Bacon Burgers and Fries

We do burgers fairly regularly, today inspired by Chef Symon. There are some out there that I would love to make, but my honey is a little picky, so I try not push the burger creativity over the top.  Tonight we had bacon burgers and fries.  The first thing I did when I got home was to take 2 large russet potatoes that had been scrubbed and cut them in half lengthwise and cut the halves in to 5 wedges each.  I placed them in a bowl of water and let them sit for about an hour, because I didn't want them browning on me while  me and my honey took little ride thru the country on the bike, since we haven't really been able to get it out with all of this rain, BTW which will back tomorrow evening. When I got home I preheated my Breville oven to 450, drained the water, dried the potatoes and coated them with EVOO and S&P and placed them on baking sheet and popped them into the oven for 35 minutes.  While those were baking I took 1 part 80/20 organic ground beef, 1 part organic ground pork and 1/4 part organic chorizo, mixed them all together, formed into burgers and sprinkled both sides with S&P and put aside.  I took the bacon outside to cook  on the side burner of the grill.  Don't get me wrong I love the smell of bacon, but it permeates the house, and sometimes its just a little much.  Anyway, when there was 15 minutes remaining on the tators I heated my grill- 1 side on med  and 1 side on high.  Once heated I placed the burgers on the med heat side of the grill and let them cook thru, flipping only one time.  I placed the bacon slices and slices of red onion and monterey jack cheese over top, closed the grill and let the cheese melt.  While the burgers were grilling I also took my burger buns and lightly seared them on the grill.  That was it.  No mess, little clean up, easy and yummy.  We served our burgers with a little mayo, and some pickles next to those perfect fries.  Mmm! Mmm!

Spicy Thai Noodles with Ginger Peanut Dressing

This dish is also from the Food Network, from the Next Food Network Star Show.  The chef is Dzintra Dzenis and although she didn't win the title of Next Food Network Star, she did have some good recipes, this one being one of them.  As usual I modified the recipe to fit what I had to work with.  I used 1 lb of chicken tenders that I marinated overnite, but I didn't have thai chiles, so wherever you see them in the recipe I substituted jalapenos. I also grilled the chicken tenders on med-low heat for about 8-10 minutes total, turning often.  I didn't skewer the cooked chicken with the orange either, but I bet that would have been a nice combination.

The dressing was a bit thick, so I added about 1/2 C of chicken stock to loosen it up.  It really was peanut-ee, so next time for my liking I will use less peanut butter or substitute Tahini (sesame paste).  I also added chopped roasted peanuts atop the noodles along with the cilantro, peppers and scallions. One ingredient that I LOVE in this recipe is the chili oil.   You need to get it, it tastes so good and has that burst of heat that I love.  I can see me adding the chili oil to just about everything.  It would be great mixed with garlic over pasta.  I have some leftover linguini from the dish tonight, so that could be my lunch tomorrow.

Anyway, this dish was yummy and I will make it again.  Try it and let me know what you think.  Good Eats!!

Steak Fajitas

Tonight we had steak fajitas, brown rice and refried beans. The night before I marinated a 1 lb skirt steak in the Goya Mojo marinade. When t got home I got my brown rice going and heated the grill, one side on high and one side on low. For my veggies I used 1/2 red pepper/ 1/2 yellow pepper, 1/2 red onion, 2 whole jalapeños, a few grape tomatoes and a few whole button mushrooms. I placed all in a bowl, added a little olive oil and S&P and coated them. I placed the vegetables on the grill on the low side, closed lid and let them roast for about 30 minutes, turning often. You are looking for nice char marks on the veggies. 10 minutes before rice was finished cooking, I placed the skirt steak on the high heated side of grill and seared it for about 3 minutes on each side. I removed the veg, placed back in the bowl and added some Mojo sauce and covered. I continued to grill the steak for an additional 3-4 minutes until medium rare. I removed the steak and let it rest for 10 minutes. While the meat rested, I opened a can of refried beans, put in a bowl and nuked for 1.5 minutes. I also grilled a few small flour tortillas for about 30 seconds per side and I removed them to a plate. I cut the roasted peppers and onions into thin slices, and left the toms and shrooms whole. I served the meat with the veggies, (shrooms and toms on the side) in the warm tortilla and avocado sprinkled fajitas, rice and beans with a little shredded cheddar cheese. That's all there is to it, easy and little clean up, that's what I love about grillin. Try it and let me know what you think. Bon Appetit.

Tex Mex Tuesday

I know i've done this before, but it's so yummy and easy you need to try it. I started out with 1.5 lbs of organic chicken tenders that I marinated in Goya Mojo marinade sauce for about 1 hour. This stuff is so good and so economical, so why bother making it myself? While my chix marinated I made my  bean & corn salsa. This salsa is so great because you can really add whatever you like or what you have in the frig or pantry- green pepper, yellow pepper, tomatoes, your favorite beans.  My salsa is made with: 1 can of black beans rinsed and drained, 1 c of frozen corn, 1/2 red onion small diced, 1/2 red pepper small diced, 1 jalapeño chopped, 1 handful cilantro chopped, juice of 1 lime, 1 tbs cumin, 1 tsp hot hungarian paprika and kosher salt to taste. Just mix all this together in a med size bowl and let the flavors mesh together. At this point oil the grates of your grill and heat 1 side on low and the other side on high. After your grill is heated place your chicken tenders on the high side for about 2 minutes, turn and grill for an additional 2 minutes, always keeping grill top open. Then move the tenders to the low side and continue to grill with lid closed about 2 more minutes or until the temp reaches about 166 degrees F. Chicken tenders cook very quickly, so it's best not to leave them. Remove from heat and sprinkle chicken with quesadilla cheese found in your grocers packaged cheese section in the dairy aisle. Serve the chicken with brown rice, black bean & corn salsa with avocado, sour cream and tortilla chips. Try this, it's really yummy and easy. Doesn't it look tasty? Good Eats.

Chang's Spicy Chicken w/ Broccoli & Brown Rice

I went to PF Chang's recently for our 9 yr wedding anniversary and I tried the Chang's Chicken. It's similar to General Tso's Chicken, but lighter. The crust is very light, more like it's been seared quickly in hot oil. Anyway, I liked it, so I googled "Chang's Chicken and I found this recipe on Epicurious. This recipe could use some modifications.  Next time I will will only add1 tbs chili sauce, 3/4 C pineapple juice, less sugar and less vinegar. I doubled the recipe and it was pretty intense. The chili sauce and vinegar were a bit much and it was little sweeter than what I had at the restaurant. We served it over brown rice, like in the restaurant, but we added steamed broccoli to it as well.  I will make this dish again, but will modify for my taste. Try it and let me know what you think.

Chorizo, Spinach & Chick Pea Saute

This recipe is from Guy Fieri's "Guy's Big Bite". We both found it, well kind of interesting and not so yummy. I really hate it when I try new recipes and they just don't work, but that is why I do this blog, so you won't waste your time.
This dish had a very earthy flavor from the spinach and chick peas. I normally like earthy, but this dish just didn't get it for me. I think I need to give Chorizo a break, because I haven't really liked the dishes that I've made recently, using it. Anyway, won't do this one again. Unfortunately, NOT Good Eats!

Beer Brats & Bush's Grillin Beans

I know what you are thinking, "brats---boring". Truly not the case, because these are Beer Brats.  We soaked them in beer along with thinly sliced Vidalia onions and green peppers. I started by placing the brats on my grill that had been heated on med high heat and grilled them until they just began to burst. I removed them and soaked them along with the onion and pepper slices in beer for 30 minutes. After soaking them I put them back on the grill for about 5 minutes. While those were grillin, I sauted the sliced onions and peppers on the side burner in a small non stick skillet until they were very soft and tender. I removed everything from the grill, and served them on rolls with a green salad and Bush's Black Bean Fiesta Grillin Beans.  The beans are good when you want something quick and easy, and they taste pretty good.  Try this, it's a great spring time dinner.

Dirty P's Garlic-Ginger Chicken Thighs & Sesame Noodles

Tonight I made 2 dishes from the Food Network.  The chicken thighs are a Guy Fieri recipe, which is very easy.   The thighs grilled up with a crispy outside and were very moist and juicy inside.  The flavor had a nice mellow, slightly sweet and salty taste.  Really yummy and very easy, the hardest part is that you need to marinate them, and I chose to marinate them overnight.   I recommend this recipe and I will definitely make it again.  Since the thighs had an asian flair, I decided to serve them with a Rachael Ray Sesame Noodle Recipe.  I chose to use linguini pasta and I doubled the recipe, since it calls for 1 serving.  I really like this dish.  It was SOoooo easy and really yummy.  It too had a mellow flavor, not over the top peanut buttery or sesami-ish.  I will definitely make this one again, it really only takes about 8 minutes to make it.  I would suggest that you try them both together or alone.  BTW, hubby is recovering well from the fall,  he has a broken rib and he's very sore and bruised, but TG he will be OK.  Anyway, give these dishes a try they are Very Good Eats!

Dressed Up Zataran's Red Beans & Rice

A lot going on since my last post.  My dad has been in the hospital, we've been doing some rehab our circa 1822 home and my honey had to go to the ER because he fell off the roof.  With all that's been going on cooking has been put on the back burner, but tonight I decided lets get into again, but in an instant kind of way.  Tonight we took a box of low sodium Zataran's Red Beans & Rice, 1lb of 85/15 organic ground beef, 1 can red beans rinsed and drained, 1 bell pepper diced, 1 small onion diced and 1tsp of cumin.  I started the meal by browning my ground beef with the pepper and onion and cumin in a large pan.  After the meat was browned I added the package of the Zataran's and the red beans to the pan and added 3 C of water.  I brought it to a boil, covered and reduced and simmered for 25 minutes.  I then removed it from the heat and let it cool for about 10 minutes.  We served the dish with some shredded Colby Jack  cheese, a dollop of reduced fat sour cream and few dashes of Louisiana Habanero Hot Sauce.  That's all their was to it.  Not difficult and really tasty when just want something quick.  Total time to prepare and cook about 45 minutes, but during the cook time I was able to finish up some laundry.  Good times!!!