Apple-Cheddar Pizza

This particular recipe is courtesy of Food Network Magazine's excellent cookbook, 1,000 Easy Recipes. We did modify a few aspects of the pizza, specifically the dough and the overall cooktime, but this was a fantastic recipe.

To start, here is what you will need for the dough:
Whisk 3 3/4 cups flour and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in a bowl. Make a well and add 1 1/3 cups warm water, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1 packet yeast. When foamy, mix in 3 tablespoons olive oil; knead until smooth, 5 minutes. Transfer to a clean bowl and brush with olive oil; cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Divide into two 1 pound balls.

Here are you remaining ingredients:
2 Granny Smith apples, sliced (we chose Granny Smith, but you can pick whatever kind you enjoy)
Oregano, as desired
Pumpkin Pie Spice, as desired
1/2 cup shredded cheddar
4-6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
Maple syrup, as desired

Once the dough is complete, stretch 1 pound dough into a large 12 inch round (the original recipe calls for two 9 inch rounds). Brush with olive oil and season with salt. Top with sliced apples, oregano, and pumpkin pie spice. Bake until golden, between 20-25 minutes. Top with crumbled bacon and maple syrup.

Enjoy!

Barbecue Chicken and Grilled Corn

So I haven't been as faithful to this blog as I should be (especially because I blog more about the video game I'm playing right now than food ::cough cough look me up cough cough::) Anyway, back to the food!

This particular post is all about my barbecue chicken. Having a deep love for barbecue and a love/hate relationship with chicken, it was time that the two met and I finally showed the chicken who's boss. Here is what you will need in total, very simple:

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast (about 3-4 good sized chicken breasts)
Jamie's Barbecue Rub
Jack Daniel's Honey Smokehouse Barbecue Sauce
2-4 ears of corn
Olive Oil (any kind is fine, I use extra virgin)
salt
pepper
smoked paprika.

If your chicken is frozen when you are choosing to make this recipe, follow steps 1 and 2. If you are buying your chicken the day you make this recipe, just use step 2.

Step 1) Take chicken breasts out of the freezer, let them thaw in your fridge for 24hrs.

Step 2) Take chicken and rub thoroughly with barbecue rub. It is OK if the chicken is still partially frozen. Place chicken on a plate, cover with tin foil, and put it back into the fridge for at least 8 hours.

Next, shuck your ears of corn and place into a Ziplock freezer bag. Drizzle with olive oil (about 1-2 tablespoons), and add salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. Toss/rub the corn to thoroughly coat each ear, then let that sit for about an hour in your fridge.

Pre-heat your grill on medium high heat and coat your grill with non-stick cooking spray. Place the chicken breasts and the corn on the grill. Cook the chicken for 5-7 minutes per side, brushing the grilled side with the barbecue sauce after each flip.

Cook the chicken for 20-25 minutes, then take off the grill and cover with foil to let rest about 5 minutes. While grilling the chicken, periodically turn the corn to get an even char, about every 5 minutes or so to your desired doneness.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Cheesy Breakfast Hash

Based on a previous post, I retract a previous statement that I made. I could eat BREAKFAST all day, every day forever and ever. Barbecue comes in at a close second, but breakfast always comes first. One of the first things I really learned how to cook well was eggs, and I just branched out from there. In a celebratory fashion (Kelly and I closed on our first home today), I decided to combine some of my favorite breakfast items in a yummy dish. There are four main components to this dish: Bacon, Eggs, Hash Browns, and Cheese sauce. 


First, the bacon. 


1/2 lb bacon (about half the package)
1 baking sheet (one that has edges or a rim)
1-2 layers aluminum foil


I know how blasphemous this sounds, but I almost never make bacon in a frying pan anymore unless I am using the bacon grease to cook something else. When I need to make bacon quickly, I follow these steps:


1) Place 1-2 layers of aluminum foil on a baking sheet. 
2)Place one layer of bacon, about six to eight strips, onto the sheet. Place the sheet of bacon in the oven. 
3)Turn the oven to BAKE @ 400 degrees for 15-18 minutes depending on the thickness of your bacon. 


DO NOT PREHEAT THE OVEN. You want to make sure you put the bacon in a cold oven, it helps the bacon to cook evenly. Once it's done, you will want to set it aside on a plate with paper towels.

Now, we want to get to multitasking, so we'll start the hash browns next along with the cheese sauce. The eggs are going to be the very last thing we need for this recipe. 

The hash browns are fairly simple, here's what you'll need:

1/2 package of frozen hash browns

1/4 -1/2 cup onion, diced

1/2 tablespoon Kosher salt

1/2 tablespoon Black Pepper

1 Tablespoon Adobo

You can play around with the spices to your liking, but those are about the measurements I use. Adobo is a really great spice blend found in what would be referred to as the Spanish section of the grocery store. For those of you who don't know what Adobo is, here you go:

First, grab a medium sized skillet and put about an 1/8 of an inch of vegetable oil. You don't want to put too much oil in the pan, otherwise the hash browns won't crisp up. Put your skillet on the burner and turn that to medium-high heat. While the oil is heating up, dice up your onion. Once that oil is at a medium high heat, go ahead and put your hash browns and onion in the oil and add your spices as well.  Also, while the hash browns are cooking, add a few drops of liquid smoke if you have it. That will add a really nice smoky flavor to compliment the cheese sauce. Let that cook about 15-20 minutes or until the hash browns are a nice golden brown.

While the hash browns are cooking, it's time to start your cheese sauce! This a very basic cheese sauce and the first time I've really played around with it, so there will be some tweaking to come, but here is the recipe:

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese

A dash or two of nutmeg and cayenne pepper

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Once melted, remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the flour and other spices, then gradually add the milk until well mixed. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened and smooth. Cook for about five more minutes, then add the cheese, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper. Stir until smooth and well blended.

You can leave the cheese sauce on a low or warm heat while you are finishing up your hash browns and cooking your eggs.

The last piece of this whole recipe is the fried eggs. I personally prefer my egg over easy with the yolk still runny. I also season my eggs with salt, pepper, and a dash of nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice to compliment the nutmeg in your cheese sauce. Once you cook your fried egg to your liking, all of your components should be done. I usually layer the hash browns on the bottom, bacon in the middle, egg on top, covered in the cheese sauce. Here is the wonderful finished product:

Here you go everyone! Let me know what you think!

Jamie's Barbecue Rub

I have always loved barbecue. I am fairly certain if I could eat it every day of the week, I would. When I first started getting back into cooking, barbecue was the first thing I gravitated towards because you can take something really basic and make it all your own. Your signature barbecue dish. That is exactly what I have done here, I wanted to find the best combination of spices for barbecuing, and here is my version of perfection.

This is modified from a basic Kansas City Rub, and I have put a few of my own ingredients in here that I am willing to share. The measurements assume you are making a giant batch of this rub, which I would recommend because once you try it you will want to use it on EVERYTHING. However, it works best on pork (ribs, pork chops, pulled pork) and chicken. So here you go:

2/3 cup light brown sugar (packed)

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup smoked paprika

1/4 cup Lawry's seasoning salt

1/4 cup kosher salt

1/4 cup onion salt

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon black pepper

2 tablespoons mustard powder

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon cumin

Once you mix your rub together, store it in ziploc container or a big Ziploc freezer bag and store it in a cool, dry place. 

When you have used this rub, let me know how you like it! Please comment and let me know what you think. Have a great day!

Cajun Stuffed Peppers
Courtesy of Food Network Magazine, January/February Issue


Normally, I will make a pretty basic stuffed pepper. However, when I tend to see the words "cajun" and "andouille" in the same recipe, I can't ignore that for a second. Here is the recipe as we made it, if you would like it verbatim, I will post a link towards the bottom of this post.


Ingredients:
1 cup brown rice (we used minute rice)
1/2 cup quinoa
2 large red bell peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium white onion, chopped
1/4 pound andouille sausage, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon oregano
large pinch allspice
Kosher salt
1 14 oz can low sodium diced tomatoes
1 small bunch kale, stems removed, leaves chopped
dried parsley, for topping
Adobo, as needed


1) Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil; add the brown rice and the kale, boil for 15 minutes. Once cooked, drain until a little water is left in the bottom of the pan, set aside.
2) Meanwhile, drizzle the bell peppers with a little water, and put about a half of an inch of water in the bottom of a microwave safe bowl (we used an 8x8 pyrex dish). Place the peppers in the microwave safe bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave for 10 minutes.
3) Heat the olive oil in a wide skillet or saucepan over medium high heat. Add the onion and cook, until golden brown, about 5-7 minutes. Add the sausage, garlic, oregano, allspice, and salt (about 1/2 teaspoon). Cook, continuously stirring, until the sausage is brown and crisp, about three minutes.
4)Add the tomatoes and 1 cup water to the pan. Pile the kale on top, cover and cook until the kale has a vibrant green color, about 3-5 minutes. Stir the kale into the sauce and bring to a simmer. Arrange the bell peppers on top, cover, and simmer until the kale is tender, about 8 minutes.
5) Divide the peppers among plates. Stir the grains (rice and quinoa) into the kale mixture and season with Adobo, per your own preference. Spoon into the peppers and top with a touch of parsley.


Here is what our finished product looked like:

Not the prettiest plate in the world, but it was definitely tasty. It needs that little kick of Adobo to help the flavors. If you don't have Adobo, a mixture of salt, pepper, cumin, and garlic salt should help. 

Here is a link to the Food Network recipe for these Cajun Stuffed Peppers

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Spinach and Goat Cheese Omelet with Bacon on the side


So, when I made my first omelet a few months ago, I hadn't made an omelet since high school. I was a bit nervous, because eggs require a lot of attention, they aren't an ingredient you can just walk away from and go do something else. After some playing around, I have finally gotten my omelet making skills to the point where I am proud to show them to the public :-P This isn't a recipe I found anywhere, because you can put almost anything in an omelet. For me, it's the technique that can really make or break an omelet, so here you go!


Ingredients:
3 Eggs (or 3/4 cup of Egg Beaters, depending on your preference)
Baby Spinach, chopped (no measurement, it's based on preference)
Crumbled Goat Cheese (again, as much as you want based on preference)
Salt and Pepper
Butter (or cooking spray) to coat the frying pan.
Bacon, 4-6 strips


Go ahead and cook the bacon first, however you normally would cook it. I usually cook my bacon in the oven by lining a baking sheet with aluminum foil. I then place the bacon on the baking sheet, and pop the sheet into the COLD oven. Next, I turn the oven to Bake at 400 degrees for 15-16 minutes. Once the bacon is cooked to your liking, put on a plate with paper towels and set aside.


For the omelet, I first spray whatever frying pan I am using with a liberal amount of butter (or cooking spray), and turn my burner to a medium to medium high heat.


Next, I beat/whisk the eggs together with the salt and pepper. Your omelet doesn't need a lot of other spice, but based on the ingredients you're adding, you can always add some different things. I also use Kosher or sea salt instead of regular salt, as it provides a better flavor. 


Once your pan is nice and hot, go ahead and pour in the eggs, making sure they coat the bottom of the pan evenly. Once you have your spinach and goat cheese ready, you add the next ingredient: PATIENCE. As long as you are patient with your eggs, they will be fantastic. 


As your eggs start to cook, gently push the eggs away from the sides of the pan, so you can easily flip the omelet later. As you push the eggs away from the sides, tilt your frying pan so any uncooked egg reaches that hot surface and starts to cook. 


Once your eggs are mostly cooked through, add your spinach and goat cheese to one side of the omelet. Let the omelet cook just a little longer, about 2 minutes, until you can easily get the edges of the omelet away from the frying pan and even slide the omelet around a little without it breaking. Once the omelet gets to that point, flip or fold the side of the omelet with no filling onto the side with the filling. Then let the omelet cook for another 2-3 minutes


At that point, your eggs should be completely cooked, and your cheese should be melted from the heat of the eggs. Slide the omelet off of the pan, add your bacon, and enjoy! Here is a picture of my finished product:

If you have any questions or feedback, post a comment to the blog! Thanks and happy eating!!!

Introduction:

Hey everyone! So, after much consideration and some semi-agonizing comments on my Facebook page, I've decided to make a blog about food! I find myself posting pictures of the recipes that I cook on a semi-nightly basis, and decided to find a more constructive, dynamic way to share these great recipes with everyone. My blog will contain a picture of the tasty, finished product (or, not so tasty depending on the recipe), a link to the original recipe, and my transcription of the recipe as I made it. Enjoy!