Blackened Chicken

I've always wanted to make blackened chicken but didn't want to spend the money buying blackening spice. Luckily, I found out that you can make your own at home with very common spices. yay! I love always being able to learn new things about cooking.

Blackening spice works great on chicken and fish. You can also use this mix in small quantities to season other dishes like risotto or potatoes. I served my chicken with something creamy like mashed potatoes to help with the spice level of the chicken. If you want to make this dish extra special I suggest making a sreamy sauce that doesn't over power the rub on the chicken.

Ingredients:
Chicken Breasts
green onion

Blackening Spice Mix:
4 parts paprika
2 parts kosher salt
1 part white sugar
1 part garlic powder
1 part onion powder
1 part dried oregano
1 part cayenne pepper
1 part freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Combine blackening spice ingredients and place in a container. Store any of the mix that you aren't intending to use immediately.

2. Lightly coat all of the chicken pieces in olive oil. Pour plenty of the spice mixture onto the chicken breasts and rub to make sure everything is coated well. You need a slightly thick coating to get the right amount of blackening on the chicken.

3. Warm a dry saute pan over a medium flame. Place chicken in pan and saute each side for about 3-4 minutes or until chicken is crusty and slightly blackened. You don't want to burn the spices on the chicken but they should darken.

4. Put a thermometer in teh thickest part of the chicken. Place the chicken in the saute pan into the oven. Cook at 350 until the chicken reaches 147.

5. Remove chicken from oven and put on a plate and cover with aluminum foil to rest for 5 minutes.

6. Once the chicken is rested, slice thinly and serve on top of mashed potatoes.

Asian Marinated Chicken

Since I've started working full time I've found that I have no time to cook! This dish was great because I could marinate it the night before and cook it up when I got home from work. This marinade gave the chicken a lot of flavor.

I've also learned how to cook chicken really well so that it stays moist. I sear both sides in a saute pan on the stove then I insert a thermometer into the thickest part of the meat and cook it in the oven at 350 until it reaches 147. With carry over temperature the chicken cooks to a safe 155. I've tried this method a few times now and I've found that it works great every time!

For the rest of the dish I just made some white rice and mixed it with some fresh green onions. You can then use these same ingredients to make a chicken fried rice the next night with left overs.

Asian Marinade
2/3 cup of low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup of dark sesame oil
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
1-2 tsp hot chili sauce
1 tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3 green onions, sliced (divided)

Directions:

1. combine all the marinade ingredients together in a plastic bag. Whisk well to combine everything. The night before cooking add chicken to the marinade. I stabbed the chicken breast a few times with a fork to try to get the marinade to penetrate completely.

2. Remove from the fridge when you are ready to cook. Let sit at room temp for 15-20 minutes. Cook chicken using any method you like or the method described above.

Oven Roasted Salmon and Potatoes

After a long day of work I was craving something that was easy to make and didn't need constant attention so I could get stuff done while it cooked in the oven. I was also in the mood for something healthy so I bought some salmon filets and potatoes. You could always add a nice side salad or some other roasted veggies. I love this oven method because after I was done eating, the only clean up I had to do was throwing away the foil on the baking sheets.

Ingredients: (per person)

1 6-8 oz Salmon Filet
1 yukon gold or white potato
lemon
shallot
olive oil
salt
pepper


Directions:

1. Pre heat oven to 350. Wash and peel potatoes. Cut into medium sized chunks and put on a foil lined baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil over them, sprinkle some salt and pepper and toss well with you hands so everything is evenly coated. Cover with another piece of aluminum foil (to help potatoes steam) and cook for about 45 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. Make sure to stir occasionally so they don't get stuck to foil.

2. While potatoes are cooking, Slice up 1 lemon and 1 shallot into thin slices.

3. Take out salmon filets and clean them. Make sure there are no scales or pin bones.

4. Place Salmon on another foil lined sheet tray. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place some of the shallots over the fish. Top with 2 lemon slices per filet. Do this for each filet. Place any extra shallots on the sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil.

5. The salmon will take about 15 minutes to cook so time it right so the potatoes and salmon finish at the same time.

6. When everything is done to your liking, allow salmon to rest for 2-3 minutes. Then put a pile of potatoes on a plate and top with salmon filet. A nice garnish is some extra lemon wedges and some caramelized shallots.

Cheesy Mediterranean Orzo

This dish came about because now that I've started working full time I want quick dinners than can be used for lunch the next day. I wanted something that was creamy and cheesy but not too fatty. To keep it healthy I decided to flavor the pasta with a really bright tasting lemon vinagrette.

For the cheese you can use mozzarella or feta. The mozzarella melted really well into the orzo but feta would bring a nice saltiness. For veggies you can keep it simple with two like I did or you can use other veggies you would find in mediterranean dishes like tomatoes, olives, eggplant, etc.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound orzo pasta
Cubes of cheese, mozzarella or feta
1 small english cucumber, cut into small chunks
1/4 red onion, cut into chunks

For Vinagrette-

1 Lemon, juice and zest
1/4 c good olive oil
2 t salt
1 T pepper
grated garlic or red onion


Directions:

1. Boil a large pot of salted water. Once bubbling vigorously, drop the orzo and cook according to package directions (about 10 minutes).

2. While pasta is cooking combine all the ingredients for the vinagrette and shake or whisk to combine. Also cut up cucumber, red onion, and cheese plus any other items you want to add to the pasta dish.

3. Once pasta is cooked drain and place in a bowl. Immediately add vinagrette so warm pasta soaks up all the flavor.

4. Slightly cool orzo by letting it sit on the counter for 5 minutes. Then add cheese and mix well to combine.

5. Finally incorporate all the veggies and stir gently so you don't break them up.

6. Spoon onto a plate and for extra luxury, sprinkle some fresh parmesan cheese right on top. Enjoy!