Recipes

Ingredients
For the sauce
1 (16 ounces) bottle ranch dressing (I prefer Maries.)
2 teaspoons paprika 
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 
1 teaspoon dried thyme 
1 teaspoon dried oregano 
1 teaspoon white pepper 
1 teaspoon black pepper 
1 tablespoon kosher salt 
1 tablespoon garlic powder 
1 tablespoon onion powder

Oil, for frying (I prefer peanut.)
2 pounds frozen French fries
1 cup cheese, shredded (Any sort of cheese blend works well, I like Mexican cheese blend.)
6 pieces bacon, chopped and cooked until crisp

Instructions
1. To make sauce, combine all ingredients and refrigerate to let flavors meld.  Preferably overnight.  

2. Heat oven to 350*F.  

3. Heat 3-4 inches of oil to 350*F in large Dutch oven for frying.  (A single fry should rise and bubble immediately when the oil is hot enough.)  Working in batches, fry fries until crisp and golden brown.  Remove fries to paper towel lined plate and repeat process until all fries are cooked.  

4. Spread fries on baking sheet and season with salt.  Top with bacon and cheese then bake until cheese is melted and bubbly.  

Photo

Comments
This recipe is from Outback Steakhouse at Home and it’s a copycat recipe of their famous cheese fries.  Just typing this out makes me want to call in an order for curbside takeaway RIGHT NOW.  Those things are amazing, addicting, and awful in every way.  I love them.  This dish was very tasty and vanished within minutes.  The sauce was a lovely compliment to the cheese and bacon fries, and very well spiced.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium red onions, diced
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
2 tablespoons ginger, minced
1 cup celery, diced
1 tablespoon hot sauce of your choice (I use Sriracha.)
1 ¹⁄₄ cups hoisin sauce
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
Juice of 2 limes
8 ounces tomatoes, chopped (canned is fine)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Hamburger buns, toasted
Lettuce or cabbage, shredded

Instructions
1. Heat Dutch oven, or other large pot, over high heat.  Add oil.  Once oil is hot, add onions, garlic, ginger, celery, and hot sauce.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft, about 2 minutes.  Add hoisin sauce and cook 1 minute.  Add beef and pork and continue cooking, breaking up the meat with your spoon, until just cooked through, about 6 minutes.  Add lime juice, tomatoes, and season with salt and pepper.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until mixture has thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes.  

2. Serve sloppy joes with shredded lettuce or cabbage on toasted rolls.  

Photo

Comments
This recipe is from Project Foodie and originally from Simply Ming One-Pot Meals by Ming Tsai.  I actually own this cookbook, but I’m not a huge fan of Ming Tsai’s recipes so it’s not something I turn to.  This recipe, however, was very tasty.  It made a ton of food and I ended up freezing half of it – it’s still tasty, even after freezing.

Ingredients
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Garlic salt
Freshly ground black pepper
6 slices bacon, cut into pieces
¹⁄₄ cup Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
¹⁄₄ cup sugar or honey
¹⁄₄ teaspoon onion powder
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Instructions
1. Season the chicken with garlic salt and pepper.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.  

2. Cook bacon in skillet over medium heat until crisp.  Drain on paper towel lined plate.  

3. Cook chicken about 4-5 minutes per side or until nicely browned.  You can do this on your grill or in the skillet you used for the bacon.  

4. Heat oven to 350*F and spray 12 by 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray.  

5. Mix mustards, sugar or honey, and onion powder together in a small bowl until combined.  Place chicken in baking dish and brush with half of mustard mixture.  Turn the breasts over and brush with remaining mustard mixture.  Top chicken with mushrooms, bacon, and cheese.  

6. Cover baking dish with foil and bake 30 to 45 minutes.  Chicken is done when it reaches 165-170*F and cheese has melted.  

Photo

Comments
This recipe is from Little B Cooks.  It’s an Outback copycat recipe.  I used to order this dish whenever I went to Outback, but now it’s a pass due to the honey that the dish includes.  It was nice to revisit an old favorite with my own ingredients in my own kitchen!  This is a super flavorful dish and I love the way all the mustards combine.

Ingredients
44 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups onions, sliced
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons fresh thyme, minced
3 ¹⁄₂ cups chicken broth
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
¹⁄₂ cup heavy cream or half and half
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
¹⁄₂ cup parmesan cheese, shredded
4 lemon wedges
 
Instructions
1. Heat oven to 350*F.  Place 26 cloves of garlic on a square of aluminum foil.  Add olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Toss to coat then wrap garlic tightly.  Bake until garlic is soft and tender, at least 45 minutes.  Transfer cloves to small bowl once cooked.  

2. Melt butter in large saucepan, or Dutch oven, over medium-high heat.  Add onions and thyme and cook until onions are translucent, about 6 minutes.  Add roasted garlic and 18 remaining cloves of garlic.  Cook three minutes, stirring often.  Add chicken broth and cover and simmer until garlic is very tender, about 20 minutes.   Using a stick/immersion blender, puree soup until smooth.  Add chicken and cream then bring to simmer.  Season with salt and pepper.  

3. Serve each bowl with ¹⁄₈ cup parmesan cheese and juice of one lemon wedge.  

Photo

Comments
This recipe is from Gimme Some Oven.  I love soup.  I don’t care what season it is, or when people are “supposed” to eat soup.  I can eat it all year round and it’s delicious.  This soup was no exception and had a lovely mild garlic flavor in every bite.  The chicken can be omitted for a smoother and vegetarian soup, but we enjoyed the chicken.

Ingredients
8 medium tortillas (I used burrito-sized ones, fajita-size ones might work better.)
1 pound ground beef
Taco seasoning of choice (I like Bayless’s seasoning pouches for this and the enchilada sauce.)  
1 (14 ounce) can refried beans (I like the vegetarian ones.)
1 cup enchilada sauce
4 medium tomatoes, diced
1 cup Mexican cheese blend, shredded
4 green onions, sliced
Toppings as desired, such as lettuce, avocado, sour cream, salsa, etc.  

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 400*F.  Spray a medium skillet with cooking spray and heat the tortillas, flipping frequently so they don’t burn until they are crisp.  Remove fried tortillas to plate.  

2. In same skillet, over medium heat, cook ground beef until well done.  Add taco seasoning and water if your taco seasoning calls for it.  Cook as instructed.  Add refried beans to skillet and cook until beans are warm and mixed through.  

3. Place two tortillas on baking sheet and spread ¹⁄₄ of the beef-bean mixture onto each tortilla.  Top with two more tortillas.  Pour ¹⁄₄ cup of enchilada sauce on top of each tortilla and spread with spatula.  Top each with ¹⁄₄ diced tomatoes, ¹⁄₄ cup cheese, and ¹⁄₄ green onions.  

4. Transfer to oven and bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.  

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 with remaining ingredients.  Serve with desired toppings.  

Photo

Comments
This recipe is from Domestic Superhero.  One of the problems with being so far behind with my blog posting, is that my memory is crummy and I don’t necessarily remember everything about a recipe I’ve made.  Oops.  

These were tasty, I tend to remember things that aren’t, and I used burrito shells which were a bit too large.  I should have used fajita shells instead.  I added ground beef to the original recipe and also doubled it to serve 4 instead of 2.  As mentioned, I used the Rick Bayless taco seasoning and enchilada sauce.  They’re super tasty.

Ingredients
Beef bones, as many as will fit into your slow cooker.  I used a combination of soup bones, marrow bones, and bones from previously roasted prime rib, etc. 
2 tablespoons white vinegar or lemon juice

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 350*F.  Spread bones out on baking sheet and roast until browned. 

2. Transfer bones to slow cooker and add water up to one inch from top.  Add vinegar. 

3. Cover and cook on LOW for at least 24 hours and as many as 72.  Check occasionally to skim off any scum that has risen to the top and to add more water as necessary. 

4. Cool broth to room temperature, remove large chunks of bone or meat, then strain through wire mesh strainer.  You can line this with a clean kitchen towel if you’d like for better straining. 

5. Cool broth in refrigerator then skim fat off top.  You can use this fat for other things if you’d like. 

6. At this point you can boil it to condense it if you’d like.  Otherwise store it in small ziptop bags, ¹⁄₂-1 cup of broth per bag.  Freeze flat and stack for later use. 

Photo

Comments
This method is mainly from Food Renegade but I did a lot of googling and reading of other recipes as well.  I’ve made this a few times and it’s lovely.  I like to condense it and then put ¹⁄₂ cup in each of my freezer bags.  I reconstitute it with ¹⁄₂ cup water to get 1 cup of broth.  I haven’t bought beef broth in months!  

Only make this if you’re okay with making your entire home smell like cow.  Preferably not before you have any veg*n company!

Ingredients
2 pounds lamb loin (Mine had the bone in, boneless is great too.)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
10 cloves garlic, peeled
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt

Instructions
1. Rub lamb with black pepper, red pepper flakes, and oregano.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 8 hours. 

2. Mix brown sugar with balsamic vinegar until sugar is dissolved. 

3. Heat oil in small skillet over medium-low heat.  Add garlic and cook, stirring often, until garlic is very soft.  Remove from skill, cool slightly, then mash with fork.  Return mashed garlic to skillet.  Add balsamic mixture to skillet  and simmer over low heat until sauce reaches the consistency of syrup, about 10 minutes. 

4. Heat oven to 375*F.  Place lamb in small baking dish or roasting pan and cook 12 to 14 minutes or until medium rare. 

5. Remove from oven and baste lamb with sauce.  Let meat rest 10 minutes then baste again with sauce.  Cut into thin slices and serve with extra sauce at the table. 

Photo

Comments
This recipe is from CDKitchen.  Art picked this cut of lamb from the freezer, it’s actually from our first lamb order, and I found this recipe to use.  It was delicious although the lamb loin was super teeny.  This probably would have made a better meal for 2 people instead of 3.

Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter
10 ounces marshmallows
¹⁄₂ teaspoon vanilla extract
6 cups Rice Krispies® cereal

Instructions
1. In large saucepan, melt butter over low heat.  Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted.  Stir in vanilla then remove from heat. 

2. Add cereal and stir well until coated. 

3. Spray 9 by 12-inch baking dish with cooking spray and spread cereal mixture into dish.  Press down with wax or parchment paper.  Cool completely then cut into squares for serving. 

Photo

Comments
This recipe is from ricekrispies.com.  Everyone knows how to make these, right?  They don’t really even need a recipe.  However, I haven’t been able to eat these for years and years and years, since Rice Krispies® have had high fructose corn syrup in them until recently.  I actually saw an ad on the TV at the gym (of all places) announcing the Kellogg no longer uses HFCS in their “grain” cereals.  I rushed out to the store to see if this could possibly be true and came home with a box of Rice Krispies® and a bag of marshmallows.  I am a happy camper!

Ingredients
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into ¹⁄₂-inch cubes
8-10 medium potatoes, such as red skin, scrubbed and cut into ¹⁄₂-inch pieces
¹⁄₃ cup olive oil
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1-3 tablespoons Sriracha

For the topping
2 cups Mexican cheese blend, shredded
6-8 ounces bacon, cut into pieces and cooked until crisp
1 cup green onion, diced

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 500*F.  Spray 9 by 12-inch baking dish with cooking spray. 

2. In a large bowl mix together olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and hot sauce.  Add potatoes and toss to coat.  Scoop potatoes out of hot sauce mixture, leave as much of the sauce in the bowl as possible, and transfer to baking dish. 

3. Bake potatoes 45 to 50 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cooked through and crispy brown on the outside. 

4. Meanwhile, add chicken to bowl with hot sauce mixture and stir to coat. 

5. Mix cheese, bacon, and green onion together in medium bowl. 

6. When potatoes are done, remove from oven and reduce heat to 400*F.  Top potatoes with chicken.  Then top chicken with cheese mixture.  Return baking dish to oven and bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and topping is melted and bubbling.  Serve with extra hot sauce or ranch dressing. 

Photo

Comments
This recipe is from Cook Lisa Cook.  I actually didn’t eat any of it since it’s something I made for the guys before I went to trivia one night.  When I got home, Lance informed me that he wouldn’t be eating any for leftovers and that I should avoid it as well.  Art, on the other hand, ate it all in two days.  He loved it. 

What happened?  Hot sauce.  The original recipe called for 6 tablespoons of “hot sauce.”  I use Sriracha as my hot sauce of choice but, even then, 6 tablespoons seemed like a lot so I reduced it to 3.  Apparently even 3 was way too spicy for the milder palates of the household.  I would really like to make this again in a way that’s palatable to Lance and myself, so I’ll be going with a mere single tablespoon of Sriracha next time and seeing how that works.

Ingredients
For the sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
Kosher salt and pepper
¹⁄₄ teaspoon dried oregano
Pinch red pepper flakes
1 (28 ounces) can crushed tomatoes
¹⁄₄ teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons fresh basil, coarsely chopped

For the chicken
6-8 chicken cutlets
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 ounces fontina cheese, shredded
1 large egg
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 ¹⁄₂ ounces Parmesan cheese, grated
¹⁄₂ cup panko bread crumbs
¹⁄₂ teaspoon garlic powder
¹⁄₄ teaspoon pepper
¹⁄₃ cup vegetable oil
¹⁄₄ cup fresh basil, coarsely chopped

Instructions
1. To make the sauce, heat 1 tablespoon oil in medium saucepan over medium heat until just shimmering. Add garlic, ³⁄₄ teaspoon salt, oregano, and pepper flakes; cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes and sugar; increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until thickened, about 20 minutes. Off heat, stir in basil and remaining 1 tablespoon oil; season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and keep warm.

2. To make the chicken, sprinkle each side of each cutlet with ¹⁄₈ teaspoon salt and let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes. Combine mozzarella and fontina in bowl; set aside.

3. Adjust oven rack 4 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Whisk egg and flour together in shallow dish or pie plate until smooth. Combine Parmesan, panko, garlic powder, oregano, and pepper in second shallow dish or pie plate. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Working with 1 cutlet at a time, dredge cutlet in egg mixture, allowing excess to drip off. Coat all sides in Parmesan mixture, pressing gently so crumbs adhere. Transfer cutlet to large plate and repeat with remaining cutlets.

4. Heat oil in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Carefully place 2 cutlets in skillet and cook without moving them until bottoms are crispy and deep golden brown, ¹¹⁄₂ to 2 minutes. Using tongs, carefully flip cutlets and cook on second side until deep golden brown, ¹¹⁄₂ to 2 minutes. Transfer cutlets to paper towel-lined plate and repeat with remaining cutlets.

5. Place cutlets on rimmed baking sheet and sprinkle cheese mixture evenly over cutlets, covering as much surface area as possible. Broil until cheese is melted and beginning to brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer chicken to serving platter and top each cutlet with 2 tablespoons sauce. Sprinkle with basil and serve immediately, passing remaining sauce separately.

Photo

Comments
This recipe is from Cook’s Illustrated 2013.  (I finally bought myself an online subscription so that I don’t need to wait for the annuals to arrive every year!)  I thought these were super tasty and while they won’t displace Art’s favorite Parmesan Chicken, I would certainly enjoy making this again in the future since it’s a bit easier than my other recipe.