BBQ Chicken, Veggies, and Apple Crisp!

Tonight, Whit, Kyle, Cameron, and I all cooked out at our house! Cameron and I went to Central Market and found this delicious sweet barbecue sauce... and the rest followed!

Menu:
BBQ Chicken
Grilled Veggies
Whit's Potato Casserole
Apple Crisp for dessert

For the BBQ chicken all you need is a good barbecue sauce and chicken. Marinate the chicken in the BBQ sauce (season with salt and pepper, or a grilling seasoning) for about 2-4 hours (and as long as overnight). Then grill! Have more BBQ sauce on hand for serving!

I love grilled veggies! Tonight we grilled red pepper, jalapenos, squash, and red onions. All you need is a little evoo and salt and pepper. Make sure you try to cut the veggies to the same thickness so they cook the same!

Whit's potato casserole I'll need to cook again for the recipe. Its delicious and super easy though, stay posted!

Apple Crisp

Ingredients:

• 5 apples (about 5 cups), peels, cored, and sliced
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 11/2 tsp all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/8 cup water
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

After you peel, core, and slice the apples (use Granny or another cooking apple), layer them in a baking pan, add the sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and water. Mix well and evenly.

For the topping, combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and butter, mix together and sprinkle evenly on top of the apple mixture, back for 45 minutes.

Serve with ice cream!

Kung Pao Chicken

Last night I made Healthy Kung Pao Chicken for my dad and sister. I am a huge fan of Chinese food... and breakfast, and sushi, and Italian... Ok, I love pretty much every kind of food. But I do love Chinese food, and if you ask my roommates, I very frequently crave it.

In general, Chinese food is pretty unhealthy, so this version is really delicious, makes 4 servings, and is only 350 calories per serving! I served it as is, but you can serve it over rice!

 Ingredients:

• 3 Tbl soy sauce
• 1 Tbl  fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 lb chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks, boneless, skinless
• 3 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, cut into thin strips
• 2 small green bell peppers, cut into thin strips
• 2/3 cup (unsalted) roasted peanuts, produce

Directions:

In a small bowl, with a fork, combine soy sauce, ginger, sugar, cornstarch, crushed red pepper, garlic and water. Transfer 2 Tbsp. of the sauce to a medium bowl; add chicken and toss to coat. Marinate at room temperature for 10 minutes.

In a nonstick skillet, warm 2 tsp. oil over medium-high heat until very hot. Add the chicken and cook until meat loses its pink color throughout, about 5 to 10 minutes. Remove to a plate.

Add remaining 1 tsp. oil to the same skillet and heat until hot. Add onion and bell peppers, and stir-fry about 5 to 10 minutes, until peppers start to soften. (Add 1 to 2 Tbsp. water if skillet is dry.)

Pour remaining stir-fry sauce over vegetables and boil 1 minute. Return chicken to skillet along with peanuts and heat through. Serve over rice, if you like.

Philly Cheese Steaks

My last unhealthy post... For now!

Cameron came in this weekend! After a week of storms and wind, it was beautiful this weekend, so we golfed and relaxed... and of course, cooked!

We made the best Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches. I don't think I will ever go out and order one again. This dish is a little bit time consuming, but it was so delicious, everyone ate every last bite.

I would make the ingredients in the following order. The cheese sauce will thicken as it cools, so make it first and it will be nice and thick by the time you pour it on top of your sandwich.

Ingredients:   

• 2 to 2 1/2 pound beef loin top sirloin steak boneless, trimmed
• Olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Soft hoagie rolls, split 3/4 open
• Provolone Sauce, recipe follows
• Sauteed Mushrooms, recipe follows
• Caramelized Onions, recipe follows
• Sauteed Peppers, recipe follows

Directions

Heat griddle or grill pan over high heat. Brush steak with oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook until medium rare. Let the steak rest for 5-10 minutes and slice thinly.

Place several slices of the meat on the bottom half of the roll, spoon some of the cheese sauce over the meat, and top with the mushrooms, onions, and peppers.

Provolone Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 2 cups whole milk, heated
• 1 cup grated aged provolone cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the warm milk, and cook, whisking constantly until thickened, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the mixture from the heat and whisk in the provolone and Parmesan until combined; season with the salt and pepper.

Sauteed Mushrooms:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 pounds mushrooms (examples: cremini and shiitake), coarsely chopped
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

 Heat oil and butter in a large saute pan over high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are golden brown. Stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper.

Caramelized Onions:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoons canola oil
• 3 large Spanish onions, peeled, halved and thinly sliced (I used yellow and sweet onions)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Heat butter and oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper, and cook slowly until golden brown and caramelized, stirring occasionally, approximately 30 to 40 minutes.

These onions were so delicious, we ate them as we cooked!

Sauteed Peppers:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 poblano peppers, thinly sliced
• 2 Cubano peppers, thinly sliced (Cubano pepper are sweet peppers, they can be substituted for red or yellow bell peppers)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

The easiest way to cut a pepper is to cut off the top and bottom, like shown below. This make taking out the center and cutting a lot simpler. 

Heat the oil in medium saute pan over high heat. Add the peppers and cook until soft. Season with salt and pepper.