Mariel's Noms Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

A recipe! Finally! This one came together kind of on a whim but turned out delicious, so definitely try it for yourself and enjoy!

I was seriously craving the tastes of the south two nights ago for dinner, and all we had in the fridge that was defrosted was chicken, so I thought...pulled chicken instead of pork? Why not! I did a quick search for a recipe (as always), and found one that looked fairly simple and quick, as the dinner hour was quickly approaching by the time this decision was made. 

However, as soon as I started on the recipe I had found, I realized that what I was about to make would be in no way similar to the recipe, as we were out of practically every ingredient on the list! 

That's when the improvisin' came in, and luckily turned out great!

Start off your pulled chicken with a little spice paste to slather your chicken in before a quick sear:

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon celery seed

2 tablespoons ketchup

1 teaspoon louisiana hot sauce

a good grind of fresh black pepper

sea salt

Stir everything together until it forms a paste, and then rub it into about 4-5 skinless, boneless chicken breasts.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a stock pot and sear the chicken breasts until browned but not cooked through.

Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.

Next, finely dice:

1/2 bell pepper

1 small onion

Add these to the pot and cook until tender.

Then add the chicken back to the pot. 

Next add:

1 cup of clamato juice

2 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon louisiana hot sauce

Bring the chicken in the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, pop the lid on and let the chicken simmer for 20 minutes or until cooked through.

When the chicken is cooked, remove it from the liquid and turn the heat off.

On a plate, pull the chicken apart with two forks and then return it to the liquid.

Bring everything back to a boil and add:

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Let the liquid reduce, and your pulled chicken is done!

Serve your pulled chicken on buttered, soft buns.

I was so surprised at how delicious this was! It tastes authentic and moist and melt-in-your-mouth good! There were so many changes I made that it was nothing like the original recipe, so here you go: Mariel's Noms Pulled Chicken Sandwiches! Yum.

xoxo

Mariel

Jerk Chicken n' Red Stripe

Hello loves! Okay, okay...so I've also realized that I've kind of been on a chicken kick lately...but everything chicken I've eaten has just been so good! Last night I (finally) headed out to the Monthly Reggae Night at Redstar with Patrick (who I stole these photo's from...it was so dark in there I'm sure my camera wouldn't have sufficed)! 

I have been dying to try the jerk chicken, rice and peas (the "peas" are actually beans) and cornbread (I have a major weakness for cornbread) for ages (and of course sip on the red stripe specials), but since this event falls on the first wednesday of every month, something school-wise always came up!

But I finally have gone, and am pleased to tell you - the food was everything I dreamed it would be. The chicken was the perfect heat (spicy, but not burn-your-mouth-off spicy), and so moist and juicy, the rice and peas were delicious and homey and the corn bread was perfect. The red stripe's were icy cold and the people there - incredible! I have a feeling this won't be my last journey out to Redstar for these nights...

xoxo

Mariel

Chicken n' Waffles

Hello everyone! I'm sitting here waiting to go out to eat tonight (more on this later), and browsing through a bazillion food blogs (which is making me even hungrier than I already am), and came across this, and just couldn't not share. Gourmet chicken and waffles? Yes please.

More here: http://momofukufor2.com/

xoxo

Mariel

Korean Chicken Wings and More

Hello everyone! I've got some very yummy recipes for you to try out from tonight's dinner! 

I was on supper duty today, and came home to see a big package of chicken wings sitting out on the counter defrosting. Not in the mood for the usual buffalo or salt and pepper wings, I went searching through the fridge and cupboard to see what we had to add some interest and flavor to those puppies. Upon searching, I realized that we were running pretty low - on almost everything!

It must have been my craving for something nice and garlicky paired with our abundance of Asian flavours that inspired tonight's meal! Whenever I think garlic + Asian ingredients, Korean food always come to my mind first. 

After a quick search on the internet to see how things go together nicely to form uniquely Korean flavours, I got started on making dinner!

The menu for the night: Korean chicken wings, Gamja Jorim (potato side dish) & Ol Namul (cucumber salad).

I started off with the wings, as they would take the longest. Here's how I made them!

Korean Chicken Wings

1 to 2 pounds chicken wings

2 tablespoons canola oil (plus more for frying)

3 tablespoons grated ginger

1/4 cup sherry or port

1/4 cup white or rice vinegar

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup Sriracha or other chili/garlic sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place wings on a baking sheet, sprinkle lightly with salt (there's a ton of soy sauce coming later), and cook in the oven for 35 minutes.

While the wings are cooking, in a medium sized frying pan or sauce pan over medium heat, add the canola oil and ginger.

Let the ginger cook for 2 minutes, then add the sherry, vinegar, sesame oil, honey, soy sauce and chili sauce.

Let this mixture simmer for about 2 minutes, then remove from heat and set aside.

In a large sauce pan, pour about an inch or 2 of canola oil, and let it heat up to about 350 degrees F for frying.

Add the cooked wings from the oven into the pot and let them crisp up and get golden brown.

Remove from the fry and let them chill out on some paper towel for a bit.

Finally, toss the fried and baked wings in the sauce and serve up!

These wings turned out amazing! The crispiness from the frying and the intense flavours in the sauce were so incredible. I will definitely be tossing those ingredients together again for a marinade, or another sauce in the future. It is packed with multi-layered flavour, and just the right level of spiciness. 

With our lack of ingredients, and need for some sort of salad/vegetable dish, cucumbers were the answer tonight. After a quick Google search, I learned that Korean food actually does include yummy cucumber recipes! What I did with the cucumbers was super simple, and they were a nice, cool addition to the meal.

Ol Namul (Korean Cucumber Salad)

1 long english cucumber

dash of salt

2 cloves minced garlic

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon Sriracha

Cut the cucumber into circles, and "marinate" with a bit of salt while the chicken wings (or whatever else you're cooking) are being made.

Mix the remainder of the ingredients together, and dress the sliced cucumbers!

Serve chilled, enjoy!

The other thing I was surprised to learn tonight is that simple dressed, cooked, cubed, and cooled potatoes (a kind-of potato salad you could say) are also traditionally Korean! This made me happy as I was just not in the mood for rice tonight.

Gamja Jorim (Korean Potato Side Dish)

4 medium sized potatoes

3 tablespoons soy sauce

3 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons garlic, minced

3 teaspoons sesame oil

4 tablespoons onions, finely minced (scallions would have been much better, but we didn't have any)

Peel the potatoes and cut into approximately 1 inch cubes.

Place cubed potatoes into a saucepan with just enough water to cover them.

Bring to a boil and cook until just tender.

In the meantime, combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl.

When the potatoes are cooked, toss them in the bowl while they're still hot and coat them with the mixture.

Pop in the fridge to cool down.

Serve chilled!

Here's my plate ready to be demolished!

All the flavours went together so well tonight (I sure am glad those cucumbers were in there for a little variety...)!

I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I did! Tonight was a nice change from boring old chicken wings, and I learned a couple things about Korean cooking too!

xoxo

Mariel

Sugar-Free Week: Day 1

Hello all! So it's the end of my very first sugar free day, boy was adjusting difficult! First of all, I have to say how this is making me realize how much sugar I really do consume on a daily basis...every time I went to reach for a meal or a snack, it was so tough consciously picking something with no sugar in it!

It all started with breakfast. For some reason, at the time, I didn't remember that eggs exist...which would've been the obvious choice. But, with my lack of memory, I whipped up a pretty dry breakfast of white cheddar rice crackers topped with cheddar cheese and cucumber slices, dusted with salt and pepper. With this I had an apple cut into slices, which I dipped into almond/cashew butter. This natural sweet treat is actually so delicious! I was very happy when I read the almond/cashew butter label and saw that there was no added sugar. I don't know if I could live without that stuff!

The worst part of the morning was the black coffee...I just couldn't handle it. I think we may buy really cheap coffee...I guess it does come in 3 pound cans... Anyways, I just couldn't stomach the horrible bitter taste and couldn't finish my morning cup.

Later in the morning I was hungry after my light breakfast, and still a little groggy due to my lack of morning caffeine. A snack was in need! I nommed on a banana, a piece of rye toast with butter and cinnamon on it, and a mug of chai tea with milk only. I needed to get that caffeine into my system!

I love Superstore...

Then came lunch. I was busy working away on my essay that was due at midnight tonight, so I just had a yummy little sandwich that Dad had made for me this morning. I think he used sopressata salami and provolone cheese. With this, I had a big glass of water. By the way, this is another thing I'm going to challenge myself to do during this week of no sugar...I am going to attempt to drink 8 glasses of water a day!

After a day full of fairly light noms all around, it was finally dinner. I could barely wait for dinner tonight! We had an Indian rice/vegetable dish and chicken quickly baked in the oven. It could not get on the table fast enough!

We used a nice mix/paste for the rice and vegetables, it was really good! A little spicy...but tasty.

The package came with a little pouch of  a bunch of whole spices and dried herbs to "season" the pan before cooking up the vegetables, I thought that was kind of neat! The pack included a bit of cinnamon, some gigantic bay leaves, anise, and cardamom. It smells wonderful cooking up in the butter!

Then we added in the vegetables that had been marinating in the paste that came in the package. We used green beans, cauliflower and carrots.

When the vegetables are all cooked after a good simmer in the pan, you mix these flavorful veggies with some rice:

And soon enough the chicken was done, too, and dinner was served!

I did it! No sugar today. It was difficult, but it definitely is do-able...I can do this! I even drank the 8 glasses of water today, too! Now only 6 more days to go of this sugar-free lifestyle...

xoxo

Mariel

Trying Something New

Hello folks! So this is a little catch up post from yesterday... Enjoy!

Yesterday when I got home from school I was absolutely ravenous, so I wanted something quick,but healthy, too. I looked into the cupboard and was reminded of the Israeli couscous that we had picked up at Bulk Barn (which I've been dying to try)! I know that regular couscous is done in a snap...so it seemed like the appropriate time to try this variety out!

Here's how to prepare Israeli couscous (it is so nice not having to type out the instructions)! If you click the picture, it will get much larger, so do that if you are having trouble reading the tiny print!

I was surprised at the differences between cooking regular and Israeli couscous! This variety is much more like pasta in the preparation department.

Since I was the only one eating, I only did 1/4 cup of couscous (with 1 cup of water). That was the perfect amount for one person! I can't believe how much this stuff makes once it's cooked!

Here it is simmering away:

While I was waiting for the couscous to finish cooking, I munched on dry roasted almonds and listened to Bon Iver (probably the best music to cook to, ever).

I also rummaged around the fridge and cupboard to see what I could pair up with the couscous to make a complete meal! I found left over Greek salad (which was perfect).

And a lovely little can of yellowfin tuna in olive oil! I also grabbed a bunch of cilantro to add an extra little sumthin' to the dish.

It was so tasty! I love the texture of this couscous so much, plus it has a much less "nutty" flavor than normal couscous, so it could work with a much wider range of dishes!

A filling, complete, healthy meal! I just stirred the left over salad right into the hot couscous, along with the fresh cilantro. After that, I just plopped the canned tuna on top, added a little salt and pep, and it was delish!

For dinner last night, my wonderful father made a chicken pot pie (i LOVE this meal) using left over pie dough (from the monster pie a couple days ago). I love my dad! It was incredible...as always!

I had some MORE left over Greek salad with dinner. I don't mind eating so much Greek salad though...I love anything that's got a ton of garlic in it!

Yesterday was full of unique and wonderful flavors. I definitely recommend trying out the couscous! You will be pleasantly surprised. Anyways, it's about time to go and cook up tonight's dinner! Happy friday everyone!

xoxo

Mariel

Chicken Curry and Almond Milk Success!

Hello folks! I sure had an interesting evening today! It started off with a lovely panic attack as I realized that I had left my WALLET on the BUS when I got home! As the tears started to stream down my face (I do not do well in stressful situations such as that) the phone rang, and a lovely man named Michael was securely holding onto my wallet, waiting for me to come and pick it up! Very, very relieving!

After I had stopped hyperventilating, I realized that the house smelled absolutely incredible! Mom and Ian (yes, he is starting to help with cooking dinner...exciting) had worked together to whip up a tasty chicken curry for dinner!

I was absolutely starving tonight, look at this heaping plate!

I got the recipe from them, don't you worry! This curry was the perfect combination of heat and flavor, mmm.

Chicken Curry

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

5-8 tablespoons curry powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon paprika

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger root

1/2 teaspoon white sugar

salt to taste

3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 cup plain yogurt

3/4 cup coconut milk

1/2 lemon, juiced

1/2 teaspoon Indian chili powder

Heat olive oil in a large skillet or sauce pan over medium-high heat.

Add the onions, and cook until clear.

Add the garlic, curry powder, cinnamon, paprika, bay leaf, ginger, sugar and salt.

Continue stirring for 2 minutes.

Add the chicken pieces, tomato paste, yogurt and coconut milk.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20-25 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf and stir in the lemon juice and chili powder.

Simmer 5 more minutes.

Enjoy!

With the curry we had yummy "pickled" carrots and zucchini. Unfortunately my mother has gone to bed already and I didn't get the recipe from her, so I will post it on another day!

After dinner I turned my attention to the murky bowl of almonds sitting undisturbed on the counter!

It was time to finish up the almond milk that I had started last night! I started off by draining off the gross over night water and then rinsing the soaked almonds!

Now comes the surprisingly simple step:

In a blender, food processor, or magic bullet add the soaked almonds to 4 cups of fresh, cold water. If you want to sweeten up your almond a bit add some honey or agave! You can also add a splash of vanilla extract for a little extra flavor.

Then: blend away! I did mine up in the good ol' magic bullet. Since four cups of water and one and a half cups of almonds does not all fit into the provided bullet cups, I did 'er up in batches.

After you blend the almonds to smithereens, strain off the almond "pulp" with cheesecloth, or a simple sieve. I would recommend the cheese cloth if you've got it, because the sieve method worked quite well, however there was a BIT of almond grit in the bottom of the glass when I had a taste!

Here is the pulp in one bowl (I've saved it...I bet you could make something delicious from the stuff) and the creamy, rich almond milk in another!

Homemade almond milk is so simple!

It's so much creamier than store-bought almond milk...yum! Look at that froth!

I was ecstatic about the success of the almond milk, and thought that my luck (retrieving my forgotten wallet so quickly) was starting to spill over into the other areas of my life! Until...

My camera fell off the kitchen counter and crashed down onto the tile floor...hard.

:(

Fortunately it is still functional, however the front of my beloved camera now looks like terminator with his face blown off. I am very sad. At least it works though! The food blog WILL continue (the food blog will ALWAYS continue)!

xoxo

Mariel