex-Mex style recipe that's also very budget friendly. We used to eat these all the time in college and right after college when we were flat broke. In fact, my Quesadillas might be the reason Matt married me! haha

Chicken Quesadillas
2 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 Tsp adobo seasoning
3 Strips bacon
6 Medium flour tortillas
4 oz shredded cheese such as mild cheddar, monterey jack, pepper jack, etc.
Hot sauce (We like Frank's - if you're a Texas Pete's kinda person, it's ok, nobody's perfect!)
Butter (I use Smart Balance)

  

• Trim the chicken then cut into very small pieces - about 1/4 inch cubes.
• Place the chicken in a bowl, toss with the adobo seasoning, then set aside.
• Chop up the bacon into small strips (this is called a "lardon" in case you're curious), then cook over medium-medium high until crisp. Set aside.
• Drain the bacon fat from the pan and wipe clean. Spray the pan lightly with cooking spray oil, then brown the chicken on medium high heat until completely cooked through.
• Once cooked, set the chicken aside in a new, clean bowl.
• Place the pan back on the heat and turn the heat down to medium low.
• Very lightly butter 2 flour tortillas on one side.

• Place one tortilla, buttered side down, in the frying pan over medium low. Then top with 1/3 of the cheese, 1/3 of the bacon, then 1/3 of the chicken, then shake on as much hot sauce as you like. Top with the second tortilla, buttered side up.
• If you want to go really crazy, you can spread some salsa con queso on the second tortilla.
• You can also add some roasted red peppers, avocado slices, or I even like to add broccoli and cauliflower in mine, crazy as that sounds.

• Cook until golden brown and the cheese is melted, then flip and cook the other side until also golden brown. 
• Using a pizza cutter, cut the quesadilla in half, then thirds so you have 6 slices.
• Repeat with the remaining ingredients until you have 3 quesadillas.

These are great served with salsa, guacamole, olives, sour cream, etc.

Boneless Buffalo Wings

Here it is! You knew it was coming eventually! My recipe for boneless buffalo wings...

Not surprisingly, Matt asked me to make him buffalo wings for Father's Day haha. I've been perfecting this recipe over the last year. I've had a hard time finding the right amount of cornstarch to give the wings crunch without giving them a gritty texture. I've slowly adjusted the mixture of spices as well. Sometimes, it takes time and perseverance to perfect a recipe. Tonight was the night. These were perfect and I definitely won't be making any more changes.

Boneless Buffalo Wings
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1  1/2 Cups flour
1/2 Cup cornstarch
2 Tsp baking powder
1 Tsp salt
1 Tsp cracked black pepper
1 Tsp garlic powder
1/2 Tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 Tsp paprika
2 Eggs
2 Tbsp milk

• Preheat deep fryer to 375° F.
• Mix the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and paprika.
• Whip the eggs then combine with the milk.
• Trim the chicken breasts then cut into 1 inch cubes.
• Toss the chicken in the flour mixture, then toss in the egg wash, then toss in the flour mixture again. - You can toss the chicken in the egg wash and flour one more time if you like thicker breading. Matt and I prefer the breading to be a little bit on the thin side.
• Fry the chicken wings in the deep fryer until golden brown and cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes. - Generally, when deep frying, your food will start to float to the top when it's cooked.
• Drain the chicken wings on a cooling rack over top of some newspaper to catch the grease. Allow to cool for about 2 minutes.
• Toss with your favorite sauce. We like Frank's Buffalo Sauce and Frank's Sweet Chili Sauce.

Chicken Cacciatore

This is my version of chicken cacciatore. Normally, I'll take all of the ingredients below and throw them in the crockpot for a few hours. But, on this particular night, I decided to make a deconstructed version. You know, just to shake things up hehe.

I make chicken cacciatore with chicken thighs or leg quarters. Dark meat gets a really bad rap because it is high in fat and calories. However, here is why I love dark meat:

1. It has a lot more vitamins and nutrients than white meat.
2. It has more flavor and is more moist and juicy.
3. Last but not least, it's cheaper!

I'm a firm believer that there is no such thing as a food that's bad for you. It just depends on how much of it you eat. So, keep your portion size small and only go for the dark meat chicken once in a while.

Chicken Cacciatore
4 Chicken thighs or 2 leg quarters
Garlic powder
Italian herbs
Salt
Pepper
1 Jar of Pasta sauce
1/4 Tsp crushed red pepper flakes

• Place chicken thighs or legs into a glass baking dish. Lightly spray the chicken with cooking spray oil. This will make the skin nice and crispy.
• Lightly sprinkle each piece with garlic, Italian herbs, salt, and pepper. Use your judgement as far as how much or little you want to use.
• Bake at 375° F for 45 minutes for chicken thighs and 75 minutes for leg quarters.

  

• When the chicken has about 15 minutes left, mix together the sauce and red pepper flakes.
• Heat over medium low, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is finished. Remove from heat.
• You can serve this over top of rice, pasta, or even a bed of roasted vegetables.

Cheeseburgers with Sriracha Aioli

Cheeseburgers are a nice easy weeknight dinner. Unfortunately, they get very boring after a while. I like to keep Matt on his toes by adding different toppings and seasonings. We've been in a little bit of a rut lately. I've been seasoning our burgers with blackening seasoning for a few months now. It tastes good but it was time for a change. Matt asked if I could add a sauce to the burgers. Challenge accepted!

Immediately I thought of making an aioli ( pronounced eh-OH-lee) which is essentially mayonnaise flavored with garlic and lemon. Anyone who knows Matt and I knows that we are incapable of eating anything that isn't spicy. Ok, that might be an overstatement. But, we really like spicy food. So, I decided to jazz up my sauce with a little Sriracha sauce. This is a Thai hot sauce and it can be found in the Asian section of almost any grocery store. Fun fact of the day: Sriracha is named after the Thai city of Si Racha; it's kind of like saying Buffalo sauce (as in Buffalo, NY).

Cheeseburgers with Sriracha Aioli

1 lb lean ground beef

Sliced cheddar cheese

Salt & pepper

1/4 Cup Mayonnaise

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1/4 Tsp garlic powder

2 Tsp Sriracha sauce

• Prepare the aioli by combining the mayonnaise, lemon juice, garlic, and sriracha. Set aside.
• Season the burgers with salt and pepper.
• Grill the burgers until well-done.
• Top with cheddar cheese.
• Place the burgers on toasted buns then top with the sriracha aioli.

If you have extra aioli left over, it makes a great dipping sauce for french fries!

A note about ground hamburger: many people like to cook their burgers to medium or medium-well. With steak, this is perfectly safe. The center of a steak has never been exposed to air and the chances of contamination are minimal. However, with ground beef, it has a lot of surface area and all of it has the potential to be exposed to contaminants. Therefore, I recommend always cooking your burgers to well-done. You can go here for a better explanation if you're interested.

Saltine Chicken Fingers

Ok, since my last post was about how not to cook, I guess I'll share an actual recipe with you. This is an easy weeknight meal. It's especially easier if you prep your chicken ahead of time on the weekends. I'll post more about that later.

When I first thought about crushing up saltines to use as breading, I thought for sure it would make a nice crunchy coating. It doesn't. But I'm actually ok with that because of the really nice, buttery flavor that the saltine crackers impart. So, don't make this expecting super crunchy chicken fingers. But, they're still really yummy and great for dipping.

Saltine Chicken Fingers

2 chicken breasts, cut into thin strips

1 sleeve of saltine crackers

1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp dijon or other whole grain mustard

1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

• Dump the saltines into a gallon size zip lock bag. Crush the crackers with anything hard you can find (rolling pin, meat tenderizer, aluminum can, etc).
• Mix together the mayonnaise, mustard, seasoned salt, and cayenne pepper.
• Toss the chicken in the mayonnaise mixture.
• Then dump the chicken into the zip lock bag, seal the bag, then shake so that all of the chicken fingers are coated.
• Place in a single layer on a lightly greased baking sheet.
• Bake at 400° F for 20 minutes.

On a side note, this recipe is really versatile. Your little one won't eat anything spicy? Omit the cayenne pepper and add a couple tablespoons of honey mustard instead. Or you could add some Italian seasonings. Don't have mayo on hand? You can use ranch dressing or even Greek yogurt!

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites

If you haven't given up on your New Year's resolution yet, you might want to avert your eyes. This isn't even close to health food. I got my inspiration from a Paula Deen recipe. As much as it pains me to say anything bad about Paula Deen, I had to make some improvements on her recipe. The chicken came out dry and the bacon was chewy. Here's my version with some changes to the cooking method:

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 Pound bacon
1/2 Cup brown sugar
1/2 Tsp cayenne pepper

• Cut the package of bacon into thirds. Place the bacon on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 375° F for 10 minutes until cooked about half way. (This method of partially cooking an ingredient is called par-cooking and will ensure that the bacon finishes cooking at the same time as the chicken). 
• While the bacon is cooking, mix together the brown sugar and cayenne pepper then set aside.
• Remove the bacon from the oven and increase the heat to 400° F.
• Once the bacon has cooled enough to touch, wrap the bacon around a piece of chicken, secure the bacon with a tooth pick, then toss in the brown sugar mixture.
• Place the chicken bites on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes.