'Smothered' Chicken with Bacon!

Found a GREAT, fun recipe in 'Food and Wine' magazine.  It looked really good, and I have been looking for another great Chicken recipe that my family would devour!  FOUND it!  As always, I have simplified the recipe, and altered it some!  My husband and boys, and a friend eating over for dinner, did, indeed, devour it, and told me I needed to blog this recipe, so we remember it and make it often!! Happy to oblige!! :)

'Baconie', gravy goodness!!

'Smothered' Chicken with Bacon!
10 bone in chicken thighs
6 thick slices of bacon- cut into strips
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 medium onion- sliced in half rings
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp Asian fish sauce
2 tsps soy sauce
6 bay leaves
3 cups chicken broth (I used 1 1/2 Tbsp of Knorr's powdered bouillon in 3 cups water)
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
pepper- to taste  (most likely, won't need salt..taste to check)
about 2-3 tsp Wondra Powder (for sauce at end)

Fry up bacon, til crisp.  After it is crisp, pull it out of pan and put aside into a small bowl.  KEEP the bacon grease in pan!

Place chicken thighs (excess skin and fat removed), skin side down into hot bacon grease.  Cook on med-high for about 5 minutes.

Flip over~ cook another 5 minutes!

Take Chicken out of frying pan, and put onto platter.  Leave 2 Tbsp of pan juices in pan!

Add sliced onions and bay leaves into pan and cook 2 minutes. Then add garlic, and cook another minute or two.

Add Vinegar, and soy sauce.  Scrape up bits.  Add chicken broth, fish sauce, and red pepper flakes!   Let simmer for 5 minutes.  Put chicken BACK INTO PAN, and simmer on low for 30 minutes, turning chicken over once during this time.  In pic below, I pulled out chicken again after cooking it the 30 minutes, then added Wondra powder to thicken up sauce.  IF sauce is too salty, add some water and reduce for a bit, then add Wondra Powder! 

After sauce has thickened some, add chicken back  into pan!  Let people take a piece of chicken, and spoon gravy-like sauce over it!

We served this over garlic and Herb Couscous!   The Couscous really soaks up all that flavor!! Such a great pairing!!  Hope you love, like we did!! 

TEXAS Hot Beef Dip!! Texas PARTY must!!

This Hot Beef Dip is Soooo addicting!!   (and Texans LOVE their Beef!!)  We have to make it for EVERY holiday and special family get together, as well as when we have friends over for the big game!!  I SWEAR, all men love this!  (the ladies, too!)  You can eat this dip with Chips, or go low carb, and eat it with zucchini slices!!  It's so yummy, my boys would actually be really upset if I didn't make it for a get together!!  :)

TEXAS HOT BEEF DIP! ~ Texas addiction!!!

YUM!!!  Boys digging in!!

HOT BEEF DIP~
1 pound ground beef~ lean
1  8 oz. block of Philadelphia Cream Cheese
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup Ketchup
1  8 oz. can tomato sauce
1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated (we just use parm. from shake bottle)
1 medium onion, minced
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp pepper~ or to taste
3-4 nice dashes of red pepper flakes
1 tsp sugar

Sounds a little...JUST a little, redneck-like, :) but we serve this dip with  Nacho Cheese Doritos!!  It's AMAZING with these chips!  (BTW, I love rednecks!  Fun, awesome, real peeps!)

Cook up ground beef with minced onion, and garlic~ drain fat when cooked up!

After you drain out any fat, add all the rest of ingredients and mix well!  Cook on low, til all is melted, and nice and HOT!

We put the dip into a small crock pot, to serve, and it keeps the dip nice and warm!!

The family and friends on low carb diets use sliced zucchini instead of chips, and it's still AWESOME!!  HOPE Y'ALL LOVE THIS EASY, yet AMAZING DIP!!

Caprese Salad!!

Texas is starting to warm up for Spring!  Had our first Bar-B-Q of the year, and we grilled up some great Texas T-Bones!  Had to have a great salad with it, so I whipped up my families Caprese Salad!  SO yummy, easy to make, and fast~ fast to make, and eat!  YUMMY!

Caprese Salad!

2 pints grape tomatoes
2 8oz. packs of fresh mozzarella balls
 .66 oz pack of fresh basil- chopped
around 2 oz. of fresh pesto sauce
around 2 oz. of Italian dressing

Mix up all the goodies, and served chilled! Can't stop eating this stuff...it's amazing!!

Great Grandma's Chicken and Rice!

I love this old family recipe for Chicken and rice!  So yummy and simple!  I whipped it up, threw it in the oven, and sat on my deck by the fire pit, til it was done!~  Watched the sun go down, sipping on a glass of Cabernet!!  Doesn't get much better than this!  I get to relax, while the recipe bakes up, and when the timer goes off~ all my boys get fed!!  :)

Great Grandma's Chicken and Rice!

Dig in!!

10-16 skinless chicken thighs

1 large onion, finely chopped

4 celery stalks, finely chopped

8-10 bay leaves

1 pound petite whole green beans, thawed

2- 4 oz. cans sliced mushrooms, drained

1 stick of butter, cut into slices

2 cups uncooked basmati and wild rice mix~Tilda brand best

4 cups chicken broth, I like to use Knorr's powdered chicken bouillon so 4 Tbsp into the 4 cups

3 Tbsp olive oil

2 well rounded tsp marjoram

3 tsp tarragon

1 1/2 tsp thyme

1 tsp paprika

1 well rounded tsp of cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground all spice

5 dashes red pepper flakes

1 1/2 tsp black pepper

Salt, if needed at end of cooking

After you chop up veggies, put the olive oil in bottom of dutch oven, followed by half the chicken. Top with half the celery, mushrooms, onion, butter, and bay leaves. (bay leaves not in pic) lightly salt and pepper.  Repeat with another layer!  Cover, and put into preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.

While chicken is in oven, make up the broth and seasonings.  I put them all into the chicken broth, so the flavors incorporate well.

After the 45 minutes are done, add rice, green beans, and chicken stock with all the seasonings in it!  Stir well, to get all rice under liquid! Cover and bake for another 45 minutes!

I like to have a small bit of broth left in dish when I pull it out of oven.  As long as rice is cooked, the bit of extra broth is a nice addition! The rice is usually cooked perfectly!  :) (pic has peas in it, because I had some handy, but usually I do not put them into recipe)  Check the flavor for salt, and add some if you feel the need.  The flavor of my great grandma's chicken and rice recipe is SO unique and GOOD!  Hope y'all love it too!!  Blessings~

Sweet and Spicy Sticky Chicken!!

Talk about easy, but melt in your mouth juicy~ this Sweet and spicy sticky chicken is awesome!  I wanted to do something different tonight, but affordable, that we would enjoy and would wake up our taste buds!  This was the perfect dish!  My boys and hubby ate every last piece, while licking their fingers clean!  :) The mom-wife in me LOVES to see this!!  :)

Sweet and Spicy Sticky Chicken!

10 chicken thighs, shaken in Ziplock gallon bag with 

1/2 cup flour mixed with 3 Tbsp corn starch and 1 Tbsp salt~

Bake on greased (Pam) cookie sheet at 450 degrees, Best with a wire rack,  for 20 minutes-flipping once if you do not have a wire rack, Make up Sticky Sauce and heat in sauce pan on simmer.  After baking for 20 minutes, put each piece of chicken into sweet sauce (won't be 'syrupy' yet, at this point), then back onto cookie sheet to cook for another 20 minutes~

Sauce~

2 Tbsp minced Garlic

2 Tbsp grated ginger

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 cups apple cider

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup Sriracha Chili Sauce

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Continue to simmer sauce on low, or just on true simmer til sauce is nice and syrupy, while chicken bakes for last 20 minutes!  I grated ginger, and threw in some shaved pieces to get 'candied' as well~  it's so good!

After you cook chicken for the 2nd time for 20 minutes, make sure there are no pink juices .  If the juices are running clear, you're good to go!  Take the baked chicken and toss in large bowl with the Sticky Syrup!  Toss well, and serve immediately with lots of napkins!  YUM, YUM!!  Sometimes getting your fingers sticky is so worth it!!  :)

Pic with more sauce poured over it! Skin stays nice and crispy!  It's a wonderful recipe!! :)

"Turkey Fried' Whole Fried Chickens!

So, we deep fried our extra Turkey we got from Thanksgiving in our new indoor butterball fryer.  It was great!  I hated to throw all the oil away after one use, so we all wanted to see how whole fried chickens would turn out~ in a word, AWESOME!  SO easy!  SO yummy!  We will do this every time after we fry up our turkeys!   It is strange though, because the chickens are to be cooked longer per pound than the turkeys.  I didn't believe it, but it is so.  They say to cook 5-7 minutes a pound for chickens.  I took them out of fryer at 5 minutes a pound, pricked the thigh to see if the juices ran clear, but it was pink.  I threw them back into fryer for another minute a pound, and it was perfect!  I had 2, 5 pound chickens and cooked them for 30 minutes~ 6 minutes a pound!  Melt in your mouth chicken!!

'Turkey Fried' Whole Fried Chickens!

Our new Butterball Indoor Electric Fryer XL~  Works like a charm, and seems much safer than our old outdoor fryer that used twice as much oil.  Put 2 gallons of peanut oil into fryer~ more if using an outdoor fryer.  Set heat to 350 degrees.  Will take about 30-45 minutes to heat oil to proper temperature.

Rinse, then completely dry chickens inside and out, with paper towels.  Be sure to remove neck and gizzards.  Both these chickens are 5 pounders, and I deep fried them for 30 minutes after I seasoned them with onion powder, black pepper, and Slap Ya Mama Cajun Seasoning.

DONE Deep frying!  Take them out of fryer, and put them on carving platter and loosely cover with foil.  Tent it for 10 minutes before you carve into it.  It should be so very juicy!  Ours melted in our mouths!!  AMAZING!! 

Roast Beef Appetizer Bundles! LOW Carb, and YUMMY for the New Year!

OK~  it's the NEW YEAR so most of us are on diets to take off the extra pounds we gained during our FUN Holidays!  (and they were FUN!! :)  Just went to my cousin Jean's house for a party, and since I, and most of my family, are officially on a diet, I had to find some appetizer to make and bring, that all of us could enjoy and eat!!  I found an appetizer idea that sounded great, and it was!  I adjusted it a bit, as any of you can as well!  SO basic, and great!  They flew off the plate!  (by the way~ Cousin Jean's party ROCKED!  Just sayin'!  :)

Roast Beef Appetizer Bundles!  Low Carb, Greatness!! 

1 pound rare roast beef~ cut thick from deli

1 tub Boursin Spreadable cheese~ Vermont White Cheddar and sage

About 1 Oz. baby Arugula, or more to your preference

1 large red, or orange sweet pepper~ cleaned, seeded, and cut into small strips

Small drizzle of olive oil~ optional

Fresh cracked pepper

Take each slice of roast beef, and then cut them in half, lengthwise.  Spread about 1-2 tsps Boursin Cheese into each middle, then place sprigs of Arugula and sliced sweet pepper piece over that...roll up, and place onto serving dish, seam-side down! 

All assembled, and ready to be eaten!  I was surprised that even the people who are not watching their waste lines, nor diets attacked these as well!  They are a win-win appetizer!!  So easy, tasty, and GREAT!!  I sprinkled these with a bit of Olive Oil and fresh cracked pepper before I served (very little Olive oil!!  :) Tee Hee~