Recipe Swap: Oven-Baked Sriracha Chicken

When I saw this recipe on becoming pigzilla I knew it was the one for me. She says "As soon as I saw the title of this recipe, I knew I had to make it.  You know me, you know I love spicy, and I especially love Sriracha.  I didn’t even have to look at any of the other ingredients.  And just as I expected, it was delicious!". These are my thoughts exactly. I didn't have any hoisin sauce so I made my own but other than that I followed the recipe to a T. Both K and I ate it all. Four thumbs up!!

Oven Baked Sriracha Chicken

Ingredients:
3-4 green onions, thinly sliced, reserving 1 tbsp of green tops for garnish
3 tbsp hoisin sauce (I made my own- recipe here)
1/2 tbsp ginger, freshly grated
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp lime juice
2 tsp Sriracha sauce
pinch of Chinese five spice
pinch of salt
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large bowl, combine green onions, hoisin, ginger, garlic, lime juice, Sriracha, and seasoning.

2. Dip chicken breasts into sauce and place in a shallow baking dish.  Pour any extra sauce over the top of the chicken breasts.  Cover with foil and bake for 35-40 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.  Uncover and turn oven to broil.  Move chicken to top oven rack and broil for 5 minutes.

3. Garnish with green onions and toasted sesame seeds before serving.

Recipe Swap: Pizza Pasta Casserole!!

I love the bloggers choice swaps. Sometimes it takes me a few days to find a recipe but as soon as I saw Pizza Pasta Casserole from Carrie at Carrie's Sweet Life, my mind was made up. K doesn't like red sauce from a jar/can so I made it myself but other than that I stayed true to the recipe. I baked mine in a smaller round dish so I could make a layer of pasta, pepperoni then cheese and repeat. We both loved it!! I sprinkled a little crushed red pepper on mine.

Pizza Pasta Casserole: 

1 lb ground beef
1/2 onion chopped
1 T. garlic powder
1 (26 once) jar spaghetti sauce
12 ounces rotini pasta, cooked and drained
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
8 ounces sliced pepperoni

Brown ground beef, onion, adding oil if needed. Drain. Stir in pasta, spaghetti sauce, and 2 cups cheese. Place mixture in a greased 9×13 pan. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Top with pepperoni. Bake uncovered at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until heated through. Top with Parmesan before serving.

Recipe Swap: Pumpkin Waffles

It's recipe swap time and the theme was breakfast. I was super excited when I saw Pumpkin Waffles from Simple Gourmet Cooking. In all honesty, I forgot about the swap and made these as dessert the night before. Both K and I loved them and had them for breakfast this morning! I didn't have nutmeg and used regular milk. Totally made me ready for fall!

Pumpkin Waffles

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
pinch nutmeg
4 large eggs
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 cups buttermilk (regular milk works too)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
cooking spray or vegetable oil for coating waffle iron
powdered sugar, for serving
maple syrup, for serving

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice and nutmeg.  Set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs and brown sugar until lumps are dissolved and mixture is well blended.  Add the pumpkin, butter, milk and vanilla and whisk until smooth.  Add the flour mixture and stir until smooth.

Heat waffle iron according to the manufacturer's directions.  Lightly coat it with oil.  Pour in enough batter just to fill the iron and spread it evenly, then close the waffle iron.  Cook until waffles are golden brown on the outside and cooked through inside.  Remove to a platter and keep warm.

Serve the waffles sprinkled with powdered sugar and drizzled with maple syrup. 

4-6 servings

Recipe Swap: Peanut Butter Honey Cake with Chocolate Topping

 

It's recipe swap time and the theme was bloggers choice. I was given the blog Cookies on Friday and chose her Peanut Butter Honey Cake with Chocolate Chip Topping. I did not use buttermilk and used regular milk. I'm not sure if it made a huge difference but my cake doesn't look as moist as hers. It sure was good though! I followed all of the other directions to a T, including using the mixer for the crumb topping. I cut the cake before it completely cooled so my picture kinda sucks. Click over to Nicole's blog to see her beautiful pic!

Cake:

½ cup butter, softened

¼ cup peanut butter

¾ cup honey

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

¾ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

¾ cup buttermilk

Topping:

½ cup peanut butter

¾ cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Grease and flour a 9” x 13” pan.

In a large mixer bowl, beat together the butter, ¼ cup peanut butter, and honey. Blend in the eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour to the butter mixture alternately with the buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Pour in the prepared pan.

Prepare the topping: in a mixer bowl, combine the ½ cup peanut butter, sugar, and flour. Stir in the chocolate chips. Crumble the topping over the cake batter. 

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.