Oven Roasted Split Chicken with Vegetables

All kinds of chicken cuts were on sale at our local grocery store last week. I managed to pick up 6 pieces of split chicken (3 whole chicken in total) for less than $5!!! Mind you, they were not tiny. Those are regular sized (I would even dare say that they rather large) chickens. I wanted to make something simple and quick for dinner, so I just roasted one chicken (2 pieces of split) with some vegetables. It turned out to be really good. Here's the recipe.

Start off by cleaning the chicken under cool water and pat it dry with a some kitchen towels. Then, spray on some cooking oil onto the chicken and rub on your favorite chicken marinade. No prize for guessing what I used. Yes, of course I used Chef Paul Prudhomme's Magic Poultry Marinade :P Once you have seasoned the chicken on both sides, place it onto a deep baking dish. You can see from the picture that I placed the chicken on a rack that I set up inside the baking dish. This is to allow all the fat to drain to the bottom of the pan, so that the chicken doesn't sit in fat, while cooking. If you do not have a rack, you can just place it inside a deep baking dish. It might be a little bit more greasy but it still works.
Set the chicken aside. Now it's time to work on the vegetables. Peel and cut up one large sweet potato into small chunks. Depending on the size of your sweet potato, you might need two.
Then, place it into a big bowl together with some red potatoes (also cut into small chunks) and some fresh mushrooms (half them if they are too big). You can also add in some carrot if you like.
Next, pour in some balsamic vinaigrette followed by some lemon juice. Mix it all in with all the vegetables. You do not need a lot, just enough to coat the vegetables.
Once you have mixed the dressing with the vegetables, sprinkle in some dried thyme and rosemary followed by some freshly cracked black pepper. Give the vegetables another good stir and it's done.
Arrange the vegetables around the sides of the chicken. Then pop it into a preheated 400F oven for about 40 minutes.
After about 40 minutes, take out the chicken from the oven. Baste it with some melted butter. This will help to brown the chicken nicely as well as help make the skin crispy. Return the chicken into the oven for another 20 minutes or so and it should be done! Allow the chicken to rest for about 5-10 minutes before serving. I just love this recipe. It's so easy to make! Just prepare everything in one dish and pop it all into the oven. You should try it out, it's yummy!

Simple Salisbury Steak

Both Kevin and I have always liked eating Salisbury Steak. In fact, it's one of my favorite dishes to order whenever we go to a diner. However, I have never gotten around to making it at home (should have tried it a long time ago!). I had some minced meat sitting around in my fridge a while ago, so I decided to search for it's recipe online. To my surprise, it turned out to be so easy to make! I changed the recipe around a bit (based on what I had in my pantry at that moment) and it turned out to be awesome! Here's how I make my version of the Salisbury Steak.

Start off by adding one extra large egg to a lbs of ground beef. Stir in the egg with the meat until it's evenly mixed.
Then, add in about 1/4 cups of milk. You can add in a little bit more, depending on how wet/dry the mixture is. I would usually just eyeball, when it comes to stuff like that.
After that, add in some Worcestershire sauce. I just love the taste of Worcestershire sauce. I pretty much use it for everything...burgers, steaks, chicken....etc :P Mix all the ingredients together.
Now, it's time to add in the dry ingredients. Mix in a packet of onion soup mix followed by some Italian breadcrumbs. If you do not have Italian breadcrumbs, regular ones will work too.
Once you have mixed all the ingredients together, it's time to get your hands dirty. Using your hands, just make sure that all the ingredients are nicely and evenly mixed. Then, separate the minced meat into 6 portions and form 6 large patties (there are only 4 patties in the picture cos I can't fit 6 into a plate :P). Remember to compact the meat together tightly, so that it doesn't break apart during cooking. You can sprinkle some breadcrumbs at the bottom of the plate to prevent the meat from sticking, if you like. Cover it with some plastic wrap and allow it to sit in the fridge for about an hour.
Now it's time to give our Salisbury Steak some color. Heat some oil in a pan on high heat. Then, add in the patties. I only cooked two (since it's only the two of us) patties and saved the other 4 patties for another day. I just had to put them between some wax paper, place them into a freezer bag and pop them into the freezer. So, you can pretty much make a large batch and keep the patties in the freezer for quite a long time. The purpose of pan frying the patties is just to give it color. You do not have to cook the meat all the way through. Once it's nicely browned on both sides, remove it from the pan and set it aside.
Using the same pan, we shall now make the sauce. Add in some chopped portobello mushrooms into the pan. Mix it around and make sure that you scrap off all the nice leftover brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
Once the mushrooms have soften a little, add in some brown gravy. I made the gravy by mixing some water with a packet of instant brown gravy mix. You can also use brown gravy that comes in a bottle or if you really really want to, you can make it from scratch. Mix it all together and all ow it to simmer.
Once the sauce have reduced a little, it is done. Arrange the meat patties on a lightly greased baking pan and then pour the sauce over. Cover it with aluminium foil and it's ready for baking.
Pop the baking pan into a preheated 375F oven and allow it to cook for about 35-45 minutes (depending on your oven). As you can see, I also had some baked potatoes in the oven. I placed the potatoes in the oven when I started making the sauce earlier. This way, both the Salisbury Steak and Baked Potatoes will be done at almost the same time. After about 40 minutes or so, the Salisbury Steak is done! I then sprinkled some fried onions on top and served it with a side of baked potato and some sweet corn. Another simple and uber yummy dinner!! :D

American Shepards Pie

Kevin loves Shepards Pie. He has hinted quite a number of times that I should try and make some for dinner but I never really got around to it. I finally managed to do so sometime last week and I guess it turned out pretty good. Oh just to clarify some things, when I say Shepards Pie, I am refering to the American style Shepards Pie. Unlike the traditional English style Shepards Pie (which is made out of lamb or mutton), the American style Shepards Pie is made out of beef and has a little tomato paste in the filling. I think the English would call what I am making today Cottage Pie. Shepards Pie, Cottage Pie...it doesn't really matter what it's called. The bottom line is, it's really simple to make and it's super yummy. That's all that matters :P So, let me share with you this really easy to make 'Shepards Pie' recipe.

Start off by browning about 1 lbs of minced beef. Once it's brown, drain and set aside.

Then, melt 1/2 a stick of butter in a large pan.

Once the butter is melted, throw in some chopped onions. I used one really large onion, so if the onions that you have is small, use two.

Next, throw in some frozen peas and carrots.

Mix the peas and carrots with the onions and then add in some sliced mushrooms.

Allow everything to cook for a bit. Once it's almost cooked, add in the minced beef that you browned earlier.

Mix the minced beef with the rest of the ingredients and add in some Worcestershire sauce. I can't really tell you how much to put in cos I just eyeballed it. Just enough to season it nicely will do.

Next goes in the tomato paste. I just used about half a small can of tomato paste. Mix everything together, allow it to cook for a little bit more and the filling's done!

Once it has cooled down for a bit, transfer the filling to a deep baking dish.

Now it's time to make some mashed potatoes. You can either make it from scratch or you can just make it out from the box. I was feeling lazy, so I made things simple for myself by using instant mashed potatoes out from a box. Just follow the instructions on the back of the box, it's really simple.

Then, add in some shredded cheese into the mashed potatoes. You do not have to add any cheese if you do not want to. The cheese just makes it extra cheesy and yummy!

Now, scoop the mashed potatoes and place it on top of the filling. Remember to rough up the potatoes with a fork. By doing so, it helps the peaks brown nicely in the oven.

Once you are done with the potatoes, it's ready to go into the oven. Just place it in a 400F oven for about 30-45 minutes. Once it start bubbling and the peaks are brown, you know that it's done! There you have it. A simple and really yummy American Shepards Pie recipe.

Oven Bag BBQ Pork Ribs

I actually made this a couple of weeks ago but just never got around to blogging about it. Ribs were on sale at our local grocery store and we managed to buy a nice looking full rack of ribs for under $7! It was such a good deal.

We also bought a bottle of Stubb's Smokey Mesquite Bar-B-Q Sauce to be used as a marinade. Stubb's originated from Austin, TX and it's really really good. A sweet sauce with just the right combination of molasses and mesquite.

I cut the full rack of ribs into half (it's too large to fit into a large Ziploc bag), placed them in a large Ziploc bag and poured in the BBQ sauce to marinade the ribs. I left it to marinade for about 24 hours in the refrigerator.

When it's time to cook the ribs, place some flour into the oven bag, shake it and make sure that it evenly coats the bag. This is to ensure that the ribs doesn't stick to the bag while cooking.

Put the bag in a large baking dish and place the ribs it.

Tie up the bag and make sure you poke some holes in it with a knife (it's to allow steam to escape while cooking).

Pop it in a 350F oven for about 45 minutes.

Now it's time to prepare the sauce to baste the ribs later on. Scoop some dark brown sugar into a bowl.

Add in some BBQ sauce.

Pour in some Ginger Ale and mix all the ingredients together.

After 45 minutes, remove the ribs from the oven and cut open the bag. Baste the ribs with the sauce. Put it back into the oven for about 10 minutes. Continue to baste the ribs at 10 minute intervals for another 2 times.

Here it is! Tender and juicy BBQ ribs that just falls off the bones. Cooking it in an oven bag is the best way to ensure that you have juicy ribs that just falls of the bones.

I served the ribs with Mashed Potatoes and Italian Green Beans with Bacon. It's really easy to make. Just brown the bacon, remove it and drain away some of the oil from the pan. Add in the Italian green beans, stir fry it for a bit and return the bacon to the pan. Sprinkle on some black pepper, garlic salt and Parmesan cheese. Just continue to stir fry everything together for couple more minutes and it's done! There you go. A simple but yummy Southern style dinner.

German Potato Salad

I just love potato salads. It's a great summertime dish that is so flexible, you can serve it with almost anything. You can serve it as a side dish for fried chicken, pork chops, baked ham..the list is endless. It's also good for picnics and BBQs. There are so many different types of potato salads but here is the recipe that I always make. I am not sure exactly what kind of potato salad this is, but I think it's closest to the German Potato Salad.

First, clean the potatoes thoroughly. Then place it in a big pot of boiling salted water and allow it to cook.

While the potatoes are boiling in water, slice some bacon and fry it up in a pan.

Remove the bacon from the oil and allow it to drain on some paper towels.

Once the potatoes are soft and cooked, remove them from the boiling water and peel. Be careful, the potatoes are very very hot.

Chop up the potatoes into smaller cubes and place them in a large mixing bowl.

Add in 2 chopped up hard boil eggs.

Then, throw in the chopped onions.

Next goes in the bacon.

Scoop in a few dollops of mayo and mix everything together.

If you like, you can add in some sweet relish and mustard at this point. Mix it all up.

Crack in some black pepper and garlic powder.

Mix it all together well and it's done. You can sprinkle on some parsley before serving. So far, it's one of the yummiest potato salad recipe that I have tried so far. Try it, I'm sure you will like it.