Texas Barbecue Chicken with Couscous Stuffed Red Peppers and Basil Garlic Crostinis

A colleague that I assigned to an implementation in Ennis, Texas brought me back some really nice sauce that we decided to try tonight. The finished product was pretty awesome - if I say so myself.


Texas Barbecue Chicken - what you need...

• Boneless skinless chicken breast
• Bottle of barbecue sauce. This was from Texas  so I dropped that in the name but, really you can use any dang sauce you like.
• Ziploc bag

Place chicken breast in Ziploc bag and pour sauce into it. Place sealed bag in fridge for a few hours (I did this early in the morning and let it marinate the whole day). I skipped a step this morning and didn't flatten the chicken breasts - so I strongly suggest that you do this before bagging and tagging (doing this helps the chicken cook evenly).

Image Courtesy of seriouseats.com

When ready preheat grill and place marinated chicken breasts on the upper grill grate.  It only takes a few minutes per side, so keep an eye on it or you will wind up with dry chicken. Cook to an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Give it a couple of minutes to rest before plating.

Couscous Stuffed Red Peppers

Swung by the local fresh & easy and grabbed a prepackaged offering that comes in a ready to use grilling pan.  Unwrap and put on the grill - that is it, nothing complicated.  If you are in a time crunch but, want a filling side dish then this is the way to go.  While there is some great layering of flavor in this, I have to believe that if you spent a few more minutes you can get a customized result that blends the flavors your want (garlic, basil, parmesan, feta, whatever).  Next time I am going to give fixing this myself a whirl and I will let you know how it goes.

Basil Garlic Crostinis - what you need...

• Fresh baguette
• Butter
• Garlic
• Basil
• Seasoning of Choice - mine is Cavender's

The method that I am sharing works for me.  I like the texture of the finished result but, crostini snobs out there will tell you that this isn't a "true crostini. Personally, I am not wanting something that will disintegrate the first time you bite into it (plus, this is my blog). You have been warned - read on if you want a soft crispy product. If not, then there are a zillion other recipes out there for you.  I will leave you to decide now...

Thanks for sticking with me - it really means a lot that you have bought into my vision.  Move oven rack to near the top of the oven and pre-heat broiler to 275 degrees. Melt butter over medium heat in sauce pan. Add garlic and basil to taste.  Once all ingredients are combined/melted, add seasoning to taste.  While the butter is melting, slice the baguette into 1/4" portions. Place on ceramic baking sheet. Brush/spoon/pour melted butter mix over the baguette slices.  Place on top rack of oven and cook for five minutes. If yours isn't a light golden brown, then leave it there for another minute but, keep an eye on it. There is a fine line between yummy bread product and burnt toast.

 

Simply Done | Pork Chops with Caramel Citrus Glaze

This blog is not about travel but, travel figures into the story of this meal. We spent the weekend in California to catch a BNL concert. On the way home, we decided to take the road less traveled and were rewarded with the amazing vista above Palm Springs.  As the miles passed beneath our tires we knew that we were one step closer to the "normality" of home - picking lemons from the tree (the second such harvest, if you want lemons, give me a shout), grocery shopping, laundry, and dinner decisions.  Before we hit the state line, I had already decided that I had hit my limit of dining out so, I would need to cook tonight.

Standing in our local Fresh & Easy store, I pondered our options.  Thanks to whatever unholy winds blew through the Phoenix area while we were gone, grilling was really out of the picture (I would have to clean it before I cooked out there and I just did not feel like it) so, I was gravitating towards doing something in the oven.  We haven't had pork lately so I was leaning that way and then I saw the, "Simple Pork Chops with Caramel Citrus Glaze" in the meat section and we were off to the races.  With an ingredient list that I can actually pronounce and understand, simple oven instructions, we had a foundation of a meal that we served with parmesan roasted potatoes and green beans.  I cannot blame the chefs at the store for their decision (I would rather have under-seasoned than over-seasoned), but I felt this was a little bland and I added some Cavender's to add some depth of flavor.  My only other knock was some that my chop had a lot more fat on it than I would like but, a knife fixed that once it was pulled from the oven.  Though I applied a couple of tweaks, this was a great pick to keep us out of another restaurant.

I have a bonus product review for your consideration. I have said for years to cook meat to temperature and not time.  For years I have used a Polder probe thermometer for bigger items but, it is a pain the butt to use on smaller things (like pork chops).  I found a simple, cost effective solution in the OXO Good Grips Digital Instant Read Thermometer.  Though you should not leave this in the meat while it is on the grill or in the oven (the plastic housing of the digital readout will melt), it is a great tool to quickly check where you are at.  Caution, this is not really an "instant" unit, but you will see the numbers climb and stabilize within about five or so seconds (which should work nicely for what you need it to do). 

Garlic Herb Chicken Breast with Whole Wheat Three Cheese Tortellini and Green Veggie Medley

On Monday I mentioned that I spent less than $25 at fresh & easy and got enough for two dinners. The first dinner was good - this one was great.  Like the first, this was all packaged food but, you wouldn't know it by the end result.

The chicken was straight from the package to the pre-heated grill. The folks at fresh & easy did the heavy lifting of the marinade - so six minutes on each side and you are good to go. The veggies are also simple, it includes the herb butter - just poke a couple of holes in the plastic and toss in a microwave for three minutes.

The pasta was easy but, modified - instead of boiling the whole wheat shells in just plain water and olive oil, I added a some basil and garlic (with my favorite Dorat cubes) to kick-it up a notch.  One tip I'll share for when you work with stuffed pasta, don't dump the package in, gently place a few at a time into the water. Oh, and though you start with a rapid, rolling boil, reduce slightly to prevent them from tumbling around and breaking open (which is not good eats).

Twelve minutes - great meal - and none of it was faux food.  I dare you to get that from a drive thru.

Chipotle Mango Chicken Breast with Mediterranean Vegetables and Chicken Flavored Brown Rice

First full day back from the vacation is a reminder that there is a small price to pay for emptying the fridge prior to leaving for the Toastmasters International Convention in Cincinnati.  Given that this is a short week (I fly out to Oakland on Thursday), I solved this with a quick stop at a fresh & easy near the site in North Phoenix that I have been working from...

For under $25, I managed to grab enough for two dinners (tonight and Wednesday - have a PDG Advisory Committee on Tuesday). Tonight's dinner featured Chipotle Mango Chicken. Nothing complicated from my end - preheat grill, open package, place chicken breasts on grate, flip after five minutes, remove after five more minutes.

The sides are just as easy - first up, remove the plastic cover and label from the metal tray. Place on grill - jostle contents a couple of times with a pair of tongs, remove when you pull the chicken. The rice was a pre-packed, chicken flavored, brown rice. Vent the top and place in a microwave for 90 seconds.

There you go - dinner in just twelve minutes...

Herbed Tilapia with Mixed Veggies and Fingerling Potatoes

There is nothing better than coming home after a hard day at the office and fixing dinner.  It doesn't have to be complicated and you don't have to kill yourself to put out killer results. As is typical, my buddies at fresh & easy helped with some off the shelf parts.

You have to love finding ready to cook, herbed and breaded Tilapia in the seafood section. Not having to created the breading and dredge the fillets through it is absolutely priceless. Straight into the pan with EVOO - three minutes on each side and your entree is done.

The Mediterranean veggies are another fun find from the produce department. At $3.50, you cannot beat the pre-sliced tomatoes, peppers, red onions, squash, and zucchini. Grill them in the pan or, as I did tonight, toss into a 375 degree oven.

The potatoes were easy - wash, toss onto a baking sheet (I have a perfectly sized stoneware one I used) and put into a 450 degree oven for 30 minutes. Done like this, they will come out fork tender...

Grilled Seasoned Chicken with Mixed Veggies and Brown Rice

From fridge to plate in 15 minutes...

Maybe like me, the hardest night to cook at home is Monday night. Let's face it, the last thing most of us really want to do after slogging through a, "case of the Mondays (there is your Office Space reference for the evening) is cook dinner. Dinner does not need to be complicated and cooking dinner should not have to take forever. 

Tonight's dinner was fresh and sure, it involved a couple of "cheats" - courtesy of fresh & easy (if you have one near you, I suggest checking them out).  Here's what you will need...

Grilled Seasoned Chicken with Mixed Veggies and Brown Rice

• Boneless, skinless chicken breast
• Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• Poultry seasoning
• Mixed veggies (the cheat, I used one of the "ready to cook" vegetable sides) 
• Brown rice (the cheat, a package of zap in the bag brown rice)

Preheat grill - since I use propane, I do not count the time it takes to do this as part of the 15 minutes it takes to fix this dinner (seriously, it took me longer to type this sentence than it did to turn on the gas and press the ignite button). While your choice of fire is coming up to temperature, lightly coat the chicken with EVOO. Then sprinkle the poultry seasoning on each side.  Place chicken on grill, turning frequently until cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees. By the way, if you do not have a digital thermometer, why not.  Go and get one you cheap...

Since I shop at fresh & easy, I opted to use a couple of their store brand "cheats" to create the sides. For my friends outside of their market service areas, I am sure that you can find something similar in a store near you. Just stay away from the frozen section - stick with stuff that you can find in the produce section and that has ingredients listed on the label that you can actually pronounce.  If you want to avoid the "cheats" then factor in time to slice and steam the veggies and cook the brown rice.

I am not going to get into the whole brown versus white rice debate, what I will say is that, once you get used to the mild, nutty flavor, I think you will pick it over white rice just about any day. Other than the taste, the only difference is that the husk of the rice is the only thing that is removed during the milling, With the bran intact, brown rice retains more fiber, iron, potassium, phosphorus, and zinc than white rice. If you need more vitamin E in your diet then you should note that brown rice is the only grain that contains this antioxidant.

There it is, a fifteen minute, fresh, Monday night dinner...

Lemon Pepper Herb Salmon with Basil Garlic Couscous and Veggies

Fun Cubes of Flavor

Cooking Time:  15 minutes
Clean-Up:  Pot, skillet, and tongs

Call this a "proof-of-concept" meal. Fresh salmon, baby carrots, green beans, and couscous. From fridge to plate in under 15 minutes.  I even used a new "cheat" - which I happened to fall completely in love with.

The Original Minute Rice

I didn't feel like adding the nutty, earthy taste of brown rice to this dish and that is where the couscous comes in.  Couscous is a different mouth feel than rice but, more importantly, it is a completely blank canvas and will be done quicker than brown rice. Earlier in the day I found the chopped basil and crushed garlic in the freezer section of my local fresh & easy market. Toss one of each into the boiling water and butter and it will do wonders for adding flavor to the semolina of the couscous. Once you've added the flavor and let it steep for another minute, stir in the couscous, remove from heat, cover and let sit for five minutes.

Don't Worry - The Black is Normal

Skinless salmon fillets are an easy cook. Crust salmon with herbs of your own choosing and sprinkle with lemon pepper seasoning. Gently place in a skillet of medium hot oil and cook two minutes per side. Then place in a 375 degree oven and cook three minutes more per side (it really pays to have a high quality skillet that can go from stove top to oven in a single swoop. If your seasoning forms a black crust then your oil was too hot when you started (yes - mine was). Don't panic if this happens - you will just wind up with a cajun style dish - which didn't bug me too much.

The end result is yummy, healthy, freshness that will never be found in any location that has you using internal combustion to wait in line for faux food. Bon appetit!

Pork Chops with Roasted Apples, Mixed Green Veggies, and Cranberry Suace

My "No Dishes to Clean" Face

Protein: fresh and easy
Veggies: fresh and easy

Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Clean-Up: virturally nothing - just the plate you eat it from
Tim's Additions: nada - felt lazy tonight

So let's chaulk this tonight's dinner up to my, "worker smarter, not harder" attitude.  Everything tonight came pre-packaged and ready to heat. Couple of upsides to this - while the chops were cooking in the 375 degree oven I was able to finish off some database work (no 2 am night tonight) and the only dishes you are have to clean is the plate you eat it off of.

A Multi-tasker's Dinner - But Not Faux Food

The pork chops where pretty thick cut.  Remove the caramel citrus sauce, cover with foil, and place in the oven for 25 minutes - the package does say 17-22 minutes but, they were still too pink for my taste, hence the extra time. When it is done with the first round, pull it out of the oven and dump the sauce over it - throw it back in the oven for another 10 minutes.

When you pull it out of the oven, let the chops rest for a couple of minutes. This is a great time to zap the veggies - that will chew up another 2 minutes and 30 seconds (I don't run the veggies the full three minutes as I think it overcooks them).  I had some leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving so this was a great opportunity to use it up. Plating is pretty straight forward.

Considering that I needed to remove plastic covers and use a microwave the meal exceeded expectations. The one thing I would have eliminated was the caramel citrus sauce...it just wasn't needed.  In fact, I think I would have fired up the grill and done something different with the pork - not sure what but, that "glaze" just didn't work for me...too sweet for my taste.  However, if I had done that, then it would not have been a great multi-tasker's dinner.

Lunch on the Go

Three Minute Service Time...Beat THAT Burger Doodle

Plans went a little haywire this morning and, as a result, I find myself working remotely from one of our North Phoenix centers today.  Fortunately I had packed a lunch.

I adore the "Eat Well" line from fresh and easy. Not only is it healthy but, I don't need to remember any of my High School Chem classes to understand what is in the food I am consuming.  Today was the Steak Fajita, vanilla Greek yogurt with granola, and a diet coke.

Three minutes in the microwave ..the only vending machine that was harmed during this lunch was the coke machine.  There is no way that you can put together a drive thru meal in three minutes.  Definitely not one that has steak and brown rice...

Chicken Alfredo Bake with Whole Wheat Pasta

Yes, it is That Easy...

Protein: fresh and easy

Cooking Time: 26 minutes
Clean-Up: garlic mill, pot
Tim's Additions: Italian bread crumbs, sliced garlic

Back to work after a four day weekend...if there was ever a night where I was going to do a burger doodle drive by, I would be able to find no shortage of reasons.  Thankfully, I planned ahead and picked up "ready to cook" entrees from fresh and easy.

So most of these posts include "clean-up" - I do that because I believe that is a factor in the whole "fast" dinner thing. Wouldn't it be ironic if you had a 15 minute meal but 20 minutes of dishes - yeah, I think so too. So I try to keep that in mind when menu planning.

For tonight, I opted for the Chicken Alfredo Bake. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts with diced pancetta, baby spinach, Italian bread crumbs, and Alfredo sauce. I added some sliced garlic and some more Italian bread crumbs.  Simply throw in a 375 degree oven and follow the directions on the package. If you are one that likes a lot of sauce, then I would suggest you buy more (the store I go to has reasonably sized containers that you can zap for two minutes in the microwave) as the portion that comes with the package won't drown the contents.

I opted to lay this out on a bed of whole wheat pasta. I opted for an up end fresher option - you can use what you will.  I like to cook mine in a boiling mix of water, salt, olive oil, and sliced garlic but - to each their own.  Plating is straight forward, lay down a bed of drained pasta and place the baked chicken , etc on top of it.

Why Yes, It Was That Easy

Stuffed Chicken Breast, Basmati Rice, and Green Salad

Cook to Temperature - Not Time

Produce: Duncan Family Farms
Protein: fresh and easy

Cooking Time: 60 minutes
Clean Up: Cutting board, pot, chef knife, rotary cheese grater, salad bowl
Tim's Additions: none

Stuffed Chicken Breast

Decided to invest a bit more time in dinner tonight: and went with a stuffed chicken breast from my favorite store. The best thing about this is that it is a simple peel-the-plastic-off-cover-with-aluminum-foil-and-shove-the-temperature-probe-in-the-center and place it in a 375 degree oven on a baking sheet.  Since you have to wait around an hour, we can focus on the other stuff for the meal.

Simple Green Salad

At four ingredients (arugula, romaine hearts, radishes, and parmesan), salads don't get any more simple than this. Since we are dealing with farm-to-table produce, it goes without saying that you need to wash the veggies thoroughly (unless you like bonus top soil in your veggies).  Arugula can just be thrown in the bowl. Slice the romaine hearts (perpendicular to the stem) and radishes - chuck those into the bowl as well. Grate some real parmesan (for all that is good and holy do not use the "parm" that comes in a green can - it isn't cheese if the food label shows more than one thing like, let's say, cheese) over the top. Sprinkle some ground pepper and veggie seasoning over the top.  Feel free to either dress with oil or your favorite salad dressing.

Not Your Mom's Minute Rice

Felt like adding a starch and opted for rice.  Resist the urge to bust out the minute rice you grew up with and go with something decent like basmati tonight (only because I had it on hand). You've got lots of time before the chicken is done so time shouldn't be a factor. For boiling it off, I add olive oil and butter to the water that needs to be boiling...those are optional but, I like the way the finished product tastes.

The finished chicken tasted great but the presentation was off.  All was well until I had to slice it and then it just fell apart before I could get in on the plate. If I had invested another 15 minutes, I might have upped the presentation factor but, it wasn't worth it for tonight.  The overall taste reminded me a bit of chicken and dumplings and was way, way better than going out to eat.

If Your Were Here You Would Have Eaten This...

Memphis Seasoned Chicken with Sauteed Rainbow Chard

Some New Flavors & Just 20 Minutes

Produce: Duncan Family Farms, Goodyear AZ
Protein: fresh and easy

Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Clean Up: Skillet, tongs, chef knife, cutting board, garlic mill, garlic peeler
Tim's Additions: butter, paprika, yellow radishes




Tonight's dinner was an example of trying new things. Got a hold of some rainbow chard and yellow radishes from Duncan Family farms. Rainbow chard is a leafy green veggies that is sometimes used in Mediterranean cooking. I suppose you could eat it raw - no my thing but, to each their own. Since this was straight from the field a total wash and rinse was in order before doing anything.

Yes - they are radishes...I think

While we are washing produce, let's clean off the yellow radishes.  I've never thought of radishes much before but, these were different.  Not a bad different mind you, just a bit crisper and zestier than a normal radish.  Honestly, not knowing what in the heck else to do with them, these just get sliced and set on the plate.

For the chard, heat some EVOO and butter, add sliced garlic (I probably should have minced it but, I was feeling lazy) in a large skillet.  Remove the chard from their stems...I've read this cooks like asparagus - I opted for an asparagus free night. Break down into manageable pieces and cook down in the skillet adding it bunches in parts.  It cooks down just like spinach (which I actually don't like cooked down) and I added a bit of paprika once I added the last bunch to the skillet.

The chicken was easier - pull it out of the package and throw it on the preheated grill (don't forget to turn the flames down to medium so that you don't char the chicken). This packaged offering is boneless, skinless, chicken breasts with a dry rub, sweet tomato, and vinegar sauce.  Here's another tip for grilling - cook to temperature, not time - so flip the meat in quarter temperature intervals.

Granted - this took a bit longer than the 15 minute standard but, the farm-to-table produce has such a vivid taste - you just cannot believe it - definitely worth the extra effort. 

Yeah - You Know You Want Some...

Beef & Broccoli Stir Fry

Yup - two containers...that's it.

Cooking Time: 12 minutes
Clean Up: Skillet, tongs, plate
Tim's Additions: Soy Sauce

So you are going to find that I buy a lot of my stuff from fresh and easy markets and tonight's dinner was no exception.

Doesn't look like much now but, smelled great!

Stir fry meat in organic olive oil (the directions just say oil - organic EVOO is all I have in my place). Added a splash of soy sauce to it at about the 4 minute mark (splatter shield would have prevented the mess that I wound up with). Once the meat was cooked simply toss in the veggies - which I would have liked to have had more of - and then stir fry for a few more minutes to soften them up.  One other tip would be to cut down the broccoli florets into smaller pieces (something I didn't do).

There is a sauce packet that you simply cut open and dump in the skillet the last couple of minutes. If I had been more self aware, I would have tried to figure out what exactly was in the packet but, I didn't. I can say, I didn't notice any 16 letter names that belong in a chemistry lab so, I figure we are good to go...the sauce did smell great though. The egg fried rice is a snap - 3 minutes in the microwave.  Once that is done, plate a bed of rice, scoop some of the stir fry mix from the skillet onto the bed of rice (oh, if egg fried rice isn't your thing, just use brown rice).

Enjoy knowing that you pulled this off in twelve minutes and only dirtied your skillet, tongs, and the plate you ate it out of...

Sweet, beefy broccoli yumminess!