Beer Chicken

• Recipe By : RecipeMothers.com

Ingredients You’ll Need:

* 8-10 chicken drumsticks
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1 tsp onion salt
* 1 tsp paprika
* 1/2 tsp ground cumin
* 1/4 tsp cayenne
* 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
* 3-4 cloves of garlic
* Juice of half a lime
* 1 cup beer
* handful of chopped fresh parsley
* Salt to taste

Cooking Method

1) wash drumsticks and place into a plastic bag
2) Mix together the olive oil, onion salt, paprika, ground cumin, 1/4 of a teaspoon of cayenne powder and ground black pepper.
3) Squeeze in half of a lime, and grated garlic cloves
4) Pour in beer.
5) Stir everything together. Add salt to taste.
6) Mix in a handful of chopped parsley
7) Seal the marinade in the bag with the chicken pieces. Allow chicken to marinade for at least a couple of hours, even longer if you wish.
8) Throw that chicken on the grill! Add oil every half an hour, and keep adding the excess marinade to the meat every 10 minutes.
9) If it’s pink, it’s not done! Grill it nice and golden brown with a light black char.
Enjoy!

Sweet Tooth Salad

Can I offer you a salad?  No, the blog hasn’t been hacked, there actually is a salad on here, but I think it’s a salad that even those with a strong sweet tooth will love, which is why I call it my Sweet Tooth Salad.   This is my all time favorite salad.  I actually shared an earlier version of this salad over three years ago here on the blog.   While I was making myself one this week, I figured this gem of a salad could make another appearance here on the site.

Let’s be honest, I’m usually not the person who goes out to dinner and orders a salad.  I’m just not that girl.   Every now and then a salad will catch my eye, but for the most part, I want a nice hot meal that someone else made for me.  And shopped for.  And did the dishes for.  And cleaned up after.    But back to salad.  I had a salad similar to this many years ago at a wedding, and I absolutely fell in love with it.  It’s a great combo of so many flavors, with sweet and tart notes, crunchy bites, chewy bites, it’s got a lot going on.

I’m not a big recipe follower with things like salads.  I don’t measure, I eyeball everything and what goes into my salad can be very dependent on what I’ve got in my fridge, and more often than not, what I did or did not forget at the store.   When the stars align, this salad is made up of the following items…   Baby spinach, dried cranberries, pomegranate seeds, sliced apples, feta cheese, candied pecans, grilled chicken and a drizzle of poppy seed dressing.

So. Darn. Good.  If I’m serving this as a side, then I usually leave out chicken.  If I want it as a main dish or complete meal, then chicken please!   While this is my absolute favorite combo for this salad, I do mix it up.  Feta can be swapped for blue cheese.  Candied pecans (the amazing things that they are) can be swapped for regular pecans or walnuts.   Apple or pear, whatever is on hand.  And if one of the items is missing, that’s okay as well.  Sometimes I skip the dressing all together.  As always I’m all about flexibility and working with what you have.

I am not very scientific in my measuring with salads, and think that making them to taste and working with what you have and what you like (or do not like) is a great way to go.   Here is a recipe outline for this salad…

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Sweet Tooth Salad

Ingredients

Ingredient amounts are based on what you like or need, use as little or as much of ingredients as you like.
• Baby spinach or other greens
• Sliced apples or pears
• Pomegranate seeds
• Dried cranberries
• Nuts such as candied pecans, regular pecans or walnuts
• Feta or blue cheese
• Sliced grilled chicken
• Dressing such as poppy seed or even a raspberry vinaigrette

Instructions

Combine ingredients in the amounts that you enjoy and serve!

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Jalapeno, Bacon, and Pepper Jack Stuffed Chicken

Jalapeno, Bacon, and Pepper Jack Stuffed Chicken Breast Recipe = Amazing!!

The entire meal (including the cucumbers and cherry tomatoes on the side), only cost $3.50 for both of us!!  Compare that to going out to eat at a restaurant.....it could easily cost over $20 + a tip!
What a delicious way to save money!  ;)

Jalapeno, Bacon, and Pepper Jack Stuffed Chicken Breast
(Recipe makes 2 servings.  Takes about 15 minutes.)

2 chicken breasts*
2 slices bacon, cooked and diced**
1/2 cup pepper jack cheese, shredded
1 jalapeno, diced
1/4 cup onion, diced
3 Tbs. olive oil
Garlic powder (to taste)
Seasoning salt (to taste)
Onion powder (to taste)

1. Butterfly chicken breast and fill with bacon, cheese (saving a small amount to add to top of chicken when finished) and jalapeno.

2. In a skillet, heat olive oil on medium heat, then add chicken. Season with garlic powder, seasoning salt, and onion powder. Flip half way through (about 5 minutes, depending on size of chicken breast). Cook until chicken is done and cheese is melty and amazing.  ;)

3. Add onions to skillet after flipping. Top chicken with remaining cheese and sauteed onions. Enjoy!


Notes:
* Our chicken breasts were about 6oz. each.  We could've shared, but it was so yummy and I missed a meal earlier due to a busy day.....so we didn't.  ;)  Next time we'll probably use a smaller breast.  The nutrition facts would obviously change if you used smaller pieces of chicky.
** If you can stand turkey bacon (we are not fans, lol), that would reduce calories and fat even more.


I've been using SparkPeople.com (a great free tool!) to track my fitness and what I eat.  I plugged the chicken recipe into "dinner" last night and here's the nutrition data per serving.....(columns are l-r: calories, carbs, fat, protein)

Just in case you can't see the picture:

• Calories = 346
• Carbs = 3
• Fat = 14 (use turkey bacon/low fat cheese for less)
• Protein = 49

If you try it, let us know how you like it!  It's really so easy (especially when your husband makes it)  ;), inexpensive, and easily customized with some variations......I'm thinking maybe spinach, bacon and mozzarella.......ham and cheddar.......lots of possibilities!  =)

Gnocchi with Summer Vegetables

Gnocchi with Summer Vegetables

Post Credit: http://mattandhollicoats.blogspot.com

As summer draws near, I have been thinking about my favorite go-to-fancy-but-super-easy-so-it-impresses-a-lot-of-people-recipe: Gnocchi with summer vegetables. There is something about Gnocchi that makes people ooo and aaahh. It seems so exotic and Italian. I remember the first time I had this lovely potato dumpling. I was in Frankfurt Germany of all places and had just gone to the temple for the first time. We stopped at a little Italian joint afterwards and I wanted to try it, just because of the name. I had no clue what a gnocchi was, but it sounded cool. It was chewy and starchy and wonderful. It was love at first bite.

When I think of Gnocchi I think of really heavy stick to your ribs kind of food. Not with this recipe. It was surprisingly lighter than I would have thought. As much as I always want to make gnocchi by hand, it’s one of those things I have never gotten around to. Maybe now that I have my new handy dandy potato ricer I will give it a go. I normally buy the pre-packaged kind. You can find it in the pasta aisle or you can find the frozen stuff in the frozen aisle. Ether one will do. Once everything is cut and ready to go this meal comes together very quickly. It is simple, yet quick, yet fancy and that is why I like it. I substitute dry basil when I don’t have fresh on hand and it turns out ok, but it’s always better with the fresh stuff. It’s also great with grilled chicken. Some say they want to try the recipes I post, but they seem too hard or take too much time. Well this one’s for you.

Gnocchi with Summer Vegetables

from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 2 zucchini or summer squash, or one of each (about 2 pounds total), quartered and sliced

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• Coarse salt and ground pepper

• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

• 1 package (15 to 16 ounces) frozen gnocchi

• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

• 2 tablespoons grated Pecorino Romano cheese

• 1 tablespoon butter

• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Directions

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add squash and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until squash is crisp-tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until juicy, about 2 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook gnocchi according to package instructions. Reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid, drain gnocchi and transfer to skillet. Toss gnocchi, adding enough cooking liquid to create a sauce. Remove from heat and stir in basil, cheese, butter, and lemon juice.

Chicken Alfredo Pizza

Have you tried chicken alfredo in pizza form yet? If not, I’d say to you it’s a must. I love chicken alfredo pizza. I may not have ever been so keen to try it if it weren’t for my husband. He has a weakness for alfredo both in pasta and pizza form, so a few years ago I tried his at a restaurant and fell in love. Not only did I fall in love but I started making it at home and loving it equally as much, if not more than what we’d get in the restaurants.

There are a few options when making this pizza. You obviously can make your own crust, purchase one from the grocery store, or most of the time what I do is buy a large one or a few small ones from the local pizzeria. If you are making your own crust and don’t have a good recipe, I really like the Cook’s Illustrated recipe for pizza dough. Like I said though, most of the time it’s just easier for me to get a pre-made dough from the local Pizzeria, it’s always delicious with a perfect fluffy and chewy texture. The other option for this pizza is to cook it on the grill, which I do most of the time, especially in summer months because I just love the flavor of grilled pizza (if doing so, I’d recommend doing small pizzas, grilling one side of the dough first then remove, rotate and top – toppings should go on cooked side, then return to grill and continue grilling until golden and cheese is melted). You can also switch up the toppings to suit your taste, such as removing green onions if you don’t like them (I’d recommend replacing them with a lesser portion of fresh parsley if you aren’t using the green onions), adding slices mushrooms or spinach or make a Cordon Bleu version by adding ham and some Swiss cheese to the toppings as well. However you top it, I hope this pizza becomes one of your new favorites too. Enjoy!

Frugalista tip: regrow your green onions in water in your windowsill in just 2 weeks! Simply cut off and use the green portion (leaving about 3 inches of the white root portion), then place the roots in a glass or jar and fill with water and place in windowsill. This is the result I got in just under 2 weeks of winter sunlight in my windowsill. Pretty crazy eh? An interesting tip I read about in Cook’s Illustrated. You can actually do it twice with the same onion roots. I should have taken a before photo but at the time was mostly experimenting =). It works!

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Chicken Alfredo Pizza

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 lb pizza dough, store-bought or homemade
• 1 1/2 cups cooked or grilled, shredded chicken
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp onion powder
• 1 Tbsp flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp heavy cream
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp whole milk
• 2 oz finely shredded Parmesan cheese (1/2 cup)
• Salt and freshly ground black or white pepper, to taste
• cornmeal, for dusting
• 4 oz shredded Mozzarella cheese (1 cup)
• 6 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 Tbsp chopped green onions

• Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place a pizza stone in center of oven to heat while preparing toppings for pizza (for at least 30 minutes).

• Melt butter along with garlic powder and onion powder in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. While whisking vigorously, slowly pour in cream and milk. Bring mixture just to a gentle bubble stirring constantly. Allow mixture to gently boil for 20 seconds, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, add in Parmesan cheese, season with salt and pepper to taste then return to warm heat and stir occasionally until ready to use.
• To assemble pizza:
• On a floured work surface, flatten, stretch and shape pizza dough into a 13 to 14-inch round, while creating a thicker outer crust. Sprinkle a wooden pizza peel with flour and cornmeal and transfer shaped dough to pizza peel, reshaping dough as need. Remove pizza stone from oven, sprinkle lightly with cornmeal then carefully slide shaped pizza dough from pizza peel onto hot pizza stone. Pour half of the Alfredo sauce over dough round, then use the back of a spoon to spread into an even layer coming within about 1-inch of the edge. Sprinkle shredded chicken over sauce layer, then pour remaining sauce evenly over chicken. Sprinkle top evenly with Mozzarella cheese then sprinkle with chopped bacon. Brush outer crust with olive oil and season crust lightly with a pinch of garlic powder and salt. Bake in preheated oven 14 - 16 minutes until crust is nicely golden. Remove from oven, garnish top evenly with green onions, cut into slices and serve warm.
• Recipe Source: Cooking Classy

Zesty Italian Dressing Recipe: Chicken Stir Fry

Post Credit: www.miscfinds4u.com

Easy Zesty Italian Chicken Stirfry

Kraft’s Zesty Italian Anything Dressing – Let’s Get Zesty!

Kraft Zesty Italian dressing has been steaming up my kitchen since the late 1970’s. As a young single woman living on her own, I ate a can of green beans mixed with a can of tuna dressed with Zesty Italian dressing every night for the first few years. Mostly because it was affordable, but also because back then I was thin and I wanted to stay that way!

Easy Zesty Italian Chicken Stirfry

Now that I no longer eat meat, that doesn’t mean the Kraft Zesty Italian hasn’t made the journey into adulthood with me….’cause it has and like me it’s grown and changed and now it’s Zesty Italian Anything Dressing because it literally goes on anything!

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Zesty Italian Dressing Recipe: Chicken Stir Fry

Ingredients

• 2 Tbl Olive Oil
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1 pd chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
• salt/pepper
• 1/2 small onion (roughly chopped)
• 1/2 cup peppers - red, green and yellow (roughly chopped)
• 1 cup broccoli
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

Instructions

In a large sauce pan heat the oil.

Add garlic, onions, and peppers.

Salt and pepper the chicken and add to the pan.

Cook until the chicken is cooked through (about 5 minutes) and the vegetables have a nice caramel color.

Add the broccoli and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the dressing and toss to coat.

Serve immediately

Creamy Tomato and Spinach Pasta

Post from: InspireDreamer.com

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Creamy Tomato And Spinach Pasta

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp dried basil
• pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
• freshly cracked pepper to taste
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2 oz. cream cheese
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan
• ½ lb. penne pasta
• ½ (9 oz.) bag fresh spinach

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender (7-10) minutes. Drain the pasta in a colander.
2. While waiting for the pasta to cook, dice the onion and mince the garlic. Cook both in a large skillet with the olive oil over medium-low heat until softened and transparent (about 5 minutes).
3. Add the diced tomatoes (with juices), oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper to the skillet with the onions and garlic. Stir to combine. Add the tomato paste and a ½ cup of water to the skillet and stir until the tomato paste is dissolved into the sauce.
4. Turn the heat down to low. Cut the cream cheese into a few pieces and then add them to the skillet with the tomato sauce. Use a whisk to stir the sauce until the cream cheese has fully melted in and the sauce is creamy. Add half of the Parmesan to the skillet and whisk until it is melted in. Add the remainder of the parmesan and whisk until melted in again.
5. Add the fresh spinach and gently stir it into the sauce until it has wilted (3-5 minutes). Add the pasta and stir until it is well coated in the creamy tomato sauce. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper as needed. Serve warm.

Rosemary Buttermilk Ranch Chicken Skewers

Post from: http://momontimeout.com

Crank up the heat on your grill and get ready to impress your family with these mouthwatering Rosemary Buttermilk Ranch Chicken Skewers!

My Nana was a master at fried chicken. Her signature recipe was her buttermilk fried chicken and let me tell you – it was incredible! Fall off the bone tender, juicy, and perfectly crisp. Perfection.

Sadly, I don’t have the recipe. Kinda makes me want to cry just thinking about it. My Aunt Gwen is flying in from Texas this week and I’m going to attempt to jog her memory.

I need this recipe.  Badly.

Good news? I’ll totally share with you :)

More good news! I’ve got a recipe that’s going to knock your socks off and make you forget about my Nana’s fried chicken.

It’s a better-for-you, Nana-inspired recipe and my boys LOVE it! Rosemary Buttermilk Ranch Chicken Skewers. Yep. Totally a mouthful but worth every word. Chicken breasts are marinated in buttermilk, fresh rosemary, and a packet of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix.

The marinade itself is pretty rocking and smells amazing but boy oh boy when you throw these bad boys on the grill – watch out!

The chicken is perfectly moist and delicious and has out of this world flavor. I like to make up some ranch dip and while it’s totally optional, I highly recommend. Especially if you have kiddos like mine that think a world without dip would be a world they would just assume not live in.

We’re big ranch fans and there’s only one ranch for us – Hidden Valley Ranch. I keep those 4-pack boxes of both the dressing and dip mixes in my pantry – at ALL TIMES. I’m no dummy!

This recipe is great all year long but is especially ideal as we approach summer. The chicken is fabulous on it’s own, served over rice, or with a fresh green salad.

I like to make enough for leftovers because this chicken makes a KILLER grilled chicken salad the next day. Yum!

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Rosemary Buttermilk Ranch Chicken Skewers

Crank up the heat on your grill and get ready to impress your family with these mouthwatering Rosemary Buttermilk Ranch Chicken Skewers!

Ingredients

• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast or tenders
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbls Worcestershire sauce
• 1 oz Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 sprigs of Rosemary, minced (approximately 2 Tbls)

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Instructions

1. Cut chicken into one-inch cubes.
2. Combine remaining ingredients for marinade.
3. Thread chicken onto skewers (if using bamboo, soak in water for 30 minutes first.)
4. Pour marinade over the chicken and turn to coat.
5. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to one hour.
6. Remove from refrigerator.
7. Preheat grill, and bring to medium-high temperature.
8. Oil or spray the grate to prevent sticking.
9. Grill skewers for 10-15 minutes or until no longer pink, flipping halfway.
10. Serve immediately.

From dressings and dips to sandwich spreads and side dish solutions, the special blend of herbs and spices makes Hidden Valley the perfect addition to any recipe. For more delectable ranch recipes, visitwww.hiddenvalley.com.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Hidden Valley Ranch. The opinions and text are all mine.