Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Impress your family tonight with this simple chicken dinner. Even if you're pressed for time this is your dish. I made this in 30min flat.

Ingredients
4 Boneless skinless chicken breast
1/2C mayonnaise
1/4C grated parmesan
1C dried bread crumbs
8oz spaghetti
1Tbs margarine
1Tbs olive oil
1Tbs Simple Seasoning divided (see blog for recipe)
1Tbs fresh lemon juice

Directions (for chicken)
Preheat oven to 425°f. Mix together mayonnaise and parmesan. Combine bread crumbs with half the simple seasoning. Coat each chicken breast with mayonnaise mixture and roll in bread crumbs. Cook in preheated oven for 20min.

Directions (for pasta)
Cook pasta according to directions on pasta. Melt together margarine, olive oil and season with remaining simple seasoning. Pour mixture over prepared pasta and finish with lemon juice and grated parmesan (optional).
Serve chicken breast over pasta. Garnish with grated parmesan and serve immediately.

Grilled Black Bean Burger

Don't get any ideas! No I am not turning vegetarian. I saw a picture of a black bean burger in a magazine and was intrigued by how good it looked. Needless to say I was shocked at how good it was.

Ingredients:
1 16oz can black beans drained
1 egg
2 cloves garlic minced
1/4C cilantro
1/4C minced onion
2Tbsp olive oil
1Tbsp Simple Seasoning (See blog for recipe)
1C bread crumbs
4 soft buns

Directions:
Place beans in large mixing bowl and mash. Add all ingredients except bread crumbs and mix together. Add in bread crumbs a 1/4C at a time and continue to mix until mixture has the appearance of ground beef. Separate into four equal parts and form patties. Coat each patty with olive oil and grill on med-high heat for about 5-6min on each side. Lightly toast each bun and serve immediately.

Garnishes:
Guacamole (use instead of mayo)
Tomato
Cucumber
Bean Sprouts

Ass Kickin Fries

Had to change the name. This is a recipe that we love to have at BJ's BBQ. I decided to make my own version at home and might I say they were very tasty!!

Very simple to make and OMG are they delicious!!

Ingredients:

3-4lb pork shoulder

1 bag frozen shoestring potatoes

1 bottle BBQ sauce (use your favorite)

2C shredded cheddar cheese-

sour cream (optional)

sliced green onions (optional)

Directions:

Coat pork roast with rub (recipe follows). Slow cook pork roast on prepared smoker for about 8hrs at 230°- 250°. If you dont have a smoker a slow cooker will definitely do the job. Cook fries according to instructions on package. Heat BBQ sauce. Shred or "pull" pork roast apart. Place fries onto plate or wide bowl. Top with shredded pork, BBQ sauce, cheese, sour cream and onions. Nothing left to do just enjoy!!

For the rub

1Tbsp simple seasoning (posted on my blog)

1/4C brown sugar

1tsp cayenne pepper

Mix together all ingridients

Diner Night

Hot Pastrami and Patty Melts

These are two great dishes that are simple to make.

For the Pastrami Sandwich

You will need a good quality pastrami. I actually make my own but unless you are willing to sacrifice days to make it and then another 12-14 hours in a smoker a good quality store bought pastrami will do. This sandwich is basically like making a grilled cheese.

Ingridients:

8 slices rye bread (I prefer dill rye)

1lb Pastrami

4 slices Havarti cheese

pickle slices

margarine

Directions:

Heat a griddle or large frying pan to med heat. Spread one side of each slice of rye bread with margarine. Divide meat and cheese evenly and to make 4 sandwiches making sure margarine is on the outside. Fry each side on griddle on fry pan until crispy an golden brown. Add pickle slices to sandwich and serve alongside some potato chips. Enjoy!!

For the Patty Melt

You need nothing more than to make a grilled cheese out of a burger.

Ingridients:

8 slices rye bread (I prefer dill rye)

1lb ground beef (divide into 4 burger patties)

4 slices American cheese

4Tbls each Ketchup & Mayonaise (for dipping sauce)

margarine

Directions:

Heat a griddle or large frying pan to med heat. Fry each burger patty approx 4 min each side. Remove and set aside. Drain fat from pan or griddle. Spread one side of each slice of rye bread with margarine. Place one patty each on a slice of the rye bread, top each with one slice of cheese. Making sure margarine is on the outside finish with another slice of rye bread. Fry each side on griddle on fry pan until crispy an golden brown. Serve alongside tater tots or fries.

For Dipping Sauce - mix together ketchup and mayonaise (tell no one of the secret sauce).  





Simple Carnitas Tacos

As promised...recipe #2 from a slow cooker pork roast. These are some of the best tacos you will ever have.

Ingredients:

About 1lb of pork meat from slow cooker (recipe follows)
8 corn tortillas
Cilantro
1C Queso Fresco (grated)
Salsa (use your favorite
vegetable oil for frying + 2Tbs.

Directions:
In small sauce pan heat oil to med-high (enough to fry tortillas). Fry each tortilla until crispy on the edges approx. 2min. and drain on paper towels. Heat a large fry pan to med-heat and add the 2Tbs of veg oil. Fry pork until heated through. Assemble tacos starting with pork, cilantro, salsa, sour cream and queso fresco. Enjoy!!!

Slow Cooker Pork Roast

Ingredients:
Pork shoulder 5-7lbs
2Tbs Simple Seasoning (Find recipe on front page of my blog)

Directions:
Place a pork shoulder into slow cooker fat side up and coat with Simple Seasoning (do not add any liquid). Turn on low and cook for 8-10hrs or until roast is easily pulled apart. Pull apart roast discard fat cap and put in shallow dish. Add about 1C of the drippings from the roast. Let cool for about 30-40 min. Cover and chill overnight in refrigerator.



BBQ Rib Sandwich

Now this not true BBQ but, I wasn't in the mood to keep my BBQ going for 8hours in almost a foot of snow. So instead I utilized one of my favorite kitchen gadgets.."THE CROCKPOT". How do you make a sandwich out of ribs? Read on to find out how. I'll tell you...not only is this a great sandwich but it's simple too.

Ingredients:

1 rack pork spare ribs (cut St Louis style)

1Tbsp Simple Seasoning (see blog for recipe)

Cole slaw (recipe follows)

4 soft buns

1C BBQ sauce (use your favorite)

Directions:

Season the rack of ribs with the Simple Seasoning and coat with BBQ sauce. Place in a Crockpot and turn on to low for 8 - 10hrs. Very gingerly remove ribs from Crockpot. Let cool enough to handle. Remove by simply pulling them through one side (bones should just slide right out). Divide ribs into for equal portions and place on buns with coleslaw and extra BBQ sauce if you'd like.

Coleslaw

Ingredients:

1/2 head of green cabbage (thinly sliced)

1/2 head of red cabbage (thinly sliced)

1lrg Carrot (shredded)

2-4Tbsp of store bought coleslaw dressing (you can make your own but this is easier)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together adding dressing 1Tbsp at a time until you reach the desired consistency.

The Make It Yourself Hotdog Bar

Probably one of the world's most underappreciated foods...The Hotdog!! Making a "hotdog bar" is a great way to serve a lot of people and satisfy appetites of young, old and everyone in between.
Normally I will do this in the summer time but, hey anytime is a good time for hotdogs.

Start out by buying good quality hotdogs and buns. If you know of a hotdog restaurant in your area they will normally sell them to you uncooked. You can also use an array of different types of sausages such as brats, andouille, polish and/or Italian. The key is the toppings - set up your hotdog bar by having a good variety of them. Get creative.

Here are some topping ideas:
Ketchup, mustard, relish, tomato, chili, jalapenos, cheese, onion, bacon, sauerkraut, crushed Frito's or even pepperoni.