Raspberry Chipotle Chicken

Recipe adapted from Real Simple Magazine. 

This sauce was bomb. 

Like, bomb enough to bring the term bomb back for. 

Served with baked asparagus fries, and we've got ourselves a winner. 

• Ingredients
• 2 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon minced chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
• 4 chicken breasts

1. 1. Combine first 4 ingredients in a small saucepan, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Cook over medium heat 4 minutes or until slightly syrupy.
2. 2. Heat a large grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle chicken evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Grill chicken 6 minutes on each side or until done. Spoon raspberry mixture over chicken.

Tip that I just figured out: usually I buy a can of chipotle peppers, use one, and end up tossing the rest. I recently bought a can, used one...and....omg I should FREEZE THE REST! BRILLIANT! I stuck the rest in a baggie and stuck it in the freezer. Super easy to stick it under some warm water, defrost, and grab another pepper, when I need it. Waste not, want not and stuff.

1. 

Baked Asparagus Fries

Adapted from Spoon Fork Bacon.

Time for a little catch up!

I made raspberry chipotle chicken and these baked asparagus fries, tonight. LeGreg is out of town, and I almost feel guilty when I pull off a good recipe and he's not here. When we're together, he cooks prrrrrobably 9 times out of 10. And my one time has a 30% chance of being horrible.

THIS WAS THE OTHER 70%.

These fries were SO GOOD. Totally worth the super gummy fingers that the different steps require.

I even INVENTED a dip for them!! The linked recipe has a few dip options, but I have approximately almost nothing in my fridge...so....

Fries:
1/2 cup almond flour
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 lb asparagus, ends trimmed and cut in half
3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
salt and pepper to taste
cooking spray

Sauce:
1/2 cup of plain yogurt
2 cloves of chopped up garlic
few sprigs of fresh thyme 
a sprig of fresh oregeno
gentle squeeze of half a lemon (like...I didn't try to get alllll the juice out?)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Place almonds and panko in a food processor and pulse until the almonds are finely ground and well mixed. Pour mixture into a shallow dish.
3. Dredge cut asparagus spears in flour and shake off excess (not much flour will stick to the waxy spears, but that’s okay).
4. Dip each spear into the egg wash followed by the panko mixture. Cover each spear in the panko mixture until fully coated. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Place coated spears onto a parchment lined baking sheet and spray with a light coating of cooking spray. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until crisp and lightly
browned. Season with salt and pepper.

Sauce:
Chop it all up and mix it all together. 



BOOM. 

Ok I got pretty new plates but my pictures still blow. So...meh....

Honey Sriracha Chicken

Since Ive made this twice, I figure I should probably document it?

Ingredients

• 2-3 pounds chicken legs, thighs and/or wings.
Marinade –
• 2 tablespoons sriracha sauce
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated and peeled
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon vegetable/any neutral flavor oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ black pepper
Topping-
• ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
• 3-4 stalks of scallions, chopped (optional)
• 1 jalapeno, chopped (optional)
• Lime wedges, serve on side

Instructions

1. Wash and thoroughly dry the chicken pieces using a paper towel.
2. In a large non-reactive bowl add all the ingredients for the marinade and mix well till they are well combined. Add the chicken pieces and toss well to coat them all with the marinade. Let the chicken marinate for minimum 30-45minutes at room temperature or in refrigerator if keeping for longer time. Toss the chicken at-least once while marinating.
3. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
4. In a large baking-dish/baking-sheet place the marinated chicken pieces in a single layer along with all the marinade. Bake until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thick, 40-55minutes. Flip the chicken 1-2 times while baking to ensure even baking.
5. Once done take out the chicken on serving platter, sprinkle with topping and serve immediately.

My only tip would be to maybe spray your dish before putting all the crap in it. My glass dish got all kinds of gunk on it. 

WORTH IT.

Blue Cheese Mac and Cheese

Recipe from How Sweet It Is, aka the blog where dreams are made.

I saw this recipe last week, and thought, "Holy CRAP, that would make an incredible 'bad' meal!". Friday night, LeGreg and I were figuring out dinner and we brought it up. NO! We were going to be HEALTHY! And, we were. He said that we should save that mac and cheese for some night that involved steak and wine.

The very next morning, my parents invite us over for dinner. Dad is bbq-ing steak. Both of our heads whipped towards each other.

THIS IS HAPPENING.

I got all the cheeses for this from Trader Joes, which wasn't too pricey. Each little triangle was the exact right amount we needed, which was perfect.

THIS

WAS

PHENOMENAL.

ingredients:

1 pound whole wheat mini elbow noodles
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 cups milk
8 ounces fontina cheese, freshly grated
8 ounces gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
8 ounces buttermilk blue cheese, crumbled
salt + pepper
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup seasoned fine bread crumbs
chopped fresh herbs for topping

directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a baking dish with nonstick spray.

Bring water to a boil and prepare pasta according to directions, shaving 1-2 minutes off of the cooking time.

While pasta is boiling, heat butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once sizzling, add flour and whisk constantly to create a roux (FANCY), until golden and bubbly, about 2 minutes. Pour in milk and whisk constantly, stirring until the mixture slightly thickens. Reduce heat to low and add in 6 ounces of the fontina, all of the gorgonzola and about 6 ounces of the other blue. Stir until cheese melts and sauce is thick (I mean...it never got REALLY thick. We probably did this for 20 mins, before giving up. It thickened a LITTLE, but not a lot.). Taste and season with a bit of salt and pepper if desired (I didnt add either).

Add noodles to the baking dish. Pour cheese sauce over top, tossing to coat all the noodles. Sprinkle remaining fontina and blue over top evenly, then cover in breadcrumbs (I just used regular bread crumbs, and added a pinch each of dried oregano and parsley). Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until top is golden and crunchy.

This was absolutely killer. 

It wasn't super saucy, but the flavor was incredible, IF YOU LIKE BLUE CHEESE. If you don't, bugger off. This is not for you.

Baked Oatmeal

Source

I whipped up this baked oatmeal this morning. It was super easy and made our apartment smell like CHURROS. Heaven.

I tweaked the recipe just a touch, based on what I had on hand.

2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup pecan pieces, toasted and chopped (I bought a bag of chopped and toated pecans from trader Joes)

1/4 natural cane sugar or maple syrup, plus more for serving (could use less)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups almond milk

1 large egg

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 ripe bananas, cut into 1/2-inch/1 cm pieces

Preheat the oven to 375°F with a rack in the top third of the oven. Generously butter the inside of an 8-inch square baking dish.

In a bowl, mix together the oats, half the pecans, the sugar, if using, the baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

In another bowl, whisk together the the milk, egg, and the vanilla.

Arrange the bananas in a single layer in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Cover the fruit with the oat mixture. Slowly drizzle the milk mixture over the oats. Gently give the baking dish a couple thwacks on the countertop to make sure the milk moves through the oats. Scatter the remaining pecans across the top.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the top is nicely golden and the oat mixture has set. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. Sprinkle with a bit more sugar or drizzle with maple syrup if you want it a bit sweeter.

My tweaks: I used almond milk instead of regular milk. The original recipe called for butter, which I didnt have, so I left it out. Didn't miss it. I used pecans instead of walnuts, cut back the sugar (could have cut it back even more). I used the 1/2 tsp of salt the recipe called for, but it tasted like too much. I would half it next time, to the 1/4 tsp mentioned above. 

Overall, this was super easy, and super tasty. A keeper. 

Butternut Squash-Chicken Pan-Roast

Recipe and picture by Food and Wine.

Holy ridiculously easy new favorite recipe, batman.

1. One 1 1/2-pound butternut squash, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch dice
2. 3 Fuji apples, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch dice
3. 1 tablespoon chopped sage
4. 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
5. Salt
6. Freshly ground pepper
7. 6 whole chicken legs (3 pounds)
8. 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, thinly sliced

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. In a large roasting pan, toss the squash, apples and sage with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Season the chicken legs and set them on top. Dot with the butter and roast for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the squash and apples are tender and the chicken is browned and cooked through.
2. Transfer the chicken to a plate and keep warm. Place the roasting pan over a burner and boil, stirring, until the pan juices are reduced, about 5 minutes. Return the chicken to the pan and serve.

Ok, technically, I have forgotten the sage each of the two times I have made this. I'm sure it would be amazeballs, but it is still LEGIT without it. This is so simple and delicious. The leftovers are fantastic, too. 

Black Butte Porter Meatloaf With Gruyere

From Deschutes Brewery. 

So, my friend, Gabrielle, sent me this recipe. 

Just by looking at it, I knew it would be MUST MAKE. 

And geeeez, I was right. This was phenomenal. 

I couldnt find the right porter, so I actually made mine with chocolate stout, because that's what I had on hand. Weird, I know. But it worked. Promise. And, also? Gruyere is freaking EXPENSIVE. Cripes. But, the pockets of cheese in the meatloaf were the best part. So, I suppose I should shut my yap. 

INGREDIENTS

2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1/2 C carrots, diced
1/2 C celery, diced
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
3/4 C Black Butte Porter
4 ounces bread, cut into 2-inch pieces (about 2-1/2 cups)
1 C whole milk
2 lbs ground beef
2 large eggs
1/2 C gruyere cut into small cubes
1/4 C fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbs BBQ sauce for a glaze

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oil in a 10- to 12-inch skillet over medium-low heat. Cook the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic, stirring frequently, until softened and just beginning to brown, 6 to 8 minutes.

Add the beer, and simmer briskly, until almost dry, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool until warm.

In a shallow dish that holds it in a single layer, soak the bread in the milk, flipping once, until soggy but not falling apart, 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the coarseness and freshness of the bread. Lightly squeeze a handful of bread at a time to remove some of the milk (it should be wet but not drenched). Finely chop and add to the bowl with the vegetable mixture.

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 375°F.

Add the beef and eggs to the onion mixture. Scatter the cheese and parsley over the meat, and then sprinkle with the Worcestershire, salt, and pepper. Use your hands to gently mix all the ingredients until just combined; try not to compact the mixture as you do this.

Transfer the meatloaf mixture to a 9x13-inch baking pan and form into a 10x4-inch rectangular block (it becomes loaf-shaped as it cooks). Finish the meatloaf by spreading the glaze over the top and lightly down the sides of the meatloaf. Bake until an instant-read thermometer registers 160°F in the center of the meatloaf, 40 to 55 minutes.

Let rest for 10 minutes before cutting.