Are You Kidding Me?! Bangin' Barbecue Chicken Chili

We are approaching major desperation at this point. This is Day 5 of Stateside sickness trampling our house and wrecking our week...ie. I haven't been to the beach in an obscene amount of time for living on an island; nearly 2 weeks. Feel sorry for me. Really, I know it's probably 21 below zero where you are reading this, winter storm Bozeman is kicking your ass, and there is no amount of coffee in the world that will keep you warm. For that I'm sorry, but just remember that our little island is always here for you whenever you may need it. :)

Tonight's post is about chili though, so that should help warm your toesies and your bellies at least. From my girls, they have commented, "Are you kidding me?! It's delicious!!" And "Mommy, you are the best chef ever." If it gets my children's approval, it's a winner in this house.

The secret to chili I think is not to have too much of a recipe, as chili is a lot about using what you have and improvising where you need. I didn't buy enough ground beef this last grocery round, so I thought I'd attempt a chicken chili. I hadn't made one since King's work chili cook-off a few years ago, where they disqualified me because he didn't make it. Basically, it was a bunch of dudes and me...and they refused to let a woman win, even though it was obvious that mine was the tastiest ;) SO, my point here is to use what you have, add what flavors suit your household, and maybe just use this recipe as a guideline rather than a Bible.

Here we go!

What You Need:

5-6 quart crock pot
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (it took me 2)
1/2 c your favorite BBQ sauce
2 14.5 oz cans diced chili tomatoes
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
2 cans chili beans w/sauce (I used mild)
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 onion, diced
1 head garlic, minced
chili powder to taste
cumin to taste
Optional: sour cream, shredded cheddar, & chives for garnish

What You Do:

*Slow cook your chicken on low. Put it in the crock and pour your barbecue sauce on top. Walk away. For like 4 hours...Do some laundry or crack open a bottle of bubbly. Celebrate because crock pot cooking is an AMAZING gift to moms everywhere!
*Once the chicken is cooked through, take it out and shred it, toss it back in the crock and make sure it's all coated in barbecue sauce.
*Dump in the rest of your ingredients. Walk away again for another 4+ hours, vacuum, clean a dish...clean up a mess or 17. THE END!!!! Okay, so I mixed it every so often and taste tested a few times to make sure that I didn't under or over spice it.

Apart from that, this is exactly why I adore my crock pot. It should really be called the crack pot in our house, although that may have some connotations that are all-too-inappropriate for a mother of 2...or anyone, for that matter. Anyway, you get the point. I try to cook in my crock as often as humanly possible for a couple of reasons: 1. It's super easy and low maintenance. 2. It doesn't heat up my kitchen like the oven/stove. That's important when you live in the Caribbean.

Finally, I served it with these cornbread muffins, which I will be making once a week I think. Skip the Jiffy. Seriously, it's probably loaded with all kinds of crap chemicals and preservatives, and these muffins were lovely and didn't have that weird aftertaste. And for someone who is barely capable of baking, it wasn't all that difficult. I did follow some of the suggestions from the reviews and made sure to really cream the butter/sugar and also let the milk/cornmeal sit for several minutes before mixing it together with the other ingredients. AND I used canned corn. It's better.

Bon appetit, friends!

Honey Soy Ginger Shrimp Star-Fry

In our house, each time we make a grocery trip, I let everyone choose their favorite meal to be made. Princess' favorite is "shrimp star fry." That's shrimp STIR fry for those who don't understand kidspeak. Regardless, it is always the most expensive, but the most delectable meal of the grocery round. AND I've never actually written down any sort of recipe for it. So again, the girls are challenging me to put some ingredients and measurements down so that they (and YOU) can replicate it down the road.

A note about stir fry is that you don't necessarily HAVE to use the same veggies that I use this time, as most of the time my veggies vary. Use seasonal veggies to your advantage, and this way you can make this special treat year-round. In addition to that, this marinade is easily adapted to other meats, so you aren't even confined to shrimp (especially if it's uber expensive). Try chicken or pork instead, or even just use this glaze for salmon or mahi. I like things to be versatile because I never know what I'm going to be missing in my kitchen that particular day ;)

What You Need:

Honey Soy Ginger Marinade
1/2 c soy sauce
1/4 c honey
2 tsp Sriracha
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp rice vinegar
1-2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
1/2 tsp ground ginger

Stir Fry
Tempura oil, a splash or 2
2 lbs large raw shrimp, peeled, tail-off
1 large zucchini, sliced into manageable pieces
1 large yellow squash, sliced
8 oz snow peas (pea pods)
2-3 large carrots, sliced
1 medium onion, diced
1/4 head of red cabbage, sliced
1 head garlic, diced or sliced thinly (basically everything I cook has abundant garlic)
1 can water chestnuts, sliced

What You Do:

*Make up your marinade
*Put just enough on the shrimp to evenly coat all of them; put in the fridge for 15-30 minutes. Don't over-marinate the shrimp. 30 minutes is plenty, promise! Set the rest of the marinade in the fridge to use a bit later
*Once you're ready to prepare the main dish, heat your skillet/wok with a splash or 2 of tempura oil. First cook the shrimp and set them aside.
*Add another round of tempura oil, and add your garlic. Next I added carrots since they take the longest and let them cook for a couple minutes. Then add in your squash, zucchini, & onions. Then add in the rest of your marinade. Let that cook down for a few more minutes and then add the water chestnuts and snow peas. Finally, add in the cabbage, as it cooks the quickest. Mix it all around, and you have the prettiest stir-fry you've ever seen!
*Serve it with your favorite rice, topped with the shrimp -or- mix the shrimp back in at the end

Fancy Schmancy Goat Cheese, Spinach, & Porcini Stuffed Chicken

In an effort to give my girls the ability to cook like mommy when they grow up, at their request I have made an extreme effort to blog recipes for as many meals as I can. Tonight's meal they turned up their noses at, but I honestly didn't even care. More for me! They are still sniffly, and this is when I allow them to eat anything that they will actually eat. Tonight they chose pub mix & left-over sweet & sour pork. Cest la vie

Let's get to it, shall we?

What You Need:

Toothpicks (This was the toughest ingredient for me to find here on island)
Cooking spray (I used grapeseed oil in my PC Kitchen Spritzer)
Aluminum foil
Boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded out with a meat mallet to about 1/4" thick (I had 3 available)
Italian seasoning blend
8-16 oz porcini (baby bella) mushrooms, thinly sliced
Fresh basil
Baby spinach
Goat cheese
Breadcrumbs (I used Italian, but you can also use Panko, whatever you have on hand)
Asparagus, trimmed

What You Do:

*Preheat oven to 350
*Lay out chicken breasts on aluminum foil that has been sprayed with a bit of cooking spray. Layer the mushrooms, then basil to taste (I didn't completely cover the chicken with basil since I used fresh), spinach leaves, and finally goat cheese.
*Fold up tightly and secure with toothpicks. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and a bit of Italian seasoning
*Bake for about 45 minutes, turning it over about halfway through.

Bonus side dish!
*Arrange asparagus in a 9x13" baking dish and drizzle with olive oil -or- spray with your cooking spray
*Add the rest of your porcini mushrooms on top of the asparagus, and again spray it or drizzle with oil
*Sprinkle with Italian seasoning blend and, if you have it, Parmesan cheese
*Halfway through the chicken baking, toss your asparagus in the oven too. This way, they'll be done at the same time

Make sure to remove the toothpicks before serving ;) And enjoy!

Vegetarian Breakfast Casserole

There's nothing like waking up in the morning, knowing exactly what you're going to make for breakfast, right? This morning I got up early, and I wanted to give King a chance to sleep in since he was up until almost 3 am. My little Monster was up most of the night coughing, and the Princess was pretty sniffly and miserable herself. That said, it was a quiet morning in our house, and I was really excited to try a new recipe that I found on Pinterest for these adorable spinach & cheese egg muffins. Much to my chagrin, I don't have a muffin pan. So that nixed that pretty quickly. I had to laugh at myself because it's so perfectly me not to have something that is a major requirement for a dish that I went to all the trouble of getting all of the ingredients for from the store and even having ZenMother pick up the spinach for me that I couldn't get at the grocery stores I went to the other day. #IslandGirlProblems ...I digress. The point is that I had to adjust my plans, but I still wanted to make something impressive. And so, I give you:

Vegetarian Breakfast Casserole

What You Need:

NOT a muffin pan ;) but instead, a 9x13" baking pan

Cooking spray of your choice

More than likely, a cup of coffee or 2 (Add a little Velvet Cinn if you wanna get wild ;)

1/4 c of butter

1 medium size onion, diced (I used sweet yellow)

16 oz mushrooms, sliced

2-4 potatoes, quartered, then thinly sliced (I used my  PC Simple Slicer set on 2)

12 large eggs

1/4 c milk (you can substitute water if you're out of milk, like I usually am)

1-2 c fresh baby spinach, enough to make one layer in the pan

4-8 oz shredded cheddar cheese (or whatever cheese you have is fine)

What You Do:

*Brew your coffee. It's early, and your kids are going to be up any minute, if they aren't already. 

*Turn on a nice wake-up playlist such as Brazilian Radio on Pandora

*Grease your baking dish, and preheat your oven to 350

*Melt the butter in a skillet on high heat; add in your diced onion

*Once the onion begins to look translucent, add in the mushrooms. Turn your heat down to medium. Saute for about 5 minutes until the mushrooms have cooked fully. Then, remove them from the heat.

*While the veggies are being sauteed, arrange your potato slices on the bottom of the greased pan in an even layer

*Mix your eggs & milk (or water) in your favorite fashion. I love my NutriBullet and think EVERYONE should have one. Mixing all of the eggs and milk took me all of 10 seconds. It actually took me longer to crack all of the eggs. 

*Arrange the spinach in a second layer on top of the potatoes

*Pour the egg mixture in next, making sure it's evenly dispersed throughout the pan

*Add the sauteed veggies in next, again making sure it's all evenly dispersed

*Top with the cheese

*Cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes

*Take it out, remove the foil and bake for about another 20-30 minutes, long enough for the edges to brown and the cheese to get good and melty, maybe even slightly brown

Voila! 

This makes about 12 servings.

As always, let me know if you love it, tweak it, or hate it! 

xoxo

-Xile

Roasted Garlic & Chive Mashed Potatoes

I have been terrified of homemade mashed potatoes for years upon years. Everyone talks about getting the butter/milk ratio just right, gummy and sticky fails, and I am telling you this one worked for me on the first go, screw-ups and all...That has to mean something.

What You Need:

5 lbs of your fave potatoes (I used red)
1/2 c butter (I used salted sweet cream)
1 1/2 c milk (the fattier, the creamier your potatoes will be)
2-4 heads of fresh roasted garlic
Olive oil
1 handful of fresh-cut chives
pepper to taste

What You Do:

*Preheat oven to 400
*Pour a glass of white; I'm thinking like a Sauvignon Blanc or a nice Chardonnay. A bit of inspirational music from Michael Buble could be helpful. Cue: Pandora
*Prepare your garlic: peel off the excess skin on your heads of garlic, and trim off the head about 1/4 inch to expose each clove. Drizzle olive oil over the exposed surface and allow to penetrate the cloves. It will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 1-2 tsp per head. Wrap it together in foil, and bake it for 45-60 minutes on the middle rack. It's going to smell amazeballs. Enjoy it!
*Dice your potatoes, evenly sized, and put them in a big 'ol pan with enough water to cover them. I basically filled my dutch oven pan, and it worked out just fine. Bring them to a boil...Take care of your kids and forget about them until they nearly boil over; check them..Place a wooden spoon across the pan so they don't wreck your glass cook-top, and wait until they are slightly firm but break apart easily (about 20 minutes). Then drain them and pop them in a big mixing bowl.
*Right about now you will begin to remember that you are also roasting garlic. It smells soooo good that it inspires your husband to clean the bathroom. Check on it, but don't get overzealous. The longer it roasts, the better. Just don't let it burn. And that's pretty difficult, even while you're drinking wine. When you feel like it's uber soft and smelly, go ahead and pull it out of the oven.
*In a saucepan, add your milk and butter. Your garlic will have cooled enough by now to add it to the potatoes. I just squeezed it out right into the potatoes, and I might have tasted a bit that was left on my fingers ;)
*When you forget that you were supposed to only allow the butter to just melt, realize that the entire thing is about to boil over, and remove it from the heat. Let it set for a couple minutes while you begin to mash the potatoes just ever so slightly in the big giant bowl. I used my Pampered Chef Mix-N-Chop (AMAZING tool). Once the overly heated butter/milk mixture has cooled, add it to the potatoes slowly and use a hand mixer to blend it all together. Throw in a handful of chives, pepper to taste, and mix just a bit more.

THAT'S IT!!! Super easy mashed potatoes that aren't scary!

Please comment if you make them, how it works for your family and if you have any tweaks to share!

xoxo
-Xile

Pancakes for People Who Don't Like Pancakes: Apple Pecan Pancake Bake

I have been on a mission to make pancakes that *I* like for most of my life. I am just not a fan of them. I feel like they're overrated, having restaurants named after them and such. I mean, I know that waffles have restaurants named after them, too, but seriously...pancakes aren't that amazing...until today, that is. Today, even those of us who don't care for pancakes are going to lose their minds in an orgasmic food coma. Or maybe not, but I can promise that even pancake skeptics will love this recipe that is perfect for fall brunches!

What You Need:

2 cups flour (better for bread is awesome. Don't use whole wheat flour because it's too heavy)
2 Tbs white sugar
2 Tbs brown sugar
2 Tbs baking powder
2 eggs
2 cups milk
1/4 c vegetable oil
2 small or 1 large granny smith apple (don't use a red or golden delicious. You need something a bit tart), sliced thinly
1 c pecans, chopped
An indefinite amount of cinnamon (whatever you are comfortable with, I used close to probably 2 Tbs)
A dash of nutmeg
A dash of ginger

Your favorite syrup
Butter

What You Do:

*Preheat your oven to 350.
*Pour yourself a mimosa, and turn on Pandora ;)
*Mix your dry ingredients together. I put enough cinnamon to change the color of the mix to a beige-y color. It's really impossible to measure, but go with your gut. Then add your wet ingredients and mix until it's nice and smooth.
*Add your apples and pecans and mix a bit more until it's even
*Pour into a greased 9x13" baking pan of your choice.
*Pop it in the oven for about 30 minutes, until you can stick a toothpick/knife in the center and it comes out clean. The edges will start to be a bit brown

Serve topped with a bit of butter and your favorite syrup. I swear, I don't like pancakes, and this stuff is incredible. Let me know how it turns out for you!

-xoxo
Xile

Goddess-Worthy Sweet & Sour Pork Tenderloin

Hi there, it's me! I'm still alive and well out floating in the Caribbean Sea. Okay, well, I mean...I am on an island that is floating. Anyway, I know it's been forever, but that's what you get when it comes to me ;) Today I'm going to make everyone in your house love you by giving you a recipe for amazing sweet & sour pork.

I cannot tell a lie: this recipe is adapted from this one, BUT I made enough changes that I thought it worthy of posting my own. So let's get to it!

This recipe will give you at least 6 servings, depending on how many boys/men you have in your house that like to go back for more. That said, here's what you are going to need:

1.5 lbs of pork tenderloin, trimmed of the fat
An undisclosed and indefinite amount of Simply Asia® Sweet Ginger Garlic Seasoning
⅔c ketchup
⅓c rice vinegar (seasoned or plain, I used plain)
2 cans (20 oz)of pineapple chunks drained, save the juice & make sure it's pineapple juice, NOT heavy or light syrup. ew.
¼c brown sugar (dark or light, whichever you have)
2-4 tsp of Sriracha® I used only 2 because I have young ladies that can't agree on how much spice they prefer
2 tsp soy sauce
A splash of Sesame Tempura oil
2 tbs butter (REAL butter, people, no margarine)
1 bunch of green onions, chopped and separated white part from green
1 head of fresh garlic, sliced paper thin. Alternatively, you can mince it, but I prefer it shaved --don't be lazy and use a jar, please ;)
1 sweet onion, diced
2 green peppers, I like to dice them large
1 red pepper, also diced large
2 cups rice of your choice (We used Jasmine white rice)

Here's what you do:

*Prepare your pork. (HAHAHA, okay I'm immature) Using a meat tenderizer, pound out the meat until it's about 1 inch thick. Coat it with the Asian seasoning on both sides, then slice it up into manageable pieces, maybe about half an inch thick and 1.5-2" in length. Toss it in a bowl in the fridge to marinate for a couple hours. It's not major, but it will definitely add flavor.
*Prepare the initial sauce mix. In a bowl, whisk together the ketchup, rice vinegar, pineapple juice (NOT syrup!) from the canned pineapple, Sriracha, soy sauce, and brown sugar. Pour a splash (just enough to coat) of that into your pork marinade. 
*Now is a good time to start your rice. I like to make mine in the microwave with my super awesome Pampered Chef rice cooker so that it's done before I forget in the midst of making the meal that I forgot to make it. 2 cups of dry rice will give you 4 cups of prepared rice. If you need instructions on how to make rice, please see the package on whatever rice you bought :p
*Have a glass of wine. Turn on your favorite Pandora station and jam out for a minute or 2. Remember that you have to chop all the veggies, jam out some more, and then put everything in the fridge until you're ready to cook the pork and put everything together. Maybe have a second glass of wine, who knows?! 
*Heat your favorite tempura oil in your wok or a very large skillet...like probably 14" or so. Toss some more of that Asian seasoning in with the oil. What can I say, I'm addicted! Once it's nice and hot, stir fry the pork. This will take about 5 minutes probably. Do NOT overcook the pork. It's going to keep cooking a little while later. Take it out and put it aside in a big mixing bowl. Drain whatever grease and oil is in the pan and saute your veggies (sweet onion, green/red peppers) for a couple minutes until they have a bright color. Seriously like 3-4 minutes tops. Toss the veggies in the same bowl with the mostly cooked pork. 
*Brown your butter over medium heat and once it begins to brown...toss in the pineapple. Cook the pineapple over medium/high heat until it's a beautiful golden yellow and more opaque. Add your initial sauce mixture, along with your sliced garlic and the white part of the green onion. Reduce your heat to medium/low and let it simmer until the garlic is translucent. Then add the pork and veggies back to the pan and heat it through.
*Serve it over your rice with a green onion garnish. 

Remember to let me know how your family enjoyed it! Thanks for reading!

xoxo
-Xile