Chicken Breakfast Sausage (Organic)

So I'm in the mode of trying to make things easier for myself. I am trying my hand at cooking and freezing individual servings of meals for everyone. Since everyone in my family works different hours and you never know when anyone will be home or hungry. I thought I would try and get some meals frozen and easy to grab. In the next year our life is going to get even busier and more hectic so this is a good time to get in the habit of once or twice a month doing a major cook and freeze.
My first attempt was bean burgers and buns. So we will see how those work. Next is for breakfast. Im going to make egg,cheese, sausage biscuits and again freeze them. I have already posted a good breakfast sausage recipe on here. I wanted to try and use just organic chicken breast (as organic pork is VERY expensive.) So this morning I whipped these sausage patties up and they are the BOMB DIGGITY if I do say so myself. So if you are looking for a good, healthy and lean breakfast sausage that tastes like breakfast sausage give these a try.
NOTE: I have one of those FoodSavor machines (I call it the sucky thing) and I am freezing the servings first on trays and then transferring them to the bags and sucky thinging them. You get what I am saying. Then into my deep freeze they go for the "Mom, is there anything to eat" times or "Mom, I'm hungry" times. I'm ready. Bring on the starving adult men in my life.
Here is what I did:

2 lbs boneless skinless organic chicken breasts (it was 2 chicken breasts), cleaned, cut into chunks and processed in food processor till is is smooth. Not pasty but well ground up. No chunks left.
Place in a bowl. In a small bowl mix the following dried seasonings (most but not all my seasonings are also organic.)The seasoning are really to taste. So play with them if this isn't quite to your liking.
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp dried. ground sage
1 tsp. dried savory
1/8 tsp. nutmeg (heaping )
1 tsp. dried marjoram
1 tsp. brown sugar (you could add more. I just don't like a sweet sausage)
1]2 tsp. red pepper flakes

 Pour over the ground chicken and blend, blend, blend (I used my hands. They were clean!) Now after you are sure its all blended together well. Take a pinch of the meat mixture out and fry it in a skillet and give it a taste for seasoning. Make sure it is to your liking. If not then now is the time to adjust the seasonings. It was fine as is for me.  I took two pieces of wax paper and sprayed them lightly with cooking spray (so the chicken wouldn't stick to the wax paper.) I  placed the chicken sausage mix between the wax paper and flattened it out till it looked as thick as I wanted. I then used the same size biscuit cutter as I am using to make the biscuits that these will go on and cut out rounds of sausage. I got 18. Mine weren't super thick patties. I then added just a couple drops of  grapeseed oil to my hot pan and fried the chicken sausage for about 3 minutes per side and placed on paper towels to drain. I did continue to add the oil as needed.Too much oil and you won't get that sausage look on the surface of the patties (if that is important.) I'm very pleased with how these turned out and will be making them again. They taste great. They hit that breakfast sausage spot in taste and they are guilt free as they are lean and organic. Can't beat that.

Enjoy!

Chicken and Bacon Mac and Cheese

This is a good stove top mac and cheese that you don't have to make a rue for. So for a quick and complete meal give it a try.

Here's how:

16-17 ounces pasta (you can use whatever shape pasta you want to.)
3 Cups whole milk
4 Tbl. butter
8 ounces velveeta, cubed
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
6-8 ounces Gruyere cheese, shredded 
1/4 tsp. Lowry's season salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 cup frozen peas

1 package of bacon chopped into small pieces and fried till crisp. Drain on paper towel and discard bacon grease.

4-5 chicken breasts
Montreal chicken seasoning

season chicken with the Montreal Chicken seasoning and fry in a little oil till cooked through. Remove to a plate to cool slightly. Then cube and place back on plate. Keep any juice from the chicken that gathers in the plate.

Start pan of salted water and cook pasta according to directions. Don't over cook the pasta. While pasta is cooking make the cheese sauce. In a large enough pot to hold the finished meal heat up milk and add the butter. Stir till butter melts and add the velveeta and stir to melted and smooth. Next add the shredded cheddar cheese and gruyere cheese, stir till melted. Add the Lowry's salt and the pepper. Stir in the cooked pasta and add the bacon, chicken (and any juices in the plate) and peas. Stir till all incorporated and heated through,. Adjust seasoning if needed.

Enjoy!

Chinese Chicken Fried Rice

This is a basic and easy fried rice recipe. Makes a great meal with that left over rice (white or brown.)

You want to make your rice a day in advance and let it cool and dry out in the fridge. If you use brown rice you can use it the same day if need be, but spread it out and let it cool and dry out some first. There are a few prep steps but once you get the hang of it, getting it ready wont seem confusing. I prep everything and precook a few things.
One of the great things about fried rice is as you get the hang of it you might find you want more or less of certain things I put in mine. One of the things I don't  use is Toasted Sesame oil. I like it but prefer to not have it in my fried rice. You certainly can add a couple drops if you like.

Here's what I do:

4 Cup day old rice (white or brown)
1 1/2 Cups frozen mixed vegetables ( mine is corn, green beans and carrots). I put them in a strainer and run water over them to thaw and then let them drain till I need them.
12-15 chicken tenders cut into thin strips. I didn't think to weigh how much that is.
1 large onion chopped into 1 inch chunks
3 eggs beaten
4 green onions small chop
2-4 Tbl. regular soy sauce
1/8 + dark soy sauce
fish sauce
grape seed oil
corn starch
salt and pepper
sugar

You are going to start by marinating the chicken. Place chicken in a bowl and  add 1 Tbl. cornstarch, 1/4 tsp. sugar, 2 Tbl. regular soy sauce, 1 Tbl. grape seed oil, dash salt and pepper, 1/8 Cup of water. Mix all this together well getting the chicken evening coated. Set aside while you prep the rest of the meal.

In a bowl place the sliced onion, in another bowl place beaten eggs, veggies should be thawed and draining.

Place all this around the cooking station. Have the bowl with the cooked rice sitting there as well.
Heat wok and add 1 Tbl. oil and put the eggs in and scramble them. Rinse out the bowl you beat them in and dry it out so you can put them back in or get a clean bowl and when the eggs are done but still soft remove to a bowl. Next add another Tbl. of oil and add the thawed veggies and stir around to heat and dry them out some. Place back in strainer and let any liquid drain out ot them. Next add another Tbl. oil and fry the onion till it is crisp tender. You don't want to bite into a raw onion but we don't want them soggy either. Remove them to their bowl. Next add 2 Tbl. oil and when its hot add the chicken and stir fry it till it is cooked and remove to a clean bowl. Now we are ready to pull it all together.
In hot wok add 2 Tbl. oil and then the rice. Stir fry it till its heated and add the veggies. Stir around till the veggies and rice and mixed and veggies are hot. Now add the onion and chicken and mix and stir till everything blended and heated through. 
Add 2-4 Tbl. regular soy sauce, 1/8 Cup or a little more of dark soy sauce, little salt and pepper 1/2 tsp. fish sauce. Mix around and add the eggs in and mix and chop them into small pieces.Take off heat and add the green onion and stir to mix. Taste for seasoning.
Enjoy!

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Bacon and Chicken

We are trying once again to eat a little better. Not Paleo, not low fat, not low carb, just a healthy mix of them all. So this is something I whipped up to eat by itself or have with a little rice on the side. It is delicious.

My husband and boys loved it.

I tripled the following  recipe for my large family of Sasquatches.  This is what I did:

1 lb. brussel sprouts cleaned and sliced in half and placed on a baking sheet to roast
1 yellow onion sliced onto junks
6 slices of bacon cut into pieces
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
olive oil
salt
pepper

2 chicken breasts, or equivalent chicken tenders cleaned and sliced into thin strips (as if for a stir fry) and set aside

Dressing to drizzle over mix when done:
2 dijon or spicy mustard
1 1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
3 tsp. honey
mix together and set aside.

Heat oven to 400. Place cut brussel sprouts and onion on baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. Bake 20 minutes and then toss and place back in the oven for another 20 minutes or until the sprouts fork tender.

While brussel sprouts are roasting, book bacon pieces in large skillet till crisp. remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Pout all but 2 Tbl. of bacon grease off pan. Add chicken to hot bacon grease and fry till just cooked through. Remove and drain pan if necessary.
When brussel sprouts are done add to frying pan and add chicken and bacon and stir and heat all through. Mix in the dressing, walnuts and season to taste.

Spicy Chicken Stir Fry

6 lg. chicken breast sliced (I used chicken tenders that were equal to 6 breasts)
4 yellow and red bell peppers sliced in thin strips
2 cups shredded carrot (used bag shredded for cole slaw)
3 white onions sliced in thin strips
2 cups (I would add more next time) sugar snap peas


3 Tbl. sugar
3 tsp. ground garlic
3 tsp. ground ginger
1 1/2 Tbl. cumin
3 Tbl. dried cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
3 Tbl. chili powder
3 Tbl. honey
3 Tbl. lemon juice
pinch red pepper flakes (to taste)
oil (I use grapeseed oil)

combine sugar, garlic, ginger, cumin, cilantro, 2 tsp. salt, 2 tsp. pepper, chili powder, red pepper flakes in a small bowl and mix to combine.
slice chicken in thin stir fry sizes. Pour all but 2 Tbl. of dry mix on chicken and mix to combine and coat all chicken. I did this early and let it sit in the fridge till ready to cook.
Pre-slice the veggies and set aside till ready.

In a wok or large pan heat pan till very hot and add a couple Tbl. of oil. If you have a lot of chicken as I did (I fried it in three batches) fry in batches. remove to a bowl and set aside. Add in the onions and fry for 3 minutes, add in the bell peppers, sugar snap peas, and carrots and fry till veggies are crisp yet slightly tender. This is a personal taste thing on how crisp you like your veggies. Add the rest of the seasoning mix in and stir around for another minute. Add back the chicken and stir to mix and heat through. then add the honey and lemon juice and stir to combine and coat. Taste for salt and pepper. Serve over rice.

Chicken Ranch Tacos

sorry borrowed pic. I will post one of mine next time I make these. This is how they look. Wonderful.

I can't believe I haven't posted this recipe yet. It is as easy as any recipe I have ever done. It is so good that my Sasquatches go NUTS every time I make it. I have found numerous versions for them (this is from Do you smell that.) This is the simplest and I can't scream this enough "DELICIOUS"!!!!!
Here is how you make them.

Chicken Ranch Tacos:
 (I think I triple this recipe.)
3 Cups chicken tenders (cleaned if you want. I have to remove that membrane that is in a tender but you don't have to.) Cut into small bite size pieces.

1 pkg. dry taco seasoning mix

1/2 Cup  bottled ranch dressing

taco shells ( I buy the heat and serve. Like I said I keep this easy peasy.)

TOPPINGS
shredded lettuce
cut up tomatoes
shredded cheese
extra ranch dressing for serving

Heat skillet up and add a small amount of oil. Fry the chicken till almost done and then sprinkle with the taco mix and continue to cook till chicken done and well coated with taco seasoning. Add ranch dressing and continue to cook a couple more minutes till mixed and hot.  Serve.
 Heat taco shells in oven according to package.
Serve chicken in shells and serve with toppings.
Enjoy, cause I know you will.

Chicken with Eggplant and Fontina Cheese

In our attempt to eat better (my husband and I are both PRE-diabetic.) I have been searching for regular recipes that meet the standards for what we can have. We love Italian food. Heck we love all food. So watching our carbs is a little work. I started watching the daily morning talk show "The Chew". I know I'm very cruel to myself. If you don't know what this is it is a talk show with notable chefs as the hosts. They cook and laugh and cook. Did I tell you they cook? Uh yeah. Anyways.....one of my favorite Italian chefs is Lidia Bastianich. I didn't see the show she was on but they had this recipe of hers listed in their recipe files. It sounded so good. So I decided to give it a try and to serve it with a salad and spaghetti squash. The meal was a smash and this chicken is fantastic. I only changed a few things. I will write the recipe as she specifies and note if I did something different. They weren't huge changes. I just can't tell you how delish this was. Reminiscent of chicken Parmesan but not exactly the same. It is pure love on your plate.          

Chicken with Eggplant and Fontina Cheese: Serves 6 (I made more and doubled the sauce.)

1 med. eggplant  
6 (6oz.) boneless/skinless chicken breasts cut in half  on the bias as below. Then pound lightly to even thickness.

  Salt and Pepper
6 Slices of Prosciutto di Parma. *De Parma is the best. It is from Italy. You can get domestic but it is saltier. Both will work. Cut in half.
6 Tbl. olive oil. (I used much more.)
4 Tbl. butter (I used more.)
flour (this is just to lightly dredge the chicken and the slices of eggplant in. More of a dusting.)
6 peeled garlic cloves ( I used more than double the amount and I minced mine.)
1/2 Cup white wine (we used a Pinot Grigio because that was what we were drinking. Santa Margarita is our fave.)
1 Cup chicken stock
1/2 Cup canned good Italian tomatoes. San Marzano is the best. We just used the crushed all purpose tomato.
12 large fresh basil leaves ( we used more as I put two leaves on each breast piece.) Then I chopped the rest and sprinkled it all over the chicken when it was out of the oven.
6 oz. shredded Fontina cheese
1/2 Cup grated Grana Padano. Without a cheese lesson here. You can just use Parmesan cheese. Parm is a type of Padano. You can research it if your curious.

(I DOUBLED ALL THE INGREDIENTS FOR THE SAUCE. I WAS GLAD I DID)
Trim the ends off the eggplant and peel one inch strips of peel off ever inch all the way around. Slice into about 1inch pieces. Lay out and salt both sides and set aside.
Season pounded chicken breast with salt and pepper on both sides. Lay a piece of prosciutto on the stickiest side of the chicken and kinda mash in with your fingers to get the prosciutto to adhere to the chicken. The prosciutto is so thin it will stick pretty easily.
Heat a large pan with 2-3 Tbl. of olive oil in the fry pan and add 2 TBL. of butter. When this melted and blended take chicken and lightly dredge in flour and tap off loose flour. Fry in prosciutto side down first till light brown and slightly crispy (2-3 minutes) and turn and cook other side till lightly brown. Remove and drain on paper towels and then place prosciutto side up in an oven proof pan. I used glass cake pans. You may need to use more than one so you don't over fill the pans. Continue this step till all the chicken is fried. Sprinkle just a bit of Parmesan cheese on the chicken.
Now take the eggplant and in the same skillet fry it. You want to pat the eggplant dry as the salt will cause it to sweat some. Dredge lightly in flour and fry till golden in pan. Drain and place on piece on each piece of chicken. Then lightly sprinkle with just a bit of parm cheese (this is just to help the layers hold together. After you have completed this place one or two fresh, stemmed basil leaves on top of each piece of eggplant that is now on top of each piece of chicken (we are building a tower.)
Now to the sauce.
In the same skilled you cooked the chicken and eggplant add the minced garlic (if you need more olive oil or butter add a little. You don't need much. My pan had gotten kinda dark from the flour and I had to clean it out a little so not to have burnt flour. I didn't wash it as there was flavor in there but I did wipe out the too dark flour. Ok, so we now have a good pan with 2-3 Tbl. olive oil and 2 Tbl. butter approximately. Add the  minced garlic and cook till light brown (dont BURN the garlic as it will become bitter.) Add the the wine and bring to a boil and cook till the wine is almost evaporated. Add in the chicken stock and drop in 2 Tbl. butter and the chopped or pureed or however you like them tomatoes. Boil till slightly reduced and thickened. Add a little salt and pepper.  When the sauce is done take a spoon and spoon a little over the top of each tower. Then spoon the sauce around the chicken. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese and shredded fontina cheese. Bake at 350 till cheese melted and sauce bubbling. I think it cooked about 20-30 minutes.When you remove it from the oven sprinkle with remaining basil leaves that have been chopped or torn into small pieces.
You wont be sorry kids. It is pretty amazing. I served it with spaghetti squash that had olive oil and salt and pepper. I did add a dollop of butter to it when I reheated it in the microwave.
Enjoy!

Buffalo Hot Wings

We love hot wings, but have you taken your family out for wings recently? You need a small loan to pay for the number of the little darlings it takes to feed everyone. Now when you have a family of Sasquatches like I do it is a real financial challenge.
So I set out to make my own. I have made them in the past but the problem was getting so many made and everyone fed at one time. I began with my typical research and after reading many recipes came up with this recipe that works GREAT and feeds everyone at the same time.

To feed my 6 grown Sasquatches and then 2 more Sasquatch friends I purchased 50 whole wings and after cleaning them and cutting them into their little parts I had 100 wings. Believe it or not we only had about 15 wings left after dinner. Shocking I know.

make sure you buy the Franks Original NOT the wing sauce.


Buffalo Hot Wings

Place all the cut up wings in a large bowl. We are going to marinate the wings for 8-24 hours before cooking them. Using FRANKS  RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce (this is the best) add just enough sauce to lightly coat the wings in the bowl. You don't want them swimming in the sauce just lightly coated. Then place them in a large zip lock bag. Place about 25 wing pieces per bag. Now Put a good coating of Cajun Seasoning (I used Ragin Cajun) and about half the amount of garlic powder over the wings then close the bag and shake and mix the wings with the cajun seasoning and place in the refrigerator for 8-24 hours.
When you are ready to cook them place a large heavy dutch oven or deep fryer (however you plan to fry your wings) over a flame and fill the pot half full with oil of your choice.  Bring the oil to 350 degrees. You want to try and keep the temperature of the oil as close to 350 degrees as you can during cooking. Layer three paper towels on counter and place the chicken pieces out on the paper towels (this is to absorb the liquid that may have collected on them.) You don't want to wipe them off because you will wipe away the seasoning. Just roll them over the paper towel and stack them. I separate them into piles of drummettes and wingettes because they cook for different times. You should have already cut these up. The wing tip should be discarded and the drummette and wingette separated from each other.



 Fry in batches depending on how large your pan is 6-8 at a time. You will fry the drummettes at 350 degrees for about 8 to 10 minutes (depending on the size of them.) and you will fry the wingettes about 8 minutes. Once they are fried drain and set aside. I drained mine and then place them in two seperate baking dishes. Once you have fried ALL your wings in batches and place in baking dishes set aside your pot of oil and make your wing sauce.

Turn oven on to 325 degrees

Hot Wing Sauce- This amount was perfect for the large amount of wings I made. It doesn't make a lot so you decide whether you want to half it or not.

1 23oz bottle of Franks Hot sauce
2 sticks of butter
2-4 good dashes of Worcestershire sauce
Place in sauce pan and heat to melt butter and combine.

Pour the sauce over the wings in the baking dishes and mix thoroughly to coat evenly. Place pans in heated oven for 15 minutes to heat the wings back up and to adhere the sauce to the wings. Once heated give them another good stir to coat them with the sauce on the bottom of the baking dishes. SERVE!