I love garlic. Everything is better with garlic, kind of like bacon, but not. Okay, maybe ice cream isn't better with garlic... but still, our house would never be a candidate for a vampire invasion. Zombies would get us first because I'm pretty sure brains are better with garlic! And my family is probably pickled with garlic because I put it in just about every recipe I make (well not the Littles -- so we'd have to save them from the vampires but I bet the zombies wouldn't eat them.)
The apricot preserves give a hint of sweet without overpowering the garlicky goodness and the siracha sauce gives it a little extra kick. And not a hard kick -- I've developed quite the pansy palette since my surgery and can't handle super spicy things at all and 4ft has always been a wuss when it comes to hot spices. So this recipe is really kid friendly, if 4ft's snorting noises as it horked it down are any indication, and easy on a sensitive stomach because I had no problem putting my portion away either sans the pork noises of course.
4ft loves "chicken on the bone" (that's what he calls chicken legs or a whole roasted chicken), it's like his favorite chicken ever. It doesn't matter if it's psuedo-fried, roasted, barbecued, baked, whatever -- maybe even raw. His eyes get saucer big and he starts licking his lips the second he knows we're having it. Normally, I get whole chickens when they're like 79 cents a pound (I'm cheap like that) and then roast them with potatoes and carrots but they're not always that cheap and I have a little teeny eeny weeny freezer so I can't buy them in bulk and store them up.
So when they're not cheap, it's too hot to bake for hours on end, or I just don't want to go through the hassle of carving it, I just buy a package of chicken legs -- that's his favorite part of the chicken anyway (you should see this kid around a turkey leg. He's a leg guy). And, of course, the best thing to do with chicken legs is fry them except it's too much oil for my stomach and it makes me nauseous. Luckily, there is panko bread crumbs which gives chicken an amazing crunch without frying it in oil. And oven-pseudo-fried chicken is even better when marinated. Especially if it's a yogurt and buttermilk marinade. It gives the meat great flavor as well as tenderizes the meat. I love me some marinades.
My family actually likes this chicken recipe better than the regular fried recipes I used to use (back before I had my surgery before it made me want to yak). 4ft would eat the entire pack of chicken legs cooked this way if I'd let him. I'm not sure where he puts all the food as he's only nine (I don't know what I'm going to do when he hits the teenaged years and eats even more -- I guess it's a good thing I don't eat so much anymore). Even my husband, who hates "chicken on the bone" because it's effort to eat (yeah, he's that lazy), gobbles these up too.
So here's another installment of "I haven't traveled but I wanna and am doing so from home with food". Well sorta. I have to get creative because while I'm game to try anything, my family -- not so much.
This week, we traveled to Greece, by way of gyros with tzatziki sauce. So, I know gyros are traditionally made with lamb. My family won't eat lamb. My husband swears he doesn't like it, but I'm not sure as if he has ever tried it, and 4ft would rather have one as a pet than *gasp* eat one so I knew that was a no go. From what I can tell it's the spices that make the gyro not the meat so much as they have them with ground beef and chicken too. Well I figured why the heck not and used pork. I had it in the freezer and it needed to get eaten before it died of freezer burn but these spices would work with any meat. I also cheated more, gyros are usually served on flat bread which has hurt my stomach in the past, so we used whole wheat, low carb, tortillas. Seriously yummy and 4ft said it was one of the best tacos he's ever had. Taco? I know, right? Sheesh. That would explain why he put ketchup on his. Where did I go wrong?
Tzatziki sauce is usually made with plain Greek yogurt of which I had none of (I thought I did but somehow I don't think key lime Greek yogurt would've been delicious) so I cheated and used light sour cream -- they're pretty close -- but it would've been nice to have the protein from the plain Greek yogurt. Next time. I also didn't use cucumbers because 1.) I didn't have any and 2.) my family loathes them. But the sauce turned out pretty delicious regardless of all my substitutions and complimented the meat really well. My family (except for the Littles who just had cheese quesadillas -- another reason 4ft thought they were tacos I'm sure) thought so as well if their cleaned plates, full bellies, and satisfied smiles that accompanied their belches were any indication.
I was bouncing around on the net, looking at food porn (I love looking at well pictured food and then try to make my own), when I came across a "Better Than Twizzlers" idea. Basically, if you roast strawberries at 225 degrees Fahrenheit for 3 hours, it dries them out and makes them like candy. Yeah... that so did not happen. They turned brown and soft and soggy. Not only did they look unappealing there was nothing Twizzlers about them.
However the strawberry flavor was intense and I'd done about a cup and half of them -- I hate to waste food. What could I do with strawberries that looked gross, had a gross texture, but tasted amazing? Say it with me, "Ice Cream!" This ice cream is the best I've made to date. If I'd had strawberry protein powder it'd probably had been more amazing -- I ordered some by the way, so I'll let you know.
3 hours is effort for ice cream, I know. You could always just tell yourself you're making "Better Than Twizzlers" and then when it doesn't work for you can go for the ice cream save (however if it does work for you, tell me what you did because I was majorly let down).
I had a yen for Chinese food (see what I did there? I'm ever so witty) and it's always fun to make my brain feel like it's going to explode when I make Asian persuasion food and my family who are sworn Chinese food haters gobble it up with little pig snorts and happy dances (well except the Littles but they'll break eventually -- 4ft did). And yet, they still stand by their stance that Chinese food is up there with beets and liver in disgustingness. There are really things wrong with my family. Seriously.
This dish was no different. They gobbled it up making foodgasm noises and telling me how delicious it was. My parents stayed for dinner and they, like me -- us normal people, really love Chinese food and they said it was really good and tasted like it'd come from a restaurant. It tasted pretty authentic to me too not that it necessarily means that it is as I have no idea what goes into "real" Chinese food. I just throw a bunch of things from the Asian aisle of the supermarket together and call it good. Thank goodness they have international theme'd aisles or I'd really be in trouble.
