Oven Baked Chicken

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Nothing is better than getting home after a long day of work than the smell of baked chicken and mashed potatoes! Pair it with a salad and you’ve got a healthy and hearty meat that will keep you feeling satisfied!

We personally like getting chicken quarters and separate them ourselves. For one, its typically cheaper that way. Two, the pieces are usually larger.

We always wait for them to go on sale at our favorite local discount grocery store. The last time we found them for $0.25 per pound! So we grabbed a ton and put them in our freezer. We’ve slowly been working through them, drastically lowering how much meat we’ve had to buy lately.

You’ll need a baking sheet and rack to keep the chicken out of its own grease as it cooks. That keeps it healthier and makes the skin extra crispy!

Oven Baked Chicken

Chicken, Comfort, Comfort Foods, Dinner, Meals for a Crowd, Meat

Oven Baked Chicken

Ingredients

6 chicken quarters, separated (or 6 thighs and 6 drumsticks)
1 TBS black pepper
1 TBS onion powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp Kamodo Joe Poultry seasoning
2 tsp smoked paprika

Instructions

In a small bowl, combine all seasonings. Mix thoroughly.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Sprinkle seasoning on one side of chicken and rub in. Flip chicken and repeat for the other side.
Place chicken on a baking rack on a baking sheet, skin side down.
Bake 50 – 60 minutes, flipping halfway through. Chicken is done when the largest thigh reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Craving barbecue instead? Check out this recipe!

May 2, 2019May 2, 2019

Grilled Chicken

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Growing up, my dad barbecued rain or shine, winter or summer. Its one of my favorite ways to cook, and since he moved away I haven’t had much of a chance to.

That was until this week when I finally had saved up enough to get my very own grill! (Review of that grill coming soon!) The stars aligned and we got chicken quarters for $0.25 a pound!! So I cooked them up on by new grill and instantly felt closer to my dad.

You can use your favorite BBQ sauce! We personally love Kraft’s sauces, especially Hickory and Mesquite. This time we used Hickory.

Grilled Chicken

Barbecue, Chicken, Comfort Foods, Dinner, Meals for a Crowd, Meat, Sauce, Summer

Grilled Chicken

Ingredients

10 lbs chicken leg quarters, seperated
2 TBS garlic powder
2 TBS onion powder
1 TBS black pepper
1 TBS yellow curry
1 tsp sea salt
35 oz BBQ sauce (it takes us 2 bottles of our favorite)

Instructions

Heat up your barbecue grill to 400 – 425 degrees Fahrenheit, or medium power if your grill doesn’t have a temperature gauge.
While the grill is warming up, mix spices in a medium bowl. Liberally sprinkle spice mixture onto each piece of chicken, covering both sides.
Place chicken on grill for 35 minutes for thighs, 30 minutes for drumsticks.
Put barbecue sauce in a medium bowl. Using a grilling brush, coat the top of the chicken with barbecue sauce. Cook for an additional 10 minutes for the thighs and an additional 5 minutes for the drumsticks.
Flip the pieces and coat with sauce a second time. Cook for another 5 minutes, flip and coat one more time. Chicken is done when the largest pieces reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss our upcoming recipes! Its summer time, so we’ll be grilling until we’re sick of it!

April 25, 2019April 29, 2019

Zesty Asian Sauce

Summer time means warm nights and fun times! One of our go to recipes for big parties is chicken. Every year we have a combined birthday party (all three of our birthdays are within a week) and this last year we had 20 lbs of fried chicken strips with a wide array of sauces. One of those was a copy cat recipe from our favorite wing joint! (The original sauce may or may not rhyme with PAsian Ping…)

Its great hot or cold, coated all over the chicken or used as a dipping sauce.

Need something to put it on? Try out our Fried Chicken Strips or make them air fried for a healthier twist.

Zesty Asian Sauce

Chinese, Dinner, Meat, Sauce

Zesty Asian Sauce

Ingredients

2 tsp corn starch
4 tsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup Sriracha
1 TBS soy sauce
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

In a medium sauce pan, combine all ingredients except for sesame seeds.
Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cook through until thoroughly combined and desired consistency.

To coat chicken in sauce:

Place chicken you want to coat in a large mixing bowl. Pour sauce into bowl.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap – make sure it is tight! Holding the bowl in both hands, toss chicken and sauce using a circular motion. If chicken and sauce are hot the plastic wrap may expand due to steam.

We also suggest adding sesame seeds to give it that final touch.

Not spicy enough for you? Try our Mango Habanero sauce for a sweet and spicy kick!

April 25, 2019April 29, 2019

Deep Fried Chicken Strips

Disclosure: Some links in this post may be affiliate links, meaning that at no additional cost to you I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

My wife worked for a chicken fast food joint for the first 2 years of our marriage. They let her take home leftovers, so for a long time we had free chicken – old, dry chicken, but everything free is good, right?

Since she quit we’ve been craving fried chicken, and we’ve found a recipe that is nice on the wallet and great with a wide array of dipping sauces! (Including our Zesty Asian and Mango Habanero sauces)

If you want that extra crispy crust we definitely recommend deep frying! If you are looking for a healthier twist check out our Air Fried Chicken Strips recipe.

Deep Fried Chicken Strips

Chicken, Comfort Foods, Dinner, Fried, Meals for a Crowd, Meat

Deep Fried Chicken Strips

Ingredients

2.5 lbs dark meat chicken strips (cut strips from thighs – you should get about 4 from each thigh)
Hot sauce
5 cups flour
1/4 cup onion powder
1/4 cup garlic powder
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup cayenne pepper or to taste
10 eggs
1/4 cup milk

Instructions

Marinade chicken strips in hot sauce for up to 24 hours.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, onion powder, garlic powder, and black pepper. Add cayenne pepper to make spicy tenders, or leave it out for a milder breading.
In a shallow bowl combine eggs and milk.
Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove chicken from marinade and pat dry.
Dredge strips in flour mixture first – shaking off excess flour. Then dip the strip into the egg mixture, and again into the flour mixture. Lightly shake off excess flour.
Place strips in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Place all breaded strips into the freezer for at least two hours for flour to stick to chicken.
Heat deep fryer to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Fry chicken strips in hot oil until golden brown – about 8 minutes.

Notes

It makes it easier to bread the chicken if you use one hand for removing the chicken from the flour mixture and one hand for removing it from the wet mixture. If you don’t then you will coat your fingers in breading. After freezing chicken can be placed in freezer safe bags and kept for up to three months.

April 25, 2019December 5, 2019

Air Fried Chicken Strips

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We got an Air Fryer from my in-laws for Christmas and we have been cooking up a storm. One thing we’ve made plenty of is our freeze ahead chicken strips! When we are feeling naughty we deep fry them (see that recipe here), but we’re both trying to eat healthier.

With the air fryer you get all the crisp with a lot less oil!

Pair these with our Zesty Asian sauce or Mango Habanero Sauce for a spicy kick!

Air Fried Chicken Strips

Air Fryer, Chicken, Comfort Foods, Dinner, Fried, Meals for a Crowd, Meat

Air Fried Chicken Strips

Ingredients

2.5 lbs dark meat chicken strips (cut strips from thighs – you should get about 4 from each thigh)
Hot sauce
5 cups flour
1/4 cup onion powder
1/4 cup garlic powder
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup cayenne pepper or to taste
10 eggs
1/4 cup milk

Instructions

Marinade chicken strips in hot sauce for up to 24 hours.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, onion powder, garlic powder, and black pepper. Add cayenne pepper to make spicy tenders, or leave it out for a milder breading.
In a shallow bowl combine eggs and milk.
Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove chicken from marinade and pat dry.
Dredge strips in flour mixture first – shaking off excess flour. Then dip the strip into the egg mixture, and again into the flour mixture. Lightly shake off excess flour.
Place strips in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Place all breaded strips into the freezer for at least two hours for flour to stick to chicken.
Preheat air fryer. Just before placing in fryer basket, lightly coat tenders in oil using a oil mister or brush. Cook in single layer at 380 degrees Fahrenheit for 6 minutes. Open fryer and flip strips. Cook for an additional 6 minutes.

Notes

April 22, 2019April 22, 2019

Pork & Veggie Stir Fry

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The few times we get carry out, we have a favorite Chinese place we go to. Their family combos are to die for, and we always add on an extra order of their crispy cream cheese wontons.

Since we can’t get out as often as we would like, we’ve found its cheaper to make our favorite Asian inspired dishes ourselves. This pork stir fry gives you all the umami you’d expect from your favorite place with the ease of staying in home while you whip it up hot in your own wok!

We cook up our rice in our pressure cooker to make it fast and fluffy! No need to get a single function rice cooker!

We used a bag of frozen veggies from Costco to make ours. You can always substitute fresh produce in, but we find it is often cheaper to grab these veggies frozen – especially when they aren’t in season.

Pork & Veggie Stir Fry

Chinese, Comfort Foods, Dinner, Meat, Pork, Splurge

Pork & Veggie Stir Fry

Ingredients

3 TBS olive oil, divided
3 lbs pork, cut into bite sized pieces
2 1/2 lbs frozen stir fry vegetables**
1 TBS garlic powder
2 tsp powdered ginger

For the Sauce

3 TBS corn starch
6 TBS cold water
1 tsp chicken base
3/4 cup water
6 TBS soy sauce
3/4 cup honey
3 TBS toasted sesame oil
2 tsp or to taste crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions

Make the Sauce:

In a medium bowl, whisk corn starch and cold water. Add remaining sauce ingredients, mixing as you go. Set aside

Start the Stir fry:

Add 1 1/2 TBS olive oil to deep skillet or wok and heat over medium high heat. Add pork, cook in batches if necessary, and add salt and pepper to taste as cooking. Cook for 5 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from pan.
Add remaining oil and reduce heat to medium. Add frozen vegetables to pan, stirring occasionally until heated through but not soggy.
Add garlic powder and powdered ginger and cook for a minute. Add pork back into pan, stirring to combine.
Mix sauce again in case of separation. Our over meat and vegetables, stirring gently to coat.
Increase heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Let boil for a minute.
Remove from heat. Serve hot over rice.

Notes

**The frozen bag of vegetables we use includes: broccoli, sugar snap peas, green beans, carrots, mushrooms, red bell peppers, water chestnuts and yellow onions. You can use 2 1/2 lbs of whatever fresh vegetables you like. When cooking, cook vegetables until cooked through but still a little crisp.

April 15, 2019April 12, 2019

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

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Spring is in the air – but if you live anywhere like we do, April still has a chill in the air. Around here that means soup time!

One of our heartiest and budget friendly soups is our Taco Soup! Filled with lots of protein and brimming with flavor, we can never have enough!

You can make this recipe even simpler if you want to use canned beans instead of soaking your own. Or make it faster by using a pressure cooker to cook up your beans!

Garnished with tortilla chips, sour cream, and green onions for a fiesta in a bowl!

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

Comfort, Comfort Foods, Dinner, Meals for a Crowd, Meat, Mexican, Pork, Soup

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

Ingredients

3 lbs pork shoulder, cut into bite sized chunks
1 1/2 cups dried pinto beans
1 1/2 cups dried black beans
1 1/2 cups dried kidney beans
5 TBS Taco Seasoning
2 cans of diced tomatoes
1 can of corn
7 cups of water
2 TBS of chicken base powder
2 medium Anaheim peppers, finely chopped and separated
1 bunch of green onion, chopped
1 lb of cheddar cheese, shredded
Sour cream
Tortilla chips

Instructions

Mix dried beans in a large bowl or pot. Fill bowl with enough water to cover the beans. Soak overnight. Drain beans.
Mix beans, pork, 4 TBS of the taco seasoning, diced tomatoes, 3 cups of water, 1 TBS chicken base and corn in a 6 QT slow cooker. Cook on high for 2 hours.
Add 1/2 of a medium Anaheim pepper. Cook for another 5 hours on high.
Add remaining water, chicken base, and taco seasoning. Cook for an additional 2 hours, bringing the total cook time to 9 hours.
Garnish soup with tortilla chips, remaining Anaheim peppers, green onions, cheese, and sour cream.

Notes

If using canned beans use 3 15oz cans of beans, drained, for each variety. They will not need to be soaked. Reduce cook time by 1 hour and cook on low instead of high.

March 19, 2019April 8, 2019

Sausage and Cheese Baked Ravioli

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I can never have enough Italian food! Its by far my favorite food “genre”. Bright acidic tomatoes paired with cheese and pasta – you can’t go wrong!

These ravioli are the perfect classic. Baked to perfection and smothered in red sauce, you and your family will not be able to resist! Don’t plan on there being any leftovers…

Sausage and Cheese Baked Ravioli

Cheese, Comfort Foods, Dinner, Italian, Meat, Pasta, Uncategorized

Sausage and Cheese Baked Ravioli

Ingredients

1 lb mozzarella cheese
1 lb ricotta cheese
1 lb ground Italian sausage
8 eggs
4 cups flour
4-8 oz cans of tomato sauce
1 TBS onion powder
1 TBS garlic powder
1/3 cup Italian seasoning

Instructions

Make the pasta –

Put the flour into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour.
Crack eggs into the flour, pop yolks and mix flour into the eggs in the well using a fork. Then thoroughly combine mixture until you have formed a dough. If it sticky, add small amounts of flour until the desired consistency. If dry and cracking, add small amounts of water until the desired consistency.
Roll pasta out using a rolling pin to about 1/8” in thickness and to larger than 5×10”. Trim pasta into a 5×10” rectangle.
Slice the rectangle into two sections – 2×10” and 3×10”.
Take the 3×10” piece and roll it out longer, making it 3×12”.

Make the Filling –

In a medium skillet, cook ground sausage. Remove from heat and cool.
In a large mixing bowl, combine mozzarella and ricotta cheese.

Making the ravioli –

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly coat baking sheet with olive oil and set aside.
Using the 2×10” rectangle of pasta and starting 1” from the edges, begin adding 1TBS of cheese mixture about every 2”. Place some sausage on each mound of cheese.
Make an egg wash (1TBS of water per egg, beat together) and brush it between each mound of cheese and sausage and along the edges of the pasta sheet.
Carefully lift the 3×12” sheet of pasta and place over other pasta, cheese, and sausage. Press down between each mound, making sure to seal.
Using a knife or ravioli cutter, cut in between each mound to create 2” pieces. To finish sealing pieces, use a fork or other crimping tool to push down along the edges of each piece.
Place pieces onto baking sheet. Lightly brush the top of the pieces with olive oil.
Bake for 6-8 minutes until golden brown.

Making the sauce –

In a medium sauce pan, combine the tomato sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning.
Bring to a light boil. Allow to cool, spread over baked ravioli.

Don’t feel like cutting your own ravioli? We found this nifty ravioli stamp set that we’ve added to our wish list for Christmas!

Ravioli Stamp Set,MASTER FENG Ravioli Maker Cutter Stamp, Mold with Wooden Handle and Fluted Edge

March 13, 2019March 13, 2019

Old Fashioned Spaghetti

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Spaghetti is my favorite food! I ate it by the pound when I was an athlete in high school. I love how versatile it can be. You can go as simple as a jar from the store (not my favorite, but its something) to this recipe here.

Although its hearty and has a variety of textures and tastes, this spaghetti is surprisingly cheap. You can go even cheaper by leaving out the meat!

I recently started making my own pasta, and this recipe includes one for spaghetti noodles! Definitely worth the effort if you have a little extra time!

Old Fashioned Spaghetti

Comfort Foods, Dinner, Italian, Meat, Pasta

Old Fashioned Spaghetti

Ingredients

48oz canned tomato sauce
3 – 14.5oz cans of diced tomatoes
1lb ground Italian sausage
1lb Italian linked sausage
4TBS olive oil
3/4 lb brown crimini mushrooms
2 green bell peppers
3/4 cup Italian seasoning
1/2 cup onion powder
1/2 cup garlic powder

For the Pasta

3 eggs
1 1/2 cup flour

Instructions

In two separate pans, cook the ground sausage and sausage links in olive oil (2TBS per pan) until cooked through. Remove from heat, drain oil, and set aside.
In large sauce pan, add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and spices. Cover and bring to a slow boil over medium heat. Once the sauce begins to bubble, add the sliced bell peppers and mushrooms. Cover and bring back up to a low boil.
Lower heat and simmer for 1 ½ hours. Add tomato paste. Simmer for an additional 30 minutes.
Layer sauce over al dente angel hair pasta. Top with grated parmesan cheese.

Homemade Pasta

Put the flour into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour.
Crack eggs into the flour, pop yolks and mix flour into the eggs in the well using a fork. Then thoroughly combine mixture until you have formed a dough. If it sticky, add small amounts of flour until the desired consistency. If dry and cracking, add small amounts of water until the desired consistency.
Use an adjustable pasta roller to finish the dough. Place the dough through the roller at the largest size setting. Adjust the roller down a size and roll pasta sheet through again. If holes form in the sheet fold in half and place back into roller at the same thickness you just used. Continue rolling pasta, adjusting to next lowest setting until desired thickness. If your roller comes with a spaghetti cutting tool, use it to slice the sheet. If not, place sheet on large clean prep surface. Use a very sharp knife to cut noodles to desired length and width.
Allow pasta to dry flat. Once dry, store in an airtight container until ready to cook. Cook pasta in boiling salted water until desired doneness.

March 10, 2019March 10, 2019

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

In our house we love to cook things low and slow! Nothing tastes better than tender pork cooked to perfection. The only problem is how much effort it can take.
That is unless you use our slow cooker recipe!
Perfect for the summer time, this pork has gotten many the compliment and pat on the back. It’s a go to recipe when I have a potluck. And it’s versatile! Shredded pork tacos? You are set! Barbecue sandwiches? Done!
We prefer to cook for about 14 hours – crazy, I know. But I have never met a more tender pork with such a basic recipe!
Stick it in your favorite slow cooker and let it stew. Here are a few of our favorites:

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Dinner, Meals for a Crowd, Meat, Pork

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Ingredients

4 cups warm water
1TBS chicken bouillon
10lb bone in pork shoulder

Instructions

In a medium bowl, combine the warm water and chicken bouillon.
Carve the pork shoulder – removing excess fat and removing most of the meat off of the bone. Cut meat into chunks to fit into slow cooker (about 3” squared pieces, they do not have to be uniform). Save the bone.
Put half of the bouillon into the crockpot. Put all the meat into the crock pot. Put in the remaining half of the liquid. If there is room in the crockpot place the bone at the top to make a richer pork taste. If you can’t fit it in or don’t want that strong of a flavor, save the bone for soups!
Place the lid on the slow cooker. Cook on high for 10 hours.
Remove bone and use tongs or forks to break up the meat.** Cook on low for another 4 hours
Use tongs to serve.

Notes

**If you are adding barbeque sauce, taco sauce, or any other sauces, add it at this step.