So easy, so good and a crowd pleaser. What's not to like? Works with either chicken or beef - cut chicken breasts up into triangles or use sirloin tips. Trader Joes has some good grass fed sirloin tips at a good price (see picture). I made both. I served with cilantro rice, which I will post separately. The key for this is a full 24 hour marinade for the meat. I did both chicken and steak. I marinade meats in plastic bags, because it's less messy and you can just shake it (gently) to move the meat around.
Marinade: 1.5 cups soy sauce 2-3 scallions, chopped 2-3 cloves garlic, minced Juice of 2 limes 1/2 cup of ketchup Heaping tablespoon of brown sugar 3/4 cup olive oil
Mix together the first six ingredients, then whisk the olive oil in a trickle. Here are the steak tips next to a bowl of marinade:
Put the meat in a large ziploc bag, then pour the marinade over the meat. I put my two separate bags (with chicken and beef) in a bowl to put in the fridge overnight.
Right before you're ready to put the food on the grill, toss the following with some olive oil, salt and pepper: Largely cut red pepper Chunks of fresh pineapple Large hunks of red onion
Then spear the meat and veggie mix onto skewers. Here are ours, ready to grill:
While you're grilling, baste with the marinade for extra flavor (that is why there is a bowl on the platter above)!
I have NOT been good about posting, but now that finals are winding down I can post everything I made in April! Starting with this...very good. I kinda wish I hadn't made so much because it isn't the kind of thing you want to eat for four days straight. But a good one or two day meal maybe. I doubled the recipe, next time I will just make the amount below.
I precooked the chicken breasts just in a covered pot with some chicken broth over medium heat for around 20 minutes. It's also how I made chicken for chicken salad, just so you know. It won't have much flavor, but it's a good simple way to cook it for these purposes.
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 large chopped onion 1-2 cloves minced garlic 1 chopped green pepper 1 chopped red pepper 2.5 teaspoons paprika 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1 cup uncooked long grain rice 2 cups fat free, less sodium chicken broth (the gluten free kind, if it's a concern!) 1 can diced tomatoes (undrained) 2 cups shredded cooked chicken or turkey breasts 2-3 cooked andouille sausage, chopped (I used hot italian turkey sausage from Whole Foods)
My chopped veggies!
Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent, around 5 minutes. Add garlic and let cook for another 30 seconds then add the peppers and spices. Let cook for another 2-3 minutes, then add the remaining ingredients. Cover and let cook until the rice has absorbed the liquid.
I was looking at my blog description and remembered that I was going to include a little training on my blog too. Ha! Funny. Maybe I'll start doing that, but it really isn't very exciting. Except that I go through leftovers pretty quickly these days - I'm up to around 15-16 hours of training a week! AAH! Sometimes people ask how I manage to get dinner on the table every night, which is NOT an accurate statement. I always try to look for recipes that will last for several days, so I really only end up cooking dinner around 2 times a week, maybe 3. Especially since we're a household of two students...we don't even always eat together.
Doug put in a request for sloppy joe's...which sounds a little weird, but I like requests because sometimes the most annoying part about trying to have home cooked dinners all the time is I run out of ideas on things to make. Also, I like trying to make Doug's favorite meals healthy! One of these days, he is going to get tired of everything he likes made with all kinds of lighter substitutions, but I don't think anyone feels bad for him!
Anyway, these sloppy joe's were tasty, hearty, healthy and lasted for several days. We ran out of buns (Star Market has surpringly good whole wheat buns in their bakery aisle) on day two, then I started eating the meat just plain and it was still good. Doug made a bun out of cornbread (see last post), but that would be a little much for me!
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon canola oil 1 large white chopped onion 1 green pepper, chopped 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 pound lean beef - I used turkey - I think it was 97% lean. The 99% stuff doesn't absorb any other flavors in this type of dish too well. 1 six ounce can tomato paste 2 teaspoons chili powder 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon salt 14 ounces low sodium chicken broth 1 fifteen ounce can corn, drained Whole wheat hamburger buns - I got 4, you need more like 6 for this recipe Red pepper flakes to taste
Heat oil in a large nonstick skiller over medium high heat. Add onion, pepper and garlic and cook for around three minutes. Add meat to pan, cook for around 5 minutes - until the meat is no longer pink.
Stir in chili powder, cumin, salt, broth and tomato paste. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 12-15 minutes. Stir in corn, let cook for another 2 minutes, and you're done!
Toast the buns, and spoon on meat mixture. I also put sliced dill pickles on mine! I didn't take a picture of my actual sandwich...but I have faith you all know what this would look like on a bun :-)
This was a high veggie to meat ratio. When I make this again, I would probably add a little more meat and keep the amount of veggies the same. I also added a LOT of red pepper flakes, because I like spicy food!
Apparently there are regional differences between cornbreads. Who knew? Probably most people, but oh well. I don't know what this is, I only care that is is darn good. I've made a few cornbread recipes and this is my faaavorite.
Ingredients: 1.5 cups all purpose flour 1 cup yellow cornmeal 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 teaspoon table salt 1/4 packed light brown sugar 3/4 frozen corn kernels, thawed 1 cup buttermilk 2 large eggs 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled a little
Instructions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter an 8 inch square baking dish. Mix flour, cornmeal, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl, set aside.
In a food processor or blender, process brown sugar, corn and buttermilk for around 5 seconds. Add eggs and process for another 5 seconds. Don't worry, the corn will still be a little lumpy. Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients and pour in the wet batter, folding to combine. Add melted butter while folding and continue until mixed. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth out with a spatula. Bake around 25-35 minutes, or until a knife/toothpick can go in the middle and come out completely clean. Let cool for around 10 minutes in the pan, then transfer to wire rack to let cool the rest of the way.
I honestly have never had stroganoff before. I had no idea what to expect. I was always wary of the nutrition content, but as most dishes - that can be controlled at home. I found a recipe in my Cooking Light magazine that said any meat could be used - they suggested pork or chicken. Since I already had a pound of chicken in my freezer, I went for chicken. Follow the same directions for any meat though. If you use pork, use pork loin or tenderloin.
Ingredients: 1 pound chicken breast, cut into small pieces 8 ounces dry egg noodles 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 large chopped onion 2 tablespoons paprika 1 cup low sodium chicken broth 1/2 low or nonfat sour cream Salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste (but a good amount of each) 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
Cook the noodles, set them aside. Egg noodles are easy, they only take a few minutes (like, 3 or 4) to cook.
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent, around 5 minutes. Add paprika, mixing well, and let cook for another minute. Add chicken broth, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and let cook until the sauce has thickened, around 5 minutes.
Remove pan from the heat and stir in the sour cream. I mixed in the noodles at this point too, as opposed to just spooning the meat sauce over the noodles. I said to season to taste, but I used a fair amount of salt and red pepper flakes (but omit if you don't want any kick) - so use a heavy hand!
I almost forgot to take a picture until Doug was almost done, so here you go - Doug's almost empty dish of chicken stroganoff :-)
I will NOT say I am above the prepackaged Old El Paso (or whatever the brand is) taco mix. But I wanted to try my own.
Ingredients (for meat mixture part only): 2 teaspoons vegetable oil 1 white onion 2 tablespoons chili powder 1 teaspoon cumin 1 teaspoon coriander 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 1/4 cayenne pepper 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 pound ground beef or turkey (I used turkey) 2 cups tomato sauce 2 cups low sodium chicken broth 1 teaspoon brown sugar 2 teaspoons cider vinegar Pepper to taste
Heat oil in medium skillet over medium heat until hot and shimmering but not smoking, about 2 minutes; add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add spices; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add ground meat and cook, breaking meat up with wooden spoon and scraping pan bottom to prevent scorching, about 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce, chicken broth, brown sugar, and vinegar; bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, stirring frequently and breaking meat up so that no chunks remain, until liquid has reduced and thickened, about 10 minutes. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper.
If you don't know what to do now I'm not sure you should be making these, but we served with cheese, shredded lettuce, hot salsa and sour cream. I also like making taco salads, which is my preferred method of consumption...meat and salsa over some shredded lettuce with a little cheese!
The whole title is black pepper and molasses pulled chicken sandwiches, but that is a little long, don't you think? The chicken was great for sandwiches, also great just on it's own. I doubled this recipe, because the leftovers were really good. In case you haven't noticed, I cook a whole bunch of stuff at one time then let it last for a few days. Works especially well since we're two busy students!
This is easy...combine ALL ingredients in a dutch oven (or large saucepan...I used a dutch oven since I doubled) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook for around 20-25 minutes or the chicken is done. Shred the chicken apart with two forks, then let simmer for another 10-20 minutes for additional flavor.
I served with whole wheat sandwich buns and coleslaw.
