Garlic Chicken
4 servings
*Adapted from Food.com recipe
Brown sugar on anything - dessert, sweet potatoes, and not surprisingly, chicken - kicks it up a notch in my book. And the brown sugar makes this recipe. This chicken had such an interesting flavor - in a good way - with the sweetness of the brown sugar mingled with the spices and garlic.
Ingredients
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 T brown sugar
1 T olive oil
Additional herbs and spices, as desired (I used a rosemary garlic blend)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking dish or cookie sheet with aluminum foil and lightly coat with cooking spray or lightly brush with oil. Using foil is important if you don't want a sticky mess to clean up.
In a small pan, sauté garlic with the oil until tender and smelling good.
Remove the garlic from the heat and stir in the brown sugar. Add in your additional spices as desired.
Place chicken breasts on foil and cover with the garlic and brown sugar mix.
Bake uncovered for 15-30 minutes, or until juices run clear. Cooking time will depend on the size and thickness of your chicken. Mine took about 20 minutes.
Cheddar Bacon Chicken
Serves 4
Based on Outback Steakhouse's Alice Springs Chicken… my own version. And it was very, very tasty (see all the cheese?)
Ingredients
4 chicken breasts
Lawry's Original Seasoned Salt (to taste)
4 slices of bacon
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 cups cheddar jack cheese, shredded
Directions
Sprinkle Seasoned Salt on chicken evenly, to taste.
Cook the bacon in a large skillet. Set aside, but keep the bacon fat. Saute the mushrooms in the bacon fat until softened. Set aside.
Meanwhile, bake chicken at 350 for about 40 minutes or until juices run clear. With 5-7 minutes left, place even portions of bacon, mushrooms and cheese on top of chicken pieces. Bake until cheese is melted and chicken is cooked through.
Chili
Serves about 8
*Adapted from Cooking Light recipe
Hungry friends at a recent Mardi Gras party gave this chili recipe a thumbs up. I prepared the meat and veggies with the spices in advance, then poured all of the sauce into a crockpot with the beef mixture to cook throughout the morning. Easy peasy!
Ingredients
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 cup chopped green sweet pepper (2 small)
1 cup chopped onion (2 medium)
8 cloves garlic, minced
2 15-ounce cans tomato sauce
2 15-ounce cans red kidney beans, undrained
2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes, undrained
6 t chili powder
1 t salt
1 t dried basil
1/2 t ground black pepper
Optional toppings: shredded cheddar, chopped onion, sour cream
Directions
- In a large saucepan, cook and stir the ground beef, sweet pepper, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is brown and onion is tender.
- Stir in chili powder, salt, basil and black pepper. Bring to boiling.
- At this point, I let the mixture cool a bit and put it in a tupperware container so I could bring it with me to the party the next day.
- When you're ready for it to go in the crock pot, dump in your beef mixture and add tomato sauce, beans and tomatoes.
- Adjust heat settings accordingly. I heated mine on hot until it became bubbly, then kept it on warm until it was gone.
I am a new fan of crockpot liners. Makes cleanup after a long party a breeze/non existent.
Burger Eggsplosion
*Adapted from Serious Eats blog
Serves 2
I have to admit that when I saw this concept online I envisioned making this huge mess and failing miserably. Buuuut, it all worked out according to plan. Nailed it.
Ingredients:
1/2 pound of ground beef
2 eggs
2 slices of American Cheese
2 t. mayo
2 hamburger buns
Directions:
Split the ground beef into 2 patties and flatten. Using a small glass (I used a champagne flute - fancy!), cut a hole in the middle of each patty. Cook the patties in a piping hot pan on the stovetop. After a minute on the first side, crack the egg and drop one in the middle of each burger. Flip immediately.
You WILL make a mess in the pan. But that's ok, it'll still be delicious.
After you flip the burgers, add cheese, and cook until no pink remains in the center.
Put a little mayo on your buns, if desired, and enjoy (with plenty of napkins).
Cookies with Pretzels, Chocolate and Peanut Butter Chips
*Adapted from Sugar Cooking blog
Makes 24 cookies
The salty-sweet combination in this easy cookie recipe is fantastic. I love, love, love the way these came out and only made a tiny mess in my kitchen (for once).
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. of salt
- 1/4 tsp. of baking soda
- 1/2 cup of butter at room temperature
- 1/2 cup of tightly packed light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup of granulated sugar
- 1 egg (beaten)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup peanut butter chips
- 1/2 cup broken up pretzel pieces
- Preztel Salt or Sea Salt
Directions:
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a larger bowl, beat the butter and sugars together on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). On low speed, slowly add the beaten egg and vanilla extract. Beat to combine, scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the flour mixture and beat just until there are no more streaks of flour. Stir in the chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and preztels. Cover and refrigerate for an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop out well rounded tablespoonfuls of the dough and sprinkle with pretzel salt. Leave about 2 inches between each ball. Bake for 10 minutes. If you prefer crispier cookies increase the baking time by 1-2 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing.
Cornbread-Crusted Chicken with Jalapeño Sauce
*Adapted from Let's Dish blog
Serves 4
If you're looking for a quick and easy weeknight meal… this doesn't exactly fit the bill. But it was delicious enough to make the time and prep worth it in a pinch. Frying the bacon and removing the pesky seeds in the jalapeños were the most time-consuming parts of this recipe, but the sauce is BOSS so it's completely worth it.
Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 egg, beaten
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 slices of bacon, chopped
3 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chicken broth
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Directions
In a medium skillet, fry bacon until crisp; drain on paper towels. Combine cornmeal, chili powder, cumin, and salt on a rimmed plate. Dip each chicken breast in beaten egg, then in cornmeal mixture. Shallow-fry in vegetable oil in a large skillet until coating is crisp and juices run clear. Remove from skillet, drain on paper towels, and keep warm. (Note: The outside was getting a little too crispy in the pan, but the chicken was still pink in the middle, so I threw the breasts - in the oven-safe pan - in the oven at 350 until they were completely done. Still juicy as ever!)
Add jalapenos to the same skillet that was used to cook the bacon; season with salt and pepper, and cook until softened. Add garlic and cook and stir for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Stir in chicken broth, using a wooden spoon to deglaze the pan. Bring to a boil. Add cream cheese and stir until melted and smooth. Stir in shredded cheese and reserved bacon, stirring until the cheese in melted. Top chicken with sauce and serve.
