Yummy Honey Chicken Kabobs

I first made these a few months ago when my friend Amber came to visit and they are delish! Extremely simple, but still extremely tasty. Would be great served on a bed of rice. Recipe is from allrecipes.com

So, you say you want you red bell peppers to still be crispy, but (obviously) want the chicken cooked through? Well then just follow this tip: Because each ingredient (veggies/chicken) cooks at different rates naturally, don't alternate ingredients on skewers, instead designate one kind of ingredient per skewer. Ex. skewers with only onions, skewers with only chicken, etc.

Notes:

• I just use my George Foreman grill - it cooks up much faster than original recipe allows.
• Of course you can use any veggies you like (I really wanna try it with mushrooms too. Yum!)

Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 t ground black pepper
• 8 sk/bnless chicken breast halves - cut into 1" cubes
• 2 cloves garlic
• 5 small onions, cut into 2" pieces
• 2 red bell peppers, cut into 2" pieces
• skewers

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk together oil, honey, soy sauce, and pepper. Before adding chicken, reserve a small amount of marinade to brush onto kabobs while cooking. Place the chicken, garlic, onions and peppers in the bowl, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 2 hours (or overnight.)

Preheat the grill for high heat.

Drain marinade from the chicken and vegetables, and discard marinade. Thread chicken and vegetables on skewers.

Lightly oil the grill grate. Place the skewers on the grill. Cook for 12-15 minutes (only about 3-5 minutes on G.F.) until chicken juices run clear. Brush with reserved marinade frequently.

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Gooey cream cheese goodness! These have consistently been a good hit w/ my family and friends. I originally got the recipe from my friend Nicole a long time ago, but the recipe is actually on the back of the Old El Paso Green Chile Enchilada Sauce can. 

To illustrate how much I love these, since Scott is an uber-picky eater and won't eat anything green, I will actually go through the trouble of making 2 separate meals for the two of us when I want these. I'll make him some really simple meat burritos and make these for myself. They also make excellent leftovers so I usually eat on them for a few days and are always sad when they're gone. So enough babbling, here's the recipe!

Notes:

• You can make the chicken however you prefer. I've boiled sk/bnless chicken breasts and chicken pieces (such as thighs we had on hand) and shredded the meat, but what I usually do is just cut the breasts into really small pieces and cook in a skillet b/c it's just easier and faster for me.
•  I usually fill my enchiladas up pretty good so all mine will fit in a 8x8 or 9x9. So the amount of enchilada sauce you need to use depends upon the size of the pan. 1 can (even less actually) is enough for that small of a dish, but if you use a 9x13 you need the two.
• I like Old El Paso chopped green chiles much better than generic brands.
• I use the four cheese Mexican blend of shredded cheese instead of just cheddar.

Yield: 12 enchiladas

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. uncooked chicken breast strips
• 1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, cut into cubes
• 1 can (4.5 oz.) chopped green chiles
• 1 package (10.5 oz.) flour tortillas (6 in.) 
• 2 cans (10 oz. each) Old El Paso green chile enchilada sauce
• 3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (3 oz) 

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease 13x9 (or any other size) baking dish.

In nonstick skillet, cook chicken over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink in center. Add cream cheese and chiles; reduce heat to medium. cook and stir until blended and cream cheese is melted.

Spoon chicken filling onto tortillas; roll up and place seam sides down in baking dish. Pour enchilada sauce over top; sprinkled with cheese. Bake 15-20 minutes until hot and cheese is melted.

Ultimate Spaghetti & Meatballs

I made these when my friend Trenton came over and they were a hit! They took a lot longer than I expected, probably because I tend to be super careful and picky when I first try out a recipe, but they were worth it. I got the recipe from an episode of Tyler's Ultimate. I made the Pomodoro Sauce he includes but didn't really care for it as much, so I'm not going to take the time to write out the recipe on here. But if you want it it's on the link. They also made good leftovers, but again would have been much better with a different sauce IMHO.

Notes:

• Again, didn't really like his Pomodoro Sauce.
• Don't know if this is right, but for the firm white bread I just let some Texas size bread that I had in the pantry sit out for about 30 minutes to get firm before soaking in the milk.
• I used a more authentic fresh mozzarella cheese that I found at Reasor's. It was nice and soft instead of hard like the usual packaged kind. I sliced it and put about one slice on each meatball.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed
• 2 Tablespoons roughly chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1 cup milk
• 4 thick slices firm white bread, crust removed
• 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
• 1 1/2 lbs. ground pork
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups heated Pomodoro Sauce, or good quality jarred tomato sauce
• 1/2 lb. mozzarella cheese, cut into chunks
  
• Leaves from 3 sprigs fresh basil
• 1 lb. spaghetti

Directions:

Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil for the spaghetti. Heat 3 T oil in an ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and parsley and cook until the vegetables are soft but still translucent, about 10 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and let cool.

Pour enough milk over the bread in a bowl to moisten and let it soak while the onions are cooling. Combine the meats in a large bowl. Add the egg and Parmigiano and season generously with salt and pepper. Use your hands to squeeze the excess milk out of the bread and add that to the bowl along with the cooled onion mixture. (Hand onto the pan - you'll need it to cook the meatballs.) Gently combine all the ingredients with your hands or with a spoon until just mixed together. Don't overwork or the meatballs will be tough. Divide into 10 equal pieces and shape them into 10 nice looking meatballs.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat a 3-count of oil in the frying pan over medium heat and brown the meatballs on all sides, about 10 minutes. Put them into a baking dish and spoon about half of hte tomato sauce over. Shower with the mozzarella and drizzle with the olive oil. Put the meatballs in the oven and bake until the meatballs are cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in the boiling water until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain and put it onto a large serving platter. Pour on the rest of the sauce and mix well. Spoon the meatballs on top of the spaghetti and garnish with basil leaves. Serve immediately along with extra cheese.

Chicken Fried Steak and Gravy

I got this recipe from Paula Deen. I've made it twice now, the second time was better than the first, but they're still not exactly how I would like them. I just haven't been able to get that nice crispy texture yet, but if I can I'll be sure to repost to let you know!

Notes:

• I used 3 tenderized round steaks (picture in package below)
• I did not follow the parts of the recipe that are in orange. I did them the first time, but didn't like the results so the second time I didn't do them at all and preferred it. I decided to include them anyway so you can decide!
• House Seasoning: 1 cup salt, 1/4 cup black pepper, 1/4 cup garlic powder. Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups, plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
• 8 (4 oz) tenderized beef round steaks (have butcher run them through cubing machine)
• 1 teaspoon House Seasoning (recipe under notes)
• 1 teaspoon seasoning salt
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 quart whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon monosodium glutamate (recommended: Ac'cent), optional (I didn't use and my gravy has turned out fine)
• 1 bunch gren onions, or 1 medium yellow onion, sliced

Directions:

 Combine 1 1/2 cups of flour and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle 1 side of the meat w/ House Seasoning and the other side with seasoning salt, and then dredge the meat in buttermilk and then flour. 

Heat 1/2 cup oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 or 4 of the steaks to the hot oil and fry until browned, about 5-6 minutes per side. Remove each steak to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Repeat with the remaining steaks, adding up to 1/4 cup more oil, as needed.

 

 Make the gravy by adding the 2 Tablespoons remaining flour to the pan dripping, scraping hte bottom with a wooden sppon. Stir in the remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper and the salt. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently until the flour is medium brown and the mixture is bubbly. Slowly add the whole milk and the Ac'cent, if using, stirring constantly. Return the steaks to the skillet and bring to a boil over medium - high heat. Reduce the heat to low, and place the onions on top of the steaks. Cover the pan, and let sinner for 30 minutes.