Tag Archives: dinner

Cowboy Caviar

I made this for the first time and really enjoyed it. It’s a great dip as an appetizer with chips but I served it as a side dish alongside my chicken fajitas along with some chips. Ingredients can be swapped out to use what you like or don’t like just try and keep the quantities the same. I couldn’t find black eyed peas so used pinto beans and it was fine. I love a bit of spicy so used a jalapeño and I love cilantro but so many people don’t like it so I left it out this time. It ‘s very delicious and other than a bit of chopping up veggies which can be done ahead it’s super easy! You can add some fresh avocado chunks at the end right before serving and you can make a day ahead and maybe drain some of the liquid before serving, it’s almost better the next day since flavors meld overnight. A squeeze of fresh lime would also be nice. I wouldn’t omit the sugar as the amount is so small in relation to the whole recipe that health concerns are negligible. The sugar adds overall flavor and adds a balance between the acidity and the saltiness flavor. Have fun with this recipe no matter how you do it — no right and no wrong here do it your way. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

for the dressing:

1/3 cup Olive Oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

3-4 garlic cloves -minced

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

Kosher Salt and black pepper

For the Salad:

3 plum tomatoes, cored , seeded if desired and diced — you can also use halved cherry tomatoes and use about 1/2 pint

1/2 red onion, finely diced — app. 3/4 up

1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 15 oz. can black eyed peas , rinsed and drained– I used Pinto because I couldn’t find black eyed peas out here in CO whatever beans you like you can even use 2 cans of black beans

1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels ( about 3-4 cobs) or thawed drained frozen sweet corn about 8 oz. or even roasted corn ( Trader Joes) if you like it and can get it– I used 4 cobs of fresh corn which is so abundant right now

1 red, green, or orange or yellow bell pepper, seeded and finely diced

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced *

*1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves plus more for garnish — totally optional

1 scallion, white and green parts, added at the end before serving for garnish

*tortilla chips, for serving also optional

Directions:

Make the dressing: In a medium bowl, whisk the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper to combine– set aside

Add the tomatoes, red onion, drained and rinsed beans, corn, bell pepper, jalapeño, and if you’re using cilantro, Toss to combine with dressing and season for salt and pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving or even overnight.

To serve, take out of fridge, toss well and taste for seasonings. Sprinkle with scallions and if you’re serving as a dip or even as a side dish it’s great with tortilla chips. ( everything is better with chips)

Basic Corn Salad

It’s Summer (well almost)  and the living is easy –and the corn is delicious.  There are times I buy fresh corn but don’t feel like serving it on the cob even though it is perfectly delicious this way. This corn salad is a suggestion for you as a side dish with very little ingredients and pretty much all corn. I like to serve as a side dish in the summer because it can be made ahead and served at room temperature. It’s a most perfect side dish. It doesn’t get more basic or easier than this recipe.  My absolute go-to summer side dish. Super Easy.

Enjoy the rest of the summer and keep on Cooking with Candi.

Ingredients:

5-6 ears of corn , shucked

1/2 cup small diced red onion

3 Tablespoons cider vinegar

3 Tablespoons good olive oil

1/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt – you can always add more salt after you finish and taste for salt

1/4 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper the same applies for the pepper as for the salt

app. 1/2 cup cut up fresh basil leaves–use as much or as little as you like –it adds wonderful flavor

*add a few small cut up grape tomatoes for another variety on this

Directions:

In a large pot of boiling water, cook the corn for app. 3 minutes (just to let go of the starchiness) Drain and immerse in ice water to stop the cooking and set the color. When the corn cools down , cut the kernels off the cob , cutting close to the cob to get the whole kernel. I use a bundt pan to catch all the kernels.

Toss the corn kernels in a large bowl with the red onions, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Just before serving, toss in the fresh basil. Taste for seasonings and serve cold or at room temperature.

How simple and easy is this?IMG_5739

Chicken thighs with Hot Honey and Lime

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

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.

Serve immediately.

Salmon with a Mustard Glaze

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 on another night were also perfect.

img_3593

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.

Voila! done and enjoy. I served this time with a delicious lentil side dish.

Air Fryer Salmon in 15 Minutes

Last night I made this salmon and I have to say it was so delicious — served it up with a side salad and Trader Joe’s vegetable fried rice — easy peasy and delicious — all you need is an air fryer and some very basic spices. Perfect and quick and delicious! This is a very loose recipe so use as much or as little of the spices as you like. You can use whatever spices you like as well– the paprika gives it a nice color though.

Not much more to say so here’s what I did.

Ingredients:

I used 3 Salmon Fillets because I like to have a piece left over for the next day so as many filets as you like

Dijon Mustard or you prefer a different mustard use what you like I love Dijon and I slather it on

Paprika

Garlic Powder

Kosher Salt

Black Pepper — I prefer freshly ground but use what you have

Olive Oil Spray

Directions:

Pat salmon filets dry – this is important so that toppings stick to the salmon

I place salmon on a small cookie sheet and slather the salmon tops with dijon mustard use a flat knife or brush — see photo

I then sprinkle each of the spices over the salmon — eyeball it and don’t go too crazy with any one spice but be generous with garlic powder and paprika. Easy on the kosher salt just sprinkle and a few grinds of the black pepper. I then finish with a quick spray of olive oil on top to keep the salmon moist .

I like to pre-heat my air fryer so I set it to 400 and pre-heated for 5 minutes ( optional)

I can only get two filets into my air fryer at a time — I cooked the first two skin side down at 400 for 8-10 minutes depending on how you like your salmon, 9 minutes should be perfect but every air fryer is a little different. Then repeat with the rest of the salmon. Salmon doesn’t have to be served piping hot so you can wait another 9 minutes to serve. The salmon skin gets crispy when you pre-heat the air fryer which I find perfect. Pre-heating is really optional and you can remove the skin after cooking if you prefer — I don’t. The salmon gets a beautiful crust and the mustard gives it delicious flavor.

*obviously the size and thickness of your salmon will impact cooking time so always best to undercook the salmon and add time rather than over cook the salmon.

Chicken Meatballs

I made these delicious meatballs last Sunday night and they are from my Italian Wedding Soup recipe. I served with my Sunday Night Sauce ( Marinara) and Spaghetti. These are delicious, moist meatballs that I bake in the oven. I don’t fry these . I highly recommend these for pasta and of course in soup!

Perfect Meatballs and Spaghetti but made with Chicken and Sausage . If you can find Chicken Sausage use it and if you can find ground chicken made with dark meat I would recommend using that. I couldn’t find dark meat ground chicken so used what I could find and I used Hot Spicy Pork Sausage because I couldn’t find Chicken Sausage here in Colorado.

This is how I make my Chicken Meatballs. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 lb. Ground chicken — I prefer ground chicken to ground turkey but you can use it as well. Again if you can get ground dark meat chicken use that.

1/2 lb. Chicken Sausage, or Pork Sausage and you can use Sweet or Hot

3 slices Bread for Bread Crumbs — using the food processor I remove crusts and using steel blade make crumbs — app. 1 cup you can use whole wheat bread or white bread — whatever you have in the house — of course you can use regular Italian Flavored Bread Crumbs but I find the bread crumbs that you buy are a little dryer than the fresh bread crumbs. I also would substitute Panko bread crumbs which work out well.

2 -3 Garlic Cloves – minced app. 2 teaspoons

1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

3 Tablespoons Milk — I have 2% and it’s fine so whatever you have in the house

1 Egg – lightly beaten

1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper ( coarse black pepper)

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

I use Silicone liners for baking sheet but if you don’t own these absolutely fantastic Silpat liners use parchment paper or just use cooking spray, or parchment paper or aluminum foil.

Place all ingredients for meatballs in a large bowl and mix till just mixed with a fork or your “clean” hands. I use a teaspoon as a guide and made 1- 11/2″ balls. Don’t over mix and when you make the balls don’t pack super tight. Just loosely roll balls with wet hands. Place onto cookie sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned. Set aside and add to your Sunday Night Sauce or whatever sauce you’re making and place in sauce before you’re ready to eat and heat through.

That’s it! Enjoy!

Skillet Chicken with Lemons and Onions a la Ina Garten

I absolutely love this recipe and I must admit to making a few small changes but if you want to see her original recipe you can google it. You’ll have to buy a chicken some place that will be able to spatchcock it (butterfly it)– Whole Foods butcher will do this as well as your local butcher. Then when you get home and are ready to cook with it just press down on the chicken and sort of flatten it out. You’ll also need a cast iron pan large enough to hold it. I used a 12″ size pan and it was perfect. Believe me this is one of the most satisfying meals I can think of. Serve with whatever sides you like — we had homemade cranberry sauce , rice pilaf and roasted string beans. Perfection on a plate. Ina Garten has created some of the best recipes for home cooks today. The ingredients are all accessible and the presentation is beautiful and the food is delicious. This particular way of roasting a chicken is particularly delicious. This is what I did the other night and it was nothing short of fabulous.

Enjoy and thanks again to Ina Garten.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

1 teaspoon whole fennel seeds

Kosher Salt and Freshly ground coarse black pepper

1 Lemon — sliced 1/4″ thick slices

2 large garlic cloves, minced she says thinly sliced but I prefer to mince

1 yellow onion, halved and sliced 1/4 ” thick

1/3 cup good olive oil

1 app. 4 lb. chicken, backbone removed and butterflied ( spatchcocked)

1/2 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio

Juice of 1 lemon

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees

Place the thyme, fennel seeds, 1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt and 1 Teaspoon pepper in a mini food processor and process until ground.

Pour the olive oil into a small glass measuring cup and add the herb mixture and set aside

Distribute the lemon slices on bottom of 12″ cast iron skillet and distribute the onion and minced garlic on top of the lemon slices.

Place the chicken on a separate baking sheet and pat it dry then turn the chicken skin side down and using a brush add about 1/2 the olive mixture to chicken. Turn the chicken skin side up, make sure it’s dry using paper towels ( very important for crispy skin) and brush remaining mixture all over the top of the chicken. Place chicken on top of the onions and lemons skin side up.

Roast the chicken for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and pour the wine into the pan but not on the chicken just into the area that’s open around the chicken. Roast for another 10-15 minutes until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 155-160 degrees.

Remove the chicken from the oven and sprinkle with the lemon juice, cover the skillet tightly with aluminum foil and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes. Cut the chicken into quarters or however you like and serve hot with pan juices, cooked lemon and onions. I spoon some of the juice onto the top of chicken before serving.

Sheet-Pan Chicken Thighs with Spicy Corn

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 .

This is what I did. Enjoy! http://www.nytimescooking.com

Ingredients:

2 lbs. boneless, skinless, chicken thighs

1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt

2 Tablespoons Mayonnaise

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.

Sheet Pan Asian Style Chicken Meatballs and Burnt Broccoli —

This was a delicious twist on chicken meatballs. The meatballs were so amazingly moist and tasty and I served over Jasmine Rice and it was just perfect. The original recipe is from Bon Appetit and I took a few liberties with it. We like spicy food so I used some Sriracha along with the ketchup — you can make this as spicy as you like or not spicy at all depending on how much or how little Sriracha you use or use none at all. If you’re in the mood for something a little different this one’s for you. We just love meatballs and we’ll eat them any which way. Have fun with this one. And you all know that my husband absolutely still refuses to eat broccoli so it was his loss because it was delicious.

*a little note I use my mini chopper to chop ginger and garlic and I use it for onions as well . It gets it finely minced. If you don’t have one of these mini choppers I highly recommend it’s use to get garlic, ginger and onions and other vegetables finely grated when recipe calls for that.

Enjoy!

Ingredients: Sauce

2/3 cup Ketchup — I decreased the ketchup and added about 1/3 Sriracha – and it was very spicy but we like very spicy . So please either keep it 2/3 of ketchup for totally not spicy or decrease a little ketchup and add a little Sriracha.

1/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce

2 Tbsp. Water

2 Tbsp. Honey

4 tsp. Soy Sauce

1/2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated

1 garlic clove — finely grated — see note above about finely grating

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Ingredients: Meatballs and Broccoli

app. 1 lb. of Broccoli — you just want florets so if you’re starting with a head of broccoli you’ll have to trim and cut etc. I just bought a 1 lb. package of broccoli florets available in most grocery stores these days. ( not frozen)

2 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil divided — 1 for broccoli and 1 for Meatballs

2 1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt divided — 1 1/2 for Broccoli and 1 for Meatballs

* a pinch of Crushed red Pepper which is also optional

1 lb. ground chicken– I try to use 85/15 chicken the 90/10 tends to be very dry and really the best is ground dark meat if you can find it

1 large egg beaten to blend

4 scallions , thinly sliced

2 garlic cloved, finely grated

1 ” small piece of ginger , finely grated

1/3 cup Panko ( Japanese Breadcrumbs)

1 Tbsp. Sesame Oil — I use regular Sesame Oil but you can use Toasted as well

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Rice for Serving any kind you like , I used Jasmine this time but any kind will do

Directions:

Mix ketchup, Sriracha ( if you’re using) , Worcestershire Sauce, water, honey, soy sauce, grated ginger, and pepper in a small saucepan. I measured out about 1/4 cup mixture into a small bowl for glazing meatballs, later. Bring remaining mixture to a simmer over medium high heat stirring occasionally and reducing heat if necessary, let sauce thicken , about 5 minutes. Transfer sauce to a small bowl or leave in pan and remove from heat.

Meatball and Broccoli Assembly:

Place a rack in upper third of the oven; pre-heat to 450 degrees. I sprayed a sheet pan with cooking spray and lined it with aluminum foil. In a separate bowl I tossed florets with 1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil, 1 1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt, and a few pinches of crushed red pepper ( optional) I brushed the sheet pan with the remaining 1 Tbsp. of Vegetable Oil and then placed broccoli florets on the edges of the baking sheet to create space for my meatballs.

Mix chicken, egg, scallions, garlic, ginger, panko, sesame oil, pepper , 1 1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt, and 4 Tbsp. Water in a medium bowl and mixed all ingredients together till just combined — don’t overmix

Using wet hands form into 12 meatballs — Probably 2 inches apiece though I didn’t measure but I got 12 beautiful sized meatballs. Arrange on baking sheet; brush with some of the reserved glaze ( 1/4 cup) ( see photo) Bake until meatballs are cooked through, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven; heat broiler. Brush meatballs again with glazing mixture; broil until broccoli is charred and meatballs are browned in spots, app. 5 minutes but keep an eye on them. At the end of 5 minutes if you’re meatballs look ready but your broccoli isn’t charred enough, remove meatballs and continue to broil broccoli till it’s charred enough.

Spoon meatballs and broccoli over rice in a bowl. Drizzle with sauce and there you go!

Quickie version of my Greek Lemon Chicken with potatoes

One of my most favorite go -to meals is my Greek Chicken- Sheetpan style with Potatoes and Lemons but the trick to that recipe is marinating at least 6-8 hours and it needs some planning which is just fine if I make the plan. Yesterday I decided to make this while I was in the supermarket and came home – no marinating and voila — not exactly the same but satisfied the craving for those flavors and didn’t have too marinate.

Easy peasy ingredients and you can adjust the seasonings to your own liking. Again , I prefer thighs to breasts but if you insist just watch your cooking time as the breasts tend to dry out. And this is skin-on bone in thighs.

The potatoes crisped up beautifully and if you’d like you can have some tzatziki sauce on the side for them. I used small Yukon Gold potatoes leaving the skin on– the skin is paper thin and eliminates the need for peeling.

This was just delicious — serve alongside a green salad or any veggie you’d like and you’ll have a most perfect meal.

Ingredients:

For Chicken:

1 package of chicken thighs, skin on bone in — app. 2 lbs

Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper and a drizzle of EVOO ( extra virgin olive oil) — for chicken

For Potatoes:

1 1/2 -2 lbs. potatoes I used Yukon Gold small potatoes, wash and cut into 1″ pieces

1 tsp. Kosher Salt

3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

3 lemons– I used 2 small lemons for marinade and I sliced 1 for sheet pan

2 tbsp. dried oregano

1 1/2 tsp. dried thyme

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup water

1 tbsp. heaping dijon mustard

1/4 cup EVOO ( extra virgin olive oil)

*pinch of crushed red pepper — totally optional but we like the kick

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Dry off chicken thighs and drizzle with olive oil and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, set aside

In a large mixing bowl, combine potatoes, salt, pepper, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, garlic, water, dijon mustard, and EVOO , Mix well

Pour potatoes onto a well sprayed ( cooking spray like Pam) sheet pan. Arrange lemon between the potatoes, place chicken thighs on sheet pan — I like to make sure that the chicken is directly on the sheet pan

Bake at 400 degrees for an hour and check on it. I baked for about 1 hour and 15 minutes for perfect crispy skin and perfectly crispy potatoes

Now go and Enjoy this delicious meal!

j