Tin Foil Dinners by Ian!

Tonight was Game of Thrones night and to top off a beautiful and fun-packed weekend we barbecued tin foil dinners! Ian made these the first (and only time) he took me camping and let me say, it was by far the highlight of our camping trip. Other highlights (not good ones) were me getting stung by a bee for the first time, not finding the poles in the tent bag and having to bungee cord our tent to two trees, Ian breaking out in hives all over his body from the pollen in the river water, etc. It was a weekend of camping we will never forget :) Tonight our tin foil dinners included chicken, carrots, sweet potatoes, onions topped with butter, garlic and Eckness (a Burns family seasoning as I like to call it). They were delicious and I got to save some for lunch this week! My sous chef and I switched roles for this meal and he led the way!

Ingredients 

(for 1 tin foil dinner + leftovers)

1 chicken breast

1/2 small sweet onion

3-4 large carrots chopped

1 small sweet potato, boiled then chopped

1-2 tsp butter

1 clove garlic, minced

Eckness seasoning! (If you don't have Eckness you can use any seasoning salt blend)

Equipment:

tin foil

BBQ

Directions

1. Rip off a good piece of tin foil, approximately 1.5 ft long. Place raw chicken breast in the middle of foil and sprinkle with Eckness. Press the seasoning into the chicken breast on both sides. 

2. Put your butter and half the garlic on top of the chicken.

3. Pile your vegetables on top of of the chicken. Add the rest of your garlic and more Eckness! 

4. Add some more Eckness!

5. Wrap up the tin foil so everything is secure inside. Add another layer of tin foil around it.

6. Barbecue for about 30 minutes. You can check at about 20 minutes to see how cooked the chicken is.

Chef Ian

Crock Pot Orange Chicken

Ingredients

2 large chicken breasts

1 cup flour

olive oil

1 Tbs kosher salt 

6 oz. frozen orange juice concentrate (1/2 can)

3 Tbs brown sugar

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

3 Tbs ketchup

Extra flavoring:

1/2 tsp minced ginger

2 cloves garlic

2 Tbs soy sauce

1 tsp red pepper flakes (if you like it a little spicy)

Directions

1. Cut the chicken into small cubes. Cover in flour.

2. Put some oil in a heated skillet and brown the chicken. Don't cook all the way through.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the frozen orange juice concentrate, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar and ketchup. Zap the frozen juice in the microwave for 30 seconds.

4. Chop and mince your garlic and ginger.

5. Add the garlic, ginger, soy sauce and red pepper flakes to the sauce and stir. 

6. Combine the chicken and sauce in a crock pot.

7. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. Try to stir every hour so that the chicken doesn't burn.

Ian and I loved this dish! We served it over jasmine rice and paired it with green beans. We thought it was so yummy and it is a lot healthier than Panda Express :) 

Pesto Parmesan Chippy Chips

Get ready for pesto recipe after pesto recipe. I bought a Costco-size jar of pesto and it only lasts a month...Ian thinks that's not a problem and that we won't let it go to waste...so here is pesto recipe no. 2 that I made up today :)

This is pre-broiling. I ate them all before I could take a picture of them post-broiling!

All you need:

Yummy tortilla chips (I used quinoa black bean chips from Trader Joes)

Pesto

Shredded Parmesan

It's pretty easy to figure out what to do next...Pesto on the chip and sprinkle the cheese on top! Then broil until the cheese is bubbling, keep an eye on it though! I have burned so many things on broil...just ask Ian :)

PF Changs Lettuce Wraps

All the credit for this recipe goes to Miss Iowa Girl Eats and it was delicious! This week has been named Asian recipe week. I made PF Changs Lettuce Wraps tonight and I will also make Kung Pao Chicken, Cashew Chicken and Orange Chicken this week. All recipes are healthier versions of your favorite Asian dishes! 

INGREDIENTS

1lb ground chicken breast

1/2 medium onion, minced

salt & pepper

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1 inch nob fresh ginger, peeled & minced

1 Tablespoon sesame oil

2 1/2 Tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 Tablespoon water

1 Tablespoon natural peanut butter

1/2 Tablespoon honey

1 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon rice vinegar

2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce (or more if you like it hotter)

dash of fresh pepper

3 green onions, chopped

1/2-8oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained & chopped

1/4 cup peanuts, chopped

1 head of iceberg lettuce

DIRECTIONS

1. In a skillet, cook the chicken with onion, salt & pepper. Cook the chicken until it is almost done.

2. Add garlic and ginger, and continue cooking until chicken is no longer pink.

3. In another bowl combine sesame oil, soy sauce, water, peanut butter, honey, rice vinegar, chili garlic sauce and pepper. Microwave for 20 seconds, then stir until smooth. Add into the skillet and stir to combine.

4. Add green onion and water chestnuts into the skillet then cook for 1-2 minutes until the onions are soft and the water chestnuts are heated through.

5. Wash iceberg lettuce leaves and dry.

6. Sprinkle the peanuts on your meat mixture and enjoy!

Don't forget the chopped peanuts!

great dinner for ian and i!

On a side note, check out the cool new cutting tool I got this weekend! I will try not to cut off a finger...

Great for mincing and fine chopping.

Barbecued Pizza by Kelly

I went back home to Yakima the other weekend and Kelly made me pizza on the BBQ! He is a BBQ King. I always look forward to his BBQ-ed treats in the summertime (and wintertime too)! He didn't necessarily approve of what I put on my pizza (goat cheese, ahem) but I loved it!

Goat Cheese, Bacon and Caramelized Onion Barbecued Pizza

Ingredients

refrigerated pizza crust (I like the thin crust)

3 slices thick-cut bacon, cooked and chopped

3 oz goat cheese

1/2 yellow onion sliced, caramelized

pizza sauce or pesto sauce

Directions

1. Roll out your pizza crust:

2. Caramelize your onions:

3. Get your toppings ready:

4. Let the BBQ Master cook the crust on one side. Then he flips it and as quickly as you can, spread your pizza sauce, sprinkle your toppings and close the BBQ lid to cook the rest of the way!

Enjoy your BBQ yumminess and try not to eat the whole thing...NOT!

Check out the picture below, who does not belong??

Easter Eats by Mandi

I was very blessed this year to spend Easter with my cousin, little cousin, aunt, uncle and grandma! I stuffed eggs with candy and hid them around the house and yard. There were some moving eggs that really tricked my little cousin :) I also ate a ton of candy which put me in withdrawals this afternoon at work...luckily my friend came to my rescue and brought some candy to my cube! Two highlights of Mandi's Easter dinner were the ham and dessert:

Pineapple, Cherries and Mustard Glazed Ham!

Ham recipe here!

Stuffed Strawberries!

Strawberry recipe here!

Pesto Cream Cheese Dip

Yum yum! If you love cream cheese this dip is for you. I was looking for a quick dip to make with things I already had and this is what I found!

Quinoa and Black Bean Tortilla Chips w/ pesto cream cheese dip

3 oz cream cheese
3 tbsp refrigerated prepared pesto
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp paprika

Mix cream cheese and pesto together in a bowl until completely blended and creamy. Stir in lemon juice, olive oil, and paprika

Pear, Goat Cheese and Bacon Baguettes

I was craving something yummy for dinner the other night and I wanted to use items in my fridge. This is what I came up with!

Ingredients
1 pear
4 strips of bacon
1 baguette of French bread
balsalmic vinegar
Goat cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Sprinkle goat cheese on slice baguette and put in the oven until the bread is crisp. (Goat cheese doesn't really melt)
Cook your bacon to your preferred crispiness.
Once bread is done, put your bacon and sliced pears on top.
Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and enjoy!

These turned out pretty well for an experiment. We left them open faced but if I made them again I would load up the sammys with more ingredients and put the other slice on top.

Game of Thrones Roasted Feast Veggies

Feast Veggies!

Last Sunday was the season premiere of Game of Thrones: Season 2 so we had a feast at Ian's house! We had rotisserie chicken, bread with olive oil and balsamic, wine and these feast veggies!


Ingredients
3 red potatoes
1 large handful of green beans
1/2 onion
4 large carrots
2 ziploc bags
balsamic vinegar
olive oil
rosemary
thyme
salt and pepper

Directions
Chop up your veggies, put in two freezer size Ziploc bags about 3 hours before you want to eat.
In each bag put in olive oil, balsalmic, rosemary and thyme, salt and pepper. I didn't measure anything out, just made sure everything was coated.
Shake the bags around and lay down to marinate.
An hour before you want to eat: Preheat oven to 450 degrees, put the marinated veggies in a large deep skillet and cover with foil.
Bake for about 45 minutes, stirring them every 15 minutes. For the last 10 minutes take the foil off the let the veggies brown a little bit.

As always, every oven is different so keep an eye on your veggies to make sure they don't burn or dry out!