Oven Roasted Garlic Green Beans

These beans are awesome! I have permission to fix these at any time for the family. They said that they even prefer these to the Green Bean Bundles (I never thought I would see the day - lol). These are even easier to prep since you don't have to deal with the bacon wrapping. Don't get me wrong, I love my little green bean bundles, but if you are short on time, these are definitely the way to go. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lb fresh green beans, washed and trimmed
• 4-5 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 1-2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp (6 cloves) minced garlic

Directions:

1. Wash and trim beans. Place in large (8 cup) seal-able container.
2. Mix the rest of the ingredients together (I used a small glass) and pour over beans. Seal container and shake to coat the beans evenly.
3. Place in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes (I left them in there for a couple of hours to marinate)
4. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line large baking sheet with aluminum foil.
5. Spread beans out on baking sheet in a single layer.
6. Bake for 8-12 minutes until crisp tender (depending on how well done you like your beans). 

Courtesy of Persnickety Plates

Like what your reading? Share it!

Tweet

Jalapeno Garlic Chuck Roast

(Before Cooking)

This recipe I found was originally done as a pork shoulder. I decided to change it up a little bit and use this marinade on a chuck roast instead. Don't be afraid of the jalapeno. It really wasn't spicy at all, just good flavor from the marinade. It turned out pretty tasty.

Ingredients:

• 2 jalapenos, stem removed
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Salt-Free/MSG-Free Original Mrs Dash (or original recipe used salt)
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2.5 pounds boneless chuck roast
• potatoes and carrots (optional)

Directions: 

1. Combine jalapenos, garlic, Mrs Dash/salt and vinegar in a food processor or blender. Pulse until jalapenos and garlic are finely diced. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in olive oil.
2. Use a knife to put shallow cuts all over the chuck roast. Place the roast in a food storage bag with the marinade. Close the bag and squish the marinade around the roast to coat completely. Refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
4. Place the roast in a foil lined roasting pan. Pour the excess marinade over the top. Bake covered 2 to 2 1/2 hours then add potatoes and carrots. Keep an eye on the juice level - you may need to add a cup or so of water to give the vegetables something to cook in. Bake another hour or so or until vegetables and meat are tender. 

Inspired from Life's Ambrosia Jalapeno Garlic Pork Shoulder

Like what your reading? Share it!

Tweet

Copycat Sonny's Bar-B-Q Coleslaw

Ingredients:

• 1 small head of cabbage
• 1 carrot
• 2 green onions
• 1 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 4 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/4 tsp celery seed
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Shred cabbage - depending on the texture you like, use either a knife and slice into ribbons or throw it in the food processor for a finer cut. I opted for the food processor.
2. Shred carrot - if you have the food processor out already, throw the carrot in also. Or you can use a hand grater.
3. Slice green onion - thin slices
4. Toss vegetables in large mixing bowl until evenly combined. (Easiest to use your hands)
5. Whisk together mayo, apple cider vinegar, sugar, celery seed, salt and pepper in a small mixing bowl until smooth.
6. Add dressing to the vegetables, toss until evenly coated.
7. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve. 

Courtesy of copycatrecipeguide.com

Like what your reading? Share it!

Tweet

Refrigerator Garlic Dill Pickles

Take advantage of local produce, especially during the summer! These wonderful refrigerator dill pickles are so refreshing! Another great way to control what goes into your diet.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 small pickling cucumbers, quartered into spears
• 1/8-1/4 sweet or Vidalia onion, thinly sliced, depending on how strong you want the onion flavor
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, mashed
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dill seed
• 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tbsp white sugar
• 3/4 cup distilled white vinegar
• 3/4 cup hot water

Directions:

1. Pack speared cucumbers in a quart, wide-mouth Ball/Mason jar.
2. Put onion slices, garlic and bay leaf on top and in between spears.
3. In a bowl combine remaining ingredients and mix until sugar and salt dissolve. Pour over cucumbers.
4. Close jar tightly and put in refrigerator for at least 24 hours. 
5. Eat and enjoy!

• Suggestion for multiple jars: repeat step 3 separately for each jar to get a more uniform flavor in jar.
• Note: Pickles are good for at least 1 week (the expire when they lose crispness or start to smell different)

Courtesy of my friend Caitlin

Like what your reading? Share it!

Tweet

Onion Soup Chuck Roast

Ingredients:

Dry Onion Soup Mix - MSG-Free

• 1 packet/4 tbsp dry onion soup mix - see Dry Onion Soup Mix - MSG-Free
• 3 cloves fresh minced garlic
• 2 1/2 lbs boneless chuck roast
• potatoes and carrots

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line roasting pan with aluminum foil.
2. Place meat in roasting pan. Sprinkle 1/2 onion soup mix on one side. Rub into meat. Flip meat over and rub in other half of soup mix. 
3. Follow the same procedure again with the minced garlic.
4. Bake covered for 2 1/2 hours. Place potatoes and carrots in roaster. Bake for another hour or so or until meat and vegetables are tender.

Like what your reading? Share it!

Tweet

Homemade Chicken Stock

Pin It

So easy, and so much more healthy than store bought! The only thing it takes is time!
 
Ingredients:

• 2 bone-in, skins on, "fryer" chicken breasts
• stock pot full of Water (I use a 7 QT pot)
• 1/2 large onion
• 3 stalks celery
• 3 carrots, cut into 2 inch pieces
• 3 garlic cloves, halved
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
• 1 tsp whole peppercorns 
• salt to taste (the less you use, the lower the sodium!)

Stock strained through a coffee filter Pin It 

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients into large stock pot.
2. Bring to a boil, cover and let simmer for at least 2 hours or longer if you have the time. 
3. Remove from heat.
4. Retrieve the meat with large fork/spoon and reserve to use for soups, chicken salad, etc.
5. Obtain another large stock pot/container and fine strainer/colander. Place strainer/colander into the 2nd stock pot/container. Slowly pour stock through colander( you may want to use a large measuring cup to scoop stock out of original pot) to strain the vegetables/spices out. Careful! It will be hot!
6. To separate the fat:
1. Either store the stock in refrigerator and let the fat separate out naturally. Skim the fat off the top once cooled OR
2. Place coffee filter in strainer and slowly pour stock through, leaving the majority of fat in the coffee filter. I had to change the filter for every 2 cups that I poured through.  
7. Keep refrigerated to use within the next day or two or freeze what you don't need immediately. I placed mine in 1 cup intervals into containers for the freezer. The next day, I removed from the stock from the containers and placed in vacuum bags for future use. Saves space in the freezer by placing into bags.
8. My batch yielded 14 cups of stock.

Recipe adapted from Chicken Stock by Margaret Price at Allrecipes
Pin It

Like what your reading? Share it!

Tweet

Baked Dijon & Lime Chicken

Pin It

 
This is probably one of my easiest prep, throw in the oven dishes to date! And did I mention it's delicious? Enjoy!
 
Ingredients:

• 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into large chunks
• 3 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp light mayonnaise
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 lime, zested then juiced 
• 3/4 tsp pepper
• salt (optional) 
• The original recipe added salt after rinsing the chicken. I opted for the lower sodium version and couldn't tell it was missing)
• dried parsley (original recipe called for parsley but I was out - still turned out great!)
• cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a large casserole dish with cooking spray.
2. Cut chicken into large chunks (or you can leave them whole. Keep in mind your cooking time will need to be increased to around 45-50 minutes). Rinse the chicken & pat dry. Place chicken in large bowl.
3. In a small bowl combine Dijon, mayonnaise, lime juice, lime zest, garlic and pepper. Mix well. Pour over chicken, tossing well to coat.
4. Place chicken in dish as a single layer. Top the chicken with dried parsley. 
5. Bake until cooked through, about 30-35 minutes. 
6. Finish the chicken under the broiler until it is golden brown. 
7. Serve chicken with the pan juices drizzled over the top.

 Courtesy of Gina's Skinny Recipes
Pin It
 

Like what your reading? Share it!

Tweet

Inside-Out Burgers

Good ole' hamburgers were on the menu last night and I decided to put a delicious twist my aunt introduced me to a few years ago - put the cheese on the inside. If you haven't experienced this before, I so recommend you try this the next time you throw hamburgers on the grill (or pan fry if that's your cup of tea). If it sounds hard to you - trust me it's not.

1. Season your meat however you like to fix it. I prefer mine mixed with a little minced garlic (about a 1/4 tsp per 1/2 lb of meat) and sweet & spicy steak sauce (about 1 tsp per 1/2 lb of meat).
2. If you are using a package of ground meat (versus the preformed patties), pull out however much you would consider a patty (normally 1/4-1/2 lb meat). 
3. Take this and divide it in half. Take the 1st half and form a patty to the diameter you desire for the whole burger (it will be 1/2 the thickness of your finished product). 
4. Place the cheese and any other goodies you want (bacon, onion, etc.) in the middle of your patty - leave about 1/2 inch border. 
5. Take the 2nd half of your meat and form a 2nd patty to match. 
6. Place the 2nd half on top of the 1st half. 
7. Press the patties together and work the corners together by hand to form a good seal. 
8. I finish seasoning my meat with either a dusting of seasoned salt and pepper or Mrs Dash and pepper before throwing them on the grill. 
9. Cook until done - try to keep the flipping to a minimum to decrease the chance of your burger falling apart. 

Like what your reading? Share it!

Tweet

Glazed Pork Chops

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless pork chops
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp Hungarian paprika
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp McCormick Salt Free/MSG Free Garlic & Herb Seasoning 
• (original recipe calls for 1/2 tsp garlic powder & 1/2 tsp salt - I didn't have the garlic powder and I really don't like adding salt if at all possible)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. In a bowl, mix the brown sugar and spices until well combined.
3. Rub the brown sugar/spice mix all over both sides of the pork chops. Use all of the spice mix.
4. Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a skillet over medium/high heat. When the oil is hot, add the pork chops. Cook the pork chops for about 5 minutes on each side or until they are nicely browned.
5. Transfer chops to a foil-lined pan/casserole dish sized to accommodate the chops. Pour excess juice from the skillet over the chops. Bake in the oven for an additional 5 minutes to ensure they are thoroughly cooked (should be white in the middle).
6. Remove the chops from the oven and drag each side around in the thick glaze that has formed around the chops in the pan prior to serving.

(Inspired from Glazed Pork Chops by Budget Byte)

Like what your reading? Share it!

Tweet

Herb Roasted Turkey

Adventures in Turkey Cooking

     When I followed the recipe exactly, the original recipe called for only 1 cup of wine in the bottom of the roasting pan. After 1 hour of baking in the oven, the wine had evaporated to the point of leaving a scorched residue in the bottom of the pan. I immediately took the turkey out and placed it in a traditional roasting pan without the rack. I then added 1 cup wine to 1 cup water mixture to the bottom of the roasting pan and continued to bake for another half hour. I checked the turkey again and added an additional 1 cup wine to 1 cup water mixture to the pan. The turkey was saved and thankfully did not taste like burnt wine. I didn't need to baste the turkey with the drippings like I have in the past. I believe it retained its moisture due to the olive oil in the rub and roasting for the first hour skin side down. Regardless of the challenges, it turned out wonderful and the family raved about it!    

Ingredients:

• 1 whole bone-in turkey breast, 6 1/2 to 7 pounds
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
• 2 teaspoons dry mustard
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons good olive oil
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 3 cup dry white wine / 3 cup water mix

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. 
2. In a small bowl, combine the garlic, mustard, herbs, salt, pepper, olive oil, and lemon juice to make a paste. Loosen the skin from the meat gently with your fingers and smear half of the paste directly on the meat. Spread the remaining paste evenly on the skin.  
3. Place the turkey breast, skin side down on a rack in a roasting pan.
4. I kept the lemon rinds and placed them in the turkey cavity while roasting for more flavor. 
5. Pour 1 cup wine and 1 cup water into the bottom of the roasting pan and place in oven.
6. Check the turkey every half hour to hour to see if you need to add more wine/water mix to the bottom of the pan.
7. After 1 hour, turn turkey skin side up. 
8. Roast the turkey for a total of 1 3/4 to 2 hours, until the skin is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer registers 165 degrees F when inserted into the thickest and meatiest areas of the breast. (test several places)
9. If the skin is over-browning, cover the breast loosely with aluminum foil. When the turkey is done, cover with foil and allow it to rest at room temperature for 15 minutes. Slice and serve!  

Original recipe courtesy of Herb Roasted Turkey by Ina Garten 2008

Like what your reading? Share it!

Tweet

Green Bean Bundles

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs green beans, trimmed
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar, packed
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 8 ounces bacon

Directions:

1. Fill a large saucepan with water and bring it to a boil over high heat.
2. Wash and trim the beans.
3. Add the beans to the boiling water and blanch for 3 to 4 minutes, until the beans are pliable but still crunchy.
4. Drain the beans and run them under cold water. Pat dry with paper towels or a clean dish towel and place them in a shallow ovenproof casserole.
5. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
6. Stir in the dry mustard, brown sugar, garlic and salt.
7. Pour the butter mixture over the green beans, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
8. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
9. Make a bundle of 8 or 9 beans, wrap half a bacon slice around each bundle, securing with a toothpick, and arrange in a single layer in the same casserole used for marinating.
10. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes or until the bacon is cooked and the beans look wrinkled.  Serves 6-8.

Courtesy of The Pastry Queen Christmas Cookbook by Rebecca Rather via The Brown Shed

Like what your reading? Share it!

Tweet