So with these goose eggs I made one of my favorite home by myself no one else to worry about dinners.

Nick’s out of town a lot and I usually don’t feel like making some big fancy dinner just for myself.  A lot of nights it’s a baked sweet potato and a diet Coke… I mean it’s not that fun to cook for one.  There is no one there to ooohhh and aahhh about how awesome your food is.  No one to entertain you while you cook.  No one to share some wine with while the sauce simmers.  And most of all, no one to help with the dishes.  When I feel like something slightly nicer than the ol’ baked sweet potato it’s this dish.  It’s simplest dish there is and is fast, hearty, and delicious.  Since the dish is simple it’s important to get the pasta cooked just to al dente and the egg to have that perfect soft runny center.  The yolk oozes on top of the pasta and turns into a fantastic sauce.

This dish is pretty easy to modify – if you don’t like parsley then try basil or tarragon.  If you are out of spaghetti then use macaroni.  No olive oil – a little butter will due just fine.  This is one of those dinners that you probably always have the stuff in the pantry to make and it’s easy to make for just one or for a whole group.  So when you don’t feel like cooking make this dinner – goose eggs or chicken eggs – doesn’t matter.  They’re all delicious.

If you’re interested in the goose eggs they really weren’t much different from chicken eggs in taste and texture.  They were, however, HUGE.  At least the size of  two large chicken eggs.  It also had a thicker shell which was a little tough to crack and a membrane between the shell and the white.  It was easy enough to remove.  After that it’s really just a regular egg.

Pasta with Soft Boiled Eggs

yields 1 serving

Place two pots of water on the stove to boil.  When each reaches a boil add 1 tsp. salt and 2 oz of pasta to the water and cook until al dente (the box will tell you how long).  In the other pan place 1-2 large eggs (depending on how hungry you are).  If using chicken eggs cook for 5-7 minutes (lesser for a runnier yolk).  If using goose eggs cook for 10-12 minutes.

Remove the pasta from the heat, strain, and place back in the pan.  Add in 1 T. olive oil, 2 T. chopped parsley (or basil or both), and the juice of 1/2 a lemon.  Stir to combine.  Season with salt and pepper and a bit of crushed red pepper flake if you like heat.

Place in a serving bowl, peel egg, put egg on top and poke the egg to let the yolk run through the noodles.  Enjoy!

PS I tried a different style of recipe writing here – incorporating the recipe and ingredients into one section together.  What do you think — harder or easier to read? Let me know ?

I actually had to give a call to good old mom before I made this one.  I wanted to make sure and get it just right.  And Denise was looking for a dense and creamy cheesecake… not fluffy, not cakey, not too tangy.  It had to be just right.  This seemed like a job for my mom, who makes some of the world’s finest cheesecake (::brags::).  My mom offered up a recipe she has been making for years with… drumroll… a secret ingredient!  Who doesn’t love a secret ingredient?!? I knew this was the right cheesecake for Denise! ??

So here is that cheesecake in all it’s glory.  Oh and did I mention… it had a Girl Scout Cookie crust!  That’s right, instead of boring old graham crackers like some lame regular cheesecake this baby had a Trefoil cookie crust!  As if this thing wasn’t good enough already the shortbread crust really sealed the deal.  Since the cheesecake is just plain I also made a quick raspberry coulis to serve on the side which was the perfect compliment to the cheesecake.  Seriously, I need more adjectives to describe the texture of this cheesecake.  You have to make it.  Like go, now, to your kitchen, and make this freaking cheesecake.  Just be sure to have some people to share it with… it is too yummy to think you’re going to let it sit in your kitchen uneaten…

Trefoil Cheesecake Recipe

yields 1 cheesecake

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.  Place 12 oz of Trefoil cookies (3 sleeves) in a food processor and process until the cookies are a fine powder.  Stream in 1 stick melted butter until the mixture starts to clump together.  Press the mixture into a lightly greased springform pan, set that pan on a rimmed baking sheet (this keeps drips from making a mess in the oven), and bake in the 325 degree oven for 15 minutes.

In a mixing bowl combine 4 – 8 oz. packages of softened cream cheese with 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 t. vanilla extract and beat with an electric mixer until smooth.  Add 4 eggs, one at a time until blended (pro-tip: leave the eggs on the counter for at least 30 minutes to get to room temperature for a smoother texture).  Finally, pour in 12 oz melted and cooled white chocolate (the secret ingredient! shhh!) and mix until combined.

Pour the batter into the slightly cooled crust and bake in a 325 degree F oven for 60-65 minutes (keeping the springform pan on the baking sheet, again to avoid drips).  Remove the pan from the oven and set aside to cool.  Gently loosen edges from pan after it has cooled for 30-60 min but don’t release pan until completely cooled. Place the cheesecake in the refrigerator, still in the pan to cool for at least 4 hours.  Take off edges of springform pan and take off the bottom of the pan to put on platter only when it’s been refrigerated at least 4 hours. Don’t mess with a warm cheesecake!

Raspberry Coulis Topping

yields 8 oz.

In a medium sauce pan over medium heat combine:

12 oz fresh or frozen whole raspberries,
1/4 cup light corn syrup,
1/2 cup raspberry jam,
1/4 t. salt,
1 t. vanilla extract, and the zest from 1 orange. Bring to a boil over medium heat and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and pour into a fine mesh strainer and strain out the sauce, leaving behind the seeds.  You will probably have to stir the sauce in the strainer to get it all out.  Cool the sauce and serve with the cheesecake.  Save the seeds for smoothies or just discard them.

Please note this post contains affiliate links to products that I use and love.

This bread is the best.  It’s crunchy, it’s chewy, it’s chocolaty, it’s perfect.  Imagine if your best friend bread had a baby with your other best friend chocolate chip cookie.  Seriously, it’s that delicious.  It was perfect fresh cut right out of the oven with a little butter, it was perfect toasted all by itself, it was perfect with a little shmear of peanut butter.  In fact I have yet to think of a way it isn’t perfect!

Okay so for just a minute I want to go food-nerd on you.  Because this bread is amazing for soooooo many reasons. Most of all there is no kneading involved!  That’s right – zero, nada, zilch… but it still has that fresh from the bakery texture with a super crunchy crust and a dense and chewy center.  This is all made possible by the magic of fermentation.  That’s right – the same process that brings us beer and wine is also bringing us this fabulous bread.  By mixing the dough together and allowing it to sit for at least 8 hours the dough begins to ferment which activates the gluten to produce strong, elastic networks giving the dough long and sticky strands.  This is made possible by the high water content of this particular dough – which is at 80% hydration (meaning 80% of the weight of the flour is the weight of the water added and since water is heavier than flour this is about a 2:1 volume ratio of flour to water).  Here is the result after the fermentation:

You can see the pockets of air and the long strands the gluten has formed.  This gives the dough a soft and chewy texture when baked even without kneading.  It also gives the dough a slightly tangy taste, like sourdough bread.  When you pull the plastic off the dough you’ll notice a tangy odor – this is what is supposed to happen.

Okay, on to things less nerdy… that yummy, yummy taste!  Seriously, beware before you make this, it’s addictive.  And each time you have another bite you find a better way to serve it than the last.  With how easy and delicious this is I’m sure you’ll be making it all the time!

No-Knead Dutch Oven Chocolate Chip Bread Recipe

adapted from: Girl Versus Dough – No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread

Ingredients

makes 1 loaf

4 1/2 cups bread flour + 1/2 cup for dusting
2 1/4 cups warm water (105-115 degrees F)
1 1/2 t. active dry yeast
1 1/2 t. salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 t. cinnamon

Directions

In a large bowl combine the flour, salt, and yeast and stir to combine.  Pour the water over the mixture and use a wooden spoon to stir until the dough beings to form.  It will be a very sticky dough.

Seal the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set aside on the counter (don’t refrigerate) for 8-18 hours.  During the time the dough will rise then slowly bubbles will begin forming on the top as it flattens out.  Note the dough will at least double in size when picking your bowl.

Place a 6-quart dutch oven in your oven and preheat to 450 degrees.  Meanwhile pour the chocolate chips and cinnamon on top of the dough and quickly knead or stir the dough to disperse.  Sprinkle the top of the dough with the remaining 1/2 cup of flour and shape it into a ball.  It will be sticky!  Place the ball on a piece of parchment paper and allow to rest while the oven preheats (at least 15 minutes).

Place the bread, still on the parchment paper, into the dutch oven, put the cover on top and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover the bread and bake for an additional 15 minutes until the dough is baked through.

Allow the bread to cool for 20 minutes (if you can wait that long!) before slicing.

If you don’t have a dutch oven in your life, please, please get one.  I recommend this one:

If you must have the bread TODAY and don’t have a dutch oven then you can make the same recipe and bake it in an oven safe bowl or casserole dish but know it won’t come out with quite as crunchy of a crust and may get a little extra done around the edges.

I wasn’t kidding when I said I tried to make these many times.  In fact, I tried to make them four times.  The first three… just plain didn’t work.  Oreos are tough – you need a crispy cookie that is light but not airy.  Even if you get the cookie just right the icing is tricky.  It’s not a buttercream; it’s not royal icing; it’s not fondant… it’s… well it’s Oreo icing.  There really isn’t anything like it.  For this recipe the icing wasn’t really a problem.  It was pretty easy to figure out.  This recipe the antagonist turned out to be the cookie.  But I finally did it, I finally bested it, the wily minx that it was!

I tried a few different cookie recipes and just couldn’t find something that was crispy enough.  When I finally got a crispy cookie it tasted too buttery.  I really almost gave up, figuring there was something about Oreos that required a factory and chemicals to create.  But finally, on my last try I found a recipe in an old cookbook of mine for chocolate cutout cookies.  The recipe needed adapted but it was the prefect start to Oreo cookies.  After subbing the butter for shortening, removing the espresso powder, and adding a bit of corn syrup there it was… the Oreo!

After tweaking my recipe I finally had it right.  These aren’t exactly like Oreos… they are, imho, what Oreo aspires to be.  Like each morning when Oreo meditates and sets its intentions for the day this is what they are thinking of.  These are what Oreo will be when it reaches Nirvana.  They have a deep chocolaty flavor from the cocoa powder and a perfect crunch without creating too many crumbs.  They dip into milk without completely falling apart.  And oh, did I mention, how chocolaty they are?!? ???

The cookies took a few tries to get rolled out.  After trying about everything I could think of (including freezing them inside a paper towel tube and slicing them… btw… had to unwrap a whole thing of paper towel… forgot to clean it up… husband found it in the morning very confused #foodbloggerproblems!), anyway, after trying just about everything I finally found the perfect way to cut these cookies and keep the shape… roll them out directly onto the silpat (or parchment paper) with wax paper (or plastic wrap) between the dough and the rolling pin.  Cut them on the silpat (as long as you’re not using sharp cutters your mat will be fine), then roll up the dough around the cutouts.  Voila!  Why didn’t I think of this before?!? Live and learn ?

I put this picture here to help with the icing.  When you’re making the icing you’re going to think to yourself “self, Liz is crazy, this isn’t working”.  But it is working!  You see these little dippin’ dots sized balls?  That means your icing is ready to be “kneaded” together!  Since Oreo icing is so stiff you’re not going to be spreading it and stirring it.  Instead you’ll knead it until it comes together then roll it out and cut out the icing to place on the cookies.

Homemade Oreo Cookie Recipe

Ingredients

yields about 30-40 sandwich cookies

Cookies

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup + 2 T.dutch processed cocoa powder
1/4 t. salt
3/4 cup vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 t. vanilla extract
2 T. corn syrup

Icing

3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 t. vanilla
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
2 T. corn syrup

Directions

Note – you’re going to make the dough and then refrigerate it for at least 2 hours before rolling it out.

Place the shortening and powdered sugar in a mixing bowl and mix until light and fluffy.  Add in the egg, corn syrup, and vanilla and mix to combine.

Slowly add the flour, cocoa powder, and salt and continue mixing until everything is combined.  Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the refridgerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Place a silpat or piece of parchment paper on the counter.  Place the dough on the paper and place a piece of wax or parchment paper on top of the dough.  Roll out to 1/8 inch thickness.  Using a round cookie cutter cut out the cookies.  They can be close together as the cookies neither rise nor spread.

Bake for 12 minutes.  Allow cookies to cool completely.

Place all the ingredients for the icing in the mixing bowl of a electric mixer with the paddle attachment.  Mix on low until small balls form.  Using your hands combine the icing by kneading the mixture for 30 seconds.

Roll out the icing and using the same cookie cutter cut out rounds of the icing.  Place each one on a cookie use another cookie to create a sandwich.

A friend recommended I try out muffin tin eggs which she has made before.  You can make them a couple of days ahead, store them in the fridge, and then quickly heat one up.  Ah-ha – I can have eggs for breakfast and not have to get up earlier.  I knew there was a solution.  As it turns out there are tons of recipes out there.  You can put just about anything you want in the eggs – think of it like a compact little omelet.  I used spinach, mushrooms, and turkey sausage in mine but I saw all sorts of combinations when I started doing some research.

Speaking of research, and on an unegg-related noted.  Did you know all the things you can make in a muffin tin?!  How have I never run across more of these recipes before?  I really need to start Pinteresting more – there are so many possibilities.  Stay tuned because I am going to be dusting off this muffin tin a lot more to try some new things out like these au gratin potatoes: Cheesy Potato Grain Stacks or these Lasagna Cups.  Okay sidebar done, back to eggs!

Okay seriously though, these egg cups are awesome!  I can’t believe I haven’t tried this out before.  They are super simple to make and reheat so easily.  Consider this officially added to my breakfast rotation.  I’m actually sad I made six of them.  I want to try new flavors and ingredients now that I’m all amped up on eggs… maybe Artie would like an egg cup to help me rid of them faster… after all he wanted patiently the whole time I worked on them.

The recipe for these is super simple.  After sauteing all the add-ins you want until they are cooked through you grease a muffin tin, pour in the egg mixture, and bake! Simple ?  As these are eggs and not baked goods they won’t rise much in the tin so you can pour the egg mixture up to the tippy-top without worrying about it bubbling over in the oven while it bakes.

Muffin Tin Egg Recipe

Ingredients

makes 6 “muffins”

4 oz of meat (I used hot Italian sausage but you can use ham, bacon, turkey, tofu, whatever!)
2.5 cups of veggies (I used 1 cup of sliced mushrooms and 1.5 cups chopped spinach)
6 eggs
2 T. whole milk
salt + pepper + hot sauce + cheese + anything yummy to go on top

Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 6 cup muffin tin.

2) Saute your meat and veggies, if it looks a little dry add 1/2 T. canola oil, until cooked through.

3) Whisk eggs and milk together in bowl (use one with a pouring spout for easier pouring!).

4) Divide the meat/veggie filling evenly among the 6 cups.  Pour egg mixture on top of filling, you can fill it all the way to the top – they won’t run over when they bake.

5) Bake for 18-20 minutes or until cooked through.

You read that right.  This $10 dinner for 4 is a homemade pasta sauce, with spicy sausage, topped off with a Parmesan frico and a side of broccoli.  And I did it all for $9.72.  Really.  Here’s the proof!

Okay so you may have to zoom in on that receipt a little, but I assure you it says $9.72.  To be fair all my $10 dinners (maybe I should say both since there are only two… commitment… I committing to this… there will be more!).  Anyway.  My $10 dinners assume you have a couple tablespoons of oil on hand, salt + pepper, a pinch or two of either flour or sugar.  Most houses have these and the per-serving cost is low.  Other than that I buy everything for the dinner and count the whole price of the item even if I only use part of it.

For this dinner you can choose any pasta.  I chose wagon wheels because cute!  ?  I love wagon wheels, there isn’t any pasta dish that can be more fun than those with wagon wheels.  If you’re not a 9 year old inside then try out penne or rigatoni or even elbows.

My favorite part of this dish may have been the frico.  Frico is fancy talk for baked cheese.  Literally, you make a little pile of cheese and you bake it until it’s crunchy and delicious.  These were a last minute decision.  I bought a bag of shredded Parmesan to season the sauce and sprinkle on top of the pasta because well pasta + cheese = ?.  But I had a lot left.  So I channeled my inner Chopped Kitchen wanna be and used what I had left.  It really was the perfect touch to dinner and made it feel like something super fancy.  Try getting that at a fast food place.  Bam. Pow. Pop.

Do you see that.  I wasn’t kidding.  Take out a pan.  Put down something non-stick.  Make a pile of cheese.  Flatten pile of cheese.  Cook pile of cheese until crunchy and bubbly.  Eat pile of cheese calling it frico so people don’t think you’re a fatty that eats piles of cheese.  The End.

Spicy Sausage Pasta with Homemade Sauce Recipe

serves 4 (duh!)

Ingredients

1 lbs hot Italian Sausage, bulk or with casing removed
1 small onion, chopped
pinch of red pepper flake
1 28oz. can of crushed tomatoes
1 lbs pasta
1 6oz bag of shredded Parmesan
1.5 lbs broccoli, cut into florets
drizzle of oil (olive, canola, whatever)
salt + pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Toss the broccoli with a drizzle of oil and salt and pepper.  Place in pre-heated oven and roast for about 25 minutes, stirring half way through.
2. Cook the pasta according to the package.
3. In a dutch oven saute the onion with the sausage, over medium heat, until the onion is translucent and tender and the sausage is cooked through – about 8-10 minutes.
4. Add a pinch of red pepper flake and the crushed tomatoes.  Stir to combine.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, on a baking sheet topped with a non-stick topper (silpat or tin foil) place 4 small piles of cheese, about 2-3 T. each.  Flatten cheese so it’s one, continuous thin layer (see picture above).  Place in the 400 degree oven and bake until browned and bubbly (10-15 minutes).
6. When the pasta is done toss with the sauce and 1/2 cup of the remaining Parmesan cheese.
7. To serve top the pasta with a sprinkle of Parm and the frico with the broccoli on the side.

Okay, this may be my new favorite.  My new favorite dinner, my new favorite lunch leftovers, my new favorite anything.  There really isn’t much to this dinner.  Poached chicken.  Steamed Rice.  Sliced Cucumbers.  And that sauce!  Oh I love that sauce!

The star of the dish truly is the dipping sauce.  It’s salty, tangy, sweet, and spicy all at once and the plain jane poached chicken and steamed rice really allow the sauce to take the center stage.  Let’s be honest, I’m a sucker for any Thai style sauce made with lime, ginger, and soy.  But this one, in particular, really won me over.  I love a balanced dipping sauce and that is exactly what this is.  The tangy lime and salty sauce are its base.  Then comes the flavor, a little bit of brown sugar, a little bit of red chilis, and a lot of grated ginger.  Oh. Em. Gee.  This is perfect.  I could put it on just about anything.

Poached chicken can be a little boring.  Even though you really want the sauce to take the show with this recipe that doesn’t mean you have to make a lame old poached chicken.  To give this chicken a punch of flavor I poached it in chicken stock that I mixed with cilantro stems, pieces of ginger, and the limes I had juiced for the sauce.  These little additions really make a big difference in the flavor of the chicken.  Do it.  Just do it.

This recipe is super simple.  Just plain ingredients put together to make something delicious.  I first had the idea for this while watching a re-run of Chopped a few weeks ago.  One of the chefs spoke about her Thai Chicken and Rice dish (khao man gai) and I knew I had to make something like it.  It was a little difficult to track down a recipe and it appears to be one of those dishes that everyone makes just a little bit differently.  I would taste the sauce as you go and modify it to suite you tastes… some like it hot, some like it sweet, some like it sour… me I like it anyway!

Okay, puppy picture.  I had to.  It’s been a while since I put Artie on the blog.  And he was so cute begging for a little bit of poached chicken.  This poor dog – you would think no one around here fed him with the way that he begs!  I mean look at those eyes!

Thai Chicken and Rice Recipe

Ingredients

serves 2

2 chicken breasts
1 bunch fresh cilantro
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup rice
1 cucumber
3 T. soy sauce
1 2-inch piece of ginger root, peeled (save peel) and grated
1 small lime
2 T. brown sugar
2 small red chilis
1 clove garlic

Directions

In a small mixing bowl combine the soy sauce, peeled and grated ginger (save the peels for the broth), juice of the lime (save the lime pieces for the broth), brown sugar, garlic, and chopped red chilis.  Mix until the sugar dissolves and set aside.

In a medium stock pot combine the chicken stock, stems of the cilantro (save the leaves for serving), ginger peel, and lime pieces and bring to a rolling boil.

Remove from heat, place chicken breasts in the hot liquid, and cover.  Allow to sit for 15-20 minutes or until a thermometer reads 165 degrees F.

While the chicken cooks prepare the rice according to the directions on the package (if you want a more flavorful rice sub in chicken stock for water, 1 t. canola oil, 1 t. sugar, and a pinch of salt) and slice the cucumber into thin slices.

Remove the chicken from the poaching liquid and slice.  Serve along side the sauce, cucumbers, and rice then sprinkle with the cilantro leaves.

There it is in all its creamy coconutty glory.  Ohmegee guys this is delicious.  I love the flavor coconut and curry powder together especially in the winter time when the curry warms me up and the coconut provides a rich and creamy texture.  Seriously, this is some damn delicious bisque.  I can’t believe it took me so long to finally get into gear and make it!

Determining what to use to top my soups, especially bisque without any interesting texture in them is always a challenge for me.  While I love a swirl of sour cream in just about everything it really doesn’t add any texture to the dish which can become boring if that’s all you’re eating for lunch.  I took some inspiration from the Bon Appetite recipe and added in some cilantro and crunch, toasted pepitas which gave it the crunch I was looking for.  Problem solved. ?

Curried Coconut and Butternut Squash Bisque Recipe

serves 3-4

Ingredients

4 lbs of butternut squash
1 shallot
2 T. canola oil
2 T. curry powder (I used a hot curry powder blend)
1 – 14 oz can of light coconut milk (you can use regular if you want it richer)
1.5 cups chicken broth
1 orange, zested
salt + pepper
cilantro, pepitas, sour cream, toasted coconut, or anything else you can find for sprinkling on top

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cut the butternut squash in half and brush with 1 T. of the canola oil and season with salt and pepper.  Roast in the oven until caramelized on the outsides and tender to the touch, about 40 minutes.  Set aside to cool.

2) After the butternut squash has cooled, heat the remaining 1 T. canola oil in a Dutch Oven, or large saucepan, over medium heat.  Mince the shallot and add to the hot oil and saute for a few minutes until soft.  Add the curry powder and the orange zest to the pot and saute until fragrant, only about 1 minute.

3) Remove the skin from the butternut squash and spoon the flesh into the pot with the shallots.  Add 1 T. of juice from the orange, the coconut milk, and the broth.  Stir to combine.  Bring to a simmer.

4) Use an immersion blender to blend the bisque until creamy.  Alternatively, you can, working in batches, use a blender but be careful with the hot soup!

5) Serve with toppings, I used cilantro, pepitas, and sour cream.

I decided to make a wintery dish since it’s so cold down here in south Texas – it was only 60 degrees today  Crispy chicken thighs and roasted root veggies sounded just right and I was able to come in… drumroll please… at $9.68 – woohoo! Not too shabby for a first try! Now what to do with that whopping $.32… so many options… stay tuned.

See! There’s the proof – $9.68 total for a meal for 4.  Take that fast food – bam, pow, pop!  And it turned out delicious.  We loved every bite and since there were lots of leftovers (we’re a family of two after all) even Artie (the dog) got a few bites.  There’s nothing that dog loves more than chicken, well maybe walks, and bones, and chasing the neighbor’s cat, and barking at the mailman, and sleeping in the front window, and really just about anything… but chicken though – that’s the best.

Part of the magic of this recipe is the potatoes.  These babies serve as a platform for the chicken to roast on.  So all the delicious chickeny juices drip down and flavor the potatoes with their yummy goodness.  The rest of the veggies roast on their own in a separate pan and they are tasty and beautifully caramelized but the potatoes ended up the winner with their chicken flavor.

So one last note, before you go auditing my recipe, I did use 3 things which I did not purchase.  Gasp! Shock! Boo! No, Wait! It was just 2 T. of oil and salt and pepper.  I figured nearly every house has these ingredients in it sitting around and even if you didn’t the per serving price of these ingredients is super low!  I purchased everything else but these and I think that’s pretty good.

One thing to note, there’s lots of peeling with the recipe as it’s made up of mostly root veggies.  It took me 10 minutes to get everything prepped.  So before you start out making your dinner maybe try to get one of the 3 other eaters of the meal for 4 to help you peel… after all it’s not fair for you to do all the work!

Crispy-Skin Chicken Thighs with Roasted Root Veggies Recipe

serves 4 (duh!)

Ingredients

2 lbs skin on, bone in chicken thighs (4 big ones or 8 small ones)
1 lbs carrots
1 lbs parsnips
1.5 lbs potatoes
1 lemon
1 bunch fresh herbs (tarragon, rosemary, parsley, thyme)
2 T. oil (I always use canola)
salt + pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Peel all those veggies then cut them into bite sized pieces.  Try to make them as evenly sized as possible to get everything to cook at the same time.

Toss the parsnips, potatoes, and carrots with 1 1/2 T. oil and the zest from the lemon then season with salt and pepper.  Place the parsnips and carrots on a sheet pan and the potatoes on a separate pan and put into the preheated oven for 10 minutes.

While the root veggies bake brush the chicken with the remaining 1/2 T. of oil and sear, skin side down, in a hot pan for 5 minutes until the skin on top is crispy.  Squeeze the juice from the lemon on the the non-skin side of the chicken and spring with chopped herbs.

Remove the potatoes from the oven and set the chicken, skin side up, on the potatoes.  Roast for 20 minutes.  Turn the veggies and roast for 10 minutes more or until the chicken is cooked through (165 degrees) and the juices run clear.

Sprinkle the veggies with any remaining herbs and serve.

So today’s post is dedicated to Nick’s mom, Lisa.  We visited her this year for Christmas and I made roasted brussels sprouts for dinner on Christmas Day.  They turned out pretty tasty but Nick kept mentioning my Thai Sweet Chili Brussels Sprouts with Peanuts which is one of his favorite veggies I make.  I wanted to give the recipe to Lisa but I didn’t have it, because I had never actually posted it.  So here we go, here is that recipe.  Now there will be at least one more thing I can offer people recipes for!

Okay, I know that picture isn’t the usual quality.  I have to admit something.  I think I lost my touch with food photography.  It’s been so long since I took pictures of food (except for my instagram account!) that I can’t quite remember how to get the lighting just so, the focus perfect, and most importantly the food to look mouth wateringly delicious.  In fact, I almost didn’t even do this post because I was embarrassed by the pictures.  After thinking about it again I decided I was posting it anyway.  Hopefully as a I take more pictures it will be like riding a bike and I’ll remember some of my old tricks, in the meantime please know that these taste DELICIOUS even if they look only okay.

Seriously, if you think you don’t like brussels sprouts please give these a try before you discriminate against an entire veggie.  These are roasted which means they in no way, shape, or form (literally!) resemble the brussels sprouts the scary lunch lady severed you back in elementary school.  They are crispy on the outside and soft on the side.  The edges have the perfect crunch and to really amp up the crunch factor they are covered in toasted peanuts!

Not only are the peanuts crunchy but they provide the perfect salty bite which contrasts perfectly with the sweet and spicy Thai Sweet Chili sauce flavor.  Thai Sweet Chili sauce is one of my favorite ingredients – I love it’s tangy, sweet, and spicy flavor.  In this dish it’s really the star.  I had trouble finding it at first when I started cooking with it.  If you’re like me and you’re having trouble check out Amazon which offers a few varieties (this is my favorite: Gramas Sweet Chili Sauce).

Thai Sweet Chili Brussels Sprouts with Peanuts

serves 4

Ingredients

1 lb brussels sprouts

2 T. canola oil

1/3 c. Thai Sweet Sauce

1/4 c. peanuts, crushed

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Toss brussels sprouts with the oil and season with a pinch of salt.

Place brussels sprouts in the oven and roast until the outsides are crispy and they are tender when poked with a fork.  This will be between 15 and 25 minutes depending on their size.

Meanwhile place the peanuts in a pan over medium heat and gently toast until golden brown.

Remove brussels sprouts from oven and immediately toss with the Thai Sweet Chili Sauce and peanuts.

Talk about how you like brussels sprouts now!  Take that lunch lady!

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