Spicy Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs

In the interest of full disclosure, I botched this recipe last night. I was distracted and broiled the the sass out of the chicken until the skin was a crunchy sheet of charcoal; and it was STILL good. Any recipe that can withstand that kind of abuse is a keeper as far as I am concerned!

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 25 min

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper

4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs

6 tablespoons honey

2 teaspoons cider vinegar

Yield: 2 servings

- Combine first 6 ingredients and coat chicken thighs. Place chicken in a zip-lock bag and refrigerate 1 hour
- Preheat to 400
- Cook chicken at 400 for 20 min.
- Combine honey and vinegar in a small bowl, stirring well.
- Remove chicken from oven; brush 1/4 cup honey mixture on chicken. Broil 1 minute.
- Remove chicken from oven and turn over. Brush chicken with remaining honey mixture. Broil 1 additional minute or until chicken is done.

Brazilian Pork Ribs

Ribs in a smoker in the back patio has become almost as American as the 4th of July. And yet, what if you don't own a smoker? I have had luck cooking ribs in the slow cooker as well as the oven; so when I saw this recipe for stove-top ribs, I wanted to give it a try.They turned out fantastic!

The recipe did not call for harissa sauce but I think it makes an excellent spicy addition.

Servings: 2
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 40 mins

10 pork spareribs
1/2 cup soy sauce
10 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 bay leaves
1 lime, juiced
10 sprigs fresh parsley
ground black pepper to taste
2 limes , cut into wedges
1 cup harissa sauce (optional)

- Separate spare ribs from the rack by cutting so that meat is on one side of each rib
- Place the spareribs into a large pot, and add the soy sauce, garlic, rosemary, oregano, bay leaves, lime juice and 3/4 of the parsley. Fill with just enough water to cover the ribs.
- Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered over medium heat until the water has completely evaporated, about 25 minutes.
- When all of the water is gone, remove the bay leaves, and allow meat to brown, turning occasionally. Use a spatula to scrape up browned bits and softened garlic from the bottom of the pot, and toss them with the pork. The garlic will dissolve onto the meat.
- Remove the meat, and drain on paper towels. Season with black pepper and garnish with lime wedges and remaining parsley.
---------------------------
HARISSA SAUCE (optional):

- Combine 1 cup plain, low-fat, Greek yogurt, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and 2 teaspoons harissa in a small bowl.
- Serve on the side with spare ribs

*Harissa is a spicy-hot Moroccan/Tunisian blend of spices. You can find it as a prepared sauce/paste or as a dry spice. I have only been able to find it as a dried spice at Whole Foods.

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

This recipe came highly recommended but I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical. After all "Taco Soup" is something of an oxymoron. 

This soup rocks! 

With the cheese, tortilla chips and sour cream, it tastes exactly like a taco only instead of dirtying 12 different pans and plates, you only have a crock pot to clean! Perfect for a cold winter night spent dreaming of summer!

Servings: 8

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 8 hours

1 pound ground beef

1 package dry taco seasoning mix

1 package dry ranch salad dressing mix

1 onion, chopped

1 (16-ounce) can chili beans, with liquid

1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans with liquid

1 (15-ounce) can whole kernel corn, with liquid

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

2 cups water

2 (14.5-ounce) cans peeled and diced tomatoes

1 (4-ounce) can diced green chile peppers

2 cups shredded cheese

tortilla chips

2 cups sour cream

Yield: 1

- In a medium skillet, cook the ground beef until browned over medium heat. Add taco and ranch seasoning. Drain, and set aside.
- Place all ingredients in the slow cooker, stir to mix well
- Cook on Low setting for 8 hours.
------------------------------------
- Serve topped with cheese, crumbled tortilla chips and sour cream

Marinated Ranch Chicken

This is one of those recipes that is so simple "recipe" seems too strong a word. That being said, I don't have much experience cooking with ranch dressing mix so I wanted to give it a shot. I was actually surprised how good it was for being so simple. I think it would turn out better grilled instead of baked though.

Servings: 2

Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 25 mins

2 chicken thighs (or chicken of your choice)

2 packages dry ranch salad dressing mix

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Yield: 1

- Combine the dressing mix, oil and vinegar in a large, resealable plastic bag and mix together. Reserve about 1/4 of marinade and refrigerate.
- Add chicken to bag, seal and shake to coat; work mixture into the meat. Refrigerate overnight.
-------------------------------------
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Remove chicken from bag, discarding any remaining marinade, and bake 20 minutes or until cooked through and no longer pink inside.
- Broil to finish until chicken is golden brown
- Remove and let rest 5 minutes
- Top with reserved marinade

4 Minutes of Sunday

http://youtu.be/LNxnHU0Uwlk

How fickle my heart and how woozy my eyes
I struggle to find any truth in your lies
And now my heart stumbles on things I don't know
My weakness I feel I must finally show

Lend me your hand and we'll conquer them all
But lend me your heart and I'll just let you fall
Lend me your eyes I can change what you see
But your soul you must keep, totally free
Har har, har har
har har, har har

awake my soul...
awake my soul...

How fickle my heart and how woozy my eyes
I struggle to find any truth in your lies
And now my heart stumbles on things I don't know
My weakness I feel I must finally show
Har har, har har
har har, har har

In these bodies we will live,
in these bodies we will die
Where you invest your love,
you invest your life

In these bodies we will live,
in these bodies we will die
Where you invest your love,
you invest your life

awake my soul...
awake my soul...
awake my soul...
For you were made to meet your maker

awake my soul...
awake my soul...
awake my soul...
For you were made to meet your maker
You were made to meet your maker

Quote of the Day

I have noticed that when I treat my body like an instrument instead of an ornament, my relationship with food completely changes.

- Alanis Morissete

Quote of the Day

If you want to get warm you must stand near the fire. If you want joy, peace, eternal life, you must get close to what has them. 

- CS Lewis

Creamy Chicken Ramen with Spinach and Mushrooms

Servings: 2
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 5 min

1 tablespoon oil
1/2 cup mushrooms sliced
1/2 small onion diced
1 cup water
4 ounces light cream cheese
1 package (3 oz) Chicken-flavored top ramen
1 cup cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into thin peices
1 cup spinach coarsley chopped
1/4 red bell pepper thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon black pepper


Yield: 1

- Add oil to skillet and saute mushrooms and onion until onion is translucent
- Add water, cream cheese and top ramen seasoning packet. Bring to a boil, stirring until the cream cheese has melted and the texture is smooth
- Add chicken, spinach, bell pepper and pepper. Heat through
- As the mixture cooks, in a separate pot, boil 2 cups of water. Break noodles in half, add to pot and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain
- Toss noodles with the chicken mixture and serve

Sonnet 116: Let me not to the marriage of true minds

by William Shakespeare

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
     If this be error, and upon me prov'd,
     I never writ, nor no man ever lov'd.

Happy Valentine's Day

http://youtu.be/Gaid72fqzNE

Hard

Harder than you think is a beautiful thing

- Public Enemy

Horseradish Roast Beef and Potatoes

The concept of this sounded good but I was doubtful on some of the particulars. I decided to just stick to the recipe and it turned out awesome! I wanted to make this one while the wife was out of town b/c horseradish is not at the top her list of favorite tastes. I think she would actually like this recipe. You get a hint of the horseradish tang without of any of the burn (which is why I ate mine with a big bowl of fresh horseradish at my elbow ;-)

Servings: 6
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 8 hours

1 tablespoon grated or prepared horseradish (more to taste)
1 tablespoon Dijon style mustard
1 tablespoon fresh parsley minced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme minced (can substitute basil or oregano)
3 pounds beef stew meat
1-2 pound Yukon Gold Potatoes quartered
1 pound mushrooms quartered
2 large tomatoes with chilies seeded, chopped
1 large onion cut in to half rings
1 green bell pepper chopped
1 red bell pepper chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
1 bay leaf
1 cup red wine
21 ounces (2 cans) beef consommé
salt and pepper to taste


- mix horseradish, dijon mustard, and parsley in a small bowl to make a paste. Spread past over fattest side of roast and place in slow-cooker paste-up
- Add potatoes

**I found it a little hard to get all the remaining ingredients to fit into my slow cooker so I tossed the remaining vegetables in a bowl and fit in as much of the blend as I could. I then topped with the bay leaf and minced garlic and poured the red wine and beef consomme over that.

- Cover and cook on high for 2 hours and then on low for 4-6 hours

Lover of the Light (grab a hanky)

http://youtu.be/nMJUbZrNnA8

And in the middle of the night
I may watch you go
There'll be no value in the strength
Of walls that I have grown
There'll be no comfort in the shade
Of the shadows thrown
But I'd be yours if you'd be mine

Stretch out my life
And pick the seams out
Take what you like
But close my ears and eyes
Watch me stumble over and over

I had done wrong
You build your tower
But call me home
And I will build a throne
And wash my eyes out never again

But love the one you hold
And I'll be your goal
To have and to hold
A lover of the light

With skin too tight
And eyes like marbles
You spin me high
So watch me as I glide
Before I tumble homeward, homeward

I know I tried
I was not stable
And flawed by pride
I miss my sanguine eyes
So hold my hands up — breathe in and breathe out

So love the one you hold
And I'll be your goal
To have and to hold
A lover of the light

And in the middle of the night
I may watch you go
There'll be no value in the strength
Of walls that I have grown
There'll be no comfort in the shade
Of the shadows thrown
You may not trust the promises
Of the change I'll show
But I'd be yours if you'd be mine

So love the one you hold
And I'll be your goal
To have and to hold
A lover of the light

So love the one you hold
And I will be your goal
To have and to hold
A lover of the light

More Than Life

http://youtu.be/eR9Kubfe0QU

B.S.U.R.

http://youtu.be/8kNZ3zAeI14

Underdog

I am so weak and I'm so tired
It's hard for me to
Find enough strength to feed the fires
That fuel my ego
And consequently all my pride has all but died
Which leaves me
Down on my knees
Back to the place I
Should have started from

Been beat up
Been broken down
Nowhere but up
When you're facedown
On the ground
I'm in last place
If I place at all
But there's hope for this underdog!



http://youtu.be/_TNxLBDrhkA

Quote of the Day

I wanna have friends that I can trust,
that love me for the man I've become not the man I was.
I wanna have friends that will let me be
all alone when being alone is all that I need.

- The Avett Brothers

Actual Super Bowl Sunday Conversation

(Standing outside of church with a doughnut in one hand and a cuppa joe in the other)

Me: I goota scoot. I need to get home and make a batch of guacamole for the Super bowl party.

Friend #1: You? You're watching the Super Bowl?

Me: HEY! I'll have you know that I LOVE the Super Bowl.

Friend #2: You probably just love it because of the commercials.

Me: That's not true! I also love the national anthem and the delicious snack foods.

Friend #2: Do you even know who is playing?

Me: The 49ers

Friend #1: Aaaaand??????

Me: I have no idea.

Friend #1: The Ravens

Me: Never heard of them

Friend #2: They are named after Edger Alle . . . .

Me: Pleeeeeaaaase. As If I give a sh#t. I gotta bounce. The guacamole isn't going to make itself.



http://youtu.be/prhHI0lJenY

Let me know when the commercials are on, I will be over here minding the chips and dips . . . .

I'm Not Crazy

http://youtu.be/WziA88-n02k

All day staring at the ceiling
Making friends with shadows on my wall
All night hearing voices telling me that
I should get some sleep
Because tomorrow might be good
For something

Hold on feeling like I'm heading for a
Break down and I dunno why

I'm not crazy
I'm just a little unwell
I know right now you can't tell
But stay awhile and maybe then You'll see
A different side of me

I'm not crazy
I'm just a little impaired
I know right now you don't care
But soon enough you're gonna think of me
And how I used to be

Talking to myself in public
And dodging glances on the train
And I know I know that they‘ve all been talking about me
I can hear them whisper
And it makes me feel that there must be something wrong with me
After all the hours thinking somehow I‘ve lost my mind

I'm not crazy
I'm just a little unwell
I know right now you can't tell
But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see
A different side of me

I'm not crazy
I'm just a little impaired
I know right now you don't care
But soon enough you're gonna think of me
And how I used to be

I've been talking in my sleep
Soon they'll come to get me
And they're taking me away

I'm not crazy
I'm just a little unwell
I know right now you can't tell
But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see
A different side of me

I'm not crazy
I'm just a little impaired I know
Right now you don't care
But soon enough you're gonna think of me
And how I used to be
And how I used to be
How I used to be
I'm just a little lonely
How I used to be
How I used to be
I'm just a little unwell

Beer Mac and Cheese

Installment #4 of "Things to Try When Your Wife is Out of Town": BEER MAC AND CHEESE! Seriously genius.

Unlike "Whisky BBQ Sauce"  that tastes nothing like whiskey or "Beer-Battered Onion Rings" that taste nothing like beer, this recipe actually retains the flavor of the beer you use. So pick one that goes with mac and cheese (What am I saying? They ALL go with mac and cheese!)

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 30 min

30 ounces beer divided

5 cups water

8 ounces elbow macaroni

6 slices bacon cooked, chopped

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

1/2 cup half and half

1 teaspoon dry mustard

2 cups white Cheddar cheese grated

2 cups sharp, yellow Cheddar cheese grated

2 cups potato chips crumbled

Yield: 1

- Cook, drain and chop bacon. Set aside
- Preheat oven to 350
- In a large pot, bring water and 24 oz of beer to a boil, salt the water and cook pasta until almost al dente

Cheese Sauce:
- While pasta is cooking, in a medium pot, melt butter until it bubbles. Add flour and stir until it reaches a golden color
- Add half and half, and 6 oz of beer
- Stir in mustard powder. Then add cheese a little at a time, stirring until creamy.

- Drain pasta and stir in cheese sauce and crumbled bacon
- Transfer to a greased baking dish and top with crumbled potato chips
- Bake 30 minutes
- Let stand 5 minutes