#18 White Chilly

Yes, I spell it with a Y because it's that good on a cold day! I found this recipe in a magazine years ago and doctored it up with a bit of my own this and that until it was exactly what I was looking for. Hope you enjoy it. It's simple, low in calories and pretty darn healthy!

INGREDIENTS:

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 pounds Chicken Breast, cubed

2 cups Chicken Broth

1 4 oz can Green Chilies

2 Green Onion, sliced

Monterey Jack Cheese or Mozzarella

2 cans white beans of your choice, Undrained. I use Navy beans, and if you like it a little chunkier like I do, add a 3rd can

For the Seasoning:

1 tsp Garlic Powder

⅛ tsp Ground Red Pepper

1 tsp Ground Cumin

½ tsp Oregano Leaves

½ tsp Cilantro

Directions: 

Mix together the seasoning ingredients.

Heat oil in large pan over med/high heat.

add chicken and onions.

cook 4-5 minutes.

Stir in broth, chilies, and seasoning

simmer 15 min

stir in beans.

Simmer 5 minutes.

Top with onions
Garnish with cheese and serve with rolls or over your favorite rice.

That's it! Have a great meal and express your saucy side!

Heather

#17 -Ryker's Christmas Kabobs

In honor of Avon's Christmas Blog, we welcome you to try Ryker's Christmas Kabobs. He made these for Kyana in Bedeviled, book 2 of the Dark Breed Novels. Hope you enjoy and have a very Merry Christmas!

Sable

These are so simple and quick to make. 

First, marinate beef, pork, or chicken in your favorite seasonings. Salt, pepper, garlic, a dash or two or Worcestershire, and some Cajun spice works nicely.

Next, season up some peppers, onions, mushrooms, and tomatoes--or pick your favorite veggies. There are no wrong choices here. This can be whatever is to your liking. (Note, I used button cap mushrooms and precooked them in a cup of water, two beef bouillon cups, sea salt and a clove of garlic. Bring them to a boil, reduce heat to medium low and simmer for one hour).

Skewer up the kabobs

              and toss them on a low grill.

Serve with Orzo or rice, a warm crescent roll and a glass of wine and you have a meal fit for a Goddess!

That's it! Have a great meal and express your saucy side!

Laura

#16 - Brown Sugar and Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin

Original Source: C&C Marriage Factory

I've been wanting to make this for a couple of days, but sadly, our grocery store didn't have any pork tender loin... until this morning :D Threw it in the crock pot while we did our Saturday thang, and voila, dinner.

Ingredients:

1 (2 pound) boneless pork tenderloin (or regular pork loin)

1 teaspoon ground sage

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 cup water

Glaze

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions:

Combine sage, salt, pepper and garlic. Rub over roast. Place in slow cooker with 1/2 cup water. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. About 1 hour before roast is done, combine ingredients for glaze in small sauce pan. Heat and stir until mixture thickens. Brush roast with glaze 2 or 3 times during the last hour of cooking. Serve with remaining glaze on the side.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Winner! The meat was so tender it was melt-in-your-mouth great. I didn't get the nice dark crust that the picture above shows, but that's okay. It was great without it. I did take a couple of pictures of the process, but everything I managed to capture looked um, unappealing. Only the final product was worth anything and the one from C&C Marriage Factory was way better so I'm leaving it at that. Seriously, try this one. Few ingredients, just a few minutes of time. It's well worth it.

That's it! Have a great meal and express your saucy side!

Heather

#15 The Best Marinade EVER!

I realize there's been a lot of time that's passed since the last recipe was posted. It's not that I've not been cooking. After hosting Thanksgiving, I had over 20 recipes to post alone! But, though I took pictures as I cooked, I failed to take pictures of the final products :(

That in mind... I'm going to share a GREAT marinade recipe here with no pics... a treat that is useable on virtually any meat. Our favorite? Boneless ribs. But it works on chicken, steak, and is probably even good on veggies, though I haven't tried it.

Ready? You don't even need paper and pen. It's THAT EASY.

Mix equal parts white vinegar and soy sauce. Cover whatever it is you're cooking for at least at hour (I usually do it overnight).... and cook. It's that easy!

Once you'll taste it, you'll hopefully forgive the long gap between recipes! A family member gave this recipe to me and I've been using it for over ten years! It's that good.

That's it! Have a great meal and express your saucy side!

Heather

#14 - Chicken Scarpariello

Original Source: Foodandwine.com

(Above) How it turned out.

What you'll need:

8 small boneless, skinless chicken wings (I used 12)

salt and pepper

All purpose flour for dusting

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

8 garlic cloves, cut in half length-wise and gently crushed

4 large Rosemary sprigs, cut into 2 inch pieces

2 cups chicken broth

2 TBSP lemon juice

2 TBSP butter

1/2 cup roasted peppers (jarred)

What to do: 

1) Spread chicken out on a cookie sheet or something large. Season with salt and pepper, then dust with flour.

2) In a large pan, heat oil till shimmering. Add chicken and cook on high heat (not too high, as I burned a piece following that direction. Just a little under the highest is fine) for about 10 minutes, turning once at the 5 minute mark until brown and crispy on each side.

3) add rosemary and garlic and cook about 3 minutes, or until garlic is slightly browned. (I recommend turning the heat down before doing this step. A couple of pieces of garlic turned black and I had to start this bit over)

4)add stock to skillet and cook on high heat, scraping up brown bits, until reduced by half - about 5 minutes. Add butter and lemon juice and stir until mixed.

5) return chicken and any juices that accumulated to skillet.

6) add peppers and turn chicken until coated in sauce. Cook about 3 minutes, moving/flipping chicken to keep it covered. Transfer to platter and serve.

I served mine on a plate of orzo with a side of fresh, crisp green beans. Turned out lovely. It was a hit with everyone (except the teen daughter who wasn't home to try it, poor kid). This will definitely be on my favorite list.

That's it! Have a great meal and express your saucy side!

Heather

#13 - Zucchini Fries

Original Source: Our Best Bites

I made a pot roast for dinner, which usually comes with a side of mashed potatoes, some rolls, gravy and green beans in our house. But, since I'm trying to make healthier choices, I went on a hunt for other sides to serve with the roast. So I chose the quinoa mac n' cheese I'd fixed before (this time adding a bit of left over yellow rice to the mix and changing the cheese to sharp cheddar which every seemed to like a lot more). And while I know "fries" aren't generally a go-to food for roast dinners, I found this recipe and it looked so yummy, I decided to give it ago.

Here's what you'll need:

2 medium sized zucchinis

2 eggs

parmesan cheese (about 1/4 cup)

1/2 cup panko Italian bread crumbs (I had Panko, but they weren't Italian, so I did half Panko, half regular Italian bread crumbs)

What to do:

The original source has great pictures of the step by step process, and you might want to check them out since mine were a last thought before I even considered posting here.

1) slice ends off zucchinis, then cut in half

2) cut each half into quarters

3) and cut each quarter into halves again

4) in a shallow bowl, beat eggs together, and in another shallow bowl, combine bread crumbs & parmesan cheese

5) Preheat oven to 425 degrees

6) line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray with no-stick spray

7) dip a few slices of zucchini into eggs, then ON A SEPARATE PLATE OR BOWL, sprinkle some of your bread mixture onto each slice and place on cookie sheet. The original source rightly warned about rolling the egg-covered slices into the main bread mix. It makes the crumbs clump and it becomes impossible to stick.

8) bake for 10-15 minutes or until crumbs are brown.

serve with dipping sauce of choice. We used ranch dressing, but honestly, I thought it was better without it.

Final thoughts:

I will DEFINITELY make these more often. My husband got seconds and my daughter ate the heck out of them. The only person it didn't impress was my 14 year old son, but if it passed the 16 year old vegetable hater daughter test... it's a win!

That's it! Have a great meal and express your saucy side!

Heather

#12 - REESE'S Peanut Butter Bark

Today's recipe was so easy, I'm just going to post the pictures I took and link to actual recipe because I don't know how REESE'S would feel with me copying theirs here!

Regardless, it was simple and OH SO YUMMY! A great holiday gift idea!

All you need: 

• 2 packages (4 oz. each) HERSHEY'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate Baking Bar, broken into pieces
• 1-2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) REESE'S Peanut Butter Chips
• 1 tablespoon shortening
• 
  
• 1/2 cup roasted peanuts or toasted almonds, coarsely chopped (I skipped adding nuts to mine!)


• FOR INSTRUCTIONS: GO HERE!

Melt

Dollop

Dollop some more

Swirl and chill.

Break it up!

It really is that easy!

That's it! Have a great meal and express your saucy side!

Heather