Always looking at adding different things together and messing around with flavors, I recently mixed Dr. Pepper and Orange soda together and came up with Cotton Candy soda. Yes, it does taste an awful lot like cotton candy. Try it yourself and enjoy it as a mix. I mixed mine with slushed ice and made a cotton candy slushy. I'm sure cotton candy soda cake is now possible.
Low Country Chicken Salad
Sometimes I look at cookbooks and get ideas to use flavors for dishes that I read about and what I want to make instead. I was looking through an old book of low country favorites that my mom gave me years ago, and came across a really good stew recipe that I used and loved. So why not turn a stew into a salad? My favorite protein salad is chicken salad. Laura also wanted something quick that she could put on bread and go. The answer was using what I had on hand and making an awesome chicken salad out of it. Really it's quite simple to make. Here are the items you will need.
Two chicken Breasts (I used grilled, but you can use roasted chicken from a grocery store if you like)
1 whole red onion
1 cup chopped broccoli flourets
1 cup whole kernel corn
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup mild salsa (stew asked for diced tomato and pepper flake)
1/2 cup green bell pepper
2 tbsp Old Bay seasoning
1 tbsp raw horseradish
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp red pepper flake
1 tsp honey
Take all ingredients and place into a food processor and pulse chop until desired consistency is obtained. I personally like to have both creamy and chunky versions of chicken salad in one so it won't completely ooze out of a sandwich so I keep some chicken out and finely chopped it with a knife. I then reincorporate the diced chicken back in to the creamy and mix with a spoon. It turned out exactly as I'd hoped. You get a creamy punch up front with a peppery kick from the Old Bay, then you get a little horseradish note with the celery salt from the seasoning and the Worcestershire sauce. The heat comes back in and the honey drowns it out with a little sweet hint at the end. I was a little skeptical about using honey in a chicken salad, but it worked like it did in the stew. It just added another profile without being overbearing, and it is just enough of an element of sweetness to round out the heat from the red pepper in the Old Bay seasoning. Please try this when you can. If you prefer it to be a little spicier, take the honey out of the equation. Hope you guys like it as well as I did.
New directions..
I'm going to start posting some healthier options on here as a way for you to eat healthier and not have to sacrifice flavor. I'm also a huge believer in making things at home inexpensively, that most people would buy for far more. So I'm going to save you all some money with homemade recipes. I've already loaded many of my dressings. They are tools to use to control what goes into your body as well. Many people can look at a nutritional fact label and get blown away by believing what they're eating is healthier. Wrong!!! Nothing at a fast food restaurant is healthy. NOTHING. Stay at home and learn to cook. Make things at home that you would buy at a restaurant. Just stay away from fast food altogether. I challenge anyone to not eat taco bell for two months. Go back once and realize how unhealthy it is and how bad it tastes. Your brain has been tricked into thinking that garbage tastes good. I did it and went back. I ate one bite and was just completely disgusted.
If you think you don't have time to precook and preprepare. Do yourself a favor and find a way on your day off. It's fun to do and having great food that can be reheated, is far better than throwing your well earned money down the drain on absolute garbage. I've lost 50 lbs by cutting down on my sugar, fat, and sodium intake. Calorie counting on my diet takes care of itself with cutting down on the other three. I allow myself to cheat a little every now and then, but I eat really good, healthy food when I do it. No fast food garbage, and that includes the nasty trash at Subway. Don't be fooled by their "Eat Fresh" campaign. I assure you that the few things that they do that would classify as fresh, are things that are morally wrong and very misleading. You want a sandwich? Go to a real deli and have someone cut real meat. Real meat doesn't shine like a Christmas tree after it's cut. If it does, don't eat it. Otherwise, make it at home and take it to work with you.
I'm proof that if you put in the work and eat the right way, walk, and exercise a little each day, anyone can lose weight and be on your way to a leaner, healthier, happier you. Take care and I will be posting more soon.
Mojo wings with herb crust
There's very few times that I can say that I truly surprise myself in the kitchen. This recipe for chicken wings was good enough for me to want them every day. I think I may do this a lot more from now on. The secret is the mojo. What is a mojo? It's a blend of citrus, oil, vinegar, spices, and other aromatics that you can marinate meat in. This one is quite simple. Here are the things you will need.
Mojo:
1 cup Orange Juice
1/2 cup lime juice
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp black peppercorn
2 tsp salt
1/2 cup Apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp white sugar
1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp red pepper flake
Herb crust:
Italian seasoning blend
Garlic powder
Rosemary
Old bay seasoning
Steak seasoning
Preheat oven to 375°F. Put all of the mojo ingredients in a blender blender and blend until peppercorns are crushed and mixture is a cloudy orange/brown color. Pour the mixture over your segmented chicken wings, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Remove and line a large sheet pan with cooking spray. Arrange the wings on the pan and dust the wings with the herb mixture ingredients. Cook on 375° for 35 minutes and crank up to 425° for 15. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes. The taste is extraordinary. You taste the orange, the lemon, the garlic, the herbs come through and punch you in the teeth, then there is the spice from the old bay seasoning. All of these flavors jump back and forth and hit you at different times. It's like a party hit your taste buds and knocked you in the back of the had all at once. Truly delightful. Will be trying this on some chops and turkey sometime soon too. Have some fun with this one. Mess around with the ingredients and create some more profiles. It's delicious.
The Ultimate Blackned Bleu Cheese Bacon Burger
I thought the other day that I haven't had a great bacon bleu burger in a while and I decided to improve upon my previous design. What I did was just use some ingredients that were more fresh. I used organic bleu cheese, beef, tomatoes, homemade pickle chips, whole grain mustard made with Guinness, and fire roasted red pepper. The flavors that came out of this behemoth were monstrous and although not that incredibly easy to make, the effort far outweighed the amount of work involved. First off, I made a bleu cheese dressing using bleu crumbles, mayo, and Greek yogurt. I then made stuffed burger patties with fire roasted red pepper and bleu crumbles stuffed inside. I crusted the outside with my blackened spice rub which was sugar, salt, red pepper flake, Cajun seasoning, paprika, and cracked black pepper. Popped the patties into the skillet on medium high heat and cooked to a solid medium temp. The meat was seasoned with the same spices that I crusted them with except I used bread crumbs as a binder and onion flakes. I used roasted egg buns fresh from the bakery and first put the stout mustard on the bottom bun with fresh tomato on that, placed the burger on, topped with the homemade pickles, bacon, and bleu cheese dressing that I made earlier and voila...the masterpiece was born. They were sweet from the mustard, creamy from the dressing, smoky from the bacon, spicy from the spice crust. Definitely made the tastebuds pull off backflips. If you need any advice on how to make these, don't hesitate to shoot me a message on Facebook. Just remember to make food with love. And if you have any ideas to shoot my way, I will definitely try them.
Ranch style red potato and broccoli salad
One of my favorite things to make is just some really good potato salad. So much in fact that I create as many different ways to make it as possible. This was one of those "I've gotta share this" moments. All I did was make my ranch dressing that I have included in an earlier post in my blog and mix in Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. Then it's quite easy. Mix in 4-5 good sized red potatoes that have been prediced before boiling and some roasted or steamed broccoli and it's go time. This is probably one of the best potato salads that I've made in a very long time. Enjoy this delightful recipe. Its easy and only takes about 20 minutes from start to finish.
The Guido Burger
This is another one of those things that Laura and I made to put a spin on spaghetti. We both love a good meat sauce and we both love meatball sandwiches. Why not put those on a freaking burger!!
(salivation begins, the heavens open and angels rejoice in song)
This one is going down as The Guido. It's a beef and Italian sausage mixed burger with tomato sauce, and provalone cheese. It's simple, easy, and tastes like an Italian restaurant had a love child with a burger dive. Here's your list of ingredients:
1 lb of Ground beef
1 lb of Italian Sausage (not in casings)
1 green Pepper (diced)
6 large mushrooms (diced)
1 onion (diced fine)
1 tbsp Italian Seasoning mix
1 tsp garlic,
2 slices of crumbled white toast
1 egg
8 slices of Bread (toasted)
1 Jar of spaghetti sauce (your choice)
Sliced provalone Cheese
Combine beef, sausage (uncased), mushrooms, green pepper, onion, garlic, seasoning, crumbled toast, and egg into a bowl and mix thoroughly with your hands. Form into 4 (yes they are going to be large, the fat cooks out)patties and place them in a hot skillet. Flip after about 6 minutes. Cook an additional 4-5 minutes and flip. Place a slice of provolone on each burger and cover the pan with a mixing bowl to allow a steam fry to melt the cheese. Remove from heat and lay out toast. Cover each piece of toast with tomato Sauce and place burgers on 4 slices using the other slices as cover.
There you have it. Not too complicated, but the flavor that comes out of these things is freaking killer. Have fun everyone.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)