Country BBQ Chicken and Fried Onions-n-Potatoes

I didn't have time to post my last recipe in the challenge until now.  Day 4 was a BBQ sauce recipe I came across.  I have no idea where it came from, I found a copy I had printed or someone had given me.  We eat a lot of chicken, and it is always nice to have a dish you can count on.  The sauce was very easy.

Combine all of the following in a saucepan over medium heat:

• 1/2 cup chopped onions, sauted briefly to soften (this was my addition to the recipe, the original did not call for sauteeing the onions first.  I prefer the cooked onion flavor)
• 1 cup ketchup
•  1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon dry mustard
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  I wouldn't skimp on this part - it really needed the 15 minutes to get the best flavor.  Then I just poured the sauce over a batch of boneless, skinless chicken thighs.  I usually eat the boneless breasts, but we did not have them in.  Bake  in the preheated oven until done and the juices run clear.  This would be even better on the grill, but I didn't have the time to stand outside and watch it.

I served it with just mixed vegatables, pretty ho-hum but I had them in the freezer, and my best fried onions-and-potatoes. 

For my potatoes, I used three large baking potatoes, and microwaved them for 5 minutes after piercing the skins with a fork.  This makes for a much faster side dish.  While they are microwaving, I chop onions, and start them in a frying pan in some olive oil.  After 5 minutes in the mircowave, the potatoes are almost fully cooked.  Remove the skins if you like (I prefer them on but hubby does not), and chop into bite size pieces.  Add to the onions, and let them brown a bit before turning. Stir periodically. 

After about 10 minutes (and here is the part that makes them so yummy), add some chunks of butter to the bottom of the frying pan, and allow that to melt.  Then mix the butter into the potatoes, and let them sit again.  A few minutes later, add a few more chunks of butter (think Paula Deen) and wait for it to melt and mix again.  Add some salt and pepper to taste.  By now, parts of the potatoes and onions have gotten nice and crusty and brown.

Good comfort food.  The BBQ sauce tasted good mixed into everything.

Day 3 - Root Beer-Glazed Pork Chops with Caramelized Onions

This was an Emeril Lagasse recipe out of the Food Network Favorites cookbook.  I have to say, while I enjoyed the flavor and look of the dish, I did not enjoy the amount of effort and time spent in the kitchen.  I just picked the wrong day to have to hang out in the kitchen for an hour and a half or two.  Caramelizing onions is not something you can leave on the stove and walk away from for too long, and neither was the sauce reduction. 

That being said, the meal was tasty.  I served it with mashed sweet potatoes with a bit of butter and a bit more brown sugar on top, which was a perfect pairing. 

For the onions, Emeril recommeds 2 pounds of yellow onions, peeled and sliced.  Melt 8 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a large skillet.  Add the onions and cook slowly over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and caramelized, 45 minutes to one hour.  Remove from the heat and keep warm.

For the glaze, combine 2 cups of root beer, and 2 cups of reduced veal stock.  Since I never cook veal, I had no veal stock, so I used pre-made beef cooking stock.Bring to a boil, then rduce heat to medium low and simmer until reduced to a thick syrup, about 1 cup, 45 minutes to an hour. 

Now, mine never reached a syrup stage and took it's good old time reducing.  I'm not sure if the stock I used caused that or not.  I ended up adding it to the frying pan when the chops were cooking a little at a time, in an effort to reduce it that way.  That worked to a point.

Prepare the chops while all that other stuff is going on.  Season each chop with a good sprinkle of Emeril's Essence.  I seared each side for a couple of minutes, then turned the pan on low to simmer.  Emeril's recipe called for then putting them in a 425 degree oven for a bit, but it had already taken too long to get to that point, so just left them on the stove to finish.  Once the chops were done, I plated some sweet pottoes, placed a chop on the side, then mounded the onions on the chop.  Drizzle a healthy amount of the sauce and there you have it.

All in all, good flavor, but I would definitely work on shortening the preparation time.  Us working folks don't have time on weekdays for this.  Plus, it takes forever to clean up after I cook like this - I confess I am a messy cook, and usually dirty way more utensils, etc. than necessary.

Day 2 of '30 Recipes in 30 Days'

Since I had some of the Green Herb Dip left over from yesterday, I decided to experiment with it in my lunch.    Today I made a Roasted Vegetable Wrap with Green Herb Dip spread for lunch.  I used some nice fresh, young asparagus, red and green peppers, baby bella mushrooms and scallions, and Cole Slaw mix. 

First, I cut the peppers into strips, and cut off an inch of the woody ends of the asparagus.  I left the scallion and the mushrooms whole.    I spread all of the vegetables on a cookie sheet.  While the oven was preheating to 350 degrees, I crushed a small clove of garlic, and mixed that with some olive oil and freshly ground black pepper.  I then drizzled the olive oil mixture over all of the vegetables, making sure everything got a light coating to prevent then from drying out.  Mushrooms do not hold up well for lengthy roasting, they dry out and shrivel, so make sure they are coated well. Pop them in the oven.

The house smelled wonderful in no time - roasting garlic will do that!

While the veggies were roasting, I spread some of the Green Herb Dip on one side of an 8-inch Honey Wheat tortilla and sat back and waited.  And got hungrier and hungrier.  Usually I use hummus in a wrap, but thought the dip would be a nice change.

I cooked the veggies for only about 10 minutes, then moved them to a plate to cool slightly.  I sliced the scallion length-wise, so I would not get a heavy bite of onion together, and cut off the dried up green end.  I also sliced the mushrooms and spread the veggies on my prepared tortilla.  Lastly, to add some cooler crunch, I topped the warm veggies with a small handful of cold Cole Slaw cabbage/carrot mix, that you can buy pre-bagged in the produce aisle.  I like this in wraps better than lettuce. 

Roll it up, cut it in half and you are now ready to eat.  It was delicious - I would eat this for lunch every day.

And for you quilters with a keen eye - Yes, that is some of Moda's Figgy Pudding line under my plate. Working on a small project that I will share when it is completed.

Day 1 of '30 Recipes in 30 Days'

Since this was a hectic weekend, with Halloween activities, having Grandkids Bo and Violet overnight last night, and Kara's soccer game this afternoon, I went easy on myself for the first day of my personal challenge.  We have lasagne, and sausage and peppers leftover for dinner tonight, so for my first recipe I chose a dip to serve with veggies while watching the 2nd half of the Eagles game after soccer. 

I made a Green Herb Dip, from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa At Home cookbook.  I love fresh dill, so this was perfect.  It has a light onion-y flavor and the dill comes through nicely.  We ate it with baby carrots, but I think it would be really nice with crackers or crunchy breadsticks.

Green Herb Dip - makes 2 cups (Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa at Home)

8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature

1/2 cup sour cream at room temperature

1/2 cup good mayonnaise

3/4 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Place all ingredients in the bowl of food precessor with the steel blade.  Pulse 10 to 12 times, until just blended, but not pureed.  Serve at room temperature.

Couldn't get much easier!  This one is a keeper.  I was tempted to add a little garlic, but I am glad

I did not. I think it would have over-powered the dill. This will go on the list for the next family

party, and we'll see how they like it.