This was a very simple dinner I threw together on a day when I wasn't feeling well due to a sinus headache, but was in the mood to eat great things. As an added bonus, spicy food tends to clear out my sinuses. This sandwich definitely did the trick, and James, who loves spicy food more than anyone I've ever known, said "don't change a thing" about this recipe.
Ingredients:
1 cup barbeque sauce
¼ cup Frank’s Red Hot sauce
¼ cup water
1 lb. frozen chicken breasts or chicken tenders
1 package ranch dressing mix, or 2T homemade ranch mix (see below)
1T butter
Homemade ranch dressing spice mix:
Mix the following ingredients together and store in an airtight container.
5 T dried minced onions
7 teaspoons parsley flakes
4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Combine barbeque sauce, hot sauce, water and spices in a bowl and mix well. If you have picky eaters who aren't big on spicy food, you can omit the hot sauce from this step and just let each person add it to his or her own sandwich. Add this mixture and frozen chicken to a slow cooker. If you are having trouble getting the frozen chicken out of the container, run cold water over it until it is easy to separate from the packaging. Don’t forget to wash your hands after handling the raw chicken. Drop the tablespoon of butter on top; don't worry if it is frozen or cold.
Cover and cook on low heat for six hours. Remove lid and use two forks to shred chicken without removing it from the slow cooker. Replace lid and cook on low for one more hour. Serve on toasted buns for best results. Crunchy kettle chips went great with this spicy, soggy sandwich.
References:
http://www.food.com/recipe/crockpot-buffalo-chicken-sandwiches-470965
http://selfreliancebyjamie.blogspot.com/2011/08/tis-seasonings.html
I hit up a ridiculous sale on avocados earlier this week and have been enjoying the surplus. This recipe combines two of my favorite foods - avocados and hummus.
Ingredients:
1 15-oz can of garbanzo beans/chickpeas
1-2 ripe avocados, chopped
1 jalapeño
3T dried cilantro
2 garlic cloves (or 1t minced garlic)
3T olive oil
2T lemon juice
Drain and rinse chickpeas. Add chickpeas, avocados, cilantro, garlic and jalapeño to food processor. To easily “chop” the avocado, I score half an avocado with a knife before removing it from the skin with a large spoon. I used two avocados today because they were really small, but one medium-sized avocado would be fine. I also didn’t have a whole
jalapeño laying around the house, so I added about 6 pieces from a jar of sliced
jalapeños. Add a few more if you really like spicy food.
Chop these ingredients in the food processor until somewhat smooth. Add olive oil and lemon juice one tablespoon at a time, pureeing in between. Continue to puree until smooth. If your hummus is still too thick for your liking, add water one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency.
How I eat it: My favorite way to eat ANY hummus is with a fresh piece of Aladdin’s Nan (flatbread) torn up into little pieces for dipping. My second favorite way to eat hummus, which I did today, is to spread a thick layer on the same flatbread and fill it with ingredients for a sandwich. Today I added ham and baby spinach for what turned out to be a really tasty wrap.
Store any leftover hummus in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Remember that homemade hummus doesn’t have any preservatives, so eat it soon before the avocado starts to change scary colors.
References:
http://www.ahealthyjalapeno.com/2012/03/hot-guacamole-hummus.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AHealthyJalapeno+%28a+Healthy+Jalapeno%29
As I was about to make some boring quinoa and veggies for lunch, this recipe on the Trader Joe's quinoa package caught my eye. I realized quickly that I had most of the ingredients involved, and decided to try it. Deliciousness ensued. Here is my slightly altered version of their recipe.
Ingredients:
1 cup dry quinoa
2 cups vegetable broth
Olive oil
1 large red pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup diced onions or shallots
1 can black beans
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
Bring 2 cups vegetable broth to boil. Add quinoa, reduce heat, and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until all liquid is aborbed.
While the quinoa is cooking, dice the onion and pepper. I chose to be lazy today and just used the food processor. Heat 2-3 tablespoons olive oil in the skillet, and sauté onions, red pepper, and garlic until soft. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Drain and rinse one can black beans in a strainer or colander, rinsing until water runs clear. Coarsely chop the black beans in a food processor. Combine cooked onions, red pepper, garlic, and chopped beans in a mixing bowl. Add cooked quinoa, bread crumbs, salt and pepper, and mix well. Allow to cool until you feel comfortable handling the mixture with your hands.
Line two baking sheets with wax paper. Using your hands and a spatula or large spoon, scoop up about a handful of the mixture and form into a ball, about the size of a large meatball. Drop the ball onto the wax paper and flatten carefully with your hands, making a patty about 3/4" to an inch thick. Continue until all mixture has been used (makes about 10 patties).
Place baking trays in refrigerator and chill the patties for 10 minutes. When patties are cool, drizzle about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet and heat on medium-high heat. When hot, cook patties about 5 minutes per side in skillet, until each side is browned.
Cook only as many patties as you plan on eating for this meal. Remaining patties can be refrigerated or frozen, stacked 3-4 patties high with wax paper in between in an airtight container.
I recommend serving these burgers either bread-free with avocado slices on top, or as a sandwich with toasted bread, mayonnaise, and sliced avocados or guacamole.
I ate the most amazing sandwich the other night at one of my favorite restaurants, Melt. Melt has three locations around the Cleveland area, and everything on the menu is amazing. This month they are bringing back the best sandwiches of 2011 for one week each.
This week is the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon Melt, which is the ultimate BLT. The sandwich includes "hickory smoked bacon, applewood smoked bacon, black-pepper crusted slab bacon, and sweet candied bacon," all topped with a bacon cream cheese, bacon-infused mayonnaise (made at the restaurant), cheddar, romaine lettuce, and tomato."
I think the candied bacon really makes the sandwich, giving the sandwich that wonderful taste of when you accidentally get maple syrup on your bacon at breakfast. I absolutely loved this sandwich, and ended up eating the whole thing instead of boxing half up for later like I usually do. The explosion of flavors was totally worth the stomachache I had later from overeating.
The sandwich is, as usual, served with a side of awesome fries and some not-as-awesome spicy cole slaw, which I always forget to cancel so it doesn't go to waste. Also, the specialty sandwiches tend be paired with a special cocktail, so of course I had to try the Kevin Bacon Vanilla Alexander. The drink is described as "Bulleit bourbon infused with bacon, Godiva white chocolate liqueur, cream and real vanilla, shaken with ice and topped with real whipped cream and crisp bacon bits."
The drink was... interesting, to say the least. It tasted good at first, but the bourbon aftertaste didn't seem to fit with the other flavors. It tasted like Bailey's Irish Cream mixed with whiskey and bacon. I found it tasted better when I abandoned the straws and drank straight from the glass, getting bacon bits in every sip. I'm not sure I would ever order this drink again, but I have to give props to Melt for actually creating a drinkable bacon-flavored cocktail. I have attempted this feat in the past, and it ended VERY poorly.
The meal was altogether a success, topped with the end-of-meal revelation that there is a Melt rewards program! I signed up for the card, which will earn me $20 of free Melt for every $250 I spend. I was SO excited to learn about this program. Not that I needed another excuse to go to Melt.
References:
http://meltbarandgrilled.com/
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