Category Archives: Main Dish

Hot Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

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These are always really tasty! I have used this recipe more times than I can count. If you love the taste of Franks Red Hot and blue cheese you’ll love these. I bought boneless, skinless chicken breast halves and pounded them to make them cook quicker and for ease of eating. Doing this at home saved me over a dollar per pound – Publix wanted over 5 dollars for cutlets.

I took many liberties with this recipe starting with marinating the chicken – that’s a must in our house when we grill chicken. It adds so much to this meal and it couldn’t be easier. I also combine mayo with the sour cream to mellow out the sauce – it makes a lot so if you want to use the suggested celery and carrots you have plenty left over to dip. I’m sure I can talk M into getting us some buffalo wings later on this week to use the rest!;) We love all things “buffalo” and if you’re a regular visitor to this blog – that’s easy to see. Here are just some of the other buffalo style meals I have made. My two favorites by far are the buffalo chicken calzone and the buffalo chicken macaroni and cheese…so good!! Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches – (heavily) adapted from Rachel Ray

  • 1.5 – 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast – pounded to an even thickness
  • 3 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
  • juice of one large lime
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, optional

Sauce for Chicken –

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 cup Frank’s Red Hot
  • Romaine lettuce leaves
  • 4 crusty rolls, split
  • 1 cups sour cream
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • fresh cracked pepper to taste
  • 1/2 pound blue cheese, crumbled

Prepare your marinade by combining the lime juice, olive oil, minced garlic, salt, pepper, chili powder, paprika, and cayenne in a small bowl. Place your chicken in a zip-top bag and pour the marinade over all. Mush the bag and place in the refrigerator for at least two hours – the longer the better.

Preheat your grill to medium high heat, then cook your chicken for 5-7 minutes each side.

Heat a metal or oven safe glass bowl over low heat and melt butter in the bowl. Add hot sauce to the butter and combine. When the chicken breasts are done, remove from pan and add to the bowl and coat evenly with hot sauce mixture.

Place chicken breasts on bun bottoms and top with crisp lettuce. Combine sour cream, mayo, pepper and blue cheese and slather bun tops with blue cheese mixture. Affix bun tops on sandwiches and enjoy!


Stomboli a la Leftovers

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Quick Post: Even though I haven’t been posting much these past few days, there has been plenty of cooking and baking! As a matter of fact, just last night I made this, these and this, oh, and these too!

This wasn’t a new recipe for me either, but it’s a variation of this recipe from way back in October. M grilled a few Italian sausages the other night that needed to be used, there was leftover pepperoni, some cheese odds and ends and then about 1 1/2 cups of this meat sauce left in the freezer. I love when I can make dinner with things that might otherwise go to waste. Having a few balls of pizza dough in the freezer doesn’t hurt either:) Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Tilapia with Cilantro-Lemon Butter

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Why did I wait so long to make this again? I tried this out about two years ago, so I knew it that we liked it but I still wanted to try something new with tilapia. Well, I’m glad I didn’t because this was so good! Tilapia was on sale today at Publix, then I thought “well, I haven’t cooked fish in a long time”, then I was on the hunt for recipes. It has a lot of my favorite flavors all combined in this super simple and tasty dish: cumin, lemon, cilantro, butter…those are all winners in my book!;) I recommend doubling the dry seasonings and make sure your butter is at room temperature so it’s easier to mix in your ingredients. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Tilapia with Cilantro-Lemon Butter – adapted from Gimme Some Oven

For the fish:

  • 1/2  tsp. salt
  • 1/2  tsp. ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp. paprika
  • 1/4  tsp. ground red pepper
  • 4  (6-ounce) tilapia fillets (*I bought about 2 lbs)
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
Cilantro-Lemon Butter:
  • 3  tablespoons  butter, softened
  • 3  tablespoons  finely chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1  teaspoon  grated lemon rind
  • 1/2  teaspoon  paprika
  • 1/4  teaspoon  salt
  • 1 lemon, quartered
Directions –
To make the butter, simply combine the first five “cilantro-lime butter” ingredients together in a bowl and use a spoon to stir/mash until blended.  Store in refrigerator if not used immediately.

To prepare fish, combine first four “fish ingredients”; sprinkle over both sides of fish and then lightly coat fish with cooking spray. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add fish and cook 3 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Place fish on a serving platter and top with a dollop of cilantro-lemon butter.  Serve with a lemon wedge, to be squeezed on top of the fish

Jamaican Jerk Chicken

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It’s my SIL’s 18th birthday today so I asked her what she’d like me to make for her birthday dinner. This was one of her requests, and to be honest I wasn’t crazy about it. I have never eaten this let alone tried to make it before. I have heard of this style of preparing chicken but I had no idea how many seasonings were required. I’m just glad that I have a well stocked spice cabinet! It’s weird because I had all but two ingredients on hand for this marinade – it’s like she knew I have all the stuff this dinner. Well, whether she did or not, I’m glad she chose it. It’s always a good thing to try new types of cuisine with interesting flavor combinations. The scotch bonnet is a mean pepper! I was grating it over the marinating chicken and the fumes made me choke, so I thought it best to use about one third of it.

This dinner was a success! We all enjoyed the unique flavor of the chicken, and it wasn’t too spicy. Next time I will use the whole pepper instead and maybe use dark meat next time. Oh, and I tried this sauce (I made half a batch) that was recommended to me. She said it helped to cool down the chicken, which was something I worried about once I added the scotch bonnet. I had everything for this recipe too, except the cucumber but I don’t think it would have made a huge difference. The sauce had good flavor and paired well with the flavors of the chicken. If I make this again, I will be sure to update this post with the changes I plan on making. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Jamaican Jerk Chicken – adapted from Carribean Choice

  • 1 tbs. Ground allspice
  • 1 tbs. Dried thyme
  • 1 1/2 tsp. Cayenne pepper
  • 1 1/2 tsp. Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 tsp. Ground sage
  • 3/4 tsp. Ground nutmeg
  • 3/4 tsp. Ground cinnamon
  • 2 tbs. Salt
  • 2 tbs. Garlic powder
  • 1 tbs. Sugar
  • 1/4 cup Olive oil
  • 1/4 cup Soy sauce
  • 3/4 cup White vinegar
  • 1/2 cup Orange juice
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 1 Scotch bonnet pepper, seeded and finely chopped
  • 1 cup Chopped white onion
  • 3 Green onions, finely chopped
  • 4 Chicken breasts (6 to 8 oz)trimmed of fat
Directions –
In a large bowl, combine the allspice, thyme, cayenne pepper, black pepper, sage, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, garlic powder and sugar. With a wire whisk, slowly add the olive oil, soy sauce, vinegar, orange juice, and lime juice. Add the Scotch bonnet pepper, onion, and green onions and mix well. Add the chicken breasts, cover and marinate for at least 1 hour, longer if possible. Preheat an outdoor grill. Remove the breasts from the marinade and grill for 6 minutes on each side or until fully cooked. While grilling, baste with the marinade.


Fettuccini Alfredo with Grilled Chicken

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Quick Post: Super simple dinners that can be whipped up quickly are a mom’s best friend! I thought this one up while looking through the weeks sale items on the Publix website. I was happy to find boneless, skinless chicken on sale and snapped up a few packages. Hopefully I can come up with good ideas for the four or so pounds of chicken that I have in the fridge! Thanks for reading:)

Grilled Chicken and Fettuccini Alfredo – a Mom Makes original

  • 3 TBSP olive oil
  • juice of one whole lemon
  • salt, pepper and dried oregano to taste
  • 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast – pounded to an even thickness
  • 1 pound fettuccini noodles
  • 1 jar of alfredo sauce (I had a few jars I needed to use, or I would have made this one)

Directions –

1. Mix the oil, lemon juice and seasonings together then pour over the chicken. Let marinade for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator.

2. Preheat your grill and cook the chicken about 10-15 minutes or until done.

3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. Add a generous amount of kosher salt and add the noodles – cook to package directions, drain and set aside.

4. Take the chicken off the grill, add the alfredo sauce to your cooked and drained noodles. Slice the chicken, serve up the fettuccini alfredo and top with the grilled chicken. Serve with a nice green salad and garlic bread. Enjoy!


Slow-Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos

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I  love taco night:) Especially when all the work takes about 10 minutes to prepare and then the crock pot does the rest. I seared the meat and prepared the sauce the night before. I decided that it was best to have it ready to go so I don’t have to stress about it the next day. There is lots of spring cleaning I need to finish…one less thing is just that – one less thing.

The verdict: The meat was so flavorful, tender, juicy and not at all spicy. It just has a wonderful smoky flavor from the chipotles and smoked paprika. I used two chipotles in mine and they weren’t overpowering at all. We ate these tacos with my “orange” rice, this salsa, cilantro and some shredded Colby Monterey jack cheese. I suppose some day I should share my “orange” rice with you all since I have mentioned it in several different posts🙂 Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Slow-Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos – adapted from Gimme Some Oven

  • 1-2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 pounds beef (boneless chuck roast)
  • 1 tsp. chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp. cumin (*cumin is my favorite, so I always use extra)
  • 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
  • 1 cup beef stock
  • 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
  • 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced
  • 1/2 large sweet onion, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • Flour tortillas
  • Favorite taco toppings

Method:

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat.  Meanwhile, combine the chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika in a small bowl.

Rub the spice mix into the beef, covering each side evenly. Once the oil is hot (it will shimmer a bit in the skillet), place the beef in the skillet and sear on each side.

Remove the beef from the skillet and place in the bottom of a slow cooker.  Leave the pan on the heat, and add in the beef stock to deglaze, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  Add the tomato paste and minced chipotle and whisk into the pan sauce. Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for a few minutes until the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly.

Add the diced onion and minced garlic on top of the seared beef in the slow cooker.  Pour the pan sauce down over the onions, garlic, and beef.  Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Remove the beef from the slow cooker and shred with two forks.  Use a slotted spoon to remove the onions from the slow cooker, and mix into the shredded beef.

Serve the beef in the flour tortillas, topped with your favorite taco toppings.

Grilled Teriyaki Sandwiches with Pineapple, Bacon and Swiss

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One of the biggest stress relieving things I can do for myself is to come up with a weekly meal plan. There are only a few things that are more frustrating and stressful than not knowing what I’m going to make. This was a good week because I easily came up with five meals without really trying and that isn’t something that happens often. This was one of them:

Teriyaki Marinade – heavily adapted from Allrecipes

  • 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 2 TBSP honey
  • 1/2 cup low sodium soy
  • 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/3 tsp. grated fresh ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1.5 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast – pounded thin
  • these buns
  • 1 pineapple sliced 1/2″
  • 3 strips bacon
  • 3 slices baby swiss
  • romaine lettuce

Directions –

1. Combine first 7 ingredients in a microwave safe container. Heat the marinade for about 1 minute or until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool.

2. Place pounded chicken in a Ziploc bag and pour marinade over top. Marinade for at least 12 hours.

3. Preheat grill to 350 -400 degrees. Grill the chicken for 15 – 20 minutes total. Once you’ve flipped the chicken to cook the other side, put the pineapple slices on the grill. After about 5 minutes, flip the pineapple slices over and place the bacon and cheese on the chicken to warm through.

Buffalo Chicken Calzone

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Quick Post: By now you can tell we like buffalo chicken! I love Frank’s Red Hot because it has great flavor and a mild kick to it. I made two calzones tonight – one for the adults and one for the kids. The other calzone had mozzarella, Parmesan, cheddar, pepperoni and sliced baby Portobello mushrooms in it. They both tasted excellent:) I warmed up some marinara sauce for the kids to dip theirs, and for the buffalo calzones I made a quick blue cheese dip. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Calzone – a Mom Make’s Recipe

  • 3/4 pound roasted chicken breast, shredded
  • 1/4 batch of this pizza dough
  • 1/4 cup Frank’s Red Hot
  • 1/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
  • 1/3 cup sharp white cheddar
  • 1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
  • 1 egg plus a splash of water for the egg wash
  • pizza seasoning to taste

Directions –

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

2. Roll out your pizza dough in a large rectangle – about 10×14 inches. Sprinkle your shredded cheddar on the dough leaving at least an inch of space from the edge. Toss your roasted chicken with the Frank’s Red Hot to coat, then layer on top of the cheese. Sprinkle the Gorgonzola and Parmesan cheeses over the top of the chicken.

3. Brush the egg wash around the perimeter of the dough, and then fold the long side of the dough to the opposite side and crimp to seal. Place on a lined baking sheet, brush the top of the calzone with the egg wash, and bake for 15 minutes.

Blue Cheese Dip – a Mom Make’s Recipe

  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup blue cheese
  • fresh cracked pepper to taste

Directions –

1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. YUM!

Chicken Parmesan

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Quick Post: This recipe is a combination of a few different techniques and ingredients I pulled together from some simple chicken parm recipes. I liked the addition of Panko in this recipe verses the typical Italian breadcrumbs. I pulled the shallow fry method from the same recipe, but baked the chicken, sauce and cheese in the oven before serving like this one. Oh, and I used my favorite marinara sauce for this recipe. This was a tasty and filling meal – even my picky eater happily ate this. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Chicken Parmesan – a Mom Makes Recipe

  • 4 chicken breast cutlets
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten with 2 TBSP water
  • 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • oregano, salt, pepper to taste (for Panko)
  • 2 TBSP butter
  • 3 TBSP olive oil
  • 1 batch of this marinara or at least 2 jars of your favorite store-bought sauce
  • 1 pound of thin spaghetti
  • 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese
  • 1/4 Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions –

1. Preheat oven 400 degrees and put a large pot of water to boil.

2. Clean and dry your chicken well. Set up an assembly line for your breading – one shallow dish for your flour, one for your egg, and one shallow dish for the season Panko. Season your chicken with kosher salt and pepper then lightly coat with the flour, then dip in the egg mixture, then coat the chicken with the seasoned Panko – set aside.

3. Heat oil and butter in a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat until a pinch of the breadcrumb mixture sizzles immediately when added. Add the chicken breasts and fry without disturbing for 5 to 6 minutes, or until golden brown. Using tongs, turn the chicken breasts and fry another 4 to 5 minutes, or until just cooked through and golden brown.

4. Place the finished chicken in a 13×9 baking dish. Top the chicken with enough marinara sauce to cover the tops of each, then sprinkle the parm and mozzarella cheese. Bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

5. While the chicken is in the oven, cook off your spaghetti noodles in rapidly boiling, liberally salted water – cook according to package directions. Drain pasta, spoon over some marinara and set alongside your yummy chicken parm! Enjoy!:)