Chicken Souvlaki

Its Greek night in my house apparently. I was feeling very inspired, and make Chicken Souvlaki and Spanikopita, and sautéed Zucchini...

I'll share the Spanikopita recipe another time, but here is a picture of it fresh from the Oven:


For the Chicken Souvlaki:

1/4 cup Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
Zest of 1 Lemon
1/4 cup EVOO (extra Virgin Olive Oil)
5 gloves of Garlic -minced
Dill and Oregano (I apparently ran out of Oregano, so I just used the Dill)
4-6 Chicken Breasts, Cubed
wooden skewers (soak them for a few hours before you plan on cooking with them, otherwise they can scorch in your oven)

Combine all the Ingredients above in a Ziploc bag and let marinate for at least an hour. Turning as often as you like... but at least once so everything gets as evenly coated as possible.
When done marinating, lace the chicken onto the skewers


Put on a baking dish and bake in a 375F oven for about half an hour (until the chicken is cooked)



Then transfer to a frying pan, on high heat, to help brown and crisp up the outside.



Serve with Tzatziki sauce and whatever else you chose. (Like Zucchini and Spanikopita)

Coconut Chicken

When I went shopping on 10% off day a couple weeks ago, Boxes of frozen chicken breast were on sale, So I snatched some up... And then went on the hunt for new recipes to try with Chicken. That is where this ones comes in. I didn`t follow the recipe exactly, I just kind of measured everything by eye, and by how much coating I wanted, But I am going to share the recipe measurements with you, so you can mix up however YOU like it. I don`t remember where I found it online, so if this is your recipe, Tell me so I can credit you. I found it when my printer was broken, so I only scribbled the directions down on a post it.


Coconut Chicken

6 chicken tenderloins (?)
6 TBSP shredded coconut (unsweetened)
1|4 cup Panko crumbs (Use Panko bread crumbs, they are soooooo much better)
2 TBSP cornflake crumbs (you can buy cornflake crumbs already crumbed, or you can just use a rolling pin and crush your own)
1 egg slightly beaten
Parchment paper lined baking sheet

Preheat the Oven to 375 F
Combine Coconut Flakes, Panko, Cornflake crumbs in a bowl
Put your slightly beaten egg in another bowl
Season your chicken lightly with salt if desired
Dip the Chicken in the egg, and then in the crumb mixture -Making sure all of the chicken gets coated in the crumbs
Place chicken on the baking sheet
Bake for about 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.



I promise to try and get some better pictures next time I make this, but until then, you are stuck with these ones. Try the recipe... My pictures definitely do not do this justice. We LOVED this, and I plan on making it again VERY soon


I completed my May challenge for Daring Bakers on the weekend... Can`t wait to share it with you on the 27th

And, I spent a lot of time Cuddling with my puppies this weekend and catching up on sleep lost while working at the horse show... How could you NOT cuddle with this face though??? She is so adorable sometimes it isn't even funny. ;)

My Birthday Dinner... SALMON!!

This is from back in April, but I'm finally getting around to posting it now...


Doesn't that look delicious???

It was... So good in fact, that I didn't even remember to take a picture of the whole dinner on a plate (he made Salad and rice too)

I don't have an actual recipe for you, since I didn't make it, But he came home with a Salmon... Not the whole fish luckily... but with skin still on one side
A bag of lemons (whatever he left, i used up making Lemon curd last weekend)
fresh mushrooms, onion and bell peppers





Sorry for the lack of info/recipe/photos.... But I wanted to post this and maybe provide some Salmon inspiration to anyone reading this...

And brag about my boyfriend, Because he has been saying he would cook me some Salmon for a year, and look at what Patience (combined with some gentle nagging) got me:


YUM! Happy Birthday to me!

Orange Chicken

Tomorrow is garbage day around these parts...

Which means today is cleaning day

Which means yesterday i told the boyfriend that he needs to help me clean up the house today

Which means he will probably be home late, and I will already be done cleaning by the time he gets home

EXCEPT that I remembered that I need to share a recipe with you...

I'm sure between the 2 of us, we will get the garbage on the curb before we leave for work in the morning.... hopefully


But none of that is your problem... But if it sounds familiar, and you just bought some oranges, and stir-fry peas, and green pepper, and pineapple and Chicken... Then make this for dinner, because it is really yummy, and delicious and apart from marinating time (which isn't necessary, but it helps the flavour sink in better), it comes together pretty fast. I made this last week on garbage-day-eve

Orange Chicken

Inspired by Spicy Sumo Chicken at The Enchanted Cook


Chicken Breast - cut up in cubes
Oranges (I used Naval Oranges, because they were on sale, but you can use whatever kind you want)
Green Onion
Garlic and Ginger (amount depends on your taste)
Pineapple tidbits (unless you don't like pineapple, then don't use it)
Bell Pepper (I used Green because they were cheaper, but the dish probably would've been more pretty if I used a red one)
Sesame Oil
Spices to taste
Dried chillies



Honestly, I did 2 versions of this dish. One right away, and one marinated, which we had the following day. I liked the marinated one better. But the one we ate right away was delicious too, So just go on what amount of time you have to work with


If you are marinating, then cut up your chicken, Zest the orange(s), and then juice them, and reserve as much of the inner fruit as possible to add to the dish. Mince garlic and ginger. Add in any spices you wish. I used about 5 dried chillies, but I wish I had used more. Fresh chillies probably would've been a better idea too. Add in some Soy Sauce and Sesame Oil and make sure you stir well... and occasionally when it is sitting in the fridge.



Also, feel free to tweak this "recipe" to whatever you have on hand, and also what you like to eat. If you aren't going to marinate, It is easiest if you still assemble the ingredients like this, let it sit for as long as you can (maybe a minimum of an hour), and then continue



One the chicken is done marinating, Heat up a saute pan and then pour in the prepared chicken and marinade. Heat up, stirring often. When the chicken is mostly cooked, add in your vegetables and continue to stir often. Let the sauce cook down a bit. I also added in some left over coconut milk from when I made the Coconut Bread, which added in a nice hint of coconut flavour.



While all that is going on, make your rice. I just use Minute Rice, because it is easy and I really like it.



When everything is done, serve your Orange chicken on a bead of fluffy Minute Rice.







Coming soon.... Black Forest Cake (yep! I checked it off the Bucket List!!!)

Roasted Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic

Tonight, to celebrate the fact that it is finally the weekend again, I'm roasting a chicken.

Weekend equals:
a)time to cook real food,
b)sleeping in,
c)energy to cook real food,
d)all of the above (and more!)

I am doing this for a few reasons. First of all, I found a couple amazing-sounding recipes for Chicken roasted with 40 cloves of garlic. Secondly, garlic was on super-sale or something at the grocery store the other day, and last night, I found 2 whole chickens for $12.... TWELVE dollars for TWO WHOLE CHICKENS.
So now, one of them is being roasted... It's little buddy is sitting in my fridge until i decide what to do with it... But honestly, its probably going to get roasted too.

This is the blog that started my 40 cloves of garlic Roasted Chicken recipe quest. So i feel like i need to include it... This one and Martha Stewart were my main resources... And previous experience.

Roasted Chicken with 40 cloves of Garlic

1 Whole chicken
4-5 Potatoes
3-4 Carrots
1 onion
1 lemon
40 cloves of garlic
Fresh Parsley
Fresh Rosemary
Fresh Dill
Salt/Pepper/Seasoning
Olive Oil
2-6 TBSP Butter (cut in small pieces) (amount depends on preference, and size of chicken)

Wash out the chicken, and pat dry with paper towel. Rub inside and outside with salt and pepper. I have a chicken seasoning salt that I used - but regular salt works just fine too (i like the course sea-salt).

Slice the potatoes really pretty thin. Carrots pretty thick, and Onions thin-ish so they are in rings. In fact, probably about the same thickness as you would want for onion rings.
Put the above vegetables in a large bowl, drizzle with olive oil to coat, and then add some seasoning salt, and whatever dry herbs you would like, shake up, then use these to line the bottom of your pan. I don't have an actual roasting pan right now, so I am just using my large glass baking dish




Prepare your herbs/garlic: I like to cut of the bottom part of the clove to help get the skin off... There are other ways, but this is my favourite. Use whatever works for you, because it is a lot of de-skinning of garlic in this recipe (obviously). I zested the lemon, and then stabbed it a few times with a knife to help let the juices infuse into the chicken. I also used some fresh parsley, dill and rosemary.

Once everything is ready, Preheat the oven to 400 F (or anywhere between 375-425, depending on your preference)




Put the chicken on top of the potato/carrot/onion bed



Finely slice a few cloves of garlic, and put them under the skin of the chicken Breasts, along with the lemon zest, and a few small pieces of butter. Put some of the herbs and a few garlic cloves into the chicken cavity. Add in the whole Lemon, and more garlic until the cavity is full. I kept the majority of my herbs in the cavity... Only the Rosemary was used on top of the potato/carrot/onion bed for flavour/aroma.
Whatever garlic you can't fit inside the chicken, stuff into crevasses on the chicken - like in the thighs or wings... You can also put them under and on the side of the chicken. Try to get most of them inside the chicken though.



Basically, that is the extent of the work. Now you just put it into the oven until done... Make sure its not raw inside, But basically, at this point, you just need to cook it to whatever done-ness you prefer.... My meat Thermometer says that Poultry should be cooked to at least 165 F... see:


Personally, being raised by my mom, a self-confessed over-cooker. I like to make sure it is done, and take it out when the meat is practically fall-off the bone. Some people might not like this, but I do, and I like knowing that I'm not getting Salmonella.


I LOVE this chicken. Light and juicy and not at all dry! The chicken skin is even good, and i hardly ever like the skin.


Above: the chicken carcass... because tomorrow, I am going to try my hand at making Chicken stock... Inspired by my old pen-pal... Go check out her blog!!!

This photo was the Boyfriend's Idea... "It's so good, you should take a picture of the end too"
I <3 him so much!!!