Home Chef Jerk Chicken

Wow!  Can I just say that I would never have fixed jerk chicken myself, but Home Chef made it easy and something I had to try.  Start to finish it took me less than an hour and my husband said he would love to have this again.  Slightly spicy chicken cooked with a brown sugar plantain made us both feel like we were dining at a Jamaican restaurant.  It was so tasty and nutritious.  There was coconut rice and sauteed kale to pull it all together.  I'm  not going to do my usual listing of steps and instead, I will be linking to the Home Chef recipe that came with my ingredients.

Click here if you would like to try Home Chef and would like a $30 coupon off your first order.



Recipe:  Home Chef Jerk Chicken

Chopped chives & kale

Sliced plantains (it looks like a giant banana)

Using my cast iron skillet to sear the chicken since this can go right into my oven.

Tossing the sliced plantains with olive oil and brown sugar.

Basting the chicken with the jerk sauce.

Adding the plantains into the skillet and replacing chicken on top.

Beef Stroganoff & Mashed Potatoes

Two posts in two days!  I'm off to a great return.  My husband is also benefiting from all the yummy food we are fixing.  Seriously, who doesn't love warm comfort food on a cold day?  Yesterday, I could not get a childhood favorite out of my head, beef stroganoff.  If you haven't had it, it is a garlicky, mushroom concoction that immediately reminds me of my childhood (yes, I was that weird kid who would eat ANYTHING).  My mom would always fix it with egg noodles but last night called for homemade mashed potatoes.  Folks, if all you ever fix are the instant ones you are missing out.  Throw them away, and get yourself the Yukon Gold potatoes.  You can thank me later.

Ingredients

• 1.5-2 lbs of Sirloin Steak (cut into 1.5 by 2 inch pieces)
• 1.5 cups Beef Bullion
• 1 Onions (chopped)
• 16 oz Mushrooms (sliced)
• Ketchup
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Garlic
• 1 cup Sour Cream
• 2-3 TBSP Flour
• 2 TBSP Butter

I'm not really a person who measures this recipe so stick with me and we can make something delicious.  First off, prep all the onions and mushrooms so you won't have to chop them right before they're supposed to go in.  All the prep work in advance makes the whole recipe come together in less than 30 minutes.  Wash all veggies then chop the onion and slice the mushrooms.  You can cheat and buy the presliced mushrooms but they're all dried out and yucky.

Slice the steak and I trim off the extra fat.  Toss the sliced steak in flour.  This is optional but I like to do this to give myself a little thicker sauce in the end.In a large skillet, heat about 2 tablespoons of butter or olive oil until bubbly then add in the steak.  Sear the steak until no longer pink.

Add in 1.5 cups of beef bullion or beef broth, a couple of turns of ketchup (about 3 TBSP) a splash of Wocestershire Sauce and a 1/2 tsp of minced garlic (a clove or two).  Stir, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add onions & mushrooms.  Cook 5-7 min.

Remove from heat & add sour cream.

Heat on low until bubbly!

Boiled, drained and all the yummy extras added in.  Ready to blend.

Mashed Potatoes Ingredients & Process

• 2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes (quartered)
• Butter
• Sour Cream
• Garlic (minced)
• Parsley

Wash potatoes really well.  I do no peel them because I like the extra zing the peel brings to the potatoes.  Bring quartered potatoes to a boil and boil until fork tender.  Drain off all water and return to pot.  Add a couple tablespoons of butter, 2-3 spoons of light sour cream, a 1/2 tsp minced garlic (optional) and minced parsley.  Blend with an immersion stick blender for smooth and whipped potatoes or mash together with a potato masher for the rustic mashed potatoes.

Whipped and ready!  Thank you stick blender.

Overnight Oats & Other Things!

Even had time for family photos this fall!

It's been a long time people.  How has everyone been doing?  I had been taking a little break from blogging but I'm back!  I am reevaluating my blog to expand it beyond just cooking to include all my crafts, fashion and family.  I hope everyone had a nice weekend and is hitting the ground running on this (cold) Missouri Monday morning.  My husband and I finally found time for a date night Saturday to the movies before his basketball season gets into full swing.  If you have not seen the new James Bond film Spectre, GO!  It is so worth seeing in the theater.  Trust me.

So, without further adieu, here is the first post I've made since March!

I may be the last person to jump on the overnight oat bandwagon, but they are quite possibly the tastiness thing I have every fixed for my breakfast at work.....and they take all of 5 minutes to fix the night before.  I was getting tired of buying the expensive breakfast bars that my husband and I started to grow so fond of and instead looked for a healthy and nutritious alternative.  Since my school starts too early in the morning, traditional breakfast is not an option since I prefer my beauty sleep.

The oats are nutritious and almost like a breakfast pudding in texture.  I started off experimenting with my favorite fall flavor, pumpkin pie, and continued to adjust until it was just right.  It was not without a few failings; the first batch tasted like I was chewing on a raw pumpkin.  I love using Pure Pumpkin by Libby for all of my pumpkin flavored items but I needed to make sure it didn't overpower the other ingredients.  A pinch of maple syrup gave it just the right amount of sweetness.  Pumpkin is such a super food so eat it and enjoy.  I've even included a coupon for you here!  The recipe does not use the full can so I just pop it into a container in my fridge and use what I need throughout the week.

I love using Maple Syrup as a sweetener and there are so many more benefits to it than sugar.  Click here to check out all the nutritional benefits to maple syrup versus traditional sweeteners.

Courtesy of: Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers

A couple of personal preferences, you can warm these in the microwave but I prefer my cold.  You can also used rolled oats but I prefer steel cut because they are chewier and I feel like I'm burning more calories through extra chewing.

Ingredients (makes 1 serving)

• 1/4 cup steel cut oats (dry)
• 1/8 cup Libby 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 1/2 cup 1%, skim, or almond milk
• 1 tsp Pure Maple Syrup
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 pint Mason Jar

First off, I love using my mason jars and I just save lids from recipes I've canned in the past that can no longer be used to can and seal processed foods but will work perfect to seal up breakfast overnight.

In the Mason Jar, add all the ingredients and stir to combine.  I usually fix mine after dinner.  Put in the refrigerator overnight and pull it out in the morning to take to eat.

I hope you enjoy and I will update with new variations as I work them out.