Category: Main Dish

Spicy Beer Can Chicken

This recipe is an old favorite. I thought we still had the original magazine, but have lost it. For a while I could pull it up online from the Fine Cooking website, but they have shutdown. Luckily the Internet Archive came to the rescue!

Spicy Beer-Can Chicken

Waldy Malouf, Fine Cooking Aug 2005
Print Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Course Main Course
Servings 6
Calories 415 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 Gas or Charcoal grill

Ingredients
  

For the spice rub

  • 1 Tbs Kosher Salt
  • 2 tsp Ground Cumin
  • 1 tsp Crush Red Chile Flakes
  • 1 tsp Ground Coriander
  • 1 tsp Dry Mustard
  • 1 tsp Onion Powder
  • 1 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper

For the sauce

  • 6 Tbs Tomato Ketchup
  • 3 Tbs Dijon Mustard
  • 1.5 Tbs Molasses I use dark molasses
  • 1.5 Tbs Red-Wine Vinegar
  • 0.5 tsp Tabasco Sauce
  • 1 Tbs Spice Rub

The chicken

  • 4 lb Chicken, whole
  • 12 oz Can of beer

For serving…I often skip this

  • Several Leaves of romaine lettuce
  • 0.5 cup Thinly slices Scallions White and green parts
  • 1 Lemon, zested into very thin strips
  • 1 Orange, zested into vert thin strips

Instructions
 

Make the rub

  • The original recipe suggests doing this a day ahead, I generally don't and it turns out great.
  • To make the spice rub, combine all the ingredients in a small bowl.
  • Set aside 1 Tbs. of the spice rub for the sauce.
    Rinse the chicken and pat it dry with paper towels (Rinsing no longer suggested by food safety experts, so just pat dry). , Sprinkle 1 Tbs. of the spice rub inside the body and neck cavities. Sprinkle the remaining rub all over the skin and rub it in to spread evenly. With your fingers, work a little of the spice rub under the skin. Tuck the wings behind the neck. Cover the chicken and refrigerate overnight (or put it on the grill!).

Make the sauce

  • To make the sauce, whisk together the ketchup, mustard, molasses, red-wine vinegar, reserved spice rub, and Tabasco sauce in a small bowl (or measuring cup, which makes it easier to pour into the beer can.

Cook the chicken

  • If using gas, set the outside burners to medium high and leave the center burner off.
  • While the grill is heating, open the can of beer and poke several holes on top of the can using a churchkey-style can opener. Pour out (or drink) half of the beer. (I find it easier to mix the beer in the measuring cup and pour it all back into the can). Using a funnel, fill the can with the sauce. Gently swirl the can to mix. Put the can in the center of a 10- to 12-inch ovenproof skillet. Holding the chicken upright with the opening of the body cavity facing down, lower the chicken onto the beer can. Stabilize the chicken with its legs so that it stands up.
  • Set the skillet in the center of the grill, or in the area where there’s no direct heat. Put an oven thermometer on the grate next to it. Cover the grill. Adjust the vents or burners to keep the temperature between 350° and 375°F, and grill the chicken until an instant-read thermometer registers 175°F at the thickest part of the thigh, 45 min. to 1-1/4 hours. If the grill temperature is correct, the chicken should start to lightly brown after 15 min. (If using charcoal, check every 15 min. and if the temperature drops below 300°F or if the coals have burned down very far, add a handful of fresh charcoal to each pile of coals.)
  • Carefully transfer the chicken and beer can to a cutting board. Let it rest for 5 min. Meanwhile, line a platter with the lettuce leaves. Using wads of paper towels to protect your hands, carefully remove the chicken from the beer can (ask for help if the can is stuck). Discard all but 1 Tbs. of fat in the skillet and then pour the contents of the can into the skillet. (If the skillet drippings have burned, pour the contents of the can into a clean saucepan.) Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, whisking, until it has reduced slightly and thickened to a nice gravy consistency, 2 to 3 minutes. Carve the chicken into eight pieces and arrange on the platter. Garnish the chicken with the chopped scallions and citrus zest. Put the sauce in a sauceboat or bowl and serve alongside
Keyword Chicken

Chicken Potpie Skillet Pizza

It’s been a while since I’ve added any recipes to the site. That’s not because we haven’t discovered amazingly delicious recipes–almost every week we’ve found something that’s a “keeper”! Mostly, finding time to post is challenging, and with so many sites with great recipes, I always seem to find enough new recipes that we are don’t repeat too many recipes–when we do, it’s easier to just look back at a few weeks’ menus and pick to best ones.

But I have a few photos from some recent meals and this Chicken Pot Pie Skillet Pizza from Cooking Light was so good we’ve already done it a couple of times.

Chicken Potpie Skillet Pizza

MealsWeLike.com, adapted from Cooking Light
A delicious mashup of chicken pot pie and pizza. Makes two pizzas.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Pizza
Servings 6 -8 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 2 Tbs Olive oil divided
  • 1 Onion chopped
  • Handful of baby carrots cut into matchsticks, about 1 cup
  • 2-3 Stalks celery chopped
  • 1 Cup Frozen peas thawed
  • 3 Tbsp Flour
  • 2 cup Chicken stock
  • Pizza dough for 2 pizzas
  • 2 Chicken breasts diced
  • 2 Cups shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1/2 tsp Dried thyme
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • Cooking spray

Instructions
 

  • Place 12in cast-iron skillet in oven and preheat to 450˚F
  • Heat another skillet on stove with 1 tsp oil
  • Sautée onions for 2 min
  • Add the Chicken and sautée
  • Add carrots, celery and peas, sautée for another couple of minutes
  • Remove veggies to a plate
  • Add 1 Tbs oil to skillet and add flour, stirring for 30 seconds
  • Add the chicken stock and bring to boil stirring often
  • Cook until sauce thickens, about 3 minutes
  • Split the Dough in 2 pieces
  • Roll the pizza dough out to fit the bottom and sides of the skillet in the oven.
  • Take the preheated skillet out of the oven and spray with cooking spray
  • Place 1 of the dough rounds in it covering the bottom and going up the sides.
  • Bake the dough for about 5 minutes
  • Add 1/2 the veggie and chicken mixture to the cooked pizza dough
  • Pour 1/2 the sauce over the toppings
  • Top with 1 cup cheese and sprinkle with thyme and grating of paper
  • Change the oven to broil and broil for a couple of minutes until the cheese is melted and browned.
  • Remove from oven and slide the pizza out of the pan
  • Allow to cool while you cook the second pizza
  • Slice and eat!

 

 

Saag Paneer Pizza

SaagPaneerPizzaWe’ve made some delicious Saag Paneer in the past few months, and we make a lot of pizza, so when TheKitchn, one of my favorite blogs, had a recipe for Saag Paneer Pizza, I knew we had to try it. I am sure it would be great on Naan, but we just put it on our regular pizza dough and cooked it on the pizza stone. It was delicious!

Saag Paneer Pizza

MealsWeLike.com, adapted from TheKitchn.com
Delicious Indian food meets pizza
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Main
Cuisine Pizza
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 2 9 oz Packages frozen spinach thawed
  • 2 Tbs Olive oil
  • 1 Yellow onion finely chopped
  • 1 Clove garlic finely chopped
  • 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
  • 2 tsp garam masala
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/3 cup Heavy cream
  • 1 Tbs lemon juice
  • 1 recipe pizza dough--fr 2 medium pizzas
  • 2-4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese--we like it cheesy!

Instructions
 

  • Put pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 450.
  • Thaw the spinach and squeeze out the excess water.
  • Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat
  • Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.
  • Add the garlic and ginger and cook about 30 seconds.
  • Add the garam masala and pepper and cook about 30 seconds.
  • Add the spinach cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through cooking off any moisture from the spinach
  • Remove from heat, add cream and lemon juice.
  • Stir to mix.
  • Divide the pizza in two and roll out.
  • Divide the spinach mixture between the pizzas, spread out
  • Top with cheese
  • Bake one at a time for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and browned.
  • Cool 5-10 min, slice and serve

 

Avocado Naan Flatbread with Garlic Kale, Acorn Squash and Sausage

IMG_9816Sounds like we should eat all the avocados we can between drought and Laurel Wilt, the industry has seen better days. I ran across this recipe on Vegan Richa trying to find something new to do with kale, and am very happy we tried it out. It wasn’t as complicated as it looks, but a good weekend recipe. While you could certainly leave out the sausage and keep things vegan, it was a nice addition.IMG_9820

Avocado Naan Flatbread with Garlic Kale, Acorn Squash and Sausage

MealsWeLike.com
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 2 hours
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 3 hours
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

For the Naan:

  • 1/2 Cup Warm water
  • 1 tsp Yeast
  • 2 tsp Sugar
  • 1 1/2 Cup White Whole Wheat Flour
  • 1 tsp Onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp Baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1 Avocado mashed
  • 1/4 Cup Basil chopped
  • 2 T Nutritional yeast
  • 1 Green chili finely chopped (optional)

For the Garlic Kale with squash and sausage:

  • 1 Tbs Olive oil
  • 1 Bunch kale washed, stems cut out and sliced
  • 2-6 Cloves Garlic minced, depending on how garlicky you want it
  • 1/2 Butternut squash peeled and diced
  • 1 Pack Pre-cooked Sausages sliced

Instructions
 

Making the Naan:

  • Mix the water, yeast and sugar in a bowl and let stand for 10 minutes or until frothy.
  • Add all the dry ingredients and avocado and mix.
  • Knead into a soft dough(3-4 minutes).
  • Cover and let sit for 1.5 hours or until doubled.
  • Add chopped basil, green chili, nutritional yeast
  • Knead for a minute to combine well adding flour if needed.
  • Divide dough into 6 parts and roll into oval shape
  • Heat a pan until very warm (med-high heat)
  • Spritz with water and place the naan in the pan.
  • Cover and let cook on medium high until it starts to puff.
  • Flip after about 1 minute and cover and cook another minute or so

For the Garlic Kale and Sausage:

  • Heat a pan add some oil.
  • Sautée the squash until starting to soften (~10 min)
  • Add the Sausage and continue to cook until browned
  • Add the garlic and kale and stir until the kale is wilted
  • Serve on Avocado Naan

 

Arugula, Turkey, Blueberry and Mozzarella Panini

Arugula, Turkey, Blueberry and Mozzarella PaniniWe’ve managed to make it out to Cymplify a few times for their 1st Friday Food Truck Rallies. It’s always fun to get a few dishes from different places, enjoy a good beer, nice music and run into random friends. Soup to Nuts is one of the regular food trucks there and one night we had a delicious sandwich there that inspired this panini. Many variations could be made, but I highly recommend keeping the blueberries. OK, this isn’t much of a recipe, but do you really need one? Here’s something for those that want more detail–just add a handful of blueberries.

Arugula, Turkey, Blueberry and Mozzarella Panini

MealsWeLike.com
Arugula, Turkey, Blueberry and Mozzarella Panini
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Course Sandwich
Cuisine American

Ingredients
  

  • Arugula
  • Turkey
  • Blueberries
  • Mozzarella
  • Bread

Instructions
 

  • Assemble the panini and cook

 

Chicken Carnitas Daikon Tacos

Chicken Carnitas Daikon TacosTrying new recipes is really the main purpose of this blog. Every week, I rummage around the web looking for new recipes for our meals. Sometimes we find a recipe that we use over and over, though even the most repeated of our recipes has only been re-used 4 times. I am constantly amazed by the variety of recipes out there, and that we’re closing in on 4 years of menus and there’s always more recipes to try.

When we find one that turns out well, I’ll make a note of it, perhaps snap a photo and, for some really great ones, write up the recipe, especially if I’ve modified it a bit. This recipe is one that I almost skipped over because the original is a pdf file (often problematic) and is written to make 48 tacos by a chef at a restaurant–all flags that this could go badly in my hands. But what we ended up with was so delicious that it had to be written up! The flavors and textures were amazing! The recipe below is probably a poor rendition of Richard Sandoval’s Duck Carnitas Daikon Tacos, but wow, they are delicious!

I simplified this a lot–perhaps too much?? Be sure to look at the original recipe and follow it where you want. I am sure duck would be delicious, and I’m not sure what Peking duck is, but sounds like it’s kind of orange-flavored, so I opted for chicken thighs and brushing with marmalade since we had some. You could steep the sauce overnight, but hadn’t read that part and it was fine without it, plus we used ground coriander, and finally grated orange zest, so no need to remove the solids.

Anyway, enjoy and let me know if you try it. I am sure we will do them again and I’ll update the recipe and add some more photos–this was a cell phone shot taken at the table when we realized just how delicious these were.

Chicken Carnitas Daikon Tacos

MealsWeLike.com
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Main
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 8 Boneless/skinless chicken thighs
  • 1/4 Cup Orange marmalade
  • 1/2 Daikon sliced thin ~1/8 in on a mandolin (probably even less--a few slices per taco is good)
  • 1 Green apple sliced thin
  • Orange Coriander Sauce below
  • Curry Aioli below
  • 1/4 Cup Cilantro chopped

Orange Coriander Sauce

  • 1/2 Cup Sugar
  • 1/2 Cup Water
  • Zest of 1 Orange
  • 1/2 tsp. ground corriander
  • 1/4 cup Sweet Chili sauce
  • 1 Orange cut the peal off, slice and remove seeds
  • 1 Tbs Corn starch
  • 1 Tbs water

Curry Aioli

  • 1 Tbs Curry powder
  • 1 Tbs Turmeric
  • 1 Tbs White balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 Tbs Lemon juice
  • 1 Tbs Honey
  • 1/4 Cup Mayonnaise

Instructions
 

Chicken

  • Barbecue the chicken thighs, brushing with the marmalade in the last 5 minutes or so.
  • Slice the daikon and apple with a mandolin

Orange Coriander Sauce

  • Bring the sugar and water to a boil
  • Stir in the orange zest and coriander powder
  • Add the hot sauce and orange segments
  • Make a slurry with the corn starch and water
  • Add cornstarch slurry to the sauce and simmer until thickened
  • Keep warm

Curry Aioli

  • Combine all the ingredients and mix well.

Assembly

  • On a tortilla, place a few pieces of daikon and then apple.
  • Add half a chicken thigh.
  • Top with Orange Coriander sauce
  • Top with Curry Aioli
  • Sprinkle with cilantro
  • Serve warm

 

Sweet Potato Kale Pizza

Sweet potato kale pizzaLooks like we’ve been on a pizza kick lately–I posted the Arugula pizza last week and now this. I’ll get to some other recipes in a bit, but it is always fun playing with new ways of making a classic like pizza. I opted not to use our purple sweet potatoes for this recipe, though I suppose that could work too…

I adapted this from this recipe at TwoPeasAndTheirPod.com.

Sweet Potato Kale Pizza

MealsWeLike.com
Sweet potato kale pizza with rosemary and red onion
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Pizza
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • Recipe of pizza dough
  • 1 Large sweet potato sliced into 1/4 in rounds
  • 1 Red onion sliced
  • 1 Tbs Olive Oil
  • 2 Cups Shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 2 Cups Kale leaves stem removed and chopped into pieces
  • 1 Tbs Balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tsp dried Rosemary

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 400 F, if you have a pizza stone put it in now
  • Toss the sweet potatoes and onion slices with olive oil
  • Spread on a baking dish
  • Bake for about 20 minutes
  • Raise the oven to 500F.
  • Roll out the pizza dough
  • Brush with a little olive oil
  • Spread 1/2 (about 1 cup) of the cheese on the crust
  • Top with the roasted potatoes and onions
  • Toss the kale with balsamic vinegar
  • Put the kale on the pizza
  • Top with the rest of the cheese
  • Bake for 10-15 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese begins to brown.

 

Arugula Pizza

Arugula PizzaOne of the things everyone says about getting a CSA share is that it forces you to find new ways of using vegetables you may never have used in the first place. Sometimes this can be a good thing. One of the items we seem to be getting a lot of is arugula. We’ve used arugula in various ways before, but mostly in salads of various forms. With a recent batch of arugula, I looked around on some of my standby sites and found this Lemon Arugula Pizza on TwoPeasAndTheirPod.com. The original recipe calls for squirting lemon juice over the pizza, which was the plan, but when it came out of the oven we forgot…by the time I realized, the pizza was gone…might add it next time, but delicious without it.

We typically use the no-knead pizza dough recipe in Mark Bittman’s Food Matters Cook Book, which is adapted from Jim Lahey’s recipes like this one. This time we forgot to make the dough an grabbed one from a local pizza place that sells dough.

The pizza was excellent and even the kids who often balk at the spiciness of arugula ate it all up.

Arugula Pizza

MealsWeLike.com
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Pizza
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • A pizza dough see description for no-knead options we normally use, or grab one somewhere
  • 1 Tbs Olive oil
  • 6 oz Grated mozzarella cheese
  • 1/2 Cup Shredded Parmesan cheese plus some to sprinkle on top
  • 2 Cups Arugula
  • A grinding of pepper

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 450
  • Roll out the dough
  • Spread the olive oil across the pizza with a brush or your hands
  • Top with mozzarella and parmesan cheese
  • Place the pizza in the oven
  • Bake for 12-15 minutes or until pizza crust is golden and cheese is melted
  • Remove the pizza from the oven
  • Top with arugula
  • Season with a grinding of black pepper
  • Sprinkle with additional parmesan cheese
  • Slice and serve

 

 

Quinoa and Shrimp Paella

Quinoa and Shrimp Paella
Quinoa and Shrimp Paella

Ok, it’s been a while since I’ve added any recipes to the site…but it’s busy here. There’s a long backlog of photos from great recipes we’ve found. That’s one thing about doing this site that always amazes me, week after week, I can find 5-7 new recipes to try for dinner, most of which are really yummy and not too hard to make. There’s so many food blogs out there that I keep finding new ones. Like SkinnyMs.com, not a site I would normally have found, but I was looking for shrimp dishes and wondered about adding quinoa to help make a filling meal while keeping the cost down…and that’s how I stumbled across this Quinoa and Shrimp Paella. We first made it a couple of weeks ago, but one of the kids requested it again, and it was yummy so we made it again. The one thing that we’ve changed is to up the cooking time. We’ve found that it takes another 10-15 minutes in that last step to finish absorbing the chicken stock and make sure the shrimp is cooked through.

Quinoa and Shrimp Paella

MealsWeLike.com adapted from SkinnyMs.com
A delicious and healthy twist on a classic Spanish dish.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Main
Cuisine Spanish
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Onion diced
  • 2 Cloves garlic minced
  • 1 Tbs Olive oil
  • 1 1/2 Cups Quinoa rinsed, we use Inca Red quinoa
  • 3 Cups Chicken broth
  • 1/4 tsp Crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 Bay leaf
  • 1/2 Tsp Saffron threads
  • 1/2 tsp Paprika
  • 1/2 tsp Black pepper
  • 1/2 Cup Sliced sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil
  • 1 Red bell pepper sliced into 1/2" strips
  • 1-2 Cups frozen green peas
  • 1 lb Large shrimp peeled

Instructions
 

  • In a large skillet, heat oil to medium-low and sauté onions until tender, about 5 minutes.
  • Add bell pepper strips and sauté an additional 4 minutes.
  • Add garlic and sauté 1 minute.
  • Add quinoa, chicken broth, red pepper flakes, bay leaves, saffron, paprika, black pepper.
  • Cover and bring to a boil, reduce heat to a low boil, and continuing cooking approximately 10 minutes.
  • Add sun-dried tomatoes, peas and shrimp, cover and continuing cooking 15-20 minutes (was 5 in original, but that didn't seem to cook the shrimp or quinoa fully).
  • Remove from heat, leave covered and allow to set 10 minutes.
  • Remove the bay leaf and serve.

Here’s the original recipe: http://skinnyms.com/quinoa-shrimp-paella

Simplified Korean Chicken Tacos with Sweet Slaw, Crunchy Noodles and Queso Fresco

Korean TacosI am sure the original recipe from Half Baked Harvest is better, but it looks a bit too involved for a weeknight dinner, and I am not sure what Gochujang sauce is, or if it’s safe for nut and fish allergies. Even with the simplifications we made, this was a definite hit with everyone and we’ll surely make it again.

Not sure what kind of noodles the original really called for, but the store bought fried chow mien noodles worked just fine and didn’t need frying again. Speaking of which, not sure what the deal is with frying the chicken twice as the original called for…we just did it once. And Sriracha sauce worked fine for some kick in place of the gochujang sauce.

 

Simplified Korean Chicken Tacos with Sweet Slaw, Crunchy Noodles and Queso Fresco

MealsWeLike.com adapted from Half Baked Harvest
Print Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Main
Cuisine Korean
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

For the fried chicken

  • 2 cloves garlic grated with microplane
  • 1 Tbs fresh ginger grated with microplane
  • 3 Tbs soy sauce
  • 1 tsp Sriracha
  • 1 1/2 Tbs rice vinegar
  • 1 Tbs Olive oil--original called for sesame which is probably better, but we didn't have
  • 1 Tbs honey
  • 2/3 Cup Flour
  • 1 Tbs Cornstarch
  • 1 Lb Chicken breast or thighs cut into bite size pieces
  • 1/2 Lb Chow mein noodles

Sweet Slaw

  • 1 pkg Coleslaw mix about 3 cups
  • 2 Spicy red chiles seeded + sliced
  • 1 clove garlic grated
  • 2 tsp Fresh ginger grated
  • 1 Tbs Soy sauce
  • 2 Tbs Honey
  • 2 Tbs Rice vinegar
  • 1 tsp Olive oil
  • 1 Lime juiced

Putting it all together

  • 8 warmed flour tortillas
  • queso fresco
  • fresh cilantro

Instructions
 

The slaw

  • Mix the slaw dressing in a medium bowl.
  • Add the coleslaw and red chills and toss to coat everything.
  • Put in the fridge while you make the rest of the dish.

The Chicken Sauce

  • In a large bowl (the cooked chicken will be tossed in this bowl later) mix the first 7 ingredients.
  • Set aside.

The Chicken

  • Heat an half inch of oil in a skillet.
  • Whisk flour, cornstarch, and 2/3 cup water in another bowl.
  • Add chicken chunks and toss.
  • Working in batches, fry chicken until golden, 6–8 minutes.
  • Drain on paper towels.
  • Add the chicken to the bowl with the sauce and toss well.

Assemble

  • Divide the chicken among the warmed taco shells. Top with slaw, crunchy noodles, cilantro and queso fresco.