Comfort Food at it's Finest

There is nothing that I love more than mashed potatoes and gravy. I am one of those people who will load up on the mashed potatoes with extra gravy whenever it's offered as a side. The best part of the Thanksgiving feast is this yummy side. By the time I get home from work at night I just want to eat something quick and easy for dinner. A lot of times this requires throwing something in the crockpot so that it is just about ready to eat by the time I get home. I spend plenty of time on Pinterest looking for quick and easy recipes or recipes that I can make in the crockpot. I found this awesome Chicken and Gravy recipe just this last week. It is sooooooo good and super easy.

Photo Courtesy of Food.com

Ingredients:

• 3 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 1 can of Chicken Broth (I used the low sodium kind)
• 2 packets of chicken gravy mix (I used the low sodium kind of this as well)
• Mashed potatoes (You can make the homemade kind or if you are in a hurry I like to buy the kind that they sell in the cold food section that you just heat up and serve)

Directions:

1. Place the chicken breasts in the crockpot on the low setting if you will be cooking these for 8 hours or longer. Cook on high if you will be cooking them 4-5 hours.
2. Pour the can of chicken broth over the chicken breasts if they do not entirely cover the chicken breasts add just a little bit of water.
3. Cooking time is completed when the chicken falls off the fork and is able to be shredded.
4. Remove chicken from the Crockpot and shred with a fork in a bowl.
5. Take 2 cups of the chicken broth and put this in a saucepan with the two gravy packets. Heat until gravy thickens-About 2 minutes.

Serve chicken and gravy over mashed potatoes. Enjoy!

Written by: Katie B.

What's Going on the Grill?

I don’t know about anyone else, but this time of year I get super sick of eating brats, hamburgers and hot dogs. My boyfriend wants to grill out most weekends, but if I have to eat another plain old hamburger or brat I might just have to go on a hunger strike! OK,  not really, but I need some variety in my meals.

I recently became a Pinterest addict. We had our friends over for dinner a couple of weekends ago and, instead of making those plain old hamburgers and brats, I tried to look for a recipe on Pinterest using chicken. 

My boyfriend started grilling when we bought our own house. He had a fear of grilling chicken because chicken tends to dry out if you cook it incorrectly. I found a recipe on Pinterest for a chicken marinade that had so many flavors! I didn’t have to worry about eating any boring plain meat. The marinade calls for beer, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and Cayenne pepper. Sounds good right? Here is the recipe for this flavorful chicken:

Photo and recipe courtesy of Pinterest

Garlic Beer Marinated Chicken

Ingredients:

• 12oz beer
• 6 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning
• 6 garlic cloves, minced (I used the minced garlic that you can buy in the jar at the store to save time)
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper (this spice was difficult to find. If you are having problems look for Ground Cayenne Red Pepper)
• 2-3 Ib boneless Chicken-You may want to pound chicken to an even thickness before marinating to ensure that the chicken cooks evenly and stays juicy.

Directions:

1. Whisk together beer, lemon juice, olive oil, Italian seasoning, garlic, salt, pepper and cayenne in a bowl. 
2. Add chicken and let marinate for 6-12 hours. I like to put a cover on the bowl and shake it around every few hours to make sure the marinade covers all of the chicken.
3. Remove the chicken from the marinade and grill until done-approximately 12-15 minutes.
4. Serve with your favorite sides. We served ours with salad, buttered noodles and dinner rolls.

Never be a victim of boring grilled meat again. Try this recipe today!  You won’t be sorry.

Happy Grilling!

Written By: Katie B. 

What Will You Do With Your Watermelon?

Alright, time to fire up the grill, we’ve got some watermelon to cook! Wait.... Did I just say Watermelon? YOU BET!

Most often times when we buy a watermelon, the rinds take up half the garbage can space, and the good juicy inside pieces end up going to waste because you can’t eat it fast enough. Did you know that there are actually plenty of ways to use up the ENTIRE watermelon versus just the inside? AND there are tons of other ways to eat watermelon besides just slicing and dicing? Oh my goodness, you’ve got so much to learn.

Let’s go back to the grilling piece: Yes I’m still not kidding, you can grill watermelon. The beyond simple recipe is so delicious! Taking a normal triangle piece of watermelon, sprinkle some salt and pepper on it, and glaze the wedges with some olive oil. Now we’re ready to grill it. It only needs to be grilled for a short amount of time. The only other step necessary before consumption is sprinkling a little lime juice and honey on it, and you’re ready! Sounds like a crazy idea, but honestly, it’s delicious!

Or let’s say we want to use some bits of the watermelon for some drinks because we are having a great backyard bash with the girls... Watermelon Mojito time!! Like a typical Mojito, crush up a few mint leaves with a dash of sugar and lime juice. This creates the normal Mojito base. Then mix in the desired amount of pureed watermelon, and add liquor if you’d like, and BAM! You have a great, unique Mojito!

Check out this great flow chart of ideas, which was featured on RealSimple.com as one of their Favorite Summer Recipes! There are so many out-of-the-box ways to use watermelon that you’ve probably never thought of! Don’t miss out!

Written By: Emily P.

Delicious Sesame Chicken and Crab Meat Rangoon Recipes

I absolutely LOVE Chinese food and most of the time I find myself wishing I had a good, simple recipe that’ll be able to compare to my favorite Chinese places! Here are two of my favorite Chinese food items with recipes that seem simple enough to make at home!

Photo Courtesy of budgetbytes.com

Sesame Chicken

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/08/easy-sesame-chicken/

Serves: 4
Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 15 Minutes Total Time: 25 Minutes

Ingredients:
- Chicken
- 1 large egg
- 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
- 1 pinch each salt & pepper
- 1 Lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil (for frying)
- Sauce
- 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp. water
- ½ Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
- 1 ½ Tbsp. brown sugar
- 1 ½ Tbsp. rice vinegar
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 Tbsp. sesame seeds
- 1 Tbsp. cornstarch

For Serving:
- 4 cups cooked rice (depending on what kind of rice you like)
- 2 whole green onions

Instructions:
In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, 2 Tbsp. cornstarch, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Trim any excess fat from the chicken thighs, then cut them into small 1 inch pieces. Toss the chicken in the egg and cornstarch mixture. 

Heat a large skillet with 2 Tbsp. of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is very hot (it should look wavy on the surface), add the chicken and all of the egg mixture. Cook the chicken, stirring only occasionally, until it is golden brown and cooked through (about 7-10 minutes). Drain off the excess oil, if desired. 

While the chicken is cooking, prepare the sauce. In a small bowl stir together the soy sauce, water, sesame oil, brown sugar, rice vinegar, fresh ginger, minced garlic, cornstarch, and sesame seeds. (ginger can be grated with a small-holed cheese grater) 

Once the chicken is cooked through and golden brown, pour the sauce over top. Toss the chicken to coat in the sauce. The sauce will begin to thicken as soon as it hits the hot skillet. Once the chicken is coated and the sauce thickened, turn off the heat. 

Serve the chicken over a bed of rice and sprinkle the sliced green onions over the top.

Crab Meat Rangoon

http://www.spendwithpennies.com/crab-rangoon-crab-cream-cheese-filled-crispy-wontons/


Photo Courtesy of spendwithpennies.com

Ingredients:
- 1 5oz. can of crab meat, drained (can use fresh or packaged crab as well)
- 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 1 green onion, finely sliced
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 18 won ton wrappers
- Oil for frying

Instructions:
1. Preheat 1 inch of oil to 325 degrees over medium heat.
In a small bowl, gently combine crab meat, cream cheese, green onion, garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce.
Lay out 3 wonton wrappers at a time. Place 2 teaspoons of the filling in the center of each. Dab the edges with water and fold the two opposite corners together to form a triangle. Wet the tips of the triangle and fold inward. Continue until all of your filling is used up.

To Fry
Drop the wontons into the hot oil for 2-3 minutes or until brown and crispy.
Drain on paper towels.

To Bake
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
Assemble wontons and spray each with cooking spray. Bake 12-14 minutes

Chili Cheese Bread-A recipe so simple you will want to make it all the time!

With Football season just around the corner I thought I would share one of my new favorite recipes: Chili Bread. This is a great item to bring to your Fantasy Football draft or to a football party at your friends house. The best part? It’s super easy!

Photo Courtesy of tiphero.com

Ingredients:

1 Can Hormel chili-I have a picky eater in my house so I use the kind without beans

1 loaf of French or Italian Bread-I use Italian bread because it’s a little wider then the French bread

1 16oz block of Velveeta Cheese

Aluminum Foil

Directions:

1.Place a sheet of Aluminum Foil on a cookie sheet. Make sure to use enough foil to wrap up the entire loaf of bread.

2. Hollow out the loaf of bread still leaving a thin layer in the bottom of the bread. Basically you are making a bread bowl. Put the bread that you cut out aside as you will want to use this later for dipping.

3. Place the block of Velveeta cheese inside the loaf of bread. Using a knife or a spoon, hollow out the block of cheese leaving some on the bottom, again making a type of bowl. Put aside the cheese that you took out of the block.

4. Pour the can of chili inside of the hollowed out block of cheese. Cut up cheese that was put aside and place on top of chili.

5. Wrap the bread loaf in foil and bake at 450 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the chili is warm

6. Cut up or tear pieces of the bread that you set aside. I will also buy Doritos to use as extra dippers with this recipe. The bread won’t last very long!

7. Dip into the chili cheese mixture and enjoy!

Photo Courtesy of Yummly.com

Post by: Katie B.