Jerk Chicken, Pineapple, and Jalapeno Quesadillas

I wish I could take credit for how mouthwatering and tingling this recipe is, but it's not my original thought. The fab Pioneer Woman blogged this, I saw it and had to try and make it my own! My mouth was burning and I loved it! Shocker...sometimes I don't feel like cooking. It was almost a random snacks for dinner kind of night after my yoga class but I pulled it together and decided this was more than worth the (little) effort. I used a jerk marinade instead of BBQ sauce...it takes me back to spring break in Jamaica, oh lord! Play some reggae, and enjoy a Red Stripe or a Ting while you make this spicy snacker. Try not to put on a dance show on your patio or backyard, we are too old for that now. Sad face!!!

Ingredients (for 1 stacked quesadilla)

1 boneless skinless chicken breast
2 whole wheat flour tortillas
1/4 cup jerk marinade (I used Lawry's, it's buy one get one free often, and coupons are easy to find)
1 whole jalapeno, sliced (remove the seeds if you aren't into spice)
1 small handful parsley, chopped (or cilantro, I have a love/hate relationship with cilantro)
1/4 - 1/2 cup cheddar cheese (or as much as it takes to cover the tortilla....I <3 cheese)
1/4 cup pineapple, sliced into sections (I use the precut stuff)
BBQ sauce for drizzling (try the Homemade BBQ sauce or whatever you have on hand)
Sour Cream for serving

Start by marinating the chicken in the jerk marinade for at least 30 minutes. Jerk marinade has a ton of ingredients in it, so for a girl on a budget it's easier to buy the prepared marinade. Don't reinvent the wheel. Skewer the pineapple pieces and place both the pineapple and the chicken over medium heat on the grill (or grill pan). Grill the pineapple until it starts to get brown and caramelized. Grill the chicken until the juices run clear and it's white in the center. Remove the chicken and pineapple from the grill to assemble. While you are getting everything together preheat a nonstick skillet. Slice the jalapeno into thin slices, removing the seeds if you don't want the heat.

Chop the parsley, pineapple, and chicken and layer onto the tortilla with half the cheese. Add the jalapenos.

Drizzle the BBQ sauce over top and add some more cheese and the top tortilla.

In a nonstick skillet heat the quesadilla on both sides until brown and the cheese is melted. It should take a couple minutes per side depending on what type of tortilla you use. Once it's melty and yummy cut into quarters and serve with sour cream and garnish with parsley.

It's so spicy, and sweet and naughty! The combination is perfect. It keeps you eating, and eating, and eating. Not that I need any help with that!!! :)

My First Try at Container Gardening!

As part of my obsession of making things from scratch I started a container garden! Who knows if I will get anything from it but it's such a fun new hobby! I have four containers and I'm growing herbs, which are pretty fool proof, and trying out some vegetables. My mom and I spent our Sunday morning at Lowe's getting everything together and we are soooo proud. We started from seedlings, rather than seeds to help ensure a harvest. So far I am growing sweet basil, lemon thyme, dill, flat leaf parsley, eggplant, zucchini, tomato, jalapeno, serrano peppers, and cucumber. I want to add another container of lettuce, baby carrots, and radishes too. I have to make sure there is room for all the plants to get sun, and still allow room for Peyton's watch dog bed. He gets pretty upset when his turf is infringed upon. I get way to into these domestic things. B thinks I am going to have a farm by the time he moves home. Ya never know!!! :) Here are my planties...

Weekend Out!!

Such a great weekend with my mom! I think I gained 10 lbs! Back to the grind today :( I had to do two-a-days at the gym to get myself mentally back in the game. And finals at school. Oh my gosh I hate them. Mom come back! Life would be so easy if we could just sit on the beach, drink beers, and go out to dinner every night. We ate so much, I can't control myself when I go out to eat. I want bread, appetizers, salad, main course...must eat all things! I started out doing well with taking pictures of everything but then I went fat kid and starting diving in as soon as it hit the table and forgot the picture. Grrr! So Friday night we went to Coast Bar & Grill and started with the raw oyster sampler. I have always loved raw oysters, I ate them when I was a little kid but wouldn't eat a single vegetable. The sampler had a delicious variety of local oysters and oysters from the colder waters up north. They brought out the biggest oysters I have ever seen in my life. They are called Tatamagouche Oysters from Nova Scotia. Wow, check these out....

These are the "mack daddy" of all oysters!

Look at the size of that shell!

Oh man I just relived it! For the main course I chose the wood grilled tuna with a basil chimichurri sauce, blue cheese mashed potatoes, and a sauteed vegetable medley. It was so delicious! I would never have thought of tuna with chimichurri and I will certainly have to recreate this at home.

Gorgeous grill marks!

My mom about died over her meal. She had the chef's special of local redfish over a black bean chili. I don't even like beans and I tried it...amazing! The picture does not do it justice. Bacon, black beans, tomatoes, carrot, green onion, peppers...oh my!

Then we went to Wild Olive Restaurant, not in the same night of course. I apologize a million times over that I don't have pictures but I wanted to share how impressed I was in our meal anyway. We started with the Chargrilled Octopus with Pancetta, Palmetto Onion and Steamer Potatoes. It sounds heavy, but it was light, fresh and the perfect starter. I was so excited when it hit the table I  jumped right in and I'm so mad I forgot the picture. My mom had the softshell crab entree with horseradish mashed potatoes and garlic sauteed spinach. Of course it was fabulous, she couldn't stop raving. I had the ravioli stuffed with collards and cheese, ham hock sugo, and spiced pecans. We both got the half portion and it was just right. I can't say enough about how delicious this meal was. We talked about it for the rest of the night. :)

See why I had to double up at the gym today! And I didn't even include the bottles of wine and loaves of bread I shoved into my face like I was in the Hunger Games (had to throw that in there)!

Margarita Pizza

Ello again!!! So today is my birthday, whoop whoop. I am actually feeling kind of indifferent to it because I'm not exactly 21 anymore, and B is a million miles away. I am perking myself up with an early glass of wine (don't judge, it's my birthday!), watching my favs on Always Sunny in Philly, and doing some bloggin'. Then I will decide what I feel like doing tonight. Maybe some live reggae? Tapas (girls love tapas)? Dance party? Snuggling with the dog? Lowes? I don't know. I don't know if I'll have time, I'm pret-tay popular. My mom is coming in town tomorrow so I won't be doing much, if any, cooking this weekend. I will be going to fancy restaurants and taking pictures of what I eat to tell y'all about it though. All that is way off topic to margarita pizza...back to business. I made this yesterday when I was kind of hungry but didn't feel like getting too crazy in the kitchen. It's so easy because there are only a few ingredients and you basically throw it together and put it in the oven. And who doesn't love pizza! Of course I used my homemade ranch for dipping because anything else is just silly. 

Ingredients

Store bought pizza crust of your choice (I used whole wheat thin crust)

Fresh mozzarella

1 whole tomato

1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Fresh basil, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Balsamic Vinegar for drizzling

Following the directions for whatever brand of pizza crust you use preheat the oven (450 degrees for me). Drizzle the pizza crust with olive oil. Slice tomato and mozzarella into thin slices and layer on pizza crust. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. 

Bake the pizza using the directions from the pizza crust. I like to turn the broiler on for the last minute to get the tomatoes toasty and the cheese bubbly but if you do this you have to stare at it the whole time. It will burn! 

When it comes out of the oven, drizzle with balsamic vinegar and sprinkle on chopped basil. 

Yummmm! And it's also not too bad for you. Delicioso! Ciao bella! (I started the post with a British accent, and ended Italian cause I'm cool like that)

Lowfat Buttermilk Ranch

Ranch dressing has my heart. I put it on everything from veggies to pizza. My pizza and ranch addiction started at JMU with Chanello's pizza. They delivered until around 3 in the morning and it came with a big thing of ranch. Of course we always ordered cheesy bread to go with it, extra ranch. Oh to have the metabolism of a college student again! Ranch on fries, grilled cheese and ranch, carrots and ranch, ranch with anything fried. I love it! Good thing I work out or I'd be in trouble.  I think I have tried just about every brand in the grocery store and I can't quite get the taste and texture I am looking for. Besides the fact that it's loaded in fat, and fat free and light bottled ranch is pretty nasty. Lately I have been on this greek yogurt kick as well as my make everything from scratch kick. This recipe is a combination of Ellie Krieger's Food Network Recipe and me throwing things from the kitchen in and tasting. At first, I wasn't blow away but I let it sit in the fridge for a few hours and it really came together. I can't even tell it's low in fat. Play around with the recipe to find exactly what you are looking for in your perfect ranch. It's like finding a best friend :)

Ingredients
1/3 cup nonfat greek yogurt
1/3 cup lowfat buttermilk
3 tbsp. olive oil mayonnaise
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp dijon mustard
1-2 tsp. fresh minced garlic
1 tbsp minced fresh chives
1 tbsp minced fresh parsley
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Add all the ingredients to a mixing bowl and whisk until combined. The consistency should be pourable but not watery. Taste to adjust seasoning to your preference.

Refrigerate for atleast 2 hours to allow the flavors to marry.

I love mason jars if you haven't noticed. 

If only I could make all the things I love dipping in ranch lower fat. Baby steps. And big strides on the treadmill. <3

Artichoke and Feta Stuffed Chicken

As promised, I made something other than red meat!! I always have chicken on hand in the freezer because I stock up like a hoarder when it goes on sale buy one get one free. When I stock up I separate into individual portions and freeze. I'm such an innovator, right?! Kidding. Chicken gets a bad wrap because, be honest, it can be kind of lame...unless it's fried. I don't go to a restaurant and order a chicken entree. I order a steak or seafood...or if I am paying for myself just an appetizer or a salad. But there really is so much you can do with chicken. It's a staple and a go-to so don't hate. Like always, I use what I have available in the fridge and pantry.  For some reason I had artichokes in my head so that's where I went. Enjoy!

Ingredients 
2 boneless skinless chicken breast
Salt & Pepper to taste
1/4 cup light balsamic vinaigrette dressing (I used Ken's, they always have coupons)
1/2 can artichoke hearts in water
1/2 tomato, seeded and diced
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 shallot, minced
1/4 cup white wine (I like Sauvignon Blanc)
2 tbsp feta cheese (more or less depending on your love of cheese)
Optional: splash of balsamic vinegar and fresh parsley to garnish

Start by butterflying the chicken so you can stuff it. Do this by sliding the knife parallel to the cutting board but don't cut the chicken all the way through, or you will just have two chicken cutlets. Open it up like this...

Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper to your taste. Place the chicken in a ziploc bag and add balsamic vinaigrette. Let it marinate while you start the stuffing mixture.

For the stuffing preheat a skillet on medium low. Add butter and olive oil to the pan. Chop the artichoke hearts into quarters. Mince the garlic and shallots.

Add all the ingredients to the skillet and let it saute until soft. Add the wine (directly from the glass you are drinking from, classy). Throw in the tomatoes last.

I got new cookware! Thanks to B's mom for the great birthday present!

While the mixture is sauteing, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the marinated chicken on a foil lined baking sheet and add the mixture to one side. Top with feta cheese and fold the other side of the chicken over.

You may need to use toothpicks to keep it closed if you have a monster piece of chicken like I did.

Cook the chicken for 25-30 minutes depending on thickness. When the chicken is finished drizzle with balsamic vinegar and sprinkle with feta cheese, and parsley.

Here's the yumminess that you will see when you dive in...

Try and tell me that chicken is boring! 

Skirt Steak Pitas with Garlic Aioli

I am such a carnivore. I swear I eat things other than meat. It's just not as exciting to blog about. That's awful. After this post, and the subsequent post with the leftovers I will be posting chicken, veggies, and pasta. I promise. But I'm not sorry because this was so good! The best part...I paid $3.52 for the skirt steak on sale at Harris Teeter. Hollerrrrrrr! I'm love a sale!

Skirt Steak & Marinade
1 lb. skirt steak (or flank steak)
2 tbsp Dale's Steak Seasoning (or use Worcestershire mixed with soy sauce)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. pepper (I didn't add any additional salt because Dale's seasoning is SALTY)

Garlic Aioli
1/4 cup olive oil mayonnaise
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste


Assembly Ingredients
White or Whole Wheat pitas sliced in half
Feta cheese (or whatever cheese you have on hand)
Chopped Parsley
Balsamic marinated tomatoes (fresh diced tomatoes, seeded, and marinated in balsamic vinegar)

Mix the ingredients for the marinade in a wide dish and add the skirt steak. Coat the steak on both sides and allow to marinade for a few hours. I let it go overnight because I'm a grad student and I've got that kind of time to avoid doing a case study and focus on food. So let that puppy "merinate".

While the steak marinades whip up the garlic aioli. Whisk all the aioli ingredients together in a bowl until combined. You are looking for the mayo to loosen up and for the sauce to be pourable. And garlicky!!

Now for the grill. I had to do this part myself because B is gone. I'm learning the skill on the grill but I now smell like smoke and steak. I was also scared for my eyebrows....cheaper than waxing I guess. I digress. Preheat the grill to medium high and let the steak sit out at room temperature while you wait. Once the grill is heated lower the heat so you don't char your face off and cook the steak for about 5 minutes and flip. Cook for 3-5 more minutes depending on thickness and preferred doneness.

They see me grillin', they hatin'! I wish I could have captured my face but Peyton (my dog) doesn't know how to work the camera. 

Remove from the grill and allow the steak to rest for 5-10 minutes to allow the "juices to redistribute". Food Network what.

Slice the steak against the grain (or the direction of the fibers of the steak). This will keep the steak tender and juicy, not stringy. Be sure to toot your own horn after.

To assemble this package from heaven slice the pita bread in half and open the pita pocket gently. Fill with the slices of steak and top with feta cheese, balsamic tomatoes, and of course garlic aioli. Ready for this...

I couldn't decide which picture I liked better. I ate this in under 2 minutes flat. It might be more accurate to say I inhaled it. And you will too :)

Chipotle Salsa

This is random but whenever I think about salsa I think of that Eminem song when he keeps saying "my salsa" and it's really weird. I don't even remember what song it is I only remember that. Any who I have tried to make salsa a few times with fresh tomatoes and it just wasn't working. It was this weird pink color and didn't have a ton of flavor. This version used canned diced tomatoes and involves throwing everything in the food processor and hitting the button. Pretty foolproof. It's delicious and perfect for the person who doesn't like chunky salsa, or if you are trying to hide the ingredients for a certain someone (B I'm looking at you Mr. I Hate Vegetables). Sneaky sneaky!

Ingredients

1 can diced tomatoes

1/4 of a small white onion, rough chopped

1/2-1 jalapeno (remove the seeds if you don't like it too spicy)

Salt & Pepper to taste

1-2 cloves of garlic, rough chopped

1 small handful fresh parsley

1 or 2 chipotles in adobo sauce (start with 1 and add more if you still want it hotter, they have a smoky heat that creeps up on you)

Add all the ingredients in the food processor. 

Pulse to chop until you get the desire consistency. I like it to be pretty smooth like the kind you get at a mexican restaurant. 

Grab some chips and dig in! This will only get better as it sits in the fridge. I am eating it now after making it a few days ago and it's even more flavorful. Never buying salsa again! Whoop whoop!

Bacon (sometimes blue cheese) Coleslaw

I love coleslaw. Love, love, love it! I cannot get enough. B hates it. I don't think he has even tried it but he is convinced it's horrible. Weirdo. I eat it as a snack I love it so much. This recipe is a make at home version of one of my favorite restaurants in Charleston called Fat Hen. Just look at the menu, it's like heaven! They make a Bacon Blue Cheese Coleslaw that is to die for. I overdid my blue cheese obsession so I didn't use it in this version, and I didn't have any on hand. This slaw is the perfect side for BBQ, seafood, sandwiches, you name it.

Ingredients
1 bag tri color coleslaw
1/4 head shredded red cabbage (I never feel like there is enough in the bag stuff so I always add more)
1 cup mayonnaise
5 tbsp apple cider vinegar (or red wine vinegar, I have made this with both and it's equally delicious)
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
1-2 tsp. sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
1 tsp. chopped green onion
1-2 tbsp. bacon pieces
Optional: 1-2 tbsp blue cheese

Combine mayo, vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar, parsley, green onion, and blue cheese (if using)  in a mixing bowl. Whisk until all ingredients are combined.

Shred the red cabbage to the desired thickness and toss in the dressing with the bag of coleslaw mix. Toss until mixed. Sprinkle with bacon pieces and extra parsley to garnish. 

Homemade BBQ Sauce and Ribs

The food bender is over. B had to leave today :( Back to "runnin on the treadmill and only eatin' salad" (Who knows the song?!). Sike! Salad is my pre meal warmup. Back to watching trashy tv would be more accurate. We ate pretty well last week and now it's time to tell y'all about it. So first up we have homemade BBQ sauce and ribs! I made the sauce and B did the ribs. I don't mess with him and his ribs. I will try to describe his process to the best of my ability so bear with me (side note is that the right use of bare vs. bear, I should probably know this...)! According to B the BBQ sauce was delicious. It took him a few tastes to figure out what it needed then he couldn't stop tasting it. I would recommend making a big batch. We used the whole batch at once so now I need to remake. This is a slightly sweet and vinegary sauce, perfect for a rainy Carolina afternoon.

Homemade BBQ Sauce
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
3 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. ground mustard
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2-3 shakes hot sauce (I use Frank's, add more or less depending on your taste)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Whisk together until sugar is completely dissolved. That's it! The longer it hangs out in the fridge the more the flavors will deepen. Make a lot! I promise you will fly through it!

Here's it's photo shoot with B's ribs hanging out in the back. 

Ok, B's slow cooked ribs. These are pretty simple and amazingly delicious!! Coat the ribs in the dry rub of your choice. We used Sticky Fingers BBQ rub. It's a local rib joint in Charleston but use whatever works for you. 

Wrap the ribs in foil and let them slow cook in the oven on 200 degrees. B let them go for about 4 hours basting them in between with a little of the BBQ sauce and the fat from the ribs. After they have tenderized in the oven he covered them with more BBQ sauce and finished them on the grill over a low flame for about an hour. The sauce will caramelize and get a yummy crunch to the ribs. We served it with my bacon coleslaw recipe (next post). 

Now the moment you have all been waiting for!! Cue lights and music.

B can throwdown on the grill! See ya soon Bobby Flay! Haha :) Summer time is here! Atleast in Charleston...

Man Pleasin' Meatloaf and Mashed 'Tatas

Continuing the food bender!! Oh my gosh we are so full. This is a go-to recipe for me. I think it's one of the first things I learned how to cook. And men love it! It's meat and cheese, so really who doesn't love it. It's also about as easy as it gets...1 bowl, 1 pan, BAM! This is the only time I have measured when I made this so feel free to improvise as needed. I don't think you can mess this up. Being the cheese freak I am I learned to stuff that baby with mozzarella a long time ago. It makes the meatloaf. I'm too full for anymore witty banter, just try it!

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
1 egg
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tsp steak sauce
1 1/2 tsp parmesan cheese
5 tbsp Panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

I forgot the steak sauce in the picture for anyone with an eagle eye!

Mix the first 11 ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Pretty complicated, huh? I use my hands because I'm cool like that. Be careful not to overmix. This is what you are going for. I used a huge mixing bowl so this looks ridiculous but you get the point. 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spread the meat mixture into a foil lined pan. You want to flatten it out and add the cheese, and shape into a loaf after. See....

Fold the meat around the cheese to create the traditional loaf shape you are dying to see! Make sure you seal it up good so all the melty cheese doesn't escape into the pan. Top with some ketchup to help it get brown and gooey.

Place the meatloaf into the preheated over and let cook for 25-30 minutes. Here's the goodness when it comes out of the oven.

Pretty great but wait for it.....

AHHHHHHHHHH! How gorgeous is this?? If you know who says that then you watch a lot of Food Network. I served this up with my yummy cheddar mashed potatoes (recipe below) to drive home the cheese factor. I like to think of it as upping my calcium intake for the day.

Brandon was about to lose it by the time I got to this picture.  MEN!

The final product! Normally I would have included some form of green vegetable to at least bring color to the plate but I'm cooking for the boy so that is just unnecessary. We are keepin' it real healthy tonight.This meal was the perfect amount of food for 2 people.

Cheddar Mashed Potato Ingredients (serves 2)
1 large Russet potato, peeled and chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 tbsp butter
1/4 cup sour cream
A little under 1/4 cup milk
Salt and Pepper to taste (I like a lot)
1 tbsp minced garlic (add more or less depending on what you like)
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Add the peeled and chopped potatoes to a saucepan and cover with water. Put on the lid and allow the potatoes to come to a boil. Once the potatoes have started to boil, remove the lid and add salt to your liking. Let the potatoes boil for about 10 minutes or until fork tender. Drain the potatoes and return to pan.

With a fork gently break up the potatoes and add the butter, sour cream, milk, salt, pepper, and garlic while they are still hot. The potatoes should be just done enough that they will come together with just a fork or spatula. Once the potatoes are good and mashed sprinkle in the cheddar and taste to check your seasoning. By the time you are finished this the meatloaf should be ready to rock.

Queso Dip!

The bf is finally in town this week and we have been on an eating binge! We have spent the past three days laying out at Folly Beach :) and being lazy, and I love it! The Braves game is about to start so I have some free time while Brandon obsesses. After a full day in the sun I decided to try and make some queso dip (aka cheese dip). We are fiends for this stuff. We usually go to our favorite, cheap Mexican place once a week. If you live on James Island you know what La Ha is all about. I have been wanting to replicate this for some time but had no clue where to start. I took my inspiration from www.recipeforcrazy.com/2012/03/restaurant-style-white-queso-recipe.html because she looked like she had it down and I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel. I was skeptical about it but this was about as close as your can get to the real deal! He licked the bowl clean so I call that a success.

Ingredients (serves 2)
1/4 lb White American Cheese
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp chopped white onion
1 tbsp chopped pickled jalapeno
1 tbsp juice of pickled jalapeno
Splash of milk
Couple shakes of Hot Sauce (I used Frank's)

Here's my sous chef/bf making sure the onion and jalapeno were sufficiently diced to his liking.

Place all the ingredients into a double boiler. I do not have a double boiler. I need some new equipment desperately. I used a regular saucepan with a glass bowl on top. Whatever works. Here it is. And Brandon is still dicing.

Stir all the ingredients as they melt together. This will only take a few minutes. If it's too thick add a splash more milk or water.

Once you have reached the melty delicious stage, pour into a bowl and start shoveling. If you are sharing with a person, it's a battle. This lasted about 5 minutes.

I turned my back and this was all that remained. RIP queso. It's been real.