Category: Entrees

Chicken Scarpariello – an underrated crowd favorite!

Leave a comment

Ingredients

Directions

  1. In small batches, add chicken along with seasoned flour in a medium sized mixing bowl. Mix until combined. 
  2. Over medium heat, place a large, high-walled skillet. Once hot, lightly drizzle with olive oil then add in the sausage. Cook until browned on all sides. Once browned, remove from the pan and set aside. The sausage does not need to be fully cooked.
  3. Drizzle the pan with a little more olive oil and add the lightly floured chicken. Work in batches, repeating step 1 with unfloured chicken. Brown chicken on all sides. Once browned, remove and set aside, again not to worry if chicken isn’t fulled cooked. While the chicken is browning, slice on a the sausage on a diagonal angle.
  4. Add a little more olive oil to a pan as needed, along with the smashed garlic. Lightly season with salt, and cook until fragrant. Add in herbs, then peppers. Then add in equal amounts of flour & butter. Allow the flour to cook, and thicken with butter / pan drippings. Deglaze the pan with white wine. Allow alcohol took cook off. Liquid with thicken, and reduce to about half. Gently scrap the bottom of the pan to release all the fond, as needed.
  5. Once the wine has reduced, add the sausage and chicken back to the pot. Then pour in the broth. 
  6. Let the Scarp simmer until the sauce thickens and the chicken is tender, stirring occasionally. This process can take 10-20 minutes. Give that sauce a taste, and adjust seasoning along the way.
  7. Once thicken, remove the Scarp from the heat and enjoy.

Plating

Scarp serves very well over pasta. While Penne is one of my favs, Farfalle is a great option, too. Just be sure to not overcook. The pasta should be served al dente. If you go this route, under cook the pasta by a few minutes. After drained, over heat, toss in with some sauce, and butter. Place the pasta in a bowl, and top with the Scarp. Pasta can help cut some of the heat, see below for more modifications in that regard.

Modifications

Chicken Scarp is traditionally made to have some heat to it. You can certainly sub the hot cherry peppers with sweet, and go with a mild sausage. I’ve made batched with only 1 cup of hot cherry peppers vs the 2. I’ve also made 1/2 mild, and 1/2 sweet Italian sausage. This will layer the flavors, while providing some heat, but not overwhelm the masses. Fennel sausage is key. With that said, I would not sub with a non Italian sausage.

Clean & Yummy Protein Tortillas

Leave a comment

Ingredients

Directions

  • In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
  • Add in the yogurt, stirring together utilizing a spoon. Once combined, form in to one large ball.
  • Transfer dough onto clean, dry, floured surface. Knead dough with hands for 2-3 minutes, until smooth. If the dough is too sticky, sprinkle in a bit more flour. Allow dough to rest for about 10 minutes.
  • Divide into 8 equal servings. Making each a ball.
  • Roll out with a rolling pin, or utilize a tortilla press.
  • In a medium sized saute pan, heat a bit of the olive oil. Toss in one former dough ball at a time. Allow to brown, flipping after you see some bubbles appearing. Once flipped once, and the brown side puffs up they are about done.
  • Cook off the remaining dough. Place cooked tortillas on a plate, covering with kitchen towel.

I prefer to used non bleached, organic flour as well as organic cold pressed olive oil. The links above are of “cleaner” ingredients.

Easy Homemade Bread: Step-by-Step Guide

Leave a comment

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Preparing the dough: In a large mixing bowl, add the yeast, water and a drop of honey. Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes until foaming and bubbly. (This method is referred to as “proofing” the yeast, to make sure it is active. If it doesn’t foam, the yeast is no longer good, and you need to start over with fresh yeast).
  • Add remaining honey, salt, oil, and 3 cups of the flour. Mix to combine.
  • Add another cup of flour and mix to combine. With the mixer running, add more flour. Do this ½ cup at a time. Continue until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. The dough should be smooth and elastic, and slightly stick to a clean finger, but not be overly sticky. Add a little more flour, if needed.
  • Knead the dough: Mix the dough for 4-5 minutes on medium speed. Alternatively, knead with your hands on a lightly floured surface for 5-8 minutes.
  • First Rise: Grease a large bowl with coconut oil or cooking spray and place the dough inside, turning to coat. Cover with a dish towel or plastic wrap. Allow it to rise in a warm place* until doubled in size. This should take about 1 1/2 hours.
  • Spray two 9×5” bread pans (or cast iron pans) generously with cooking spray on all sides. You can also line the bottom of the pans with a small piece of parchment paper, but this is optional.
  • Punch the dough down well to remove all air bubbles. Divide into two equal portions. Shape each ball into long logs, or circles, depending on the shape of your pans. Then place into greased pans.
  • Second rise: Cover pans with a lightweight, dry dish towel. Alternatively they can be covered with plastic wrap, as long as they generously covered with cooking spray. Allow dough to rise again for 45 minutes to one hour. The dough should rise about 1 inch above the loaf pans. Gently removing covering.
  • Bake: Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake bread for about 30 – 33 minutes, or until golden brown on top. I noticed it took a bit longer in the cast iron pans, vs bread pans. Give the top of a loaf a gentle tap; it should sound hollow.
  • Invert the loaves onto a wire cooling rack. Brush the tops with butter and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
  • Once cool, store in an airtight container or bag for 2-3 days (at room temperature). Bread should stay up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

The easy shopping list can be accessed here: https://amzn.to/4pomslT

Overnight oats, Lite

Leave a comment

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup of old fashioned oats
  • 1 1/2 tbs of chia seeds
  • 1/2 scope of MRE Lite, protein powder
  • 1/4 tsp of cinnamon
  • 1 tbs of natural peanut powder
  • 1/2 cup of oat milk
  • 1 1/2 tbs of greek yogurt

Optional toppings

  • Chocolate chips
  • Bananas
  • Peanuts

Directions

Mix all of the ingredients in a mason jar. Sir well. Screw on top. Shake well. Put jars in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours. Ideally you’d want them to sit over night (hence the name). Open the next day, and enjoy. Have fun with the toppings; bananas, chocolate chips, melted peanut butter, chopped nuts, etc.. Makes a great lunch – it’s become my go to.

Overnight oats

Leave a comment

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup of old fashioned oats
  • 1 1/2 tbs of chia seeds
  • 1 tsp of cocoa powder (can sub for 1/2 scope of protein powder, omitting sweaters)
  • 1/4 tsp of cinnamon
  • 1 tbs of natural peanut butter (can sub for powder)
  • 1/2 cup of oat milk
  • 1 1/2 tbs of greek yogurt
  • 1 1/2 tsp of honey, agave, or real maple syrup

Can sub

Optional toppings

  • Chocolate chips
  • Bananas
  • Peanuts

Directions

Mix all of the ingredients in a mason jar. Sir well. Screw on top. Shake well. Put jars in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours. Ideally you’d want them to sit over night (hence the name). Open the next day, and enjoy. Have fun with the toppings; bananas, chocolate chips, melted peanut butter, chopped nuts, etc.. Makes a great lunch – it’s become my go to.

The worlds best French Toast

Leave a comment

Seriously. This is the best French toast I’ve ever had – without a bunch of toppings!

Ingredients;

Toppings;

  • Butter
  • Real maple syrup from upstate New York, Vermont, or Canada skip the fake crap.
  • Berries, or candied nuts
  • Powdered sugar

Directions;

Combine ingredients nutmeg, salt, zest in large mixing bowl. Add in cream, sugar, extract, and eggs. Mixed together using an emulsion blender. Add in a few slices of bread at a time. Don’t rush this step. You want the bread to soak up the flavors. Flip slices in batter to completely coat, and have bread absorb as much as possible. After the bread has soaked for at least 10 minutes, heat up a skillet, frying pay, or griddle on medium heat. Add in 1 table spoon of butter. Once butter has melted, take one slice of bread from batter, allowing excess batter to drain from bread back into bowl. Do not squeeze it. Just get the slight access off. The bread should be like a sponge. Cook bread on medium heat for 3-4 minutes.

Note: if butter is burning, turn down the heat. It’s should be low, and slow. You want to be sure the inside of the bread is cooked.

While the first batch of bread is cooking, put remaining bread slices in batter as space allows.

Flip bread in pan, cooking the other side, adjusting head as needed. Cook for 5-7 minutes.

Repeating the steps noted above.

Once all bread is cooked, serve with REAL maple syrup, and butter – because you’ve gone this far. This breakfast isn’t a healthy one. Have at it. Enjoy an espresso while you’re at it!

One click grocery list can be accessed here!

Mashed Potatoes

Leave a comment

Ingredients:

  • 5 lbs of Idaho Potatoes
  • 1/2 lb of butter, cubbed
  • 1 cup of half and half (or cream)
  • 1 tsp of freshly cracked black pepper
  • 1 tbs of Onion powder
  • 1 tbs of Garlic powder
  • Fresh Rosemary (optional)
  • 1 heaping tbs of Chicken Bouillon

Wash potatoes under lukewarm water. Once clean, poke holes in potatoes utilizing a fork. Microwave on high for 10 minutes on each side, or until soft. Toss whole, unpeeled potatoes into large mixing bowl. Start mashing while adding in butter, and rosemary. Add in seasonings, bouillon, and half and half. Mash until achieve desired texture. Add additional half and half, if needed.

Christmas Hunch Punch

Leave a comment

Ingredients:

  • 1 quart of Apple juice
  • 1 quart of Cranberry juice
  • 1 quart of Pineapple juice
  • 2 cups of pomegranate juice
  • 1/2 cup of lime juice
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp cloves
  • 1 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 cup of pomegranate aperils
  • 1 large orange, sliced

Combine all ingredients. Stir well. Flavors will be best if mixture is allowed to sit for 12-24 hours.

Add desired spirt, and quantity of choice.

Bacon Brussel Spouts

Leave a comment

Ingredients:

  • 12oz of fresh Brussel spouts, cleaned, and sliced (or quartered, if larger)
  • 1 lb of sliced bacon, cubed
  • 2 lemons, halved
  • 1/2 a bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped

Sauté bacon until slightly brown. Do not drain fat. Add in Brussel Sprouts. Continue, over medium heat, while stirring. Cook until bacon crisps, and sprouts soften. Remove from heat, add in cilantro, and squeeze in lemon juice.

Pozolé (Mexican Pork Stew)

1 Comment

Ingredients:

  • 2 large cans of Las Palmas Enchiladas Sauce
  • 2 large cans of Juanita’s Hominy
  • 3 cans of water (enchilada sauce size)
  • 1 pork butt shoulder
  • 1 large onion
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 4 bay leaves
  • garlic powder
  • onion powder
  • Knorr Chicken Flavor Bouillon

Raw Toppings:

  • Sliced jalapeños
  • Shredded green cabbage
  • Cilantro
  • Queso Fresco
  • Sliced radish
  • Lime wedges
  • Diced red onion
  • Sliced green onion
  • Salsa
  • Tortilla Chips (optional)
  1. Place pork butt in large stew pot. Add enchilada sauce, hominy, water, onion, garlic, bay leaf, garlic powder, and onion powder. Bring to boil. Simmer for 5 hours, or until tender. Stir occasionally, flip pork but as needed. Shred pork.
  2. Serve hot, add toppings of your liking.