Chilli and Paprika Crusted Roast Chicken

Hey everyone. Writing another post on the beauty that is Roasted chicken. There are many ways that you can do this, but messing around with flavor profiles is something that is always awesome to do and it's a pretty healthy if you do it the right way.
The first thing that you'll need is the proper cooking vessel. Roasting chicken in a dish is a no no. It doesn't allow the fat to drop off the chicken, therefore allowing it to cook in its own fat. I say bleh to that. Get a good Roasting or broiler pan and make sure you cook on an elevated surface. Or you can cook directly on the oven track with a dish on the rack below it to catch the drippings. Let me remind you that doing the second option may be catastrophic to your kitchen either by fire or a supreme mess. Here are the ingredients you'll need.
4 lb plus chicken leg quarters
Salt
Garlic powder
Black pepper
Cajun seasoning
Italian Herb Seasoning
Paprika
Chilli Powder

Lay out your chicken on your pan and elevated rack and preheat your oven to 425ºF. If you don't have a rack that will fit in a pan, twist aluminum foil and lay under the chicken in rows so that it holds up your chicken. Trust me, I've done it, it works. Cooking takes a little bit of ingenuity sometimes. Dust the chicken in salt, pepper, garlic powder and Herb blend just so that it sits on top of the chicken. You can do this skin on or off, I recommend off, it allows for the juices to stay in the chicken and the flavor to sweat down through during the cooking process. Lay on the paprika and chilli powder pretty heavy, afterall, it is the title of the dish. Place in the oven for about 45-50 minutes and remove and let stand for 10 minutes to allow it to cook on its own and for the juices to rest. What you get is a rich, smoky flavor chicken with low calories and goes well with just about everything. Mess around with other flavors like chilli lime with chilli powder and lime zest. Roasted chicken is a true delight and is ready to make. Enjoy your food and don't skimp on the flavor. See you again soon.

Orange Soda Asian Style BBQ Sauce.

Here is yet another sauce recipe that I tucked away for a later date to post about. If there is one thing that I like, it's good food with something that makes it better. Now, as far as beef is concerned, I'm a real purist. I love the taste of beef by itself, unless it's something that is cooked with rendered beef fat to make the steak even more sinful. However, pork, lamb, veal, chicken, turkey, and most seafood needs a little bit of help. Well, maybe not lamb, but I hardly eat much of it anyway because of cost. I tested this sauce on some pork and rice with broccoli and sweet carrots. Perfect opportunity to do an oriental inspired sauce right? Well, most of you know me, I love making things with flavor profiles that I can recreate with soda. I love the taste of orange in Chinese food. It's bright, has a snap, adds a depth of flavor, and is a vibrant addition to anything. Here are the things you will need:

1 cup soy sauce
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 orange soda (I prefer something like Sunkist or Crush...Fanta uses too much artificial corn sugar)
2 tbsp balsamic, sesame, or rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tsp duck sauce
1 tsp Siracha sauce

2 tbsp ground ginger
3 cloves of garlic (crushed or chopped)
2 tsp dried onion
1 tsp red pepper flake
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper

This is a teriyaki based sauce with added liquid so you need a little bit of extra sugar to thicken the mix a little. Add the top list of ingredients together in a pot on medium heat and mix vigorously to make it mix evenly. Once hot, add the dry ingredients. Continue to simmer while covered on the stove top on medium low heat for about 20-30 minutes (stirring often). Keep warm until ready to serve. What you get is a tangy, slightly spicy, Asian style sauce that would taste great on just about everything. Enjoy this stuff, it is habit forming. I have since enjoyed it on salmon, chicken, and beef (even though I hate to admit it), and it worked great. Just remember that cooking isn't rocket science all the time, just mess with stuff that works together and it'll be good. Till the next time, love yo' food.

Roasted Chicken with a Soy, Ginger, Honey Glaze

If it's one thing that I absolutely love, it's Asian flavors on chicken. This glaze can be put on pork if you would like, or a good steak. This time I just chose to put this on chicken, considering chicken is like a blank canvas to bring out flavor. This is a fairly simple recipe and is rather quick to do. This only takes about an hour. Here are some of the things you will need.

1 large package of Chicken Legs or Thighs
2 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
1 tsp cajun seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 cup natural ketchup(no corn syrup)
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp ground ginger
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Place chicken on a flat broiler pan, or in a roasting pan with a chilling track underneath it. This way, the chicken fat can drip off. Combine herbs and spices together and sprinkle on oiled chicken. This will season the chicken while roasting. Cover pan with foil and place the chicken in the oven for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, remove the chicken, uncover, and set it back in the oven on the broil setting for an additional 5-7 minutes. While that crisps the skin a little bit, you're going to mix the 2nd group of ingredients together. This is a very thin and sticky glaze. When you take the chicken out of the oven. Place the pieces in a large mixing bowl and drizzle the glaze onto the chicken. Roll the chicken in the glaze until fully coated. Place the chicken on a plate and serve. You're good to go and enjoy a wonderful meal. I served this with crispy hashbrowns and sweet honey glazed carrots. This is virtually easy to do if you can get the timing right. Just remember, cooking is easy. All it takes is a little bit of this and that and trying out different combinations of flavors. Just be patient and love your food. Take it easy.

Ranch dressing or dip

This is a recipe that I came up with for a quick and simple ranch dressing. I won't go back to the bottled stuff again, because I can use it as I need it. And the ingredients are cheap. If you want to make this into mite of a salad dressing consistency add 1/2 cup of milk and a Tbsp of white vinegar. This will also give it a buttermilk ranch flavor. Try adding bacon for smokiness.

Easy 5 minute fix.
1 cup mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp dill
1 1/2 Tbsp parsley
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp dried onion flake
1/2 tsp cajun seasoning
1 tsp salt. Mix together
makes about 12 oz.

Mayonnaise-easy recipe and very fast

Just made some simple and easy Mayonnaise. If you have a stick blender, it's much easier than using a countertop blender.
Here's some stuff you'll need.

2 whole eggs
1 tbsp dried mustard
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp white vinegar
1 Tbsp salt
3 pinches sugar
1 1/2 cup oil (olive oil, soybean, vegetable, or a good mixed oil)

In a mixing bowl or blender add both eggs, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, mustard, sugar. Blend until yolks are broken fully. Add oil slowly and at a slight drizzle while blending. If using a stick blender, blend on high speed until mixture emulsifies and bring the blender up until it peaks. It'll thicken quite quickly. If you're using a countertop blender, blend stop and scrape until oil is completely emulsified. Tastes just as good as store bought Duke's and is one recipe that kids will love to help with because of its ease.

Will last about two-three weeks in a fridge. Great stuff.

Drunken Chicken Stew

Here is a one pot meal that is absolutely wonderful to fix and is a genuinely delightful thing to have on hand for leftovers. That and you set it to cook early in the day and eat it when you want. You can do this overnight in a crock pot or you can do it in the oven in a covered stock pot of you choose. I like using the oven on this one a little better, but to each your own. A longer list of things are needed but it is a phenomenal stew. Go ahead and gather these items.

1 whole chicken
2 bottles of dark or amber lager beer
2 carrots (peeled, sliced)
2 ribs of celery (diced)
1 large white onion (diced)
1/2 pound green beans
1 bag frozen corn kernels
1 large can stewed tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic (diced)

2 bay leaves
2 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp salt
2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp dry mustard powder or seed
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp Cayenne pepper

1 cup long grain wild rice
2 cups chicken stock

Put the onion in a large pot over the stove on medium heat until slightly transparent. Add the celery and carrots, and place the chicken on top of the veggies. Pour the two bottles of beer in and add the rest of the veggies. Fill the rest of the pot with water to the top of the chicken.Dump in the spices and mix in with a wooden spoon, cover and place in a 300ºF oven for about 4 hours, if you want to cook it longer, lower the temp 15 degrees for each hour over. After 4 hours remove from oven and remove the chicken, shred the chicken off the bones and place back into the pot and cook for an additional hour at 250ºF. Prepare your rice per recipe subbing stock for water. Place rice in a bowl and put stew over the top and you're ready to chow down. What comes out of this is a rich stew with delicious flavors and an overwhelming want to get second our even thirds. Save the leftover stew and have leftovers with smashed potatoes or more rice. Sometimes it tastes better the second time around. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Cocktail Sauce

One of my favorite things in the world is shrimp. I can throw down on them. Steamed, fried, broiled, grilled, it doesn't matter. They're good no matter how you make them. But in most cases, you eat cocktail sauce with them or with fish. It's quick, it's simple, it's absolutely delicious, and you can make it at home to suit you're tastes a whole lot easier and cheaper by making it yourself than buying that disgusting cocktail sauce that comes from the store. Adjust how hot you like it by adding and removing horseradish and hot sauce. Here are the things you are going to use:

1/2 cup of ketchup
1 Tbsp Horseradish (raw and prepared)
3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
2 dashes hot sauce
1 dash lemon juice
1 tsp dried parsley
Pinch of salt

Like I said, it's quick and easy and this amount radio can be tweaked to fit your taste. But this is a good basis of measurement. For a really good experience and if you can handle the heat, substitute the raw horseradish for wasabi paste. Absolutely delicious sauce and it tastes much better than that garbage that you buy in the grocery store. Plus it's much cheaper to make.

Mocha Stout BbQ Sauce

So, you know I'll get into the kitchen every once in a while and make up a new BBQ sauce when I find some ingredients that I truthfully love. On this occasion, I was looking for a mildly inexpensive Stout that would offer a spin on my Guinness sauce with some different flavors. Behold Highland Mocha Stout. Thick, rich, full bodied, stout with heavy overtones of chocolate malt and coffee. I knew if I were to make a sauce with it, the sweetness from the chocolate would blend in with the acidity of the vinegar and just perform a level of sweetness without tasting like chocolate. The coffee flavors would be super prevalent, and, well, the yummy, succulent bitterness of the stout would just shine through. Here is what you'll need:

2 cups of ketchup (no corn syrup added)
1 cup of Highland Mocha Stout
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup brown mustard
2 tablespoons chilli powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 Teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Agave nectar (for sweetness)
1 teaspoon died onion flake
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper

Add ingredients to a small pot and simmer on medium low heat while mixing together. Make sure all ingredients meld and are completely mixed in. Cover and simmer on low heat for about 30-40 minutes. Stir every 10 minutes or so that the sauce doesn't burn into the pot. What comes to fruition it's a joyful symphony of flavor that can only bring thoughts of happiness and sunshine. I've saved the rest and have used it on multiple different things since the Steak Sandwich that it was meant for, and it gets better with age. A truly awesome sauce. Just make sure that you have fun with these recipes and you can use them on multiple occasions. You won't be dissatisfied.

The BbQ Fajita Burger

The wife and I are always coming up with new ideas to try out in the kitchen, and this was definitely one of them. We named some things that we really liked and then took three of those elements and combined them into something that we loved. Obviously, if you know me, I'm always down for a good burger. So there is the primary vessel to which Flavortown shall be constructed. Now we tossed you'd up many times in doing a Philly Cheesesteak burger, but that's been done. What is the cheesesteak's counterpart in Tex-Mex? The Fajita!!! And who doesn't like Bbq? Add some bbq sauce on that for the 3rd element, Why? Cause it's smoky, delicious and yummy, all in its own right. Now, how does one arrive in combing all these flavors together? Experimentation! I made one small burger and seasoned it like I would season fajitas. A test subject of you will. I combined a lot of the flavors in that burger by just seasoning alone. When I say small, I mean like mashing a small meatball. You start with lime juice. You can't have fajitas without a little smoke flavor so Worcestershire sauce can give you that. You need some onion, onion flakes. Use these as a binder. You can't have fajitas without the use of some Mexican flavors. Enter chilli powder, garlic powder, cumin, mustard powder, salt, pepper, and for some heat, add some hot sauce, or you could use some crushed red pepper flake if you want. Now, we have to find what would normally top the burgers with. Fajitas have grilled veggies, so grill some peppers and onions, season them the same way as you would season the burgers so the flavors become more pronounced. Top the burgers with the veggies during end stage, add some cheese and let that get all melty. Put that stuff on a fresh cut kaiser roll and you have the basic core of the burger. Pour some Bbq sauce, whether homemade or from a bottle. I hardly ever use commercial bbq sauces, but this was one of those circumstances. Just found one for the occasion because I do test products out. Especially when I get them for next to nothing. Awesome flavors with the smokiness from the seasoning, combined with the yummy burst and bite from the grilled onion and pepper s, topped with the sweet, spicy bite of bbq sauce and you tastebuds are sure to start having a fiesta. Awesome flavors kick back and forth and dance around your mouth like it's a party. Good stuff. So thus ends another entry into Nice Vices and Spices. Remember to have fun with this stuff. It's good to experiment in the kitchen. Just stay combining flavors, build the profile, keep it consistent. And don't be afraid to make mistakes...believe me, they occur. See you again soon.

Brown Sugar and Maple BBQ Sauce

Here is a recipe for a glaze sauce that I love to use on ribs. It's sweet, spicy, and absolutely delicious.it's very simple to do and is a quick sauce to make. Here are the things you're going to need:

1 cup of all natural ketchup (I used Simply Heinz. Just make sure that it doesn't have corn syrup in it. It causes a really nasty taste with the other sweet stuff in it)

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup real maple syrup

1/4 cup Bourbon or Tennessee   Whiskey (yes there is a difference)

1/4 cup vinegar

1 Tbsp Molasses

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp Cayenne pepper

1 tsp salt

1 tsp chilli powder

Place ingredients from the top down in a saucepot and start heating on  low heat. Mix together well with a fork or a whisk. Cover and turn up heat to medium and simmer for 30 minutes. After you're done simmering, it should coat a spoon and there should be very little Bourbon or whiskey taste. Good luck and enjoy.

Mexican Egg Rolls

I just wanted to list the recipe for the Mexican egg rolls that I conjured up last night. There are few things that I like more than an egg roll and I noticed with the addition of the egg roll dog that everything is possible with the love of egg roll wrappers. I love the idea and everything that a normal Chinese egg roll has in it, but everyone that truly knows me, knows that I like a little something different every now and then and I reinvent the wheel. I was thinking to myself the other day and Laura and I said in unison, Mexican egg roll. The joy of experimenting with flavors for these things is great. I pick what I usually like in a burrito and then I put that into an egg roll wrapper. Beef, corn, rice, beans, and cheese...yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes please. I made a chllli taco ketchup for a dipping sauce for these but you could use guacamole or sour cream or anything else that you might like. Here are the things that you are going to use.

Mexican beef recipe:
1 lb ground beef
1 small can of diced green chillies
1 diced onion
2 tbsp chilli powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
2 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 can of sweet corn kernels
1 can refried beans
Monterrey Jack shredded cheese
1 pouch of Old El Paso instant Mexican rice
1 pack egg roll wrappers

Start by browning the ground beef in a pot and adding in the ingredients for the Mexican beef mix above in order listed. Once the onion is transparent in the mix, add in the can of corn and the refried beans into the mix and mix until its like a pasty, beef mix. Take an average spoon and add 2 spoonfulls of beef mixture per egg roll a fork 1 spoonful of rice and a good solid pinch of cheese and put it into the center of the egg roll wrapper. Fold over once, fold in the sides and roll over. Spread room temperature water with a brush over the triagular flap and that will seal the egg roll. One pack of egg rolls has 15 wrappers in it so you will make plenty. Prep all of them and you will simply deep fry them in veggie oil for about 2 minutes each until all sides are golden brown. Place onto a paper towel lined plate and let them rest because they will be really hot. These things are nothing short of amazing and have a ridiculous flavor. The cheese melts into the beef while cooking and it just oozes out and is all yummy. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Shepherd's Pie Burger

I love taking concepts and ideas from other cooks/chefs and testing them out. We saw the Sheppard's Pie Burger on Rachel Ray the other day and couldn't resist, considering Laura and I both love shepherd's pie. Beef, carrots, onions, mushrooms, mashed potatoes, gravy...so good that it make you want to smack your momma. Anyway this may sound complicated but it really isn't too bad.Here are the things you'll need.

1 lb Ground Beef
1 onion
10 Baby Carrots
1/2 package of Baby Portabella Mushrooms
2/3 cup Bread Crumbs

4 Medium Size Red Potatoes
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp pepper
2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp raw horseradish
1 egg yolk

Sliced Texas Toast
1/2 stick room temperature butter
Garlic Powder

Shredded cheddar cheese

All Purpose Flour
Black pepper
Worcestershire Sauce

In a small skillet, sautee all the onion, carrots, sliced mushrooms from the first list in a Tbsp olive oil. Once done, put into food processor and pulse for 4 seconds. Add fine chopped sautee mix into raw beef with bread crumbs and mix by hand.add burgers to skillet and cook on medium high heat for about 10 minutes. 6 mins first side, 4 on second.

Boil the potatoes whole for about 12 minutes until tender all the way through. Put them in a mixing bowl and put in the other ingredients from the second list. Smash in and set aside.

Add 2 Tbsp of flour into the burger drippings and mix into a roux. Mix until the roux turns medium brown and pour in water slowly until the mix is thick liquid, add pepper and 4 dashes of Worcestershire sauce. Mix and turn heat on low.

Butter 4 slices of Texas Toast and sprinkle garlic powder on each.. Place in 375º F preheated oven for 5 minutes. Remove, flip, bake for additional 2 minutes. Remove and top each piece of toast with a burger and top each with mashed potatoes. Sprinkle the potatoes with cheese and place in broiler until cheese is melted. Top each with gravy and you are done. Bon Apetit!!!.

Teriyaki Egg Roll Dogs

So, I was thinking the other night how I would make an egg roll differently and eureka...put a hot dog in it. I had the wrappers, I had the Asian broccoli slaw, and I had the hot dogs. All I needed was a sauce to marinate the slaw in when I precooked it. I used a premade hot teriyaki sauce that I will more than likely not use again because they were overly spicy. I would suggest another teriyaki though next time I make these, or make your own. Here are the items that you'll need:

1 package of all beef kosher bun length hot dogs
1 package egg roll wrappers
1 package of broccoli slaw (or 1 head of broccoli (shredded) 2 carrots (shredded))
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
1 egg
1 Tbsp water

Cut the hot dogs in half and set aside
In a skillet, drizzle some sesame oil and begin quick sauteing the broccoli slaw. Mix in the teriyaki sauce once the slaw melds in sautee process and make sure the slaw gets coated. Set the broccoli slaw aside and cook the hot dog halves in the leftover teriyaki. Assemble the egg rolls by the directions on the package and fry in vegetable or canola oil until all sides are golden brown. Dip in some sweet and sour sauce or bbq sauce and you are good to go. Try weird things sometimes and don't be afraid to step outside of the box of normality. I always pack that you should love what you eat and enjoy flavor in life. More to come soon.

Honey BBQ Sauce

Something I've always enjoyed since I was a little boy was the sweet, tangy, and utterly delectable flavor of rich honey BBQ sauce. You can put it on chicken, wings, burgers, ribs, pulled pork sandwiches, French fries...it is utterly amazing on just about anything. Since then I've always come back to this recipe for my "can't go wrong with it" BBQ sauce. Best thing about making this yourself is that you can make it with no High Fructose Corn Syrup. Here are the things you'll need for this recipe.

1 cup ketchup (high fructose free ketchup that is)
1/2 cup yellow mustard
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp molasses

2 Tbsp chilli powder
2 Tbsp black pepper
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp Cayenne pepper

3 Tbsp honey (I prefer orange blossom or honeysuckle)

Combine the top ingredients into a small sauce pot and stir until mustard is completely mixed. Next add the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly again and simmer on medium low heat for 5 minutes. Add the honey and stir again, cover the pot and let simmer for another 20 minutes. Let it stand for about 10 minutes to cool down. What comes out is a thick, tangy, and rich sauce that his the front of your palette with the sweetness of the molasses and honey and it finished with the spicy kick off the Cayenne and black pepper. An absolutely amazing sauce for anyone wanting a really great BBQ sauce for just about anything. It's sticky, thick, sweet, and delightful. Use this one as you wish. It's easy and yields about a pint of sauce. Just remember that cooking is really not that hard to do. Have fun in the kitchen everyone.

Buffalo Honey Mustard Sauce.

I like to experiment with making dipping sauces that go with finger foods. One of the best ones I made recently was a spicy and cool concoction that is a combo of buffalo wing sauce and honey mustard. I just mixed up my buffalo sauce which is nothing more than melted butter, hot sauce, Worcestershire, and garlic powder. You mix that with good old honey mustard. Here it is in pure form and your ingredients in order.

3/4 stick of butter (melted)
5 oz hot Sauce
1 oz Worcestershire
1 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup yellow mustard
2 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt

Melt the butter in the microwave in a glass bowl. Mix two sauces separately and allow the buffalo sauce to cool to room temperature so you don't curdle the mayonnaise in the honey mustard. Mix the two together and you're done. This takes about 10 minutes to make and there really isn't that much to it. Works great on fries, pretzels, shrimp, chicken fingers, and even try it on wings. Don't worry about thinking it's spicy. It really isn't. Tangy for sure, but on the spice scale being 1 for not at all to 10 being rock your face off hot, it's about a 2 or 3. Always try combining different sauces that you like. You come up with things that'll make your tongue do some backflips.

Chicken Fingers

One of my go to guilty pleasures are always chicken tenders and I've come up with a delicious breading and a darn good bevy of sauces to put on them. The breading is quite simple. Here are the things you will need.

2 lbs chicken tenderloins or outfit boneless skinless breasts.

4 eggs
1 Tbsp Hot Sauce
1/4 cup Milk

3 cups of Flour
1 cup of Corn Meal
2 Tbsp Old Bay Seasoning
1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp Cayenne pepper

Place dry ingredients in a paper bag and shake gently to mix them up. in a bowl, crack open the eggs and whisk in the hot sauce and milk. Dip the tenders in the wet batter, then place them in the bag with the breading mix. Shake thoroughly and make sure the tenders are completely covered. Place in a Pam with 350º Vegetable or Canola Oil for 10 minutes and turn them to cook for another 5-7 minutes until golden. Once the tenders cool, they will have a slightly crispy, somewhat spicy chicken tender, with a sweet finish. Very easy recipe to do and it takes less than 30 minutes for the first batch to finish. I'll start writing up some more of my sauce recipes so you can experiment with different dipping flavors. Keep on playing around in the kitchen though. It's fun and you can always beat the flavor of a restaurant with homemade chicken fingers.

The Island Burger

As everyone knows by now, I love a good burger. This was an idea that I worked up with Laura. We hadn't really enjoyed a good Turkey in a while and we came up with this. We both love Polynesian flavors which mix Teriyaki with bright fruit like pineapple and mango. How about I take a turkey burger and dip it in my homemade honey Teriyaki and top it with Swiss Cheese and sauteed pineapple and mango. So like Picard on the Next Generation I made it so. Here are the things you'll need:

1 lb Ground Turkey
1/2 Onion (Diced very fine or Grated)
1 cup Bread Crumbs
1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 tbsp Thai Hot Sauce (Sirachi)
1 Tbsp black pepper
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Red Pepper Flake

Cajun seasoning
4 slices Swiss cheese
1/2 cup cubed mango
1/2 cup cubed pineapple

1 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup of white sugar
2 tbsp Molasses
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp ginger

Add ingredients of the bottom list in a small sauce pot, stir, cover, and cook over medium low heat for 30 minutes and this will be the honey teriyaki sauce.

Heat up a large oiled skillet and heat it to medium heat. In a mixing bowl, add mixture from top list and mix thoroughly. Form into four burgers and place on a plate. Dust one side of each burger in cajun seasoning and place dusted side down in skillet and heat for 8 minutes. Dust again and flip. Cook for another 7 minutes, flip again and cost each burger in teriyaki sauce then cover with cheese and place in broiler for 2 minutes to melt cheese. Place Burgers on buns and add pineapple and mango into teriyaki and sautee on medium high heat for about 3 minutes. soon fruit on the top of the burgers and vote down. Burgers are easy to make and ground turkey soaks up so much flavor. They taste absolutely insane. Another idea for turkey burgers is the Thanksgiving burger. You just put some cornbread dressing and cranberry sauce on those suckers and they're good to go. If anyone has any other Turkey burger recipes, let me know and I'll try them. Thank you for reading and I hope you like this joy of a recipe.

Laura's Sausage and Corn Casserole

Laura made a new, go to casserole tonight that was seriously yummy and was rather easy and inexpensive to put together. The result was something I know that most of you would like. Here are the things you'll need:

1lb package of Smoked Sausage
1/2 onion (diced)
2 eggs
1 box of Corn muffin mix
1 can of cream corn
1 can corn nibblets
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 cup package of shredded cheddar cheese.
1 cup sour cream

First off, sautee the diced onion in a lightly oiled skillet. When the onions begin to become slightly transparent, add in the diced smoked sausage. Slightly brown the sausage until onions are completely transparent and sausage is slightly browned. Mix muffin mix into casserole dish with 2 eggs and blend together. Add both cans of corn and the sour cream followed by sausage and onion mixture and mix well. Stir in 1/2 bag of cheese in with casserole and top with bread crumbs and top that with remaining cheese. Season with salt and pepper and bake at 375ºF for 40 minutes. What comes of this is a wonderful cornbread concoction with bits of gooey cheese, sausage, sweet onion, and just a mouthful of yummy. Try making different spins on this as surely, I will. Remember to have fun and experiment with different ideas in the kitchen.

Bleu Cheese Stuffed Burgers

Well let me put put this lightly when I say that I love stuffed burgers. From the infamous Juicy Lucy, to the Big Bad Butter Burger, to the Salsa Stuffed, and easily one of the most insanely wonderful combos ever put together Bleu Cheese and Bacon. The concept is quite easy, stuff anything inside of a burger you might think tastes good, pop it on a hot grill and let it work. Here are the things you will need:
Makes 2- 1/2 lb burgers
1 lb 80/20 Ground Chuck (fat = flavor)
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup Panko Bread Crumbs
1 packet Carolina Country marinade (used it to save time: dried lemon, coriander, celery, paprika, brown sugar, ginger)
1 package of Bleu Cheese Crumbles
1/2 pound of bacon
6-7 baby Portabella mushrooms
BbQ Sauce

For the Bleu Cheese stuffed Burger, I wanted to season the burger meat a little sweeter than normal to overcome some of the bitterness of the bleu cheese. So, I used a packet of Carolina Country Marinade and mixed it with 1/2 cup of Worcestershire sauce. Added in about a quarter cup of Panko bread crumbs as a binder. Mixed the meat together and let the flavors marry for an hour covered in the fridge. I prefer these burgers grilled rather than griddled so get out the grill and show your prowess. Split meat into 4 portion burgers that are rather flat in shape and make a well in two of them with your fist. Fill the well with bleu cheese and lay the other two burgers on top of the burgers that have the cheese on them. Now, here comes the tricky part, you have to get touchy felt or else you are going to have a giant mess on your hands and the burgers will split on the grill. Pinch the sides of the patties down and pay them back to a round shape. Make sure there aren't any split edges and the bleu cheese is completely encased inside the beef. What you should have are 2 patties that are about a 2 inch radius and almost an inch thick before cooking. Season both sides of the burger in salt, pepper, and granulated garlic powder. Place a well in the top of both with your fingers so that when the burgers swell they won't split on the sides and shrink to the size of hockey pucks. I cook my stuffed burgers to about medium well so that the cheese melts right, which on a 400º grill is about 5-6 minutes a side on a covered grill (open grill add 2 minutes a side). Fry up your bacon and then cook your mushrooms in the rendered bacon grease. Place bbq sauce on both sides of the bun and start building with the burger first, then bacon, then mushrooms. Trust me, taking a bite of one of these monsters is almost a religious experience. Just don't partake in its majesty too often our you will probably have some major health issues. This is one of my sinful, gluttonous creations and if it kills you, I'm sure it will be a happy departure.

Apple Cider BBQ Sauce

There are certain BBQ sauces that will only go right with either pork or poultry and this is one of them. When it comes to beef I'm a purist; there is no need to mess around with beef brisket and make it sweet. Spicy maybe tangy flavors can go with beef and that is about the only thing you should do other than some other savory selections for seasoning beef BBQ. This starts out with my normal base and a few deletions and additions but it is very tasty if you like sweet BBQ. Here are the items you'll need.

2 cups ketchup (I prefer to use the kind with no high fructose corn syrup)
1/2 cup dijon mustard
1/2 cup apple cider
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp chilli powder
1 tbsp granulated garlic
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper
2 dashes of Worcestershire Sauce
1 dash of hot sauce
2 dashes of Soy Sauce (optional)

Add ingredients through the hot sauce and mix together in a small pot cover and simmer on medium low heat for about an hour. If mix is too sweet after that you can add some soy sauce for some salty to take out the sweet. Very easy to do and takes virtually no time at all. Hope you enjoy it because it is darn right tasty and a different spin on your normal BBQ sauce.

Handheld Tex Mex Burritos

Every now and then, Laura and I will do a quick meal and make some yummy Mexican food. We had the stuff to make these and it is very easy to do. Here are the items you'll need.

1 package of large Burrito size Flour Tortillas
1 can of Black Beans
1 can of yellow Corn
1 can of diced green chillies
1 roasted red bell pepper (diced)
1 jar of salsa
1 2 cup bag of shredded Mexican blend cheese
1 lb Ground Beef
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 packet of instant Mexican or Spanish rice

In a pot, begin browning beef off and strain the grease off before adding other ingredients. Add the red peppers first and let them settle and cook down in the beef on medium heat. Add the green chillies next and cook down again for 3-4
minutes. Add the beans, corn, and stir in the seasoning packet. Reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Cook rice per package instructions in the microwave. Remove rice and remove may mix from heat. Use 1 plate and steam each tortilla in microwave for 10-15 seconds to stream a little bit. Spoon meat mix, rice, Cheese, then salsa, hot sauce if you want to. Wrap over once, fold the sides, and roll until done. Place in microwave 20 seconds to melt cheese and you're ready to go. Very tasty and quick meal that isn't bad for you and is virtually dummy proof. Very good food, and cheap to make. Serves at least 8 burritos for under $10. Can't beat that with a stick. Darn good eatin'.

Dr. Pepper Steamed Pork Roast

I made a sauce for Easter Holiday that made me think of making a Pork Roast with the same flavor as the sauce so I came up with this. Great recipe for making sandwiches which is what I did with this particular roast. Here are the things you will need.

2 cans of Dr. Pepper (20 oz bottle will do if you do a half and half application)
Cajun Seasoning
Granulated garlic
Italian Seasoning
Paprika
Chilli Powder
Onion Salt
Salt
Pepper

Pour a can of Dr. Pepper on the roast and rub it down with cajun seasoning, Italian seasoning, chilli powder, granulated garlic, paprika, onion salt, salt, & pepper. Place on a slotted broiler pan and pour another can of Dr.Pepper into the bottom of the pan and cover with foil. The soda will steam into the pork while it's cooking. Place into a 375º preheated oven for 3 and a half hours. Once timer is done, remove from oven and peel away the foil. Baste with sauce all over and cook meat side up and place in oven with the door open on broil setting for 3 minutes. Repeat basting phase 2-3 more times. Pork will form a bark. Remove and let stand for 20 minutes before ripping the meat off the bone. It will just fall off if you cooked it enough. Once torn off the bone, put the pork in a ziplock bag and pour in a cup of Dr.Pepper BBQ sauce listed in the previous post. Seal the bag and toss the pork around for a good coating. This pork roast is kick yo momma in the mouth good. Until the next time, keep on cooking and make yourself happy.

Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce

I often get into the kitchen and think of something strange to make BBQ sauce out of. I had some leftover Dr.Pepper in a bottle and told myself to try it, since my first soda BBQ sauce was the Cheerwine sauce, and it was very tasty. I used almost the same recipe but subbed Dr. Pepper. Here it goes everyone.

1 small bottle of no high fructose corn syrup ketchup
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar
10 oz Dr. Pepper
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp granulated garlic
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper
2-3 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
2 dashes hot sauce

Mix all the ingredients in order on medium to medium low heat in a sauce pot and start mixing it up with a wooden spoon. Once completely heated until simmer is established, cover and reduce temperature to low and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes. Stir mixture every 5 minutes and at the end you should have a slightly thick deep reddish brown sauce. Very good on chicken like the picture dictates.

The Irish Brew and BbQ Burger

Laura rocked a burger out today that would rival any restaurant burger. It was a burger that involved just a seasoning pack, a bottle of beer, and some inventiveness. Just mix onion and garlic soup mix into meat with 1/2 bottle of Guinness and some bread Crumbs. Heat up skillet to medium high. Form the burgers and put them into the searing hot skillet for 6 minutes a side at a 1" thickness to cook to medium/medium well. Top them with bacon, cheddar cheese, and fried onion bits. Cover with BBQ sauce (I put Sweet Baby Rays on mine, but I suggest using my Guinness Sauce that I have listed on my blog). Thing was off the edge of freakish good. One of the best burgers I've personally ever had. Absolutely delicious.

Hawaiian Style Tilapia with Pan Seared Pineapple and Balsamic Reduction

This is a very simple recipe to follow and it's quite quick. Takes about 20-25 minutes and 15 of that is marinade and prep time. Here's the things you will need.

6 Tilapia Fillets
1 can of pineapple tidbits in juice (not syrup)
Teriyaki Sauce
Hot sauce
Honey
Soy Sauce
Balsamic Vinegar
Worcestershire Sauce

Make the marinade first. In a mixing bowl, strain the can of pineapple and a quarter of the tidbits into the bowl with a cup and a half of Teriyaki. Mix together with a fork adding one ingredient at a time. 5 dashes of hot sauce (Louisiana Brand is my favorite because it is sweet and not too hot for this one), 2 tsp honey, 1/2 cup of soy sauce, 2 dashes of Worcestershire sauce. Mix together vigorously in the bowl or a food processor or blender. If in a blender, only pulse for about 3 seconds. I personally use a stick blender for my sauces and marinades. Personal preference is key here. Pull about 1/2 cup of liquid out of the marinade onto a cup or small container and set aside. Place the Tilapia in the bowl with the remaining marinade and are too soak for ten minutes. Put 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat and allow to get smoky hot.  Place tilapia in pan and cook both sides for about 5 mines and then remove. In same pan add remaining pineapple and sear until browned nicely. Once pineapple is seared. Add liquid you set aside and allow to reduce for 30 seconds. Wake the reduction with 2 tsp of balsamic vinegar and cook for 30 seconds. Spoon the pineapple and reduction over the Tilapia and serve. Taste is sweet and tangy. It goes well with the very mild flavor of tilapia and the fish is very spongy so it soaks a lot of flavor up from the marinade very quickly. This is a quick and easy fish to do and virtually takes less than 30 minutes from beginning to end. Promise you'll love it. Just remember that cooking isn't that hard to do. If you like certain flavors, try adding other things. Even trying other marinades. Yummy Yummy stuff. Taste scale I would put this on a 8/10.