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You might remember a few weeks ago I mentioned that a life saving grace to making meals at home for us was to cook whole chickens, then add the protein to other dishes. Here is a quesadilla that we often make with that exact recipe. You can also keep this recipe vegetarian by just omiting the chicken.

Ingredients:

• 1 mild Chile (Anaheim or Poblano)
• 2 jalapeno chilies (optional)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 lb variety of mushrooms
• 1 tbsp. chicken of Chile powder
• 2 cloves of garlic (pressed)
• 1/4 cup of your favorite tomato based salsa
• 2 cups Monterey jack cheese
• 8 oz. of chicken (optional)

1. Fire up the grill and cook the chilies over the heat source until it blisters on all sides. Transfer to a container with a lid, I use a bowl topped with a plate. Sweat the chilies for about 10-15 minutes then peel, deseed, and finely chop.
2. Meanwhile in a bowl add mushrooms, olive oil, Chile powder, and garlic toss until well incorporated. Grill over direct heat until mushrooms are softened. Remove mushrooms from heat and roughly chop, add finely chopped chilies, and salsa mix until well incorporated. If you are adding the chicken finely chop the chicken and add. You may want to add additional spices listed above to taste (Lori does). Allow to cool.
   
   
3. While the mixture is cooling mark the tortillas one side over direct heat of the grill this should only take a second or two per tortilla.
4. Next place a tortilla on an oiled sheet of foil. Add cheese on one half of the tortilla, and then spoon the mixture on to the cheese with out overfilling the tortilla. Then fold the tortilla in half. Fold the foil sheet over the tortilla making a cocoon.
5. Grill over direct heat each side for 5 minutes, 10 minutes total.
6. Enjoy with a Negra Modelo.

Remember food is only good for you if you can eat it!
-Nate

Chicken Breast is infamous for drying out on the grill. Buttermilk acts as a meat tenderizer helping the meat stay moist. Using bone-in, skin-on chicken will also insure the chicken will not dry out.

Instructions

• 4 lb. Bone-in Skin-on Chicken Breast or Thighs
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1 tsp. Pepper
• 1 tbsp. Fresh Thyme
• 4 c. Buttermilk

Rinse chicken under cold water and pat dry.

Measure out the buttermilk stir in the salt, pepper, and thyme until well incorporated. Submerge chicken in buttermilk allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours (freezes well).

Grill over direct heat for about 8 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 165F. Tent for a few minutes before serving.

Nutritional Information

     Breast per oz.

• 31 Kcal oz
• 3g of fat
• 27g of protein
• 1g of carbohydrate

    Thighs per oz.

• 33 Kcal oz
• 10g of fat
• 23g of protein
• 2g of carbs

Remember food is only good for you if you can eat it!

I’m taking over Good Food Friday today because I had to share the salsa recipe I made a couple of weeks ago for my birthday. Yes, salsa for my birthday. Much better than cake. (I feel confident Lesley at Recipe for Crazy would agree with me.)

I love Street Tacos, but what truly makes them great is the salsa. Though different than what I’ve had from a taco truck, this salsa a perfect mix of tart & spicy and is super flavorful! I just used the last of my birthday-weekend-batch last night and will most definitely be making some more!

Ingredients: 

• About 7 small tomatillos (10 ounces) with husks removed and washed
• 10 dried Arbol peppers (5 for mild, more if you dare. I think 10 is a good number to start with the first time you make it. Then you can adjust the next time around.)
• 3 garlic cloves — more if you love it as much as we do at our house
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Place tomatillos and garlic in a skillet over medium heat. Roast until soft and brown, turning them to get all sides,  about 18-20 minutes. Garlic cloves will be done faster, so remove when they start to brown and throw ‘em in your blender or food processor.

Meanwhile, in another skillet, quickly toast the dried Arbol peppers. It takes just a couple of minutes, so stay close. The peppers can burn easily and give your sauce a bitter taste. Once they’re done, cut the stems off and throw them in with the garlic.

From experience, we play it safe when handling peppers. (We also cut up Serrano peppers that day, which we definitely needed the gloves for!)

Once the tomatillos are done, quarter them, and add them in with the garlic and peppers. Add the salt and start blending until you get a slightly chunky sauce. Add water if needed, but my experience is that it rarely is.

Put it on your tacos, burritos, quesadillas, chicken, steak — whatever. I promise, it would be good on just about anything. I also suggest a margarita on the side. Can’t go wrong.

ENJOY!!!

xoxo Lori Danelle

When someone mentions cooking lamb I cannot help but to be transported to the first time I had lamb with a school friend on a spring day. A Woolly Middle Eastern Man, his father, roasting a whole lamb speared on a spit over an open flame on his back lawn, as a large loving family waited eagerly to eat, it’s an image of awesomeness its something I strive to recreate when cooking for those around me.

This is an intimidating image, but it shouldn’t be. Lamb is easy to prepare simply dress it with some fresh herbs and a bit of smoke, and you will have a meal to remember.

Instructions:

• 3 cloves of garlic
• salt
• pepper
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1 shallot (minced)
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup fresh mint (minced)
• 1 tbsp. fresh thyme (minced)
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 1 leg of lamb

Pour the olive oil into a small sauce pan, and heat over medium heat. Smash the garlic into a paste, mince the shallot, mint, and thyme, zest and juice the lemon. When oil is heated add the garlic, shallot, mint, thyme, zest, juice, cumin, and coriander to the oil. Allow to cook for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the grill for indirect grilling and generously season the lamb with salt and pepper. Next brush the lamb liberally with the oil. Grill over indirect heat, and brushing occasionally for a good while, at least 1:30 with my grill which usually maintains a temperature of 350F with a piece of meat this large.

Use an instant read thermometer to gauge your doneness that you prefer, we like medium rare.

• Extra Rare = 115-120F
• Rare = 125-130F
• Medium Rare = 130-140F
• Medium = 140-150F
• Medium Well = 150-155F
• Well Done = 160-212F

Remember food is only good for you if you can eat it!
-Nate

Is there anything better than chewy bacon with a slight crispness in the morning? Or at noon? Or at night? I mean C’mon Chicken Fried Chicken with a Side of Bacon at Cracker Barrel; you know what I’m talking about — Lori I’m talking to you. When cooking bacon at home most fry it in a pan usually leading to half chewy, half crispy, or worse: burnt bacon (MAN DOWN, MAN DOWN!). Here is a sure fire way to make sure your bacon comes out perfect every time, with less clean up by the way.

1. Place the bacon on a broiler sheet inside a cold oven.
   
2. Close the door and set the oven to 400. Set the timer for 15 minutes, flip the bacon and cook for another 5 minutes. (Time will vary with the thickness of bacon, this method is for thickly sliced bacon.)

Remember food is only good for you if you can eat it!
          Nate

Once you make this easy to prep crust you’ll never buy one pre-made again. The crust comes out of the oven chewy, with a perfect balance of  saltiness and spice.

Instructions:

• 1 envelope of active dry yeast
• 1/2 tsp of sugar
• 2/3 cup warm water
• 2 cups all purpose flour (1 white, 1 whole wheat)
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of pepper
• 2 tbsp of olive oil

First combine the yeast, sugar, and water in a medium bowl stir briefly. Allow to stand until foamy ~10 minutes. Next, add the flour, salt, pepper, and olive oil to the bowl. Stir until dough holds together. Then remove from the bowl and kneed until smooth. Shape dough in to a ball brush with olive oil, place inside container, and let sit in a warm area for at least 90 minutes (longer you wait the more dough you’ll get).

I cheat on the kneading step and use a bread hook on a mixer.

Transfer the dough to a floured work surface. Cut into 2-4 equal pieces and roll into 8″ discs. Brush with olive oil, add your favorite toppings.

Bake pies for 15 minutes.

Additional Tip: Freezes well.

Help inspire pizza night by sharing your family’s favoriate pizza toppings!

           Remember food is only good for you if you can eat it.
-Nate