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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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In , , on June 3, 2014 with No Comments

Indian Lentils, Sourdough Bread, and Fresh Lettuce with Creamy Garlic Dressing

I think I went on a garlic overload tonight. I personally love garlic, and the more the merrier. Even so, I took into consideration that my family, while they do like garlic, aren’t the fanatics that I happen to be.

For dinner tonight, I decide to raid the cupboards and make something from whatever I found. I took inventory of the ingredients I had on hand and went surfing to find a recipe that would work with those ingredients. As I’m trying hard to eat more healthy meals, I wanted to do a vegetarian dinner, and in a house full of carnivores, that can be tough to do! I stumbled across two different recipes for lentils with an Indian-style theme. The first was from www.feedmephoebe.com and her Red Lentil and Spinach Masala. The other recipe was from www.wholenewmom.com and her Indian Red Lentils recipe. Of course, I had to make it my own, so I combined parts of each recipe, and I liked how it turned out.

 

 

Indian-Inspired Lentil Stew

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small white onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon dried cilantro
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 quart Roma tomatoes (home canned). Can substitute 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
2-1/2 cups lentils, rinsed
1 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 15-ounce can coconut milk
3-1/2 cups chicken broth
Approximately 5 ounces fresh spinach, chopped
Approximately 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

In a large stockpot, cook onions and garlic in the olive oil until the onions turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Add in the cumin, garam masala, cilantro, and turmeric. Cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add in the tomatoes, scraping up any of the brown bits that formed on the bottom of the pan. Add the lentils and coconut milk. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to keep from sticking. Turn down the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for approximately 30 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Right before serving, stir in the spinach and basil.

While I love Indian food, this was my first attempt at making it myself. I thought it was really good. This is a vegetarian dish, although it would be equally good with some shredded chicken breast and some chopped jalapenos for extra heat if you like a spicy dish. All in all, I’ll be making this again.

I made the Easy Sourdough Artisan Bread again to accompany this (see previous posts). This time I used only white whole wheat flour and baked it in a small cast iron Dutch oven. I really liked how the texture turned out when baking it this way, so I know it will be done this way a lot more in the future.

 

We also had tons of loose leaf lettuce from the garden to use in a salad tonight, and I wanted to make a creamy garlic salad dressing. This is where I think the garlic overload happened…again, I love garlic, but I was kindly told at dinner to cut back on the amount of garlic next time 🙂

Creamy Garlic Dressing

1 tablespoon loosely packed, minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup mayonnaise (I used Miracle Whip as I ran out of time to make homemade)
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (fresh or from the green can is fine)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Smear the garlic and salt together with a chef knife to form a paste. In a blender, combine the garlic paste, mayo, sugar, pepper and Parmesan cheese together. Add in the vinegar and the olive oil. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before using. The dressing will keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

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