Bourbon Street Crack Chicken - Crockpot Style

Okay, let me explain this recipe and its title! Louisiana has a street called 'Bourbon Street' and that is where a recipe called 'Bourbon Street Chicken' was born. The Louisiana recipe contains bourbon whiskey.

Then there is a recipe that's been passed around Pinterest called 'Bourbon Crack Chicken -Crockpot Style', which is similar to 'Bourbon Chicken' from Chinese restaurants.

Well, I wanted to make a combo of the two because if I'm going to make a recipe called 'Bourbon Chicken' it should contain bourbon! I tried to ask why there was no bourbon in the recipe from Pinterest, but that food blog isn't accepting comments on that recipe! I even tried to get answers on other Bourbon Chicken recipes, but didn't get any responses! I hate when that happens! But I love this recipe because you just throw everything into the crockpot and in 4-8 hours it's done!

So here is my version of Bourbon Street/Bourbon Crack Chicken...

Bourbon Street Crack Chicken - Crockpot Style

INGREDIENTS:
2-3 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
2 tbls. cornstarch
2 tbls. extra virgin olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 tsp. ground ginger or more if you like a stronger ginger flavor
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper - or more if you like it spicy
2 tbls. applesauce, sweetened or not
1/4 cup bourbon or whiskey
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 tbls. ketchup
1 tbls. cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup lite soy sauce

DIRECTIONS:
Whisk all ingredients into a crockpot. Add chicken and coat with mixture.
Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
Serve over rice.





 



Apple and Feta Pan Fried Pizzas

Eating healthy is part of my assignment this month in the Allrecipes Allstar Brand Ambassador Program. The ambassadors were asked to choose recipes from the My Plate healthy eating recipe collection. That's exactly where I found this pizza recipe! There are so many other recipes to choose from but this one stood out to me because of the combination of ingredients! It sounded so unique and flavorful! And that's exactly what is was! Plus I never thought to pan fry pizza dough! I think I'll be doing that more often!

All the flavors work so well together...from the sharpness of the red onions to the salty feta cheese with the sweet apples and herby thyme ontop of the hearty fried dough! Tasty,  fresh and filling, all at the same time! And it's pretty too!

Apple and Feta Fried Pizzas

Makes 6 pizzas

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb. frozen store bought pizza dough
4 Tbls. olive oil
6 oz. crumbled feta cheese
1 very small red onion-thinly sliced
1 Tbls. chopped fresh thyme
1 Tbls. butter
3 sweet apples-peeled, cored and each apple sliced into 12 equal pieces
1 tsp. sugar
ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Place frozen dough into a greased bowl. Lightly grease the top of the dough.
Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm, draft free area.
Let dough thaw and rise until doubled in size.
This should take several hours.
When dough is ready, divide into 6 equal balls.
On a floured surface with a floured rolling pin,
 flatten each ball into rounds, 6-7" in diameter. Set aside.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat.
When oil is hot, fry each pizza dough until golden brown on both sides.
Then remove to a cookie sheet.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Sprinkle the tops of each fried pizza with the feta cheese, red onions and chopped thyme.
Bake for about 12 minutes.
While the pizza bakes, saute the apples with the butter and sugar, in the same skillet used to fry the dough. Let the apples saute until golden brown and tender.
Then arrange the sauteed apple slices in a sunburst pattern, on top the cheese and onion baked pizzas. Sprinkle lightly with black pepper and serve warm.

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

 



Balsamic Roasted Pork Chops

This recipe is so easy but so flavorful! I love the thick, tangy, robust, sauce! I think this recipe would also be perfect with chicken! I'll be trying it that way next time!

 I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com and tweaked it slightly.

Balsamic Roasted Pork Chops

INGREDIENTS:
2-3 lbs. boneless center-cut pork chops
1 packet McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak Seasoning (0.71 oz.)
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil

DIRECTIONS:
In a 9x13" glass casserole dish mix together the last 3 ingredients.
Then place the pork chops in the dish and coat well with the marinade.
Cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Remove plastic wrap and bake for 1 hour,
 turning the pork chops over 1/2 way through baking time.
When done cooking, remove pork chops to a serving platter and pour the marinade into a small saucepan on medium heat.  Add the wine and cornstarch mixture. Simmer and stir until thickened, about 2-3 minutes.
Pour thickened sauce over pork chops and serve warm.


SLURRY INGREDIENTS TO THICKEN SAUCE:
2 Tbls. dry red wine
2 Tbls. cornstarch

Mix together and add to the pan sauce.
Stir and simmer until thickened.

This recipe was adapted from Allrecipes.com
 



Cheesy Honey Mustard Chicken

Doesn't that title just make your mouth water? Simple ingredients with delicious results!

The only changes I would make to this recipe is omit all the lemon ingredients and add lots of fresh garlic instead! After tasting this chicken I just thought the lemon wasn't needed and actually detracted from the taste of the honey and mustard. And next time I will use cheddar cheese instead of mozzarella because the mozz was too mild to stand up to all that mustard.  I also would use less ingredients for the sauce because I had way too much extra sauce in the pan when the chicken was done baking. The bacon bits gave it a nice smokiness! A very tasty meal that I will definitely make again! I served this with oven fries and Italian green beans.

I found this recipe on a blog called Plain Chicken I'm writing it with my suggestions in red.

Cheesy Honey Mustard Chicken

INGREDIENTS:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup honey - I would use 1/2 cup
1/2 cup Dijon mustard - I would use 1/4 cup
1 tsp. lemon juice - I would omit this
2 cloves of minced garlic
Lemon pepper - I would use plain black pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika
4 Tbls. bacon bits - I used Oscar Meyer bagged bacon bits
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese - I would used sharp cheddar

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Season chicken breasts with lemon pepper (or plain black pepper)
 and place in a 9x13" baking dish.
In a small bowl combine the honey, mustard, garlic, lemon juice (if using) and paprika.
Pour mixture over chicken and bake for 25 minutes.
Top each chicken breast with 1 Tbls. of bacon bits and 1/4 cup shredded cheese.
Bake for 10 more minutes or until cheese is slightly browned.
Serve warm with pan juices.

Adapted from the Plain Chicken blog
 

Candied Bread!

I never thought to candy bread! But it's a great idea! It's a quick and delicious snack! The taste of this reminds me of the famous 'Auntie Anne's Pretzels'! I always get them when I go to the mall. I think I go to the mall just for that reason!

I found this Candied Bread recipe on a food blog called
 Cooking Classy.

 I like her pic better than mine! Go check it out!

Candied Bread

 INGREDIENTS:

4 slices of white bread or French bread (1/2 inch thick) I removed the crusts, but you don't have to.

1/4 cup salted butter, softened until easily spreadable

6 Tbls. light brown sugar

 

DIRECTIONS:

Lightly butter and heat a non stick frying pan or griddle on medium heat.

 Evenly spread 1/2 Tbls of the softened butter on one side of each slice of bread.

Then sprinkle each slice with 1/2 Tbls. of light brown sugar over the butter.

Place the bread with the butter/sugar side down, on the heated pan.

Let it get very brown. This should take a few minutes. You want the sugar to caramelize.

While the first side is browning, spread another 1/2 Tbls. of softened butter on the other side of each bread slice and sprinkle each with 1/2 Tbls. light brown sugar.

When the first side has nicely caramelized, flip the bread and brown the other side.

When both sides are browned and caramelized,

 remove to a parchment paper or waxed paper lined plate.

Let the bread cool completely because the bread will get nice and crisp as it cools...

 and because biting into hot caramel really hurts! I have the burns to prove it!



Firecrackers!

This is the kind of snack that you just can't stop eating! Especially if you love salty/sweet combinations! The little extra surprise in this treat is the slight spiciness from the Hot Fries and the cayenne pepper! Its just the perfect balance of sweet, salty and spicy!

I found this recipe **here** but I slightly tweaked the ingredients and preparation! I'm posting the recipe the way I made it!

Firecrackers

INGREDIENTS:
1 (8 oz.) package  'Andy Capp's Hot Fries' or any other Hot Fries snack
15 oz. white chocolate
Cayenne Pepper 

DIRECTIONS:
Line a large cookie sheet with waxed paper.
Melt the white chocolate according to package directions until completely melted. Get the chocolate as liquidy as possible so that you get a thin coating on the fries.
Now this is the messy part...dip the hot fries, a handful at a time, into the melted white chocolate, to lightly coat each of the fries, scraping off the excess if needed.
Individual place them on the waxed paper, making sure they don't touch each other.
Sprinkle very lightly with cayenne pepper. Allow the chocolate to firm up,
then transfer to a serving dish or container.
These will be eaten fast!

Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com


 

 

Sweet and Sour Chicken with Fried Rice

This is one of those rare recipes that makes you do a little happy dance when you taste it! I love that it's easy and made with simple ingredients, that most people have in their panrty everyday!

I found this recipe on a food blog called Life as a Lofthouse. The original recipe is called 'Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken', but this really isn't just baked! It's pan fried first, then baked!

This sauce has the perfect balance of sweet and sour! The corn starch and egg dipped chicken pieces, brown up nicely in the frying pan and made a nice coating for the sauce! The sauce in this recipe starts to thicken and caramelize during the last 30 minutes of baking! I kept eating pieces of the chicken while it was baking! I really had to restrain myself from eating all of it before I had a chance to serve it!

I also made the fried rice to go along with the chicken! It's a nice simple fried rice recipe!  They went very well together!
 

Sweet and Sour Chicken

The Chicken Coating:
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts - cut into bite sized pieces
1-2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 -1 tsp. black pepper
1 cup corn starch
2 large eggs - beaten
1/4 cup corn oil

The Sweet and Sour Sauce:
3/4 cup white sugar
4 tbls. ketchup
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
1 tbls. soy sauce
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

DIRECTIONS:
Lightly season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
Dip the chicken pieces into the corn starch to coat. Then dip into the eggs.
Heat a large frying pan on medium/high with corn oil.
Preheat oven to 325°
Pan fry the chicken pieces until browned on both side, but not cooked through.
Place all the browned chicken pieces in a 9x13" baking dish.
Whisk all the sweet and sour sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and pour evenly over the chicken pieces in the baking dish. Bake for one hour and
stir the chicken pieces every 15 minutes during baking.
Serves 4

FRIED RICE:
3 cups cooked white rice (leftover rice works well)
3 tbls. pure sesame oil
1 cup frozen peas - thawed
1 medium onion - chopped
2 large cloves garlic - minced
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 green onions - chopped

Heat a large skillet on medium/high. Add sesame oil. When oil is hot add peas, onions and garlic. Stir constantly and cook until tender, about 2-3 minutes.
Lower the heat to medium/low and push the veggies to one side of the skillet.
Pour in the eggs, cooking and stirring to scramble. Then add the cooked rice and soy sauce.
Stir until thoroughly heated.
Serve warm topped with green onions.

Recipes adapted from Life as a Lofthouse