This was really supposed to be a black bean burger but I had about 1/2 cup (yes half of a cup) of ground turkey lying around in the freezer and decided to incorporate it as I didn’t know how my PIC would take to this burger. He is a meat/poultry/fish/just-something-to-go-with-the-sides type of person and presenting a meatless BURGER (of all things) might have him on strike. I can’t afford to lose my taste tester and my biggest food consumer now can I? Compromise. I must say for me to even consider making this was surprising because if you had ask me to make this a year ago, I would have blank stared you for a good 5 minutes (throwing in some side eyes too) but after talking to my friend Vee the other day and after we made our vegan cookies, I am now really open to trying vegetarian/vegan dishes. Did someone just gasp?!! Anywhoos, this burger was very delicious and I think it would be just great without the addition of turkey. I am definitely going to make this without the turkey or any meat next time. My taste tester also agreed that it was delicious and why wouldn’t he? Just look at it!

Hungry For More? Click And Get It!

As I mentioned in my Sesame Chicken post, General Tso’s chicken is one of my favorite foods to order at Chinese restaurants. It may not be the healthiest (whether eating out or at home) but it sure is tasty. Since I’ve moved to this new city, I have not ordered Chinese take-out once and I’m actually quite proud of myself. Like I also said in that post, it’s a blessing to know whenever those cravings kick in for the old and familiar, I can actually go into the kitchen and whip up something that is just as good, if not better, than what these restaurants offer. This was the case with this dish. It did take a bit of time to prepare but when I sat down to eat, the time spent making it seemed very worth it.

Hungry For More? Click And Get It!

Oh how I love jerk chicken. Well I love anything spicy but I really do love jerk chicken. This recipe is not what Jamaicans (where jerk originated) would consider authentic. Authentic jerked meats are not exactly grilled as we think of grilling, they are sort of smoke grilled in a drum pan. For lots more information on jerking, jerk meats and jerk spice, check out Wikipedia’s link. Since I have no access to an outdoor grill, an oil barrel or even a jerk pan/steel drum, I have to make do with my oven. No complaints though because as usual my chicken was SO flavorful and moist without all the hassle of outdoor grilling/smoking. I usually use the HOT Walkerswood Jerk Seasoning to make jerk chicken (1/2 cup rubbed all over chicken and left to marinate) but this time I made my own marinade/jerk seasoning and only added 2 tbsp of Walkerswood seasoning. It was divine! I will be making bottles of this marinade soon and store for future use. The mango relish helped to tone down the heat of jerk chicken and the coconut rice was light, fluffy and delicate in flavor, making it a perfect match for the spicy meat. All in all, this dish was really, really, really good!

Hungry For More? Click And Get It!

Time for another burger. Yipee! We can never get enough of them around here. They’re simple to make and what I like best, as I explained in my Homemade Burgers post, is that I get to control what ingredients I add to my patties. This particular burger is flavorful with the addition of several herbs and spices and it’s healthy (made with 93% lean/7% fat ground turkey). I love how delicious they were! Try some soon.

Hungry For More? Click And Get It!

I think almost everywhere you go, that region has a “one pot rice dish”. Paella, jambalaya and peleau are a few that comes to mind. What I love about them is that they are usually loaded with flavor. The fact that they make cleaning up afterwards so much easier shouldn’t go unmentioned either. In my mission to try new things for the new year, I decided that instead of making my usual peleau (Eastern & Southern Caribbean one pot rice dish that consists of browning chicken first and then adding seasonings and peas/beans and allowing to cook for a while then adding rice later to make one scrumptious pot of brown goodness), I was going to get my Latin American cooking on, and so I opted to make Arroz con Pollo which translates to mean “Rice with chicken”. This dish is finger-licking good with tons of deliciousness from both the chicken and the rice. Can someone say yummy?!

Hungry For More? Click And Get It!

I love recipes where I can use up something that I’ve already cooked. With holidays come wonderful meals that usually leave a lot of leftovers. Like rice to make fried rice and now left over roasted whole chicken to make pot pies. Yum! The last couple days have been soooo cold and I was longing for something comforting and hearty. I had some leftover chicken (from Christmas) in the freezer that was practically begging to be used. These mini chicken pot pies were easy to make and hit all the right spots!

Hungry For More? Click And Get It!

I initially started out this post by saying “I love…” but geeze, that’s starting to get redundant because it seems like I love all things food. I do! So I had to scratch that….But I really love pulled pork sandwiches. Ever so often, I buy a shoulder of pork and slow cook in the oven for up to 10 hours. The result is absolute divinity. However, sometimes, when I’m craving a good bbq sandwich, I just don’t have that kind of time to do the pork. Chicken (the original “white” meat) comes in handy and makes a great alternative!

Hungry For More? Click And Get It!

There are some days where the house is full of everything but I don’t know what to cook for dinner. I usually try to be done and out of the kitchen by 1pm every weekday. That way I can just sit back, relax and surf the net. But recently, I just could not figure out what to cook. Shrimp, beef, chicken, veges, rice, potatoes. What should I cook?! Looked at the clock 11 am. Napped for an hour 12 pm. Surfed the web for another 1 pm. And so it went until it was 4 pm and there still wasn’t anything on the stove. Then it came to me. Chicken stir fry. Simple. Easy. Delicious. The end.

Hungry For More? Click And Get It!

The person who does not like fried chicken can not be my friend. Sorry. How could you not like fried chicken? Are you crazy?! Biting into that crisp skin and then meeting that juicy, succulent, tender piece of well marinated meat is just, oh so heavenly! Fried chicken is just about the only fast food I buy and it seems that I can never get enough of that schicken from KFC or Popeyes. When it comes to doing at it home though, I’m not a fan. I’ll show you why in a minute. I dread frying chicken at home even though I have a deep fryer that closes. I hate whipping out that thing and filling it with oil just to fry one batch of chicken. So I prefer to do my frying in my trusty old skillet and often times, my chicken comes out on the darker side of brown or lighter side of black. Disaster seems to just follow me whenever it comes to fried chicken. Recently, I decided to go at it again. It wasn’t the best but it wasn’t the worst either. It was….ok, I guess. I’m referring to appearance by the way. The taste was out of this world delicious but I just can’t seem to get my chicken to the hue that KFC & Popeyes do.

Hungry For More? Click And Get It!

I love the sound of Mexican food. The taste? Well, I haven’t had much experience with. In fact, I’ve never been to a Mexican restaurant in my life. I haven’t even been to Taco Bell so I can’t say that I like the stuff. In fact, the closest I’ve come to Mexican food is guacamole as an appetizer at All-American restaurants and some good ole shots of Tequila. However, when I read recipes or menus (online) of Mexican cuisine, it sounds divine; lots of spices, heat and flavor combinations. What’s not to like? When I was ready to dabble in Mexican fare, I picked something I thought was simple and “safe”. It turned out that in fact it was simple to prepare and it bursted with so much flavor, so I’m going to make this dish again and again for years to come.

Hungry For More? Click And Get It!

Nothing like some wings. Breaded, un-breaded, fried, grilled, baked, tossed in some sauce or eaten plain, wings are the pinnacle of snack food. My favorite of them all is buffalo wings and now that it’s football season, I want to create the pub/sports bar feel in the house on Saturday afternoons. I learned a few years ago that buffalo wings got their name because the dish was invented in Buffalo, New York in 1964 at the Anchor Bar. It’s rumored that the co-owner Theresa Bellissimo invented this dish as a last minute idea for some of her son’s guests that were arriving to the restaurant. But there are also other versions circulating. However they got their name and whoever invented them does not change the price of eggs: these bad boys are delicious!!!!!

Hungry For More? Click And Get It!

Almost everyone I know loves some Chinese take out food. I know, I do. I first tasted Chinese food when I came to the U.S. back in 2001. Later I became ADDICTED to chicken wings and fried rice and shrimp lo mein throughout my sojourn at college. Although I know what they serve is not authentic Chinese food, it doesn’t make it any less tasty to me. The perfect combination of saltiness and sweetness just wins me over every single time. A couple years ago I decided to expand my list of things I order from a Chinese restaurant but not by much.

My expanded list of things to order at Chinese restaurants now includes Shrimp and Broccoli, Shrimp Lo Mein, General Tso’s Chicken and Sesame Chicken. But the thing is that none of these dishes is difficult to make at home and when homemade it can be just as delicious, if not better and healthier too! Whenever I have a craving for Asian food, it’s nice to know that I can just waltz into my kitchen and whip up a batch of practically any dish. This time, I chose Sesame Chicken. Incredibly delicious and simple.

Hungry For More? Click And Get It!

Every now and again I want something simple, delicious and healthy. Eating all that heavy food can be a chore sometimes, no matter how delicious it is *hides face*….Plus it’s always nice to just turn off the stove and still have something hearty for dinner. Even though this recipe does call for some cooking, it’s not nearly as much as I’d do for a regular meal.

I chose this recipe because when I read the ingredients, I was convinced that I could tweak it into something wonderful and full of all kinds of deliciousness. I had already decided on making it a salad so I just needed to have a recipe for the chicken. I found one but knew I would modify it. This was what I envisioned: Chicken breast coated in a pecan-sesame seed mixture – pan-fried until crisp on the outsides and then oven baked to finish off. Served over a bed of salad greens, apple slices and red onion. All of that drizzled with a simple Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette. Doesn’t that sound absolutely divine? I’ll tell you right now. It was heavenly!

Hungry For More? Click And Get It!