Spiced Boneless Chicken Thighs

I was in the mood for chicken but wanted something a little different.  I found this recipe and thought it sounded good.  I had everything on hand to make the marinade too so I did that.  This was very flavorful and tasty!  The best part is you can whip up the marinade and it doesn't require hours to sit.

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
Salt & Pepper
1-2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
4 cloves of garlic
Couple dashes of Red Pepper Flakes

Instructions:
Heat the oven to 425 degrees
In a large bowl, combine Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, garlic and red pepper flakes.  Add the chicken and toss to coat.
Place chicken in a baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Tots with Dill Dust

I saw this on the Food Network while I was working out one day (why do I torture myself and watch food shows while working out?!).  I really like dill so I thought I'd try it for our Super Bowl gathering.  I cut the amount of Kosher salt that was called for in the dill dust and it was still WAY too much.  Other than that, this is a good recipe.  Next time, I would put maybe a couple teaspoons of Kosher salt and more dill.

Ingredients - Dill Dust:

1 bunch dill, roughly chopped

1-2 tsp Kosher Salt 

Ingredients - Sweet Potato

1 large sweet potato

Kosher Salt

1/3 cup flour

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 cups Safflower Oil

Directions:

For the Dill Dust - Heat oven to 250 degrees.  In a small food processor, blend dill and salt until it's finely ground.  Place mixture on sheet pan and bake until dried, about 30 minutes.

For the Potato - Fill pot with cold water and a little Kosher salt.  Place potato in water and let it come to a boil.  Boil for approximately 5 minutes, until you can insert a knife into the exterior of the potato but the inside is still firm.  

Remove potato from pot and place on cutting board to cool.  Once it's cool, peel the potato.  Cut into small / rough chunks and put in a large food processor.  Pulse the potato 10-15 times to make smaller chunks.  

In a small bowl, combine flour & pepper.  Slowly add that to food processor and pulse a couple of times to mix.  

Heat oil to 350 degrees.  Form potatoes into small balls and gently place a few at a time in the oil.  Fry the potatoes, turning a couple of times, until they are crispy & browned - about 2 minutes per side.  Remove from oil & place on paper towels.  Sprinkle a little of the dill dust over the potatoes as they come out of the oil & are still warm.  Continue frying in small batches until the potatoes are done.  

Enjoy!

Cajun Chicken Puffs

We had some people over for Super Bowl and I wanted to try some new appetizers.  I found this one on Pinterest and thought it looked easy enough but good.  It takes some time if you bake the chicken yourself (you could buy already cooked chicken to speed up the process).  I baked mine with some Cajun seasoning.  The original recipe is for a Garlic chicken but I wanted a little more kick.  I thought these were just "ok" when I had them for Super Bowl.
I made a 2nd batch today and kicked it up a little by adding very little cream cheese, a bit of light Mayo, maybe 3-4 tbsp of Mexican shredded cheese and a few dashes of Rockfish Johnnies Hot Sauce.  I also cut the triangles in half to make the dough smaller.  I think these were perfect!
If you haven't tried Rockfish Johnnies, you're missing out on some really great hot sauce!  You can purchase it from their website or learn where to buy it in certain stores.

Here's what they looked like on Super Bowl.

Here's what they looked like today:

Recipe (for the spicier version):

2 oz cream cheese (I used 1/3 less fat)

1/2 c cooked shredded chicken (I seasoned mine with Cajun spice)

2 (8 oz) cans refrigerator crescent rolls (I used low fat)

1-1/2 tbsp light mayo

3-4 tbsp shredded Mexican spiced cheese

A few dashes of Rockfish Johnnies Hot Sauce

Instructions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees

Mix cream cheese, chicken, mayo, shredded cheese and hot sauce until well blended

Unroll crescent rolls.  They are already pre-cut into triangles.  Using a sharp knife, cut each triangle in half to form 2 triangles.  

Place a small amount of chicken mixture in each small triangle and roll up.  

Place on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil & sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Bake at 375 for 11-14 minutes, until the rolls are a golden brown.  

Enjoy!

Butternut Squash with Walnuts and Vanilla

I love butternut squash but B doesn't really care for it.  Since it makes a ton of food, I had to wait until we had people coming over to try it.  This recipe is so good and perfect for a Fall night!  I will warn you that peeling a butternut squash is a pain in the neck but it's worth it!

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed and flesh cut into about 1" pieces
1 heaping cup of walnuts (I used pecans because that's what I had in the cupboard)
2-3 tbsp butter
2 tsp grated ginger (I used a little cinnamon because I didn't have ginger)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Lemon juice (I used about 1/2 of a lemon)
1/2 tsp dried thyme
Salt & Pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Toss squash with a little olive oil, salt & pepper.  Put in a baking dish and roast for about 20-25 minutes, until tender
Heat a large saute pan and toast nuts for a few minutes, stirring frequently so they don't burn
Remove nuts and set aside.  In the same pan, melt butter and add ginger, vanilla, lemon juice & thyme.  Stir to combine.  Add in nuts and stir again.  Remove heat.
Remove squash from oven and place in large serving bowl.  Drizzle butter & nut mixture over the squash and stir.
Serve immediately.  

French Fries

There is nothing special about this recipe but I had to post it to show off 2 of my new favorite kitchen gadgets!  I saw them advertised at Bed, Bath and Beyond and wanted to try them!

The first is a pyramid pan and it makes your potatoes so crispy!!  I tried just sliced potatoes a couple nights ago then french fries last night.  I'm dying to try other things that usually turn out soggy (like homemade chicken tenders or onion rings!).

The second was critical to making the best shaped french fries ever!  It's a french fry cutter.  I will say this is a little tough to push down through potatoes but it's soooo worth it!  The fries were perfect and tasted great!

Roasted Root Vegetables

I was in the cafe at work a few weeks ago and overheard someone asking if a certain ingredient was parsnips.  I was curious what they even were so I google'd recipes with parsnips and found this one.  Intrigued, I had to try it with my dinner that night!  I had some left over brussel sprouts from the night before so I threw them in too!  The side dish is really nice, colorful and tasted great!  This would be a great Fall dish!

Ingredients:
3 medium carrots, peeled, washed and cut into small bite size pieces
2 medium red potatoes, washed and cut into bite size pieces
1/4 lb brussel sprouts, washed & halved
1 medium parsnip, peeled and cut into bite size pieces
1 medium sweet potato, peeled & cut into bite size pieces
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Dried spices - I used Italian Seasoning
Salt & Pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
In a large bowl, toss vegetables with olive oil, seasoning, salt & pepper
Spread vegetables in a 9x13 pyrex baking dish
Roast in oven for about 40 minutes or until the veggies are tender.  Stir them a couple of times while baking.

Cheese Spaetzle

We had our 2nd annual Blocktoberfest a few weeks ago and I wanted to bring something German.  I found this recipe and thought I'd give it a try.  It was super easy and surprisingly good.  I know it's not good for you but at least it tasted good with the other food!  I'm already signing up to bring this one to Blocktoberfest 3!

Ingredients:
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 c plus 1 tablespoon milk
1/4 c small curd cottage cheese
Kosher Salt & Freshly ground pepper
1 c all purpose flour
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 c creme fraiche
1-1/2 tbsp snipped chives

Directions:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the milk, cottage cheese, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Stir in the flour until a smooth, thick, sticky batter forms.
Spoon the batter into a colander with 1/4-inch holes. Set or hold the colander 1 inch above the boiling water and scrape the batter through the holes, using a rubber spatula. Stir the spaetzle once or twice to separate them. As soon as they rise to the surface, use a slotted spoon to transfer the spaetzle to a clean colander and drain well.
Melt the butter in a large nonstick skillet. Add the boiled spaetzle and cook them over moderately high heat, stirring and shaking the skillet occasionally, until the spaetzle are browned and crisp in spots, about 5 minutes. Add the creme fraiche and snipped chives, reduce the heat to moderately low and cook, stirring, until the sauce is creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Season the spaetzle with salt and pepper and serve right away.

MAKE AHEAD The boiled cheese spaetzle can be covered in plastic wrap and kept at room temperature for up to 2 hours before sautéing.