Roasted Chicken Zucchini Boats

I love zucchini boats - my father made them all the time growing up. We would generally make them with sausage but this one made with leftover chicken is just fantastic. Never throw leftover chicken away!

2 large zucchinis
1 cup of roasted chicken meat
1/4 cup of finely diced carrots
1/4 cup of finely diced celery
1/4 cup of finely diced onions
1/4 cup of white wine
1/3 cup of parmesean cheese
3 tbs of butter
salt and pepper

Preheat Oven to 350

Dice veggies and saute in pan with butter. After translucent add wine and chicken meat and cheese. Cook until mixed together and some of the wine has evaporated. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cut zucchinis in half and hollow them out. Put zucchini flesh aside (you can cook this with wine and put back in the zucchini if you run out of filling.)

Bake in a for 45-60 minutes (depending on size of zucchinis - make sure foil and/or pan is greased properly)

Braised Beef Short Ribs

This is a perfect dish when its cold outside…it smells great and it warms the house for 4 hours!

8 beef shortribs
2 tomatoes
1 large yellow onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 large carrots
1 1/2 cups of red wine
1 cup of beef broth
1 cup of garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees

Chop the tomatoes, onions, carrots, and garlic into large pieces (if you make them too small they will disintegrate into the sauce). Place in a large baking dish.

Brown the meat in a pan with a touch of olive oil, transfer to the baking dish and pour wine/broth over the meat. Cover with foil and place in the oven for 4 hours.

Chicken Wing Burger

This is great - its a take on chicken wings which are super delicious but FATTY!

Patties:
1.5 lb of ground chicken
3 tbs of garlic powder
3 tbs of minced onions
2 ts. of Old Bay seasoning

Sauce:
1/2 cup of Red Hot sauce
2 tbs of butter

Topping:
1/2 cup of chopped scallions
1/2 cup of blue cheese crumbles

Saute onions with a touch of olive oil until translucent. Let cool. Mix patty ingredients together and lightly form patties. Spray with a non-stick cooking spray (like Pam) and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side.

Simmer Red Hot sauce and butter together until combined and set aside.

Preheat Oven to Broiler, put 2 tbs. of chicken wing sauce ontop of patties and broil for 3 minutes or until slightly brown. Place ontop of wheat buns and top with cheese and scallions.

French Onion Soup

I love onions, cheese, and broth - so french onion soup has always been my perfect combination. This recipe is a huge hit in the Minchala House. My husband often goes up for thirds!

Ingredients:

2 beef marrow bones (get from butcher)

3 cups of beef broth

3 cups of white wine

2 bay leaves

7 medium onions

1 cup of sherry

salt and pepper

3 tbs butter

Put bones, broth, wine, and bay leaves in a pressure cooker and cook on high for 20 minutes. After cooked, strain liquid to remove bones/leaves and reserve.

Cut 7 onions into thick slices.  Cook butter in a large pot on medium heat until foamythen add onion slices in layers. After each layer, salt and peppers the onions - DO NOT STIR. If you keep the heat at medium they will not burn. Cook for 1 hour. Check on them every so often to make sure nothing is burning or sticking (although it shouldnt). After onions are cooked - add the beef broth and sherry. Reduce heat and simmer for another 30 minutes.

After soup is done heat broiler and place rack on top 1/3 of oven.

Pour soup into oven safe bowls and top with a slice of country bread/italian bread and slices of gruyere cheese. Place a baking sheet underneath in case of spills and heat for 1 minute (the cheese can burn easily so make sure it is not in there for too long)

Enjoy!

Mustard Glaze Duck Breast

Duck doesn’t have to be expensive anymore. Grocery stores such as ‘Stop N Shop’ are now carrying separate breasts and legs that cost about $3-4 each. If you are cooking for two, this a wonderfully cheap meal that should be in your dinner cycle. I use a mustard glaze for the duck because I love the way mustard pairs with the duck meat. However, you could use an apricot/orange glaze, a chinese five spice rub, etc. Anything you like.

Ingredients:

2 duck breasts

1 lemon

1 onion, sliced

1/3 cup of dijon mustard

3 tbs of white wine vinegar

2 tbs of extra virgin olive oil

1 tbs of garlic powder

Salt and Pepper

 

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees

Score the skin-side of the duck with a knife in a lattice pattern, being sure not to cut through to the flesh. Season each breast with salt and pepper on both sides. Sear duck breasts in a skillet, fat side down,  for 10-15 minutes on high - in order to get a nice dark crust and reduce the fat. While the duck is searing, mix mustard, vinegar, oil olive, and garlic powder together to create glaze.

Remove duck breasts from skillet and reserve the rendered fat for later recipes. Grease a casserole dish with a little bit of olive oill and cut 1 lemon and 1 onion into slices. Place onion slices in pool in the middle of the casserole and season with salt and pepper, then top with lemon slices. Brush the tops of the duck breast with the mustard glaze and place ontop of the lemon slices. Cook in the oven for 25 minutes for medium duck.

Ultimate Roast Chicken Recipe

This is truly the Ultimate Roast Chicken recipe. The chicken itself is stuffed with an entire head of roasted garlic, herbes de provence, and butter.  This makes the chicken incredibly moist and creates an amazing gravy afterwards.

Ingredients

3-4 lb. chicken

1 head of garlic

2 tbs olive oil

5 tbs butter

3 tbs herbes de provence

1 onion

3 carrots

2 cups of sliced button mushrooms

fresh thyme/sage

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

-Roast 1 head of garlic ahead of time in the oven for 20 mins. After roasted, blend in food processor (or blender or something) garlic, olive oil, butter, sea salt, and herbes de provence.

-Chop up onion, carrots, button mushrooms and add fresh thyme and sage. Coat veggies/herbs lightly with olive oil and lay them in the bottom of the roasting pan.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

-Spread herb/butter/garlic mix under the skin of the chicken on a little on top of the chicken (just to moisten it up).

-Roast for 20 mins in the oven per pound (1.5 hrs for 4 lb chicken)