This is a great easy to make recipe. Just slice boneless skinless chicken breast up, add marinade mix to oil, water, and vinegar and marinate for a few hours. Grill and eat! They taste great. In a pinch you can use a packet of Good Seasons Italian Salad dressing mix instead of the mix on this recipe, they are pretty much the same.
3 bonelesss skinless chicken breast (slice to split into 3 thinner beast pieces)
Directions
Mix together we and dry ingredients on Italian Dressing Mix Recipe, then add sliced chicken to marinade in a bowl or ziploc bag and marinade in the refrigerator for 1 – 4 hours. Heat grill very hot (I shut the lid with the burners on and heat to about 450 degrees fahrenheit) then add chicken to grill and cook till browned. Serve and ENJOY!
I wanted to make some fresh Italian Dressing, but don’t like that the Good Seasonings mix packets cost around $1 – $1.50 per packet so I decided to make my own. It came out great, and tastes almost exactly like the packet. It takes spices that you most likely already have setting around and takes less than 5 minutes to make. Here is the recipe for the mix and for the dressing if you want to make it right away.
Ingredients for Mix
1 tsp of granulated garlic (garlic powder)
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp parsley flakes (crushed)
1/8 tsp sugar
Ingredients to make Dressing
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/8 cup water
1/2 cup of canola oil
Directions
Mix all the ingredients for the Mix together and store till ready to use. When ready, add the mix into a bottle with a lid along with all the ingredients for the Dressing and shake well.
This is my own version of a Chipotle burrito bowl. You can make this vegetarian by leaving out the Chicken or vegan by leaving out the cheese also. One meat substitute that I have not tried is to marinate tofu and grill it instead of chicken, which might turn out to be good also, if you try it you can leave a comment on how it comes out. Also if you leave out the meat you will probably want to add in guacamole.
Ingredients
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts Sliced thin (I slice each to make 3 filets)
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp salt for marinade + 1/2 tsp for black beans.
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup lime juice
4 cloves of garlic minced
1/3 cup of canola oil
1 bunch of green onions sliced finely
2 cups of black beans (1 can rinsed or two cups of cooked black beans)
1 chipotle pepper (canned in adobo sauce) minced along with 1 – 2 tbsp of the adobo sauce
Sour cream
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
6 -8 cups of cooked rice
Directions
Mix the first 9 ingredients in a bowl and let the chicken marinate for 1 – 4 hours. While marinating chicken mix the chipolte pepper and adobo sauce and 1/2 tsp of salt with the black beans. Remove chicken from marinade and grill on a very hot grill so it is slightly charred on the outside and done through. Dice chicken into pieces. Now put 1 cup of cooked rice in a bowl, add cooked diced chicken, a scoop of the black bean mixture, a spoonfull of sour cream and sprinkle cheese on top. You can also add your favorite hot sauce on top also. Enjoy.
This is a great quick tasty meal that is great to make on a weeknight when you don’t have a lot of time. Definitely healthier than take out.
Ingredients
3 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
6 Slices of Ham lunch meat one each (not really thin sliced)
6 slices of Swiss Cheese
Dijon Mustard
Bread crumbs
Salt
Pepper
Toothpicks to secure rolled up Chicken Breast.
Cooking spray for baking dish
Directions
Slice the Chicken breasts to make them thinner so that you can roll them. You can slice them down into thirds if the are really thick or you can pound them out flatter. After they are all sliced, sprinkle them with salt and pepper on both sides. Then put the flat side up and lay a slice of ham and a slice of Swiss cheese on top and then put a thick stripe of Dijon mustard on the cheese and roll up and secure with toothpicks, cheese side in. Now roll in bread crumbs lay in greased baking pan and put into a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes, until you can see the cheese is melted and just starting to ooze out. Serve and enjoy.
This taste incredible and take 20 minutes to make. I can’t say they are the healthiest food to eat, they do have steak, cheese and flour tortillas, but you can use whole wheat tortillas and use a little less cheese to reduce the fat if you want.
Ingredients
1 1/2 lb sirloin steak, cut into strips
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tablespoon of canola oil
12 soft taco size flour tortillas
1 16 oz package of shredded medium or mild cheddar cheese
Directions
Spread steak strips on a plate and sprinkle the cumin, pepper flakes, salt, oregano, and garlic powder on the meat and mix around with you hands to coat the meat. Heat pan till hot, add oil and steak and fry over high heat till browned and cooked. Set aside and clean the frying pan and heat pan again on medium high heat till the pan is hot. Now place one tortilla in the pan spread a thin layer of the cheese, then some of the steak, and a little more cheese over the meat and put a tortilla on the top. Heat till the bottom tortilla is lightly browned and then flip over and brown the other side. The cheese should be melted. Remove from then pan and cut into quarters on a cutting board. Plate and serve with some hot sauce, salsa, or guacamole.
Recently I heard about a German restaurant in Mesa Arizona that I wanted to try, and I am happy I did. It is an unassuming restaurant in a strip mall, but when you walk in, it isn’t what you would expect. The decor is definitely makes me think of Germany, although I have never been there. We didn’t have to wait to be seated, although we were there a little early for lunch (around 11:15 am). We were seated at a booth with a cloth tablecloth and a chandelier over it. The menu was quite extensive with about 20 – 25 German entrees plus appetizers and desserts. I choose the Sauerbraten (roast beef). It came with dumplings, a red cabbage (sweet) slaw and cranberry sauce. The salad bar came with all the entrees so after I ordered, I loaded up on the salad bar. They had lettuce and a number or different uniquely German items, I made a salad and tried a few of the German salad bar selections. Overall I would say the salad bar is good. All the selections were fresh and the German selections added a nice touch. The order took about 25 minutes for the entrees to arrive, but we also ordered the Gebackenen Camembert as an appetizer which came after about 15 minutes, which is a breaded baked cheese served with lingonberry sauce. It was hot when it was brought to the table and was rich and creamy and did go well with the lingonberry sauce. We had four people eating it and we it was enough for all of us as an appetizer due to it’s richness. Shortly after we had finished the appetizer the entrees arrived. The taste of the Sauerbraten had a deep and rich flavor which I really liked. The dumplings were cooked well and had a pleasant texture and flavor. I did not care for the slaw that came with it since I would have preferred a more vinegar flavor as opposed to the sweet flavor the slaw they served. I ended up eating about 1/4 or the slaw, but finished all the rest of the meal. We were too full for dessert, but they did have some tempting desserts. You will end up spending $20-$25 per person, not including tip. Overall I enjoyed the meal and experience and am looking forward to going back again.
You are craving something spicy and want something that will satisfy your craving, but healthy. Well this is it. Easy and quick to make, and beats buying take out. Cook, Enjoy!
Ingredients
Approx 1 lb of shrimp steamed (best deveined and shelled)
In a sauce pan add butter into a pan over medium heat and melt. Then add the olive oil, onion and garlic and fry over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Now add in the cajun seasoning and cook an additional 5 minutes. While cooking sauce, put about 1/2 inch of water in a pan and bring to a boil. Add shrimp and steam just until they are pink all over with no grey spots left, then remove immediately from heat. If you cook them too long they will become rubbery. Now add the cooked shrimp to the sauce and stir till coated and serve with rice.
This is a easy to make side dish which goes great with a meal. It goes especially well with chili (See my chili recipe).
Ingredients
Cooking spray to grease pan
1/4 cup butter or margarine (1/2 stick)
1 cup milk
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
optional
1/4 cup Frozen corn (thawed)
Jalapeno diced.
Directions
Add all ingredients and any optional ingredients for variations to a bowl and mix until combined. There may still be some lumps but that is ok. Pour into greased baking pan and bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 20 mins. After 20 mins insert a toothpick and if it comes out clean it is done. Serve hot with butter.
If you are going hiking, biking, or even camping in a rural area and want to have some emergency food rations, this is cheap, easy to make, and doesn’t take up a lot of room in your pack and lasts for years. I have seen articles that says it can have a shelf life of 50 years. Here is the recipe.
Ingredients
1 cup Flour
1/2 cup water
1 tblsp powdered milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp olive oil
Directions
Add all the ingredients into a bowl and mix. You can use a stand or hand mixer if you want. If not you can just mix with a fork. Now roll out into 1/3 inch sheet and cut into crackers. Then take the blunt side of a bamboo skewer or something similar and make impressions (as shown in the picture). Put onto a non-stick baking sheet, no need for oil, and bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes. They should be lightly browned as shown in the picture. These were a staple army ration during civil war times and used during long sea voyages due to their ability to last for a long time without refrigeration.
This is a great pizza dough and the key is to let it set overnight. I took the original recipe from the food scientist himself, Alton Brown. I adjusted it slightly for my own taste and increased the quantity to make two fair sized pizzas. It came out great. Here is the recipe
3 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon kosher salt 1 1/2 tablespoon pure olive oil 1 cup warm water (1 1/8 for fluffier crust, 1 more cup if doing large batch) 3 cups bread flour (for bread machines, for healthier crust substitute 1 cup of bread flour with 1 cup of whole wheat flour) (1 more cup of flour for large batch) 1 tablespoon instant yeast 3 teaspoons olive oil Olive oil, for the pizza crust Flour, for dusting the pizza peel
Directions
Add 1 slightly warm cup of water to bowl along with 1 tbsp of the sugar and the yeast. Stir and let set while measuring the dry ingredients and putting them into a mixing bowl starting with the flour, then adding remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and the rest of the dry ingredients on top. Using the paddle attachment mix on low until dry ingredients blended. Now add in yeast and water mixture along with olive oil and mix on low again until the dough comes together. Switch the mixer over to the dough hook attachment and knead for about 15 minutes on medium speed. Take a small piece of the dough and stretch it till thin and hold up to the light. If you have a taut membrane before it tears the dough is ready. If not knead in mixer for another 5-10 minutes and try again. Now pour about 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a bowl add the dough and roll around till coated in olive oil, cover with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator overnight. Next day remove and let come to room temp. divide in half and roll into two crusts. Sprinkle a thin layer of corn meal on the pizza pan and put the rolled out dough over it and let it set for about 15 mins. Add toppings and bake at 475 to 550 degrees in a pre-heated oven with a pizza stone till edges of the crust turn a deep brown and cheese is melted in the center. See my pizza sauce recipe for a great homemade sauce to go on top.
Customizations:
Softer, Fluffier crust: Add another 1/8 cup of water (1 1/8 cups total)
Chewier Crust and better gluten Devopment Notes:
Use 00 Flour to get a less bready crust and more like a Pizzeria
Better Gluten development to allow easier stretching of crust and better chew and bubbles
Add the water & suga first, mix, then add yeast and flour to the bread maker pan. Run the cycle till the first rest. While the bread maker is in resting period, make a pocket and add the salt and olive oil into the pocket and close the pocket around the salt and oil.
Flavor development: Make the day before and let ferment in the fridge overnight. Add 1/2 of the yeast and create the dough. Form into two balls and coat with olive oil, then put in a bowl and cover with saran wrap and set in the fridge overnight. Take out of the fridge 1 hour ahead and let warm to room temp before forming crust. This not only makes the crust chewier, but also improves flavor.
Large Batch:
Add 1 more cup of water and 1 more cup of flour. Rest of ingredients do not make a noticeable impact or flavor or quality.
Crispy Bottom:
Use Pizza stone as mentioned above. If no pizza peel is available form crust and put onto aluminum foil that has been oiled with olive oil, put foil with crust onto pizza pan and slide onto pizza stone, when removing grab edge of foil not touching pizza stone and slide back onto pizza pan. If no pizza stone is available put crust on foil as if to put onto pizza stone (above) but instead preheat pizza pan in oven then remove pan and put foil with crust onto preheated pizza pan and put back into oven to cook,
