Best Grilled Chicken Sandwich EVER

Posted on by

4

I could eat these weekly! I love grilled chicken sandwiches and there are two things necessary to make these truly amazing. You must marinade your chicken and you must put all this goodness in between bakery fresh ciabatta rolls! I need to find a recipe for these, but I have no hesitation about purchasing these from our local club store. As long as I can pronounce all the ingredients, I will happily pay whatever price!
I love these ingredients for my chicken marinade. It’s so easy and extremely flavorful and it hasn’t failed me yet! Fresh ingredients are best with anything, especially when you’re using those ingredients are the main flavor component. I marinade my chicken for at least four hours, longer if I’m using thighs and I try to watch the amount of acid I use in marinating. If there is too much acid, you can run the risk of “cooking” your meat and changing the texture of the final product….yuck! I don’t measure my marinade ingredients because I have made this so many times, but I will give some estimations of amounts for you. Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Chicken Marinade –
  • 1 1/2 lbs – 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, split in half
  • the zest and juice of one lemon
  • fresh garlic (2 cloves, roughly chopped)
  • fresh thyme (8-10 sprigs, pull the leaves off if you’d like)
  • white wine (a splash – maybe 2 TBSP)
  • 1/4 cup olive oil (more if needed)
  • kosher salt and pepper to taste

Sandwich toppings –

  • cooked bacon
  • avocado
  • lettuce
  • tomato
  • sliced Swiss cheese
  • split and toasted ciabatta rolls, *once these are off the grill, rub with cloves of garlic*

Place prepared chicken pieces into a zip top bag. Mix all marinade ingredients together and pour over top the chicken pieces. Mush the bag to distribute marinade and place in a glass baking dish. Be sure to mush the bag ever hour or so.

Preheat an outdoor grill. Remove the breasts from the marinade and grill for 6 minutes on each side or until fully cooked. Assemble sandwiches as desired ( you’re going to lose some while eating – there are lots of slippery toppings in these )

Carrot Ginger Dressing

Posted on by

7

Quick Post: One of my favorite things to order at local Japanese restaurants is the side salad with carrot ginger dressing. I don’t know why it’s so good, I just accept it! Now that I have a recipe for it that tastes so good, I can enjoy it in the comfort of my own home and I can make it cheap! Really, the most expensive ingredient was the miso paste. Now that I have a huge container of it, there is plenty to go around for lots more of this; and my next experiment – miso soup! I doubled the recipe and I’m glad I did. Between the three of us, half the jar was put away 🙂 Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Carrot Ginger Dressing – adapted from Smitten Kitchen via GOOP.com
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 1 small shallot, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh ginger
  • 2 tablespoons sweet white miso
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seed oil
  • 1/4 cup grapeseed or another neutral oil
  • 2 tablespoons water

Salad:

  • Romaine lettuce
  • avocado
  • cucumber

Blitz the carrots, shallot and ginger in a blender or food processor until finely chopped. Scrape down the sides, then add the miso, vinegar and sesame oil. While the machine running, slowly drizzle in the grapeseed oil and the water.

Divide the lettuce among four bowls, add some of the onion and a quarter of the avocado. Drizzle with plenty of dressing and serve.

 

 

 

Skillet Cookie

Posted on by

5

Quick Post: If you’re a fan of under-cooked cookies, this is the dessert for you. I happen to love thin, crunchy cookies, but my husband loves doughy ones. It’s fun to make a giant cookie or any over the top dessert when company is over and it’s always a good excuse to choose an extra-decadent recipe. “Senior” is in town and what better way to welcome his arrival than something I know he wont find anywhere else. Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Skillet Cookie – adapted from Sophitimom
  • 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup chocolate chunks

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in an 8 inch cast iron skillet set over medium-low heat. Stir in sugars and vanilla and remove from heat. Let rest until pan is warm, but no longer very hot, about 5 minutes.

2. Crack an egg onto the butter and sugar mixture, and use a fork to whisk it well into the mixture. Place flour, baking soda, and salt on top, and very carefully stir into the mixture until smooth and well-mixed. Stir in chocolate chunks. Place in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes, or until starting to turn golden on the top and around the edges, but soft in the center. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Ground Beef Tacos II

Posted on by

3

When in doubt, ask your nine-year old what you should make for dinner…the boy loves tacos! Any Tex-Mex style foods, really. We haven’t had tacos in a while, so I agreed; searched through Pink Parsley and chose this recipe. M is anti-corn tortilla for some reason, so I haven’t decided if I want to fry up the flour tortillas I’ll be using for these.

Verdict: Yum! The leftovers didn’t last more than one day either! I served this with my fave rice, fresh pico de gallo, pepper jack cheese and lettuce. Everyone enjoyed these and my picky daughter even ate more than a few bites. This is the second ground beef taco recipe that I have posted here, and I’m happy to report that this one is going to be my go-to recipe. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Ground Beef Tacos – adapted from Pink Parsley via Cook’s Illustrated

  • 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
  • 1 small onion, chopped (about 2/3 cup)
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 Tbs chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (*I used Mexican oregano)
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • kosher salt and ground black pepper
  • 1 pound 90% lean (or leaner) ground beef
  • 1/2 cup tomato sauce
  • 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 tsp brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
Directions:

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet until shimmering.  Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes.  Add the garlic, spices, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add the ground beef and cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon and scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent scorching, about 5 minutes longer, until meat is no longer pink.

Add tomato sauce, broth, brown sugar, and vinegar; bring to a simmer and reduce heat to medium-low.  Simmer uncovered, stirring frequently, until liquid has reduced and thickened, about 10 minutes.  Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper and serve with your favorite taco fixin’s.

 

 

Asian Inspired Baked Chicken

Posted on by

1

Quick Post:  I was inspired by this recipe, but I added a little of this and that to the mix which resulted in some really tasty chicken. I made this last month and forgot to post about it sooner, but I remember that we all really enjoyed it 😉 Serve it over rice and steamed veggies of your choice and don’t waste any of the delicious sauce!

Asian Inspired Baked Chicken – 

  • 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
  • 2 TBSP honey
  • 3 cloves of garlic; minced
  • 1″ of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
  • 1/4 cup pineapple juice
  • 1 TBSP Mirin
  • fresh ground pepper to taste
  • 3 pounds chicken thighs (or preferred chicken meat)
  • prepared rice
  • steamed vegetables

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
  2. Mix first 7 ingredients together in a large plastic zip-top storage bag. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the chicken to plastic bag making sure to coat each piece.
  3. Place chicken in baking dish along with sauce/marinade or leave in large plastic bag to marinate in the refrigerator. Marinade for at least 6 – 8 hours, turning the bag once every few hours.
  4. When ready to cook, in a baking dish, bake chicken in a 425° oven for 25 minutes with the skin side up. Turn the chicken and cook another 15 minutes. Then turn the chicken again to skin side up and finish cooking for another 10 minutes to crisp up the skin. Cook until internal temperature of chicken reads 165°F.

Brown Sugar Waffles

Posted on by

2

Another weekend, another waffle recipe! Maybe next week I will try a chocolate waffle, although that would probably be much more appropriate as a dessert (with vanilla ice cream on top…yum!) This recipe made nine waffles which was more than enough for the four of us. I like larger batches like this one so the leftovers can go into the fridge or freezer for quick breakfasts during the week for my kids. Next time I make these, I will plan ahead to have the candied bacon the recipe calls for! Thanks for reading, enjoy 🙂
Brown Sugar Waffles – adapted from Pink Parsley
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2/3 cups canola oil
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cups buttermilk

Set your waffle iron a clean level surface, and set to preheat.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and brown sugar together in a large bowl.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs, vanilla extract, and buttermilk.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and fold in the wet ingredients.  Stir until just combined (its okay to still be lumpy).  Gently fold in the bacon, being careful not to overmix.

Cook in the waffle maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Serve immediately or leave keep them warm in a 250 degree oven until it’s time to eat! 🙂

Steak Marinade

Posted on by

2

Now, I’m not usually for fiddling with a perfectly good steak; but while searching through Pinterest, I came across this and the combination of flavors worked well and I thought “why not?”. Steak was on the menu, and I already had all the marinade ingredients so, again – “why not?”. Three strip steaks are soaking in this now and soon I will flip them over to marinade a little longer on the other side.

Verdict: These had great flavor and were so much more juicy than the steaks that were not marinated. M accidentally overcooked the steaks, but it didn’t dry out the marinated ones at all – they were still tender! Thanks for reading, enjoy 🙂


Steak Marinade – adapted from Kayotic Kitchen

  • 3 tbsp oil (*I used grapeseed)
  • 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 2 tsp fresh lemon juice (*I didn’t have lemon, woops!)
  • 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 large garlic clove, sliced
  • 1 large shallot, sliced
  • 2 rosemary sprigs, crushed to release the oils
  • tabasco
  • pepper
  • salt

Directions –

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and pour over top steak. I placed my steaks in a glass baking dish, then covered with plastic wrap. Marinade for at least 4 hours.

Comeback Sauce

Posted on by

3

Quick Post: I pinned this awhile back and knew that I had to try it. There is a lot going on in this sauce, but it all works! I whipped this up the other afternoon to use on sandwiches instead of plain ‘ol mustard and mayo. It didn’t have much time to sit and meld, but that didn’t matter. The flavors worked together really well, and I’m positive that it’s only going to taste better with age. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Comeback Sauce – adapted from Syrup and Biscuits

  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4  cup ketchup
  • 1/4 cup chili sauce
  • 1 heaping teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
  • 1/4 cup light olive oil (*I used grapeseed oil)
  • juice of one lemon
Directions:

Mix all ingredients well and store in refrigerator overnight.

Crockpot Garlic and Herb Chicken and Cheesy Orzo

Posted on by

3

Quick Post: This meal was a hit at my house – even my picky daughter ate it up 🙂 Enjoy!

Crockpot  Garlic and Herb Chicken – adapted from How Sweet Eats

  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 6 tablespoons dry white wine
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
  • steamed broccoli
Directions –

The night before, season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Whisk together 3 tablespoons olive oil, basil, parsley, garlic and 3 tablespoons of wine in a bowl. Place chicken in a large ziplock bag, then pour marinade over top and coat chicken. Keep in the fridge overnight.

The next morning, place chicken in your crockpot with 3 tablespoons of wine. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Once cooked, combine with remaining olive oil, parmesan and salt and pepper if desired. Cut chicken into pieces/chunks, and toss together with orzo.

Cheesy Orzo – adapted from Sprinkled with Flour

  • 2 cups orzo pasta
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 cup Romano cheese
  • kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Directions –

Add stock to a medium pan and bring to a boil. Add the orzo, cover pot and reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until liquid is absorbed and pasta tender. Watch the pasta during the last few minutes, if too much liquid has evaporated, you can add a few tablespoons more of broth. When pasta is done remove the lid and stir in the cheese. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Panera Mac and Cheese

Posted on by

4

This is so rich and creamy! The kids loved the mild flavor of the cheeses and already mentioned wanting to eat the leftovers. Hopefully my picky husband will appreciate it – he’s hard to please when it comes to new macaroni and cheese recipes. His absolute favorite is this one, and no other recipe I have tried can hold a candle to it in his opinion!

His verdict: 7 out of 10! I’ll take it – besides, he ate two bowls and happily brought some to work the next day. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Panera’s Stove Top Mac and Cheese – adapted from Annie’s Eats via Panera Bread

  • 16 oz shell pasta
  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 1/2 cups milk, heavy cream, or half-and-half
  • 4 oz white American cheese, chopped or torn into pieces
  • 8 oz extra sharp white Vermont cheddar, shredded
  • 2 tsp – 1 tbsp Dijon mustard (adjust according to your tastes)
  • 1 tsp Kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp hot sauce (like Frank’s)
Directions:
1. In a large stockpot, cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain well.
2. While the pasta cooks, melt the butter in a 4-quart sauce pan over medium heat.  When the butter has melted and has started to bubble, whisk in the flour; cook for 1 1/2 minutes whisking constantly.  Gradually whisk in the milk until no lumps remain.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook milk mixture, whisking frequently, until it thickens and bubbles, about 8 minutes.
3. Remove sauce pan from the heat and by the handful, stir in the cheeses allowing all of the cheese to melt into the sauce before adding more.  Stir in the mustard, salt, and hot sauce.  Return the sauce pan to the heat and stir in the pasta.  Be sure to stir up the sauce from the bottom of the sauce pan and thoroughly coat all of the pasta with sauce.  Cook for 1-2 minutes over medium-low heat until heated through.  Serve hot in bowls with spoons.