Main Dishes

Chicken-n-Veggies

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This is one of those recipes that came to “be” out of desperation — when I was out of other things for a recipe.  It has become a go-to recipe for us – Even our “I don’t really like chicken people” love this.  It is on the table from start to finish in less than 30 minutes.  Use the leftovers in a wrap – Yummy!
Note:  Some of the ingredients are “to taste”

Ingredients:
1 Tbls Coconut Oil
7-10 Chicken Tenderloins chunked
2-3 cloves garlic or equivalent in Garlic Powder
1/2 – 1 medium onion chopped
2 cups broccoli florets
2 zucchinis cut in half lengthwise and sliced
Lemon Pepper

1.  Melt Coconut Oil in large frying pan, add chicken
2.  Fry chicken for 4-5 minutes – add a little water if necessary to keep from burning
3.  Add garlic, peppers and onions – saute/fry for 5 minutes or until chicken is almost done
4.  Add Broccoli and Zucchini with a little water for steaming and to keep from burning.
5.  Sprinkle entire pan with Lemon pepper
5.  Cook for additional 4-5 minutes or until broccoli is tender.

Enjoy!

Source:  A Jennie original

Zucchini Bake

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I know we JUST had a zucchini bake posted here but, sometimes options are good, no?  I tried this recipe for the first time today and thought it was delicious and comforting.  Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:
4-5 small zucchinis (up to 15 oz) unpeeled and coarsely grated*
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 packet Canadian bacon (6 oz or to taste) finely chopped**
1 cup grated cheddar cheese, packed
1 heaping cup self rising flour***
1/3-1/2 cup oil
5 eggs lightly beaten
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a small or medium size baking dish (size will determine baking time).
2.  Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.  Pour into greased baking dish.
3.  Bake 30-40 minutes for a medium or shallow dish.  Today we used a small deep dish and it took 1 hour.  Zucchini bake is done when brown on top and skewer inserted comes out clean.  Can be served hot or cold.

Entertaining?  Garnish with tomato slices or fresh chopped parsley!

*The smaller zucchinis will make the dish greener due to more skin.
**You can use ham or bacon as well.  If you use bacon you may need to adjust the oil.
*** If you don’t have self rising flour use 1 cup flour, 1 tsp. baking powder and 1/4 tsp. salt

Source:  My Australian friend

Chicken and Spinach Stromboli

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My kids love Stromboli, but only the kind with ham and cheese. Mr. Blue Eyes and I like ham and cheese, too, but sometimes it’s nice to zest it up a bit, don’t you think?

One day I had some fresh spinach in the fridge, some chicken in the freezer, and I thought, “I wonder…”  Well, my friends, IT WORKED! And here I am to share this concoction with the world. Lucky you. 🙂

Ingredients:
1 Batch of Pizza Dough (or a frozen loaf of Rhoades, thawed)
2-3 Chicken Breasts, thawed
Crushed Peppercorn and Garlic Rub (or some variation thereof–use your favorite and what’s on hand)
2 Cups Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
Fresh Baby Spinach Leaves

1. Rub the chicken with the seasoning and bake, fry, etc. until done. I use my panini maker to grill it. A George Foreman or out door grill would work great, too. Just cook the chicken. 🙂
2. Using a fork, shred the cooked chicken and set it aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
4.On a lightly floured board, roll out the dough into a rectangle.
5. Spread the mozzarella cheese over the dough until evenly covered. Spread the chicken over the cheese. Spread the spinach over the chicken. It should look like this:

6. Beginning at the upper long edge, roll the dough in toward you (like cinnamon rolls), carefully tucking spinach leaves as you go. Don’t worry too much if they bunch a little. You’ll win in the end.
7. Pinch the seam and ends shut and place in a jelly roll pan (or on a cookie sheet of some kind) seam side down.
8. Bake for 25 minutes.

Cut into slices and enjoy!

Source: An original

~Kara

Simple Chicken Parm

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This is a great recipe that will be ready in 30 minutes. It’s simple and low in calories… just the way I like it!!

Simple Chicken Parm


6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (around 1lb to 1.5lbs.)
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
1 cup Italian-style bread crumbs
1 Jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1/4 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese
spaghetti, cooked, drained

– Heat oven to 400ºF.
– Dip chicken in egg whites, then in bread crumbs. Make sure to coat the whole chicken.
– Place in 13×9-inch pan lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray.
– Bake for 20 to 25 min. or until chicken is done (165ºF).
– Top with sauce and cheeses.
– Bake 5 min. or until mozzarella is melted.
– To serve, place chicken on top of a bed of spaghetti! Enjoy!

(Source)

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches

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Ingredients:

1 3 pound pork roast (if frozen, thaw before prepping)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Montreal Steak Seasoning (or your favorite steak seasoning)
3-4 cups Root Beer, Dr. Pepper or Coke
1 1/2-2 cups Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce
6-8 rolls for serving

1.  Season your pork roast generously with the steak seasoning.  Be sure to massage the spices into your roast really well!
2.  Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet and sear all sides of the roast.
3.  Pierce roast a couple of times with a fork and place in a large crock pot.
4.  Pour soda over your meat, cover and cook on low for about 7 hours; or until meat shreds easily with a fork.
5.  Remove roast from crock pot and shred with two forks.  Put shredded meat back into the soda juices, cover and cook for 1 more hour.
6.  Drain juices from crock pot and pour in BBQ sauce.  Mix well, cover and cook for 30 minutes or until BBQ sauce is heated through.
7.  Serve pulled pork on yummy rolls and enjoy!  You could also add a handful of cole slaw to each sandwich for texture!

Source:  Jamie Cooks It Up!

Pretzel Dogs

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Happy Memorial Day to all my fellow Americans!

Years ago, when my husband and I were newly married and still attending Brigham Young University, we had some great friends who shared a great pretzel recipe with us.  We’ve made it countless times in the last twenty years…sometimes plain, sometimes cheese-stuffed, always good.  But a couple of years ago we decided to try using our favorite Nathan’s Hot Dogs as a filler.  It was a tasty experiment and has turned out to be one of my favorite ways to eat pretzels!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 Tbsp. yeast
1/3 cup brown sugar
4-5 cups all-purpose flour
coarse kosher salt
1 egg white, beaten
Nathan’s Hot Dogs (8)
2 cups water
2 Tbsp. baking soda

1.  Mix water and yeast until dissolved.  Stir in brown sugar.  Slowly add flour, stirring constantly.
2.  Knead dough till stretchy and smooth.

3.  Divide dough into 8 equal pieces.  Shape each piece into a log 1″ longer than the hot dog (the dough will stretch as you pull it over the ends).  Flatten the log and place the hot dog on the dough.  Fold in the ends, then fold one long side over tightly.  Roll the whole thing over onto the remaining flap.  Pinch edges to seal, getting out as much air as possible.

4.  Fill a pan with the water and baking soda and bring to a simmer/gentle boil.  The pot should be wide enough to allow for the pretzel dog to sit “comfortably” inside.  (They get cranky if they’re not comfortable.)  Carefully lower one pretzel dog at a time into the water, making sure to gently move it around a bit at first so it doesn’t stick to the bottom.  Allow it to bathe for 30 seconds, then carefully lift it out of the pan and onto a cooling rack.  Continue until all 8 have taken their baths.

5.  Brush each pretzel dog with the beaten egg white and sprinkle with the coarse salt.  Grease a cookie sheet and sprinkle it with the salt also.  Place the pretzel dogs on the cookie sheet and bake in a 475 degree oven for 8-12 minutes.

Makes 8 pretzel dogs

Source:  Kari Hafen
Incidentally, if any of you know Kari Hafen from Alaska, PLEASE let her know I’m looking for her.  We lost touch after BYU.

Succulent Steak Marinade

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This is a mild, yet sweet and tangy marinade!  Yum!

Ingredients:
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup pineapple juice
3 gloves garlic, crushed/pressed

Wisk all ingredients together in a bowl and use as a marinade.  For types of steak and their marinating time, check out THIS page.

We used only half of the marinade for one HUGE steak.  We’re going to try marinating a few chicken breasts in the leftovers.

Source:  Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

Chile Rellenos

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Our traditional Christmas Eve dinner is Mexican food.  Usually we have tamales, rice, beans and a salad.  This year we chose Chile Rellenos because my tamale source-no I have never attempted tamales, and my friend makes them as a fundraiser for summer programs for her kids–was not available. I also opted for guacamole salad (like in a Mexican restaurant) instead of my usual tossed salad, because my daughter was home from college and she makes the BEST guacamole–maybe she will share in a future post!

Ingredients:
whole long green chilies (Anaheim)
all-purpose flour
Monterey Jack cheese, cut into 3 or 4 inch pieces
Eggs, separated
Salt
Vegetable oil

DO AHEAD TIP:  Since the chilies need to be roasted, I do this ahead of time and put them in the freezer in zippered plastic bags so that they will sweat and the skins will separate more easily from the meat of the chiles. When I need to use them, I just take them out of the freezer and let them thaw.  It is super easy to peel the skins from the chilies and I always have some on hand.  I also do this with jalapenos for making salsa.
1.  Roast the chilies on a hot grill, or in a broiler on high heat, turning so that the skins are blistered and charred on both sides.  Let them cool to room temperature and then peel the skins off.  Be careful to not tear the chilies while peeling (you can also use canned whole chilies).
2.  Make a small slit (about 2-4 inches) in the side of each chile and carefully remove the seeds.  
3.  Place a slice of cheese into each chile, trimming the cheese if necessary.  You want to be able to bring the sides of the chile together over the cheese.
4.  Lightly dredge the stuffed chile in flour–this helps the batter adhere better.
5.  For the batter you will need about 2 large eggs per pound of chilies.  Separate into whites and yolks.  Beat the egg whites until stiff.  In a separate bowl, beat the yolks.  Fold the yolks and a dash of salt into the whites, incorporating carefully.  
6.  Dip each chile into the egg batter, then fry in about an inch or so of hot oil or grease.  I use an electric skillet because I can do about 8 or 10 chilies at a time.  Fry until golden brown, flipping to get both sides (you can also bake these, but my crew wants FRIED).
7.  Place cooked chilies on paper towels to drain off excess oil.
8.  Serve with salsa.
Source:  I got the basic recipe from the Internet several years back but found better directions HERE while preparing this post.

Grandma’s Spare Ribs

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I inherited this recipe from Mr. Blue Eyes’ grandma when I married into the family. Lucky me! When cooked right, the meat falls right off the bones. You can’t beat that!

3 – 4 lbs Pork Spare Ribs
3 small Onions, sliced
3/4 – 1 Cup Ketchup
3/4 (or less) Cup Water
2 Tbsp Vinegar (we use white)
2 Tbsp Worchestershire Sauce
1 Tbsp Salt
1/2 tsp (or less) Red Pepper (we usually leave this out because we have small children)
1/2 tsp ground Black Pepper
1 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Chili Powder

1. In a 9×13 pan, or Large Cast Iron Pot, cook meat at 450 degrees F until brown.
2. Remove the meat from the oven and cover with the sliced onions.
3. Mix all other ingredients together. Pour the mixture over the meat and onions.
4. Cover with tinfoil (or lid) and bake at 250 degrees F for three hours (or 350 for 1.5 hours), basting occasionally. It really depends on your time frame. Just remember, cooking at a lower temperature for longer will make it more tender.
5. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes more.

Serve with rice, potatoes, or egg noodles.

Note: I don’t dig a whole lot of fat on my meat, so I usually trim fat off as I go, depending on how hard it is or how much time I have.

Source: Grandma M., who told me she cut it out of a newspaper umpteen years ago.

~Kara

Mexicali Pork Chops

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Want an easy, quick, tasty pork recipe?  You got it.

Ingredients:
pork chops
taco seasoning mix (or make your own)
canola oil (for the skillet)

1.  Coat the pork chops on both sides with taco seasoning mix (I pour mine into a shallow bowl wide enough for the chop).

2.  Cook the chops on medium-low heat for 5-7 minutes per side, or until cooked through.

I told you it was easy.

Source:  no clue where I got this, but I do know it was NOT my idea!

Notes:

  • Use any cut of pork chops you like.  I usually use the small boneless ones, but I try to get whatever is on sale.
  • One packet of taco seasoning is enough for about 6 chops, but again, make the seasoning yourself like Maven Mica does!