Chicken in Milk

Fall in Houston, Texas- a breezy 88 degrees on this cool-for-us day, so I thought I would cook up this fall meal. This is definitely a winter meal. You use the stove, you use the oven, you open the oven and stick half your body in there.  You are already making chicken so you might as well make mash potatoes. More stove top steam, more heat in the kitchen. Mash potato recipe not included because I'm not good at making them....yet. 

I served on paper plates because our dishwasher is broke and I'm not about to keep my hands in hot water washin' dishes.

Chicken in Milk
Adapted from Jamie Oliver

• 3 pound whole chicken
• salt and pepper
• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 stick cinnamon
• 1 handful of fresh sages
• 2 lemon's worth of zest
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 pint milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Melt a stick of butter in a cast iron dutch oven (or other pot with lid that can go in the over) over the stove.  Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper and fry it in the butter, turning the chicken to make it golden all over.  Remove from heat, remove chicken from pot, and throw away the butter left in the pot.  Don't clean the pot.

Put the chicken back in the pot and add the rest of the ingredients.  Cook in the preheated oven for 1.5 hours with the lid on.  Baste with cooking juice occasionally.

To serve, pour plenty of the juice over the chicken.

French Dip Sandwichs

Not much to say about a super easy slow cooker recipe that tastes amazing. So here it is

French Dip Sandwiches

Makes 12 small rolls

• 3 1/2 - 4 lb boneless beef chuck roast
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 cube beef bouillon
• 1 bay leaf
• a couple of grinds of fresh pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon dired thyme
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 12 french sandwich rolls, split

Place beef chuck roast in a slow cooker.  Mix the rest of the ingredients (aside from the french rolls obvi) in a bowl and pour over the roast. Add water to the slow cooker until roast is almost covered. Cook on low for 7 hours. Remove roast, reserving broth and discarding bay leaf. Remove the fat from the roast and shred with two forks. Serve in the french rolls and dip in the broth.

Next time: I'm going to throw an onion in there.

Dairy Free Pesto

Y'all need to get on this basil money train.  At Trader Joe's I could buy a bunch of basil for $3 or a plant of basil for $3. I choose the plant because how much more from scratch could you get.  I wedged it between two tomato plants in my pathetic (that's generous) garden and it took off. Basil for days y'all!

I whipped up some pesto and we served it with my dad's grilled salmon, roasted broccoli, corn on the cob, and pasta. It went with everything we had on the table.

Dairy Free Pesto

Makes less than 1 cup

Adapted from Food Network Favorites

• 1 cup loosely packed basil
• 1 cup loosely packed parsley
• 4 tablespoons blanched sliced almonds
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• pepper
• 6 tablespoons olive oil

Pulse all ingredients except for the olive oil in a food processor or blender to form a coarse paste. With the motor running drizzle in the olive oil (or one tablespoon at a time) until incorporated. Serve with vegetables, pasta, salmon, chicken, sandwich, or whatever you can come up with.

Hot Wings

I love me some wings and I especially love Buffalo Wild Wing's wing. But I haaaate going there. The one a couple of blocks from our house is the worst.  We have waited over twenty minutes just to order water and then another twenty to actually receive water.  If either of us could handle any amount of confrontation we would have really given it to them. But we can't, so we left a crappy tip and double checked we remember to bring everything with us when we left.  There is nothing worse then a waiter running after you to give you back your credit card when you left a less than stellar tip.

Well problem solved. These are legit. So legit I was too busy eating them to get a proper photo.

Hot Wings
Adapted from Shutterbean

• 2 1/2 pound chicken wings or drumettes
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with foil and set a wire rack inside. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and toss to coat. Place wings on the wire racks spread out in a single layer.  Bake until cooked through and skin is crispy - about 45 minutes.

• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup hot pepper sauce (like Frank's buffalo sauce)

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Toss baked drumettes in the sauce and serve immediately.

Next time:  figure out the buffalo wild wing dry rubs

Update! a picture!

Picadillo Tacos

My husband is a smidge Mexican but you would think we lived on the Mexican border for the amount of Tex-Mex food we eat.  Taco, nachos, quesadillas, taco salad, burritos, breakfast tacos, migas, chips and salsa, queso on everything, margaritas, and of course all the mexican beer.

These picadillo tacos were an interest twist and a much needed break from the usual tex-mex food we eat. The tomato sauce and olives are balanced really well with the sweetness of the raisin. We served in flour tortillas heated up on a skillet. 

Picadillo Tacos
Serves 3
Adapted from Paleomg

• 1 pound ground beef or turkey
• 1/2 white onion, diced
• 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 8 ounces tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2/3 cup beef broth
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1/3 green olives, sliced
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 6 tortillas

Place large skillet over medium heat, add ground beef and break into pieces while it browns.

When it is almost cooked through, add onion, bell pepper, oregano, cumin, bay leaf, and salt and pepper. Mix well to combine and cook for about 10 minutes.

Add tomato sauce, tomato pasta, broth vinegar, olives and raisins. Mix well and cover to cook for 25 minutes stirring frequently. Leave uncovered the last 10 minutes if the meat mixture looks too runny. 

Serve in warm tortillas.

Minestrone Soup

Its this monster's first week of MDO (Mothers Day Out).  So far it has been crying, chaos, and coughing.  Henry is handling the crying and chaos, while I'm taking care of the coughing.  I've been on dayquil like woah lately so excuse me while I play catch-up.

Soup feels so good right now even though we are still in the 90's weather-wise. Especially when served with extra toasty toast that scratches my throat all the way down.  

Minestrone Soup

Serves like 10 but good leftover

Adapted from Simply Whisked

• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 carrots, thinly sliced
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 1 medium zucchini, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 can diced tomatoes, with juice
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 6 cups vegetable broth (or chicken)
• 1 cup water
• 2 cups small pasta
• 3 cups packed spinach leaves
• Grated parmesan

In an extra large stockpot (really really big), saute the onions, carrots, and celery over medium-high heat for around 5 minutes.

Add the zucchini and garlic and cook for 2 minutes.

Add beans, tomatoes, spices, broth and water. Then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes. 

Stir in the pasta and cook until tender - around 8 minutes for small pasta shells.

Add the spinach and cook until wilted.

Serve with grated cheese and a dose of dayquil.

Next time:  Double up on the spices if you can't breathe through your nose.

Creamy Garlic Dill Sauce

We eat salmon about once a week. Just straight up oven-baked, salt and pepper seasoned salmon. I had major doubts when it came to a sauce for salmon. Good thing I don't trust myself because this was delicious. It is almost more of a dip than a sauce but once you spread it on shot salmon it thins out.  

When I first tasted the dip by itself, it was meh. But once it's on the salmon it enhances the salmon and sauce flavor.  We dipped our vegetables in it too. It was easy and quick to make and took the meal up a level.

Creamy Garlic Dill Sauce
Adapted from Simply Whisked
Serves 2 with leftovers

• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/3 mayonnaise
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon onion, chopped as tiny as possible
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon horseradish
• 2 tablespoons dill
• 1/4 tablespoon salt
• A couple of grinds of pepper

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients and stir together. Refrigerate until you ready to serve.