Dakota Buckaroo Marinated Chicken

Just took the road trip of road trips. The Tortured Teenager is graduating this year!! Moving away. Yep away. Ah don't guilt me. I'll miss her but I'm also jealous like a little sibling who's older sibling gets candy and you didn't. She's planning on going to college in my hometown state. It's complicated. I lived in three different areas that are all home to me. But where she picked to go to college THERE of all places, there was a soft spot in my big ol' heart. And she decided it all on her own! How cool is that? Since we don't live close to the college, a road trip was needed. 15 hour drive in a car (because the motor home place wouldn't donate a motor home) and not flying (because the airlines wouldn't donate tickets...what's wrong with this world?) The trip there was not so bad. The kids slept most the ride there. How'd we luck out with that? But the trip home was TORTURE!! We even made it home quicker than the trip to but it was full of whining and "how much farther?" "when are we gonna be home?" and the DREADED "are we there yet?) seriously I came up with a drinking game. Every time the asked the questions, I WANTED a shot, a drink. Unfortunately I was IN A CAR so no alcohol was consumed but had I been able to, could you imagine how tanked I would have been??

The Tortured Teenager loved her new college. I just need to figure out how to pay for it. (feel free to send donations or adopt her as a grandchild. No really.) And I got the opportunity to show off an area that everyone in my family teased me about. I've resumed my cool spot in the family. (until next week)

While I was there, my Sis turned me onto this meat marinade. Have you ever seen this before? It's amazing. Since we arrived home the night before Easter, and I definitely don't have a ham defrosted magically, we are marinating with this and bbq'ing. It's a California thing. Well it is tonight.

Dakota Buckaroo Marinated Chicken
4 pieces of chicken breast (or whatever you have)
1 cup of Dakota Buckaroo sauce


Place the chicken and the sauce in a bag. The bottle says to let marinate 15 minutes but being the rebel I am, I did two hours.
BBQ or cook on a grill pan


Do you mind sharing with me?

Pulled Pork Chili

I'm cleaning out my freezer before we go on vacation. Meaning, I'm eating what we have on hand rather than filling the frig as we leave town. Last month I made an awesome pulled pork (Blue Moon Pulled Pork Tacos) and froze the leftovers. Its been windy and chilly here so some warm hearty chili will hit the spot after a baseball game. This recipe is a pantry recipe. Toss ingredients into your crock pot and let it all simmer while you freeze your tush off at the baseball field

Pulled Pork Chili
3 cups Pulled Pork
1 can Rotel undrained
1 can diced tomatoes undrained
1 carrot shredded
1 bell pepper diced
1 garlic clove minced
1 onion diced
2 large cans of Kidney Beans drained and rinsed
1 can tomato paste
1 can beef stock
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano

Dump all ingredients into crock pot and let simmer 3 hours on low




Garnish with tortilla strips, cheese and green onions. I personally like some low fat sour cream too.

Roasted Fingerling Potato Medley

I drug (not medically) The Tortured Teenager to the grocery store with me today. Partly because she's leaving home in months and I will miss these times and partly because she doesn't eat at home nearly enough and I want to entice her to dinner. Each food I placed into the cart was "yuck" "ewh" or a turned up nose. Surprising because she loves all foods. Even the potatoes got the same reaction. Potatoes!! And these were some adorable fingerling potatoes. I could have grabbed a big bag of russets but I am watching my figure and find that a sprinkling of carbs curbs the craving. Plus they are cute AND from Idaho. I love all things from Idaho. (do not insert any jokes. No really lol)

I also find that cauliflower and potatoes go really well together. I make a cauliflower potato dish that The Firefighter loves. It's fast and fools you that you are being naughty. Tonight I'm roasting them with bell pepper and onions and a generous seasoning of some Cajun seasoning. It roasts while the Cheater Honey Dijon Chicken roasts. Garnish with some parsley from the garden and I feel like I'm cheating while staying under my calorie limit. The Tortured Teenager has no idea what she's missing.

Roasted Fingerling Potato Medley
1 head of cauliflower broken up or 1 bag of it chopped
1 onion sliced into chunks
1 bell pepper chopped
1/2 bag of Fingerling Potatoes

Spray a cookie sheet with some cooking spray. Toss the Cauliflower onto the tray. I like my cauliflower pretty roasted so I tend to make the cauliflower chunks pretty small so they will brown up more than everything else.
Make sure the bell pepper is in big chunks. They shrink when roasting.
add the bell pepper and the onion to the pan
quarter the fingerlings
I'm only using half the bag. It makes me feel like I am getting more potatoes than I really am. Tricking my mind is half the battle.

I like all the colors!


Now give it all a good spray with some cooking spray
And sprinkle with some Creole Seasoning. I like this one from Zatarains. If you don't have this, you could opt for some of my Fireman's Seasoning
See! Get it all really good and seasoned!
Roast in a 400 degree oven until golden brown
Try to share with the family!

Honey Dijon Chicken Wrap

I'm on a wrap kick. I need one every day. I have to have one every day for lunch. Between you and me it's because I can stuff so much into it, feel full and stay around 350 calories. It's amazing. Last night I made Cheater's Honey Dijon Chicken. I wasn't even caring about the dinner but the leftovers for the wrap. I am finding that this is the case most nights. I only think about the leftovers for wraps and sandwiches. Most despise leftovers and I am dreaming of them. There must be something wrong with me!

Honey Dijon Chicken Wrap
makes 1 wrap

1 cup of chicken diced
1 green onion diced
1 Flat out tortilla
1 TB light Mayo
1 TB Lawry's Honey Dijon Marinade
1/2 cup of cherry tomatoes
2-3 cups of mixed greens (I can really cram them in a wrap)
1 laughing cow light swiss cheese wedge
dice up one chicken breast. I like it really diced
place in a bowl big enough to add the rest of the ingredients to
Add 1 TB of light mayo (really you wont notice a difference) and Honey dijon sauce

oops dont forget the onions
Now these little wedges are my guilty pleasure. They are so good and have practically no calories in them. They have become my go to for wraps

Spread it out. Its like cream cheese but better
Place the whole bowl of chicken mixture on the tortilla in the center
Now dump three giant handfuls of Mixed Greens. I keep this always in my frig! I go thru two boxes a week.
Add Tomatoes. Aren't these pretty? Salt and pepper them just because...
Roll up stuffing all the lettuce in. Told you I could cram a lot of lettuce into it!
Now Dive in!

Cheater's Honey Dijon Chicken

A girlfriend told me the other night she was making "cheaters spaghetti" for dinner. I fell for it, had to know what she meant. It's was all out of a jar or bag. Genius! I have stolen her term. So tonight I'm making Cheaters Honey Dijon Chicken. I've made it home made. You remember last year's Honey Mustard Chicken? The sauce was SO good I used it for a dip too! No homemade sauce tonight. Lawry's is my right hand man! Too easy! Dump chicken into a bag. Dump a little sauce I to the bag and let sit. I let mine sit for a couple hours because I'm a rebel like that. Bake and serve. I'm serving with Roasted Fingerling Potato Medley that's seasoned with some creole seasoning. But I'm most excited for the leftovers. I'm digging a wrap with the chicken and some soft cheese and maybe some apple chopped in it. We'll see. Stayed tuned!

Cheaters Honey Dijon Chicken
1 cup of Lawry's Dijon and Honey
1 package of chicken breasts (mine are preseasoned)
1 ziplock bag
Dump the sauce into a bag with the chicken. If your chicken isn't preseasoned, sprinkle both sides with some Season Salt. Stick into the frig for at least an hour. Again, I don't follow directions very well, so I let it sit for the afternoon. If you take my approach, you will want to turn the bag over every hour or so to coat the chicken thoroughly.
Place chicken on a greased cookie sheet. You could and probably should cover the sheet with foil for easy clean up but being that I have teenage kids, I put my foot down and torture them with dishes. Discard the marinade in the ziplock bag.
Bake in a 400 degree oven. Every oven is different. Mine just happens to be a dinosaur and takes FOREVER so be sure to check often. After all you want it nice and juicy inside and not raw. Take out of the oven and glaze each piece with an additional TB of the marinade (from the bottle, not the bag)
This is the most important tool I have in my kitchen. An instant read thermometer is a life saver. No over cooked meats.
Stick under the broiler for just a couple minutes.
Transfer to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes
Slice and serve!