Honey Balsamic Chicken

Everyone loves chicken, it's America's favorite bird to eat. We grill, roast and bake tons of it every year. Sometimes there needs to be a bit of variety in our chicken preparation. This is a great way to do just that. If you have grown bored of plain grilled chicken, this is a fabulous recipe from The Recipe Critic. She has tons of fabulous pictures and recipes galore! 

This is a simplified version of her Grilled Honey Balsamic Chicken. If you are anything like me, marinating ahead of time is an ideal and fancy thing that doesn't ever come to fruition. Instead of marinating this, just brush the tangy sauce on the chicken the same way you would barbeque sauce. 

This grilled chicken comes out juicy, tender and has so much flavor. This is perfect for any week night meal and can be paired with just about anything you like.

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

salt and pepper to taste

 2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons ketchup

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Salt and pepper the chicken breasts to your liking on both sides. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Sear the chicken on a grill or large skillet over medium heat on both sides for about two minutes.

Once the chicken has a slight sear on it, brush the sauce over the chicken pieces. Continue cooking until the sauce becomes thick and makes a nice crunchy, saucy layer on the outside and the inside of the chicken is cooked through.

Say goodbye to ho hum chicken!

Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes with Lemon Syrup

 

 I have had a bit of lemon fever as of late. If you are not someone who buys fresh lemons regularly, I highly suggest you change your habits. Lemons just add such a nice freshness to anything, even water. It's perfect with some olive oil to make a delicious salad dressing and a slice spritzed over some pasta gives it a bright flavor. 

One Saturday morning, I knew I wanted some fluffy pancakes, but I felt the need to add some pizazz to them. I added lots of fresh lemon juice and zest to my original recipe and made a super easy lemon syrup to go with it.

They were just simply divine! Light, fluffy and oh so lemony. These pancakes taste like a less sweet lemon poppy seed muffin with a highly fresh and concentrated lemonade over top. You could say with each bite you'll be floating down a lazy lemon river.

Ingredients

Lemon poppy seed pancakes

1 lemon, juiced and zested

3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons  vinegar
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 tablespoons melted butter

1 teaspoon poppy seeds 

Lemon Syrup

1 cup of water

2 cups of sugar, divided

juice and zest of two lemons

First, add the vinegar to the milk and allow this to set for ten minutes or until the milk is curdled. Eww.

While the milk is off to the side, make the lemon syrup. Start by boiling the 1 cup of water in a medium sauce pan. Once the water is boiling, turn the heat to very low and add in one cup of the sugar. Stir until this is dissolved. Add in the second cup of sugar as well as the lemon juice and zest. Stir, stir, stir.

 

Keep this warm on the lowest heat possible, and do not stir too often. 

Add the remaining pancake ingredients to the milk and vinegar mixture. Make sure you do not stir too much, as the pancakes will become tough.

Spray a non stick skillet with cooking spray and pre heat over medium heat. Spread about 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan. Cook this until bubbles form on the top and the edges begin to set.

 

 Flip the pancake over and cook for about two more minutes.

Add a bit of butter and slather on some of the lemon syrup. Be very careful with the syrup, as it is very hot!

Spicy Sesame Noodles

Salty is just a delightful flavor, isn't it? It is not something you should eat a lot of certainly, but there is just something nice about it. Especially when that saltiness is combined with a good starch. 

These easy sesame noodles certainly hit the spot for starchy and salty. I am pretty sure I could eat a whole pot of them. These are also delicious hot, room temperature, and even cold. I made these one late night when I was just not willing to thaw some chicken. While it would be a wonderfully balanced meal with a protein, your palate won't miss it a bit.

Ingredients

1 pound of angel hair pasta

1/3 cup soy sauce

3 Tablespoons of honey

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

3 Tablespoons rice vinegar

2 Tablespoons sesame oil

2 teaspoons sriracha sauce

1 green onion, chopped

1 teaspoon black sesame seeds

Boil the pasta until it is tender. While the pasta is cooking, combine the remaining ingredients into a large bowl. Mix them well. Add in the hot pasta along with about 2 tablespoons of the cooking liquid. Toss the pasta until the sauce is mixed well over each and every noodle.

Meatball Casserole

 

 This is a delicious recipe that came together out of sheer desperation. Grocery shopping had not happened in quite some time and it was the night before school started. Desperate times indeed. While my sweet husband cut out sheets of apple boarder decorations for my classroom I whipped up this casserole in hopes it would power us through the night of school preparations. 

"It tastes like a bowl full of pizza!" I would say that's a pretty good reaction. The hasty combination of bread, meat, cheese, and sauce turned out very yummy! This is so easy to make and your whole family will love it!

Ingredients

1 pound of ground chicken

1 teaspoon all purpose seasoning

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 jar of marinara sauce

2 cups of cheese

1 loaf of magic bread, or french bread cut into large chunks

2 1/2 cups grated mozzarella, divided

Mix the ground chicken and all purpose seasoning well, making sure to not squish the meat too much. If you squish the meat as you are mixing it, the meatballs will come out tough. Roll the meat into tablespoon sized balls.

 Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add in the meatballs turning after 5 minutes or so. The meatballs just need to be browned on the outside since they will continue cooking in the marinara sauce.

Once the meatballs have been browned on both sides, set them off to the side while you brown some garlic. 

 

With the oil remaining in the pan, brown the garlic for just a few seconds to add some great flavor to the pan. 

 

 Add the sauce into the pan and turn the heat down to medium low. Add the meatballs back in as well. Let this simmer for about 10 minutes. 

While the sauce and meatballs are cooking, grease a 9 X 13 casserole dish. Add in about half of the bread chunks.

 

Sprinkle over about 1 cup of the cheese over the bread. 

 

Once the sauce and meatballs have had a chance to simmer, pour half of the mixture over the bread pieces. 

 

Add in the remaining bread chunks and sauce as well as 1 cup of cheese mixture over the bread.  The remaining 1/2 cup of cheese should go over the top. 

Pop this into a 350 degree oven for about 20 to 30 minutes until the center of the casserole is bubbly. 

 

This meal was so delicious! Bread, rich sauce, ooey gooey cheese and meatballs.  It was a winning combination!

Lemon Poppyseed Slaw

Summer is such a beautiful season in Colorado. Cool mornings and lots of sunshine during the day. It's not too hot for the most part, and we get to enjoy thunderstorms in the afternoons. And there is no snow. I really adore the part where there is no snow.

With all these benefits I do start to long for fall around the end of summer. By August, I feel I have made every side a person can make for grilled meat at least four times. On a night that called for barbequed chicken, I was rather "blah" feeling about what was to go with it.

I looked at the lonely cabbage and carrots in the fridge and decided on a slaw of sorts. But I was very tired of coleslaw. Then I thought I would try out a dressing from mykindofcooking. It was fabulous! I loved it that night and had no complaints about eating it for lunch the next day. 

The salad this dressing goes with is rightly called "Everyone's Favorite Salad." I have made this salad before and people just love it. I added some lemon juice to the dressing for a bit of brightness. It really soaks up all the flavor when it sits overnight. Try this out with your next grill session, and you will call it your favorite dressing, too!

Ingredients

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup white vinegar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon dried mustard

1 1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 small head of cabbage, shredded

3 carrots, shredded

1/2 cup almonds, roasted and chopped

Combine the first six ingredients together in a large bowl and whisk  this really well.  Add in the cabbage and carrots. Stir well to ensure each piece of cabbage and carrot are covered. Let this chill in the fridge for about an hour. You can eat this right away, but it's really best to let the dressing soften up the cabbage a bit. Just before serving, stir in the chopped almonds so they are super crunchy.

Very Vanilla Poundcake

Pound cake is one of the best desserts to take to a potluck since everyone loves it. At a back to school meeting I decided to make a few buddies some cake for motivation. I can't say it helped with the motivation piece but it was well loved indeed. 

The name pound cake refers to an old recipe that called for a pound of each ingredient. If that is the standard than this would be considered a "light" recipe since it only has 3/4 of a pound of butter. Regardless of the measurement, this cake is divine. The extra vanilla and glaze over top make this cake really special for any occasion. 

Ingredients 

3 sticks of unsalted butter, softened

3 cups of sugar

5 eggs

2 Tablespoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups of flour

1 cup of milk

Vanilla Glaze

3 cups powdered sugar

1 to 2 tablespoons vanilla extract (enough to make the glaze a runny consistency)

First, combine the softened butter with the sugar with an electric mixer in a large mixing bowl. until it is fluffy and light yellow in color. Add the eggs, one at a time. Make sure you mix really well after adding each egg. Add the vanilla and set to the side.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder.

Add in 1/3rd of the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Then add in 1/3 of the cup of milk. Continue alternating both ingredients ending with the dry mixture.

Pour the batter into a greased tube pan and bake for 90 minutes. You will know the cake is done with the top is golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean, or almost clean. For the vanilla glaze, whisk the powdered sugar with the vanilla extract until it is smooth and runny.

Let the tube pan cool for 45 minutes before taking the cake out.  Let the cake cool completely before pouring the glaze over the top.

Enjoy!

Ravioli Pasta Salad

People always asked me  "Where did you learn to cook?" In all honesty, I am the least talented cook in my family. I come from a slightly food obsessed clan who has given me some really good ideas on how to make each meal delicious. 

Most of the things I know how to cook or like to cook come from my family. My Aunt Cathi is an especially good cook. She is outlandishly talented. For my bridal shower and my cousin's baby shower she made the best pasta salad ever. 

Why did I never think to put a cheese filled pasta in pasta salad? After you try this, you will be thinking the same thing. It is so good, it is stupid. I do a few things differently than the original recipe. Aunt Cathi adds in lots of tasty black olives, but my husband does not prefer them so I leave them out. Also, she uses elegant tortellini, while I like the plump and extra cheese filled ravioli. 

This has become one of my favorite summer dinners. Aunt Cathi's is still much better, but the imitation is pretty tasty too!

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds small frozen ravioli

2 cups of chicken, shredded

1 to 2 medium red bell pepper, chopped

1 small cucumber, chopped

3 Roma tomatoes, chopped

2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

1/3 to 2/3 cup Italian salad dressing

1/4 cup Kalamata olives, chopped finely (optional)

Boil the frozen ravioli for about 8 minutes, or however long your selected type requires. Combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl, this makes quite a caldron of pasta salad!

 I like to start with 1/3 cup of dressing and let the salad sit for a minute or two. The dressing will cause all the veggies to release a bit of liquid. Sometimes it needs a touch more dressing, and other times it doesn't. 

Once the ravioli has cooled, drain this and run it under cold water, this helps chill the cheese filled rounds for the salad. Add these to the other ingredients and chill for about an hour.

After letting the salad chill, taste it to check for seasonings. It may need a bit more dressing and a shake or two of salt and pepper.

This is wonderful for lunch, dinner, picnics, potlucks, or even eaten straight out of the bowl on the couch. Try this out and you will love it!

Spicy Snack MIx

August is a sad, sad month for teachers. My school district returns back even earlier than most, so all of August involves getting up early for work. While I am honestly excited to meet my new little sunshines and be around my apple decorations, getting the motivation to start the year again can be hard.

Especially when reality of not having a fridge and stocked pantry sets in. I really function best when I eat every three hours or so. Instead of packing a snack each day, I find it easier to have a small food supply at work. That means some preparation for those afternoon snack attacks. This snack mix hits the spot! If you are a lover of salty and crunchy delights, this is a great option. Just slightly spicy, this combination gives you some carbs, protein and a bit of healthy fat from the almonds.

Not to mention, it takes very little time to whip up a big batch to keep your snack supply handy!

Ingredients

1 6.6 ounce bag of Goldfish crackers

2/3 cup whole raw almonds

1 egg white

2 teaspoons taco seasoning

Dump the almonds and the goldfish into a large bowl. Whip the egg white with a fork for a few seconds until it is slightly fluffy.

Coat the crackers and almonds in the egg white. Mix this well so each piece is completely coated.

I used my own taco seasoning for this, but any you like will be great.

Sprinkle the taco seasoning into the mixture in three batches, stirring after each addition. Mix this very well to ensure you don't have any clumps.

Spread the mixture onto a cookie sheet in an even layer.

Bake the snack mix for about 10 to 15 minutes at 350 degrees. You will know this is done when the almonds are crunchy and a bit dry. It will also start to smell crazy delicious in your kitchen.

This is even great to wrap up and give to friends who may also need some snack encouragement. Just  pour into a bag and adorn with a cute ribbon. The snack mix will stay good for up to a month if it is sealed in an airtight container. 

Enjoy!