Sloppy Chicken Mini Sammies

I got the recipe from Rachael Ray. Don't let the picture turn you off, these are delicious! Quick and easy, and a great recipe to make changes to and experiment with! I replaced the mustard with sweet and spicy honey mustard, added another half tablespoon of brown sugar and used sriracha for hot sauce, of course.


Ingredients

• 12 bake-off dinner rolls, any brand
• 1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon smoked paprika, divided
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 2 turns of the pan
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 pounds ground chicken
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 medium to large onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons grill seasoning (recommended: Montreal Seasoning blend by McCormick)
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce, eyeball it
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 rounded tablespoonfuls spicy brown mustard
• 1/2 cup water

Directions

Heat the oven as directed on package of bake-off rolls. Arrange the rolls on a nonstick cookie sheet and sprinkle the rolls with about 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika, 1/3 palmfull. Bake rolls until golden and soft and remove.

While rolls cook, heat a deep nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add vegetable oil then melt butter into the oil and add chicken. Crumble and brown meat 3 to 4 minutes then add in the garlic and onions. Add 1 tablespoon smoked paprika and 2 tablespoons of grill seasoning to the chicken. Continue to cook over medium-high heat.

Mix hot sauce, tomato sauce, Worcestershire, brown sugar, mustard in a small bowl then stir into the meat and reduce heat to low. Stir in about 1/2 cup of water to keep the mix loose as it simmers. Simmer gently 10 minutes. Split rolls and scoop chicken into them and serve.

Chicken Marinade

I thought it was time I start using marinades so I found this one on Allrecipes.com that sounds good. I didn't measure and it turned out great. I also omitted the liquid smoke because we didn't have any.

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 2/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce (I used a little dark soy for color)
  
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons liquid smoke flavoring (Didn't have any)
  
• 2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard (Didn't have any)
  
• 2 teaspoons ground black pepper (Used white pepper instead)
  
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix the olive oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, liquid smoke, mustard, pepper, and garlic powder. Place chicken in the bowl, and coat with the marinade. Cover, and allow chicken to marinate a maximum of 4 hours in the refrigerator. (I marinade for 30 mins)
   
2. Preheat the grill for high heat.
3. Oil grill grate. Discard marinade, and place chicken on grate. Cook 6 to 8 minutes on each side, until juices run clear.

Meatball Bagel Pizza

Just to show that not everything posted on this blog needs to be fancy (nor does everything coming from our kitchen for the matter), I posted lunch: meatball bagel pizza. I looked in our fridge, saw a couple of things we had could be a delicious meal, and voila!

Ingredients:

• one bagel
• mozzarella cheese, shredded
• Costco frozen meatballs, heated and sliced in half
• marinara
• dried oregano (optional)
• dried basil (optional)
• garlic powder (optional)

Directions:

1. Cut bagel in half.
2. Spread sauce, then arrange meatballs, more sauce, spices, cheese.
3. Put in oven until cheese is melted and golden.
   

Pumpkin Pancakes

We had a can of pumpkin I had extra after making Paula Deen's pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving last year so I decided to make pumpkin pancakes for Anh 2 Mike and the kids. It was good. The vinegar sounds weird but what it does is curdles the milk and makes mock buttermilk. Try it. It's easy. I usually mix the dry ingredients the night before to speed it up in the morning.

Servings: 6 | Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 3 tablespoons brown sugar
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon ground allspice
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/2 cups milk
* 1 cup pumpkin puree
* 1 egg
* 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 2 tablespoons vinegar

Directions

1. In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt, stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Lemon Pepper Chicken Fettucine Alfredo

I made this one up! Using store-bought alfredo sauce made this a pretty quick dinner option. I did kick it up by adding zest of one lemon to bring out the lemon in the chicken and the Trader Joe's lemon pepper pappardelle pasta.

Ingredients:

• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• salt
• pepper
• juice of one lemon
• olive oil
• paprika
• garlic powder
• 1 pkg of Trader Joe's pappardelle pasta
• 1 jar of Trader Joe's alfredo sauce
• zest of the same lemon above
• parsley, for garnish

Preparation:

1. Zest lemon and set aside. Chop up parsley and set aside.
2. Put olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder and the chicken breasts in a gallon freezer bag. Mix it around and let marinade in the fridge for 15 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put some oil in an oven-safe pan on the stovetop at medium-high heat. Get chicken from the fridge. Make sure the pan is hot then put the chicken on. Brown both sides of the chicken (approximately 2-3 minutes on each side).
4. Put the pan in the oven for 25 minutes or when the internal temperature of the chicken is 180 degrees (juices will run clear when pierced) and take out and let rest.
5. Boil water and cook pasta to package instructions.
   
6. Drain al dente pasta and using the same pot you boiled the pasta with, heat up alfredo sauce. Add lemon zest to sauce.
   
7. Toss pasta in the sauce pan.
8. Slice chicken and serve with a slice of lemon.
9. Definitely eat with freshly squeezed lemon juice. It cuts through the richness of the alfredo.

Trader Joe's Lemon Pepper Pappardelle Pasta

Boeuf Bourguignon avec Nouilles Aux Oeufs

Inspired by the movie, Julie & Julia

Made this using chuck and serve on top of egg noodles.
Original recipe created by Julia Child | Serves 3

Kitchen Supplies:

• 5 quart dutch oven
  
• Slotted spoon

Boeuf Bourguignon:

• 6 ounces bacon (use plain salt-cured)
  
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil or cooking oil
• 1 1/4 pound lean stewing beef , cut into 2-inch cubes (I used chuck)
  
• 1 carrot, cut into 1-inch pieces
  
• 1 brown onion, cut into eighths
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 3 cups full-bodied, young red wine , such as a Chianti (can also use a Shiraz or Syrah
  
• 2 to 2 1/2 cups brown beef stock or canned beef bouillon
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 cloves mashed garlic
• 1/2 tsp. thyme
• Crumbled bay leaf
• Blanched bacon rind
• 1 pound quartered fresh mushrooms , sautéed in butter (recipe below)
  
• Parsley sprigs
• Cooked egg noodles
  

Remove rind from bacon, and cut bacon into lardons (sticks, 1/4 inch thick and 1 1/2 inches long). Simmer rind and bacon for 10 minutes in 1 1/2 quarts of water. Drain and dry.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Add oil to dutch oven and sauté the bacon in the oil over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon. Raise the heat until fat is almost smoking before you sauté the beef.

Dry the stewing beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Sauté it, a few pieces at a time, in the hot oil and bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides. Set the beef aside with the bacon.

In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Remove the vegetables to a side dish and pour out the sautéing fat.

Return the beef, bacon, and vegetables to the dutch oven and toss with the salt and pepper. Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly with the flour. Set the dutch oven uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes. Toss the meat and return to oven for 4 minutes more. (This browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust.) Remove dutch oven from the oven and put it on the stove top. Turn oven down to 325 degrees.

Stir in the wine, and enough stock into the dutch oven so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs, and bacon rind. Bring to simmer on top of the stove. Then cover the casserole and set in lower third of preheated oven. Regulate heat so liquid simmers
very slowly for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.

While the beef is cooking, prepare the mushrooms. Set them aside until needed.

When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan. Wash out the casserole and return the beef, bacon, and vegetables to it. Distribute the cooked mushrooms over the meat.

Skim fat off the sauce. Simmer sauce for a minute or two, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly. If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons of stock or canned bouillon. Taste carefully for seasoning. Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables. Recipe may be completed in advance to this point.

For immediate serving: Cover the casserole and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times. Serve in on a platter on top of egg noodles and decorated with parsley.

For later serving: When cold, cover and refrigerate. About 15 to 20 minutes before serving, bring to the simmer, cover, and simmer very slowly for 10 minutes, occasionally basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce.



Recipe for Sauteed Mushrooms

Kitchen Supplies:

• 10-in skillet
  

Sauteed Mushrooms:

• 1 pound quartered fresh mushrooms
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp olive oil

Place skillet over high heat with butter and oil. As soon as you see the butter foam has begun to subside, indicating it is hot enough, add the mushrooms. Toss and shake the pan for 4 to 5 minutes. During their saute, the mushrooms will at first absorb the fat. In 2 to 3 minutes, the fat will reappear on their surface, and the mushrooms will begin to brown. As soon as they have browned lightly, remove from heat.

Rosemary Gorgonzola Mac n Cheese

Ingredients
Milk
Cream
Roux (Flour + Butter into a cream)
Cooked Pasta (of your choice)
Rosemary
Gorgonzola
Shredded White Cheddar
Parmesean Cheese
Paprika
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
Panko Bread Crumbs

Directions

1. Bring milk and cream to a simmer in a pot with two rosemary sprigs.
2. Once simmered, remove rosemary.
3. Now bring the milk mixture to a boil and add roux to the milk until desired thickness is acheived.
4. Add all cheeses
5. Season sauce with salt and pepper
6. Add cooked pasta
7. Put pasta + cheese mixture into a baking dish
8. Combine olive oil and Panko bread crumbs and paprika into an even mixture.
9. Top the dish with bread crumb mixture
10. Broil until golden and delicious
11. Put on stretchy pants
12. Eat Eat Eat!


Note: Any combination of cheeses can be used for this recipe, and additions such as bacon, mushrooms or cumin is appreciated and encouraged.