I saw this delicious recipe in the NYTimes Cooking Section by Melissa Clark and since I almost always consider her recipes to be winners I tried it. This is what I did and please feel free to check out the original recipe .
It’s slightly spicy and the corn gets a little roasted in the sheet pan alongside the chicken thighs and it’s simple and very tasty.
Very delicious and I served hot out of the oven but it was pretty delicious as a cold leftover the next day served on a bed of lettuce with some avocado .
1/4 cup finely chopped basil plus more for garnish if you like
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup chopped pickled jalapeños, plus brine from the jar
4 cups fresh or frozen corn (app. 4 ears of corn if you’re buying fresh corn) I used frozen
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil, plus a little more for drizzling
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1 lime halved
Directions:
Pat dry the chicken thighs, season the chicken thighs all over with salt. In a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, basil, garlic and 2 Tablespoons of jalapeño brine. Add the chicken to the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour and up to 8 hours overnight.
Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, toss together corn, pickled jalapeños, olive oil, remaining 1 teaspoon kosher salt and half of the scallions. (save remaining scallions for serving)
Arrange the chicken on a sprayed baking sheet, spacing it out, roast for 12 minutes. Spoon the corn mixture onto the empty parts of the baking sheet. Drizzle chicken with a little oil. Continue to roast until the chicken is cooked through, 10-15 minutes longer, and give the corn a little stir once while roasting somewhere in the middle.
Turn the broiler on high and broil the chicken and corn until golden brown in spots, about 2-4 minutes and watch carefully so it doesn’t burn, though a little blistering is nice on both corn and chicken.
garnish chicken with basil, remaining scallions and you can squeeze some fresh lime juice over this. Serve hot or at room temperature.
This would be a perfect summer dish served at room temperature outside for lunch or dinner.
By now you all know how very much I love Sheet Pan Meals. It makes for delicious dinners and easy clean-up and that’s always a win win for me. This was very easy to assemble and cooks in under an hour. Oven to Table in under an hour is my kind of meal. Of course you can substitute other veggies if you don’t like peppers. I finally got Joel to eat cooked peppers and onions and I try to use them as often as possible. It’s amazing to me that it took him this long to start to enjoy vegetables but I couldn’t be happier. He also eats Brussel Sprouts as well! I think Brussels would be good here as well as Broccoli ( but he won’t eat Broccoli) . I served over Brown Rice and it was just perfect. I used 1 Tablespoon of Sriracha which gives it a little hint of spicy. I wouldn’t omit it because all the flavor of this recipe is in the honey/chili combo. You can put a little less Sriracha if you like.
*will serve 3- 4 add a few more chicken thighs if you’d like for one more person, if you add another package -double down on ingredients
Enjoy!
Ingredients:
6 smallish chicken thighs–bone in , skin on
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 red bell pepper, cut up into medium sized pieces — see photo
1 yellow bell pepper, cut up as above
1 green bell pepper, cut up as above– any 3 peppers will do if you don’t want to use green use orange red or yellow or any combo is just fine
1 red onion, cut up as shown in photos, medium sized pieces
Sauce:
1/4 cup Honey
1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Sriracha or any hot chili sauce you like
Juice of 1 lemon
5 cloves of garlic –minced
Pinch of Kosher Salt
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
Spray a large sheet pan with non-stick spray–this sauce does get sticky so either spray or cover sheet with aluminum foil first
In a bowl , whisk the ingredients for the sauce and set aside.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper and place 1/3 of the sauce in a gallon size plastic bag and add the chicken. Squish around the sauce till it’s all over the chicken and place in fridge for about 30 minutes or longer.
Cut up the veggies and place in a bowl. Pour 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil over the vegetables. It’s a little oil for a lot of vegetables but it works. You’ll be using the sauce on the veggies.
After 30 minutes–transfer the chicken to the sheet pan and roast just the chicken for about 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes remove the chicken from the oven and arrange veggies around the chicken (see photo). Drizzle the remainder of the sauce over the vegetables and the chicken. Mix with a spoon.
Return to oven and bake for about another 15 minutes, my chicken was done at this point because I had smallish thighs . I removed the chicken placed on a plate and covered with aluminum foil. I continued cooking the veggies for another 10 minutes because I like them cooked well. When veggies were done to my liking I removed from the oven and added chicken to hot baking sheet and mixed veggies up with a spoon over the chicken. I served over rice, quinoa or anything you’d like.
*You will have to experiment with cooking times for veggies and chicken depending on the size of your chicken thighs and your oven.
I love Cole Slaw and it is such a simple thing to make to add to any bbq or meal. It is especially good in the summer when we all love cold salads. I like it all year round. It’s a great side dish to almost any meat and I really like it with roast chicken.
It’s super easy if you buy the bags of pre -shredded cole slaw. If you want to do it yourself you can just cut a whole cabbage in half and remove the core, wash , drain, dry and shred in the food processor or by hand. I just picked up 2 bags of Cole Slaw available everywhere in the produce section. You’ll need about 8 cups. I used 2 bags about 16 ounces.
This is what I did.
Ingredients:
For app. 8 cups of cabbage/cole slaw mix use 16 oz. app 2 bags of pre shredded Coleslaw mix or cut in 1/2 and use 1 bag
1/2 cup mayo
2 Tablespoons Apple CiderVinegar
1/4 cup Dijon Mustard– I love Dijon so I do 1/4 cup
1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt and more to taste
1/4 tsp. Freshly Ground Black Pepper and more to taste
Mix dressing in a bowl with a whisk is best.
Start slowly adding dressing to coleslaw mix in a large enough bowl to continue tossing. I added a little bit at a time and kept mixing till it was completely saturated with the dressing.
It’s always best if it gets to sit for awhile so if you have the time make ahead. I make ahead so if I need a little more dijon, or salt and pepper it’s easy. You’ll probably be good on mayo and dijon but everyone has different tastes . Enjoy!
Then I refrigerated it till we were ready to eat and gave it a good toss and tasted for Salt and Pepper before serving!
This is my go to rice recipe — sweet and salty delicious recipe. Perfect served alongside a savory BBQ or any meal for that matter. Always a hit at our house. I like Chrissy Teigen’s recipe of all the coconut rice recipes. And don’t skimp on the toasted coconut. This is not diet food — but it’s delicious and worth the few extra calories. Absolutely yummy!
Don’t forget to rinse the rice and let it dry — it takes another 1/2 hour or so and is absolutely worth it. I just rinse it through a mesh colander– run cold water over rice and move rice around a little with your hands and let it dry . Rinsing or washing rice removes that excess starch, resulting in grains that are more separate when cooked.
Enjoy and thanks again to Chrissy Teigen for this wonderful recipe.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups Jasmine Rice ( rinsed and drained)
1 14 oz. can coconut milk– full fat not light
1 3/4 cups water
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Directions:
In a dry pan, toast coconut over medium-low heat, stirring until lightly brown and fragrant. About 4-5 minutes. Watch carefully . Transfer to a plate to cool.
In a medium saucepan, combine all other ingredients including rice, coconut milk, water, sugar and salt.
Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Once it boils reduce heat to a barely simmer until rice is fully cooked and liquid absorbed keep covered. About 20 minutes. I time it for 20 and check on it at 15 minutes. Remove from heat when all liquid is absorbed and fluff with a fork. Then re-cover the saucepan and let it stand for at least 5 minutes before serving. Last night I made an hour ahead and let it sit and it was perfect.
Transfer to a sering bowl and top with toasted coconut.
Making pizza at home with store bought dough is one of my favorite things to do. It’s easy once you get the hang of the dough and I found a few tricks along the way which help make it easier. The real trick to the dough is letting it rise and come to room temperature. If you try to work with cold dough out of the fridge it won’t work . You will need a rimmed sheet pan as well. I keep some dough in the freezer and take it out the night before and let it defrost in the fridge and the next day about 4 hours before I am using I place it on the counter ( in the sun even better) and let it rise and come to room temperature. There are many places to buy dough and you’ll have to find the best one by your home. I buy in Whole Foods when I am in Colorado and in NY Trader Joes , Whole Foods and your local pizza place or bakery will probably be happy to sell you a ball of dough. .Dough will need at least 3 – 4 hours to rise outside of the fridge. Nothing will happen to it so just set it out on the counter — I open the bag and let it rise away. My ingredients are simple and if you follow instructions you should be fine. Don’t be discouraged if the first few times it doesn’t come out perfectly — it took me a few times with the dough to really get the hang of it. Give it a try!
This is what I do and these are my instructions:
Ingredients:
1 bag Pizza Dough — for 4 people I make for 2 and we always have extra slices
16 oz. Pizza Sauce — if I have homemade I use that if not I always have a jar of Raos Arrabiata or Marinara on hand
Italian Seasonings — dry app. 2 tsp. you’ll have to eyeball it
flour for stretching dough — this is a must
Olive Oil Spray for spraying baking sheet — I like this better than using olive oil — either one will work on baking sheet
Parmesan Cheese
Shredded Mozzarella — app. 8 oz. more or less
Directions:
Let dough rise. Read notes above. Keeping the store bought dough on a counter for at least 3 hours or more. It will keep rising in the bag so I usually open the bag to give it room to rise. If you’re defrosting it do so overnight in fridge and then take it out the next day. You’ll notice it rising in fridge ( at least it should)
Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees — very important to get oven hot so make sure you’re oven is pre-heated
Spray baking sheet with Olive Oil Cooking Spray or using a brush lightly coat bottom of baking sheet with Olive Oil . I use a 12x 17 rimmed baking sheet . You don’t need a pizza stone.
Stretch the dough. On a clean surface ( counter top ) I put down a light amount of flour (enough for both sides) and you can always add more , the flour will help to expand the dough. Place raw dough on top of flour, coating each side. Begin stretching the dough by pinching the outside in a circular motion to spread it out. I put my fists under the dough to stretch ( you don’t need a rolling pin) You can alternate between pinching the dough with your finger, pressing it out on your work surface, and using your knuckles to pull the dough from underneath in circular motions. Usually a few motions will get the dough stretching. When it’s large enough gently transfer to the prepared sheet pan. I spread it out thin in center and more dough around perimeter ( crust) if there are holes in your dough pinch together dough or fold over the dough in that spot and get rid of them . I spread it out all the way to cover entire baking sheet . Don’t worry about your dough being a perfect shape. All pizza is delicious and beautiful.
Bake the naked pizza dough in the oven at 450 degrees for 7 minutes. During this time prep your toppings. I am sort of a purist so it’s sauce, cheese , and seasoning. Never add the toppings to raw pizza dough.
After par-baking the pizza dough, remove from oven and raise temperature of oven to 500 degrees. ( make sure it gets to 500) I add my sauce — spreading it out on dough, I leave a little room around perimeter ( see photo) , dried Italian seasoning ( if you’re using) parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese . Obviously if you have other toppings you want to use this is the time to add.
Bake the pizza at 500 for another 10 minutes — all ovens vary so check on it after 7 minutes.
I like my cheese fully melted and a little brown in spots. Let it cool off for a few minutes before slicing .
I use a pizza cutter and get 8 slices .
Let me know how this comes out — tag me on Instagram story — I would love that.
these are some photos from current pizzas and past pizzas–sometimes they come out better looking than other times but they always taste incredible! No such thing as an ugly pizza in my book.
I got this recipe from Pamela Salzman’s cookbook Kitchen Matters. I absolutely loved it. I made the chicken and then proceeded to turn it into a rice bowl. The rice bowl accompaniments can be whatever you like. I use Tzatziki Sauce instead of Tahini white sauce. You can also serve over salad which is quite delicious as well. Greek Salad in particular would be great! Add some delicious pita or Naan bread and it’s perfection! I made a side order of roasted peppers and onions and you can add mushrooms as well. I did this in the oven about an hour before dinner. (cut up peppers and onions add a little olive oil to coat and salt and pepper and 400 degrees for about 45 minutes )Big thumbs up on the peppers and onions in the rice bowl. Feta cheese is a must here! (buy a good one) and pepperoncini in mine!
I cooked on my outside grill but this can be cooked indoors on a baking sheet at 400 degrees for about 35 minutes. Or use a grill pan which would probably cook faster — either way it is delicious.
I also highly recommend marinating for as long as possible. I prepared the chicken in the morning and probably marinated for about 7 hours. Minimum of 1 hour and you can do overnight as well. This marinade was very flavorful.
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice– I used 2 average sized lemons
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon — I used a heaping 1/8 teaspoon
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper– I used a heaping 1/8 here too
Several grinds of freshly ground black pepper –probably 1/4 teaspoon as well
4 minced garlic cloves
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs– we obviously prefer thighs but if you must use white meat go ahead but be careful it doesn’t dry out this is why we prefer the thighs to the breast especially in this recipe.
Directions:
prepare the marinade– Combine all the marinade ingredients in a large glass bowl. Add the raw chicken and toss to coat. Marinade in the fridge for as many hours as you can — this was key. Remove the chicken from the fridge about 1/2 hour before cooking.
I cooked on my outside grill for about 7 minutes on each side. I like the outside edges a little crispy since I don’t have a revolving spit to cook my chicken on this is as close as I could get. When I can’t grill ( like in the city) I cook in 400 degree pre-heated oven for about 30 mins. then broil for just a few minutes to get it all crispy. Keep an eye on it in the oven though.
*Another perfect thing to do is to double it up on the day of prep. Take out what I will need for that night and freeze the remainder of the marinated chicken. The next time we’re in the mood for this yummy dinner I just have to take it out of freezer in the morning and defrost and cook! Saves me the time of making the marinade again.
Enjoy! I know you will.
I sliced up chicken served it in a rice bowl and we each used different accompaniments. The peppers and onions were perfect with it. Highly recommend it and you can buy store bought tzatziki which would be just fine. Would be good with some delicious toasted pita or naan bread.
Here is another delicious Salmon recipe and so super easy. This is a light easy to make dinner perfect Spring Time Meal. I made this for dinner last night and it was ready in no time and tasted truly delicious.It is light and easy, it doesn’t get much easier than this. The whole recipe took less than 1/2 hour to prep and cook! Depending on how thick your salmon is it could take no more than 10 minutes to fully cook right in the oven. Very few ingredients and a perfect dinner casual enough for just you and your family and can be bumped up to serve to guests. This is a winner. Almost any side dish will do alongside this.
Roasted Brussels and roasted potatoes or rice or lentil salad or anything you like as a side dish.
Enjoy!
Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 heaping Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice (app. 1 average size lemon)
Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper ( about 1/4 tsp. of each)
4 pieces Salmon fillets ( app. 6 oz. each) with skin on
*sprinkle a little fresh thyme if you’d like!!!
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray to facilitate removal of fish not to mention clean-up.
In a small bowl, mix together olive oil, mustard, lemon juice, and 1/4 teaspoon each kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. I used a mini whisk and it came together beautifully.
Place Salmon, skin side down in a baking dish , and spoon mustard glaze over each piece of fish. Bake until salmon is just cooked through and no longer red, 6 – 10 minutes depending on the thickness of your fillet. I added a sprinkle of some fresh thyme right before I cooked and it added some more delicious flavor, this is totally optional.
*also now that I am an air fryer convert I would use that for this recipe as well. Probably 7-8 minutes as well –check on it after 7 depending on your air fryer and depending on thickness of salmon.
I used bone-in skin on but you can easily make this with boneless skinless chicken thighs just watch your timing it may vary. Chicken thighs pack a lot of flavor and this was a perfect weeknight meal using a few pantry staples. This is a spicy chicken recipe and if you don’t like it “hot” and spicy it’s not for you. Original recipe is from. Vallery Lomas on NYT cooking site. I made a few changes to suit myself but basically followed the recipe. I would maybe try olive oil instead of butter next time but this was delicious. I would also double down on the sauce —
You can serve hot out of oven with rice/potatoes a vegetable or Cole Slaw or any salad to compliment this tasty dish.
Ingredients:
3lbs. bone-in skin on chicken thighs
Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
2 Tablespoons Hot Sauce — I used Cholula Hot sauce
1 lime for zesting and juicing
2 Tablespoons mild honey or use Hot Honey and omit the Cholula
Directions:
Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees. I sprayed a baking sheet with Pam cooking spray for easier clean up or you can cover with foil whichever you prefer.
Pat chicken thighs dry and then season all over with spices — Salt , Pepper, Onion Powder and Garlic Powder — fresh garlic will burn here as oven is very hot
Arrange the chicken skin side up then post until browned for 20 minutes.
While the chicken is roasting, combine the melted butter and hot sauce and whisk to combine.
transfer 1/2 of it to a separate bowl and set aside for later. After the chicken has roasted for 20 minutes, brush the chicken all over with the butter mixture. Continue to roast until chicken is golden brown and cooked through, probably 10-15 more minutes — keep an eye on it after 10 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven when done.
Zest the lime, then cut in 1/2. Add the honey and zest to the remaining butter-hot sauce mixture and whisk to combine, then brush over the hot chicken thighs and squeeze the lime over the chicken.
I had rotten bananas and I had some blueberries and I had all the other ingredients for this delicious bundt cake in the house. It took about 20 minutes to prep and another 50 minutes in the oven and it’s going into the freezer for another time and place. This cake freezes so well and the bananas were going in the garbage so there you have it –snacking cake for another time. You can freeze this cake for up to 3 months, but make sure you wrap it up carefully and mark the date you freeze it on the bag.
Enjoy!
This would make a lovely addition to a Mother’s Day luncheon or dinner.
when I freeze I usually cut up into sections rather than freeze the whole cake –it’s easier to freeze and takes up less space in the freezer and if I just want a small piece it works out best!
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine salt (table salt)
1/2 cup butter unsalted and softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs — room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 bananas mashed– very ripe black bananas
1 cup blueberries — rinsed and dried
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. I spray a Bundt Pan with Bakers Aid Spray– you can use other sprays but I prefer this one for baking
In a large bowl combine the flour, baking soda and salt with a wire whisk. Set it aside
Cream Butter and Sugar in an Electric Mixer. Add eggs one at a time and the vanilla. Beat until well combined
Add the flour Mixture to the bowl and Combine until just mixed. Fold in the Blueberries and Bananas with a spatula
Pour the batter into the sprayed Bundt Pan
Bake for 50 minutes. Check with a cake tester or toothpick till it comes out clean.
This is one of my most favorite salads. 7 Ingredients and you got this delicious shaved Brussel sprout salad. Perfect for a Holiday Meal and delish for Mother’s Day lunch or dinner salad with an added 8th ingredient as Protein. Perfect salad for Thanksgiving you can prep hours in advance because the hearty sprouts will hold up well even if you dress them. Perfect for Holidays. You can put your own spin on it — I used cherries this time out but I think yellow raisins are perfect as well. I actually used finely diced walnuts because no pinolli nuts and wanted to eat it NOW! Even though so few ingredients this salad hits all the flavors and is very delicious and Joel loved it and took seconds!
Enjoy!
*this should serve 4-6 as a side salad
Ingredients:
4 Cups shaved Brussels sprouts — I bought a bag of shaved Brussels from Trader Joes but you can find this almost everywhere or shave yourself in food processor ( just easier to short cut this step)
1/4 cup EVOO
1/4 cup fresh Lemon Juice (probably one regular sized Lemon)
1/3 cup dried cherries, golden raisins, dark raisins, etc. Use what you have in the house it’s all good!
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted — I would also use finely diced walnuts which worked out perfectly– these also come in a bag ready to use
1/2 cup pecorino cheese, if you don’t like cheese you can omit it’s optional but in our house a necessary ingredient — crumbled feta would also be a good alternative
1/3 cup chopped fresh chives — a must for flavor
Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Directions:
Place Shaved Brussels sprouts in a large bowl ( large enough to mix) and toss with the olive oil and lemon juice, pine nuts, dried fruit, pecorino cheese, chives and a few pinches of kosher salt ( taste for flavor)
I let the salad sit at room temp for at least 15 minutes, then mix well , taste and adjust the seasonings. If tastes dry to you add a little drizzle of olive oil — I didn’t
Enjoy! and Your Welcome
*and obviously if you’d like add a protein to make this a perfect lunch or dinner salad
Cooking with Candi 