Melt in your Mouth Chicken

This is an old one, but I forgot to post (yes I realize no one cares). Since I have extra time today I figured I'd finish it.

This is called "Melt in your Mouth Chicken" and it was amazing!

* UPDATE * Make sure to use Real MAYO and NOT Miracle Whip. It does NOT taste the same! 

Ingredients:

4 boneless chicken breast halves

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1 1/2 teaspoons seasoning salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

 Mix all ingredients in a large bowl (not including the chicken):

It doesn't look yummy but it will be!

Then coat the chicken and bake in the oven at 375 for 45 minutes:

Enjoy!

Roasted Chicken in Beer

Roasted Chicken in Beer with a dry rub. It's amazing, moist and flavorful.

Recipe:

1 Whole Chicken (leftovers are great for salads)

Vegetable Oil

1 Beer (Can or Bottle)

Dry Rub

Step 1: Poor beer in the pan.

Step 2: Wash the chicken (clean out the guts etc.) - Eweeee.....It's got to be done...

Stick in the pan over the beer and pour remaining beer all over the chicken...Beer bath!

Step 3: Pour vegetable oil over the chicken. Add the dry rub.

Cook on 400 degrees for about 45 min (depending on the size of the chicken and your oven). We use a thermometer just in case.

Enjoy!

Dessert Time!!! Yes, we did cheat tonight and eat brownies and nutella filled strawberries. It's simple...Take the "core" out of the strawberry and remove the leafy top. Take a small dollop of nutella and spread it inside the strawberry. Trust me its worth any/all calories...Enjoy!

Pot Roast - Crock Pot Style

Dinner for tomorrow night...done!

Don't you just love crock pots? Who invented that anyways? Brillant.

.....This recipe is a Pot Roast and it's very easy to prepare. I saw the recipe and thought I would try it; however, I must note I've never actually eaten anything like this. I hope it tastes good but I can't blog that portion until tomorrow night. Until then.......

{Update  - I forgot to add ... cook on low for 8 hours}

Recipe:

1 Pot Roast (sorry for the graphic picture - meat is not good looking "naked")

2. Gravy Powder

3. Ranch Powder

4. Butter

5... That's it! Really. The original recipe called for peppers but I opted out.

Step 1: Place the Roast in the Pot.

Step 2: Add the Ranch.

Step 3: Add the gravy and then place the butter on top. Do not add any liquid. Your done :) How easy?

Hope you like it? Thoughts?!

Cooking All-in-One

When you lack time (or would rather use it going to bed early out of pure exhaustion) you learn how to cook multiple meals at a time. The theme this month is Fish, Chicken and more fish. Most of my recipes this month are low-carb, low-calorie conscious.

Here we have grilled zucchini; cod; BBQ chicken.

The chicken was marinaded with BBQ sauce (a little won't kill you right?) This was used for our salads this week.

Next up Zucchini and Squash (*my inner child yells yuck and hides under the covers). I will note that I did eat them and they are not that bad grilled. The trick to the zucchini on the grill is cut it thin and add seasonings (salt, pepper, olive oil, and Parmesan before serving). We didn't do all of that but I know it would be delicious.

How does one cut a Zucchini you ask? We asked ourselves the same question and yes we did "you-tube it". You can cut it the hard way if you'd like, but the easiest way is:

1. Cut it in half first

2. Then cut it the long way in strips making sure you don't accidentally end up with missing fingers (please don't do that as everyone might lose their appetite).

I also have to mention that when buying fish try to ask if it has bones. It's rare that we buy "bony" fish but this time we ended up with one. It's difficult to eat when your concentrating on if you swallowed a bone or not. It was still delicious non-the-less.

This concludes my blog for today. More healthy recipes to come.

Seasoning the Zucchini and squash:

Grilled Zucchini and squash:

Cod in the oven:

Grilled Chicken for the salads:

Enjoy!

Salmon on the Grill

It's been a while since I've blogged on cooking. That's because we've simply been too busy to cook. This month is a healthy eating month (were cracking down before summer). Wish me luck ;)

Salmon on the Grill is simple. You marinade the Salmon and throw it on the grill (about 6-8 minutes on either side). We used lemon pepper seasoning along with garlic powder but you can be creative (the original recipe even called for brown sugar).

I'll be honest I'm not a big fan of Salmon. Having it grilled made a difference in the flavor and I'm learning to like it. :)

Enjoy!

Roasted Tomatoes with Shrimp and Feta

A few days ago I made Roasted Tomatoes with Shrimp and Feta. Yum.


I'll share this secret with you: I'm a picky eater. Okay, so maybe that wasn't a secret to most, but I don't like/haven't tried a lot of foods. Tomatoes are something I'm not crazy about; especially, cooked in the oven.

I made this recipe with the idea that picking around the tomatoes would still make me happy. Who doesn't like Shrimp and or feta!?

Then I found out, my boyfriend isn't fond of cooked tomatoes either.
Regardless, he ate the whole dish and went back for more.

I think if we make this again we will be sure to do something different with the Shrimp and Feta.

If you like tomatoes, cooked or uncooked, this is still a wonderful recipe and I'm still going to happily share it with you.


I use pre-cooked shrimp. It's easier and always comes out better. I'll explain both versions of this recipe just in case.

The best part.....This recipe is EASY and QUICK.

Pre-heat your oven to 450*

Step 1: Put a heavy amount of olive oil on the bottom of the pan, along with parsley (or basil), garlic and any other seasoning you'd like.



Step 2: Cut up the tomatoes in quarters or more (if you'd prefer) and place them on top of the olive oil and seasonings in the pan.







Step 3: Then I drizzled more EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) on top and added salt, pepper and a little more garlic.
I'm feeling like there's a trend to the recipes we pick (garlic, parsley, cheese - you get the idea). Hey.....I'm Italian.

Step 4: Bake the tomatoes for 20 minutes. Maybe less, maybe more (just guess - that's what I do ;) ).

Step 5:  Take these out of the oven and let them cool for about 5-10 minutes.

Step 6: Prepare the shrimp in the bowl. Note: I took the tails off so we were less concentrated on dissembling our meal and more concentrated on eating it. I also added them to a bowl and mixed in EVOO, garlic, and seasonings along with Parsley.





Step 7: (*Pre-Cooked Shrimp Version) - Stir fry the shrimp. These will only need a few minutes, and will be ready when they have curled and turn pink. I also add EVOO along with other seasonings to this.

*(Raw Version) - If you are using raw shrimp make sure to add it to the dish when you cook the tomatoes. They will cook along with the tomatoes for about 15-20 minutes. Caution - depending on your oven the shrimp could over-cook, and then the shrimp taste rubbery (which is what we like to call a FAIL). I only know because I tried in a different recipe to cook raw shrimp, and failed miserably :). Suggestions are welcome if you are a "raw shrimp" cook.

Step 8: Take the *Pre-Cooked shrimp and mix it with the cooled tomatoes. Then add feta, and plenty of it because it really makes the dish (licks lips).



Step 9: Serve and eat :) Enjoy!

Italian Style Pork Chops with Ranch Dressing

Italian Style Pork Chops with Ranch Dressing

Can you say yum! This was an unusual dish but when I saw the recipe I thought, why not!?

Let me start by saying this dish includes Italian bread crumbs, ranch dressing, and Parmesan cheese. What's better than that?! Honestly.. They had me at Italian bread crumbs.

Long story short... (if anyone knows me they know my stories ARE NOT short)...

Here's the recipe..

Preheat the oven to 400*

Cook for about 45 min (depending on your oven.. you may want to do it longer)

1. Ranch in a small bottle

2. 3 Cups Fine Dry Italian Bread Crumbs

3. 1 Small Package Dry Italian Dressing Mix

4. 2 Tablespoons Fresh Grated Parmesan Cheese

5. 1 Tablespoon Dry Powdered Garlic

6. 6 Large Loin Pork Chops

Side Note: The above was the original recipe; however, since there's only two of us, I cut everything in half.

Step 1: Take everything from 2-5 and mix it in a large bowl. Trust me it smells amazing! If you have dogs, they will be begging (not unusual right?!)

Step 2: Cover a large plate (not totally flat if possible-something with a little lip) and fill it with the ranch dressing. This will be used to coat the pork chops. If your licking your lips..you should be :).

Step 3: Line a pan with tin foil (it helps with clean up afterwards!)

Step 4: Put the pork chops on the plate and slather them with the ranch. Then pick it up (yes this does get messy) and drop it in the bread crumb mixture. Once its coated place it on the tin foil that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

Step 5: Feel free to garnish with Parsley. I didn't because I was so excited to eat it that I forgot to add it on top. :)

Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did! Thanks for reading..

On a funny note: I'm NOT anywhere near being good at English (I know.. I know)... and I have little time to put these blogs together. I do a basic spell check. I truly apologize for any silly spelling or grammatical errors. :)