I'm back ... most likely

Rory and I are getting settled into our new home and we're loving it. Yes, it's the suburbs but the space is awesome and the kitchen and back yard are awesome.

We've been here a little more than three weeks and I've been grilling at least three times a week. Burgers, chicken, hot dogs, pork chops, and a pork rib roast. Lincolnwood Produce is only a couple of blocks away and I've been doing a lot of shopping there. They have a sale on pork ribs so I may try to do a little smoking this afternoon and see how they come out.

I have a lot more counter space in the new kitchen, but a lack of outlets, and the stove is very nice. It has a fifth burner with a griddle and a temperature controlled warming drawer.

I still have a list of posts to do but will hopefully be bring you all some pictures of the BBQ I'm doing.

Fried rice

I love eggs. Scrambled, poached, over easy, hard boiled, sunny side up, it doesn't matter. An egg on top of a burger is one of my favorite things so when I saw this Bittman/Vongerichten recipe I was a little excited. A sunny side egg on top of fried rice? Where do I sign up?

Now this isn't for everyone. I was raised in a family where an egg yolk was a cherished thing to sop up with some toasts, sausage, bacon, etc. But I know some who think the site of a runny yolk is disgusting. One the Publican menu they have fries serves with an egg sunny side up. To me this is a little bit of heaven but for others it would make them gag.

This is my take on the fried rice recipe linked above. I didn't have all the ingredients on hand and wanted some extra protein so I added a chicken breast to the mix. I also used brown rice, steamed one cup, instead of white rice.

I did a quick marinade of the sliced chicken breast, couple of tablespoons of soy sauce, some rice wine vinegar, a good size shallot chopped along with a couple of cloved of garlic. I wanted some heat too so I added about a teaspoon of red pepper flake and about a tablespoon of srircha.

I let that marinate, about an hour, while the brown rice steamed and added it a pan over high heat to do a quick sear and cook. Depending on how you cut up the chicken it should only take a few minutes to cook. Then add the cooked rice and mix together. I probably cooked for around five minutes.

After I added the rice to the chicken I started cooking my egg in a separate frying pan. I was very happy with his this turned out, it had some nice heat, but not too much and was pretty easy to do. I was also happy with how the picture turned out.

Roast chicken with root vegetables

The picture didn't turn out that great, but the chicken was quite good, even though it was missing some skin around the breast, bad shopping on my part.

I threw some turnips in there for the first time with the potato and carrot was was underwhelmed. The turnip had a texture that didn't work for me. This was a basic roast chicken, though I used a quarter of the butter, and I didn't preheat the cast iron pan.

It all cooked in a 425 degree oven for about an hour. While the chicken was resting I cooked the veggies a bit more in the pan to get some more color on them. I'll do it again, I forgot how much I like roast carrots, they had a great flavor that just really popped.

This recipe was inspired from the Ad Hoc cookbook.

Brown Rice, chicken and mushroom casserole

We're going to get anywhere from six to 12 inches of snow in the next day or so in Chicago. After that the temps are going to plunge and we'll be enjoying some sub-zero wind chills.

Typically the only good thing about this type of weather is the food I want to cook. There's a reason the comfort food tag is one of the largest on this site. Casseroles and stews and some of my favorite things to make, but since we're trying to watch the diet once again I can't have free reign like I once did.

But I have found some health alternatives that can fill that need. I saw this chicken and rice recipe awhile back and have made it a couple of times and it's quite good, though I have made a few changes.

I don't use any cream and instead use no-fat sour cream. I have to say no-fat sour cream is pretty nasty stuff on its own but mixed in as an ingredient it works well.

I also substituted brown rice for the white rice. And because of this last part it takes about an hour to cook in the oven.

The results are a tasty and not-all-together unhealthy meal. Do I still want tuna casserole with velvetta, chicken and dumplings and other bad things, such as the beef stew with cheddar cobbler topping? Yes, but it's all about will power and maybe a cheat dinner at some point next month.

Table 52

I don't typically write about restaurant meals here, but I know a lot of people are interested in the dinner Rory and I had at Table 52 and figured it was easier to do a blog post.

Table 52 is Art Smith's first restaurant. I'm a Smith fan and when he opened the restaurant a little more than a year ago (I think) I wanted to check it out. Time passed and when I found a bunch of Visa gift cards I thought it would be a nice treat to go for a nice dinner. I made the reservation back in July for this past Sunday. I wanted to do a Sunday because it's the only night they do fried chicken.

Rory and I show up at the Gold Coast restaurant and are greeted by a very friendly member of the staff. The hostess sat us immediately and a server brought us two deviled eggs for the amuse bouche followed by a large goat cheese biscuit for us to split. The deviled egg was awesome, had a nice salty bite but was also creamy. There was a crunchy garnish as well that added a nice bite. The biscuit was still warm, light and tasty, the goat cheese was not overpowering and added a nice flavor.

For the entrees I ordered the fried chicken that came with au gratin potatoes. Rory order the hog chop with potato waffle. We also spilt a side of the three cheese macaroni and ordered a bottle of pinot noir, can't remember what but it was quite nice.

One of the reasons I don't write about the restaurants I visit is that I don't think I can do the food justice with my words. Because all I can say about the entrees at Table 52 is phenomenal.

The fried chicken was tender and moist and perfectly seasoned. I wonder if they brine or marinate beforehand but I've never had friend chicken like this before. The coating was perfect, not too heavy and not too light. The potatoes were also awesome, creamy and perfectly cooked. There was something in them that gave it a bit of tang but I couldn't figure out what it was.

Rory's hog chop was a new preparation that they had just put on the menu that evening. The large chop was obviously brined and was full of flavor and had a nice pepper bite at the end. It came with a apple puree where the sweetness nicely worked with the savory side of the chip. The potato waffles were also very good. What they did here is take some sort of potato puree and then put it in a waffle maker, which was genius.

Rory and I have gone out for a few really good meals but I had never seen her this excited afterward. She kept saying that she wanted to email Art Smith and tell him how much she loved the meal and how everything got better with each bite.

The three cheese macaroni was also exceptional. It came in a big bowl that has been put in the wood burning stove and has cheese melted all down the side. It was a nice creamy bit that was full of flavor.

For dessert we spilt the 12-layer chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. It too was exceptional.

And then Rory promptly rolled me out of the restaurant because I was stuffed and couldn't move.

Table 52 isn't cheap, though we went all out, at around $200 with tip for both if us. It would have been a lot cheaper if we didn't get the wine, but you're still looking at a good chunk of change, but I would highly recommend it for a special occasion.

No, I haven't died ...

I just got married (the four of you regular reader of course know this). That and work had kept me away from my lovely side project which I have been neglecting terribly this summer.

I received some really new fun toys though, some All Clad cookware and an ice cream machine is on the way, so I should be starting the cooking machine up again very soon. There's still a couple of months of grilling left.

Above I posted some food porn, a couple of chicken I BBQ'd awhile back and never got around to posting about. I did a typical compound butter and placed the chickens over indirect heat until they were done. I threw some extra fresh sage and lemon into the cavity of the birds too to keep them from drying out.

Another take on chicken cacciatore

Purists will get all over me for calling this chicken cacciatore, but it's the inspiration for this recipe. It's not very seasonal, more of a fall/winter dish, but I made it last night for the second time and it's a tasty, somewhat healthy meal.

Olive Oil
Salt and pepper
2-pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts cubed (you can also use thighs for a less health alternative)
1-large onion, diced
1-red bell pepper
1-green bell pepper
1/2-pound mushrooms, cleaned and sliced (I like crimini)
1-TSP thyme
1-TSP oregano
1-TSP sage
3-cloves garlic, diced
2-cups brown rice
8-ounce can of chopped tomatoes (I think, medium sized can)
1-cup dry white wine
2-cups chicken stock
1-small can of tomato paste

Heat dutch oven over medium high heat, add oil. Salt and pepper chicken and add to pot, cook until just about done, five minutes or so, remove and set aside.

Add chopped vegetables and cook, stirring every couple of minutes, for about 15 minutes or so until onion are clear and mushrooms are coked. Add chicken back to the pot and add spices, cook for two to three minutes.

Add brown rice and cook for another two to three minutes. Add wine, chicken stock, and tomatoes (not tomato paste), bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and cook for about 30 minutes. Check to see if rice if done, if not let cook for another five minutes or so. Once rice is just about done add tomato paste and combine. Taste and add salt and pepper as desired.

Simple, but delicious

Sunday evening we had Kate, Jay and their two boys over for dinner. Hanks is four-years old and Charlie is about seven-month old. While I knew I didn't have to worry about Charlie I wanted something that Hank would be able to enjoy as well as the adults.

I opted for roast chicken, asparagus and mashed potatoes and a very simple but nice dessert. I've made all the meals before and have posted on them, except for the dessert, though I did a couple of things differently.

For the chicken I did a really nice compound butter. I diced two medium shallots along with about a teaspoon of thyme, a tablespoon of ground sage and freshly ground black pepper and probably two tablespoons of salt. I know it sounds like a lot of salt but you need it. I combined all those with about a stick and a half of room-temperature butter.

I took the butter and rubbed it under the skin of the chicken along with some in the cavity and on top. I then took some sea salt and pepper and put that on the skin as well.

The mashed potatoes I make are simple. Peeled red potatoes cooked in boiling water. drain and add butter, salt, pepper and fat-free sour cream and mash.

The asparagus was cooked in a frying pan with some olive oil, salt and pepper.

The meal was good, even Hank seemed to enjoy eating a fair amount of asparagus, which surprised me.

The dessert was fun and easy. The recipe was based off a recipe from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food. I used fresh berries instead of frozen and added a couple of other changes. Here's what I did.

6 oz Blueberries
6 oz Blackberries
6 oz Raspberries
1 TBL fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup water
6 TBL sugar
1 cup of AP flour
1 TSP baking powder
1/2 TSP baking soda
1/8 TSP salt
2 TBL unsalted butter melted
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/8 TSP ground cinanamon
1/2 TSP ground nutmeg

In a frying pan over medium heat cook berries, water, lemon juice, 4 tablespoons of sugar until thick.

In a bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, butter and buttermilk until thick dough forms. After berries have reduced make dicide dough into six dumplings and place over cooked berries.

In a small container cmbine one tablespoon sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and sprinkle over dumplings. Lower heat to medium low, cover pan and cook for about 15 minutes. Serve warm over vanilla ice cream.

I feel like chicken tonight

When I went to Dominick's last night they had the huge Perdue stuffer chickens on sale. I bought a beast of a bird for $7. Already made the compound butter, some lemon zest, salt, pepper, thyme and sage, and will stuff it with some carrots, the lemon and a shallot or two.

Before South Beach I would roast a chicken at least twice a month if not more frequently. It's a good, simple meal and I am way too excited about cooking. In case you haven't seen it before here is the recipe and technique I use for roasting chicken.

Marinating chicken

One of the many perks of working from home is that I can do household stuff during the day (wait, is this really a perk?), such as marinating chicken. It only takes a couple of minutes for three some chicken breasts into a freezer bag along with some ingredients and then let them soak up the flavor as the progresses.

I've gotten away from marinating the last couple of years, with no real explanation. But with the South Beach diet calling for a lot of boneless, skinless chicken breasts I have been trying to get back to it.

Right now I have some chicken soaking in an Asian themed marinade. Here's what I did:

4-boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3-cloves of garlic
1.5 TSP fresh grated ginger
Juice form 1/2 a lemon
2 TBLSP sesame oil
3 TBLSP soy sauce
Freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a freezer bag, mix around. This will end up marinating for around nine hours. I'll either bake them of sear and then bake, not quite sure which yet.

Please leave any good, simple marinades in the comments.

South Beach chicken jambalaya

The South Beach diet continues to go well, I am down 20 pounds from when we started on Jan. 5. There have also been a few more cheat meals thrown in here and there, earlier this week I was at a conference in Orlando and as much as I might have want to adhere to the diet it was tough. Rory and I are going to back to phase one of the diet in April to try and kick start out metabolism again.

The recipes from the South Beach cookbook have been good as well. My main complaint is that they lack complexity and can be fairly one note. When I cook, especially a one pot meal, I like to get layered flavors. You get this by cooking this different ingredients an different times and adding everything together.

Now some of this is my fault. I've been following the recipes too closely and not my instincts. this recipe for instance, I could add a couple of ingredients, some regular onion and celery and cook that with the green pepper, and that wouldn't impact the calorie count much.

Here's the recipe and what I'm going to do when I make it next time.

2 tblsp olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
1 bell pepper, chopped
1.5 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup of whole-grain quick cooking brown rice
1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning or cayenne pepper
2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1 14-ounce can dived tomatoes
salt and pepper

Heat one tablespoon of oil in large pan or dutch oven over medium high heat, add chopped vegetables and cook until clear, about five minutes.

Salt and pepper chicken add to pot and cook, stirring often. After about three minutes add garlic and cajun seasoning, cook for two more minutes. Add rice stir and cook for two minutes add chicken stock and tomatoes.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover, cooking for 30 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed.

Food news and notes

I neglected to get on the scale this morning, part forgetfulness, part I didn't behave myself this weekend. On Friday, however, I was down another two pounds for a total of 14 pounds down.

While I have been sticking very closely with South Beach Phase One, no carbs and no sugar, the one exception I have allowed myself is beer and I was out Friday and Saturday night drinking. I also had a hot dog on Saturday and on Sunday we ordered a pizza from Homemade Pizza Co., but it did have a whole wheat crust.

Saturday my dad and I also started brewing beer for the wedding. Rory's Uncle Joe had quite the home brew setup in his basement. We brewed a saison and a heffe weizen. I know that might not seem appropriate for the weather outside now, but in August both will be great.

We've brewed beer once before down at the Beverly Arts Brewing Center, but we definitely got a better idea of what to do this time.

I should be posting some more of what I'm cooking for South Beach, but a lot of it isn't very exciting. This week I took some chicken breasts, pounded them pretty flat, added thyme, salt and pepper some prosciutto and low-fat mozzarella, and rolled them up. I pan cooked them for about 8 minutes total and then put them in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes to finish the cooking. They were good, but they needed a sauce.

I've found a couple of new food Web sites last week that I'm exploring as well. I really enjoy this sites voice. E.L.'s writing can be a bit dense at times, but I really like the site.

Looking at his site lead me to Foodbuzz. I signed up for an account, it's kind of like Facebook for foodies but I need to explore the site a bit more, which won't be happening soon because I have a real job deadline hanging over my head.

South Beach report: week one

It's been a week since Rory and I started South Beach and I've lost a little more than eight pounds. Rory expected me to lose more but even though it's just eight pounds I have to say I feel good. I should have measured my waist last week because I feel like I've lost some girth around the middle.

I'm not going to lie, the diet hasn't been easy. A couple of days last week I got real cranky and was craving a big plate of pasta. And I have cheated, I had a few beers Friday and Saturday, but that's been about it othere than a crouton or two that was in my salad when we went out.

The food is pretty simple to cook, lean protein with veggies and no carbs. Next week I could start incorporating some whole wheat into the diet if I want, but I think I'm going to stick with this until my birthday, Feb. 7. The plan is to go to the Hop Leaf for dinner and then meet a bunch of friends out for drinks.

Also by the point I should be pretty tired of cooking the food. There are only so many thing you can do with a chicken breast unless it's wrapped in bacon. Though I did cook some mahi mahi last week, a first. I just marinated it for a bit in some olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and then pan cooked it. A little lemon juice and it was quite tasty.

Chicken cacciatore

This is one of my favorite childhood recipes, I would always ask my mom to make it for me on my birthday ever year. And even though she's given me the recipe I've never been able to recreate it. Though after years of tinkering I've managed to come up with something that is very similar and just as tasty.

For those of you who don't know chicken cacciatore, it's always been described as a "hunter's meal" in every cook book I've read. Its basically a whole chicken, cut up, and then braised in wine, tomato sauce and veggies. Here's what I did.

Olive oil
1 whole chicken cut into eight pieces.
1 large green pepper cut into strips
1 large red pepper cut into strips
1 large onion diced.
1 pound of mushrooms sliced
1 TBSLP thyme
1 TBSLP oregano
1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
3 cloves of garlic diced
1 large can (14 ounces I think) of chopped tomatoes
2 or so cups of dry white wine
1 Bay leaf

Salt and pepper

Heat large, heavy bottom pot over medium high heat, add olive oil.

Butcher the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Place in plan skin side down and brown. Make sure not to crowd the chicken, work in batches if your pot isn't big enough. Cook for six to 10 minutes. remove chicken and set aside.

Add peppers, onion and sliced mushroom to the pot and cook until just starting to brown. Keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't stick. Right as the rest of the veggies are truning brown add garlic and cook for another minute or two. If you're having a probem with everything sticking add a little white wine to deglaze the pan.

Put chicken back in the pot and add the liquids. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and add spices and dried mushrooms. Do not rehydrate the mushroom before adding it to the pot. They add a nice earthy taste to the stew.

Try to keep at a low simmer. Cover and cook for at least an hour, two hours is better but you can cook for as long as three hours. Depending on how you like your sauce about a hald hour before your ready to eat you might want to remove the chicken and crank up the heat to let it reduce for awhile.

I serve this with some steamed rice, but you could also use pasta if you want.

Braised chicken thighs and lemon risotto

Chicken thighs are tasty. They are quickly becoming my favorite part of the chicken to cook and eat, they have a great flavor, even though they aren't that good for you.

I hadn't gotten to the store in about a week and didn't feel like going so I was left to scrounge. I had some chicken thighs in the freezer but was looking for a new way to prepare them (I have been cooking them a number of different ways this summer but haven't posted about that yet).

So as I am apt to do when looking for a new recipe I went to Bittman and found a killer recipe in The Best Recipes in the World. I had just about everything I needed except for the bacon (yes, I know you are all shocked).

The original recipe calls for chopping up a few slices of bacon, cooking them until they're crisp along with some rosemary, thyme and a couple of cloves of fresh garlic. I used a little olive oil instead and cooked the garlic until it was brown and then removed it. You want the heat kind at least medium high at this point.

Then you add the chicken and brown on both sides for a total of 15 minutes. At this point you'll have quite a bit of liquid in the pan, mostly fat. Drain a good portion of it off, but leave a little. Now add half a cup of balsamic vinegar and half a cup of water. Let cook for a few minutes at high heat and then turn the heat down and cover. Cook for another 20 minutes or until chicken is done.

After chicken is cooked remove from pan. If the sauce is a little thin crank up the heat and cook down. The end result to a pan sauce that just tasted fantastic, a little sweet but chickeny, really good. Drizzle a little over the chicken and serve.

As a side I made a lemon risotto. It was pretty simple. I diced up a couple of shallots and a celery stalk and softened in a couple of tablespoons of butter. I then added the aboria rice and let cook for another couple of minutes before adding a cup of white wine. I just used water the rest of the way, adding a little as it cooked up. After the rice was done I added the zest of one lemon and its juice along with about a cut of Parmesan cheese. It had a nice subtle lemon flavor and paired nicely with the sweet balsamic sauce for the chicken.

Chicken noodle soup

Rory came down with a head cold and decided to stay home today. We had no OJ or anything in the house so when I went out to pick that stuff up I also picked up everything for chicken noodle soup. Some celery, onion, carrots, a four plus pound chicken and some egg noodles.

I did a rough chop on all the veggies and four cloves of crushed garlic to a stock pot. I just let them get a little warm in the bottom of the pan and threw the chicken in whole. I filled the pot with water to where the chicken was just covered. I added some salt, pepper, sage, thyme and a couple of bay leaves. I brought it to a boil and then turned the heat down and simmer with the lid on for about an hour. Then I took the lid off and let it cook for another 90 minutes.

I removed the chicken and let it cool for about 30 minutes. I then picked all the meat from the bones and places it back in the pot to cook for another couple of hours, simmering all the way. Right before I was ready to serve I brought it to a boil and added the egg noodles and cooked till the noodles were done.

It turned out quite well, if I do say so myself. The trick is tasting the broth/stock throughout and adjusting the seasoning accordingly. I also skimmed quite a bit of fat off it as well.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

The tales about my future brother-in-law Shea's dip were legendary. So when Rory and his girlfriend Mary wanted to throw him a surprise party the dip had to be there as well. But since it would have been unkind to ask him to make it I got the recipe from him and did it myself.

I've made this three times and it's really, really tasty, not good for you in the slightest, but really good. Below you'll find Shea's email to me and below that I'll put my notes.

Here is the “official recipe” I use ... I added the changes I made at the bottom which I imagine are completely optional although I have never made it exactly the way they say to.

2 (10 ounce) cans chunk chicken, drained
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup Ranch dressing
3/4 cup pepper sauce, such as Franks Red Hot
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Heat chicken and hot sauce in a skillet over medium heat, until heated through. Stir in cream cheese and ranch dressing. Cook, stirring until well blended and warm.

Mix in half of the shredded cheese, and transfer the mixture to a slow cooker. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top, cover, and cook on Low setting until hot and bubbly. Serve with celery sticks and crackers.

Shea’s other notes:
I basically used a stock pot to cook mine on the stove using the basic instructions above. I also added way more than a cup and a half of shredded cheese, probably more in the vicinity of 3 cups, which I feel gave it a better and sort of stretchy consistency, but it doesn't keep as well when the dip cools so you will probably need to reheat a few times. Either way i just eye balled the cheese and moved the stock pot into the over to cook on a low setting for a while.

Also, fuck celery and crackers … I think Fritos scoops work best and will probably be very appreciated by the poker crowd.

If you want to use real chicken instead of canned chicken, go ahead, but it may be wasted effort as the chicken is almost there more for consistency than any sort of flavor. Finally,I have used ranch dressing with bacon in the past, and while it worked and sounds really good in theory, I think regular ranch works better.

My notes:
I find canned chicken to be awful, awful stuff. What I've done a couple of times is buy chicken breast and cube it. Be mindful that this is a dip and people need to eat it in one bit so make the pieces small. Cook with some olive oil, salt and pepper and then begin the recipe.

Use a slow cooker if at all possible. When I made it at Rory's parents house we couldn't find one so I left it on the stove on the lowert possible setting. After awhile the cheese began to separate. Not good eats.

Fajitas

It was a muggy and awful day yesterday so I didn't want to cook much, funny how that didn't work. Inspired by the Piña Colada I decided too make fajitas. While not Puerto Rican, it's fit the general theme.

I had some chicken breasts and when I went to the store to pick up some stuff for the Piña Coladas I decided to pick up some shrimp to try something different. Overall, fajitas are pretty simple, here's what you need and what I did.

Olive oil
3 chicken breasts
1/2 pound uncooked shrimp
1 large onion sliced
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
2 TBLSP ground cumin
2 TSP cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
Flour tortillas

I bough deveined, uncooked shrimp with the shells on so the first thing I did was took the shells off the shrimp. After that I tossed them with some cayenne and cumin and set aside.

Then I sliced up all the veggies and placed them in two different pans, one of the chicken and one for the shrimp and started cooking them down. I then sliced the chicken into strips and placed it in one of the pans and seasoned with the cumin and cayenne. I pretty much cooked the chicken all the way before even starting the shrimp because I knew they would take only a couple of minutes to cook.

I served on flour tortillas with sour cream and a little salsa. They turned out well.

As for the Piña Coladas, it took me a couple before I got the hang of it, but the end result was fantastic.

Chicken pizzas

The last two days in Chicago were hot and muggy so I didn't really feel like cooking anything too complex, especially because my kitchen gets hotter than Hades. So I decided to go to an old fall back, pan fried pizza. The only change from that recipe is that I used all whole wheat flour.

This time I decided to have some fun with the toppings, I did one buffalo chicken and another BBQ chicken. Rory is dieting and I know she wouldn't be tempted by either of these because she thinks chicken on pizza is an abomination.

For the toppings I took a large shallot and two chicken breasts, cut into chunk sized pieces, and cooked it up with a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. After it was cooked I took half the chicken and set it aside. With the half left in the sautee pan I added about a cup of Frank's Hot sauce and let that cook down. I then added about half a cup of ranch dressing and let it cook up a bit more. After about 10 minutes of total cook time I set aside in a bowl.

I took the other half of the chicken and added it to a clean sautee pan and added some Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce. I let that cook for about five minutes and then places in a bowl.

I had already shaped the pizzas. After cooking the one side and flipping I added the Buffalo chicken mixture with some crumbled blue cheese. For the BBQ pizza I used a sharp cheddar.

I like the buffalo pizza better. It had a great flavor and nice kick. In the future I'll probably try to refine the sauce a bit more to make it a little thicker.

Chicken, chorizo and brown rice

This recipe was right up my alley. Chicken thighs, chorizo and brown rice to put a slightly healthy spin on it. Yes, I know chicken thighs are more fatty than breasts, but they actually taste like chicken and have a much better flavor.

As for the chorizo, I was disapointed that I couldn't find any of the smoked, dried variety at my local store and what I ended up with was a bit greasy, but the flavor couldn't be beat. Rory found it a bit spicy, and it did have somewhat of a kick, but I enjoyed thoroughly. The flavors really popped.

I didn't use the peas, I just don't care for the texture, even though the color would have been nice. This was my first time cooking with brown rice as well and it had a nice texture. I'm going to try cooking with it again.

And yes, I've been forgetting to take pictures, I will do my best to remedy coming up.