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In , on April 9, 2016 with No Comments

Chicken Stuffed With Spinach, Feta and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

I’ve been on the hunt for good-tasting stuffed chicken breast recipes. I tried one a few weeks back that was good, but it needed a little “something” to take the taste over the top. It also had spinach and cheese in the stuffing, and that recipe also had white wine. It was good, but the boys were only okay with it.



Tonight I decided to jazz up the spices just a bit. I went back to the spinach and cheese theme from before, but this time I added in some feta along with the mozzarella, and I added some sun-dried tomatoes for extra earthy flavor. I replaced the wine with a red pepper Italian dressing, and I used this as a marinade/sauce over the top of the chicken. All in all, I like this flavor profile much better than the other one, even though I’ll probably make that one again someday.

 

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This really is quick and easy to throw together, and you can halve or double the recipe as needed. Just use one boneless, skinless chicken breast per serving. My chicken took about 45 minutes to bake, but your time may vary according to your oven. Just make sure the chicken temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. ETA: Next time I’m going to stuff in as much cheese as I possibly can. I was being overly cautious because I wanted to make sure I could “close” the pocket. Next time, I won’t care if everything runs over and out – this was really good 🙂

 

chicken stuffed with spinach, feta and tomatoes

 

chicken stuffed with spinach, feta and tomatoes 2-cut

 

Chicken Stuffed With Spinach, Feta and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup washed fresh baby spinach

1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

8 ounces sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 bottle red pepper-flavored Italian salad dressing

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with baking spray.

Slit each chicken breast to make a pocket in the middle, making sure not to cut completely through the chicken breast. Add spinach, feta cheese, tomatoes and mozzarella cheese to each chicken pocket. Use toothpicks to hold the chicken breasts together, and place chicken in the prepared baking dish. Pour the Italian dressing over top of the chicken. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 40 to 45 minutes, or until the chicken reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

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In , on March 30, 2016 with No Comments

Maple Dijon Chicken

It was another night for chicken in the Wood house, and when I’m busy at work, I like to bake chicken breasts. You can do a variety of tasty dishes just by varying the sauce you bake them in. Tonight’s designated recipe featured pure maple syrup and Dijon mustard along with a few herbs to jazz things up a bit. It’s super simple and takes only a few minutes to put the sauce together. You can marinade the chicken for a bit if you have the time, or simply pop the chicken into the oven to get dinner on the table quick. The boys loved this and said I can make this again – add another recipe to the taste-tested and approved list 🙂

 

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maple dijon chicken 2

 

maple dijon chicken

 

maple dijon chicken plated

 

Maple Dijon Chicken

3 to 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1/2 cup good Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves (or can use a few sprigs of fresh)

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary (or use a few sprigs of fresh)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a small baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. In a small bowl, combine all the sauce ingredients, mixing well to combine. Brush the sauce over both sides of the chicken breasts, and place the chicken in the prepared baking dish. Pour any extra sauce over the tops of the chicken. You can refrigerate this for a few hours if you desire before baking.

Bake chicken at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 40 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Serve with the extra sauce spooned over top of the chicken.




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In , , on March 29, 2016 with No Comments

Mexican Stuffed Shells

On my last trip to Stringtown, I stocked up on bulk flours, pasta and spices. One of the things I bought was large pasta shells that are great for stuffing with your favorite fillings. I usually tend to go Italian when I make pasta, but this time I decided to shake things up a bit and go with a Mexican-flavored dish. I found this recipe on The Way to His Heart, and this recipe is a keeper.



It’s super easy to do, and you can prepare everything ahead of time and refrigerate until you’re ready to bake it for dinner. My sons will eat anything that has pasta or anything Mexican inspired, so this dish was a win-win at dinnertime.

mexican stuffed shells 2

 

mexican stuffed shells plated 2

 

 

Mexican Stuffed Shells

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1 package low-sodium taco seasoning (I use Wildtree’s taco seasoning as it has no preservatives)

4 ounces cream cheese

18 jumbo-sized pasta shells

1 1/2 cups salsa

1 cup taco sauce

2 cups Mexican-flavored shredded cheese (usually a combination of Monterey Jack and cheddar cheeses)

Toppings: green onions, olives, sour cream, shredded lettuce (optional)

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a skillet, brown the ground beef. Drain any fat. Add the taco seasoning according to package directions. Add the cream cheese to the skillet, and cook until the cheese is completely melted and blended well into the meat. Add half of the jar of salsa to the meat and cheese mixture, stirring to completely combine. Set aside and let cool completely.

While the beef is browning, cook pasta shells according to package instructions. Drain. When cool enough to handle, you’re ready to assemble the dish.

Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spread the other half of the salsa in the bottom of the baking dish. Fill pasta shells with the cooled meat mixture, and place in the baking dish open side up. Cover the shells with the taco sauce. Cover the baking dish with foil, and bake shells covered for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, uncover the baking dish, and sprinkle the shredded cheese over the tops of the shells. Bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes without the foil, or until the cheese is melted and golden brown. Serve with toppings of your choice (black olives, green onions, sour cream, lettuce and additional salsa or taco sauce).

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In , on March 27, 2016 with 1 Comment

Herb Chicken With Lemon Cream Sauce

Chicken thighs are often on sale at my local grocery store, so I tend to stock up when it’s a good deal. That said, I’m always on the lookout for new and different ways of making chicken because the kids get tired of the same-old-same-old. I always turn to Pinterest for new recipe ideas, and I’ve got hundreds and hundreds of recipes on different boards that I’ve pinned to try down the road. If you’re looking for a good source on Pinterest, feel free to follow me there because I’m always adding something new that I’ve found.


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Anyway, I found this delicious-sounding chicken recipe that uses lemons, lots of herbs and cream. What’s not to like? I found the recipe at Damn Delicious, and this is a great blog with tons of wonderful recipes that I can’t wait to try, especially in her Quick & Easy Category.

This recipe is super easy to pull together, and the chicken tastes divine. You can, of course, use fresh herbs instead of the dried if you have them. Just increase the amounts if you do, as you always use fewer dried herbs than fresh. The original recipe called for skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs, but I used skinless, boneless and baked mine, making the sauce separately. I’d planned on using my cast iron skillet to sear the chicken first and then finish the chicken off in the oven while cooking in the sauce, but I’ll be darned if I can find that dang cast iron skillet after we moved 🙂 Oh well, it turned out just as delicious baked in a glass 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Sometimes you just have to improvise. Feel free to prepare this whichever way is easiest for you. It’s perfect for just your family or if you’re having guests over for dinner. Just don’t tell them how easy it was to prepare—they’ll think you slaved over this to get these flavors 🙂

 

herbed chicken with lemon cream sauce

 

Herb Chicken With Lemon Cream Sauce

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Zest of 1 lemon

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (can use bone-in, with skin if you prefer)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

 

For the Lemon Cream Sauce:

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more to taste)

1/2 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup heavy cream

Juice of 1 lemon

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, mustard, lemon zest, thyme and rosemary. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Using your fingers or a pastry brush, work the mixture onto both sides of the chicken. Place chicken pieces in a greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the minced garlic and the red pepper flakes to the skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the chicken stock, heavy cream, lemon juice and basil. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.

Bring the sauce to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until slightly thickened, about 3 to 5 minutes. Pour the sauce over the chicken pieces in the baking dish. Bake chicken until completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit, about 25 to 30 minutes.

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In , , , on March 22, 2016 with No Comments

Meatball and Gnocchi Casserole

I wanted to make a quick yet tasty casserole for when the boys got home after work, and after looking through my cupboards and freezer, I decided to make a meatball and gnocchi bake. I’d stocked up on shelf-stable gnocchi when I’d gone to the city because our small-town grocery store doesn’t carry it, and I can only eat the chicken and gnocchi soup so many times in a month, so I wanted to use them in a different way. This recipe was the ticket.




I used frozen Italian-style meatballs in this recipe, and I know it would be absolutely fabulous with homemade meatballs too. I just didn’t have the time to make homemade meatballs tonight, not that they take all that long to make, but I basically needed a dump-and-go casserole for a quick dinner. Since the meatballs I used were fully cooked, I simply browned them in the skillet, but if you’re making homemade meatballs, make sure you cook them in the skillet until they’re fully cooked through to 160 degrees Fahrenheit (about 6 minutes or so). You can saute the vegetables at the same time the gnocchi is boiling, and that really is the longest part of this recipe. From the time the gnocchi drops in the boiling water to the time you’re putting the casserole in the oven, prep time is about 10 to 15 minutes. Baking time is 30 minutes, and then you’ve got a delicious meal on the table in less than an hour. Win-win in our house 🙂

 

meatball gnocchi casserole 2

 

meatball gnocchi casserole plated

Meatball and Gnocchi Casserole

1 16-ounce package of gnocchi

1 1/2 cup pasta sauce

1 package (26 count) Italian-style fully cooked meatballs (or use your favorite homemade meatball recipe)

Extra-virgin olive oil

8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 medium green pepper, stemmed, seeded and diced

1/2 cup thinly sliced onion (1 small onion)

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook gnocchi according to package directions. Drain. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in the pasta sauce, and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat about 2 teaspoons of the extra-virgin olive oil over medium heat, about 2 to 3 swirls of the bottle around the skillet. Add the mushrooms, green pepper and sliced onions. Saute for about 7 minutes, or until soft. Add the vegetables to the gnocchi in the bowl.

In the same skillet, add another 2 teaspoons of the olive oil. Lightly brown the meatballs on all sides. Drain and add meatballs to the bowl with the gnocchi and vegetables. Gently stir to combine.

Pour the meatball and gnocchi mixture into a greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Cover with foil, and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. Uncover. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese evenly over the top of the casserole, and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and golden brown.

 

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In , , , , on March 19, 2016 with No Comments

Irish Dinner: Corned Beef & Cabbage and Bailey’s Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

We held our annual St. Patrick’s day dinner a few days late this year, but my family will eat corned beef and cabbage anytime I have the urge to make it. We have brined our own brisket to make corned beef, but tonight I used a corned beef I bought at the grocery store. It amazes me how many people have told me they’ve never cooked corned beef before. I think it’s the simplest dinner in the world to make—all you need is a Crock-Pot. Open package of corned beef, dump all contents into the slow cooker, and turn the dial to either low (6 to 8 hours) or high (4 to 5 hours) depending how soon you want dinner. That’s it. Easy peasy.

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For the cabbage, my folks traditionally did the boiled cabbage bit. It was okay, but it really is bland. I’ve since done my St. Patrick’s Day cabbage by frying it. Add a stick of butter to the skillet, cut up your cabbage however you like it (diced, sliced, etc.). Add it to the skillet, season with salt and pepper to taste, and let it cook until the cabbage is softened but not mush. Another easy peasy side dish, which is how I like them 🙂

 

corned beef and cabbage 2

 

For dessert, it had to be something Irish-influenced as well, and what’s more Irish than booze? Today I decided to make a Bailey’s chocolate chip cheesecake in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. It really was a toss-up between this and a Guinness dark chocolate cheesecake, but Bailey’s won out. This time anyway!


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I’ve made this cheesecake before. Be forewarned, though, the flavor of the Irish cream really comes through in the final product. A lot of recipes call for 3/4 cup of Bailey’s, which I used the first time I made this. If you love Bailey’s, you’ll probably be fine with it, but if you’re so-so or you only want a hint of the Irish cream flavor, you can definitely use less. I typically use about 1/4 cup of Bailey’s because I want to taste the rest of the ingredients, not just Bailey’s. This doesn’t have a ganache on top, but feel free to add one if you’d like — the more chocolate the merrier I say 🙂

The cheesecake pictures aren’t the best – still trying to find the best lighting in this new apartment, and the cheesecake itself decided to split after about 2 hours of cooking (of course!)  — but it tasted devine 🙂

 

bailey's cheesecake whole

 

bailey's cheesecake half pie

bailey's cheesecake slice

 

Bailey’s Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (10 to 12 crackers)

4 tablespoons butter, melted

1 tablespoon sugar

32 ounces (4 packages) cream cheese, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup Bailey’s Irish cream liqueur (or other brand is fine)

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon good vanilla

1 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Wrap the sides of a 9-inch springform pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil.

Combine graham cracker crumbs, 1 tablespoon sugar and the melted butter. Press mixture onto the bottom of the springform pan. Set aside.

In a mixer, beat the cream cheese and the 1 1/2 cups sugar until smooth. Add the Bailey’s, and stir to combine. Add in the eggs, one at a time, and beat until thoroughly mixed. Mix in the sour cream and vanilla, mixing until just smooth. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour cheesecake batter into the springform pan. Place the springform pan in a larger pan, and add water to that pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Turn off the oven, and leave cheesecake in the oven for an additional hour. Remove from the oven, let cool slightly, and then refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving. Top with chocolate ganache or whipped cream as desired.


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In , on March 17, 2016 with No Comments

Baked Potato Soup

I love soup and loaded baked potatoes, and I’ve made different versions of a loaded baked potato soup for years. The basic ingredients are usually the same: potatoes, bacon, cheese and sour cream. How you prepare your potatoes varies from recipe to recipe. Some recipes have you peel and dice them, then cook the potatoes in butter until soft. In other recipes, like the one I made tonight, you use already baked potatoes, with the skin on, which not only helps speed up how long it takes to make the soup, but you also get the added fiber, vitamins and minerals found in the potato skins. I’m the first to admit I hate to peel potatoes (can’t hang on to the slippery little devils thanks to the dropsies from carpal tunnel), so anytime I can use a potato in a recipe without peeling it – I’m in.




 

You can make this soup on the stove, or you can add your ingredients to a slow cooker and cook on low all day – just add the sour cream right before serving if you decide to use your Crock-Pot. You can reserve the bacon pieces to garnish each bowl, or you can add it all back into the soup, which I like to do so the bacon flavors the entire soup. You can garnish with green onions and extra shredded cheese if you like. However you make it, your kitchen will smell great, and your family will really enjoy this recipe.

baked potato soup

 

Baked Potato Soup

4 slices bacon, diced

5 tablespoons butter

6 potatoes, already baked with skins on, roughly diced (microwave them when you’re in a hurry to get dinner on the table)

1 box (32 ounces) Kitchen Stock’s unsalted chicken stock

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon herbs de Provence (optional – I add this to most of my soups)

2 cups milk (approximate)

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

Green onions, chopped, for garnish (optional)

 

In a large stockpot, cook diced bacon pieces over medium heat until browned. Remove with a slotted spoon, and set aside.

To the same stockpot with the bacon drippings, melt 5 tablespoons butter. Add the roughly diced baked potatoes to the pot, stirring to coat with the butter and bacon drippings. Add the box of chicken stock to the stockpot, and turn the heat down to low. Stir to combine ingredients. Cook over low for about 10 minutes or so, until the soup begins to thicken, stirring occasionally. (Because the potatoes are baked, you shouldn’t need to add any flour or other thickener, as the potatoes will thicken the soup themselves). Add the milk to the soup – this amount may be more or less than stated in the recipe based on how thick or how thin you like your potato soup. Add the shredded cheddar cheese to the soup, and cook over low heat until heated thoroughly and the cheese has melted completely.

Just before serving, stir in the sour cream. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Garnish soup with chopped green onions and additional cheddar cheese or cooked bacon pieces if desired.

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In , on March 16, 2016 with No Comments

Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Spinach and Ricotta

I was reading through some magazines while at the laundromat, and I came across a chicken recipe in an old issue of Cooking Light. I love to use chicken breast in my dinner recipes because it’s easy to make a quick dinner, and you can do a variety of things with it. This one is a riff on chicken cordon bleu, as my youngest son pointed out to me, where instead of ham and Swiss cheese you use spinach and ricotta cheese. And add wine. Good white wine – get a big enough bottle to use some in the recipe and have the rest of the bottle with dinner 🙂 If you don’t like to cook with wine, or you’ve got young children and don’t want to use it, feel free to substitute apple juice for the white wine – it will still turn out delicious.




This dish can easily be doubled or halved depending how many you’re cooking for and how hungry your diners are. Serve this with a nice side salad and some crusty bread, and you’ve got an easy, great-tasting meal. I decided to serve our stuffed chicken with some home-canned green beans cooked with bacon – yum!

 

stuffed chicken breast - plated

 

Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Spinach and Ricotta

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/3 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry

1 large egg

6 6-ounce skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1/2 cup dry white wine

 

To prepare the filling, combine the first 7 ingredients.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

To prepare the chicken, place each chicken breast half between two sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap. Pound each chicken breast to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Divide the filling and spread it evenly over the chicken breast halves.

stuffed chicken breast with spinach filling

Roll the chicken up jelly roll style. Tuck in the sides, and place the chicken, seam side down, in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish.

stuffed chicken breast in pan

Pour the wine over the chicken, and cover the dish with foil.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes, basting the chicken a couple of times with the wine. Uncover and bake an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until the chicken is done. Remove the chicken from the pan; keep warm. Strain the wine mixture through a sieve over a bowl; discard any solids. Serve the wine mixture over the chicken.

stuffed chicken breast - baked

 

Yield: Serves 6

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In , , on March 11, 2016 with No Comments

Chicken with Bacon Mustard Sauce

I’m always on the lookout for new and different ways to make chicken, whether it’s baked, grilled or pan fried. I was searching through my various pins on Pinterest and came across this pan chicken recipe from Julia’s Album, a site that has a load of terrific recipes. My sons are game to try new recipes, and since this one calls for bacon, I knew it would be a hit with them, and it was. They loved it. The recipe starts by cooking the bacon and the onion and then lightly searing the chicken. The chicken then poaches in the mustardy-bacon-onion-flavored chicken broth – absolutely delicious and simple to do!




I paired the chicken with some roasted asparagus. I’ve had spring fever really bad with all the nice weather we’ve had here lately in Iowa, and nothing says spring to me like fresh asparagus. Well, maybe rhubarb says “spring” a little bit more, but it’s still too early to harvest any of that! Anyway, dinner was a success, and I’ll be sure to try out more of Julia’s recipes in the near future – they all sound so good 🙂

 

 

chicken with bacon mustard sauce and asparagus 2

Chicken with Bacon Mustard Sauce

1/3 cup Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

8 strips of bacon, uncooked, chopped (I used a double-smoked bacon for extra flavor)

1 cup chopped onion

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

3 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

 

Combine Dijon mustard, paprika, salt and pepper in a small bowl to make a paste. Spread the paste evenly on both sides of the chicken breasts. Set aside.

In a large skillet, cook chopped bacon on medium-high heat just until it starts to brown. Remove back to a pate, leaving bacon fat in the skillet. To the same skillet, add the chopped onion, and cook in the bacon fat until softened but not browned. Remove onion to the same plate as the bacon.

Add 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil to the hot skillet. Cook mustard-covered chicken breasts on medium heat just long enough to lightly brown the chicken, about 4 minutes per side. The chicken will not be done yet, but you’ll continue cooking it in the next step. Remove chicken to a plate.

To the same skillet, add the chicken broth, and bring it to a boil, scraping the bottom of the skillet. Add back the bacon and onion, and mix well. Add back the chicken breasts to the skillet. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes, turning chicken once, until the chicken is fully cooked and no longer pink in the center.

chicken with bacon mustard sauce in pan 2

Serve with sauce over top.

 

Roasted Asparagus

1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed of any woody stems

Extra-virgin olive oil

Salt

Black pepper

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place washed and trimmed asparagus spears on a jelly roll pan. Drizzle olive oil over all spears, and season with salt and black pepper to taste. Toss the spears to evenly coat. Roast asparagus for approximately 30 minutes, or until the spears are slightly toasted.


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In , , , on February 26, 2016 with 1 Comment

Baked BBQ Chicken and Spinach Salad with Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

I can eat barbecue any time of year no matter what the weather is like outside. If it’s a hot summer day, we’ll often have the grill fired up cooking up something for dinner. If it’s a cold winter’s day and there’s a blizzard, we’ll often have the grill fired up ….well maybe not every blizzard, but you get the drift.

Today I decided to give Kevin a break on grilling, and I baked some barbecue chicken thighs. Yes, I know, it doesn’t have that smoky, delicious taste that you get from slow cooking BBQ over charcoal, but it’s still my barbecue sauce, and that’s half the game anyway. And it made me think of summer and how it can’t get here soon enough.


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I’ve been making this barbecue sauce ever since Kevin and I have been married. I’ve posted a recipe below, but to be honest, I haven’t followed it in years. Yes, it has the basic ingredients and approximate amounts (because one time I actually did measure everything as I went), but I’ve always made it “to taste.” Melt a pat of butter, add in some ketchup, mustard, garlic powder and other stuff – stir and taste. And taste and stir until I get just the right combination. Then I let it simmer to reduce just a bit, usually timing it to when Kevin needs it to slather on the chicken or ribs or whatever else he’s decided to barbecue for dinner. Feel free to adjust any of the ingredients to suit your family’s taste. If you like it spicier, add in more hot pepper sauce or be a bit more adventurous withe horseradish. Or kick up the amount of brown sugar and molasses for a sweeter taste. However you make it, it’s barbecue, and dinnertime tastes a whole lot better because of it.




I’ve named the recipe after my husband’s nickname simply because he first made it for me when we were dating. However, I make the BBQ sauce now (after tweaking his recipe).

 

baked bbq chicken 2

 

baked bbq chicken plated 2

 

Woodrow’s Barbecue Sauce

2 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup ketchup

1/8 to 1/4 cup prepared mustard

2 dashes Lawry’s seasoned salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons onion powder

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 to 4 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon molasses

1/2 teaspoon prepared horseradish

2 to 3 dashes hot pepper sauce

 

Melt butter in a small saucepan. Add remaining ingredients, stirring well to dissolve brown sugar. Cook over low heat until hot and thick-do not boil. Adjust spices to taste.  Remove from the heat and use immediately, or store in the refrigerator.

Yield:  Approximately 1 cup

 

Baking Instructions: Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Place skinless, boneless chicken thighs in the pan. Cover liberally with barbecue sauce. Bake for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until the juices run clear and the internal temperature of the chicken is 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

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I also made a spinach salad to go along side the BBQ chicken – nothing fancy, but I wanted to get some kind of greens on the table. This goes together fast, and you can use your favorite dressing with it. Tonight I decided to make a honey balsamic vinaigrette, which is tasty with just a hint of spicy kick to it. Word of caution about this dressing: do not substitute olive oil that has been infused with garlic for the garlic cloves and olive oil. If you think you can kill two birds with one stone by doing this, you’re more likely to run off any vampires within a 5-mile radius. I did this boo-boo once (and only once). My family and I love garlic, but that was garlic overload 101. Just stick to the 2 cloves of garlic and the EVOO, and you’ll be just fine.

spinach salad

 

Spinach Salad with Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

For the Salad:

1 package fresh spinach

4 ounces slivered almonds

4 ounces dried cranberries

4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

honey balsamic vinaigrette

For the Vinaigrette:

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 small onion, finely diced

1 tablespoon white sugar

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

 

For the salad, wash and dry the spinach leaves. Place all ingredients in a large bowl, and toss to combine.

For the salad dressing, add all the vinaigrette ingredients except for the olive oil to a blender. Puree on high until blended, and then slowly add the olive oil. Continue blending for about 2 minutes, or until thick. Use right away, or chill until ready to serve. You can drizzle this over the entire salad, or you can pass the Mason jar at the table and let everyone add their own amount of dressing.

spinach salad with vinaigrette 2


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