Archive for December, 2009
Spinach and Tomato Eggplant Steak with Dill Rice
Posted by Van Santos in Main Course, Vegetarian Entree on December 15th, 2009
With some leftover Feta cheese sitting in the Fridge I thought I would do a Mediterranean-esque dish. Here is something I have to admit – I’ve never consumed eggplant in my 32 years on this planet.
Scary, huh?
That said, I truly had no clue as to what I was doing, I just went with what seemed right.
I used:
1 package of frozen spinach
2 small vine ripened tomatoes
1 tablespoon minced garlic
½ cup bread crumbs
¼ cup feta cheese
fresh parsley
fresh oregano
1 nice sized eggplant
olive oil
1) Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees
2) Cut your eggplant into four steak, roughly one inch thick. At olive oil to a frying pan and brown the egg plant on each side for one to two minutes. Set aside eggplant steaks
3) Defrost your spinach, chop your tomatoes. Using the same frying pan add additional olive oil, sauté the spinach, tomatoes, minced garlic, parsley and oregano. Use the amount of parsley and oregano you see fit. Also, salt and pepper to your taste
4) Place your eggplant onto a foiled cookie sheet, spoon on your spinach mixture.
5) Mix the Feta cheese and bread crumbs together, sprinkle over the spinach mix on the eggplant and bake for 25 minutes
While the eggplant was in the oven I quickly whipped up some dill rice.
2 cups of white rice
2 cups of chicken broth
1 cup of freshly cut dill
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
This is quite easy to do, just…
1) Bring the chicken broth to a boil
2) Add rice and lemon juice, stir
3) Add dill, stir
4) Cover and cook over low heat until rice is at your desired tenderness
Eggplant steak goodness!
OH WOW. This is the second vegetarian dish in two weeks that has really, really impressed me. The eggplant didn’t have the flavor or texture I expected, and the “stuff” complimented the aftertaste of the fruit. And the dill rice tied everything together… I mean, come on, it’s dill rice!
Also, the spinach/tomato mix could be used for so many things…Actually, it could seem some variant of this being for a pita or chip “dip”… maybe even for stuffed mushrooms.
In the end I capped the entire meal off with a slice of the Cinnamon and Brown Sugar cake and I was in heaven.
All and all a good turnout for a “let’s throw something together” dish.
Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Spiced Rum Cake
Posted by Van Santos in Baking on December 14th, 2009
I decided to do a small variation on the Spiced Rum Cake. This version is for those who cannot eat/do not like nuts.
The recipe for the cake and glaze is here. In this variation, however, you make a Cinnamon and Brown Sugar topping.
You’ll need:
3/4 cup of dark brown sugar
1 Tbs Cinnamon
1 Tbs Flour
And now for the complicated part – mix all three together then dust the batter with the mixture before placing it in the oven!
Enjoy!
Lemon Bars
Posted by Eileen Devlin in Baking, Desserts, Low Calorie, Snacks on December 14th, 2009
I am usually a sucker for rich chocolate desserts, but I do love a lemony good ending. This turned out way better than any store-bought brands I’ve tried! (And you’d never guess it’s low-cal too.)
Ingredient List:
3/4 c all-purpose flour; 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 c granulated sugar; 3/4 c granulated sugar
dash salt
1/4 c butter
2 eggs beaten
1 tsp finely shredded lemon peel
1/3 c lemon juice (I used fresh lemons)
1/3 c fat free half and half
powdered sugar (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 350 and prep an 8×8x2 in baking pan. In a small bowl combine 3/4 c flour, 1/4 c sugar, and salt. Using a pastry blender cut in butter until crumbly. Using the back of a large spoon, tightly press and pack this mixture into the baking pan. Bake for 15 mins.
2. While that is baking, stir together eggs, 3/4 c sugar, and 2 tbsp flour. Stir in lemon peel, lemon juice, and half and half. Once the crust is done then pour this mixture over the crust and then bake for 25 mins. Cool in pan on a wire rack.
3. If desired, sift powdered sugar over cooled dessert. This is tart and sweet so lemon bars will be small but satisfying! Makes 16 bars.
Nutritional Information:
Calories: 113 (Sweet!)
Total Fat: 4 g
Cholesterol: 34 mg
Protein: 1 g
Carbohydrate: 19 g
Fiber: 0 g
Sodium: 44 mg
Sausage and Spinach Lasagna
Posted by Eileen Devlin in Low Calorie, Main Course, Pasta, Poultry on December 13th, 2009
Okay. . .so here goes another night of cooking! I’m sure many of you have made a lasagna in your lifetime, so here is another variation. This dish turned out very well and is perfect for cold weather comfort food!
You will need:
8 oz uncooked bulk turkey sausage/extra-lean ground beef
3/4 c chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-15 oz can tomato sauce
1 c bottled roasted red sweet peppers, drained and chopped
2 tbsp snipped fresh basil/2 tsps dried basil, crushed
1 tbsp snipped fresh oregano/1 tsp dried oregano, crushed
1/4 tsp black pepper
6 dried whole grain lasagna noodles (I used whole wheat and just customize the size length of the noodles to your baking dish)
1-15 oz carton light ricotta cheese
1-10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 c shredded reduced fat mozzarella cheese
1. Preheat oven to 375 and prep your baking dish. In a large skillet combine sausage, onion, and garlic and brown the meat. Don’t forget to drain the fat!
2. Stir in tomato sauce, red peppers, dried basil and dried oregano (if using), and black pepper. Bring to boiling then reduce heat. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes and stir occasionally. If you are using fresh basil and oregano add it at this time.
3. In another bowl stir ricotta, spinach and egg white together.
4. Place the bottom noodles (Two says the recipe - depending on your dish size. I had shorter noodles so I used three to fill up my dish) in the prepped baking dish. Put 1/3 spinach mixture, then 1/3 meat mixture, then some mozarella. Repeat two more times but do not put the mozarella on just yet. Cover with a sprayed piece of foil and bake for about 40 min (since whole wheat/whole grain takes a little longer).
So here is the first layer . . .
5. Remove foil and sprinkle remaining mozarella and bake for about 5 minutes more. Makes 8 servings!
Fresh and ready to go!
Mmmm delish!
Side note: This *is* a lower calorie version of a ‘traditional’ lasagna. If you didn’t want to go that route then obviously you can go with different meat/sausage and use cheeses that aren’t skim. There is no extra sauce leftover – just for those of you who happen to want more – so keep that in mind. You can always make 1/2 more of the recipe’s meat sauce if you want, especially for leftovers.
Nutritional information:
Calories: 237
Total Fat: 7 g
Cholesterol: 42 g
Protein: 18 g
Carbohydrate: 25 g
Fiber: 5 g
Sodium: 613 mg
Dessert: Mini-Cheeseburgers
Posted by Anju Santos in Food on December 13th, 2009
My mom once asked me to help her make a version of these mini-cheeseburgers for a kid’s birthday party. They were very easy to make and had visual appeal. I thought they were so cute that I made them last week for my organization’s “Taste of Near North” event (which is much like the “Taste of Chicago” event where you go around to different booths and pay some money to try a small serving of a food item.) These li’l guys were not only easy to make they were also a big hit! I was told they sold out in no time..
Sweet treats
The following recipe makes 40 mini-cheese burgers:
1pkg – Nilla wafers (buns)
1pkg -Keebler’s grasshopper cookies (meat)
1pkg – white frosting (for adherence)
1 tube- yellow frosting (cheese & mustard)
1 tube- red frosting (ketchup & tomatoes)
1/2 package shredded coconut (lettuce)
Green food coloring.
Sesame seeds
Honey
Steps:
1.) Lettuce – mix shredded coconut with green food coloring – set aside
2.) Spread white frosting on the flat sides of the Nilla Wafers – lining them up as a top/bottom pair (2 nilla wafers for one sandwich)
3.) Place a Grasshopper cookie on one of the two nilla wafers (the bottom bun)
4.) Apply yellow frosting as a circular ring on top of the Grasshopper cookie.
5.) Apply red icing in random dots around the yellow icing.
6.) Layer bits of the shredded green coconut on top of the frosting
7.) Place 2nd Nilla wafer on top (top bun)
8.) Place a dab of honey on top of the top bun Nilla wafer and brush on evenly.
9.) Sprinkle sesame seeds lightly
10.) Smile at your cute little creation and store in a cool place!
Enjoy!
Spiced Rum Cake with Walnuts
Posted by Van Santos in Baking on December 13th, 2009
Two weeks ago I magically got involved in a “bake off” with a good friend at work. Our two departments have a semi-important meeting tomorrow, we thought we would have a little fun, and the next thing I know he and I are fighting for bragging rights.
Initially I was going to make a double layer white and chocolate cake but then the rules were set – we could not make an item we were comfortable with. After some thinking I decided, hey, I’m going with a spiced rum cake!
It is hard to find a recipe that doesn’t call for a box mix, so I went with my own version:
Spiced Rum Cake
2 cups cake flour
1 package of instant vanilla pudding
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1/2 canola oil
1/2 cup water
1/2 Captain Morgan spiced rum
1 cup chopped walnuts
Directions
1) Pre heat your oven to 325 degrees
2) Mix your flour, instant vanilla pudding, salt, baking powder, sugar, eggs, oil, water and rum until there are no lumps in the mixture.
3) Grease a 5 by 10 baking pan, pour in mixture
4) Sprinkle chopped walnuts on top of cake
5) Bake for 45 minutes at 325, then raise the heat to 350 and bake for an additional 15 to 25 minutes – you want to have the nuts brown to release the flavor.
6) Once finished, remove the cake from oven and let sit for 10 minutes and add the glaze (see below).
The Glaze
1 Cup of powdered sugar
1 table spoon of melted butter
1 teaspoon Captain Morgan Spiced Rum
Warm water (as needed)
1) Mix powdered sugar, butter and rum.
2) Add water by the teaspoon to your desired consistency. Note - chances are you will not want to go beyond 3 teaspoons as the consistency will become to watery.
3) Drizzle over cake and let set.
And the result…
Spiced Rum Cake with Walnuts
It took me some tweaking to get my white cake recipe down, not so in this case. First time out I managed to knock it out of the park.
I am blown away by this creation.
The vanilla pudding helps hold in the moisture and the nuts add a flavor that compliments the rum perfectly. This is a cake that can be taken everywhere – parties, dinner gatherings, work events… You will not be disappointed in any way.
There is a variation to this recipe I am trying, expect the post tomorrow.
Baked Bean and Corn Chimichangas
Posted by Eileen Devlin in Low Calorie, Main Course, Vegetarian Entree on December 12th, 2009
I am obviously on a cooking kick because right now I have too much to share. I made this dish this afternoon for lunch and dinner (since I work evenings) and am very well pleased with the results! If you like Mexican food here’s a way for you to do it yourself.
What you will need:
6-10 in. whole wheat flour tortillas
1/2 c chopped onion
1-15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1-8.5 oz can whole kernel corn, rinsed and drained
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 c purchased green salsa or red salsa (I went with tomatillo verde – spicy)
1/4 c snipped fresh cilantro
3 oz reduced fat monetery jack (I used Mexican blend) cheese (3/4 c shredded)
1. Preheat oven to 425. Coat a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Wrap tortillas in foil and heat in the oven for 5 mins.
2. For the filling, coat an unheated large skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook for about 5 min or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add black beans. Using a fork or potato masher,mash beans slightly. Stir in corn, tomatoes, and 1/2 c salsa. Heat through and stir in cilantro.
3. For assembly, spoon about 1/3 cup filling into each tortilla just below its center. Fold bottom edge of each tortilla up and over filling. Fold opposite sides in and over filling. Roll up from the bottom and if necessary secure edges with toothpicks. Place filled tortillas on prepared baking sheet with seam sides down. Coat top and sides of the filled tortillas with cooking spray.
4. Bake for 10-12 mins or until tortillas are golden brown and crisp. To serve, sprinkle with cheese and top with remaining salsa. Makes 6 servings.
***Take note: working with whole wheat tortillas (as this is a low calorie recipe) is a bit more cumbersome in comparison to flour or corn tortillas. If you have a few chimis that are not going to hold a perfect burrito-like shape before you put them in the oven (like I did) do not worry. Once they are baked, they are crispy and will pretty much hold until you put the salsa on top which softens it up again. Also, as you saw in the ingredient list I went with a tomatillo verde sauce (I prefers this over reds) and this was very spicy. Just know that when you choose a ‘level’ of spiciness of the salsa it will go in and outside the chimichanga. Lastly, I had enough of the filling to make an extra chimi. I do not know why this is as I followed the recipe exactly. You can also go with larger-sized tortillas if you want to stuff more filling in each. These chimis came out to be about a 1/3 of the size of restaurants (which are ginormous) – perfect for pairing with rice or salad!
Nutritional Information (per chimichanga):
Calories: 315
Total Fat: 11 g
Cholesterol: 10 mg
Protein: 16 g
Carbohydrate: 47 g
Fiber: 10 g
Sodium: 1147 mg
Pear-Almond Muffins with Ginger-Cream Spread
Posted by Eileen Devlin in Baking, Breakfast, Desserts, Low Calorie, Snacks on December 12th, 2009
The desire to make these turned into an unexpected late night mission and I have to say I am VERY glad I did it! I thought the combination of these flavors sounded interesting and I’ve never had a ‘pear muffin’ before. So, let’s get to the how-to, shall we?
You will require:
1 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c packed brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 c whole bran cereal
3/4 c fat-free milk
3/4 c chopped, peeled pear (I used bosc)
2 egg whites, slightly beaten
3 tbsp canola oil
2 tbsp finely chopped almonds
1. Preheat oven to 400 and prep your 12-2.5 in muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray. In a large bowl stir together your flour, brown sugar, baking powder, ginger, and salt. Make a well in the center of the mixture.
2. In a medium bowl stir together cereal and milk and let this stand for 5 min. Stir in egg whites, oil, and pear. Add this mixture then to your flour mixture and combine until moistened (batter should be lumpy).
3. Spoon batter into muffin cups – about 3/4 full. Sprinkle with almonds and bake for 15-18 mins or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
4. While the muffins are baking here is how to make the ginger-cream spread: in a small bowl combine 4 oz of light cream cheese with a 1/4 tsp of ground ginger OR 2 tsps finely crushed crystallized ginger and 2 add tsp of honey.
5. Cool muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 mins. Serve with the ginger-cream spread. Makes 12 servings. You WILL enjoy!
***Side note: you can also make the batter ahead of time and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and just bake a few at a time.
Nutritional Information:
Calories: 154
Total fat: 5 g
Cholesterol: 5 mg
Protein: 4 g
Carbohydrate: 24 g
Fiber: 2 g
Sodium: 163 mg
Bacon and Tomato pasta
Posted by Van Santos in Food, Pasta on December 11th, 2009
When I couldn’t sleep a few days back I went searching for a number of dishes I want to make. As a result, over the next several weeks you’ll enjoy the results of my evening with insomnia and it starts with this dish – Bacon and Tomato pasta.
For this adventure you’ll need:
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 16 ounces spaghetti pasta
- 1 pound thick-cut bacon or pancetta, chopped
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup red onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 3 tablespoons garlic, minced
- 2 cups Roma tomatoes, diced
- 1/4 cup red wine
- 4 tablespoons basil
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For my version I substituted Chili powder for the Red Pepper Flakes and also added dried Parsley.
You’ll have two things at once going on here, just be ready for it.
- Add 2 tablespoons kosher salt to a pot of boiling water, and the pasta and cook until tender
- In a large saute pan over medium heat, add bacon and saute until bacon is crispy.
- Remove bacon to drain on a paper towel-lined plate and remove 3/4 of the bacon fat from the pan.
- Add extra-virgin olive oil, onions, and red chili flakes. Cook until onions are translucent, add garlic, cook for 2 minutes then add tomatoes and saute for 5 minutes.
- Deglaze with wine.
- Drain pasta and add to the tomato mixture pan.
- Add basil and bacon.
- Toss with Parmesan, and add salt and pepper, to taste.
Your end result should look something like this…
Now here is the good new and the bad news.
The dish is good; however, the dish is NOT a main course. Seeing the effort time one needs to put into making the creation there is almost diminishing returns taking place.
Ok, on to the taste.
The wine, garlic and bacon mix perfectly. Add in the basil and there is a delicate addition to the dish that helps tie everything together. Yes, next time I make the dish, and I will make it again, I will give it a shot with the red pepper flakes. But was it stands it has the ability to add a little something to your meal.
Just remember, it’s not a main dish! it IS a main dish.
UPDATE:
Tina made a version of the dish and enjoyed it!
Scallops with Anise-Orange Tapenade
Posted by Eileen Devlin in Food, Low Calorie, Main Course, Seafood on December 10th, 2009
I made this for dinner tonight and absolutely fell in love! I am also a kalamata olive lover so I actually made half more of the tapenade than this recipe calls for. Once all the ingredients are ready, this dish does not take long at all to complete (that’s one of the great things about seafood). Lots of flavor! I will definitely be making this dish again. Hope you enjoy as well!
What you will need:
12 fresh/frozen sea scallops (about 1 1/4 lbs total)
1/3 c kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
1 green onion, sliced
1/2 tsp finely shredded orange peel
2 tsp orange juice
1/4 tsp anise seeds, crushed
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1. Thaw scallops, rinse and pat dry
2. For tapenade, in a small bowl combine olives, green onions, orange peel, orange juice, anise seeds, and cayenne pepper
3. Coat unheated large nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat over med-high heat. Add scallops and cook 3-6 mins or until scallops are opaque, turning once.
4. Serve with tapenade and if desired sprinkle with more orange peel. Makes 4 servings. (I served this with a parmesan rice side and a baby herb salad).
Nutritional Information:
Calories: 145
Total Fat: 3 g
Cholesterol: 47 mg
Protein: 24 g
Carbohydrate: 5 g
Fiber 1 g
Sodium: 353 mg
Tomato and Olive Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
Posted by Van Santos in Main Course, Vegetarian Entree on December 9th, 2009
Oh… the Tuesday evening dinner was simply amazing. I made a Tomato and Olive Stuffed Portobello Mushroom dish with a green salad side. I started by researching a number of recipes and landed on this recipe, so let me share the joy.
Tomato and Olive Stuffed Portobello
- 2/3 cup chopped plum tomatoes
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped Kalamata olives
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary or 1/8 teaspoon dried
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 4 portobello mushroom caps, 5 inches wide
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
This recipe calls for the mushrooms to be grilled, I however went for the oven.
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
- Combine tomatoes, cheese, olives, garlic, 1 teaspoon oil, rosemary and pepper in a small bowl.
- Discard mushroom stems. (well, really, I ate them…)
- Remove brown gills from the undersides of the caps using a spoon; discard gills. (yes, didn’t eat the gills)
- Mix the remaining 1 teaspoon oil, lemon juice and soy sauce in a small bowl.
- Brush the mixture over both sides of the caps.
- Line cookie pan with foil, grease to prevent sticking (I used Pam)
- Bake for 25 mins
I wanted a nice side salad for this dish – nothing too complicated – so I created a Sherry Vinaigrette.
Having no clue how to make a dressing, I kinda just went out on my own and got creative using a recent dish I had at a local place as a starting point. While they were not keen to give out the recipe, the tastes were very easy to pick out.
Green Salad with Sherry Vinaigrette:
- 1/3 cup sherry vinegar
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoons freshly ground peppercorn
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Blend the vinegar, garlic, oregano, salt, and black pepper in a blender and slowly add your oil. Boom – there you go!
For the salad you’ll need (well, you can do what you wish…but this a good starting point).
- fresh baby romaine
- 1 chayote
- 1 carrot
- feta cheese
Cut your chayote into thin slices, shave your carrot and add into the the baby romaine. Toss with some of your newly created dressing, add the feta cheese and toss once again.
Holy god was this dish amazing.
This was perfect mix of flavor in the mushrooms and the sherry vinegar in the salad dressing. A meal to be had by all!
Mocha Scones
Posted by Eileen Devlin in Baking, Breakfast, Desserts, Low Calorie, Snacks on December 8th, 2009
Anyone who knows me knows I love chocolate, especially if it’s combined with coffee or coffee flavoring. This is perfect for breakfast or a snack! I love this recipe so much I have made a couple batches in the last week.
What you will need:
1.5 c all purpose flour
1/2 c rolled oats
1/2 c sugar
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp instant coffee crystals
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 butter, cut into pieces
1 6-0z carton plain fat free yogurt or low-fat yogurt
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1/3 c semisweet chocolate pieces (I used Ghirardelli)
1. Preheat oven to 400 and lightly grease a large baking sheet. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl combine flour, rolled oats, sugar, cocoa powder, coffee crystals, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry blender (I didn’t need to but it would be faster and less taxing) cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture.
2. In a medium bowl combine yogurt and egg white. Stir in chocolate pieces. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and stir until moistened.
3. Turn out dough on a lightly floured surface. Knead by folding and gently pressing dough until nearly smooth. Pat into an 8×6 in rectangle. Cut rectangle crosswise into 4 strips. Cut each strip into 3 rectangles to make 12 pieces.
4. Place dough about 1 in apart on baking sheet and bake for 13-15 mins or until tops are set. Remove from baking sheet and allow to cool for at least 5 mins (or if you’re like me the hotter the better!). Makes 12 scones.
Nutritional information (per scone):
Calories: 185
Total Fat: 6 g
Cholesterol: 10 mg
Protein: 4 g
Carbohydrate: 30 g
Fiber: 2 g
Sodium: 153 mg
Tortilla-crusted chicken
Posted by Eileen Devlin in Food, Low Calorie, Main Course, Poultry on December 8th, 2009
With this being my first post I wanted to be sure the dish is well worth your try. Rest assured, it is. For something so simple there is a lot of flavor and texture.
You will need:
1 c finely crused multigrain tortilla chips
1/2 tsp dried oregano, crushed
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 egg
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 1/4 lb total)
shredded romain/salad
purchased salsa*
avocado slices
1. Preheat oven to 375 and coat a baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. In a shallow dish combine chips, cumin, oregano, and pepper. Place egg in another shallow dish; beat lightly. Dip chicken in egg and then coat with tortilla chip mixture.
2. Arrange chicken in prepared baking pan and bake for 25 minutes or until no longer pink. Serve on romaine and top with salsa and avocado. Makes 4 servings. Enjoy!
*I used a medium salsa for extra ‘kick’ and flavor.
Nutritional Information (per serving):
Calories: 230
Total Fat: 6 g
Cholesterol: 135 mg
Protein: 35 g
Carbohydrate: 7 g
Fiber: 1 g
Sodium: 143 mg
Change is a beautiful thing
Posted by Van Santos in Site News on December 7th, 2009
With Monica Jane moving on to her own site I’ve decided to change things up ever so slightly. The most obvious is the new theme, the second is the addition of a new author – Eileen Devlin. While her posting may be slow, another posters are always welcome to join. Just email me.
Also, I have made the decision that I’ll be posting at minimum twice a week. I will be targeting Sunday and Wednesday.
Thank you all for supporting the site, and for sharing your thoughts and suggestions on dishes. I look forward to the continued growth here at the site.
Baked Beer Can Chicken
Posted by Van Santos in Main Course, Poultry on December 6th, 2009
On Friday I went to dinner at TMG simply for the bison sliders but ended up with “Beer Can” chicken for my entrée. I was impressed with the dish, it was juicy and full of flavor. Right away I begin thinking “I can do this at home….” With a quick bit of searching I located Big Bud’s Beer Can Chicken and went to town.
I made two small modifications. For this you’ll need:
- 1 (2 to 3-pound) whole chicken
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 (12-ounce) can beer
- 1 pound bacon
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Wash chicken with cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
Mix dry ingredients in small bowl. Rub 1/2 of the ingredients on inside cavity of chicken. Gently peel skin away from chicken and rub mixture into meat of chicken. Open beer can pour out about 1/2 cup. Drop the garlic cloves into the beer can. Place chicken, open end down, over the beer can to insert the beer into the cavity. Place chicken, standing up, in large saute pan.
Place 1/3 of the bacon in the top cavity of the chicken and drape the remaining 2/3 of the bacon down the outside of the chicken. Pierce the bacon to the chicken with toothpicks… again, I didn’t have toothpicks so I opted for skewers.
Place chicken in the oven for 10 minutes and then lower temperature to 325 degrees F and cook for another 1 hour, or until the internal temperature in the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165 degrees. And you get…
The aroma of this dish cooking filled the entire condo, and as time marched closer to the finish I simply wanted to eat the chicken right from the oven.
Bacon and chicken, who could ask for anything more? The dish was actually more tended than I would have expected and the flavor provided by the rub was subtle, not overwhelming, but perfect for the chicken. This is a keeper.
I also made a small side, potatoes with butter and chives… nothing special but I thought it would go with the flavors in the rub.
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