Peanut Butter... Chicken?

Ok, I know what you are thinking guys. You are envisioning a Chicken Breast on a Peanut Butter sandwich... Am, I right.\? and if you weren't, you are now. OK so what the heck is PB Chicken? It's a Thai Style Dish. Thai STYLE you say? Yes, style, because I am not Thai nor can I verify if this dish is from anywhere NEAR Thailand. It's Thai style because its Sweet, Sour, and Spicy. For more info on Thai seasonings, Thai Cooking, and/or Thailand the links attached to the words will take you to their Wikipedia pages. (I cannot verify that statements made on Wikipedia are 100% accurate)

SO Now we are past that. My Peanut Butter Chicken is fairly simple and can be done under the broiler or, as the recipe calls, on the grill. The Palate starts with the robust meaty flavor of the peanuts in PB, we add the sweet flavor with brown sugar (dark is best), we jump to the sour with lemon juice and garlic, Lastly the spice, this is where you get to play, make yours as mild or spicy as you please with red pepper flakes and ground or fresh ginger. OKOK Get on with it, I know!

Here it is!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 cups shredded red cabbage
Sliced green onion tops

Directions:
Before cooking Chicken: preheat grill or broiler. 
Combine PB, Water, Soy Sauce, Minced Garlic, Lemon Juice, Brown Sugar, Ginger, and Pepper Flakes in a saucepan. head over medium heat until all ingredients are combined, reduce heat to lowest setting and cover. (stir often)
Cut raw Chicken into cubes or 1 inch pieces. reserve 1/2 of the Sauce, and marinate the chicken in the other half. Allow to set in fridge for AT LEAST 30min, but overnight would be better. IF you marinated overnight and refrigerated your sauce bring back to 165F. Skewer your chicken appropriately, and place on grill. 2-5 minutes on each side basting with reserved sauce rotating until fully cooked.

NOW as to the cabbage, this is basically a plate dressing along with the Onion tops as a meat garnish. I found that a boxed side dish of Garlic, Herb, and Olive oil Couscous made a fine garnish. As for you Cabbage, Rice, Ramen, or whatever... I was just given this recipe with the cabbage included with pretty much the same "disclaimer."

So, enjoy and remember guys (and gals) it's not hard to cook. Weather on a budget, or wanting to rid yourself of high sodium high fat boxed meals, or just trying to impress the chicks, you can do it. P.S. Don't forget to let yourself taste throughout the process. you don't want a nasty surprise at the end.

Bry

Enter the Perfect Cup Sweepstakes now for your chance to win your very own Platinum Brewer or FREE K-Cup variety pack!

I am in love with my Keurig coffee brewer. Absolutely the best cup of coffee I have ever made at home. When I went to buy K-Cups the last time there was a sweepstakes inside the box. The link below is legit to get you entered to win K-Cups for life or your own Platinum Brewer. If you dont win I absolutely suggest going out and purchasing a Keurig brewer. You will not regret it. This machine not only brews coffee, but hot chocolate, lattes, mochas, apple cider, even tea! I am so amazed by this thing.

Enter the Perfect Cup Sweepstakes now for your chance to win your very own Platinum Brewer or FREE K-Cup variety pack!

Enjoy
Bry

Chicken Salad Sammies, with a tingle...

Hello Everyone,

"With a tingle?", you say? Yes, this is when you add just enough heat (from peppers, not temperature) to notice a "tingle" after you are done eating, but not get burned WHILE eating it. I put this salad on fresh baked toasted hoagie rolls from the bakery department at my local grocery store. (Hy-Vee here in KC) This salad was so good that my mother said it was BETTER than her favorite chicken salad from her favorite deli! So here it is:

Ingredients:
1 large chicken breast (fully cooked and diced 1/2to 1/4 in. cubes)
2 Jalapenos (stems and seeds removed and minced)
1/3 onion minced
1/2 apple diced 1/2 in. pieces (use a very crisp variety i.e. granny smith, honeycrisp, pink lady)
2 bacon strips (pork or turkey, crumbled or minced, fully cooked)
1 carrot minced
1 tsp celery seed
1 1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1 Tbs Apple cider vinegar
2 tsp Sugar
3-5 leaves of "leaf lettuce" (Romain, butter leaf, etc...)

Directions:
Salad: Make sure all ingredients are chopped minced or diced accordingly. with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula fold together chicken, jalapenos, onion, apple, bacon, and carrot in a large bowl. Set aside.
Dressing: In a smaller bowl with a whisk mix mayo, and ranch well. Next add the apple cider vinegar and celery seed, mix well. let this mix sit for 1 minute, stirring just before resting and just after. now add the sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Combining: Pour the dressing into the salad and mix well with the wooden spoon/rubber spatula. Place mix in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
Serve on toasted bread, hoagie roll, in a wrap, or in a pita with leaf lettuce.

Just a note this is GREAT for left over chicken. you could also us your left over turkey from (insert major holiday here), or pick up a grilled chicken sandwich or two from your local fast food joint. Just make sure if you opt for the last option, order it "plain". Enjoy it, I know you will!

Bry

Put a little heat in between your buns! Jalepeno Popper Burger!

Hey Everyone,
Short and sweet tonight just wanted to share this AWESOME, and EASY recipe. Hope everyone is blessed!



Ingredients: (8 burgers)
2 cups seeded and chopped jalapeno pepper
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
2 pounds ground beef
1/4 - 1/3 cup bread crumbs
8 hamburger buns, split
8 Slices American Cheese


Directions:
In a medium bowl, stir together the 2/3 of the jalapenos and all of the cream cheese. Mix the Ground beef and the bread crumbs then divide the ground beef mixture into 16 even sized patties. Spoon some of the cream cheese mixture onto the center of 1/2 of the patties. Place the remaining patties on top of the mixture/patties, pressing them together well at the edges.
Grill or Broil until well done, DO NOT not to press down on the burgers as they cook. This will make the cheese ooze out. After the 1st flip on the grill, or as soon as they are finished out of the oven, evenly sprinkle the tops with the remaining 1/3 of the Jalapenos, and place a slice of American cheese on top. Serve on a bun with your favorite toppings.

Enjoy!
Bryant

1st Blog after Transplant... Cheddar Beef Stuffed Mushrooms

Hey all,

Glad to be back. It has been quite a wild ride the last 46days. It all Started around 3:40p on Aug 18th when I got the call I have been waiting for. A Liver was ready for transplant, and I was the recipient. Finally after 3 years of waiting it was finally time. Fast forward 46 days, so far, and I am healing well and getting most of my range of motion back. Unfortunately standing for log periods of time is still hard, so I am still out of the Kitchen for now. In my place, with her and my knowledge combined we have a new recipe for you this week. Cheddar Beef Stuffed Mushrooms!

I can hear it now, you are whining... "I don't like mushrooms, whaaaaaa" First of all; Grow Up! Secondly, If you use Portabella Mushrooms, they are so meaty and earthy that when you stuff it with the beef you wont even taste the mushroom. We on the other hand are making ours with some Large Button Mushrooms we found at our local farmers market. Gotta love the Market during harvest season! Ready Here we GO....

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground beef
2 pounds fresh mushrooms-stems removed, chopped and reserved
1/4 cup margarine
1/2 cup chopped green bell peppers
2 teaspoons minced garlic
3 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves, crushed
2/3 cup Quick Oats (1cup ran through a food processor or blender to make them more fine)
1/3 cup soft bread crumbs (1-2 slices of fresh bread run through a food processor)
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
(Optional: Parmesan Cheese)

Directions

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Next, Place ground beef in a skillet, and cook until evenly brown. Drain, and set aside. In a medium saucepan, with med to med-high heat,  melt the margarine and sautee the mushroom stems, green bell peppers, garlic, parsley and basil. In a large bowl, mix All ingredients. Place the mushroom caps,crown down, on a greased cookie pan. (or line with parchment) Generously stuff each cap with the stuffing. Bake in the preheated oven 15 -20 minutes. The filling should be golden brown. (optional: sprinkle parmesan cheese on top and bake for a few more minutes)

I hope you enjoy these! Please feel free to comment below.

Lasagna Rolls

Ok going through some old documents I found this bad boy hiding in a folder all by his lonesome. This is an awesome recipe that I created, but somehow Olive Garden STOLE IT and Bastardized it. I made these up from the Ingredients I had on hand... Feel free to sub in your own Ideas and/or tastes to make this fit for you and your family.
Servings - 3

Total Time 1.5 hours max

6 large Lasagna Noodles Cooked Aldente
Ricotta Cheese 8-10 oz container
1 Large Handful Fresh Spinach Leaves
1 cup Grated and Divided (1/4 and 3/4cup) Parmesan Cheese
1/2 of a med Onion (about 1/2 cup diced)
1/2 of med Green Pepper (about 1/3 cup diced)
2 Cloves Fresh Garlic (2 tsp minced form jar)
Black/White Pepper to taste
Salt to taste
1 12.5 oz Can Tomato Sauce
1 Can Tomato Soup (condensed)
1 Tbs Oregano                             }
1 Tbs Parsley                               } 3 1/2 Tbs Italian Seasoning will work well too
1 tsp basil                                    }
1 - 2 tsp Garlic Powder (to taste)}
EVOO or Veggie Oil

Preheat oven to 400 F
Make Sure Noodles are cooked DO NOT RINSE AFTER COOKING- Proceed to Red Sauce
(Feel free to use caned, jarred, or other homemade sauce this is a "suggestion" that worked VERY well with the recipe I made. Plus it was WHAT I HAD ON HAND.)
In oil Saute Diced Onion, Green Pepper, Garlic, (lightly season with pepper and salt to taste) until onions are translucent and slightly browned. Add Tomato Sauce and Condensed Tomato Soup (add only 1/2 can of water to rinse can) Add Italian Seasonings (oregano, parsley, garlic powder, basil etc...) bring to a boil stirring slowly and constantly, reduce heat and simmer lightly while you mix the stuffing.

Shred/chop Spinach add to ricotta cheese with Garlic powder, and 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese. fold together well.

On a clean cutting board or plate lay out 1 cooked Lasagna Noodle spoon a generous amount of stuffing onto the last 2 inches of the noodle. Fold over 1 time, but do not press down hard, just enough to make a flat surface on top. Spoon on more stuffing mix thinly and fold over 1x again. (repeat until you have reached the end of the noodle) leaving a bare "flap" at the end. (Providing you did not rinse the noodle after cooking it will have a starchy/stickyness to it. use that to stick the end of the noodle to the roll.

Place rolls "flap down" in a Preheated Glass or Ceramic 8x8 baking dish. 2 rows of 3 works well. once all of the rolls are in the pan pour over the red sauce. Bake in a preheated 400F Oven for 20 min UNCOVERED, then cover and bake for 10 min. Lastly add 3/4 cup parmesan cheese to top, bake covered for 5-10 more min, or until cheese is lightly browned. Remove from oven and LET THEM COOL for 8-10 min before serving. (this allows the noodles to close their "pores" around the red sauce it absorbed and everything to settle)

2 rolls = 1 serving

Bryant

Name Brand... Is it worth it?

Good tidings all! I have recently noticed that many people STILL buy name brand products. In my experience there are only a FEW things that "name brand" is worth paying for: Electronics, Meat Products, and art supplies (brushes, paper, markers, paint, etc...)

The savings in your wallet will range from 10 - 50% over name brand when purchasing generic products, and the taste or quality difference is virtually NONE! When it comes to groceries, meat products are the only exception. In most grocery stores the generic equivalent is literally right next to the name brand so there is little or no extra effort. purchasing generic or store brands will allow you to stretch your grocery dollars and the extra footwork it takes to find them in the rare case that they are not place right next to the advertized brand is still worth it. NOW when it comes to those few exceptions there is usually ways to avoid over paying by buying in BULK. Buy the 10 lb pack of ground sirloin for 2.99/lb and split it into 10 - 1 lb portions. That is 10 nights of dinner for a 4 person family. or if you are picky about your TP buy the 30 pack and store them, you will notice your extra cash when it comes to filling up that gas hog you refuse to sell.

Just kidding, I know we are all thinking about fuel consumption and protecting our environment from harmful tailpipe emissions buy driving smart and keeping our cars in the best possible condition, mechanically. 

Back to the topic on hand... give the generic a shot. if it is absolutely a bust then next time get you old stand by. I will end by saying this. If you are a coupon user, check your savings vs. the savings of purchasing generic or store brand. More often than not you will still save more on the generic.

Bryant