Tag Archives: dinner

Country Fried Chicken Double Dipped

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 24 September, 2014 None comments

Double Dipped Country Fried Chicken

Fried Chicken 10

Comfort food, ah ya!

Definitely had a craving for fried chicken but instead of frying it I opted to bake it. I did this because it actually is quicker and healthier without compromising the flavor.

I served this chicken with fresh corn, red mashed potatoes and homemade gravy.

My mouth is watering just reliving this experience.

Ingredients:

2 lbs chicken, chopped largely
8 eggs, whisked
1 cup milk
2 lbs red potatoes
3 tbsp butter
3 cups plus 1/2 (reserve) milk or cream
Salt and pepper to taste

Breading:

2 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tbsp paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp sugar

Chop thawed chicken into large chunks and set aside.

Grease a 9×13 baking pan and set aside.

Fried Chicken

In a medium bowl combine eggs and 1 cup milk and whisk together.

In a separate medium bowl add the breading ingredients.

Dip your chicken in the egg batter and then into the breading.

Dip AGAIN back into the egg batter and again back into the breading for the double dipped effect. :)

Place into greased bake dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until no longer pink in the middle.

Bring the potatoes to a boil and begin making the gravy.

For the gravy:

Once chicken is cooked, remove from pan and reserve the chicken remains and grease.

Spoon into a sauce pan and add 1-2 tbsp flour.

Coat batter with excess flour.

Add in 3 cups milk, (reserving the last half cup for the potatoes) heat through on med-low heat until it begins to thicken.

At this point check and see if you need more chicken flavor, if so add about 1 tbsp chicken better than bouillon and stir until melted.

If your gravy still is not thick enough, add a little gravy to a small cup and add in additional flour. Mix well until no lumps appear and dump back into gravy. (This will help prevent lumpy gravy)

Once the potatoes are soft, mash with a potato masher.

Add in 1/2 cup milk and butter.

Now you are ready to make your plate look pretty and fill your tummy.

Bring all your ingredients to the plate. Fried chicken, potatoes and corn.

Drizzle or lather in gravy.

I prefer the lathering of gravy.

Summer Sausage and Orzo

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 28 August, 2014 None comments

Chicken flavored orzo with summer sausage and fresh vegetables.

The great thing with orzo is not only the incredible taste but the simple fact that it can be cooked in so many ways with numerous ways to flavor it. I absolutely love orzo. Mmmm so delicious and versatile.

This particular night, I cooked the orzo in chicken broth leaving the pasta flavored so beautifully that nothing needed to be added to the pasta; not even butter.

This meal is less than 30 minutes and is a very inexpensive option to serve the family for dinner.

Ingredients:

1 lb kielbasa sausage
1 lb mushrooms, sliced
1 small onion, diced
4 tbsp butter
1 tbsp minced garlic
Orzo
1 tbsp Better than bullion chicken flavored
Vegetables of choice

Bring water to a boil, add chicken stock and orzo. Follow package instructions on how long to cook.

Meanwhile, slice sausage, onions and mushrooms. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and add in minced garlic. Stir frequently to keep garlic from burning. Roast garlic for 2-3 minutes until fully cooked.

Keep the heat on medium and add in the onions and mushrooms. Continue to saute garlic mixture until onions and mushrooms are nice and tender.

Toss in sausage and heat through.

Serve with vegetables and orzo and enjoy.

Baked Taquitos

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 13 August, 2014 None comments

Yesterday was another strong blast of heat. Our house has withstood the heatwave until now. This morning when I woke up and the house still sat at 75 degrees- I knew there was a problem. This weather has kicked in full gear and is not backing down. We are supposed to reach 100 degrees today and while Portland typically hasn’t reached this high heat on a regular basis, we are now. It seems the past few years have consistently remained hot, smokin’ hot.

I remember long ago, moving to Portland–okay it was only 11 years ago, but I was utterly shocked that the majority of the city does not support central air. Portland never got that hot where AC was worth the investment. It seemed only the million dollar homes carried central air while now a days– Portland has had to adapt. Our heat wave the past few years has gained quite steadily leaving us with no choice but to have AC. And for all my sorry pregnant friends out there with no AC, my heart goes out to you!

It’s pretty insane how our weather has changed so significantly over the years. My family back up in Washington is experiencing temperatures in the low 100’s on a too regular basis. It’s almost as if it’s becoming the new Arizona state while mimicking the high heat. Nothing else of course resembles Arizona in the slightest.

Anyway, today Cooper and I were outside preparing for our park date tonight with daddy. I tried to quickly bake our dinner and scurry outside to play with my son. (Sometimes I feel he has too many independent play days)

This was his snack of choice:

Orange Juice
Chow Mien Noodles (4 gms of protein- shocking)
Glazed pecans
And sour little worms that his Grammy bought him

He has been having a great time pulling his toys around lately. He typically loves to push and run rampant with everything but, this little helicopter makes him slow down making sure it doesn’t fall sideways off it’s track and lose balance, boy does that cause for some frustartion. He keeps it on track and walks it through the grass, dirt and up the sidewalk by our house stopping for treats along the way.

While he was playing, I would run back and forth from the kitchen to play with him as I began to make this incredibly quick dinner. This meal allowed me to spend most of the time with him while stepping outside to let the taquitos crisp up in the oven… ooohh ya! I had you at crisp!

Tonight’s menu: Baked Taquitos with cucumber tomato salad

Venue: Hammerle Park

Guests: You, Me and Dupree

Requirements: Please bring a fun attitude, adventurous toys for the kids and chocolate for my love of desserts.

Ingredients:

½ lb chicken, chopped (2-3 breasts)
1 can kidney beans
3 large mushrooms, chopped
1 tsp Paprika
½ tsp garlic salt
½ cup blue cheese or ranch
4 ounces cream cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
8 tortillas

Chop cooked chicken and add to saucepan.

Add blue cheese and kidney beans. Begin to heat through on low heat.

Add in mushrooms and saute until tender.

Once the mushrooms are tender, turn the heat off. Add in cream cheese, garlic salt and paprika. Stir until cream cheese is melted.

Lay one heaping 1/2 cup onto a tortilla and sprinkle with cheese. Roll up leaving the edges open. Repeat until your mixture is gone.

Place on a foil lined baking sheet.

Bake at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown.

Aren’t they so pretty and ooey-gooey delicious looking?

I allowed ours to cool a bit and then wrapped them in foil to pack for our picnic. They remained perfectly warm until we enjoyed them on our blanket at the park. We had cucumber tomato salad with our taquitos along with chips and salsa and dark chocolate peanut butter cups for dessert. Yummy!

What will you be serving your taquitos with tonight?

Fish Tacos

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 28 July, 2014 None comments

Today was an absolutely beautiful day filled with church, relaxation and good eats. My husband and I had some great conversations while enjoying the sun. Typically we spend every weekend busy with chores or out traveling around. Today we sat and had great conversations with some yummy iced coffee and delicious food.

Fish tacos were not on the menu for tonight’s dinner, but as the night progressed it simply turned into that as we both decided we had been talking about fish tacos for awhile.

They were so incredible, we were thankful we succumbed to the desire. After eating dinner we went on a nice long walk through the forest as it’s basically in our backyard. Quiet and peaceful was the remainder of our day topped off with a Cherry Turnover from my Aunt’s berry store in Salem. Woo-hoo!

Ingredients:

4 fillets of Mahi (any kind works great)
¼ tsp chili powder
¼ tsp chipotle seasoning
½ tsp garlic salt
¼ tsp sea salt
2 tbsp garlic butter, melted

Toppings:

Grilled Corn
Kidney Beans
Cheese
Rice
Tomato
Avocado
Ranch

In a small bowl mix together chili powder, chipotle, garlic and sea salt together. Sprinkle over fish.

Grill the fish on the BBQ and while cooking, baste the fish with melted garlic butter.

Once cooked, allow to cool and shred fish.

Toast tortillas on the grill.

Grill the corn on the barbecue with garlic butter and salt.

Once tortillas are cooked, serve warm with all the toppings you enjoy.

Assemble with cheese, rice, beans, tomatoes, corn, ranch and avocado.

So delicious! Yummy!

Hope you enjoy as much as we did! :)

Corn Dogs

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 18 July, 2014 None comments

Easy-peasy yummy and easy. Who doesn’t love a corn dog, I know I would eat them all the time if they were as healthy as the blueberries we grow.

Anyway, this recipe developed through a long time pondering what to make for our annual movies in the park picnic. All week long I had thought and contemplated what delicious picnic to pack. It was opening night for movies in our neighborhood park this past weekend and my conclusion ended with these delicious homemade corn dogs.

With a busy day watching a girlfriends two kids and my son getting pictures all in the same afternoon, I was hoping to conquer my desire to make these corn dogs as well unsure how long it would actually take. Preparing early in the morning was my best friend. This enabled a helpful evening of simply frying them during Cooper’s nap so when we returned home, dinner would be DONE!

Waking my son up from a nap led me to believe pictures would be a challenge let alone, a long evening with a late bedtime. To my surprise, my little bundle exceed expectations and we returned home by 9:30 with a very happy baby. I love nights where my son is uber-snuggly and interacting with me on a level I didn’t realize he was old enough for. It was precious to play with his super-duper sweet attitude while we also laid on the blanket looking up at the sky. The trees that billowed out above us and a pink sky surpassing the quiet trees was absolutely astonishing. His little mind taking in the essence of a “pink” sunset was adorable. So much so we even talked about it the following morning.

We played on the blanket with toys and even played in the water feature the beautiful park holds. We left when the movie got going as my son wasn’t there for a quiet evening but rather, an active, loud adventure. We enjoyed our corn dog picnic and couldn’t have asked for a better night.

Ingredients:

Batter:

1 cup cornmeal
1 cup unbleached flour
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
¼ cup sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 cup milk

Hot Dog Prep:

1/3 cup flour
8-10 hot dogs
3 cups Vegetable Oil
4-5 wooden skewers, cut in half

Mix together all the dry ingredients for the batter into a small bowl or measuring cup and mix well.

In a separate bowl mix together egg and milk.

Add in dry ingredients. Place in refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a fry pan, add your oil and heat on low heat. I use this pan specifically for frying only. It’s become that pan.

While the oil is heating, prep your hot dogs….

Cut skewers in half and slide hot dog onto skewer.

On a small plate with flour, coat your hot dog. This helps the cornmeal stick to the dog.

After cornmeal has been refrigerated, dip the dog into the batter. This will take some manuvering to get the batter to stick. I basically dump the batter on top. Let it rest, than flip the dog and do the same on the other side.

Quickly transfer dog to oil and slightly turn up the heat.

Use tongs to help hold the batter close to the hot dog.

After the batter begins to cook, flip the hot dog with tongs to keep from burning yourself with the oil.

Once fully cooled, place on a foil lined baking pan to catch the oil.

Serve with a delicious honey mustard or spicy mustard. Mmmm so good!

Adapted from Carlsbadcravings.com

Veggie Burgers

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 21 February, 2014 None comments

What’s for dinner tonight? “woot woot” Homemade, decadent veggie burgers. These suckers are so easy and so full of flavor. I’ve made many different types of veggie burgers and some of them are time consuming and lacking flavor. These however, or quite tasty, super easy and you can make ahead of time AND even freeze them for later use. They make 12 large burgers, great for making a double batch to freeze for quick last minute meals.

As you know I enjoy a bit of a spice to my food. Easily omit the spice if you are one who prefers otherwise. :)

Ingredients:

2 cups spinach
2 large carrots
1 red pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt & pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper (omit if you prefer no spice)
2 oz (½ can chopped chilies)
½ cup fresh parsley
½ cup fresh cilantro
3 green onions, chopped
1 can hominy, drained
1 can diced Italian tomatoes
2 cups Oats
1/3 cup flour
Whole wheat buns
Toppings/condiments for burger

In a food processor toss spinach, carrots, red pepper, minced garlic, onion powder, garlic salt, cayenne pepper and chilies.

Puree until pretty chunky. (Depending on the size of your food processor you may be able to fit everything in at once. Mine it 8 cups and I still have to puree a bit to add the remainder of ingredients)

Add in parsley, cilantro, onions, hominy, and diced tomatoes. Puree until well blended.

In a large bowl, fold in rolled oats and flour. Mix well.

In a greased 9×13 pan form your patties and place 6 large burgers in the pan.

Bake at 450 for 25 minutes.

Broil for an additional 2-3 minutes to crisp them up a bit.

I made a chipotle mayo sauce:

¼ cup mayo
2 tbsp blue cheese dressing
½ tsp sriacha

*If freezing, allow to cool 100% before placing them into a Ziploc, airtight bag.

Served with onions, pickles, spinach, pepper jack cheese and chipotle mayo sauce (ingredients above)

Serve on homemade hamburger buns.

Beef Yakisoba

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 18 February, 2014 None comments

This is my first attempt to make yakisoba. I attempted rice noodles awhile ago and absolutely hated them. I’ve avoided making yakisoba for that exact reason. Tonight I decided to be brave and make this meal but using Top Roman noodles. No seasoning packet as they are entirely unhealthy and have nothing to do with this dish so to speak, but I figured I would try this route and ease my anxiety about cooking with rice noodles again.

As the night progressed we decided this recipe would be great without noodles and as a simple stir fry. We had a yakisoba noodle free night and the following day for leftovers I added the noodles. Both were delicious. Although I am obsessed with carbs that I preferred the noodles. My husband on the other hand is a carb hater for the most part and preferred his leftovers as is.

My husband cooked the beef as I think he believes this makes him more “manly.” :) Ha, he’d die if he knew I just said that to ya’ll.

Instructions are below. If you have time to let the meat marinade do so overnight. Otherwise allow for a couple hours to sit in the juices before cooking.

Stir Fry:

1 tbsp sesame oil
½ head of Red Cabbage
Brussels Sprouts
1 yellow onion
1 Red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 orange pepper
1 lb fresh green beans
2 Carrots

Chop all vegetables except green beans and place in the Wok with sesame oil, set aside. Meanwhile prepare your sauce.

Sauce:

¼ cup soy sauce
½ cup Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp sriacha sauce
1 tbsp sugar
Garlic salt
Salt and pepper

In a small bowl combine all ingredients and set aside.

Beef Marinade:

2 Garlic clove, minced
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp sriacha (optional, if you want a little spice)
¼ tsp Red Pepper flakes

In a ziplock bag add beef (tenderloin, sirloin, rib-eye cut into stir fry strips), garlic, soy and Worcestershire sauce, sriacha, and red pepper flakes. Close tightly and let sit over night or if you are making for tonight’s dinner let marinade for 2-3 hours; overnight is best.

Cooking the Delicious Meal:

Heat Wok on medium heat and begin to cook to desired tenderness; I prefer a bit of a crunch to sautéed vegetables.

While the vegetables are cooking, place meat and partial marinade into a fry pan and cook to desired color or lack thereof if you prefer well-done.

2-3 minutes before your vegetables are finished cooking, add sauce and the cooked meat. Let simmer for 2-3 minutes to soak up the flavors.

*If serving over rice noodles follow directions on package. If using Roman noodles, bring water to a boil and boil roman noodles for 2-3 minutes making sure not to overcook. Toss in the Wok and mix well.

My husband took the liberty to chop some mixed nuts to top our yakisoba with. It actually was very delightful.

Mediterranean Pasta

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 15 February, 2014 None comments

Okay, let me start by saying I am not the biggest pasta fan but certain recipes I can’t live without. Although, if you served me pasta I would probably eat it as in my book, you can’t go wrong with carbs. But for some reason it’s not a high priority for me to cook pasta as I would prefer other things first.

With that said I was craving pasta the other night and had no idea what I wanted to make. I normally love Chicken Alfredo but was definitely not in the mood for that dish. I wanted something that was full of rich delicious flavors. Let me say “OH WOW!!!” For some reason this was so satisfying to my soul last night I had two servings!

Mediterranean Pasta

1 lb macaroni pasta
2 chicken thighs (breasts work great too)
¾ cup cherry tomatoes
1 small onion, chopped
3 tbsp mushrooms, this helps create the “sauce”
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
½ cup red pepper, chopped
1 can olives, chopped
Sundried tomatoes (Casa Di Oliva is fabulous)
¾ cup artichoke hearts, chopped
Salt and pepper
1-2 cups fresh parmesan cheese
Avocado, diced for topping
Mozzarella cheese for topping

Cook chicken until no longer pink. Chop into small pieces and set aside.

In a large fry pan, add EVOO cherry tomatoes and onions. Cook over medium heat until tomatoes begin to burst.

Once almost all have burst, add butter, mushrooms and peppers.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions.

Drain pasta. While pasta is still hot place in a large glass serving bowl and add olives, sundried tomatoes, and artichoke hearts. I used Casa Di Oliva it’s more a bruschetta mix which is helpful for the sauce.

Add sautéed veggie mix to pasta, sprinkle with salt and pepper and mix well.

Sprinkle 1-2 cup fresh parmesan cheese on hot pasta and give it a good stir.

When serving sprinkle with freshly grated mozzarella cheese and diced avocados.

Serve with garlic bread an enjoy!

Everyday Chicken

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 3 February, 2014 None comments

The other night I was unsure what to make for dinner as this thought often comes across my head. I am trying to cater our eating to more basics and hoping to be a titch more healthy.

While making dinner I allowed Cooper to play on the counter top in our glass cupboard as he loves to organize his cups and put straws in each and every glass. He could play here for hours and often does when I allow it. :)

Lately, as you all know I have been addicted to salads with all the yummy toppings my mama had got me hooked on at Christmas. This has been beneficial for us to get our veggies for the day as well as our green smoothies. Trying to get back to the basics as we don’t eat unhealthfully but not enough veggies and fruit. Tonights dinner was back to the basics, salad, quinoa rice blend and chicken.

I made two types of chicken dishes, here’s the first method:

Ingredients:

2-4 chicken thighs (breasts work great too)
¾ cup mustard (I used hot and sweet mustard and Dijon mixed)
1 tbsp red vinegar
Dash of salt and pepper
Fresh Parmesan cheese

Lay chicken in a 8×8 greased pan. Season with 1 tsp of each: parsely, garlic salt and Italian seasining. In a small bowl mix everything together except parmesan cheese and spread atop chicken. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Mustard mixture

Ready to bake!

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until no longer pink.

Second Method:

Ingredients:

2-4 chicken thighs or breasts
¾ cup mayo
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
2 tsp garlic salt
4 tsp parsley
1 tsp Itallian seasoning
Fresh Parmesan cheese

In another 8×8 greased pan lay the chicken. Season chicken with 1 tsp of each: parsley, garlic salt and Italian seasoning. In a small bowl mix together mayo along with remaining seasonigns except parmesan cheese. Spread on top of the chicken and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Ready to bake!

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until no longer pink.

Serve with quinoa rice blend and salad. I used the sauce in the pan from the chicken on top of the rice to add a consistent flavor.

Enjoy!

Taco Bake

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 27 January, 2014 None comments

I love Mexican and along with this tasty dinner, I’ve also made Twice Baked Tacos and Lime Chicken Avocado Enchiladas, all in which are pretty heavenly. I made this one for the first time the other night. Pretty simple but not necessarily the healthiest. It does call for Con Queso but you don’t have to use this. You could substitute for refried beans and extra cheese. So don’t exit this recipe just yet. There are other options.

Ingredients: