Chicken Lazone (Recipe 129 of 150)

Damn Delicious did it again. A rockin good recipe. I have several recipes for Chicken Lazone but this is the first I've actually made. In fact, I was somewhat surprised to see how many I had. 

What's not to like of this recipe; chicken; garlic; cream and spices. It comes together in a pinch and is really something. 

I had to check to see where Chicken Lazone gets it name from. The interwebs told me it originates from a Chef Lazone Randolph from Brennan's restaurant in New Orleans. Oddly enough it's not on their menu these days. 

Chicken Lazone

Recipe from Damn Delicious

Serves 8

FOR THE SEASONING:

• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut crosswise in half
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1 pound linguine
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups half and half*
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leave

To make the seasoning, combine paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, oregano and basil in a small bowl; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

In a gallon size Ziploc bag, add chicken, olive oil and paprika mixture, shaking to coat thoroughly.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook, flipping once, until cooked through, about 4-5 minutes on each side. Set aside and keep warm.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.

Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in the skillet. Add garlic, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in half and half until slightly thickened, about 4-5 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Stir in pasta and gently toss to combine.

Serve immediately with chicken, garnished parsley, if desired.

French Onion Chicken and Rice Casserole (Recipe 128 of 150)

This recipe had all sorts of promise in it. And it wasn't a bad recipe. I'm just starting to think I'm not a chicken and rice casserole girl.

I can't really pinpoint why this wasn't a hit. There was something about the French onion dip. I guess I expected more "onion" flavor. The majority of the flavor came from crunch onions on top. 

Anyhow, the leftovers will go into the freezer for the Pantry Goat.

French Onion Chicken and Rice Casserole

Recipe from Spicy Southern Kitchen

Serves 6

• 2 c instant white rice
• 2 c water
• 3 c chopped rotisserie chicken
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 (10.75-ounce) can condensed cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup
• 1 c refrigerated French onion dip
• 2/3 c chicken broth
• 1 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 4 slices Provolone cheese
• 2/3 c French fried onions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Bring water to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Add instant rice, place the lid on the pan and remove from heat. Let sit 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, stir together chicken, paprika, black pepper, condensed soup, French onion dip, chicken broth, cheddar cheese and rice.

Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish.

Place cheese slices on top and sprinkle with French fried onions.

Bake uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes.

Grandma's Vegetable Soup (Recipe 127 of 150)

It's fall. And fall means soup/stew season. Though when I planned this on Saturday I didn't know today would be 80 degrees. Fall in the Pacific Northwest!

This is a super easy recipe that will clean out your pantry. I didn't add extra potatoes like the recipe calls. I am not a huge fan of potatoes in soup. They get all mushy in the leftovers. I had a can of VegAll in the pantry so that went in in for fun. 

Once it was all together, I felt like it was missing something. So I put in a dash of Worcestershire sauce. Made all the difference. 

The ginger made no sense to me. A pinch didn't do a darn thing to the recipe. I'd leave it out honestly. 

Grandma's Vegetable Soup

Recipe from Cook It Once

Serves: 8

1 pound ground beef

1 (46 ounces) can tomato juice

1 onion, chopped

2 carrot, (7-1/2")s carrots, chopped

2 medium (2-1/4" to 3" dia, raw)s potatoes, diced

1 (14 ounces) can whole kernel corn

1 (14.5 ounces) can green beans

1 pinch ground ginger

salt and ground black pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, cook the ground beef over medium heat. Crumble and stir until no longer pink.

Drain excess grease before adding in the tomato juice.

Saute the onion, carrot, and potato.

Add in the cans of corn and green beans.

To taste, season with ginger, salt, and pepper.

Adjust the heat to low and continue to simmer for about an hour.

Steak Diane (Recipe 126 of 150)

Tonight I add another favorite to the list for 2022. Steak Diane. I wasn't sure what to expect of this dish and I was not disappointed in the complex, yummy flavors. 

I didn't know much about Steak Diane and I had a feeling it was popular in the 60's or 70's. It just felt like that kind of recipe. 

If you don't know Steak Diane is, in fact, from the 50's and 60's. It was served in upscale restaurants where the "show" of dinner was all the rage. The waiter would "flambé" the meal and impress everyone at the table. 

This recipe comes together quickly. You really should have all your ingredients measured and ready to go. This is not a recipe to cut and measure as you go.

A few changes I made in an attempt to use what I had. I had beef already cut in strips from another recipe I didn't make, so I used that instead of steak medallions. Frankly, I kinda like this better. 

I had a shallot, but it was, apparently, old. I didn't expect it to be moldy on the inside, but alas. I used a fine chopped yellow onion. I am not a super taster so I can't really say whether a shallot would change the flavor greatly or not.  

I served this over mashed potatoes. Though as I was eating this I thought, if I kept the beef broth out and just went with the brandy and heavy cream, that would be FANTASTIC over pasta. Am I right? 

Here's some history I found on the interwebs:

History:  Steak Diane was very popular in the 1950’s and early 1960’s, especially in New York city in upscale restaurants prepared table side with its theatrics arising from the flambéing of the cognac used to make the sauce.  It was supposedly named after the Roman goddess, Diana or Diane.  Diana was the Goddess of the Hunt and also Goddess of the Moon.  Steak Diane was originally a way of serving venison.

Steak Diane

Recipe from Just a Pinch

Serves 4

Ingredients For Steak Diane

• 3 T butter
• 1 1/2 lb beef tenderloin medallions cut about 3/4 inch thick
• 1 T olive oil
• 8 oz cremini mushrooms sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 2/3 c finely sliced shallots
• 3 clove garlic minced
• 1/3 c brandy
• 1/3 c heavy cream
• 1 T Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/4 c low sodium beef broth
• salt and pepper to taste
• fresh chopped Italian parsley [JW note: I rarely waste my $$ on parsley. It's really just for presentation and I really don't need that.]

Lightly salt and pepper the tenderloins. In skillet over medium heat melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add steak and brown well on both sides. Remove steak to plate.

Turn heat to medium high and add remaining butter and olive oil to skillet. Add mushrooms and spread them out so that as many as possible are exposed to the heat. Cook until golden brown stirring a couple of times. Add shallots and cook another 2 minutes; stirring a couple of times. Reduce heat to medium low. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds; stirring continuously.

Turn off the burner and add brandy. Be very careful as alcohol fumes can ignite. Turn the heat on medium low and continue cooking until reduced by half. Whisk in the cream, Worcestershire Sauce and mustard; cooking for 2-3 minutes. Whisk in the beef broth, salt and pepper to taste. Return beef to the pan and heat for 1-2 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Double Chocolate Cheesecake Muffins (Recipe 125 of 150)

I have a ton of muffin recipes. I like muffins, but usually the recipes make too many and I get bored with them before they're gone. 

Today's recipe says it makes 20. I only made 12. No ONE needs 20 double chocolate muffins in their house. My plan is to freeze them, then take them out as I want them. 

I made one mistake with this recipe. I missed putting in the baking soda. I thought 2 tsp baking powder was a lot with no soda, but just missed seeing the soda. They seem fine. A little dense, but tastes fine. 

I almost didn't add the cinnamon because I'm not a huge fan of cinnamon. I only added half of what the recipe calls for and I wish I hadn't included it at all. 

Double Chocolate Cheesecake Muffins

Recipe from Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts

Makes 20

MUFFINS

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 c all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 c brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2/3 c sour cream
• 2/3 c milk
• 1 c mini chocolate chips

CHEESECAKE LAYER

• 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1 large egg

TOPPING

1/4 c mini chocolate chips

TO MAKE THE MUFFINS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a cupcake pans with paper liners.

In a separate bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Set aside

Beat brown sugar and butter together until creamy. Add egg, vanilla and sour cream. Beat until smooth.

Slowly add the flour mixture and the milk to the butter mixer, alternating between the two.

Fold in chocolate chips. Set aside

TO MAKE THE CHEESECAKE LAYER

Beat cream cheese until creamy. Add sugar and beat until smooth.

Add egg and beat until fully incorporated. Do not over mix.

TO ASSEMBLE:

Place a spoonful of the muffin batter into the bottom of each liner. Top with cheesecake layer. Top with the remaining batter.

Sprinkle the tops of each muffin with the remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate chips.

Bake for 16-18 minutes until a tester comes out mostly clean.

Remove from oven and let cook for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Morton's Steakhouse Marinade (Recipe 124 of 150)

I've done it! I have found another favorite for this year. I don't know if it was the marinade, cut of steak, perfectly dressed salad, perfectly grilled steak or what, but this dinner to night was spot on! It was Righteous!!

I used a tritip cut for this marinade. As always I cut the steak into cubes and skewered them for the grill. This particular tritip steak had nice marbling and some good fat on some of the pieces. It soaked up the marinade really well. I marinated the steak for about 3 hours. 

This marinade ingredients are not all that different from so many other marinades I've made. I couldn't tell you why this one hit the spot and the others did not. Either way, I'm making this a favorite. 

I also think this would be good on chicken or pork. I might try it on both. 

Morton's Steakhouse Marinade

Recipe from Plain Chicken

Makes about a cup of marinade

• 6 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 tsp dried whole thyme
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• ½ c soy sauce
• ¼ c Worcestershire sauce
• 2 T vegetable oil
• ⅓ c lime juice
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• steaks of your choice

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Place meat in a gallon ziplock bag, add marinade, refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

Remove from refrigerator one hour prior to grilling.

Green Chile Chicken & Rice (Recipe 123 of 150)

This was a decent recipe. Though I think I messed it up by using Basmati rice instead of long grain. I used what I had in an attempt to clean out the pantry. It wasn't horrible, but Basmati cooks differently. It was still good and super flavorful, and spicy ish. 

I didn't use thighs because, blech...breasts were just fine. This recipe comes together quickly. It's probably best you have your ingredients all set up before you start. It helps move the recipe along.

Green Chile Chicken & Rice

Recipe from Our Best Bites

Serves 4

• 24 ounces boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat
• Kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper
• 2 T extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 poblano chiles, stemmed, seeded, and chopped (see notes)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 14 ounces green enchilada sauce - be sure to get enchilada sauce, not SALSA.
• 1 c water
• 1 c long-grain rice
• 1/2 c chopped fresh cilantro

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season both sides with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a 12″ skillet over medium-high heat. When very hot, add the chicken thighs and cook for about 5 minutes or until golden and crispy on one side. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan and allow to heat for about a minute. Add the chopped onions and peppers and cook for about 5 minutes or until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and cumin and cook for about 1 more minute. Add the enchilada sauce, water, and rice and bring to a boil. Place the chicken, brown side up, on top of the rice. Reduce heat and cover. Cook for at least 20 minutes, stirring about every 5 minutes to prevent the rice from scorching. When the rice and chicken are cooked through, it’s done. Add the cilantro and stir to combine. Serves 4-6.

Beef Marsala Stew (Recipe 122 of 150)

It's turn a little crispy here, the air that is. It's not fall, yet, but it's coming. And there's a little hint of it in the air. I love this time of year. It's become stew and soup season!

This was a good recipe to kick off the season. One of my other favorite dishes is Chicken Marsala, so it's only natural that I'd gravitate to a dish with marsala. And this was a nice spin on a beef stew. I especially like the idea of putting this over "fluffy mashed potatoes". 

I changed nothing in this recipe and actually followed it. 

Beef Marsala Stew

Recipe from My Recipes

Serves 8

• 2 T canola oil, divided
• 2 pounds boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 2-inch cubes, divided
• 1 tsp kosher salt, divided
• 12 ounces cipollini onions
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 T unsalted tomato paste
• 1/2 c plus 2 T sweet Marsala wine, divided
• 1 1/2 c unsalted beef stock
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 3 thyme sprigs
• 8 ounces small button mushrooms
• 4 large carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 T all-purpose flour
• Thyme sprigs
• Fluffy Mashed Potatoes

Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add half of beef; cook 8 minutes or until well browned, turning to brown on all sides. Place browned beef in a 6-quart electric slow cooker; sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 tablespoon oil, remaining beef, and 1/8 teaspoon salt.

Add onions to pan; cook 1 minute on each side or until browned. Add onions to slow cooker. Add garlic to pan; sauté 1 minute. Add tomato paste; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add 1/2 cup wine, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; cook 2 minutes or until half of liquid evaporates. Add stock and pepper; bring to a simmer. Carefully pour stock mixture into slow cooker; nestle thyme sprigs into liquid. Top beef mixture with mushrooms; scatter carrots over top.

Cover and cook on LOW for 7 1/2 hours.

Strain mixture through a colander over a Dutch oven or large skillet; discard thyme sprigs. Bring cooking liquid to a boil; cook 6 minutes or until liquid is reduced to 2 cups. Stir in remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons wine and flour, stirring with a whisk to form a slurry. Stir into cooking liquid; cook 1 minute or until bubbly and thickened, stirring constantly. Pour over beef mixture; toss gently to combine. Garnish with thyme sprigs.

Roasted Garlic White Chicken Pizza (Recipe 121 of 150)

Pizza is a favorite. And only just recently have I learned the art of making my own. I made plenty of Boboli pizzas (already rounded dough baked). I've moved on to purchased pizza dough. I'll be it, Pillsbury, but hey, it works in a pinch. And I've never mastered the real dough pizza dough. 

What I liked about this was the making the white sauce from scratch. It's an easy white, Parmesan flavored sauce. I didn't read the instructions well enough to have purchased real garlic and then roast it. So instead I used a hefty tablespoon of the prechopped garlic. I let it swim around in the melted butter on low heat for a good 10 minutes. "Roasted" enough. 

I'd do this recipe again. I like the flavor combination enough it'd be worth a way to use leftover chicken for sure. I mean I always have Parmesan cheese on hand and mozzarella usually on hand. Maybe if I learn to make my own pizza dough I could really make this from scratch. 

Roasted Garlic White Chicken Pizza

Recipe from Dinners. Dishes and Desserts

Serves 6

• 1 pound pizza dough
• 1 T butter
• 8 cloves roasted garlic, minced
• 2 T all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 c skim milk
• 1/4 c half and half
• 1/4 c Parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 c boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked and shredded
• 1/4 c red onion, diced
• 3/4 c Mozzarella cheese
• 1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 T fresh parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with a siplat liner, or grease and sprinkle with cornmeal.

Melt butter in a small saucepan. Sauté roasted garlic for 1 minute.

Add flour, and mix until well blended. Cook for 1 minute.

Slowly whisk in the milk and half and half. Mix in the pepper.

Cook for about 3 minutes, or until it starts to thicken. Remove from heat, and stir in Parmesan cheese.

Spread dough into roughly a 12 inch circle on prepared baking sheet. Spread white sauce over the dough. Top with chicken, red onions and cheese.

Bake for 17 minutes, or until the crust is golden, and the cheese is melted.

Remove from the oven, sprinkle with herbs. Cut and serve immediately.

Jambalaya (Recipe 120 of 150)

I've not made Jambalaya too often. I had all the ingredients except the jalapeno, which meant the old grocery finances were saved a little this week. 

In case you've been under a rock, Jambalaya is a spicy Cajun rice dish. As I write this it's on the stove and my nostrils are almost burning with the smell of spicy in the air. 

Naturally, there are no bell peppers in my Jambalaya, blech. Otherwise I stayed true to this recipe. Well, except I didn't put in 2tablespoons of Cajun seasoning. I did 1.5 and good heavens it was spicy!

Jambalaya

Recipe from Gimme Some Oven

Serves 6 (with a side salad and a glass of milk for the spicy)

• 3 T olive oil, divided
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 pound andouille sausage, thinly sliced into rounds
• 3 small bell peppers, cored and diced 
• 2 ribs celery, diced
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 white onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 (14-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 3-4 c chicken stock
• 1 1/2 c uncooked long grain white rice
• 2 T Cajun seasoning or Creole seasoning
• 1 tsp dried thyme, crushed
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 pound raw large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• Kosher salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
• optional garnishes: chopped fresh parsley, thinly-sliced green onions, hot sauce

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a stock pot (or a very large, deep sauté pan) over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and sausage and sauté for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and the sausage is lightly browned. Transfer to a clean plate and set aside.

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the stock pot. Add bell peppers, celery, jalapeño, onion and garlic. Sauté for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened.

Add the crushed tomatoes, chicken stock, rice, Cajun seasoning, thyme, cayenne, bay leaf, cooked chicken and sausage, and stir to combine. Continue cooking until the mixture reaches a simmer. Then reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for about 25-30 minutes, or until the rice is nearly cooked through, stirring every 5 minutes or so along the way so that the rice does not burn.

Add the shrimp and okra, and stir to combine. Continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are cooked through and pink. Remove and discard the bay leaf.

Taste season the jambalaya with salt, pepper, and additional Cajun seasoning if needed. (I typically add about 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.) Remove from heat.

Baked Hash Brown Cups (Recipe 119 of 150)

Last night was the Breakfast Sunday dinner. A fan favorite for sure. Besides pancakes (Krusteaz) and bacon, I decided to do these lovely hash brown muffins thingys. They turned out delicious. I think I over cooked them, but meh, they tasted delicious. 

Baked Hash Brown Cups

Recipe from Everyday Made Fresh

Serves 12

• 16 ounces shredded hash brown potatoes thawed
• ¾ cup parmesan cheese
• ½ cup panko bread crumbs
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¾ teaspoon pepper
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• dash of paprika

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and spray your muffin tin with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine all of your ingredients, and gently stir, until everything is combined.

Fill up your muffin cups, pressing them down, as you fill each one.

Bake for at least 40 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. (time may vary depending on your preferences for doneness)

Allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes before removing them from the pan.

Top with whatever you normally top your hash browns with, and enjoy!

Chile Colorado (Recipe 118 of 150)

I'm almost speechless! This dish is BY FAR my most favorite this year, maybe ever. It ranks up there with the Carne Guisada favorite I had but overshadows that favorite. 

I order Chile Colorado all the time at Mexican restaurants. It's my gage on how good a Mexican restaurant is (Bolognese is my gage for Italian). I've had some good one and I've had some great ones, but NONE of them rate with this one. 

Chile Colorado is a beef stew that cooks in a chili sauce made up of guajillo, ancho and arbol chilies. I've started using this combination several times in making my own enchilada sauce this year. It tastes way better than can. 

Chile Colorado is named for the Spanish word "colorado", which means "colored red", which is represented because of the deep red color of this sauce. 

I made a couple modification, mostly just because not because I think the recipe needed it. I had to cook my stew longer than this recipe recommends because I was using stew meat and I think it needed more braising time. 

I cannot express enough how much you need to make this recipe. I served it with mexican type rice and tortillas.

Chile Colorado

Recipe from Carlsbad Cravings

Serves 6

• 8 dried guajillo chile peppers
• 4 dried ancho chile peppers
• 1-3 arbol chile peppers optional if you like heat (3 is very spicy - I used 2)
• 1 15 oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes, with juices
• 3 pounds chuck roast
• 2 T flour
• 1/2 tsp EACH salt, pepper
• 2 T Vegetable oil
• 1 yellow onion chopped
• 6 cloves garlic minced
• 1 T beef bouillon or better than bouillon
• 2 tsp EACH ground cumin, dried oregano
• 1 tsp EACH ground coriander, smoked paprika
• 2 tsp EACH unsweetened cocoa powder, sugar optional but recommended for mole flair ( I did not do this)
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon optional but recommended for mole flair ( I did not do this)
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 c reduced sodium beef broth [JW note: I used some of the steeping liquid to make up this 3 c of liquid]

Cut the tops off of all the chilies with kitchen shears. Cut chilies along one edge to open like a book; scrape out all of the seeds. Reserve some of the seeds to finish the soup if you want more heat. [JW Note: You may want to rinse the chilies too. Mine were a little dusty.]

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chiles and briefly toast until fragrant. [JW Note: I didn't toast my chilies.]

Cover the chilies with enough water so that they aren’t touching the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes, then turn off heat and let the chilies soak to soften while you prep the beef. [JW note: Mine steeped for about 15 minutes.]

Trim the beef of excess fat then chop into 1-inch pieces. Whisk together the flour, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper in a plastic bag or large bowl. Add the beef and toss to evenly coat; set aside.

Remove chilies to blender along with 1 cup of the soaking liquid and the can of fire roasted diced tomatoes. [JW Notes: I kept all of the liquid and used that in place of some of the beef stock for the stew.] Process until smooth, leaving a corner of the blender open so steam can escape; set aside. If you don’t have a high-powered blender, then strain the chili sauce through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl, using rubber spatula to push the mixture through and discard the solids. [JW Note: I have a nice high powered blender and I still had to strain my mixture. I'm glad I did. It was nice and smooth.]

In a Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in the Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add half of the beef in an even layer and sear; flip the beef over and sear the other side then stir to evenly brown all sides; remove to a plate with a slotted spoon. Repeat with remaining beef.

Add a drizzle of olive oil if needed to the now empty skillet. Cook the onions over medium heat until softened, scraping up the brown bits, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ground cumin and sauté 30 second

Add the beef back to the pot followed by the chile sauce and rest of the ingredients (oregano, coriander, smoked paprika, bouillon, cocoa powder, sugar, cinnamon, bay leaves and broth). 

Cover and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer over LOW for 45 minutes or until the beef is tender, stirring every 10 minutes or so and replacing the lid so the bottom doesn’t burn. [JW Note: This is where I took a hard left from this recipe. I put the dutch oven, covered, in a 300F oven for 2 hours. Stirring every hour. For the last 30 minutes I kept the lid off.]

Uncover, increase heat to medium and simmer an additional 15 minutes (uncovered), or until the sauce has thickened to desired consistency. Taste and season with additional salt if desired or some reserved chili seeds or cayenne pepper for heat.

Discard bay leaves and serve with Mexican rice, beans, tortillas and desired toppings.

Cook until tender. If your beef isn’t crazy tender, then cook on! It just means the proteins needs more time to break down and tenderize. Even 15 more minutes can make the world of difference between “okay” and melt-in-your-mouth beef.

Marinated Ribeyes (Recipe 117 of 150)

Steak on a Thursday? Weird. I know. But we're doing Drag Queen Bingo tomorrow night so I figured, why not? 

First things first. NO ONE can current afford ribeyes. Good heavens they were expensive. I opted for a half of flank steak that was on sale. I don't think the cut of steak makes a big difference when it comes to marinades. Pick what you like. 

This was a decent marinade. I wish I would have salted the steak before I put it on the grill. It was missing that kind of seasoning. Still it was tasty and worth a try. 

Marinated Ribeyes

Recipe from Plain Chicken

Serves 4

• ½ c BBQ sauce ( I used Sweet Baby Rays)
• 2 T olive oil
• ¼ c Worcestershire sauce
• 3 T steak sauce (I used A1)
• 2 tsp Montreal steak seasoning
• 1 T red wine vinegar
• 1 T soy sauce
• 1 tsp hot pepper sauce
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 4 (8-oz) beef ribeye steaks

Whisk together BBQ sauce, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, steak sauce, steak seasoning, red wine vinegar, soy sauce, hot sauce, and garlic.

Place steaks in a large resealable plastic bag. Pour marinade over steaks. Seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate 4 hours to overnight.

Remove steaks from marinade. Grill until desired doneness.

We let the steaks marinate overnight. If you don’t have that long, just let them marinate as long as you can.

You can use this marinade on any cut of steak you prefer – ribeye, filet, sirloin, T-bone, NY Strip, porterhouse, or skirt steak.

You can cook the steaks on the stovetop or in the oven. I use a combination of both. I pan sear the steak in a skillet and finish it off in the oven. Here are the instructions: https://www.plainchicken.com/steakhouse-filets/

Brazilian Lemonade (Recipe 116 of 150)

Last night at book club I made a "special drink". We usually drink wine, but I saw this recipe and knew
it was a perfect end of summer book club drink. 

The recipe only makes 4 servings, so I tripled it. I was putting it in bigger glasses, so I needed more. I only had a full can of sweetened condensed milk so I could triple it.  

I also added a splash of rum to the drink. I mean, it was book club so it seemed like a requirement to have spirits there. 

Brazilian Lemonade
Recipe from The Recipe Critic

Serves 4

• 3 fresh limes
• 1/3 c sweetened condensed milk
• 1/3 c sugar or sugar substitute
• 4 c cold water

Mix it all together. And pour over ice.

Cottage Pie (aka Shepherd's Pie with beef) (Recipe 115 of 150)

I made up a recipe! Sorta. 

Tonight was book club and I wanted to make something that I could make ahead and just pop in the oven. Shepherd's Pie is something I've never made, so I figured I'd give it a try. 

I found a couple of recipes and I realized that Shepherd's Pie is really quite simple and Hunter's Stew but with mashed potatoes. 

It turned out delicious and I'd say I'll make it again for sure. Comfort food 100%. 

Pro tip: If you judge how to make mashed potatoes by one potato per person, double it for Shepherd's pie. I wanted a thicker layer of mashed potatoes and 4 potatoes just barely covered it. It turned out fine, but I would prefer more potatoes. 

And really, I keep calling this Shepherd's Pie, but I've been told it's Cottage Pie because I used beef. Shepherd's Pie is made from lamb. 

So here's my made up recipe. 

Cottage Pie

Serves 6 or 4 with left overs for everyone.

1 lb ground beef

1 can Veg all, drained

1 small can corn, drained

1 can green beans, drained

4 russet potatoes

1 stick butter

1/4 to 1/2 c milk

Brown your ground beef and be sure to drain it. 

Dump in the corn, Veg all, and green beans. 

Season to taste

Boil the potatoes. Rice them (or mash them however you do it). Add the stick of butter and milk. Salt and pepper to taste. 

Put the beef mixture in a 9X13 dish or whatever fits for you. Top with mashed potatoes evenly. 

Put in a 350 oven for about 30 minutes or until the potatoes start to brown a little. 

Serve. 

Jenn's Kick Ass Chicken Scaloppini

This is NOT a new recipe. In fact, it's far from new. I've made this recipe at least 20 times since I first made in in 2011. I'm reposting because every time I make it I tweak it a little bit more. And tonight I have that perfect combination that created to most delicious chicken scaloppini I've ever made. 

This recipe is NOT Rachael Ray's recipe. If you want that go here (Or the link above which is the same recipe).

No, this is Jenn's Kick Ass Chicken Scaloppini. Period. 

Jenn's Kick Ass Chicken Scaloppini

Serves 4

• 3/4 pound spaghetti
• 3 T olive oil, divided
• 6 slices pancetta, chopped
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1 T butter, cut into pieces
• 5 button mushrooms, chopped
• 1 pound chicken, cut into bite sizes pieces
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 c dry white wine
• 1/2 c half and half
• 16 pitted, large green olives w/ pimientos, chopped
• 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Romano, a couple of handfuls

Place pasta water on to boil and cook linguini 8 minutes, to al dente in salted water. Drain and reserve. 

Preheat a large, heavy skillet over medium to medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and the pancetta. Cook pancetta until its just about crispy. Don't look away. It'll go from almost crispy to burnt in no time. Take it out of the pan and set aside. 

Add more olive oil and 1 T butter, add onions and cook another 2 or 3 minutes. Add mushrooms to the pan and cook together with the onions 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and let it cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant. 

Remove from the pan with the pancetta.  Don't season this with salt. The pancetta adds plenty of salt to the dish.

Add another T of olive oil. Drop in the chicken and stir fry until brown and almost cooked through. Season with salt and pepper. 

Add the pancetta, onions and mushrooms back to the pan. Add wine to the pan. Cook wine down to evaporate the alcohol about 2 to 3 minutes. 

Add the half and half and let it cook until it thickens. Keep stirring it so you don't scold the half and half.  Stir in olives. 

Add the spaghetti to this and toss. Serve with grated parmesan cheese over it.

Ground Beef Noodle Stir Fry (Recipe 114 of 150)

My shopping list was missing a few things this week apparently. Two items on this recipe didn't make it home from the grocery store so I had to improvise. 

The first is broccoli. A key ingredient. I swear I had some but apparently I did not. So instead of broccoli I subbed in water chestnuts and bamboo sprouts. I know. I know. Not even close. 

The second I didn't buy is Udon noodles. Which is too bad because I love Udon noodles. So I subbed in spaghetti. 

This was a simple recipe and an ok flavor one. It's not something I'd repeat, but I'm glad I made it. It was tasty. 

Ground Beef Noodle Stir Fry

Recipe from Damn Delicious

Serves 6

• 2 (7-ounce) refrigerated udon noodles, seasoning sauce packets discarded
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 12 ounces broccoli florets
• 1 green onion, thinly sliced

FOR THE SAUCE:

• 1/4 c reduced sodium soy sauce
• 2 T rice wine vinegar
• 2 T brown sugar, packed
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T freshly grated ginger
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp Sriracha, optional

In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, sesame oil and Sriracha, if using; set aside.

In a large pot of boiling water, cook udon noodles according to package instructions; drain well.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add ground beef and onion and cook until beef has browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks; drain excess fat.

Stir in bell peppers and broccoli. Cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in udon noodles and soy sauce mixture until well combined, about 2-3 minutes.

Serve immediately, garnished with green onion, if desired.

Steak Marinade (Recipe 113 of 150)

It's Friday night! And Friday night often means steak night. Mom and Dad would frequently do steaks on Friday, so I carry on that tradition as best I can. 

This was a good marinade. I marinaded it for only 2 hours and I think that was enough. I didn't have avocado oil so I just used vegetable oil. Other than that, I changed nothing. 

I will say 1/2 tsp of cayenne was a bit much. It was spicy but not so spicy I couldn't handle it. 

Steak Marinade

Recipe from Real House Moms

Serves 2

• 2 T avocado oil
• 2 cloves garlic crushed
• 1 T soy sauce
• 1 T Worcestershire sauce
• 1 T apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Add all the ingredients to a small mason jar. Cover with the lid and give it a good shake to emulsify everything together.

Place the steaks into a gallon-size food storage bag and pour in the marinade. Seal the bag and smush around the marinade until the steaks are coated.

Marinate for at least 12 hours (up to 24 hours) in the fridge.

Remove from the bag and shake off any excess marinade. Cook the steaks to your desired doneness, and then rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Grilled Thai Chicken Skewers (Recipe 112 of 150)

I had a recipe for Thai Chicken that I loved. It was my "go to" recipe for chicken marinade. I never actually marked it as my favorite, so I really don't know which one it is. 

Consequently, I'm forever trying Thai Chicken marinades to find it. This recipe is good. It's not THE recipe, but its close. I let it marinade for 5 hours and that really let the flavors meld together. 

Nothing special about this recipe and I changed nothing. 

Grilled Thai Chicken Skewers

Recipe from My Kitchen Escapades

Serves 4

• 5 large boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 1/2″ pieces
• 1 heaping Tb of peanut butter
• 1/4 c sweet Thai chili sauce
• 1/4 c rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 c soy sauce
• 1/3 c lime juice
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 T honey or agave
• 2 T sesame oil
• 2 T fish sauce
• 2 T sriracha
• chopped cilantro and lime wedges for finished dish

Mix together all the ingredients and let the chicken marinade for 3-4 hours.

Preheat your grill to medium-high and put the chicken pieces on skewers. Place the skewers on the hot grill and grill for 5-7 minutes, flip and then cook for about another 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Serve with a generous squeeze of lime juice and fresh cilantro sprinkled over the top.