Month: September 2017

Oven BBQ Chicken

Hope everyone had a great weekend. I’m really loving this weather! Tonight I decided to make bbq chicken inside. I had ran out of gas for my grill and decided to just make it inside. My Dad use to always cook chicken on the stove in a pot with bbq sauce and some water and pretty much boil the chicken in this liquid prior to putting on the grill. It’s so good because the flavor really soaks in. I decided to do it like that today. Check out the recipe!

Oven BBQ Chicken

4 Chicken thighs, bone in and skin on

2 cups + 2T bbq sauce

1 cup water

1/2 T garlic powder

1/2 T onion powder

1/2 T chili powder

Pinch: salt and pepper

1/2 T oil

Directions: Heat a deep saute pan on high heat. Season chicken with spices and salt and pepper. Add oil to pan and place chicken in pan skin side down, cook until slightly golden, flip the chicken over. Add in bbq sauce and water and mix well. Covering the chicken with the sauce. Cover and cook on medium heat for 20 minutes, half way through flip the chicken over and cook another 20 minutes. When done turn off the pan and let sit until ready to finish cooking. Once ready to finish cooking, add chicken to a baking dish and put in a preheated 400° oven. Bake in the oven 10-15 minutes till the chicken skin starts to crisp up. The last 5 minutes, brush the chicken evenly with 2T of bbq sauce. Place back in the oven and turn up heat to 425°. Bake remaining 5 minutes. You can also put on the broiler for a few minutes, but watch the chicken as it can burn quickly.

Once done remove from the oven and serve with your favorite sides. This is a great recipe for when it’s 10 degrees here in Chicago. You can add the chicken to the grill vs finishing it in the oven. Same thing goes, add to a heated grill and cook only about 5-7 minutes and then brush with bbq sauce.

Enjoy!

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Bacon Swiss Quiche

Happy Sunday! When I think of Sunday I think of brunch, relaxation and catching up on my DVR.

However, this morning I’ve been a busy bee. Made a quiche for brunch, cleaned the kitchen, mopped the floor and I’m about to meal prep some food for the week. I’ll save the relaxation for later this afternoon.

So, My Mom has been making this quiche I made today for as long as I can remember. It’s a great breakfast dish and easy to make.

Bacon Swiss Quiche

Ingredients:

6 crisp bacon slices, chopped (I use cooked bacon and just cut in thin slices with a scissor)

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups half and half (or heavy cream)

3/4-1 cup Swiss cheese, grated

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 pie crust (pre-made or homemade)

2t onion powder

Sprinkle: Salt and Pepper

Directions: Preheat oven to 400°. Place the pie crust on a baking sheet. This will catch anything that may drip out while cooking. Add chopped onion, bacon and Swiss cheese to the pie crust. In a bowl mix together eggs and half and half (or heavy cream), onion powder and salt and pepper. Pour the mixture in the pie crust. Place the pie in the oven for 15 minutes at 400° and then reduce oven to 300° and cook for 25-30 minutes. Check the quiche with a knife in the center, if the knife comes out clean it’s done. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

Note: You can wrap the edges of the pie crust with foil to keep it from burning. It’s great to partially prep ahead of time especially if you have company staying with you or company coming over for brunch. Just add the onion, bacon and cheese to the pie crust and cover it and place in the refrigerator the night before. The next day you just need to make the egg mixture and pour into the crust. It just cuts down on the time in the morning.

Enjoy your Sunday!

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Grating the Swiss cheese!
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Pouring the egg mixture into the crust.

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Marinated Grilled Flat Iron Steak

The weekend comes and goes so fast I always feel like I spend so much time cooking and meal prepping. So last night I decided to keep it super simple with some grilled flat iron steaks. I love steak and although I love cuts like ribeye and porterhouse I wanted to keep it a little healthier. I just started making flat iron steaks and I must say I love them. I make a super easy marinade and just throw on the grill! Check out below for the recipe! Super easy and delicious!

Grilled Flat Iron Steak
1-1.25 lb Flat Iron Steak
Marinade:

1/2-3/4 Cup Olive Oil

2 T Soy Sauce

1 T Red Wine Vinegar

4 Garlic Cloves, grated

1 lime, juiced

1/2 T Garlic Powder

1/2 T Onion Powder

1/2 T Dried Parsley

2 t Salt

2 t Pepper

Mix all ingredients above for the marinade. Add the flat iron steak and marinade to a large zip lock bag. Massage the bag to incorporate the marinade. Or place in a flat dish and cover and put in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 8-12. Massage the zip lock bag once during the time in the refrigerator or if in a bowl flip the steak once.
Grill on Medium High heat for 5 minutes on each side. (May need longer depending on the thickness.) Remove from heat and cover with foil at least 5 minutes to let rest!
I served with corn on the cob and mashed potatoes. Also great tossed in a salad or for steak tacos.
For the steak tacos I add about 1/4 cup chopped cilantro and 1/2 T of chili powder to the marinade. It will come out perfect for tacos!

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Grating the garlic in the marinade!
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Flat Iron in the zip lock bag.
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On the Grill!

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Pesto Fettuccine with Scallops

It’s finally the weekend! After a long work week I wanted something easy for dinner last night but didn’t want to just cave and order a pizza. I haven’t made pasta in forever and I had craving for it so that’s where Friday night’s dinner came in.

I made pesto fettuccine with scallops. It was divine! Completely hit the spot. Take a look at my recipe below for a quick hearty meal.

Pesto Fettuccine with Scallops

Ingredients:

1/2lb fettuccine

12-14 large scallops, rinsed and dried

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 shallots, chopped

1/4 cup pesto

2T olive oil

1T Romano cheese, finely grated

Sprinkle: Salt and Pepper

Directions: Cook pasta according to package. Strain and rinse under cold water and add 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil to keep pasta from sticking. Set aside. Heat a large saute pan on high heat. Add 1/2 tablespoon of oil and add scallops cooking for 2 minutes on each side till golden brown. Remove from the heat and set aside. Add the garlic and shallot to the pan and cook until tender. Add in the pesto and remaining olive oil (1 tablespoon) mix well. Add fettuccine to the pan and toss until coated. Heat for 3-4 minutes tossing often. Remove from heat and add to 2 bowls. To finish the dish top pasta with 6-7 scallops each and Romano cheese. Serve immediately with garlic bread.

Enjoy!

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Turkey Stuffed Peppers

Wednesday night I made stuffed peppers! With the weather getting cooler this is a perfect comfort dish.  I’m not sure about everybody else but I love the fall weather.

I made these stuffed peppers with leaner ground turkey. I did add rice which is more traditional but not usually how I make them! They were very good. The extras going in the freezer.

Turkey Stuffed Peppers

Makes: 9 Peppers with 7oz of meat filling…
Serving: 1 stuffed pepper

Calories: 285 Fat:10.5g Carbs: 20g Protein:25

Ingredients:

2lbs 93/7 Lean ground turkey
1 8oz can tomato sauce, no salt (I use Hunt’s)
¼ cup water
½ cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1T Worcestershire sauce
2C cooked white rice
2 Large eggs
1 medium onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, grated
3T Romano or Parmesan cheese, finely grated
2 oz reduced fat shredded cheese
1T Onion Powder
1T Garlic Powder
½ T dried parsley
½ T dried oregano
½ T Burger seasoning, (I use a Rachel Ray Grinder)
Pinch of Salt and Pepper

9 Bell Peppers, tops cut off and insides removed
1-2 15oz can tomato sauce, no salt (I use Hunt’s)
1-1 ½ cup of water

Directions: In a bowl mix all ingredients except the larger 15oz cans of sauce and extra of water. Mix well till all incorporated. (I use glove to do this, less of a mess) Divide meat mixture evenly into the 9 peppers. I did 7oz in each pepper. I cooked in 2 batches in a pot on the stove. Add ½ cup of water and half of 15 oz can of sauce. Place peppers in the pan and cover with remaining tomato sauce. Cook on medium heat for 50-60 minutes. Once finish remove from the heat and add the remaining peppers. Make sure that there is still liquid in the bottom of the pan. Add some more tomato sauce and top peppers with sauce and cook.

Remember to keep an eye on the pan and check every so often to make sure there is still liquid. If the liquid burns out the bottom of the pan will burn and you’ll have a burnt tomato sauce mess. You can also bake in the oven. I normally don’t do in the oven, but you should probably bake covered at 350 for about 45-50 minutes until the meat is cooked and peppers are tender. These peppers freeze well. You can under bake so the pepper doesn’t fall apart and cover with tomato sauce to freeze. Also, it’s always good to have extra tomato sauce on hand. It really depends on how much you prefer and how much will cook out while you are cooking the peppers.

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First blog post

Happy Friday! I started this blog so I could bring my love for cooking and food to others.  I’ve been keeping busy with an Instagram page and a Facebook page but wanted to create a blog as well.  Kind of like a go to for all my recipes! I’d definitely consider myself a foodie.  Check back often for some amazing recipes.

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