Budget Tip
Any gold tequila is great in this recipe so feel free to get the cheap stuff! It'll keep and you'll want to make this again so it won't go to waste.
Suggested Ingredients
Marinade
I found this marinade from the Barefoot Contessa, but she used jalapenos instead.
1/2 cup gold tequila
1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 cup orange juice, no pulp
1 TBSP chili powder
1 medium Serrano pepper, ribs and seeds included
2 or 3 cloves freshly minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
Tacos
several boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small strips
small tortillas
shredded lettuce
Mango Salsa
1 mango, diced into cubes
1 Serrano pepper, remove ribs and seeds
1 small cucumber, peeled and diced
1/2 red onion diced
cilantro, however much you think you'd like
juice from one lime (2 or 3 tablespoons worth)
Suggested Method of Cooking
Combine all ingredients for the salsa and store in the fridge until needed.
Combine all ingredients for the marinade into a bowl. Place chicken strips into the bowl and put in the fridge. Marinate 3 - 4 hours. Remove the chicken from the marinade with a slotted spoon and cook in a skillet over medium high heat. It's OK if you have some of the juice in the skillet from the marinade. Cook until the chicken is no longer pink. Remove from the skillet and cut the chicken into smaller pieces.
Construct the tacos with the chicken, shredded lettuce and the mango salsa. They really don't need anything more. I like to serve this with black beans and rice.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Cheddar Sour Cream Cornbread - Not Just for Dinner Anymore!
Budget Tip
It may seem like it's cheaper to buy the Jiffy cornbread, but to be honest, the $1 that you spend everytime you need to make cornbread is still more than the number of cornbread (and other recipes) you will get out of the bag 'o cornmeal that you buy. Everything else is already in your pantry and fridge!
Suggested Ingredients
1 1/2 cups cornmeal (if you use self-rising, it won't hurt to leave in the baking powder, soda and salt)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
1 can (approx. 15 ounces) cream-style corn (I use unsalted and these often go on BOGO free)
3 eggs
6 tablespoons butter, melted
a heaping or two of finely shredded cheese
Suggested Cooking Method
While you make up the cornbread mixture, put a 10" iron skillet into the oven and preheat to 375 degrees.
Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together the wet ingredients. Pour the wet into the dry ingredients and mix together until it's moist using a rubber spatula.
Take the skillet out of the oven (it's HOT!) and add a couple tablespoons of butter and coat the skillet. If it sizzles, that's good! If not, stick the skillet back into the oven for a few more minutes. Add the cornbread mixture and then bake 35-40 minutes or until you can stick a toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean. When the cornbread comes out, put another pat of butter on the top and smooth it around.
Now, you all know I always say, use real butter! And I mean it for this recipe. While it seems like alot of butter, the entire recipe makes at least 8 servings and those are LARGE servings. So, at most you'll have a large serving of cornbread with about 120 calories and 9 grams of fat.
Corn Bread Breakfast
Have some leftover? I bet you do! This is PERFECT for breakfast. Take the left over cornbread and split it through the middle to expose the inside of the wedge. Butter your hot skillet over medium high heat, or use Pam and place the cornbread inside down and toast until lightly brown. Flip and do the same on the other side. Serve with eggs and grits. mmmm!
It may seem like it's cheaper to buy the Jiffy cornbread, but to be honest, the $1 that you spend everytime you need to make cornbread is still more than the number of cornbread (and other recipes) you will get out of the bag 'o cornmeal that you buy. Everything else is already in your pantry and fridge!
Suggested Ingredients
1 1/2 cups cornmeal (if you use self-rising, it won't hurt to leave in the baking powder, soda and salt)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
1 can (approx. 15 ounces) cream-style corn (I use unsalted and these often go on BOGO free)
3 eggs
6 tablespoons butter, melted
a heaping or two of finely shredded cheese
Suggested Cooking Method
While you make up the cornbread mixture, put a 10" iron skillet into the oven and preheat to 375 degrees.
Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together the wet ingredients. Pour the wet into the dry ingredients and mix together until it's moist using a rubber spatula.
Take the skillet out of the oven (it's HOT!) and add a couple tablespoons of butter and coat the skillet. If it sizzles, that's good! If not, stick the skillet back into the oven for a few more minutes. Add the cornbread mixture and then bake 35-40 minutes or until you can stick a toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean. When the cornbread comes out, put another pat of butter on the top and smooth it around.
Now, you all know I always say, use real butter! And I mean it for this recipe. While it seems like alot of butter, the entire recipe makes at least 8 servings and those are LARGE servings. So, at most you'll have a large serving of cornbread with about 120 calories and 9 grams of fat.
Corn Bread Breakfast
Have some leftover? I bet you do! This is PERFECT for breakfast. Take the left over cornbread and split it through the middle to expose the inside of the wedge. Butter your hot skillet over medium high heat, or use Pam and place the cornbread inside down and toast until lightly brown. Flip and do the same on the other side. Serve with eggs and grits. mmmm!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Chipped Honey Chipotle BBQ Chicken
Budget Tip
Making your own sauce is almost always cheaper than buying it from the store, especially this one because most likely you have all of these ingredients in your pantry and fridge except for the chipotle peppers. AND, this is yet ANOTHER recipe that you can use with your rotisserie chicken leftovers (or a whole one as I did here)
Suggested Ingredients
1 whole rotisserie chicken
1/2 cup of ketchup
1/4 cup honey
2 - 3 TBSP brown sugar (depending on how sweet you like your sauce)
2 TBSP apple cider vinegar
2 tsp Worcestershire
a pinch or two of kosher salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder (i use a garlic powder mixture called Johnny's)
1 1/2 - 2 TBSP chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
Chicken broth
Suggested Cooking Method
Pull all of the meat off of the bones, reserving bones and skin for making a chicken stock which can be found here:
Rotisserie Chicken Stock
Pull the chicken into strips and then using a sharp knife, chop the chicken into small pieces. Throw the chicken in a crock pot with the rest of the ingredients stirring it around. Add just a little bit of chicken stock to give it some liquidity. Turn the crock pot on low and simmer for 4 hours. Do NOT open the crock pot for 4 hours!! I know you want to because it smells so good, but resist it.
This is great for lunchtime sandwiches or if you are throwing a party, serve it over chips and nacho cheese. They will be a HUGE hit for your Superbowl party!
Making your own sauce is almost always cheaper than buying it from the store, especially this one because most likely you have all of these ingredients in your pantry and fridge except for the chipotle peppers. AND, this is yet ANOTHER recipe that you can use with your rotisserie chicken leftovers (or a whole one as I did here)
Suggested Ingredients
1 whole rotisserie chicken
1/2 cup of ketchup
1/4 cup honey
2 - 3 TBSP brown sugar (depending on how sweet you like your sauce)
2 TBSP apple cider vinegar
2 tsp Worcestershire
a pinch or two of kosher salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder (i use a garlic powder mixture called Johnny's)
1 1/2 - 2 TBSP chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
Chicken broth
Suggested Cooking Method
Pull all of the meat off of the bones, reserving bones and skin for making a chicken stock which can be found here:
Rotisserie Chicken Stock
Pull the chicken into strips and then using a sharp knife, chop the chicken into small pieces. Throw the chicken in a crock pot with the rest of the ingredients stirring it around. Add just a little bit of chicken stock to give it some liquidity. Turn the crock pot on low and simmer for 4 hours. Do NOT open the crock pot for 4 hours!! I know you want to because it smells so good, but resist it.
This is great for lunchtime sandwiches or if you are throwing a party, serve it over chips and nacho cheese. They will be a HUGE hit for your Superbowl party!
Red Velvet Fried Chicken Strips
Budget Tip
Box cake is cheap and Duncan Hines brand can often be found BOGO Free. When it does, buy a couple of boxes. Take half of the batter and make 6 cupcakes and the reserve the other half for the rest of the recipe.
Suggested Ingredients
1/2 box of red velvet cake, mixed into batter
6 non-frosted red velvet cupcakes
chicken breasts cut into strips about 1/2 inch thick, or so
canola oil for frying
Suggested Method of Cooking
First, place the chicken pieces in the batter and mix until well coated. Place in the fridge until you are ready to cook them. Crumble the cupcakes up and place them on a long cookie sheet. Toast for 10 - 15 minutes at 250 degrees or until the crumbs smell a bit like cornbread and are crumbly and toasted feeling to the touch. Once they have toasted completely, you can either use a fork to smash them into smaller bits or if you want a fine coating on the outside of the chicken, press them through a small sifter with a fork. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a heavy pan or iron skillet at medium high heat until the oil pops when you flick water drops into it.
Take the chicken from the fridge and roll each piece into the toasted cupcake crumbs. Gently place each piece into the oil in a single layer. Remember not to crowd the pieces. They will cook better that way. To be honest, it's hard to really put a time on how long the cooking will take, but if you watch the outside of the chicken, the coating will become a dark brown/red color. The trick is to get it out just after the chicken is cooked. I find that it works best if i start with one piece and time how long it takes to cook starting with just a few minutes after the coating has browned a bit.
Place on a papertowel lined place to cool and drain a bit.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Caribbean-Style Jerk Sauce
Budget Tip
I will admit, this recipe is pretty spice intensive so it requires that you have a fairly well stocked pantry. Spices can be expensive, so feel free to check out your local dollar store for the more common spices, which they all are. Also, next time you are in your grocery store, instead of heading down the spice aisle where the big name spices are, pop over to the ethnic section. The spices here tend to be a lot less expensive.
Suggested Ingredients
3 TBSP butter - use the real stuff
a couple of stalks of green onions, white and green parts, chopped into rings
1 cup water
3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar plus a little extra - the dark brown kind is best for color
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 TBSP white vinegar
2 TBSP hot sauce - I like to use Franks however any sort of cayenne based hot sauce will do.
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp lemon juice
1- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder, I actually use a spice blend for making garlic bread spread
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground allspice
1/8 tsp rubbed sage
Suggested Cooking Method
In a medium sized sauce pan that won't react to the tomato acids, saute the onions in the butter until soft. Don't let the butter or the onions get brown. Remove the pan from the stove and whisk in all the other ingredients. Put the pan back on the stove and bring to just above a simmer. Turn the heat down slightly and let simmer for about 45 minutes. Let cool and then store it in the fridge until you need it.
This sauce has a bit of a kick, but nothing too spicy. My son loves it!
This sauce is really good tossed with grilled chicken wings. It's also good when brushed over chicken breasts as they are grilling. I would imagine, that it would be good if used as the baking sauce for chicken thighs as well, but I haven't tried that yet.
I will admit, this recipe is pretty spice intensive so it requires that you have a fairly well stocked pantry. Spices can be expensive, so feel free to check out your local dollar store for the more common spices, which they all are. Also, next time you are in your grocery store, instead of heading down the spice aisle where the big name spices are, pop over to the ethnic section. The spices here tend to be a lot less expensive.
Suggested Ingredients
3 TBSP butter - use the real stuff
a couple of stalks of green onions, white and green parts, chopped into rings
1 cup water
3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar plus a little extra - the dark brown kind is best for color
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 TBSP white vinegar
2 TBSP hot sauce - I like to use Franks however any sort of cayenne based hot sauce will do.
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp lemon juice
1- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder, I actually use a spice blend for making garlic bread spread
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground allspice
1/8 tsp rubbed sage
Suggested Cooking Method
In a medium sized sauce pan that won't react to the tomato acids, saute the onions in the butter until soft. Don't let the butter or the onions get brown. Remove the pan from the stove and whisk in all the other ingredients. Put the pan back on the stove and bring to just above a simmer. Turn the heat down slightly and let simmer for about 45 minutes. Let cool and then store it in the fridge until you need it.
This sauce has a bit of a kick, but nothing too spicy. My son loves it!
This sauce is really good tossed with grilled chicken wings. It's also good when brushed over chicken breasts as they are grilling. I would imagine, that it would be good if used as the baking sauce for chicken thighs as well, but I haven't tried that yet.
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