Thursday, August 4, 2016

BBQ Onion Meatballs

Review: There are so many variations of the ways you could make this meal. It was amazing. I made the ground beef with everything listed below, plus Worcestershire sauce and a splash of Dale's Steak Seasoning. Next time I'm going to try and add diced jalapenos.





Ingredients:
1lb - ground meat (beef, pork, veal, turkey, combination?)
1 - egg
1/2c - bread crumbs
1/2c - shredded parmesean cheese
3 - yellow onions (medium to large)
salt, pepper, season to taste
1 package - bacon
1/2c BBQ sauce

Directions:
1. Mix meat, egg, crumbs, cheese and seasonings.
2. Cut top and bottom off onion, cut in half, peel of skin, then separate onion into layers (I diced the small layers to not waste any onion!)
3. Take a handful of meat mix and put inside an onion layer.
OPT - press more meat mix onto the exterior of the onion, you can stack as large as you would like
4. Wrap each ball with 3-4 slices of bacon
5. Bake in a baking dish at 425F for approximately 40 minutes. or until cooked at 165
6. Add BBQ sauce all over, then bake an additional 5 minutes.

Credits:
BBQ Onion Meatballs
hugsandcookiesxoxo.com/

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

BBQ Baked Ribs

Review: I've basically never had a grill until recently when I moved in with my boyfriend and he has one. So I've had to learn how to cook everything without a grill. Now that I have this amazing fall off the bone recipe, I don't know that I'm even capable of having grilled ribs now!





Ingredients:
2 racks - Uncooked Ribs (I'm personally a St Louis gal, but if you like baby back have at it!)

Dry Rub:
1/2c - Brown Sugar
1-1/2tsp - Paprika
1tbs - Kosher Salt
1-1/2tbs - Pepper
1/2tsp - Cayenne Pepper
1/2tsp - Garlic Powder
1/2tsp - Onion Powder

Sauce:
1 - Bottle BBQ Sauce (Sweet Baby Rays Original is my favorite right now)
OPT - 1-2tbs - Liquid Smoke

Directions:
1. Dry the racks with a paper towel, cut a slice down the back membrane and peal the membrane off. If you need more help with this there are a bunch of articles on Google about why/how to peal the membrane. It really helped me if I used a paper towel to grip the membrane and slowly peal it off.
2. Mix dry rub seasonings in a bowl and rub into both sides of ribs. Tightly wrap ribs in tin foil. (ChewOutLoud recommends refrigerating with the dry rub over night, I've never had the patience to try this, and the ribs come out amazing regardless)
3. Preheat oven to 350°F and bake foil wrapped ribs for 2 hours.
4. Remove ribs, let cool enough to handle. Remove from foil, discard juices, and lather both sides with BBQ sauce mixed with liquid smoke if desired. Broil for 5 minutes or until tops are nicely browned. Watch carefully.

Credit:
ChewOutLoud.com
BBQ Baked Ribs

Yummy Grilled Zucchini

Review: Oh dear yes. The lemon zest all over it was like the icing on the cake... or the icing on the zucchini? However you want to look at it, the flavoring of the zucchini was spot on!




Ingredients:
6 - Zucchini
1/4c - Olive Oil
1tsp - Kosher Salt
1tsp - Black Pepper
2 - Lemons, zest & juice
1tsp - Kosher Salt, for garnish

Directions:
1. Chop the ends of the zucchini, then slice into quarters lengthwise; place into a large Ziploc bag
2. Add in olive oil, salt, pepper, zest of 1 lemon and juice of 2 lemons. Seal the bag and shake it all around, coating all of the zucchini.
3. Fire up the grill, and sear all sides of the zucchini until nice and tender. (Don't burn them like bae did!)
4. Zest the other lemon, and combine with extra teaspoon of kosher salt. Chop together with knife creating "Lemon Salt", sprinkle atop finished zucchini and serve!

Credit:
ThePioneerWoman.com
Yummy Grilled Zucchini

The BEST Cauliflower Pizza

Review: OH MY GOODNESS. Mind you, I didn't dry my crust enough, so it was a little crumbly, but the flavor in this crust was amazing.





Ingredients:
1 - Small to Medium Head Cauliflower
1/4tsp - Kosher Salt
1/2tsp - Dried Basil
1/2tsp - Dried Oregano
1/2tsp - Garlic Powder
OPT - Few Shakes Crushed Red Pepper
1/4c - Shredded Parmesan Cheese
1/4c - Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 - Egg
OPT - 1T - Almond Meal

(These are just ingredients for the crust, don't forget to get your desired toppings!)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450°F
2. Wash, dry and trim florets. I cut off all of the stem.
3. Put florets into food processor and pulse until powdery. If you don't have a food processor you can use a cheese grater to grate the cauli.
4. Put cauliflower into a microwave safe bowl, cover and microwave for 4 minutes. Dump cauliflower onto a towel and let cool to handle. Wrap dishtowel and wring until dry. Then wring some more. And get a new towel and wring again! I thought that mine was dry enough, but it ended up crumbly, so even when you think it's dry, wring it 5 more times!
5. Put the SUPER DRY cauliflower into a bowl and mix with cheeses, seasonings and almond meal (if desired). I didn't measure out the seasonings, I just threw a bunch in the bowl until I liked how it looked. Add egg, and mix with hands.
6. Tightly form together on parchment paper, don't make it too thick or too thin.
7. Cook for 7 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Remove, add toppings then cook an additional 5 to 7 minutes. In the picture above, I did pesto and tomatoes with mozzarella cheese.

*Tips*
I recommend checking Michelle's blog listed below. She has additional tips and tricks to follow!

Happy Eating!

Credit:
TheLuckyPennyBlog.com
The BEST Cauliflower Crust Pizza

Thursday, May 26, 2016

Mom's Grand Shepard's Pie

Review: One of my favorite childhood dishes. It's such hard work, and so much food, but so worth it in the end! It's also delicious as lunch the next day.





Ingredients:
1lb - Ground Beef
2 cans - Yellow Corn
2 cans - Campbell's Tomato Soup
1 bag - Potatoes

Directions:
1. Peel, boil & mash potatoes.
2. Cook the ground beef.
3. Mix the beef & corn together.
4. Layer in baking dish: potatoes, soup, beef/corn
5. Cook in the oven at 350°F for 15-20 minutes or until bubbling on top.
5. Enjoy!

Credits:
My wonderful mother!

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Fiesta Chicken Salad

Review: Oh my goodness. My boyfriend is a very picky eater, but when I made this for him for lunch he texted me with how amazing I was. "Pfft, this guy is just sucking up, there's no way he likes it that much..." -The obvious thought any sane woman would have. Then I tried it. And oh my goodness! It was an orgasm in my mouth. You can eat it on a sandwich, alone, with chips or on a lettuce wrap. It's also paleo & dairy free!!





Ingredients:
1 - Package Perdue Short Cuts Southwest Chicken, diced or shredded
1 - Avocado, mashed
1/2 - Red Bell Pepper, diced
1/4c - Fresh Cilantro
2 - Scallions, sliced thinly (or 2tbs finely diced red onion)
1/4tsp - Cumin
1/4tsp - Paprika
Pinch - Cayenne Pepper

Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients together, refrigerate and enjoy whichever way you'd like!

Credits:
www.BowlOfDelicious.com
Fiesta Chicken Salad (No Mayo/Dairy Free)

Margarita Chicken

Review: I love it. It's so delicious. It's definately at its finest when it's cooked on the grill, however I don't have a grill so I typically bake it. It's the perfect main course for a cook-out!!





Ingredients:
2c - Non-Alcoholic Margarita Mix
3tbs - Lime Juice
1 - Clove Garlic, Crushed
3-4 - Chicken Breast
1tsp - Coarse Salt

Directions:
1. Mix margarita mix, lime juice and garlic in a resealable heavy-duty plastic food-storage bag. Add chicken; seal bag and turn to coat with marinade. Refrigerate turning bag occasionally, at least 1 hour but no longer than 24 hours. Remove chicken from marinade; reserve marinade.

2. Heat grill. Place chicken skin side up. Brush with marinade; sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of the salt. Cover and grill 5 to 6 inches from medium heat 15 minutes; turn chicken. Brush with remaining marinade; sprinkle with remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Cover and grill 20 to 40 minutes longer, turning occasionally until juice of chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut.

Credits:
Betty Crocker
Grilled Margarita Chicken

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Best Potato Salad

Review: I've been on the hunt to find my Gramma's potato salad recipe, and this is the closest I've found to it. It's fantastic, and it can be creamy or chunky!


Ingredients:
6-8 Yukon Potatoes
3tbs - White Vinegar
2 - Large Celery Stalks, diced
6 - Green Onions, diced*
5 - Hard Boiled Eggs, peeled & diced
1 1/2c - Mayo
1tbs - Yellow Mustard
1 1/2tsp - Celery Seed
Kosher salt & ground pepper
Paprika for garnish

*My mom hates green onions, so I use like 1/4c of yellow onion.

Directions:
1. Bring potatoes to a boil in a large pot with liberal salt.Cook 10-15 minutes or until cooked through. Drain and let cool until just able to handle.
2. Peel the skins and dice potatoes into a large bowl. Sprinkle with vinegar and let cool for 15 minutes.
3. Chop and add onion, celery and eggs.
4. Mix mayo, mustard and seasonings in a separate bowl. Mix well with potato mixture.
5. Top with additional egg slices and paprika.
6. Chill & Serve!

Credits:
FoodieCrush.com
How to Make the Best Potato Salad

I've tried making this recipe two separate ways, peeling/dicing the potatoes before I cook them, then peeling/dicing the potatoes after I cook them. If I peel before, the potatoes are a lot more mashed and the potato salad is more of a mashed up mix. If I peel after, the potatoes hold their shape more and it's more like chunks of potatoes rather than more mashed looking potatoes. They tasted exactly the same to me, just the appearance was different, so it's entirely up to what look you prefer.

Brown Sugar Sausages

Review: They were so amazing! Everybody ate them allllll up!!! But really, who doesn't love something covered in bacon?!


Ingredients:
2pkg - Little Smokies
2lb - Bacon (I used a maple seasoned bacon)
1c - Brown Sugar
Tooth Picks

Directions:
1. Cut the bacon in thirds, wrap each smokie with bacon and secure with a tooth pick.
2. We put the brown sugar on a plate, then dipped each smokie in the brown sugar. Put on a plate and pop in the oven at 350°F for 40-45 minutes or until brown.

Credits:
AllRecipes.com
Brown Sugar Smokies Recipes

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Skinny Shrimp Scampi w/ Zucchini Noodles

Review: This meal was perfect to me. Typically when I have shrimp scampi the meal overall is just too heavy. With the zucchini noodles it was perfeeeecctt.



Ingredients:
2tbs - Olive Oil
1lb - Jumbo Shrimp, peeled & deveined
1tbs - Minced Garlic
1/4tsp - Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
1/4c - White Wine
2tbs - Fresh Lemon Juice
3 Medium Zucchini, cut into noodles

Directions:
1. Heat olive oil for 1 minute in a large sauce pan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper flakes and cook them for 1 minute stirring constantly.
2. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring as needed. Approximately 3 minutes. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper, then remove with a slotted spoon; leaving any liquid in the pan.
3. Increase heat to medium and add the white wine, lemon juice. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the zucchini noodles, stirring occasionally for 2 minutes.
4. Return the shrimp to the pan, toss to combine. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Credits:
JustATaste.com
Skinny Shrimp Scampi with Zucchini Noodles

Monday, January 18, 2016

Onion Crusted Tilapia

Review: Alright, my original plan was to have grouper, but apparently it's not in season, soooo I ended up with tilapia. I thought about switching recipes, but I was really looking forward to the onion crusted, so I did the same recipe. It's really interchangeable with which fish you want to use, but the onion mixture was killller. So I will definitely be eating this again!



Ingredients:
3-4 Fillets of Fish
2/3c - French's Fried Onions
1 - Lemon, 2tsp - Zest
1/2tsp - Garlic Salt
1/2tsp - Garlic Powder
1/2c - Mayonnaise

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Put the fried onions, lemon zest, garlic salt and garlic powder in a ziploc bag. Pound until the fried onions are crumbs. (I poured the crumbs onto a plate, but you can keep it in the bag if preferred)
3. Slice up the lemon and lay it in the bottom of a pan.
4. Rinse the fish, pat dry, and cover in mayonnaise, dip in crumb mixture (top and bottom), place in pan over lemon slices.
5. Cook for 10-15 minutes until flaky.

Credits:
NormalCooking.com
Crispy Lemon Tilapia

I used Normal Cooking as a guideline for this recipe, but I twisted it in a way that works for me. during my research I also found a recipe that's similar, but instead of mayonnaise it used ranch. I'm definitely going to try that recipe on chicken sometimes. :)

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Herb Roasted Chicken & Vegetables

Review: This dish was delicious! The mushroom soup really kept the rest of the dish moist.



Ingredients:
1 can - Campbell's Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/3c - water
2tsp - Dried Oregano Leaves, Crushed
4 - medium potatoes, cut into quarters
2c - fresh or frozen baby carrots
4 - bone-in chicken breasts (approximately 2lbs)
1/2tsp - paprika

Directions:
1. Stir the soup, water, 1tsp oregano, potatoes and carrots in a shallow roasting pan.
2. Top with the chicken. Sprinkle with the remaining oregano and paprika.
3. Bake at 400°F for 50 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Stir the vegetable mixture before serving.

Credits:
CampbellsKitchen.com
Herb Roasted Chicken & Vegetables

French Dip Sandwiches

Review: Everybody that I had over for dinner loved this dish, I didn't think that it was bad, however I think that next time I'll try cooking it with a different meat. I feel as though I've had better french dips before.

I'm a failure and forgot to take a picture of this one. :( I'll try to remember next time I make it.

Ingredients:
3 lbs - fresh beef brisket
1.3 oz - onion soup mix
1 can - condensed beef broth
8 - mini baguettes or buns

Directions:
1. Place beef in slow cooker. Mix soup and beef broth, pour over beef.
2. Cover and cook for 8 to 10 hours on low
3. Skim fat from liquid. Remove Beef. Cut beef across grain.
4. Serve sandwiches with leftover liquid in slow cooker.

Credits:
Pillsbury
Slow Cooker Easy French Dip Sandwiches

Monday, January 11, 2016

Lemon Rosemary Chicken

Review: To be honest, I wasn't sure how this meal was going to turn out... I had started with a recipe that didn't have very descriptive directions, then found a similar recipe and had to combine the two. I was quite impressed with the moisture that the chicken held. It was quite delicious!



Ingredients:
1 - 4 to 5lb Chicken, rinsed and patted dry
Juice of (2) Lemons
Zest of (1) Lemon
1 tbs - Olive Oil
1 - Sprigs of Fresh Rosemary, diced finely,
1 - Sprig of Fresh Rosemary, whole
2 - Cloves Garlic, minced
1 - Clove Garlic, whole
1/2c - Butter, Softened
Salt & Pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Rinse, pat dry & place chicken in roasting pan on roasting rack.
3. Mix together butter, olive oil, minced garlic, diced rosemary, zest & lemon juice to a small bowl and pour generously over chicken and interior cavity.
4. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper, inside and out.
5. Stuff the chicken with the remaining lemon - sliced in quarters, whole sprig of rosemary and garlic clove.
6. Tie together legs per personal preference.
7. Cook for 45 minutes, then baste. Cover with foil tent if chicken is browning too quickly and cook for additional 15 minutes.
8. Allow chicken to cool for 15 minutes before carving. Use drippings for gravy if desired.


Credits:
DivasCanCook.com
Lemon Garlic & Rosemary Roasted Chicken
MyRecipes.com
Lemon-Rosemary Chicken