Roasted Chicken Legs with Bacon Veggies

I’m trying something a little different for this post. Lots of pictures which means it took twice as long to actually make this meal but it also means that you don’t have to read 3 paragraphs of our family’s antics before getting to the good stuff. Hit me up in the comments and let me know what you think!

We are firm believers in the theory that “Bacon makes everything taste good”. I’ve made roasted chicken and veggies before but it’s been bland. Bacon to the rescue!! This meal is very easy on the primal pocket book…total cost was under $20 (including a sauteed swiss chard on the side) to feed a family of 7. If you’re not a family of 7 then you’ll have plenty of leftovers!

First, cut the carrots into even pieces and then slice them lengthwise. If you love carrots, feel free to add a few extras in there. 

Halve the onion and slice it into even strips. If you’re lucky enough to get a juicy onion like me, keep the tissues handy. *sniff sniff*

Use a garlic press to crush the garlic. Check out the size of this garlic that I found at the farmers market! I had to halve them just to get them into the garlic press! And boy, were they strong smelling fellas!

Cut the cauliflower into large pieces. If you cut them too small, you will end up with mushy cauliflower. Mushy cauliflower is only delicious when it’s supposed to be mushy. 

Ahhh…the money shot…BACON! Cut the bacon into pieces. I considered frying it before putting it into the dish but there’s no physical way for me to resist cooked bacon. 

Toss all of the vegetables and sweet, sweet bacon into a large roasting pan. My roasting pan is capable of holding a gigantic turkey (just to give you an idea as to how big a pan you’ll need). Pour the olive oil over top and sprinkle the seasoning over top. Mix it up well.

Lay the chicken legs over the vegetables and sprinkle with the remaining seasonings. Those legs are ready to hit the oven! Stick them into the 400 degree oven and do your thing.

50-60 minutes later…delicious browned chicken legs with veggies that taste like bacon! I should warn you that there may not be leftovers. 

Roasted Chicken Legs with Bacon Veggies


Ingredients


5 large carrots, sliced into sticks
1 large onion, halved and sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 head cauliflower, cut into large chunks
1/2 pound bacon, cut into pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons salt, divided
1 teaspoon pepper, divided
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, divided
5 large chicken legs

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Slice the carrots into evenly sized sticks. Halve and slice the onion. Using a garlic press, crush the garlic cloves. Cut the cauliflower into large chunks. Combine all vegetables into a large roasting pan. Mix in chopped bacon. Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the mixture and top with 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and 1/2 tablespoon Italian seasoning. Mix well.

Lay the chicken legs on top of the vegetables. Sprinkle the chicken with remaining 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and 1/2 tablespoon Italian seasoning. Cover and roast for 50-60 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender.

3 Reasons Why Your Recipe Didn’t Turn Out

I firmly believe that everyone can cook. Unfortunately, not every recipe turns out the way it’s supposed to. Truth be told, I have had my share of cooking disasters and it can be pretty disheartening when you’re just starting out. I’m going to tell you the 3 reasons why the recipe you used didn’t turn out.

1. You’re Out Of Your League:

Beginner cooks should not be attempting advanced techniques. If you can’t even boil water, how do you figure you’ll temper eggs to create a custard? Find recipes suited to your skill level! Read the recipe and directions BEFORE you decide to make it.

2. The Recipe Sucks:

Yes, recipes can suck. I have tried my share of crappy recipes and I’ve determined that some recipe developers should find a new line of work. Nothing spoils a recipe more than an end result that is bland, gross textured, or has flavours that do not work together. Check out the reviews…do reviewers talk about how great the recipe is or how terrible it is? Do a lot of them add variations to their reviews? Sometimes it’s better to find a different recipe if the reviews are terrible.

3. It’s You:

It’s entertaining reading some reviews on recipe sites. If you don’t like banana, what in the world are you doing making something with banana in it?? And then to give the recipe a 1 star/spoon rating because “i h8 bananas”… ????? Or you’ve customized the crap out of the recipe and it turned out awful. Hellooooo…it’s you.

There you have it…3 reasons why your recipe didn’t turn out. Somewhere around here I would add links to easy recipes that taste good but just peruse my blog instead for some delicious food. *wink* And since no post is complete without a picture…here’s an adorable picture of my girly girl.

Peruvian Grilled Chicken

It’s almost midnight when I’m typing this and I’m watching the movie ‘2012’. What is wrong with me? Well, what’s wrong is that I’ve spent the day managing a headache and the stress of a trip back to my hometown. Just the 5 kids and I. We are flying out Sunday morning so I am making a list of things to pack, a list of things needed on the plane, and every seat scenario to ensure a smooth flight. The last time I flew on my own was in 2004 when I had only 2 kids so I could really use all of the positive thoughts you all can muster up. 

I have accumulated some recipes and photos to hopefully last the 2 weeks while I am away but I wanted to sneak one more up before I left. Peruvian grilled chicken made with drumsticks. I’ve grown to enjoy cumin’s strong flavour and I love how it balanced out the flavours of the soy sauce and lime juice. Don’t forget to marinate this for as long as possible! I like to buy meat in bulk and marinate it before I freeze it so the flavour is absorbed into every bit of the meat.

Peruvian Grilled Chicken

Ingredients

1/3 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

zest from 1 lime

5 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

10-12 chicken drumsticks

Directions

Whisk soy sauce, lime juice, zest, garlic, cumin, oregano, pepper, and oil in a small bowl. Pour over chicken and seal in a large ziploc bag. Marinate for 8-24 hours.

Pre-heat grill to medium-high. Remove chicken from marinade and discard marinade. Grill for 15-20 minutes, turning once, until cooked through.

Adapted from Epicurious.

Spinach Salad with Mango and Roasted Beets

Beets are the reason I wish we had planted a garden this year. We had snow and frost well past the date we should have been planting. I guess we will be hitting up the farmer’s market for some garden fresh goodies!

I am fascinated by the fact that my kids didn’t complain about the spinach or beets in this salad..they were grumping over the mango. The mango?? Yeah, weird. I didn’t even tell them that the vinaigrette on the salad was full of pureed mango because they liked it. I wasn’t intentionally with holding that tidbit, they just didn’t ask. 

Spinach Salad with Mango and Roasted Beets

Ingredients

10 ounces baby spinach

1/2 large mango, peeled and diced

1 large beet, roasted, peeled, and diced*

1/4 cup toasted almonds

1 large mango, peeled and cut into chunks

1 lime, zested and juiced

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1 teaspoon sugar

1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar

1 teaspoon honey mustard

1 cup vegetable oil

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

*To roast a beet, scrub off the dirt and roast at 400 degrees for one hour. Remove from oven and cool until you can touch it. The skin will peel easily under cool water or use a paring knife to gently remove the skin.

In a food processor, puree mango with lime zest, lime juice, cilantro, sugar, rice vinegar, and honey mustard. Slowly drizzle in the vegetable oil while the food processor is running. Salt and pepper to taste. Makes approximately 2 1/2 cups of vinaigrette. Refrigerate up to 3 weeks.

In a large salad serving bowl, gently toss spinach, mango, beets, and almonds. Serve onto individual plates and drizzle mango vinaigrette over each serving. 

Egg Salad Muffin Melts

I am married to an egg salad junkie. Sometimes I will make egg salad for lunch and call him at work while I eat it…yes, I am that mean! I usually leave him enough to snack on after work but I think he would appreciate it if I would stop teasing him with egg salad.

What I’m saying is, he was happy to get egg salad muffin melts over the weekend. They were kind of like a creamier version of a Bacon & Egg McMuffin. Of course, I have one strange kid who doesn’t like bacon….I’m pretty sure he was switched for another baby in the hospital. 

Egg Salad Muffin Melts

Makes 12

Ingredients

12 whole hard boiled eggs, peeled & chopped

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup Hellman’s mayonnaise

12 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

3 dashes worcestershire sauce

6 whole wheat English Muffins, split

Directions

Combine eggs, cheese, mayonnaise, bacon, dijon mustard, garlic powder, and worcestershire sauce in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight or pile it onto the English muffin halves. Broil for 3-5 minutes, until cheese is bubbling. Serve while hot! 

Recipe from The Pioneer Woman.

Sweet Tooth Sunday

I could blanket my blog with nothing but recipes and pictures of sweet things. But people need to eat real food so I will post one deliciously sinful recipe a week.

…the irony of choosing Sunday to post the sinful recipe is not lost on me.

Mississippi Mud Cake

Enjoy!

Weekly Nibbles ~ July 11-17

Now for a segment I like to call “Weekly Nibbles”. I scour food blogs in search of food that piques my interest…or makes me want to leap through the computer screen and devour it. It is very difficult to decide on just a few foods because, let’s face it, there are some amazing recipes out there! So I am going to try out a Top 10 list of this week’s recipes.

1. Yellow Zucchini Tarte Fine on a Yogurt-Based Crust @ Chocolate & Zucchini

2. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Turtle Cheesecake @ Cake, Batter, and Bowl

3. Wild Rice Salad with Yogurt Vinaigrette @ Joy the Baker

4. Key Lime Bundt Cake with Margarita Frosting @ Lisa is Cooking

5. Herbed Butterflied Grilled Chicken @ Phoo-D

6. Pimento Cheeseburger with Tomato-Balsamic Reduction @ Vanilla Kitchen

7. French Onion Soup and Chocolate Cherry Clafoutis @ Citrus and Candy

8. Chocolate Chip Cookie Ravioli @ Clumbsy Cookie

9. Fry Bread Taco with Mexican Spicy Meatballs @ A Food Lover’s Journey

10. Homemade Mayonnaise @ Stone Soup

I also learned some interesting things this week. July 14th was Bastille Day so I found a lot of blogs featuring French foods. Also, July is National Ice Cream Month in the US! There were more homemade ice cream recipes than I can count and I am definitely investing in an ice cream maker very soon!

delish.ca

The realization that I am in love with all things food didn’t really occur to me until earlier this afternoon. I was on the MSN homepage and saw a link for “winter comfort” foods. It took me to a site called delish and a recipe slideshow. When I finished scrolling through the mouth watering pictures, I saw a link that said “48 Delicious Comfort Food Recipes”. The first picture was almost sinful in its beauty…Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pancakes.

Excitedly, I printed off the recipe and jotted the ingredients on my grocery list. I’ve told the kids I am making this tomorrow for breakfast…forgetting, momentarily, that our time is very limited in the mornings before school. But I don’t care. I want the pancakes. I need the pancakes. I would make the pancakes right now if it didn’t mean screwing up our supper plans.

I’ve only had a few minutes to peek at the rest of the site but I already know that my recipe binder will be erupting with more new recipes.

Cupcakes

Our teacher gift this year was cupcakes. Not just any cupcakes..gourmet, Christmas flavour cupcakes.

Top row, left to right: White chocolate, chocolate mint, gingerbread
Bottom row, left to right: Orange, caramel, egg nog

All of the cupcake liners, the blue sugar sprinkles, and the cupcake boxes came from Golda’s Kitchen That adorable little gingerbread man was made using this gingerbread cookie recipe and miniature cookie cutters I bought at Michaels.

I’ve been asked a few times for the egg nog cupcake recipe so here it is!

Eggnog Cupcakes:
1 1/4 cup flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
6 tbsp unsalted butter (room temp)
2 large eggs, room temp
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup egg nog

Combine flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt in a small bowl. Beat sugar and butter on medium high until light and fluffy. Add the eggs (one at a time) and vanilla. Blend until combined. Add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with eggnog. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed and blend until just combined.

Divide amongst 12 cupcake cups. Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes (until toothpick comes out clean).

Frost with egg nog buttercream. I used Martha Stewart’s Swiss Meringue Buttercream and blended in 2 TBSP of eggnog once the butter was completely incorporated. Sprinkle the cupcakes with a pinch of nutmeg.