The flavors of the orange and ginger complement each other in this vegetable stir-fry with orange sauce and BBQ sesame ginger chicken thighs.
Chicken thighs are a favorite cut of dark meat for those who love to cook, due to the thighs flavor and tenderness.
Because dark meat contains more tendons, chicken thighs are a tough cut, but because they contain more fat than white meat, they are more tender and juicy.
Prepare your bbq grill and place thighs on the cool grill. Close lid and allow to cook on one side for about 10 minutes, than flip and cook another 6 minutes or so.
After flipping the thighs, by this time the grill will be hot.
After chicken is done, dip thighs in sauce and return to grill to cook about 2-3 minutes more on each side. The meat should have shinny glaze appearance.
Sprinkle thighs after second flip with sesame seeds. Remove from grill and place in pan with prepare vegetables, cashews and orange sauce.
Preparing The Orange Sauce Vegetable and Cashew Stir Fry
If you have a side burner, start cooking the orange sauce, vegetables and cashews in a large pan over a medium-high flame when chicken thighs are about three fourths way done.
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs marinated in sesame ginger sauce
Orange Sauce
1 cup of Orange Juice
1 tbsp White Vinegar
1 tbsp Sugar
1 tbsp Honey
¼ tsp Salt
½ tsp Dark Soy Sauce
3 pcs Shallot
1 tsp Minced Garlic
½ tsp Minced Ginger
1 tbsp Corn Starch
2 tbsp Barbeque Sauce
2 tsp Sukiyaki Sauce
2 tsp Orange Marmalade
Place all ingredients in a large pan over medium high heat.
1 16 ounce bag frozen vegetables, your choice
1/3 cup cashews
Add partially thawed vegetables to orange sauce and sauté. Do not over cook the vegetables.
Add cashews and stir in. Turn off heat and top stir-fry with bbq chicken thighs.
Preparing Birria de Borrego can be considered a labor of love, as it takes more than three hours to prepare, and it is well worth it.
What is the difference between lamb and beef you may ask? Lamb tends to have less marbling than beef, and when you trim the fat around the edges after cooking, the meat ends up much leaner.
You ask what about the fat? Will to start, even though their are no studies that have linked saturated fat to heart disease or raising your cholesterol, you will be happy to know that how you prepare meat influences its healthiness.
For example, meat that is grilled, broiled, or roasted tends to reduce fat, were as pan-frying will increase it.
Buying Your Lamb At Market
Organic standards help lower the risk of contaminated feed and organic lamb has higher nutrient quality.
But to assure you are truly buying an organic raised animal, make sure that packaging say 100% grass-fed.
However, remember that the word “organic” by itself does not guarantee a natural lifestyle for the lambs.
As long as a lamb is fed purely grass from a pasture it can have higher amounts of omega-3 fatty acids.
In Australia, where lamb is eaten frequently by both children and adults, recent studies have shown lamb to rank among the top omega-3 foods in the daily diet.
Grass-fed lamb has shown to average around 25% more omega-3 than grain fed lamb, including as much as 49% more alpha-linolenic acid.
The World’s Healthiest Foods (WHF) website used their nutritional profile of grass-fed lamb, and found on average that 100% grass fed lamb’s meat to have 40 milligrams of omega-3 per one ounce of roasted lamb loin.
WHF says that’s 50% of omega-3 found in an ounce of baked cod or broiled tuna, and 67% of the amount found in one ounce of sesame seeds.
Our featured recipe is a locally grown 100% grass-fed Birria de Borrego or Roasted Lamb, and here is what you will need.
By the way, if the area were you live doesn’t raise lamb, check out these websites…
Place lamb roast in a large pot with tight lid. Add 1 ½ cups of water, garlic, pepper, cinnamon, oregano, thyme, vinegar and bay leaves to the pot.
Bring the pot of lamb to a boil. Once the lamb is boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and place the lid over the pot. Simmer for two hours until the lamb meat comes off the bone easily with a fork. Remove pot from heat.
Allow to cool some, then remove the lamb from the pot and place on a plate or cutting board. Shred the lamb with a fork and cut with a knife if necessary. Salt to taste and place shredded meat into a large pot.
Cut the stem off the chilies and slit them lengthwise. Remove the seeds and place the chilies in a small saucepan with two cups of water. Bring the chilies to a boil and boil for two minutes or until the chilies are tender. Remove chilies from the water and chop coarsely.
Add the chopped chilies to the lamb and mix thoroughly. Reheat the lamb before serving. Serve on tortillas with salsa or guacamole topped with cilantro. A great meal for your Cino de Mayo celebration this May 5th, 2016.
When the suns behind the winter clouds and not able to warm your skin, the next best thing is Red Kale Cannellini Beans and Chorizo Soup.
The cannellini beans or white beans are also known as white Italian kidney beans. The skin of the white kidney beans are much thinner and more delicate than their red cousins. White beans also have a smooth, but slightly nutty tasting interior.
Concerned about your daily fiber in take? A half cup serving of cooked cannellini beans are a excellent source of dietary fiber, providing you with 7 grams of your 30 grams of fiber needed daily for good health.
Here is what you will need for this simple and nutritious Red Kale Cannellini Beans and Chorizo Soup.
Our ingredients are all organic grown and harvested and pasture fed meat.
Over medium heat, add oil to a large sauce pot. Once heated add meat and brown. Next add onions, and garlic. Stir until garlic and onion is just browned about 1 minute.
Next add diced carrots and celery, and stir until you see the vegetables brighten in color, about 2 minutes. Next add chicken broth, beans and salt.
Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer, and add kale, then stir in. Place lid on pot, and on simmer let soup cook another 5 minutes.
To thicken the soup a little, as we did not use potatoes (their starch content will thicken soups), you can add some arrowroot starch. In a small glass add 1 tablespoon of starch and stir in a teaspoon of fresh water, and add when soup is boiling. When soup has thickened some, lower heat to a simmer. Add kale and stir in, then place lid on soup pot and let cook another 5 minutes.
According to Mangia Bene Pasta, the Cannellini beans are difficult to harvest when ripe and therefore are harvested in the fall when the pod is completely dry. As a result, the beans are rarely eaten fresh.
In some parts of Italy, the beans are a popular accompaniment to tuna and pasta dishes containing poultry. In the United States, vegetarians often utilize the hearty beans as a fish or chicken substitute, due to its protein source (WiseGeek).
The dried beans double in size when soaked, so a few beans go a long way in a dish. Cannellini beans are available in supermarkets in both dried and canned form. If cannellini beans are unavailable, great northern beans or navy beans can be used, though they are a much smaller bean.
We have noted some of the many health benefits of this spire like vegetable, so you can understand the importance of cooking it right, so as to enjoy them.
These quick-cooking, water less methods will preserve the fabulous nutritional content and antioxidant power of asparagus, either roast, grill, or stir-fry.
Our featured recipe – Asparagus with Garlic and Smoked Bacon – is prepared as a stir-fry. We also suggest this recipe as a prepared side dish to accompany your turkey dinner left overs from last week (Thursday, November. 26, 215).
Here is what you will need.
1 pound asparagus thin stalks, trim ends, cut 1-inch lengths
1/2 pound pasture fed bacon, flavor is your choice – we used a smoked bacon from Whole Foods Market
5 garlic gloves, chopped
Cut bacon into 1-inch slices, place into a large pan over medium heat. When bacon is 1/2 cooked add garlic and stir until you smell the garlic, about 1 minute.
Next add the prepared asparagus and continue to stir until bacon is cooked through, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Plate and serve with your favorite main dish.
Enjoy our other recipes here at – Splendid Recipes and More – using asparagus…
With chickenbreasts on hand that are skinless, and boneless , you can always have something quick and satisfying to eat for dinner. Whether you grill, boil, pouch or roast, there will always be an easy chicken breastrecipe for any occasion.
Boneless chicken breasts are a go to fresh meat choice for any time-pressed home cook and their kitchen because they’re quicker to cook than bone-in chicken breasts.
Brushing the chicken breasts with a cooking oil (preferably olive, coconut, or avocado oils) or marinade before roasting or broiling helps prevent the chicken breasts from drying out.
For a quick lunch or dinner, it is really easy to incorporate chicken breast into salads, or pastas (Link here for ideas using chicken and leafy greens as: Salads as a Main Course).
We have the roasted chicken breast recipe, and all you have to do is choose the occasion. Our featured recipe is, RoastedChicken Breast With Ginger CarrotSalad. Just 45 minutes from start to finish, and here is what you will need.
Slice breasts into two’s horizontally. Melt coconut oil (it is bought solid, but melts above 76 degrees), and place into a 13 X 9 glass baking dish.
Next coat chicken in oil on both sides. You will note that the coconut oil will solidify once again on the cold chicken breasts, as they are colder than 76 degrees.
Place baking dish in to oven on middle rack and roast for 10 minutes, than turn breasts and roast another 10 minutes or until chicken reaches 165 degrees internal temperature.
While cooking the chicken, you can prepare the salad. Boil some water in a small pot, about 2 cups. Place shredded carrots and dried cherries into a medium glass mixing bowl, and add boiling water. Set aside for 3 minutes.
Next drain water and rinse carrots and cherries in a colander under running water, and pplace produce back into the glass bowl.
Next add the chopped cilantro with the 1/4 cup of Ginger Cilantro dressing (by Paleo Chef), and mix together. Set aside.
Next plate a piece of Boston lettuce leaf, and place piece of chicken breast on top. Then top the chicken breast with the ginger carrot salad, and enjoy!!
Wasabröd produces a wide variety of crisp breads, with the original crisp bread made of rye. Other additions since 1919 include sesame,wheat, oats, flax seed, and other grains. Like matzo, Wasa is noted for its shelf longevity.
Wasa crisp bread is popular during the European “Oktoberfest‘ (a festival that takes place from mid-September through October).
Oktoberfest comes once a year, with vibrant music, over-flowing beer, sausage, and colorful German costumes. It is a festival held every Fall to celebrate German heritage, and includes lots of great finger foods.
Our featured recipe is an inspiration of the German festival and the Wasa crisp bread: Greek Yogurt Dill Spread with Ham and Red Cabbage On Wasa Crisp Bread. Here is what you will need.
Prepare the yogurt-dill spread. Cut basil leaves from stems and wash (pat dry). Spread yogurt-dill onto a piece of Wasa crisp bread. Next top with a slice of lunch meat. We used a smoked black-forest honey ham. Next top the meat with a fresh basil leaf, and top that with the red cabbage.
You don’t need to wait util the next Oktoberfest to enjoy this healthy and awesomely delicious finger food. When making your shopping list be sure to include a package of Wasa Crisp Bread (your favorite), and the accompanying ingredients. Oh, and it makes a great party favorite finger food.
For more great ideas to topping Wasa Crisp Bread link here: Wasa – Since 1919.
In a medium bowl mix cream cheese, ½ cup of cheese, bell pepper, oregano, garlic and salt to taste.
When we salt in our recipes, it is always use Himalayan salt.
After you mix up the ingredients, set aside.
Cut chicken long ways across breast. Place each cut chicken piece one at a time in a large plastic bag, seal it and with a rubber mallet or rolling pin flatten chicken to ¼-inch thicknesses.
At one end of chicken strip roll up with cheese mixture, tucking in ends around filling to completely enclose the filling.
Place seam sides down in 13 x 19 inch baking dish coated with olive oil. Pour spaghetti sauce evenly over chicken, and cover with aluminum foil.
Place in preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
Remove foil, sprinkle chicken with remaining ½ cup shredded cheese. Bake an additional 3 to 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Plate and enjoy your Italian Five Cheese Chicken Roll Ups with a salad or your favorite vegetable.
Preparing your Independence Day (July 4thUSA) is always done with either a party, picnic, or a cookout, at which you may try to make easy to have in the backyard, at the park or by the water. Here is an easy and fast way to accomplish that, with our featured recipe: Organic BBQ Hot Dogs and Potato Pack.
You can easily prepare these at home before you leave to the park, or beach. For each serving, you steam 9 to 10 mini colored potatoes (about 40 mini potatoes for a serving of 4), just until a fork can insert with no problem.
Next, using heavy duty foil, cut a piece 12 inches X 18 inches long. Place a cooked uncured organic all beef hot dog in the center, and arrange 9 to 10 of the small steamed potatoes around the hot dog. For each packet you will add 3 to 4 tablespoons of diced onion (optional), 1/4 to 1/3 cup of shredded cheese, of your choice, and pour an organic barbecue sauce over the top.
Fold foil to form a tent around the food, making sure it is closed tight. Place into your ice cooler, until ready to barbecue at the park or beach.
Heat your barbecue grill to medium. Now place your foiled tent wraps in a barbecue basket and place on the warm grill. Close the lid and let the food heat through for about 10 to 12 minutes.
Using a pair of barbecue tongs, remove the tent wraps and place each on to individual plates. Open the wraps, top with more cheese (optional) and allow to cool, serve and enjoy.
Divide potato wedges among four pieces of heavy-duty foil (about 18 in. square). Top each with a hot dog, onion wedges and cheese. Drizzle with barbecue sauce. Fold foil around mixture, sealing tightly.
Grill covered over medium heat 10-12 minutes or until heated through. Using a pair of barbecue tongs, remove from heat to individual plates. Open foil carefully to allow steam to escape. Top with more cheese, if desired.
(Recipe adopted from June/July 2013 Taste of Home Magazine – rearranged to fit our pallet)
If only we could include the smell, of those vegetables barbecuing. You’ll just have to prepare this featured recipe to enjoy that smell.
Grilling vegetables is really easy and a lot of fun. Barbecuing gets you outside to enjoy fresh air. Put on a little music and enjoy the view of your garden. If you bbq in the sun, you’re getting your daily dose of vitamin-D as well.
The general rule to BBQ your vegetables is to cut them into pieces that will cook quickly and evenly. All the cut pieces should be of consistent thickness and no more than about 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Most will soak their cut vegetables in cold water for about 30 minutes before grilling them to keep them from drying out.
BBQ vegetables are meant for entertaining, and grilling them brings out their natural sweetness, and the the seasoning mix or marinade adds a real punch of flavor your palate is sure to enjoy every time.
Let’s get started with our featured recipe: BBQ Garlic Lemon Vegetable Platter with a Avocado Greek Yogurt Dipping Sauce. This vegetable platter makes for a great appetizer to keep your guests happily waiting while you finish up the main course.
Here is what you will need.
1/2 pound green beans, fresh, trimmed
1 medium sweet potato, cut french fry style, 1 inch thick (option to remove or leave peel on)
1 each red, yellow, purple carrots, medium size, cut into strips, 1 inch thick (option to remove or leave peel on)
2 teaspoons garlic lemon seasoning (we purchased the seasoning at Whole Foods Market)
1/2 cup of Cindy’s Kitchen “Fresh Avocado Vinaigrette” (purchased at Whole Foods Market)
4 or 5 tablespoons greek yogurt, with full fat
Line your BBQ grill with some aluminum foil, put grill into place, and heat the grill with your favorite method (chips, charcoal, or gas). While waiting for grill to heat, in a large mixing bowl add the oil, vinegar, and seasoning. Next add the cut vegetables and mix until well coated.
After preparing the vegetables (no we did not soak them in water, as the grill is foil lined they are not exposed to the flame) spread out the season coated vegetables onto the hot grill, then turn down fire (if using gas).
Grill the vegetables, turning occasionally, for about 7 to 8 minutes (if using gas). Do not overcook, as the vegetables can dry out, and will become flimsy, which you do not want. You want your vegetables cooked, but still firm and with some crunch.
Remove BBQ vegetables to a plate, and set aside to cool some while preparing the dipping sauce.
To a medium mixing bowl, add the avocado vinaigrette and greek yogurt, and mix until well blended. pour into a smaller bowl that will fit in the middle of a round platter with vegetables arranged around it.
Serve this prepared platter as a side dish or an appetizer to entertain your guests as they arrive, or even put it on your Sunday Brunch menu.
Just hearing the word barbecue can make one think of a social gathering about to take place, either in your backyard, in the mountains, at the beach, at a friends place, or at the park. Where there is a barbecue, there is always food served.
Barbecuing is most always outdoors, and either in the late afternoon or evening, and most of the time on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon.
Have you ever wondered about the term BBQ or barbecued? Well, this term is used in two ways, as an adjective that refers to this method of cooking the food, and secondly used as a verb for the act of cooking the food.
Barbecuing food is cooked either using wood chips, charcoal, or propane gas, and there are many different regional variations depending where you are at in the world.
History Of Barbecuing
Most literature on the history of barbecuing points to Haiti as the origin. Some historians on barbecuing write that when the Spaniards who arrived after Columbus (who landed in North America in 1492) a few years later, found the Haitian people roasting animal meat over a raised wooden framework. The fire was built underneath, and the flames and smoke would rise and envelop the meat.
It is also written that Spanish explorers, Gonzalo Fernández De Oviedo y Valdés, were the first to use the word “barbecoa” in print in Spain in 1526. Barbecoa is the Spanish word for Barbecue in English.
As we noted earlier, barbecuing is used as a verb, and the Oxford English Dictionary cites the first recorded use of the word in the English language as a verb in 1661.
BBQ as a Sport
Barbecuing really isn’t a sport, but it is has permeated all of society and is a tradition in much of the world. There are BBQ competitions held yearsly, and almost all competition grillers use charcoal, most often in large, custom designed brick or steel grills.
Barbecue competitions are held in just about every state in the United States during the warmer months, from April through September. These competitive events feature competitions between teams of cooks and are divided into separate competitions, best BBQ pork, beef, chicken, and including the best barbecue sauces.
Here at Splendid Recipes and More, we are not competitive when it comes to barbecuing, we are just happy that the method was ever invited.
Here are some very simple and easy recipes for barbecuing beef and chicken.
To a small boil add about 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil and about 1/8 cup Mirin (a sweet rice cooking wine).
To the bowl add:
1/2 teaspoon himalayan salt
1 teaspoon dried minced garlic
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
Mix spices, mirin, and oil until well incorporated.
Place 1 pound of chicken breasts (about 4) onto a heated foil prepared barbecue (your choice to use wood chips, charcoal or propane).
Next bast each chicken breast with spice mixture, turn breasts and bast the other side. Turn chicken about every 6 to 8 minutes so meat cooks evenly. No need to bast continuously, as the foil protects the meat juices and spices from falling through the grill.
We also have a foil tent of mixed vegetables (you can use what ever type of vegetable you like), this is a great way to utilize the heat from the barbeque without using your kitchen stove top, and possibly warming the house up on a hot day.
We added about 2 or 3 tablespoons of avocado oil with 1 teaspoon of garlic lemon seasoning, that we purchased at the Whole Foods Market. Cook vegetables until done.
If the vegetables do finish before the meat is cooked, just leave them in their foiled tent and place them into a cover dish to keep them warm.
When everything is cooked and ready to eat…
just plate and enjoy.
Now for our second simple and easy barbecue recipe – BBQ Beef and Sweet Pepper Fajitas –
Prepare 1 or 2 pounds of carne para asar or carne asada, as it is called in Spanish. It is thin (very thin, less than 1/4 inch thick) cuts of sirloin, which can be found in most meat markets or the meat section of your favorit market to shop for food. Prepare the meat by cutting away any fat, and cutting meat into 1 and half inch long strips by about 1 inch wide. Seed about 7 or 8 sweet mini peppers (use yellow, orange, and red), cut them into strips about 1/2 inch wide.
Now for the seasoning we had two choices in our spice cupboard. A Mayan Coffee Rub, and a Caribbean Rub, both purchased at the whole foods Market. We used the Caribbean Rub, and how fitting considering the history of barbequing started in Haiti, which is in the Caribbean.
Place 1 tablespoon of Caribbean rub spices into a large mixing bowl with 1/4 cup avocado oil, and a small amount of balsamic vinegar (about 1/2 teaspoon). Mix the liquids and spices together.
Next add the meat and sweet peppers and mix till well coated. Let set, and fire up the barbeque. Line a piece of tin foil to fit your grill.
When the barbeque is heated, add the meat mixture and cook until done, turning about every 5 or 8 minutes.
When the meat mix is cooked remove to a platter and serve.
Because we foil lined the grill, look at the juices that did not trip through. After placing cooked meat mixture onto a platter, pour those juices over the -BBQ Beef and Sweet Pepper Fajitas –