Spicy Chilli Sauce Chicken Fingers and "Whit" Dip

Last night Cameron, Whit, Kyle, and I made some Spicy Chilli Sauce Chicken Fingers, roasted vegetables, sweet potatoes fries, and Whitney's spinach dip, aka "Whit" dip, for the Cowboys game!

Spicy Chilli Sauce Chicken Fingers

I made this with the Hot Asian Chilli Sauce... It was very hot! Thankfully Kyle, Whit, and Cameron all like spicy food, and we had ranch to help with the heat. But I would recommend a more mild chilli sauce.

Ingredients:

• 20 chicken strips, thighs, or 4-6 chicken breasts
• 12 oz Chilli Sauce (I used the Asian Spicy Chilli Sauce (green cap))... But I would recommend a mild Chilli Sauce, unless you like a lot of heat!
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 10 cloves garlic, minced
• 5 tsp dried basil
• salt and pepper to taste
• Ranch and/or Blue Cheese Dressing for dipping

Directions:

In a bowl or plastic bag, combine chilli sauce, broth, oil, garlic, basil, salt, and pepper. Mix well and reserve about 1/4 cup for basting.

Add chicken and marinate for at least 2 hours, or over night.

Either preheat a grill and grill the chicken until white in the middle. Or preheat an oven to 400 degrees and cook for 20 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink!

Enjoy with some ranch and/ or blue cheese dressing!

"Whit" Dip
This is Whit's take on Spinach Dip, it might not be very healthy, but it is delicous! Great to munch on during the Cowboys game! (I like it best with Wheat Thins!)

Ingredients:

• 8 oz sour cream
• 1 cup of mayo
• 2 cups Parmasen
• 2 cups Colby Jack cheese, more for topping
• 10 oz frozen spinach, thawed (or fresh, whilted)

Directions:

Combine in a bowl sour cream, mayo, parm, and colby jack cheese. Then add spinach and transfer to a baking pan.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Top with more colby jack cheese and bake for 15 minutes!

Enjoy!

Chicken Cauliflower Gratin

I've always really liked the idea of using cauliflower in place of mashed potatoes. I found this recipe today and thought I would try it out. It was originally made as a side dish. But I added chicken to make it into a main dish, you could also add pasta.

This is a really creamy sauce, but without the butter! I really liked substituting the cauliflower for potatoes and will do that more in the future. If you're not a vegetable person, or are cooking for someone who doesn't like vegetables, you can hardly tell the difference! Cauliflower, when cooked, has a consistency that is really similar to mashed potatoes, so its the perfect healthy replacement.

This recipe is delicious how it is originally, but would be great with these additions:

• Adding peas and carrots
• Pasta- another take on the main dish (if you make it without the chicken, it's a great vegetarian dish)
• Taking out the chicken- to make it a side (great with steak)
• Adding minced garlic
• Add broccoli

Chicken Cauliflower Gratin

Ingredients:

• 4 cups 1-inch cauliflower florets (about 1/2 large head) (I used frozen)
• 1 1/2 cups nonfat milk, divided into 1 1/4 and 1/4 cups
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs, I used crumbed crackers
• 3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
• 1/2 tsp evoo
• 2 Tbl all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbl chopped fresh chives
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp black pepper (you can use white too, but I like the extra kick)
• Chicken, cooked and shredded (I had some left over from a rotisserie chicken)

Directions:

Position rack in upper rack of the oven and preheat your broiler.

In a large ovenproof skillet, over medium-high heat, bring cauliflower, 1 1/4 cups milk and salt to a boil.

Reduce heat, cover and simmer until the cauliflower is tender, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup cheese and oil in a small bowl.

Whisk flour and the remaining 1/4 cup milk in another small bowl until smooth.

Stir the mixture into the pan and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 1 minute. Add chicken.

Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup cheese, chives, mustard and pepper.

(I didn't have an oven proof skillet, so I transferred the gratin to a casserole dish to put in the oven)
Sprinkle with the breadcrumb mixture. Broil until the top is crispy and beginning to brown, 1 to 2 minutes.
Serves 4

We served the chicken gratin with fruit, tomato basil salad, and rolls. Everyone loved the meal, and went back for seconds and thirds! It's really creamy and cheesy, but still good for you!

Healthy Wasabi Salmon Cake and Asian Slaw

I've gotten a couple requests to make a couple of healthier meals. Sometimes the things that make food so delicious are usually not good for you. But tonight I made a healthy meal that is still SO good, maybe one of my favorite recipes! I was literally eating it from the pan as I cooked.

Healthy Wasabi Salmon Cakes

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbl reduced-sodium soy sauce (which is healthier than regular)
• 1 1/2 tsp wasabi powder
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 1 pound salmon fillet, skinned
• 2 scallions, finely chopped
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 Tbl minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil

Directions:

Whisk soy sauce, wasabi powder and honey in a small bowl until smooth. Set aside.

With a large knife, chop salmon using quick, even, straight-up-and-down motions (do not rock the knife through the fish or it will turn mushy). Continue chopping, rotating the knife, until you have a mass of roughly 1/4-inch pieces.(The smaller the chunks the better the cake stays together.)

Transfer to a large bowl. Add scallions, egg, ginger and oil; stir to combine. Form the mixture into 4 patties. The mixture will be moist and loose, but holds together nicely once the first side is cooked.

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat for 1 minute. Add the patties and cook for 4 minutes. Turn and continue to cook until firm and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Spoon the reserved wasabi glaze evenly over the burgers and cook for 15 seconds more. Serve immediately.

I topped the salmon cakes with a tomato, a great asian slaw (recipe below), and chives, but my dad suggested to add a bun to make a healthy salmon burger!

This meal could not have been complete without this Asian-slaw! I could have eaten this alone (which I did), but it's perfect on top of this salmon.

Asian Slaw

Ingredients:

• 2 packages chicken-flavored Ramen noodles (if you don't have any, my roommate Ryan always has some in her pantry)
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1/3 cup vinegar
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 lb cabbage slaw, shredded
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds

Directions:

Mix dressing in a jar the night before: vinegar, oil, sugar and seasoning packets from noodles.

Crush noodles and toss remaining dry ingredients. Pour dressing over slaw 30 minutes before serving. Mix well to coat all the noodles.

Chicken Piccata and Roasted Vegetables

Now that I'm back at school, and not working, I have a little more time on my hands... So Deboard, Ryan, and I have decided to make dinner every week together.

Deboard fittingly named it "Wonderful" Wednesday ;). Probably because I cook for her, but who knows.

SAE sing starts tonight, so I won't have time to cook tonight, but I do have time to put down the recipes for the dinner we made. Chicken Piccata and Roasted Vegetables.

This was my first time to make both of the recipes... And it was Ryan's and my first time to butterfly a chicken! It's really not that difficult, the point of butterfling a chicken is because the chicken breast usually has uneven thickness. So you butterfly it so that the chicken will cook evenly.

You start at the thickest part and cut it horizontally, holding the knife parallel to the cutting board. Cut it almost in half and then open it like a book, then you pat it out so that the whole chicken has the same consistent thickness.

Chicken Piccata:

Ingredients:

• 4 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied (if you don't have that many chicken breasts you can butterfly them and then cut them in half... We were just extra hungry!)
  
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• All-purpose flour, for dredging
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed
• 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons olive oil. When the butter and oil start to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes.

When the chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate. Melt 2 more tablespoons butter and add another 2 tablespoons olive oil.

When the butter and oil start to sizzle, add the other 2 pieces of chicken and brown both sides in same manner. Remove pan from heat and add chicken to the plate.

Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Check for seasoning.

Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.

Roasted Vegetables:

For Christmas Cameron's parents got me Cooking School Italian, and the first thing I tried out from the book is the side dish of our dinner! And as a side note, I could not have made the chicken without Ryan... And the veggies would never have been cut as perfectly without Deboard! (As seen below!)

My favorite part of this dish was the eggplant, it was so good roasted and the balsamic/oil dressing on top was great. Although the recipe called for a few shavings of Parmesan... We used A LOT more, I don't think you can ever have too much cheese!

Ingredients:

• 1 Onion
• 1 Eggplant
• 1 Red Bell Pepper, seeded
• 1 Orange Bell Pepper, seeded
• 1 Large Zucchini (Although Ghetto HEB in Waco only had small ones, so we used 2)
• 2-4 Garlic Cloves (We used all four, and maybe even five)
• 6 Tbl EVOO
• 1 Tbl Balsamic Vinegar
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 Tbl shredded fresh basil, to garnish
• Parmesan cheese shavings (and lots of it!)
  

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut all the vegetables into even-size wedges, put into a roasting pan, and scatter over the garlic cloves. Pour over 2 Tbl of the olive oil and toss the vegetables until well coated with the oil. (although we used a little more than this, just eyeball it, and make sure that all the vegetables are evenly covered). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to the preheated oven and cook for 40 minutes, or until tender, adding more olive oil if needed.

Meanwhile, put the vinegar, EVOO, and salt and pepper to taste into a screw-top jar and shake until blended.

When the vegetables are cooked, remove from the oven, arrange on a serving dish, and pour over the dressing. Sprinkle with the basil and serve warm or at room temperature with Parmesan cheese shavings.

Cameron's Meal and A Fun Present

A couple of things... First I officially got into Culinary School! I just ordered my chef's coat and pants and set up a meeting with my adviser! I'm so excited and I start in August!

Second, I went to Dallas last week for a lunch and meeting with the Baylor Advisory Board. I told Cameron I really wanted to cook dinner instead of going out that night. When I got out of my exam and started driving to Dallas I called him to ask what we were going to cook.

He responded with "I don't know, I have a Voila in the freezer, I thought we could just make that." Needless to say I was disappointed, but I was excited to see him, so I tried to cover up my disappointment and told him that would be a nice dinner.

An hour and half later I got to Dallas. As soon as I opened the door I could smell a bunch of different ingredients and knew that he had lied and was surprising me with a homemade dinner.

I got to the kitchen and he told me we were going to make shrimp. He had already peeled and devained all the shrimp so everything as ready.

Cameron's Dinner (Shrimp, Peppers, and Salad)

Ingredients:
(Since Cameron was in charge of getting all the ingredients I don't know how much he used, but you can never have too much garlic!)

• Shrimp
• Butter
• Garlic
• Bell Peppers (Orange and Red added a lot of color)
  
• Mozzarella
• Cheery Tomatoes
• Black Olives (Sliced) Although Cameron doesn't like olives, so I just had some in my salad
• Olive Oil (Italian Dresseding or any kind of dressing works)

Mince the garlic, Cut the peppers, Peel and devain the shrimp. Heat a medium skillet and add the butter and garlic. Then add the shrimp and cook until pink. Next add the peppers to the butter-garlic mixture and cook for 5-8 minutes.

Cameron sauteing the Shrimp.

Mix together the mozzarella , cherry tomatoes, and olives (or pick out the olives like Cameron) and then toss with olive oil or Italian dressing. (Maybe even add some basil too! We didn't have any but fresh basil would be great in that salad.)

The dinner was delicious and I was so thankful that Cameron put together such a great dinner.

My third announcement is my AMAZING gift from Ryan. Every year my roommates do a Secret Santa (this way we all get special gifts and it saves us poor college girls some money!) Anyway we went to Nifas and Ryan gave me this gorgeous apron! I can't wait to wear it when I'm cooking at home for the holidays!