Buttermilk Grilled Chicken

06 Saturday Jun 2009

Posted by laurelg1 in Cakes & Pies, Chicken, Entree', From a Mix, Recipes

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Cakes & Pies, Chicken, Entree', From a Mix, Recipes

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This recipe is from MyRecipes. This was their “Dinner Tonight” entree earlier this week. It turned out very good. My husband gave it an 8.5, however he said the “Bean Can Chicken” was his favorite (rating it a 9). Its a good choice if you just want to marinate your chicken and not put sauce on it while grilling. It is also better for you than frying buttermilk chicken.

The only “problem” I had when grilling this, was that I ran out of propane half-way through. I just kept the lid closed and ran to the store for a refill. Crisis was averted, and my chicken still turned out great.

Dinner was served with home made potato salad, grilled marinated vegetables and baked beans. The meal was topped off with Apple Cobbler and Ice Cream. Both recipes are posted below.

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Grilled Buttermilk Chicken

from MyRecipes

Ingredients:

1 quart buttermilk
1/2 cup chopped shallots
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon pepper
Chicken: I used 5 leg quarters and 8 legs

Directions:

Combine all ingredients (except chicken). Rinse chicken and place in a 9 x 13 x 2″ pan. Pour brine over chicken, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Before grilling, drain chicken and pat dry. Grill until thoroughly cooked. I used a gas grill and place the chicken in the center (indirect heat) with only the two outer elements on. About 5 minutes before the chicken is done, I brown the chicken over the direct heat. Remove and let chicken stand about 5 minutes then serve.

Easy Apple Cobbler

(adapted from the millions of recipes for dump cake)

Ingredients:

1 can (21 oz) apple pie filling
1 box yellow cake mix (I only used 3/4 of the box), divided
6 tablespoons butter, divided
Ice Cream

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a 8″ square baking dish with cooking spray and empty can of pie filling evenly in the bottom.

Melt 1/2 of the butter (3 tablespoons) and combine with 1/2 of dry cake mix. You should get a moist crumble. Sprinkle over pie filling. Pour remaining cake mix (about 4 ounces) over the top. Slice remaining 3 tablespoons of butter into squares and place on top of cobbler.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the top is brown and crisp. Serve with ice cream. Run 3 miles.

*I didn’t need an entire dish of cobbler, so I halved the recipe, using slightly more than 1/2 the box of cake mix.

Baked Potato Frittata

24 Sunday May 2009

Posted by laurelg1 in Breakfast, Entree', Recipes

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Breakfast, Entree', Recipes

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Saturday morning is our “big breakfast” day. Usually we will have either pancakes, or some type of egg dish. Today I had some baked potatoes (from last night’s dinner) to use up. They were already seasoned and buttered, so I just chopped them and used my hash brown frittata recipe to finish the dish. It’s basic and simple… and it’s gone.

*In addition to using the baked potatoes, I used 7 regular eggs instead of Egg Beaters. Topped it out with sour cream and salsa.

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Farewell dinner – Shrimp, Chicken, Potatoes…

20 Wednesday May 2009

Posted by laurelg1 in Chicken, Entree', Recipes, Salad, Sides

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Chicken, Entree', Recipes, Salad, Sides

Hasselback Potatoes

BBQ Chicken

Boil and Peel Shrimp

My mil is leaving for Arizona tomorrow. She has lived here in FL for 22 years, but due to economic times, she is moving. I prepared one of her favorites for this farewell dinner – shrimp.

The meal itself was easy to prepare. The only drawback I had was grilling in the cold, pouring rain. It still turned out wonderfully.

The chicken was marinated all night in Italian dressing, then slow grilled for a little over an hour. Just before removing, a Honey BBQ glaze was applied. In the meantime, I steamed corn on the cob and prepared Hasselback (aka fan) potatoes. Now these potatoes rocked – and will become a staple for a starch side from now on. We also had a freshly prepared Caesar Salad and some grilled onion packets. Overall dinner was highly successful.

I prepared the shrimp by boiling them in a lightly seasoned, butter bath and served them with melted butter. They were x-large shrimp and were purchased already deveined… mmmmm….

For dessert I made chunky brownies and served them warm with ice cream. Needles to say they were gone before photos could be taken.

Here is how to prepare the potatoes. It is very easy and well worth it.

Hasselback Potatoes(AKA Accordion, Fan etc…)

Ingredients:

Medium Potatoes, I used Red
Butter, I used spray, but you could melt some
Olive Oil
Seasonings, as desired
Wooden Spoon
Sheet pan coated with cooking spray or with a thin layer of olive oil

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Slice the potatoes about 1/4 thick (as in the picture). To do this, place one potato in the “spoon” part, of a wooden spoon. The potato will rest in the well of the spoon and you can slice all the way through the potato till the spoon stops it. This leaves just enough of the potato attached that you can “fan” them and coat them with the oils and seasonings.

Place the cut potatoes on a microwave safe dish and heat for 6 – 10 minutes – based on the size and number of potatoes. Remove and place on prepared sheet pan. Spray the potatoes with butter, then brush on olive oil. Sprinkle with course sea salt and seasonings as desired. I use Lawry’s Seasoned Salt. Bake for 30 – 45 minutes, coating with additional butter half way through. When the potatoes are soft, remove and serve.

*Note about the microwaving – the idea is to have them slightly cooked so they don’t scortch in the oven…just a nice crispy brown. I was hesitant about microwaving, but I am glad I did. The potatoes turned out perfectly.

Mexican Night, Blueberry Angel Dessert

18 Monday May 2009

Posted by laurelg1 in Cakes & Pies, Entree', Recipes

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Cakes & Pies, Chicken, Entree', Recipes

Chicken Enchiladas

Dinner tonight was shared with relatives from Arizona. If you want to have real Mexican food, get a native Arizonan to bring dinner. They actually live about 15 miles from the border… I guess that’s about the closest you can get without living in Mexico. And when they visit, at least one of our dinner’s includes this “feast”.

On tap for dinner tonight was: Beef Enchiladas, Chicken Enchiladas, Tamales and good ole’ Tacos with fresh fried Corn Tortillas. We had enough food for an army. Thankfully, (portion wise) I talked them out of making the Chili Rellenos. This was good, because there were more leftover’s than actual food consumed.

Blueberry Angel Dessert

For dessert we had…ok this is totally not Mexican, Blueberry Angel Dessert. It turned out to be a great night of food and fellowship.

This is a Taste of Home recipe that I have been making for several years. Here is the easy, 5 ingredient recipe:

Blueberry Angel Dessert

Ingredients:

1 angel food cake, cut into 1″ cubes
1 cup powdered sugar
1 (8oz) block cream cheese, softened
1 (8oz) container Cool Whip, thawed
1 Can Comstock Blueberry Pie Filling

Directions:

Combine the sugar and cream cheese until well blended, then stir in cool whip. Fold in cake pieces and place in a 9 x 13″ pan. Top with pie filling and refrigerate for at least two hours. I have also made this in a trifle bowl, layering the cake mixture and blueberries. I use 1 1/2 – 2 cans of pie filling for the trifle.

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And as for the Enchiladas, I would say this is a very, very simple recipe. The taste is not “simple”, it is quite good! For the beef, I used half of the ground beef that we cooked up for the tacos.

Beef (and Chicken) Enchiladas

1 pound ground beef
1 small onion (vidalia)
Desired Taco Seasoning (I used a packet)
3 – 4 cups shredded cheese, Mexican blend
2 packs Mission Tortilla Shells (10″)
2 – 4 cans Enchilada sauce, (green is milder)

Pre-heat the oven to 350. Saute onion then add ground beef (or chicken) and seasoning. In a 9 x 13″ pan (or larger), spoon a layer of sauce and top with a tortilla, top the tortilla with sauce then ground beef (about 3 tablespoons) and cheese. Roll up and repeat with remaining tortillas. Once the pan is filled, spread some additional sauce on top of rolls and top with more cheese. Bake uncovered for about 15 minutes, or until cheese is fully melted. We sliced them in half and served.

Slip slidin away ~ Sliders for dinner

21 Tuesday Apr 2009

Posted by laurelg1 in Entree', Recipes

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Entree', Recipes

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Sliders are popping up everywhere. On the internet, in cooking magazine, on cooking shows… There are also many variations on how to prepare them. Well, while surfing the net this morning I came across this post on Trim The Fat and decided that this would be a quick, easy and satisfying choice for dinner tonight. I decided on the bake in pan version which consists of preparing the ground beef, but instead of rolling a bunch of individual burgers, you flatten it into a pan. As you can see, it creates a thin burger – almost, “White Castle or Krystal’s” like. It went over great for dinner and I look forward to trying some other variations as well.

*I prepared the yeast rolls and baked them prior to working on the burgers.

**I used simple seasonings: salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder, but did not measure them

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“Hamburger” Sliders

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
Seasonings (use your burger preferences)**
18 (at least) yeast rolls or dinner rolls*
Cheese
Lettuce, tomato, onion, condiments (optional)

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Prepare ground beef as desired and flatten into a lightly greased jelly roll pan (11 x 17″). I used gloved hands to press across the pan, but you could use a rolling pin etc…

Bake for 10 – 12 minutes. The beef should be browned, but have a little pink to them – they will finish cooking in the next step. Remove and let stand a couple of minutes. There was some grease in the pan. I poured it out, then patted the ground beef with a towel to reduce the grease. Slice the burger into squares. Adjust the size according to the size of your rolls. Slice each roll in the center, keep one side attached. Place a square on each roll, but do not top (or close) the burger. If desired, place a piece of cheese on top of the beef. Place the entire roll, cut sides up, on a large baking sheet and place in oven to brown bread and melt the cheese. Remove, top and serve with desired condiments.

For the side item, I took leftover baked potatoes from Sunday and diced into squares and place in one layer on a large flat pan. I sprayed them lightly with olive oil and sprinkled them with seasoned salt. I baked them at 400 for about 10 minutes…till they were warm and beginning to crisp.

These pictures give you an “idea” of what size the sliders are.

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A Foolish Dinner…

01 Wednesday Apr 2009

Posted by laurelg1 in Cakes & Pies, Entree', Recipes

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Cakes & Pies, Entree', Recipes

I spent the last week or so searching for April Fool’s pranks. Now, I cannot stand pranks that cause damage to people’s property, or worse, injury. I just wanted something fun to create a fun memory. I found a few things at the Family Fun website, one of which I thought would be perfect. The other, I have no idea where I saw it. I did so much searching, I lost track of things. The whole meal turned out great. Both for taste and for effect. Judging by the pictures… you get the gist.

The main course, as pictured above, was actually dessert. This was so fun to create. It is simply vanilla yogurt with a peach half inserted, and pound cake that I toasted in a warm skillet. I completely had them fooled on this one!

Ok, cute huh. But now for the real main course (a.k.a. dessert):

Cupcakes for Dinner!

Darn, these aren’t cupcakes, they’re meatloaf singles frosted with colored mashed potatoes!!!

Ok, simple enough. Just prepare your favorite meatloaf recipe, and instead of making a whole loaf, roll it into a ball, insert it into a cupcake wraper, and cook it. To frost it, prepare your mashed potatoes, color them if you choose, and pipe them onto the “meatloaf cupcake”. Serve warm and enjoy!

My kids really thought these were cupcakes. Even when I told them what they were… it took them cutting into them to believe me. Thankfully, my kids love meatloaf…otherwise, I would have been searching for other recipes. Oh, and on the Family Fun website, they also have a meatloaf recipe that “bakes” this into a pie crust.

I hope you all had a miserable day…(April Fool’s of course – lame I know). Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday Dinner

29 Sunday Mar 2009

Posted by laurelg1 in Chicken, Entree', Recipes, Salad, Savory Breads

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Chicken, Entree', Recipes, Salad, Savory Breads

Italian Grilled Chicken

Why is it that Sunday seems to be the only day that we eat “dinner” at lunchtime. Tradition? Timing? Does it really matter? For my family growing up, Sunday dinner was a time when the whole family got together, usually after church, and had probably the most formal meal of the week. Time and tradition now has replaced that dinner with eating out, or something quick (that and growing families). We did however enjoy one of those dinners today.

Whole roasting chickens have been on sale for .79 cents a pound… a deal difficult to pass up. As a matter of fact, I bought several. This recipe doesn’t get more simple or cost effective. I took a whole chicken and cut it into pieces, then basted it in Italian dressing. Then wrapped the chicken in foil and grilled it for about an hour. The dressing, along with the juices in the chicken kept even the white meat deliciously moist and flavorful.

I served the chicken with a Caesar salad and macaroni and cheese (for the kids ok?). One more little tidbit. When preparing the salad, I realized that I was out of croutons… so I made my own. I have included that recipe below too. We finished dinner off with some friendship bread that I had frozen a few weeks back.

Italian Grilled Chicken

Ingredients:

1 whole roasting chicken (4 – 5 lbs)
Italian salad dressing (Wish-bone Bountifuls)
Foil

Directions:

Cut the chicken into pieces, separating by breast, wing and the leg/thigh. Place chicken in foil, larger pieces on the bottom, and pour dressing over the chicken. Wrap tightly with foil and let marinate in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Place foil package on hot grill until the chicken reaches at least 165 degrees internally. For the final few minutes of cooking, remove the chicken from the packet and place on grill to brown the skin. Remove and serve. I satisfied 5 respectively with no leftovers.

Homemade Croutons

Ingredients:

5 – 6 slices of day old bread (any variety – I used white and wheat)
Olive oil Cooking Spray
Mrs. Dash Original seasoning
Grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed cookie sheet with foil and coat with olive oil cooking spray.

Slice the bread into squares and place in a single layer on cookie sheet and spray generously with olive oil spray. Sprinkle with seasoning and Parmesan. Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges of the bread slices begins to brown. Remove pan and turn slices over, coating again with spray and light seasonings. Return to oven and bake until crisp, about another 10 minutes.

You could use any seasoning blend or cheese. You could also use regular olive oil in place of the cooking spray, I was just trying to keep them relatively healthy.

Lemon Garlic Shrimp Scampi

22 Sunday Mar 2009

Posted by laurelg1 in Entree', Recipes, Seafood

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Entree', Recipes

In our current economic times, cost saving meals are becoming very popular. This meal cost under $10 to serve five people, with a small dish for a leftover snack too. It is very simple to make and quite fulfilling. It’s also a healthy choice to boot.

Lemon Garlic Shrimp Scampi with Baby Spinach

Ingredients:

1 box (16 oz.) linguine
1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 bunch diced green onions, divided (white part/green part)
1/4 cup lemon juice
6 ounces baby spinach
1 lb. large shrimp
8 – 10 grape tomatoes, sliced in half
Salt & Pepper
Grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, return to pot and toss with butter.

While the noodles are cooking, using a medium skillet, saute the garlic and the green onion (white part) in the olive oil then let simmer. When the pasta is ready, add the shrimp and lemon juice, spinach, tomatoes and green onion (green part) to the skillet. Cook the shrimp for about 1 minute, or until pink, then turn over. Cook 1 – 2 more minutes until the shrimp are pink through. Do not overcook however, or your shrimp would be rubbery. Toss shrimp mixture with linguine and place on plates. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan.

Makes 6 – 8 servings, about 1 3/4 cups each. And your calories will run you right at 300 for each 6 serving.

“Bean-Can” Chicken

18 Wednesday Mar 2009

Posted by laurelg1 in Chicken, Entree', Recipes

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Chicken, Entree', Recipes

One "Dish" Chicken

Bean Can Chicken

Beer can chicken is a very familiar recipe…that is placing a whole chicken on a can of beer (or coke) and slow grilling it. The process both infuses the chicken with a distinctive flavor and ensures an exceptionally moist flesh. For a twist, instead of using a can of liquid, why not try a can of beans instead? The concept is the same, flavoring and moisturizing the meat, as well as providing a side item with the entree!

I first came across this concept last summer while visiting a post by Kat at A Good Appetite and this recipe. I knew it was a must try and I have not been disappointed. My sister in law and I actually cooked several last fall while evacuating (ok, we didn’t leave) during a passing hurricane here in Florida.

To sum it all up. The beans flavor the chicken, and the chicken the beans. Up until tonight I did slip the chicken on top of the bean can, but tonight I got to use my new pan which actually holds the liquid in a core in the center, which you drop the bird over, and the round griddle allows you to add vegetables that grill along with the chicken. I wrap mine thoroughly in foil to ensure even cooking, and remove the foil in the last few minutes of cooking so that the skin of the chicken can brown.

This no doubt is the way to go for a hearty, healthy, fuss free meal. It is a regular dinner staple at our house. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

No Butts About It!

Bean Can Chicken

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken
1 large can of beans, choose any flavor
Chicken rub or desired seasonings (I use McCormick Grill Mates)
Fresh vegetables of choice, cut into large chunks:
- 1 onion
- 3 potatoes
- 3 medium carrots
- 1 zucchini squash
- 4 ears of yellow corn
Melted or spray butter for keeping vegetables and chicken moist during cooking

Directions:

Rinse outside of chicken with water and slide the neck of the chicken over the opened can of beans, or onto core of chicken roaster. If using chicken roaster, fill well of core with beans before dropping chicken over. Thoroughly coat the skin of the chicken with desired rub. Place the cut vegetables around the chicken and wrap entire dish with foil. Place on grill and slow cook at 350 degrees for about 1 1/2 hours, or until internal temperature of chicken has reached at least 165 degrees. Remove foil during the last 10 – 15 minutes of cooking to brown the chicken skin. Remove from the grill and let sit for about five minutes. When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove from bean can or metal core, cut and serve with beans.

*If using the can of beans as the base, you may find it a little difficult to slide the chicken all the way down. You may need to manipulate the chicken cartilage to lower the bird entirely. Also, I suggest you place the entire chicken and can on a grill safe pan covered with foil. The chicken and beans will produce a lot of juice that you do not want dripping all in your grill.

Dough, Pizza Style

15 Sunday Mar 2009

Posted by laurelg1 in Entree', Recipes, Savory Breads

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Entree', Recipes, Savory Breads

I will admit that I have yet to make homemade pizza dough. I have made plenty of yeasted breads, but never this. Usually I use the Pillsbury Refrigerated Dough. The fam really enjoys the dough, and it is a quick and easy fix. However, I came across this recipe (at Biggest Diabetic Loser) a couple of days ago and decided it was time. I actually purchased a food processor almost a year ago, and until this morning, had not taken it out of the box. I got a steal of a deal on it though…

This dough was very easy to make and had tasted great. Good enough that I made two batches then played around with the dough. From the first batch I made a pizza for lunch. With the second, I made a focaccia loaf and some pretzels (see my next post). No doubt I will use this recipe again and again.

Pizza Dough (via the food processor)

Ingredients:

2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 package active yeast
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

Put 2 cups flour and salt in food processor and pulse. Heat water to 110 degrees. Add yeast and let it sit for 5 minutes until its all nice and bubbly. Add olive oil to yeast/water mixture and stir. Start food processor and slowly pour in yeast mixture. Add the remaining flour in portions, enough that the dough stops sticking to the sides. I actually checks the “stickiness” of the dough. Then, let the processor run for about 5 minutes until the dough begins to form a ball. Mine made enough for a 14″ pizza, about 1/4″ thick. Note, I also let mine rise about 10 minutes, then I baked it at 425 for 5 minutes to crisp-en the dough.

Add your desired toppings and bake for another 7 minutes, or until the edges of the dough are lightly brown, and the cheese is melted. For my pizza today I used Ragu Pizza Sauce, Mozzarella Cheese, Bacon, Onion and grated Parmesan cheese. (I didn’t have any pepperoni, or I would have surely used it.)

…the Foccacia…

Ingredients:

Prepared Pizza Dough
Olive oil
Herbs and seasonings as desired
Parmesan Cheese, grated

Directions:

With half of the second dough, I rounded it and let it rise in an oiled pan for 30 minutes. Then I flattened the round to about and inch this and brushed olive oil infused with garlic and herbs…then a little of the grated Parmesan cheese. It baked at 425 for 15 minutes. It smelled downright amazing.

**In the Biggest Diabetic Losers post, she mentions using 1/2 – 3/4 cup flour following the yeast addition. I found that I needed closer to 1 cup. Maybe because I live in humid Florida, I don’t know… it still turned out great!