In the kitchen this past week, I've been trying to keep the kitchen as cool as possible.
We grilled salmon and potatoes outside. This was a new recipe for the salmon, which was fine but I probably won't repeat it. I liked the idea of orange salmon, but this called for orange marmalade and that was just too sticky and cloying.
When I made this recipe, I took the leftover pork and froze it with the express purpose of making a BBQ pork pizza.
This was the week it happened and since it cooks so quickly, the kitchen heat isn't too bad.
We also have lots of eggs from Eric & Elisa's happy hens. I sautéed some zucchini and onions, then scrambled some eggs with it, adding a little bacon at the end.
And I tried a new recipe for chicken. Not my husband's favorite, but I switched some of the chicken breasts out for thighs and that eases the sting somewhat. This isn't a great picture. You can google the recipe to see better pictures, but believe me when I say that it was very tasty. I found the recipe in one of my Pioneer Woman cookbooks. I cut the recipe in half and modified it some so that the meat was cooked on the grill and not in bacon grease in a cast iron skillet on the stove.
Ranch Style Chicken
- ½ cups Dijon or grainy mustard
- ½ cups honey
- Juice of 1/2 a lemon
- ½ teaspoons paprika
- ½ teaspoons salt
- Crushed red pepper (optional, to taste)
- 6 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I did only one breast and 2 very large chicken thighs. My husband finds chicken much more palatable if it's thighs.)
- 1 pound thick cut bacon
- Bacon grease
- Sharp Cheddar cheese, to taste
- Canola oil
In a large bowl mix together Dijon or grainy mustard with honey, lemon juice, paprika, and salt, and whisk until smooth. Sprinkle in some crushed red pepper flakes or cayenne if you like things a little spicy. Set aside.
Place between two sheets of waxed paper (I put the chicken in a ziplock bag ) and pound to around ½ to ¾" thick with a mallet. Next, add the chicken to the bowl with the marinade, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 1 to 3 hours. While the chicken marinates, fry up some bacon. When finished cooking, reserve ¼ cup of the bacon grease and clean out the skillet.
When the chicken is done marinating, preheat the oven to 400°. Remove the chicken from the fridge and pour off excess marinade. Heat half of the reserved bacon grease with an equal quantity of canola oil in the clean skillet over medium-high heat. When the grease is nice and hot add two or three pieces of chicken to it. Cook until browned, (I did this whole process on the grill...without the bacon grease, or I should say, my husband did it.) Remove chicken to a large baking sheet. If cooking many pieces of chicken, repeat skillet process and remove finished chicken to baking sheet. Place chicken in preheated oven and cook for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven. (My chicken was cooked until virtually done on the grill.)
Lay a few pieces of bacon over each chicken breast. Sprinkle shredded sharp cheddar cheese over the top of the chicken as generously as you like. Return pan to oven for an additional five minutes until cheese is melted and bacon is sizzling. Serve immediately.
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