Aaron McCargo Jr.'s Chicken Taco Pizza

So these were a HUGE hit at our house, especially with Aaron.  This was an easy recipe I found here, but I made some changes.  The calories, the way I made it, were 620, and Aaron, Noah and I gave this a perfect 10, Jonah says he gave it a 9, and Owen gave it a 7 because he said it was too spicy :).  Here's what I did:

1 T onion powder
1/2 T chili powder
1/2 t dried oregano
1 dash cayenne pepper
1 t ground cumin
salt

1/4 c oil
4 whole garlic cloves, minced
pinch of cumin
1 tube crescent roll dough
1 lb (I used a little more) chicken tenders, cut into bite size pieces and seasoned with salt
2 c shredded Pepper Jack and Mexican blend cheeses
Guacamole
Pico de Gallo

Preheat the oven to 425.
Mix the spices together and set aside.
Mix the oil and garlic together with the cumin.  Roll the crescent roll dough out into 2 long strips on a cookie sheet, brush with the oil, sprinkle with a little of the spice mixture, then set it aside.  Mix about 2/3 of the remaining spice mixture with the remaining oil.
Place the chicken in the oil/spice mixture, turning to coat, and then leave it to marinate, around 30 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the marinade, place it on a broiler pan, and bake for about 10 minutes.  Turn the oven down to 375, then bake the crescent roll dough about 7 minutes.  Remove the dough, spread it with more seasoning, then top it with the chicken and the cheese.  Bake for another 5 minutes or so, maybe a little more, then cut into pieces and serve it with pico and guac.

Michael Symon's Spicy Fried Potatoes

My favorite potato recipe, hands down.  I loved this.  I gave it a perfect 10, Aaron and Noah gave it a 9, and Owen gave it a 4 because of the spicy sauce.  I found this in Michael Symon's Carnivore cookbook, and it was a great side dish.  Each serving was 329 calories, and this was spicy!  The potatoes by themselves are not, just the sauce is.  I actually cut down on the spice, I can't imagine how spicy it would be with the original amounts.  I will post what I did here.

7 small yukon gold potatoes, chopped in half and cooked in well salted water
1/4 c olive oil
1 T paprika
1/2 T chipotle powder
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 c mayonnaise
1 T sriracha sauce
1/4 c bacon fat
salt
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 scallion, chopped

Combine the olive oil, paprika, chipotle powder and garlic together in a small saucepan, and warm for about 1 minute.  Remove from the heat, let cool slightly, then add the mixture to the mayonnaise and sriracha.  Set aside.
Heat the bacon fat in a skillet, then smash each potato with your hand, and cook the potatoes for about 3 minutes per side.  Sprinkle them with salt, the lemon juice and zest, and the scallions.  Serve with the spicy sauce.

So delicious, I will be making these again, and Owen likes them a lot without the spicy sauce, he gives them a 9, so maybe try that if you make this, the potatoes even on their own are delicious.

Chinese Take Out's Mapo Tofu

So I had this amazing roommate in college whose family was from China, and she made me something that will forever be my favorite Chinese food--Mapo Tofu.  This is so spicy and delicious, and I LOVE having it, and I have tried making it before, but couldn't ever find the correct ingredients.  Well, I ordered the ingredients from amazon.com, and I tried this recipe out, hoping it would match Jen's (my roommate) deliciousness :).  Success was mine!  Or this recipe's, since I followed it almost exactly.

Aaron loves Chinese food, and I like it okay, but I am never in the mood to eat it out, I would rather eat at some other restaurant.  Anyway, I bought this cookbook called The Chinese Takeout Cookbook for Aaron, and it looked promising and received great reviews, so we bought it and have loved everything we have tried in it.  This dish was exactly what I hoped for, it tasted just like at a restaurant, it was 322 calories a serving, and so here's the recipe:

1 T fermented black beans

1 c chicken stock

2 1/2 T chili bean paste

1 T  rice vinegar

2 t soy sauce

2 t sesame chili oil

2 t sugar

1/2 t Sichuan pepper

1 T vegetable oil

1/2 lb ground pork

5 green onions, sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 t minced fresh ginger

1 lb soft tofu, drained and cut into 1 inch cubes

1 T cornstarch, dissolved in 2 T water

1 scallion, for garnish

Rinse the black beans to remove any grit.  Mash the black beans, then combine them with the chicken stock, chili bean paste, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame chili oil, sugar, and pepper.  Set aside.

Heat the oil over high heat, then add the pork and stir fry until crispy.  Add the green onions, garlic, and ginger.

Pour in the sauce and bring the liquid to a boil.  Reduce the heat to simmer.  Gently add the tofu cubes, and then add in the cornstarch slurry and mix until thickened.  Top with the scallion, and serve with steamed rice.

Be careful, this is spicy, but soooo delicious!

Super Nacho

This is a great dish that I have been making since I married Aaron.  This is a Tunell recipe that my mother-in-law shared with me, and every Tunell I know loves it :).  Aaron thinks it is wonderful, and I like it a lot, especially when I make it the way I like it.  Owen gave this a 6, because he thought it was too spicy, and the rest of us gave it a 9.  I think Aaron would've given it a 10 if it weren't spicy, but I like it that way :).  The calories for 1/9 of the total are 380, so high, but so good!  Here's the easy recipe:

1 lb chorizo
1 onion, diced
1 can green chilies
1/2 c El Pato taco sauce
1 can refried beans
3 c shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 400.  Brown chorizo and onions together until cooked and onion is softened.  Add in green chilies and taco sauce.  Spread beans in the bottom of a square baking pan, then top with meat mixture, then top with cheese.  Cook in the oven for 25 minutes, then serve with favorite toppings and chips.

We are going to layer the cheese next time and add a little more beans, because the kids and I think there is too much meat to bean/cheese.  Anyway, quick, easy, and delicious.

Buffalo Chicken and Potatoes

I found this recipe on Facebook, my cousin's wife Hollie had posted it, and I honestly can't tell you where the recipe originated.  Just kidding, here's the link ;)  Anyway, I'll post the recipe the way I made it, and sorry I can't give credit where it is due.  This buffalo chicken and potatoes was really good, although just a tiny bit spicy.  Noah gave it a perfect 10, and he had two servings of it, Owen gave it an 8 because of the spice factor, and Aaron and I gave it a 9.  This really was delicious.  We got 6 servings out of this, and each serving was 434 calories, not including the ranch.

Buffalo Chicken Potatoes

12 oz boneless skinless chicken tenders, cut into 1 inch pieces
5 gold potatoes, chopped
4 T olive oil
3 T sriracha (I will use a little less next time)
1 T garlic powder
1/2 T paprika
1 t salt
1 t pepper
2 c cheese
4 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
5 green onions, chopped

Preheat the oven to 500.  Mix together the olive oil, sriracha, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper in a large bowl, then mix potatoes together in it.  Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray, then place the potatoes in the dish.  Try to leave as much marinade as possible in the bowl so you can marinate the chicken.  Put the potatoes in the oven, checking them every 10-15 minutes, and while you are doing this, coat the chicken in the marinade, and let them sit until the potatoes are golden brown and crispy, about 40 minutes.  Remove the potatoes from the oven and turn the oven down to 400.  Place the chicken on top of the potatoes, then top with cheese, bacon bits and green onions.  Cook for 10-15 more minutes until the chicken is done and the cheese is melted.  Serve with ranch dressing.  Yum!!!

Savory Chicken Hash

Our dinner tonight was pretty good, and very easy. The recipe is Savory Chicken Hash from Aaron McCargo Jr., and it's a great weeknight dinner since it's so little work.  I cooked my chicken tenders in the crockpot earlier today, and then just chopped them up for dinner.  I only used one green pepper instead of one yellow and one red, and I didn't add very much cayenne, because of our kids.  The hash had lots of flavor, and I liked the little bit of lemon, but I don't think that it was particularly wonderful.  Aaron and I gave it a 7, and Noah and Owen gave it a 9.  Funny guys.  They both thought it was a little spicy, even with just 1/8 t of cayenne.  The calories on this for 1/6 of the total were 209, so not high at all. 

Tomorrow we're trying another chicken dish and a tomato salad.