On the Grill | Garlic Chicken with Balsamic & Herb Mushrooms

So, I've been bad. Time has totally escaped me this week - and now it's May! Seriously? At least the pool opens soon. Counting down the days...

I'm truly sorry for my absence and I promise I will make it up to you with many, many delicious recipes to come. In fact, today is another two-fer: grilled Garlic Chicken with Balsamic and Herb Mushrooms. It's even tastier than it sounds. The boyfriend called it "killer."

I can't stand them. I'm a texture person, and they just don't do it for me. The boyfriend, however, loves mushrooms. So for him, I put them in everything humanly possibly. Mushrooms are just one of those foods - sitting high on that shelf with the mayo, pickles, hot sauce, snack food, and other boyfriend-required bites.

And as for the chicken... well, we eat a lot of chicken. Chicken and fish, with the occasional red meat thrown in (later this week - Grilled Cracked Pepper Sirloin), are our go-tos. It's inexpensive and there's the whole red vs. white meat deal: white meat is leaner and better for you (check out this article on CNN about the health hazards associated with red meat).

However, the great thing about this marinade is you can use it on anything, and it's inspired by dinners with my family.

Since I was young, my parents have made their own salad dressings. From simple olive oil and vinegar combinations, to ginger soy and beyond. This basic Italian dressing has stuck with me - so quick and easy, and so versatile. It's a marinade and a salad dressing. Win-win!

Plus, it's fantastic on shish kabobs.

In fact, you could use the sauce on the mushrooms as a salad dressing, as well. Same basic concept. Feel free to tweak the herbs, and taste often - it's all about what you like.

Of course, if it weren't for Pinterest, the mushrooms never would have happened. But they did. Oh, they did. Thanks to inspiration from Italian Food Forever's recipe found here, they happened, and they will happen again, and often.


Herbed Garlic Chicken
Yield | 4 servings

Prep Time | 5 minutes, with 1 hour to chill
Cook Time | 25 minutes
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Ingredients:

1/2 cup EVOO
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons oregano
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp sugar
Salt and pepper

1-1 1/2 lbs chicken breasts

So pretty!

Mix olive oil, vinegar, garlic, spices and sugar well in a small dish. Pour dressing over chicken, reserving a small amount for basting. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

Make sure your grill is hot. Cook chicken for 5-6 minutes on the first side, and flip. Baste chicken with reserved marinade.

Grill second side and grill for another 5-6 minutes, until cooked through.

Balsamic & Herb Mushrooms
Yield | 2-3 servings

Prep Time | 5 minutes
Cook Time | 25 minutes
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Ingredients:

1 lb fresh mushrooms, cut into pieces (I used crimini)

1/4 cup EVOO

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon rosemary

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon sage

Salt and pepper

Cut up your mushrooms and set aside. 

Combine olive oil, vinegar, herbs, garlic, salt, and pepper in a small dish. Mix well and pour over mushrooms. Coat with marinade.

Wrap with aluminum foil and grill so the mushrooms are not directly over the heat, on the grill rack. Grill for 20-25 minutes, until mushrooms are soft.

The boyfriend wanted his on top of his chicken, but they could be a side dish. Either way - yum! 

This Week... look forward to Dark Chocolate Coconut Cookies (with a dark chocolate filling, ohhhh my!), Pasta Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing, Grilled Cracked Pepper Sirloin, Stuffed Manicotti, and more!

Making up some lost time and trying tons of new recipes... going to be a tasty week, that's for sure.

Fresh Veggies | Roasted Artichokes

I love restaurant-style spinach and artichoke dip. Really, though, who doesn't? Aside from the wonderful appetizer served by so many restaurant chains, and occasionally using artichoke hearts in a recipe, my experience with these prickly vegetables has been minimal.

When I saw them on sale at the store though - well, I am an opportunist shopper, after all. Good side dish, I thought.

So, I roasted them. Knowing nothing about artichokes (other than the canned variety), I let Google educate me a little before I started, of course! I came across this assortment of fresh artichoke recipes. As always, I made it my own, but I have to give it to Ms. Stephanie Lyness - delish! Thanks for introducing me to a new side of artichokes :)

Oh, as a note: the original recipe called for 8 baby artichokes, but I had full-sized ones and they came out fantastic, so my version below uses those.

Roasted Artichokes
Yield | 4 servings

Prep Time | 5 minutes
Cook Time | 50 minutes
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Ingredients:

2 artichokes

5 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoon oregano

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1/2 onion, sliced

1/2 cup water

Salt and pepper, to taste

Cut the artichokes in half, length-wise.

Remove the choke and sprinkle with salt and pepper. For those of you who don't know what the choke is - I didn't - it's the fuzzy part in the center, toward the stem. Just take a paring knife and slice along the base of the fuzzy part. Then, take a spoon and dig it out, like a grapefruit slice. Piece of cake... once you figure out the choke. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large pan.

Combine the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil with 1 clove of minced garlic, the oregano, the crushed red pepper, sugar, and red wine vinegar. Whisk until mixed through. Brush over artichokes.

A picture is worth 1000 words. This one might be worth 1000 tastes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place artichokes face-down in pan with olive oil and cook with onions and remaining garlic until artichokes have browned, about 8 minutes. Rotate periodically. Add water to pan.

Cover and bake, face-down, for 20 minutes. Uncover and roast for 10 additional minutes.

So simple. So delicious. Definitely better than all the calories in the dip.

Although, I will say, next time, I want to top them with crumbled bacon and balsamic vinegar. Ooooo... ideas...

DIY Take-Out | Orange Chicken & Veggie Lo Mein

Out of respect for hockey playoffs, and with the series 1-3 for my Blackhawks and 2-2 for his Bruins, the Buffalo Bites are going to be a gameday snack. 

Gameday snacks are very, very important. Especially for the boyfriend. See, we don't do the whole cable thing. We just don't watch that much TV. 

(Netflix and Hulu are incredible inventions.)

We do have a cable receiver box that hangs on the wall, though. It gets all the basic channels, plus a few random others. No idea what they are, because we seriously use it just for sports. Nothing else. Somehow, we manage to pick up a good chunk of the boyfriend's Boston games. A handful of mine. Lots of baseball, though (go Cubs!) so that makes me happy.

So, gamedays are important. Especially when the series is 2-2 for the Bruins. And for really important gamedays, you need extra tasty snacks.

Never fear, though - I found something super tasty to make instead of the bites. And, to make up for lack of Buffalo Bites, it's a two-for-one. Awesome, right? I know, I try.

The boyfriend was feeling Chinese food last night. When we order Chinese food, we eat it for a month. No joke. So. Much. Food.

Well, hello there, interwebs. A few seconds on Google and we have an amazingly delicious-looking recipe for Orange Chicken. Thank you, Harry Wetzel on Allrecipes for bringing this to my attention! My version, inspired by Wetzel's Asian Orange Chicken, is below. I may never order take-out again.

Orange Chicken
Yield | 2-3 servings

Prep Time | 15 minutes, plus 30 minutes to chill
Cook Time | 30 minutes
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Worth every bite.

Ingredients:

For the Sauce & Marinade

1/2 cup chicken broth

3/4 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

1/4 cup soy sauce

3/4 cup brown sugar

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon ginger, minced

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons cold water

1 lb chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

In a bowl, whisk all of the ingredients for the sauce and marinade, except the chicken, starch, and cold water, until mixed through. 

Pour 3/4 cup of the sauce into a plastic bag and add chicken. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Try substituting some of the brown sugar
with honey, so good!

While the chicken is marinating, pour the rest of your sauce into a pan over medium-high heat. Allow to simmer. Dissolve cornstarch in cold water and add to sauce, continuing to simmer until thickened. Remove from heat and set aside. 

For the Breading

3 egg whites

3/4 cup cornstarch (or flour)

1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)*

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Oil for frying 

*Panko is amazing, and one of my required foodstuffs. I love it, and I use a lot of it. Light, yet crispy, it makes a great breading for just about any fried anything. However, if you don't have any on hand, substitute with 1/2 cup crunched up corn flakes, unseasoned breadcrumbs (anything crunchy and unseasoned, really), or 1/4 cup flour.

Heat oil to 350 degrees F. I use just enough to cover the chicken bites when I fry. Whisk egg whites in a dish and prepare your coating. In a bag, mix cornstarch, panko, baking soda, and cayenne pepper.

Coat chicken in egg. Add to bag and shake to coat. Cook in oil until golden brown, setting on a couple paper towels to absorb excess oil.

Crunchy, tasty chicken bites - great with any sauce, or plain!

Toss in sauce and voila! Tangy orange chicken with just enough burn. I don't think I'll ever go back. 

I did, however, promise a two-for-one deal! So, here is a recipe for Veggie Lo Mein. I went the easy route and used a frozen mix of stir fry vegetables (with some extra fresh mushrooms added), but as long as you have 2-3 cups of veggies (and some additional prep time for slicin' and dicin'), you'll be just fine!


Veggie Lo Mein
Yield | 3-4 servings

Cook Time | 25 minutes
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Ingredients:

1/2 package thin spaghetti, cooked al dente

2-3 cups mixed veggies (I used Birds Eye Broccoli Stir Fry mix, and added some extra fresh mushrooms)

3 eggs

1/3 cup teryaki sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce*

1 teaspoon ginger, minced

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons oil

*This is really to-taste. I used a little more soy sauce and less teryaki, but do what tastes right to you.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add vegetables and egg. If you're using frozen, those will take a couple minutes longer, so wait 2-3 minutes before adding the egg.

Add pasta. Cook for 3-4 minutes, rotating a couple times. Add sauce and cook for 5-6 minutes longer.

Doesn't look too shabby, for a frozen veggie mix (with extra mushrooms, of course!)...

Quick, easy, and tasty.

Enjoy!