Pan Roasted Chicken w/ Baby Red Potatoes and Asparagus!

Hubby always makes fun of me because I don't really particularly like chicken, so when I ask him to pull chicken out for me to cook for supper, he always asks me if I'm feeling ok! Well I really just wanted to try this recipe. It was really tasty. 

Ingredients

• Olive Oil
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced
• Minced garlic (about 1 teaspoon), and sliced onion (I used about 1/2 a small onion)
• salt and pepper 
• 3/4 pound of green beans or asparagus (I used asparagus for this time)
• 8 red baby potatoes (as big as you can get them), quartered or halved, but I find they cook better when quartered. 
• 2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Grab a  large baking dish or cast-iron skillet, I put down some tin foil to line my glass baking dish, then sprayed with a tiny bit of Pam. I also put about 1 tablespoon of olive oil all around.
2. In a large bowl, combine about 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper; add the green beans/asparagus and toss to coat. Put them aside.Use approximately 2 more tablespoons of olive oil (depending on how much you have left in the bowl), the potatoes to the same olive-oil mixture and toss to coat.  Place the chicken in the same bowl with the olive-oil mixture and coat thoroughly. Take the chicken out, and add a little bit of garlic powder, onion powder, and rosemary. Place the chicken in the dish or skillet. Pour any of the remaining olive-oil mixture over the chicken. Roll the whole lemon on the counter about 8 times, pushing firmly. This helps the juices come out when you're cutting the slices, rather than while its cooking (which might overload your chicken with lemon bitterness). Thinly slice the lemon, and I placed them on a paper towel for a minute. I butterflied the chicken in half, and stuck one slice in between, and one on top.
3. Place the chicken and the potatoes in the baking dish.
4. Roast for 25 minutes.Take out and turn the chicken over, and add the green beans or asparagus, make sure you mix it up well with the potatoes. Cook for an additional 25 minutes. 

Sorry for the crappy phone picture, my camera was 100% dead! lol

Hiiii again!! I always bring food to this party!

It has been an awfully long time since I blogged last. Life has been hectic, busy, and up/down. Busy, but very good. Photography is my life, but along with that comes many other passions. Hubby, kitties, cooking, etc.

Speaking of cooking, I think I've decided that I will try to keep this blog as up to date as possible, so I will try to put in some recipes that I've made lately. It's nice to get some new recipes to add to your collection, and I love to cook!

Tonight's dinner menu is Stuffed Red Peppers, Biscuits (Pillsbury, although I do like to make my own if I have the time) and Salad (my favorite dressing is Raspberry Vinaigrette... YUM).

I found this delectable recipe on the food network website, and of course it's delicious because it's Paula Deen's recipe!  I made a few of my own changes, and I will note those under the ingredients.

Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

• 4 large red bell peppers
  
• 3/4 pound ground chuck
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
• 2 teaspoons "House Seasoning", recipe follows
• 1 cup cooked rice
• 1/2 cup jarred cheese and salsa
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped green onion tops
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 cup hot water

Modifications - 

• I used 1/2 pound of ground beef, and 1/2 pound ground turkey.
• I cut the bell peppers in half lengthwise, and that's it! 
• I used organic minced garlic, I hate keeping actual garlic in the fridge.
• I have no freaking idea what jarred cheese and salsa was, so I used 1 cup of shredded "mexican" cheese (cheddar, colby, and jack), and 1 cup salsa (Margaritaville Salsa is the BOMB).
• I omitted the diced tomatoes because the salsa I was using has tons, and I prefer less tomatoes than more.
• Also omitted the soy sauce, I already added a lot!

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Start by cutting the peppers in half lengthwise, leaving the stems intact, and halving them also. Remove the seeds and ribs inside the peppers.

Using a hot skillet, saute the ground beef, pork, onion, garlic, 1 teaspoon of bouillon granules, and house seasoning together. Saute until onions become translucent. Drain the fat off. Add the rice, cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, green onion tops, and soy sauce. Mix well and stuff the mixture into the peppers. In a small bowl, mix the hot water and the remaining bouillon granules. Pour this mixture into a shallow casserole large enough to hold all of the peppers. Place the stuffed peppers in the dish, cover with foil and bake for 25 to 35 minutes. Remove the foil and spoon the juice from bottom of the casserole over the top of the peppers. Bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes.

House Seasoning:

• 1 cup salt
• 1/4 cup black pepper
• 1/4 cup garlic powder

Can you tell it's lunch time?

Canada really SUCKS when it comes to restaurants and fast food places. I really miss living in Florida for this reason (amongst many other reasons as well). There are restaurants in the US that Canada just doesn't have or used to have and now doesn't. We're practically the same country in many different aspects (or at least pretty similar) and I love that each is still different and it's own country, but PLEASE satisfy our Canadian taste buds with some decent restaurants!!

US restaurants I really miss/or have never tried and may possibly be in Canada but most aren't:

• Chipotle - never tried but sounds so delicious!
• P. F. Chang's - I absolutely love all of their food, especially the lettuce wraps and beef and broccoli. 
• Sonic's - Never tried, but I really want their new coney dog and a cherry limeade drink! 
• Benihana - I don't even have to explain how delicious this place is.
• Sizzler - My grandma literally raised me on sizzler's and I miss it so! Salad bar mmm! 
• Ponderosa - This used to be so delicious! My mom, my grandma and I used to go there about once a month. 
• Steak N Shake - MMMM. Enough said. 
• Jack in the Box - Oh how I miss thee. 
• Krispy Kreme - Do you know how long I have craved one of your donuts? 5 years!!!
• Fuddruckers - This is my spot to eat with my step dad. This place has the BEST burgers and fries. YUMMO!
•   Outback Steakhouse - I miss the bloomin onions!
• Ruby Tuesday's - Before it went down hill it was good! 
• Hard Rock Cafe - Love this place, it's just so fun!

Restaurants that they have here but don't quite compare to the ones in the US:

• Taco Bell - First of all there is not a ONE Taco Bell where I live, I have to drive 1.5 hours to get my fix. Secondly, they don't have the mexican pizza as a staple item here, WTF! Thirdly, they give you fries with your meal... UM HELLO it's "mexican" cuisine. In the states you get an extra taco... THAT makes sense! 
• Denny's  - I loooove Denny's in the US. We had one literally right next to where we lived, and we used to eat there all the time when I was young. That's still my "spot" to eat dinner with my mom. <3 
• KFC - It SUCKS here. Their chicken is not so great. They have no BISCUITS or MAC N CHEESE!!! KFC's mac n cheese and their biscuits are SOOOO GOOD. Why must you deprive me of the best part of KFC Canada? WHY?! 
• Chili's - It's just not the same! :( 
• Olive Garden - It's so nasty here that I refuse to eat at there. 
• Applebee's - Same menu for the most part, but for some reason the US restaurants taste much better.
• Chick-fil-a - I have never had you but I want to taste you.

Restaurant's Canada has that the US doesn't have (or very few):

• Tim Horton's - SO GOOD (I'm referring to the sandwiches and soups/chili). I have never tried their coffee because I don't drink it, but people refer to it as crack.
• The Keg - A really delicious steak place that Josh and I take each other to on our birthdays. I love their sourdough bread and asparagus.
• Fast Eddie's - Unfortunately they don't have this all over Canada, I'm pretty sure it's just an Ontario thing. The most addictive chili cheese fries with cheap hamburgers, you can't go wrong. The also have yummy "flavored" fries such as dill pickle, ranch, and bacon!

So if any of my American friends are feeling generous maybe you can fedex me some of my favs!

Pizza Hut Cheesy Bites Pizza

Has anyone tried the cheesy bites pizza from Pizza Hut?

I had a HUGE pizza craving last night, so I ordered it because there was a special deal. Well I got it and there was SOOO much garlic (don't get me wrong, I like garlic, but not like this). So the pizza part was good, the poppers part I wasn't fanatical about. About half hour later my stomach was DYING!!! It made me sooo sick all night. =(

Needless to say I will not be ordering this again. EAT WITH CAUTION!  

 

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