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All posts for the month July, 2012

Recipe Swap: Honey-Glazed Chicken Drumsticks

Published July 27, 2012 by jenmatteson

This was my second recipe swap, and this time it was bloggers choice.  What that means is each person is assigned a blog and allowed to choose one recipe from that person’s blog to make and write about.  It’s even more of a surprise than a themed swap because not only do you not know who got assigned to your blog, but you have no idea what they will make.

I was assigned Colleen’s blog, Does Not Cook Well With Others (which isn’t true by the way, she has been considering changing the name of her blog and seems quite capable and willing to cook very well with others).  From getting to know her through her WC identity, I was positive she was more of a baker, and after visiting her blog, I was right.  Oh great…me, baking again!  But she also had several savory dishes to choose from, so I wasn’t destined to make another dessert that Nate and I can’t finish.

As you may have guessed, I prefer eating chicken breasts rather than thighs and drumsticks.  However, I did have a bunch of frozen thighs and drumsticks in the freezer from a fantastic sale my local grocery store was having.  Once I came across Colleen’s Honey-Glazed Chicken Drumsticks, I knew that was the swap recipe for me!

Many times when I find recipes I want to try from other bloggers, I generally will change quite a few things, the ratio of ingredients, or even just use their dish as an inspiration for something new.  However, the swap rules don’t really allow for those types of changes.  Although substitutions are acceptable, the point is really to make someone else’s recipe.  I pretty much kept everything as is, besides adding a little more soy (I was afraid of the sauce being too sweet), and then broiling at the end of baking to get a nice crisp on the outside of the chicken drumsticks.

The end result was fantastic!  The skin got nice and crisp on the outside with the flavors of the seasoning shining through, and the meat was super moist.  The addition of the soy-honey glaze was a perfect combination of salty and sweet.  I took a leftover drumstick for lunch the next day, and I swear it was better than day 1.  If you don’t have drumsticks, you could certainly use the glaze for thighs, breasts, or even wings.

Honey-Glazed Chicken Drumsticks

Source: Adapted from Does Not Cook Well With Others
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

3-4 lb chicken drumsticks
1 tbsp paprika
2 tsp curry powder
2 tsp cumin
salt and pepper
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp honey
1 lime, quartered

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking oil.

2. Place chicken breasts in a large bowl or plastic zip top bag.  Season with salt and pepper.  In a small bowl, combine paprika, curry and cumin.  Pour seasoning mix over chicken, cover or close bag, and shake to evenly coat drumsticks.

3. Place drumsticks on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.  Flip chicken and bake for another 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and turn to broil.

4.  While chicken is cooking, combine soy and honey in a small bowl and whisk until combined.  After flipping the chicken and baking for the last 10 minutes, remove from oven and pour most of the  soy-honey glaze over the top (reserving some for serving).  Broil for 5 minutes, or until glaze is sticky and chicken skin has started to crisp.  Serve with a lime wedge and additional glaze if desired.

Crash Hot Potatoes

Published July 26, 2012 by jenmatteson

I’ve seen these several times around the cooking blog world, but I am just now getting around to trying them.  Don’t get me wrong; upon first glance, they look amazing.  It’s just that we don’t eat a whole lot of potatoes in our house, so there hasn’t been an opportune time to try them.

For my birthday, Momma Marsha gave me about 2 lbs of purple potatoes.  If you recall, I was on the prowel for them earlier in the year for my two-tone potato salad.  If I remember correctly, I think she picked them up at the farmer’s market.  Anyway, this was a great time to finally try the infamous crash hot potatoes.

So many of my WC ladies have made these, and I’m not sure where the recipe originated from.  Pioneer Woman’s site came up top of my Google search, but she attributes the original recipe to Jill Dupleix.  I used dill as my herb, though I had rosemary too, and it was difficult deciding between the two!

The potatoes were great.  They had a nice crisp outside and soft inside.  I loved the addition of dill; I still have leftover potatoes and rosemary, so I see those in my future very soon!  These are super easy, and would be really fun for entertaining.  You could boil the potatoes, smash and season them, and then just put them in the oven 15-20 minutes before serving dinner.  Brilliant!

Crash Hot Potatoes

Source: Adapted from Jill Dupleix
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

12-16 small potatoes
olive oil
kosher salt to taste
pepper to taste
1-2 tsp herbs, chopped (I used dill)

Directions:

1. Cover potatoes with water in medium saucepan.  Generously salt.  Bring potatoes to a boil and cook until fork tender, about 15 minutes.

2.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Line baking pan with foil and drizzle with olive oil.  Space potatoes out on foil and gently mash with potato masher.  Turn 90 degrees and mash again.

3. Season potatoes with kosher salt, pepper, and herbs.  Bake for 15 minutes, or until skins become crisp and potatoes are golden brown.

Blueberry Banana Oat Muffins

Published July 15, 2012 by jenmatteson

It’s hot.  Really hot.  And what is a good idea when it’s hot?  Baking of course ;)

Right, so not the best of ideas, but I needed to spend some time inside after my insanely hot run this morning.  Plus,  I haven’t baked tried to bake anything in a while.  I had a brown banana I threw in the fridge last week, so I’d had baking on my mind for a few days.  My original intent was to make banana bread with strawberries, so I could use up what I already had.  Plus, I only had one banana and I thought the bread would need a little more flavoring.  Well, the strawberries had seen better days, so they made the fateful trip to my compost bin.  But, I did have blueberries, so I figured, why not throw those in there.  Additionally, I still had a cup of rolled oats from my whole wheat pancakes with oats and strawberries, so why not throw those in the mix too.

I had my loaf pan out, oiled and ready to throw my batter in there, but then it hit me.  We aren’t going to eat an entire loaf of bread before it goes bad, why not make mini muffins and freeze half of them – although my freezer is seriously lacking any extra room right now.  But, I’ve never used my mini muffin pan for making mini muffins, so I figured it was about time.

I went off a basic banana bread recipe I had in my recipe binder, but honestly, I have no idea where it came from.  I tried searching the web, but with no matches.  Anyway, I altered it so much by using more milk, butter instead of margarine, adding oats, blueberries, vanilla extract, and cinnamon.  I guess I really am becoming somewhat of a baker!

The muffins were fluffy and moist, and the blueberry-banana combination with cinnamon was a great touch, though I probably would have added more cinnamon next time.  Speaking of bananas, does anyone think of the Gwen Stefani song whenever you spell it.  ”This sh*t is bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S.”  Yeah, me either.

Blueberry Banana Oat Muffins

Source: Adapted from a banana bread recipe I had in my binder, Author Unknown
Servings: Makes 36 mini muffins

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 egg (I used egg substitute here)
1/2 cup skim milk
3/4 cup mashed banana (I used one large banana)
1 cup blueberries, separated
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup rolled oats

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream sugar and butter together.  Add in egg and mix until combined.  Slowly add in dry ingredients.  Once combined, drizzle in milk while the mixer is going.  Add vanilla extract, cinnamon, bananas and 1/2 of the blueberries (I like to add only half of the blueberries now so some are broken and the blueberry flavor infuses the entire muffin, and then fold in the remaining blueberries so they are whole in the muffins).  Fold in remaining blueberries and oats.

3. If using muffin wrappers, place those in the muffin tins.  Otherwise, spray tins with olive oil.  Fill each tin with about 1 tbsp of the batter and bake for 15-17 minutes, until muffin tops are brown and slightly crisp.  Remove from muffin pan and cool on wire rack.

Making the Most of Your Bell Peppers

Published July 14, 2012 by jenmatteson

I am generally very budget concious when purchasing groceries, which is probably also why I hate waste so much.  One of the best tips I’ve learned in the last few years was how to make the most of my bell peppers.  Unless you are needing perfectly cut bell pepper rings, this method is excellent for any other kind of slicing, dicing, or chopping your heart desires when using bell peppers, and the only waste is the stem, seeds, and ribs!

Making the Most of Your Bell Peppers

1. With the pepper standing, work your way around the outside in a square-like fasion and cut off the walls.  Stay close to the edge of the pepper, and not too close to the stem, you want to prevent cutting into the seeds, while making sure to cut off the ribs.

2. Turn what remains of the pepper on it’s side.  Slice off bottom flesh.  This should leave some ribs as waste.

4. Now, slice off the seeds, cutting as close to the stem as possible, but still on the inside of the pepper.

3. The stem should pop right out, leaving you with the top flesh of the pepper.

4. Now you have ribs, stem and seeds as waste, and the entire flesh of the pepper for eating.

What’s your favorite tip in the kitchen to reduce waste?

Honey Mustard Chicken Skewers with a Kick

Published July 13, 2012 by jenmatteson

Yet another chicken recipe.  But, at least I keep it interesting!  Honey mustard in general is not one of my favorite things, but I don’t despise it by any means.  Just, well…not enough spice for my palate and there are so many other options!  But, I saw these grilled honey mustard chicken skewers and was intrigued by the curry powder.  Plus, not everyone likes spice as much as I do, and I must have some entertaining meals, right?

After a super hot day at the beach with some of our best couple friends, I was really happy I had already prepared the chicken so all we had to do was skewer and grill it.  Also, Kimmy J chopped and skewered the vegetables.  Nice work :)

Since Nate is my personal griller, I assumed that he and his bestie, who is also Nate, would do the grilling while the girls relaxed in the sun.  That wasn’t the case.  A storm was a-brewin’ and it was imperative that we get the chicken and veggies grilled and run for cover.  Inconveniently for Nate and Nate, they were in the middle of a baseball game, so God forbid they wait to finish it and grill our dinner.  So Kimmy J and I happily went out to grill the food.  Just as we were finishing up, the boys came out and asked if we were ready to start grilling.  Uhm, yeah…it’s done already, but thanks anyway.  We got in and ate these delicious skewers, and just as we were finishing up, the storm came through.

I marinated the chicken overnight, mostly because I knew we’d be a the beach all day the next day, but also because I wanted the flavors to sink in and really tenderize the chicken.  Instead of yellow mustard, as the original recipe called for, I used a Chardonnay Jalapeno Mustard.  Great choice!  If you don’t have something similar, go ahead and use whatever mustard you like, yellow, Dijon, horseradish…really, whatever you like.  I didn’t add as much honey as the original called for either; I didn’t want it to be too sweet.  The result was amazingly tender, juicy, flavorful chicken.  I know some people either like curry or they don’t, so if you don’t like, you can always omit it.  But if you do like it, the hint of curry is an excellent addition to this marinade.

Honey Mustard Chicken Skewers with a Kick

Source: Adapted from A Farm Girl’s Dabbles
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup honey
3/4 cup mustard (use whatever kind you like – I used a Chardonnay Jalapeno Mustard)
2 tsp curry powder
salt and pepper to taste
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in 2-inch pieces

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, mix together olive oil, honey, mustard, and curry.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

2. Place chicken breast pieces in a large zip-top bag and cover with 3/4 of the mustard sauce.  Reserve the remaining sauce in an airtight container for drizzling or dipping.  Marinate chicken for at least 4 hours, up to 24 hours, in the refrigerator.

3. If you are using wooden skewers, be sure to soak them for at least 30 minutes, up to one hour before grilling (I recommend investing in some nice metal skewers!).  Preheat grill to medium heat.  Skewer chicken and grill until cooked through, turning every 3-4 minutes, about 12-15 minutes total.  I like to separate my veggies and meat when on skewers because of varying cooking times.  Do as you please.

4. Drizzle with remaining honey mustard sauce before serving, or use as a dipping sauce.

Oven-Baked Sriracha Chicken

Published July 13, 2012 by jenmatteson

As soon as I saw the title of this recipe, I knew I had to make it.  You know me, you know I love spicy, and I especially love Sriracha.  I didn’t even have to look at any of the other ingredients.  And just as I expected, it was delicious!

If you haven’t stopped by Alida’s Kitchen, do it.  I adore her blog and her approach to cooking; plus, she super adorable!  Alida’s cooks mostly vegetarian, but will venture out to land creatures every now and then.  I picked a good one to try!  Thanks for sharing, Alida :)

I altered the original recipe a little with more Sriracha and less hoisin.  I also uncovered and broiled the chicken after baking it for the last 5 minutes so it got a little blackened.  Served over a little rice with a salad on the side – perfection.  The chicken was super moist and perfectly cooked, with a nice kick.  The Chinese five spice gives it some great deep flavors, too.  Honestly, it sounds super hot, but it isn’t.  I mean, you couldn’t eat this if you absolutely don’t like spice, plus you probably wouldn’t have Sriracha in your cupboard anyway.  Conveniently, I happen to have every single ingredient in my kitchen at all times, so I’m thinking this might be a common dinner at the Pigzilla household.

Oven-Baked Sriracha Chicken

Source: Adapted from Alida’s Kitchen
Servings: 2

Ingredients:

3-4 green onions, thinly sliced, reserving 1 tbsp of green tops for garnish
3 tbsp hoisin sauce
1/2 tbsp ginger, freshly grated
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp lime juice
2 tsp Sriracha sauce
pinch of Chinese five spice
pinch of salt
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large bowl, combine green onions, hoisin, ginger, garlic, lime juice, Sriracha, and seasoning.

2. Dip chicken breasts into sauce and place in a shallow baking dish.  Pour any extra sauce over the top of the chicken breasts.  Cover with foil and bake for 35-40 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.  Uncover and turn oven to broil.  Move chicken to top oven rack and broil for 5 minutes.

3. Garnish with green onions and toasted sesame seeds before serving.

Pesto Chicken Pinwheels

Published July 7, 2012 by jenmatteson

I made these along with turkey bacon pinwheels for a day at the beach.  They were awesome.  We had a handful left over after the beach, and they came out late night when everyone was starting to get hungry again.  These are wonderful to have as appetizers since they are an excellent finger food.  You could even just wrap them up and cut in half to take as a fresh, fun lunch.  Anyway you roll it, this is a super excellent combination.

Pesto Chicken Pinwheels

Source: Pigzilla Original
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1/2 cup onions, diced small
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup basil pesto
3 tortilla wraps (I like Mission brand, and used the Tomato Basil kind)
12 slices mozzarella cheese
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked and chopped small
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup lettuce, chopped fine

Directions:

1. In a small skillet, heat 1 tsp of olive oil over medium heat.  Reduce heat to low and add onions.  Cook on low for 8-10 minutes, until onions are translucent and tender.

2. In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise and basil pesto.  Spread mixture evenly on each wrap, leaving just 1/4-inch around the edges.  Add 4 slices of cheese to each wrap.  Evenly layer the chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, lettuce and cooked onions.

3. Wrap tightly, being cautious not to tear it, and wrap in foil.  Refrigerate for at least one hour before slicing.

Turkey Bacon Pinwheels

Published July 7, 2012 by jenmatteson

Pinwheels are so simple to make and a great snack to have on hand for the beach, the cabin, a picnic, or even as a fun appetizer.  Of course you’ll need to keep them cool, but who doesn’t bring a cooler with them to these types of events?

I made a batch of these and pesto chicken pinwheels to take to the beach with us instead of trying to make sandwiches for everyone, or trying to pack in a bunch of sandwich making ingredients so everyone could make their own.  Once we opened them, they were not closed until we went home.  They were a perfect little bite!

Turkey Bacon Pinwheels

Source: Pigzilla Original
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

3 tortilla wraps (I like Mission brand, I used the herb spinach kind)
4 oz cream cheese, softened
12 slices pepper jack cheese
6 slices bacon, cooked and chopped small
1/2 cup lettuce, thinly chopped
1/4 cup onions, finely diced
12 slices deli turkey, thinly sliced

Directions:

1. Lay out three wraps.  Spread each wrap entirely with cream cheese, leaving only 1/4-inch around the edges.

2. Layer the wraps with cheese, bacon, lettuce, onions, then turkey.  Be sure to evenly distribute all ingredients over entire wrap and do so thinly, so you can still roll it tight.

3. Tightly roll wraps, being cautious not to tear, and wrap in foil.  Refrigerate for at least one hour before slicing.  This will ensure the ingredients stick together rather than falling out the sides of your pinwheels.

Bacon Blues?

Published July 7, 2012 by jenmatteson

Who doesn’t love bacon?  Seriously.  I generally try to eat healthy, but there are some things that are just better with bacon.  There really is no substitute.  Have you ever tried turkey bacon?  If not, don’t bother.  It really doesn’t even come close to bacon as a substitute.

One thing that isn’t so awesome about bacon is that it splatters grease everywhere when you fry it; it gets all over your stove top, countertops, sometimes even on you.  I hate frying bacon.  But a great way to cook it without the hassle is in the oven.  If you place the bacon strips on a wire rack with a baking sheet underneath and bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until it reaches desired crispness.  Viola!  Less mess, less grease, and perfectly cooked, crisp bacon.

Another thing that is not always so great about bacon is the way it’s packaged.  If we are eating bacon, we are eating maybe 4-6 slices at a time.  Well, have you ever tried to take just a few slices off a slab of frozen bacon?  You really can’t without destroying the bacon slices, or completely unthawing the entire slab.  If you take an extra 5 minutes when you get your bacon home from the grocery store to separate and freeze the strips, then you’ll be able to grab just one or two slices at a time when you’re ready to use.

Line a baking sheet with wax paper.  Lay strips of bacon in a single layer on wax paper and freeze.

Once bacon is frozen, about one hour, you can just peel each strip off the wax paper, throw in a gallon sized zip-top bag, and boom!  Bacon at your fingertips in an instant.

What’s your best time-saving tip in the kitchen?

Java Stout

Published July 7, 2012 by jenmatteson

I posted a few weeks back how excited I was for this beer, and boy was I right.  This beer is so delicious!  It has a deep coffee flavor, but it doesn’t taste heavy.  We brought it to our drinking tasting (the theme was beer…yes, just beer…nothing in particular) and went head to head against 11 other beers, ours being the only homebrew.  Well guess what?  We finally won our first drink tasting (the other tasting we won with the watermelon-mint jello shots took place after this one, and was a different tasting group – in case you were wondering).

Once we finish the basement and put in the bar with taps, this will have to be one that we have all the time.  While I want everyone I know to try it and see how good it is, I’m reluctant to share it because we have such a limited quantity right now.  I suppose we’ll have to make a few more batches for back ups!  We’ve shared quite a bit of this brew, and everyone seems to love it.  I think this might be one of my favorite beers…ever.

Java Stout

Ingredients:

4 oz Peace Coffee Nicaraguan Blend
Munton’s 6 gm dry yeast
priming sugar

Grains:
8 oz chocolate malt
4 oz flaked barley
4 oz caramel 60oL
4 oz roasted barley

Hops:
1/2 oz challenger
1 oz tettnang

Malt:
6 lbs dark LME

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