New Year

Ok so I really sucked at keeping up on this blogging thing. So the new year has started, and I will try to be better. Sorry!

Roasted chicken & vegetables

SEE HE BIG HOLE ON THE PLATE THERE....THATS WHERE THE GIANT HUNK OF BREAD SLATHERED IN BUTTER WENT!

Okay so pay no mind to the above version, that was the version my non green vegetable eating husband likes but I'm tell you the vegetable eating version. Actually this is just a method of cooking and once you learn how then the options are limitless. I'll first list the base recipe because you need 3 staples and then I'll tell you where I go from there. This is a rustic recipe, meaning that your cuts and cubes and chops don't need to be uniform, the less symmetric and exact they are the better the dish.

1 package chicken
4-5 peeled and cubed potatoes
1 whole onion chopped into large pieces (you want to be able to put a good size piece on your fork)
5-6 whole cloves of garlic peeled
Poultry seasoning
Salt
Pepper
Cayenne
Garlic powder
Crushed red pepper
Olive oil
Chedder cheese

After this what I recommend is
3 carrots peeled and chunked
4 celery stalks chunked
1/2 head cauliflower chunked up
1 package mushrooms halved
Asparagus chunked

Pre-heat oven to 390. Put everything in a baking dish and cover with olive oil and above seasonings to your desire (I prefer more fresh garlic less garlic salt, and then do the cayenne and crushed pepper to your desire). Cover with foil and bake for 30 min. Open and turn chicken and stir veggies, recover and put in for another 20 minutes. If chicken is almost done after this remove foil and bake uncovered for 10-15 minutes until all veggies and chicken have a nice golden brown color. As soon as you plate it top with a bit of cheddar cheese for extra flavor on the veggies.

I think this is a great recipe to do with chicken on the bone and with skin because then the skin crisps. However if you prefer breasts I would cut the cooking time by about 20 minutes so it doesn't dry out. You can use any veggies you like in this dish and make a different meal each time just by changing the veggies. This is a quick and easy one dish meal. Clean up is a cinch. Also if your a vegetarian you can make this meal and then reserve part of the veggies and put them on a separate baking dish. bake for same amount of time. Veggies will taste damn amazing roasted like this...seriously you will never eat another veggie that isn't roasted.

Shannons holiday prime rib

Yeah yeah I made two of these suckers this weekend and I have zero pictures...hush. They were beautiful though, nuff said!

1 Seven Pound prime beef rib roast
Olive oil
Fresh thyme leaves chopped
Rosemary fresh chopped
Salt and Pepper
Roasting Pan
6 cloves garlic chopped

*Remove your meat from the refrigerator at least 1 hour before cooking it, so it reaches room temperature.
*Preheat oven to 475
*Put the roast, fat side up
*Rub olive oil all over the roast and cover it with chopped thyme, rosemary and garlic. Poke holes and add remaining smashed garlic cloves
Generously season the entire roast with salt and pepper.
*Roast uncovered, in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes (DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DURING THIS TIME!!)
*Reduce heat to 300 degrees and tent the roast. The roast is done when the thermometer reads 120 degrees.
* Remove the meat from the oven and allow it to rest for at least 10 minutes and no more than 20. Carve the meat and serve your perfect roast.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

*Please note this is not a traditional Chicken Cordon Bleu, I just so happen to think my way is better then the normal way!

6 Boneless skinless pieces chicken
1.5 Cup fresh mozzarella slices
3 large basil leaves or 6 small
6 thin slices ham
2 Tsp crushed red pepper
1 Cup diced can tomatoes
1 Tsp dried basil
1/2 Cup flour
salt
pepper
cayenne pepper
Garlic powder


Heat NON STICK skillet over medium heat with small amount of oil. Take chicken and place it on plastic cutting board and cover with plastic. Using a meat pounder or heavy can pound the chicken until it is no more then a 1/2 inch thick (I would do 1/4 for faster cooking). Mix flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne to taste on a plate. Lightly coat one side of each piece of chicken and place flour side down on your cutting board. Season the inside (non flour side) with salt and pepper. On three of the pieces of chicken put a layer of fresh mozzarella, followed by 2 pieces of ham and the basil leaf and crushed red pepper to taste. Add a second layer of cheese on top and place the second piece of chicken pepper side down on top of the cheese. Place the chicken sandwiches in the pan and cover with foil, place something heavy like a skillet or grill press on top to apply pressure. Cook for about 10 minutes and then carefully turn the chicken and repress. You will have a lot of cheese melt out and turn dark (those pieces taste the best I like to eat em off the bottom of the pan) and this is fine and normal. Cook second side for 10 minutes and check for doneness by looking inside and making sure your chicken isn't pink. When the chicken is done put it on a plate. Quickly wipe down the pan to get out the large brown pieces of cheese out. Add canned tomatoes, dried basil, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper to desired taste. Cook for about 1 minute and pour over your chicken (or plate on the side like I did as a dipping sauce). I served this with garlic mashies.

This recipe can be done with portobello mushrooms also. You can also increase the amount of ham or cheese to your liking! THIS HAS TO BE DONE IN A NON STICK PAN!

Citruis steak

*Please excuse the fact that the steak is drowning in the sauce, my husband got a little carried away with plating. I wanted to show it to you cut in half so you could see I totally rocked the perfect medium rare cooking just by poking the meat, but alas he doused the shit in sauce!

2 rib eye steaks
1 Clementine (or tangerine if Clementine's are out of season)
1 Lemon
1/8 cup dark soy sauce
1 Tbsp crushed red pepper
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp favorite bbq sauce (not a spicy one)
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt
pepper
4 cloves garlic sliced
1/2 cup water


Halve fruit and squeeze juice into large bag along with fruit halves, add all other ingredients excluding steak. Seal bag and shake up. Open and taste for spiciness. If it taste fine add steaks and seal with no air. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. 1/2 hour before cooking time pull steaks out and put on counter to bring to room temperature. Grill steaks to desired doneness. In small sauce pan pour marinade minus whole fruit halves and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium and simmer until marinade reduces. Pour SMALL amount of sauce over steaks and on plate to dip. (Do not get carried away like my husband, as the sauce will concentrate when reduced and be very strong). I served this with french fries, and the hubs dunked them in his sauce.

Pictures

My husband has informed my the picture of my Hawaiian chicken isn't a very pretty picture. That I should have plated it up or something. There is a reason I often take pictures of the food still in the cooking dish. I do it so you can see how the food should look finished, sauce and all, and so you can see how it REALLY looks not how I want it to look. I often cook food from a recipe and stare at the finished product in the pan and say, that can't be right can it? This way you can look at yours, then look at mine and say nope thats how it really looks. So sorry for the non pretty foo foo pictures.

Hawaiian chicken

1 Pack chicken thighs bone in skin on
3 cloves garlic
1.5 inches fresh garlic
3 Tbsp brown sugar
4 Tbsp dark soy sauce
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
3 Tbsp chicken broth
Salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Blend all ingredients except chicken in food processor. Place chicken in greased baking dish and season generously with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken and turn to coat. Bake for 20 minutes covered skin side down, turn and bake for another 20 minutes. Continue turning every 5 minutes until done. Remove foil for final 5 minutes to crisp skin. Plate chicken and spoon sauce from pan over the top. I served this with fresh corn on the cob!