Category Archives: Meats

Lighter Chicken Tikka Masala

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Veronica

Biz from My Bizzy Kitchen has been taunting me with her chicken tikka masala for months. And months. It’s my favorite Indian dish of those I’ve had the opportunity to try at restaurants, so I’ve been meaning to make it at home for quite some time. When Biz changed her recipe to lighten it up, replacing the heavy whipping cream with Greek yogurt, I knew it was time. And I could not believe that it was even better than what I’ve had at restaurants! Just like with the dal makhani, it was so good I couldn’t move on and had to bring it back to our menu a second week in a row. Except this recipe is actually better than the dal makhani, IMHO. Thank you so much, Biz, for sharing your wonderful recipe with us. I’m paying it forward to you, my readers, so that you can enjoy it as well. And you will–it’s simply divine!

Lighter Chicken Tikka Masala

Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
3/4 cup (6 oz) nonfat, plain Greek yogurt, divided
1 tablespoon lemon juice
4 teaspoons ground cumin, divided
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter
1 small jalapeno, cut in half, seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
6 dried red chili peppers
2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
1/4 teaspoon sriracha chili sauce (I use a full teaspoon for more heat)

Mix half the yogurt the chicken, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and pepper. Refrigerate and marinate for one hour. Melt butter in a skillet and add jalapeno pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons ground cumin, garlic, paprika, curry powder, sriracha sauce and stir for 2 minutes, until nice and fragrant. Add chicken and cook for five minutes, turning pieces half way through. Add tomato sauce and dried chiles and simmer for 15 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked. Remove from heat, stir in remaining 3 ounces of Greek yogurt. Serve over brown rice and garnish with cilantro.

Makes 4 servings. Per serving: 205 calories; 2.5 g fat; 13.7 g carb; 3 g fiber; 29 g protein

Recipe source: barely tweaked from My Bizzy Kitchen

25 Comments

Posted in Indian, Lighter Fare, Meats, My Favorites and tagged chicken tikka masala recipe, diet, Indian, Indian cuisine, light, low-fat, spicy. Bookmark the permalink.

Crockpot Meatballs and Peppers in Cranberry Chili Sauce

Posted on December 19, 2010 by Veronica

I have brought these meatballs to our family’s Christmas eve party for the last two years and both times they disappeared quickly, followed by high praise. For good reason–they are the best party meatballs evah! Even if you don’t add the peppers, they’re great, but the peppers add some nutrition, some beauty, some class, some variety, some color, and, most importantly, some extra flavah!

Betty Crockah! Respiratah! Operatah! What’s for dinnah? ……..supercalifragilisticexpialidociousah!

I apologize. I’m sort of crazy with exhaustion right now and am finding the strangest things amusing. You should try replacing the ending letters of words with “ah” when you’re tired, too. It makes exhaustion more interesting.

Anyway.

I’m squeezing this recipe in this week (and I have so many more to come–sorry I’m a procrastinator!) because you so need to bring them to your own Christmas eve party this year and then keep making them for things like New Years, the Supah Bowl (hehehe), potlucks, etc., etc. They are the best evah! Wait, I already said that. I’m so tired.

Crockpot Meatballs and Peppers in Cranberry Chili Sauce

Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

1 (5 pound) bag frozen Italian meatballs
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
2 (14 ounce) cans jellied cranberry sauce
2 (12 ounce) jars chili sauce
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional but recommended
Salt
Freshly ground pepper

Place the meatballs in crockpot. Slice all the peppers into strips, discarding the cores and seeds, and place on top of the meatballs. In a large saucepan, combine the cranberry sauce, chili sauce, red pepper flakes, a pinch of salt, and some pepper, and bring to a simmer. Whisk while heating until the sauces combine and you have a smooth sauce. Pour over the peppers and meatballs; do not stir. Cook on the low setting for 8 hours or on high for about 4 to 5 hours. Stir well to incorporate the peppers before serving. To make these into a meal, serve over rice.

Recipe source: adapted from The Cooking Photographer.

A big thanks to my husband, Dennis, who took the photos for me because I’ve been so busy! God bless him. He’s the best. Evah. :)

16 Comments

Posted in Meats, Slow-Cooker/Crockpot, Snacks & Appetizers and tagged appetizer, christmas, holidays, meatballs, New Years, party, recipe, Super Bowl. Bookmark the permalink.

Incredible 2-Hour Turkey & Other Thanksgiving Ideas

Posted on November 20, 2010 by Veronica

This recipe turned out the juiciest turkey I’ve ever had, including my Mother’s incredible brined turkey. It has wonderful flavor and I love that it only requires two hours of roasting.

If you are looking for any other last minute Thanksgiving Day recipe ideas, continue below the recipe for a few I have on my blog.

Incredible 2-Hour Turkey

Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

1 (18-22 pound*) turkey
Carrots, celery (cut into large chunks), onion (peeled and cut into large chunks), garlic cloves (peeled and smashed)
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
Butter
Brown paper bag

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Meanwhile, remove giblets and neck and wash the turkey. Fill the cavity of the turkey with carrots, celery, garlic and onion. Combine the lemon juice, salt, pepper and poultry seasoning in a small bowl. With your hands, rub the entire turkey with the lemon juice mixture.

Place the turkey breast down (this is opposite of how a turkey is normally cooked – so just flip the turkey upside down) in a large roasting pan. Place the roasting pan in the hot oven for as many minutes as the turkey weighs (ie. 19 lb. turkey = 19 minutes). Bake for the allotted time.

Meanwhile, grease a large brown paper bag with butter on both sides. Remove the roasting pan from the oven and carefully (because the turkey and roasting pan are HOT) make a tent out of the paper bag and drape it over the turkey, taking care to tuck the sides of the bag into the roasting pan (otherwise, the butter will drip off the bag, leap onto the oven burner and possibly create a large fire.). Turn the oven down to 400 degrees and cook the turkey for two hours.

Remove the roasting pan and turkey from the oven and let turkey sit for 20 minutes. Remove turkey from the roasting pan and pour the drippings into a medium-sized saucepan. Bring to a boil. Make a slurry from flour and water (to the consistency of thick, heavy cream) and add to the drippings until desired consistency is reached. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, and bring to a boil. Boil for a minute, still stirring constantly, until thickened. Serve over the turkey.

*I used a 13 pound turkey and cut the cooking time down by 15 minutes. Perfect!

Recipe source: My Kitchen Cafe

More Thanksgiving ideas:

Pumpkin Cheese Ball

Killer Cranberry Sauce

Incredible Dinner Rolls (bread machine)

Italian Green Beans

Sunny Vegetable Salad

Marissa’s Good Peas

Buttermilk Ranch Dressing (come on, eat some salad! It will make you feel less guilty about the pie.)

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake

Quick and Easy Pumpkin Cupcakes

Grandma Ople’s Apple Pie

Turtle Pumpkin Pie

15 Comments

Posted in Lighter Fare, Meats and tagged fast, juicy, roasted turkey, thanksgiving, turkey recipe. Bookmark the permalink.

30 Minute Meal: Easy Parmesan Garlic Chicken with Roasted Garlic Couscous & Zucchini

Posted on July 14, 2010 by Veronica

I do realize it’s sort of ridiculous to be turning on the oven when it’s practically hot enough to bake something on the sidewalk, but I figure I can’t be the only person crazy enough to do it, so I wanted to share this super-easy recipe with the other zany people out there that throw common sense to the wind.

This is a true 30-minute meal. It looks & sounds like you put some time and effort into it, but thanks to a few convenience products & very few ingredients, everything comes together in a snap and you are rewarded with some amazing deliciousness. The chicken is so juicy and flavorful–it will knock your socks off. And while the method of preparation may be a bit foolhardy, it is a light meal that is absolutely perfect for summer.

I received two boxes of Roasted Garlic & Olive Oil Couscous from the Near East company and ended up using both of them with this exact meal, twice, because it was so easy and delicious! I am a big fan of their whole wheat couscous (I use it in Orange Couscous with Chicken and Colorful Couscous Salad with Chickpeas) and while my husband and I both liked this preseasoned version, I think you’d get better flavor by adding your own seasonings. However, this is perfect for a night when you need dinner on the table in a jiffy.

Easy Parmesan Garlic Chicken
Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

½ cup grated (not powdered) Parmesan cheese
1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
½ teaspoon garlic powder
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 2 lb.)

Preheat oven to 400. Mix cheese, salad dressing mix and garlic powder. Moisten chicken with water; coat with cheese mixture. Place in shallow baking dish that has been lined with foil and coated with cooking spray. Bake 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through (170 degrees). If your chicken is not as golden as you like, you can broil it for a few minutes after it’s done cooking.

Serves 6

Roasted Garlic & Red Pepper Couscous
Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

1 box (5.8 oz) Near East Roasted Garlic & Olive Oil Couscous
1 1/4 cups water
1/4-1/3 cup chopped red pepper

Bring water & contents of spice pack inside the couscous box to a boil. Stir in the couscous & red pepper and remove from heat. Cover and let stand five minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve hot. You could also add the red pepper after the couscous is done so that it would be more bright and crunchy, which I think would be better but didn’t think to do that until after we’d eaten it, of course.

Garlic Oven Roasted Zucchini
Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

1-2 medium or large zucchini
olive oil
garlic salt

Wash and dry your zucchini, then slice into 1/4″ rounds. Slice rounds in half and put into a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and stir until all pieces are coated. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spread the zucchini out on it. Sprinkle with garlic salt and put in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. I stuck mine in on the top rack when there was 15 minutes cooking time left on the chicken so they’d be done at the same time.

*I received free Near East product in conjunction with this blog post. Near East did not influence my opinions expressed here as a result.

5 Comments

Posted in Meats, Pasta, Side Dishes and tagged couscous, easy, oven roasted zucchini, parmesan garlic chicken, roasted garlic. Bookmark the permalink.

Crunchy Dilled Shrimp Salad

Posted on April 24, 2010 by Veronica

I’ve been making this shrimp salad for several years and especially enjoy it in the spring and summer because it is light and bright. I love the crisp crunch from the water chestnuts and the nutty crunch from the cashews. The dill & lemon balance the slightly sweet taste of the dressing and pair perfectly with the shrimp. I usually serve it on a slice of toasted bread as an open-faced sandwich so I can enjoy the visual appeal of the pretty salad while I eat it.

I omitted the cashews from this batch and decreased the dressing to 1/3 cup, which saves 50 calories per serving.

Crunchy Dilled Shrimp Salad

Printable Recipe
Printable recipe with picture

1 (12 oz) bag frozen cooked shrimp, thawed and tails removed
1 (8 oz) can water chestnuts, drained
1/4 c cashews
1/2 c light Miracle Whip
3 T chopped fresh dill or 1 T dried dill
2 t lemon juice
3/4 t garlic powder
1/8 t salt

Roughly chop the shrimp, water chestnuts & cashews and mix in a medium bowl with all other ingredients. Serve immediately. If you will be serving later, omit the cashews and refrigerate. Stir them in just before serving so they will still be nice and crunchy.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutritional Info (per serving): 187 cal, 7 g fat, 177 mg cholesterol, 560 mg sodium, 12 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 20 g protein.

5 Comments

Posted in Burgers & Sandwiches, Lighter Fare, Meats, My Favorites, Salads, Seafood and tagged cashews, crunchy, diet-friendly, dill, easy, healthy, salad, shrimp, summer, water chestnuts. Bookmark the permalink.

Flatlander Meatloaf & Giveaway!

Posted on April 12, 2010 by Veronica

Last year my cousin, Eric, started up his own barbeque sauce company called Flatlander (you know, because we live in Kansas–the flattest place on Earth!), and I am in love with his products. There are three: Original Barbeque Sauce, Spicy Barbeque Sauce, and Doo-Dah Rub. (Doo-Dah is Wichita’s nickname in case you were wondering about that one). They are all fantastic but I can’t get enough of the spicy sauce. I went through an entire bottle yesterday! Sometimes I will just take slices of cheddar cheese and pour some of that sauce on top for a snack, and once I even poured some directly into my mouth. I’ve never been a huge barbeque sauce lover, but I do love this sauce!

The original sauce is sweet & perfect. The spicy is mild enough that even people who don’t like heat would enjoy it, but I really like the zip it has compared to the original. The rub is a blend of spices & sugar and tastes incredible on chicken. OK, it tastes incredible on everything–it’s very versatile. I even put it on my green beans once!

My favorite thing to make with the sauce is Smoky Barbecue Chicken Pizza, but it is good on anything. My most recent creation is this meatloaf, which I named after the company since I used two of Eric’s products in it. It is a fun twist on traditional meatloaf, with bacon, cheddar and onions in the loaf and barbecue sauce, more cheddar & bacon, and french-fried onions on top. Paula Deen, eat your heart out!

Flatlander Meatloaf
Printable Recipe

4 slices bread
2 lb lean ground beef
1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled, divided
1 small onion, chopped
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 T Doo-Dah rub*
½ t salt
¼ t pepper
½ c barbecue sauce (I used Flatlander’s spicy)
1/3 c French fried onions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Tear the bread slices into small pieces and process in a food processor or blender until fine crumbs. In a large bowl, mix the bread crumbs with the ground beef, 1 cup of the cheddar cheese, 3 slices of the crumbled bacon, onion, tomato sauce, egg, Doo-Dah rub*, salt & pepper. Pat it into a loaf pan and spread the barbecue sauce on top. Bake for 1 ½ hours (or until a meat thermometer reads 160° F), then remove to drain off the fat & juices, then put more sauce if desired & sprinkle remaining ½ cup cheese, 3 slices crumbled bacon & French fried onions. Bake until cheese is melted, about five more minutes. Remove and let sit 10 minutes before slicing.

*If you would like to make this without the Doo-Dah rub, you could try omitting it completely, replacing it with a mixture of 1 T brown sugar, 1 t paprika, 1 t chili powder and 1 t garlic powder, replacing it with your own meat rub, or replacing the tomato sauce with barbecue sauce.

Recipe source: Recipe Rhapsody

If you would like to win a bottle of all three products as pictured above, simply leave a comment below telling me what’s your favorite thing to make (or eat) with barbecue sauce. To gain an extra entry, subscribe by email (box in upper right corner of my blog) or RSS and let me know you did (or already do) in a second comment. Winner will be chosen using a random number generator and will be announced Tuesday, April 20, 2010. Deadline to enter is Monday, April 19, 2010 at midnight. Sorry, time’s up! Winner below.

Congratulations to Suzie, commenter number 19, who loves bacon-wrapped barbecue shrimp! The sauce is on its way–go wild!

45 Comments

Posted in Announcements & Awards, Main Dishes, Meats and tagged bacon, barbecue, cheddar, meatloaf. Bookmark the permalink.

Ultimate Beef Stroganoff

Posted on April 7, 2010 by Veronica

I know I sound like a broken record, but you’re gonna have to get used to it: this is another great recipe from My Kitchen Cafe! I’m actually starting to wonder why I even have a food blog because I’m just stealing Mel’s recipes and putting them on my own! Well, at least you know when I post them they have been approved not only by her family but mine so you can probably trust that it’s gonna be good.

Not only was this delicious, it’s so easy! I love preparing meals in the crockpot because after coming home from work, the last thing I want to do is start dinner. Usually I’m starving and just want to sit down and eat. This meal is perfect for career-women and Moms. And just anybody that loves an easy and delicious meal! Slow-cooking the meat makes it super tender and it practically melts in your mouth. Scanning the ingredients, I thought it sounded too simple to be very impressive but it just goes to show that sometimes simple is best!

THE ULTIMATE BEEF STROGANOFF
Printable recipe

Put in crock pot:
2-3 pounds stew meat
1 tsp. salt
dash of pepper
1 onion, sliced

Mix in a bowl and pour over meat:
¼ tsp. garlic salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ cups beef broth or stock (made up from cubes or granules)
1 tablespoon ketchup

Cook in crockpot on low for 7-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours. When cooked make a simple roux by whisking 1/3 cup flour with enough apple juice (about 5-6 tablespoons) to make a thick but still pourable flour mixture. Whisk the roux into the crockpot and add 4 ounces sliced mushrooms.

Cook on high for 15-30 minutes. Then stir in ½ cup sour cream. Serve over pasta, rice or baked potatoes.

*Freezable Meal: The leftovers of the stroganoff can be frozen. Mel stores the leftovers in a freezer-safe container and then thaws in the refrigerator (usually takes about a day) and reheat over medium-low heat in a saucepan on the stove.

Veronica’s Notes: I didn’t have apple juice so I just used water for the roux. Though it didn’t seem to suffer for it, I hate that I might have missed out on the full flavor experience so next time I will be sure to have apple juice! I also used a ton of mushrooms (four times what’s called for) because I had a ton of mushrooms and didn’t want them to go to waste. Still tasted good! So if it bothers you to only use half of an 8-oz container, go ahead and put the whole thing in. Lastly, if you’re wondering about those fabulous fat noodles that look homemade, they are Essenhaus Amish Country Kitchen Extra Wide Homestyle Noodles. I found them on the bread aisle in the grocery store. You can purchase them online here or use their store locator to see if they are sold near you.

Recipe source: My Kitchen Cafe

9 Comments

Posted in Main Dishes, Meats, Slow-Cooker/Crockpot and tagged apple juice, beef stroganoff. Bookmark the permalink.

General Tso’s Chicken

Posted on April 6, 2010 by Veronica

How was your Easter? Dennis and I went to Abilene to spend it with his family and had a lovely time. Phyllis, my mother-in-law, made a killer ham and my favorite scalloped potatoes, and we also had the creamed corn (the REAL kind with whole corn mixed with butter and cream cheese–Dennis HAS to have that stuff at every family function) and Mexican coleslaw that my sister-in-law, Joan brought. The coleslaw was really yummy and I plan to use it on some fish tacos so I’ll be blogging it eventually. I brought the dessert (was there any doubt?) and supplied lemon bars and white cupcakes with my favorite lemon frosting. I’ve had lemon on the brain since it finally started warming up and I’m still thinking about making more lemon desserts! Something to look forward to.

Anyway, now that we’re all getting a little tired of leftover ham, I have something completely different for you to add to your meal plan. I mentioned in a recent post that I’d been wanting to spread my wings a little and try more ethnic cuisine so it’s a little ironic that I chose General Tso’s chicken as one of my first attempts since it’s actually an American creation. But it tastes and looks Asian and is served in Chinese restaurants so that’s close enough for me!

I based my recipe & method off of a You Tube Video that my friend Dewey sent me when he read that I was wanting to try it out. After watching itkman cook it up with little effort, I was comfortable enough to change it up a little, and it turned out beautiful and delicious! I hope you try it. Just looking at the photos has me drooling and wanting some more!

General Tso’s Chicken
Printable recipe

Sauce
½ cup chicken broth
¼ c sugar
¼ c rice vinegar
2 T hoisin sauce
1 T sesame oil
1 T soy sauce
1 T cornstarch
2 t minced fresh ginger
6 cloves minced garlic
4 scallions, chopped

Chicken
2 lb. chicken breast, cut into chunks
1 egg
1 T soy sauce
Flour
Vegetable oil for frying

Vegetables
1/3 of a red pepper, sliced
1/3 of an orange pepper, sliced
1/3 of a yellow pepper, sliced
2 cups broccoli florets

Mix all but the last three ingredients for the sauce and once the sugar & cornstarch are dissolved, stir in the ginger, garlic & scallions. Set aside.

Mix the chicken with the egg and soy sauce, then roll each chunk in flour. Fry the chicken in vegetable oil that is 375 degrees F until golden brown.* Remove to a plate lined with paper towels and set aside.

Put the vegetables in a microwave-safe dish with a cover and nuke for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, heat a large wok on high, give the sauce a stir, and pour it into the wok. Wait for it to start simmering, then start stirring until it gets thickened. Add in the chicken and toss until it is evenly coated. Remove from heat and add the vegetables, stirring until mixed.** Serve hot along with rice if desired.

Serves 6.

*Veronica’s notes: I do not own a fryer, so I filled an uncoated (as in, no Teflon coating or nonstick surface) skillet half full of oil and used my candy thermometer to gauge the temperature, frying the chicken in three batches. If you do your frying on the stove top, be sure to keep an eye on the temp b/c you don’t want it over 400 or below 350.

**If you are wondering why I didn’t just stir-fry the veggies before adding the sauce & the chicken, it is because the veggies would absorb too much of the sauce if done this way and the chicken wouldn’t get enough. Coating the chicken first ensures it’s thoroughly coated so that just the little bit extra coats the vegetables, making them slightly flavored but still bright and fresh tasting, which nicely contrasts the saucy chicken.

I’m linking this with Food For Thought for BSI: Broth.

17 Comments

Posted in Asian, Main Dishes, Meats and tagged American Chinese, general tao's chicken, general tso's chicken, recipe. Bookmark the permalink.

World’s Greatest Salmon (improved)

Posted on March 1, 2010 by Veronica

Yes, I know the title is a bold statement, but that is how much I love this salmon. I’m willing to admit there may be better recipes, but I honestly have never had better salmon, no many how many variations I try. This is my favorite and it may be presumptuous to call it “world’s greatest” simply because I love it, but this is my blog and I think it’s the best, so there! :)

This is actually the first recipe I ever posted, back when I was just a MySpace blogger. I actually started Veronica’s Cornucopia in the fall of ’09 but if you do much searching, you’ll see I have recipes dating back to June of 2008 because I copied all those I had on MySpace over to here when I started it. And this one was the very first. But I like it so, so much, and have improved it since the original post, so it merits an encore.

Enjoy!

World’s Greatest Salmon
adapted from my friend Rossie K’s recipe
Serves 6

6 (4-oz) salmon fillets
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup REAL maple syrup
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 green pepper, cut into strips
1 red pepper, cut into strips
1 yellow pepper, cut into strips
1 onion, sliced into rings
1/4 teaspoon cornstarch

Put the minced garlic, maple syrup and soy sauce in a gallon-size Ziploc bag, seal it, and shake it to combine. Add the filets and reseal, then place the bag in the fridge for at least two hours, turning halfway through.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange the salmon filets in a single layer in the dish and pour about a tablespoon of marinade over each filet. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily when pierced with a fork.

Meanwhile, heat the sesame and vegetable oil in a large skillet. Add the peppers and onion, stir, and pour the remaining marinade over everything. Saute on medium-high until the vegetables are tender and the sauce has reduced. If the sauce is too thin, add the cornstarch and cook another minute or two until it has thickened, adding additional cornstarch if necessary.

To serve, plate a salmon filet and spoon some of the vegetables and sauce over the top. Serve hot!

Veronica’s Notes: This recipe is best with skinless salmon filets. You can replace the maple syrup with honey if you don’t have any–I haven’t tried it this way because I like the maple version too well to change it, but Rossie made it that way and loved it. You can use any soy sauce you like, but I always use light soy sauce (in this case, the “light” is referring to reduced sodium) because even that has plenty of salt and makes a wonderfully flavored fish.