Teriyaki Chicken

I’m telling you, this was an EASY weeknight meal! It took a few different ingredients, but most of them I had on hand. All you have to do is cook the chicken, prepare the sauce, and pour it over rice. 2 pots is all it takes to make (since Husband does the dishes when I cook, I’m sure he appreciates these minimal-dish nights).

I found this recipe on Food Network (usually my first-stop when I’m looking for a specific recipe) This teriyaki sauce is much better than what you buy at a store, plus you can adjust the tastes according to your preferences!

Teriyaki Chicken
Adapted from Food Network’s Robin Miller

Cooking spray
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon liquid smoke seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 chicken breast halves, cut into bite size pieces
2 teaspoons sesame oil

Spray a skillet with cooking skillet and heat to medium high heat.
In a small dish, mix together soy sauce, honey, molasses, ginger, garlic, liquid smoke seasoning, and pepper.
Add chicken and coat in sauce.
Place chicken on skillet and pour remaining sauce over the chicken.
Cook 5 to 7 minutes, or until cooked through, turning occasionally during cooking.

Sauteed Greens

I was flipping through my Martha Stewart Cooking School and I thought this side dish would be interesting to serve at dinner one night. It would be a great variation as I tend to get stuck in a side dish rut.

She calls it “Sicilian Style Sauteed Greens” but since I’ve omitted and changed a couple of ingredients, I’m not sure if it’s qualified to be called “Sicilian Style.” Thus, I just call them “Sauteed Greens.” I was afraid Husband wouldn’t like them because he’s not a big spinach fan and this has the same texture as steamed spinach. Thankfully, I was wrong and Husband loved them! The nut mixture gives it a good crunch and the lemon gives it a great boost of flavor. I think you ought to try it. You won’t regret it!!

Sauteed Greens
Adapted from Martha Stewart Cooking School

1 head of red leaf lettuce
4 tablespoons olive oil, plus some for drizzling
1 small onion, thinly sliced 1 garlic clove, minced
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1-2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Coarse salt and ground pepper

Pull the leafy part off of the head of lettuce. Wash each leaf carefully, making sure no dirt or grit is left behind.
Cut leaves into bite size pieces (about 1-2 inch pieces).
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
Cook onions, garlic, and red pepper flakes for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add nuts and cook, stirring about 2 minutes more. Remove from pan and set aside.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in same skillet. Add greens one handful at a time, stirring to wilt slightly before adding more, then cook until completely wilted, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Add butter and stir until melted.
Pour the lemon juice over the greens and season with salt and pepper.
Return nut mixture to pan and stir, then drizzle with a little olive oil.
Serve immediately.

Small Seared Scallops with Bacon and Lemon

I love eating scallops in restaurants but I’ve never cooked them at home. I think it’s one of those daunting tasks that I just tend to avoid. I know how they should taste, but since I’ve never cooked one I was afraid they would come out undercooked or overcooked. I did warn Husband that I was cooking something new and there was a possibility that I could mess them up pretty badly. He knew in advance that dinner may result in tears and me sitting on the floor doubting all of my cooking ability. He was well prepared.

I have to say, for my first time these weren’t too bad. Husband really liked them, but I think they were 1 minute overcooked. They were a bit more tough them I’m used to eating them. The reason is probably because I used really small ones and I should have tried the medium ones. The small ones cook REALLY fast so you have to be on top of their cook time. Also, because I didn't pat them dry like the recipe called for, I didn't get a great brown sear. I'll be sure next time to make sure they're really dry. But the flavor was great, no one got sick, and not a single tear was shed. So I think next time I’ll rock those scallops.

Seared Scallops with Bacon and Lemon
Adapted from Food Network Kitchens Cookbook
1 slice of bacon, cut crosswise into thin pieces
1 bag of small sea scallops (about 30 small ones in a bag), patted dry (VERY important)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 cup white wine
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp and drain on a paper towel. Leave the drippings in the pan.
Season the scallops with salt and pepper.
Increase the heat under the skillet to medium-high, add the butter, and sear the scallops until brown and glossy, about 1 minutes per side (be sure to watch them, if they are browning before the minute, then flip so you don’t overcook them).
Move scallops to a plate and set aside.
Remove pan from heat and add the white wine and lemon juice.
Return the skillet to the heat and stir with a wooden spoon scraping the brown bits on the bottom of the pan.
Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook until reduced by half. Stir in the water.
Gently place the scallops back into the sauce with the parsley, and bacon bits and stir once to bring everything together.
Taste and season with salt and pepper, if desired.
Serve immediately. I served mine over angel hair noodles.

Cranberry and Lemon Muffin Scone

I made these fantastic muffins by mistake. It’s really a funny story. I wanted to make cranberry lemon muffins. Why you ask? Well I had a bag full of dried cranberries and a pretty lemon sitting on my shelf, and I thought, why not? Sounded like a good combination. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any milk. But I did have a container of half-and-half and in my head, it sounded like the perfect substitute. However, my batter came out really thick and stiff, unlike my usual muffin batter. I figured I’d still cook them and see how they tasted anyhow. Well, they cooked just fine but they were a little heavier than muffins and weren’t fluffy. But they tasted great. Husband and I both said they were more like scones so they adapted the name “Cranberry Lemon Muffin Scones.” Not really sure if you can call something a muffin scone, but we did, and we loved our little muffin scones. They were a great breakfast for the week!

Cranberry Lemon Muffin Scones
Source: Adapted from my Blueberry Muffin Recipe

1 ½ cup all purpose flour
¾ cup white sugar, plus some for sprinkling
½ tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup half-and-half
1 cup dried cranberries
Zest of 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line muffin cups.
Combine 1 ½ cups flour, ¾ cup sugar, salt and baking powder.
In a separate bowl combine the oil, egg, half-and-half and whisk with flour mixture until just moist.
Mix in the cranberries and zest.
Batter should be somewhat thick and stiff.
Fill muffin cups almost all the way to the top.
Sprinkle each muffin with a little sugar.
Bake for 20 minutes, check to see if they are done, if not, cook 5 more minutes.

Chocolate Chip, Pecan, and Coconut Cookies

Recently I ate a cookie at a potluck that had chocolate chips, pecans, and coconut in it. Of course, I had no idea who made it so I couldn’t get a recipe. But I was craving it. I thought about it for a couple of weeks and then finally found a simple solution! I would make chocolate chip cookies using my go to recipe and throw in coconut and pecans! They turned out great and were exactly what I was craving.

Chocolate Chip Pecan and Coconut Cookies
Source: Adapted from Martha Stewart Cooking School

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
¾ cup chocolate chips
¾ cup shredded coconut
½ cup chopped pecans.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl mix the flour and baking soda and set aside.
In another bowl, use an electric mixer and combine the butter with both sugars for about 2 minutes.
Add in the salt, vanilla, and eggs and continue to beat until well mixed, about 1 minute.
Add in the flour mixture and mix until just moistened, do not overbeat at this point.
Stir in the chocolate chips, pecans, and coconut using a rubber spatula.
Drop heaping spoonful balls of dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until cookies are golden around the edges and still soft in the center.
Remove from oven, and let cool completely.

Oreo Muffins

I’ve recently been on a muffin kick and every Saturday I make a dozen muffins and Husband and I can just grab one on the go for breakfast. I’m not gonna lie, the muffins I’ve been making aren’t really healthy. But I’ve always been the person to grab the oversized chocolate muffin as opposed to the healthier option right next to it. In my mind, if it’s a muffin, then it’s appropriate for breakfast, regardless of the flavor. Of course, I only really think this because I’m an adult. I do see the reasoning of not feeding unhealthy, sugar packed muffins to children for breakfast. So if any of you out there are thinking, “My word, I hope this lady never has children because she’ll stuff them full of sugary muffins and other junk” you can push your worries to the side. I promise I won’t make these fantastic Oreo flavored muffins to little children. However, we currently have a kid free home so I made them and for a few days in a row, started my day with one.

I saw Beantown Baker make Oreo cupcakes and she put a cookie at the bottom of each cupcake liner. I liked this idea so I stole it for my muffins! Then I just used my basic Blueberry Muffin Recipe and subbed out the blueberries for crushed Oreos.

Oreo Muffins

Source: Adapted from All Recipes Blueberry Muffin and Inspired by Beantown Baker

1 ½ cup all purpose flour

¾ cup white sugar

½ tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

About 30 Oreo cookies(I used a store’s house brand of this cookie and didn’t taste a difference). 

Topping:

Leftover Oreos (whatever you don’t add to the batter)

1 tbsp butter

Sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Twist apart 12 cookies and lay a cookie half (I used the ones with the most cream) in each muffin liner, cream side facing up.

Roughly crush remaining Oreo cookies.

Combine 1 ½ cups flour, ¾ cup sugar, salt and baking powder.

In a separate bowl combine the oil, egg, milk and whisk with flour mixture.

Mix in the crushed Oreos, leaving a few to top the muffins with. *If you don’t think it’s enough Oreos, crush some more, and if you think it’s too many for you, reduce it.

Fill muffin cups almost all the way to the top.

On top of each muffin put a tiny dollop of butter, sprinkle with a little sugar and crushed Oreos. This will give the muffin a nice crispy top.

Bake for 15 minutes, check to see if they are done, if not, cook 5 more minutes.

Cornish Hens with Rosemary and Thyme

Last time I cooked a whole chicken it was a massive failure. I kid you not, at one point I was sitting on my kitchen floor sobbing that I couldn’t cook, and didn’t know how to read a simple recipe. I had a shameful pity party. Later, after I returned to some stage of sanity, I reread the recipe and realized that I looked at the cooking times for Cornish hens. Oops. I’ve still been scared away from the idea of roasting a whole chicken but I want so badly to gain that courage back!

So you ask how that’s done? By starting with two itty bitty Cornish hens. I mean, who can be afraid of 1 ½ lb birds? Not me, my friend. Not me. So I perused online for a recipe that I would want to use but really didn’t find anything that I wanted to make, so I decided to keep it simple. I used my favorite herbs and some butter and roasted 2 Cornish hens. I was quite proud of the result!

Roasted Cornish Hens with Rosemary and Thyme
Source: Me

2 Cornish Hens,
Sprigs of rosemary
Fresh thyme
¼ cup butter, melted
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Put fresh rosemary in the cavity of each hen.
Brush butter all over the skin of each Cornish hen (leave some butter for recoating throughout the roasting process).
Sprinkle thyme, salt and pepper and any other herbs you would like all over the outside of each hen.
Place the prepared Cornish hens in a roasting pan and roast for 45-50 minutes, or until cooked through, occasionally basting with leftover butter to keep skin from drying out.