A Day from Scratch

Concierge cooking - Tailored nutrition

Ultimate Breakfast Sandwich

by Filed Under: Poultry, Recipes 1 Comment

ARE YOU READY?!

HELL YEA, DAMN RIGHT

HOTTY TODDY, GOSH ALL MIGHTY, WHO THE HELL ARE WE

HEY

FLIM FLAM, BIM BAM, OLE MISS BY DAMN

WAHOOOOOO the Rebel baseball team is headed to the college world series!

I hold a very special place in my heart for Oxford Mississippi and Ole Miss. It was definitely the best four years and I am so proud to be a rebel. We’ve had our fair share of heartbreaks with the athletics, but last night was not one for the losing streak. With an amazing close out to a pretty exciting game, the rebel men dog piled each other while basking in the excitement that is sure to take place in Omaha.

While I’ll be cheering on my boys from Houston, I won’t lack in celebrating them.

So today, in honor of our winning team, I give you…

The breakfast sandwich of champions!

IMG_3445A bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado and fried egg breakfast sandwich!

Oh yea, I said it!

For those of you celebrating a team heading to the college world series, or just celebrating a new day; this sandwich is a great way to start the day.

Ingredients: for one breakfast sandwich

1 english muffin

1 egg

1 slice bacon, cooked

1 slice tomato

1/8 avocado, sliced

Few slices of spinach

1/2 ounce shredded monterrey jack, grated

Siracha if you like some heat

A few sliced strawberries on the side

Recipe:

Start by getting all of the parts together: grate your cheese, slice the tomato and avocado, cook your bacon. Then it’s all about assembly: toast your english muffin and fry up your egg and then tower everything up together.

Celebrate, enjoy and HOTTY TODDY!

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Fire Roasted Chile and Garlic Chicken Burgers

by Filed Under: Poultry, Recipes 1 Comment

Summa summa summa time

Time to sit back and unwind

Summa summa summa time

Light the barbeque crack open a beer invite some friends over make some margs and grill some burgers.

What’s that you say? Those aren’t the lyrics.

Well I need to copy-write these because mine are better.

Agreed?

When I think of summer I think of friends and family on the water, I think of day drinkin’ some brews; and I think of grilling.

These burgers will make the biggest beef lovin’ man come crawling back for more. Trust me, I tested them out on my pops.

IMG_3418Trust me on this one my friends, you won’t even miss the beef patty here.

But if I haven’t convinced you yet, there is bacon in the patty.

Ok, I’m glad you’re now on board.

Ingredients: makes 4 burgers

6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, chopped into bite size pieces

1/2 jalapeño, seeded and diced

1/2 cup cilantro

2 slices uncooked bacon, chopped

1 tablespoon Lawry’s fire roasted chile and garlic spice mix

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large yellow onion

1 tablespoon butter

4 hamburger buns of your choice (you could also make ’em lean and mean by wrapping them in lettuce)

Recipe:

Add all of the ingredients to a food processor; pulse just until ground. It will form a ball when it’s ready; don’t over process! Form balls into four patties. Cook immediately or cover with plastic on a pan and keep in the fridge until you’re ready.

Meanwhile slice the onions and add them with 1 tablespoon to a hot cast iron skillet. Cook down about 10 minutes. Add a splash of water to prevent drying out then cook another 20 minutes or so.

Grill over medium-high heat, turning only once when the first side is well browned. 9 minutes on the first side and 7 minutes once flipped.

Place on toasted buns and top with the caramelized onions.

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Summa summa summa time!

Who wants to come over for a BBQ?

Chicken Sausage, Kale and Bean Soup

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First things first, what do you guys think of the new site? I’m still working out some kinks, but I’m hoping it will be easier for you to navigate recipes.

Secondly, have you ever heard of the term “sicker than a dog?”

I don’t know where the term hails from, but growing up my mom would always refer to illness as being sicker than a dog. 

With all of the craziness surrounding my move to Houston, re-designing my website, heading back to Austin for a weekend, my cousin’s engagement party, cultivating some new clients to cook for it’s safe to say I made myself sicker than a dog!

So what’s a girl to do? Open a can of blah soup? Nope. I layer up in ratty old sweatpants, over-sized t-shirt and walk aimlessly around Whole Foods grabbing a whole heap of vegetables to make my own soup, that’s what.

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Last week, my friend Casey and I went to a wine bar and I ordered this amazing kale and white bean soup. So I used that deliciousness as a base for this bad boy. And if I am considering myself sicker than a dog these hearty vegetables with a hit of siracha are sure to help!

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Then I froze a couple of cups of this so the next time I’m sick I don’t have to succumb the poor people of Whole Foods to my scraggly mess. So even if you aren’t sick right now; do yourself a favor and make a big ole batch and freeze it for whenever you may need some hearty soup.

Chicken Sausage, Kale and Bean Soup, serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1/2 lb spicy chicken sausage, casing removed and thickly sliced

1 medium sized golden beet, peeled and diced

1 large carrots, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 leek, thinly sliced

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 quarts low-sodium chicken broth

2 15-oz cans white beans, drained and rinsed

1 large bunch green kale, chopped

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp pepper

Siracha or your favorite hot sauce to garnish. Oh and some crusty bread for dippin’

Directions:

Heat the olive oil over medium high heat and add the thinly sliced leeks. Saute for five minutes then add sausage.

Brown sausage then add carrots, beets and celery. Toss to combine and continue cooking for another six minutes. Add kale and beans and cook until kale just starts to wilt.

Add chicken broth, salt, red pepper flakes and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes.

You’ll be better in no time!

 

Coconut Curry Chicken

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Bock bock, chicken chicken, bock bock, chicken head.

Do y’all remember that song? What a weird concept for a song. However, dancing around bobbing your head like a chicken sounds like a dance move that needs to resurface in my life.

Anyone want to come over for a dance party?

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Radio silence?

Up until I went to culinary school, I never really played around with curry. It just wasn’t something that seemed appealing to me. What was I thinking? While this coconut chicken curry may look like an ugly ducking dish, it’s super tasty.

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Ingredients, serves 4

4 chicken thighs, boneless and skinless

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 large onion, chopped (1 1/2 to 2 cups)

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp fresh minced ginger

2 Tbsp yellow curry powder

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

2 apples, cored and diced

2 Tbsp cider vinegar

1 cup light coconut milk

1/2 cup milk

1 1/4 pound skinless boneless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into 1-inch piece

Salt and pepper

Cilantro for garnish

Recipe:

Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add onions cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute. Add the curry powder, garam masala and cumin, cook for a few more minutes. The spices will absorb some of the oil, so if anything begins to stick too much to the bottom of the pan, add a little more oil to the pan.

Add the vinegar, coconut milk, milk and apples to the pan. Increase the heat and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to maintain a low simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add chicken thighs to the pan. Return to a low simmer. Cover the pan and let cook for 8-10 minutes.

Serve over rice and garnish with cilantro.

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Orzo Pasta with Grilled Corn, Chicken and Artichoke Pesto

by Filed Under: Pasta, Poultry, Recipes 1 Comment

Is it Summer yet?

I am so ready to be outside without having an allergy attack. Grilling, boating, soakin’ up the sun! Oh I just can’t wait.

But, since Summer is still a few months away I am just going to pretend it’s Summer with lunch. Once you make this pasta salad and taste it, you will be hooked. The grilled corn adds an incredible smoky flavor while the artichoke pesto lends such great richness to the dish.

Mmmmm Mmmm Good! Are you with me yet?

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This would be a great dish to serve at a ladies’ lunch, bridal shower, baby shower or any other small gathering. You could serve it as a side dish without the chicken thrown in, or as an entrée on it’s own. You can make it with shrimp, you can make it with salmon.

Basically the possibilities of this bad boy are endless.

You can have it for lunch, you can have it for dinner; this dish is sure a winner!

IMG_3152Sorry, I’ll stop with the shenanigans and just give you the recipe already.

I can hear you thanking me.

Ingredients: makes a whole lot (about 9 cups)

1 pound whole wheat orzo pasta

2 ears corn, shucked and silks removed

2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

2 chicken breasts, grilled and cubed

1 1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese to top

Pesto:

1 12oz package of frozen artichoke hearts, thawed

1/4 cup walnut pieces, toasted

1/2 cup flat leaf parsley

1/2 cup fresh oregano leaves

Grated zest of 1 lemon

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 garlic clove, smashed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

 

Recipe:

Start by seasoning your corn with a dash of butter. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides. Grill the corn turning often about 10 minutes. Grill the chicken 8 minutes per side, rotating once each side to get the most even doneness. Remove the kernels from the cob once done and cube the chicken into 1/2 inch bite sizes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water.

In a large mixing bowl add the chicken, corn, sliced cherry tomatoes and pasta.

For the pesto:

In a food processor, combine 2 cups of the artichokes, the walnuts, parsley, oregano, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper and oil. Blend, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until the mixture is smooth.

Add the pesto and parmesan cheese to the mixing bowl and toss until evenly coated.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Run! Hurry! This dish won’t cook itself!

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Turkey and Cabbage Bake

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When you were little did you ever have a cabbage patch kid?

I definitely did, I don’t remember her name but it was probably Reba.

Cabbage Patch Kids are little baby dolls that are born in the secret cabbage patch. Some fairies called bunnybees fly all around and sprinkle magic crystal dust on the mother cabbages and that magic causes Cabbage Patch Kids to be born in the Cabbage Patch. Then they just wait around in a cabbage patch to be adopted.

Now that I think about it, that’s a little odd. But I’m sure I still begged my parents for mine.

Begged and begged and begged, until I got it.

Anyways, I digress.

But speaking of cabbage, It’s freezing in Austin today and I had a hankering for some comfort food. This turkey cabbage bake is one of my go-to’s.

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When I first lived on my own after college, but years before culinary school I cooked for myself a lot. I was very prone to making casseroles or pasta bakes and eating them for a few days at a time. This was one of the first hodge-podge bakes that I put together and I still love it.

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This cabbage baby isn’t very photogenic, but she’s still lovable.

Ingredients: serves 6-8

1 pound ground turkey

1 head green cabbage, shredded fine

1 cup cooked quinoa

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup onion, diced

1-2 garlic cloves, diced

14 oz diced tomatoes

14 oz tomato sauce

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped fine

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped fine

 

Recipe:

Start by cooking your quinoa, 1/2 cup dry to 1 cup water until the water is absorbed. In a sauté pan heat the oil then add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent. Add the ground turkey and brown (you may need to spoon out some of the fat as it cooks.) Once the meat is browned add the diced tomatoes, cooked quinoa, red pepper flakes, thyme, parsley and a pinch of salt and pepper. Let this cook together for about 10 minutes.

Shred your cabbage while the turkey mix cooks (you can also cheat and use the preshredded cabbage in a bad if your grocery store has it)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a 9×13 baking dish layer the bottom evenly with cabbage, add a layer of the meat mixture, add a little more cabbage and a little more meat mixture and continue to do this until your meat is gone. Top with the tomato sauce and season with salt and pepper.

Cover the dish with foil and bake about 30 minutes.

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It’s also super healthy to boot!

Turkey Sausage and Kale Stuffed Kabocha Squash

by Filed Under: Poultry, Recipes 1 Comment

When I pronounce “squash” I like to pronounce it “squarsh,” like “warsh” in reference to cleaning your clothes. I’m intelligent like that.

Squarsh, squarsh, squarsh. I love squarsh.

I would now like to dedicate this post to Anchorman 2 and the hilarity it will soon bring to my life.

Thanksgiving is next week, how that got here so fast I’ll never know; but it’s coming. This recipe would be a great one to make if you are not having a traditional Thanksgiving or even better to adapt with leftovers. Extra stuffing and turkey? Throw it in a squash!

You can stuff a squash with an endless possibility of combinations; but today I decided to stuff it up with hot Italian turkey sausage, kale, mushrooms and some extra fixins.

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This dish is perfect for a Fall weeknight dinner. Or it could be something fun to bring to a “Friendsgiving!”

Do any of y’all want to come over for a Friendsgiving? I’ve always wanted to have one.

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Yummmm! Now go get in yo kitchen gurl!

Ingredients: serves 2

1 small Kabocha squash

2 hot Italian sausage links, casings removed

3 cups kale, chopped fine

2 cups crimini mushrooms, chopped

1 cup diced tomatoes

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1 Tbsp garlic, minced

pinch of chipotle powder

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup pepperjack cheese, shredded

S&P to taste

 

Recipe:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the inner junk. Brush some olive oil in the open side of the squash. Place in a foil lined baking dish and bake for 30-35 minutes until fork tender.

While the squash is cooking; heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large pan. Cook the onion for about 5 minutes until translucent. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add the Italian sausage and cook until it begins to brown. Add the kale, mushrooms, diced tomatoes and chipotle pepper. Cook down for about 10-12 minutes.

When the squash are done, remove from the oven and lower the heat to 350 degrees. Stuff each half of the squash with the sausage/ kale mixture and put back in the oven for about 10 minutes. Top with the pepperjack cheese and bake another 3-4 minutes until the cheese is melted.

Now you just eat it up!

Squarsh, squarsh, squarsh. I love squarsh.

 

Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Hoisin Sauce

by Filed Under: Home, Poultry, Recipes 1 Comment

So I have a question for you, my friends. Do you ever suffer from vacation blues?

I never thought vacation blues was a real thing, but after the most incredible weekend in Jackson Hole I have had such a hard time getting back into the swing of things. I just want to go back and relive it all over again. I mean, I could be a mountain woman couldn’t I?

Trying to battle the vacation blues I was determined to have a fun night to bring me back to my reality. So I had some girlfriends over, we made dinner and spent the evening girl gabbing and watching Harry Potter. Side-note I have made it to the 4th movie and let me tell you this Harry Potter business is CrAzY!

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A little about these lettuce wraps: 1. This ain’t your typical PF Changs wrap 2. They are stinkin’ delicious and 3. Make them today please, you won’t be sorry.

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Ingredients:

Hoisin Sauce: makes 1 cup

1 Tbsp grapeseed oil

1 large garlic clove, minced

1/2 tsp chinese five spice

1/2 cup red miso paste

1/2 cup good quality maple syrup

2 Tbsp brown rice vinegar

 

Wraps:

1 pound ground chicken

1 small yellow onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp finely minced ginger

2 small carrots, peeled and finely diced

1 head of iceberg lettuce

3 green scallions

Sriracha hot sauce for some kick

 

Recipe:

Hoisin Sauce:

Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and five spice powder and cook for 30 seconds so the spice can bloom. Whisk in the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, and cook, whisking constantly for 3-4 minutes or until lightly thickened. Let the sauce cool before using. It keeps well in the fridge for a few days.

Wraps:

Heat a 2 Tbsp of grapeseed oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat and add the chicken. Season with salt and pepper and cook about 10-15 minutes until the meat is lightly browned.

In the meantime, heat another 2 Tbsp of oil in a separate skillet. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook about 5 minutes until the onion is softened. Add the carrot, a pinch of salt and pepper and cook another 10 minutes.

Combine the chicken and vegetables into 1 pan. Add the hoisin sauce and 1/2 cup of water and cook another 2-3 minutes to bring everything together.

Fill the lettuce cups with the chicken mixture and top with scallions and sriracha. Wrap ’em up and enjoy!

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Comfort Turkey Meatloaf

by Filed Under: Home, Poultry, Recipes 3 Comments

How do you feel about meatloaf? Do you loathe it? Or it is a sweet comfort for you?

Meatloaf was never a staple in my house as a kid, even though it is apparently one of my dad’s favorites. My mom will swear that she made it a few times throughout my childhood, but I must have blocked it out because I don’t remember eating meatloaf until sophomore year of college at the sorority house.

Mise en place

Mise en place

I remember sitting around the dinner table with a few of my friends and being very hesitant to try a loaf of meat. I mean, what was it really? It was a mystery to me. I don’t know why I was so afraid of it, because it was delightful.

Fixins

Fixins

In the years since that fateful meatloaf night, I have made a few different versions of the yummy comfort; some with Bison, Beef, and Pork. This go around I thought I’d make it with Turkey and I loved the way it turned out.

Into the oven we go

Into the oven we go

If you are scared to give meatloaf a try, I highly recommend starting here! Who knows, maybe it will become your new favorite comfort food?

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Ingredients: makes 1 loaf

1 carrot, peeled and smal diced

1 celery stalk, small diced

1 small onion, diced

1/4 red bell pepper, small diced

2 Tbsp grapeseed oil

1 pound lean ground turkey

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

2 Tbsp tomato sauce

2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce

1 egg, beaten

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 cup chopped parsley

S&P

For the glaze:

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

 

Recipe:

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

Heat the grapeseed oil in a sauté pan over medium heat and add the diced onion, bell pepper, celery and carrot. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Then let the mixture cool.

In a mixing bowl add the ground turkey, breadcrumbs, tomato sauce, garlic and onion powder, worcestershire sauce, egg, parsley and the veggie mixture with some salt and pepper. On a baking sheet form mixture into a loaf. Whisk together the topping ingredients and spread 1/3 of the glaze over the top of the loaf. Bake the loaf for 10 minutes on 450 degrees. Remove the loaf from the oven, and lower the temperature to 350 degrees, add another 1/3 of the glaze. Put back in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Add the remainder of the glaze and bake another 5 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool 5 minutes before slicing. Garnish with parsley and serve alongside a big salad and/or mashed potatoes and devour!

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Lemon and Thyme Pulled Chicken Tacos

by Filed Under: Home, Poultry, Recipes 1 Comment

Sometimes when I am writing recipes I have the intention of having leftovers for the next day. Maybe it will be a busy one and I won’t have time to cook an entire dish or maybe I am just being lazy.

I’m not the only one who just gets flat out lazy sometimes, right? Life can get pretty stressful and being a little lazy is a good way decompress stress. In my book at least.

Back to the recipe. Last night I made this chicken knowing that I was going to be busy today. One of my favorite ways to make pulled chicken is poaching it in the oven with some yummy herbs and spices. Using what I had in my kitchen, lemon and thyme took the prize. You could also use rosemary and lemon- that would be lovely.

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Trying to change it up a bit in the taco arena I decided to shred up some brussels sprouts and then sauté it up instead of just using romaine or cabbage. I must say the brussels really worked here.

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Finishing the tacos off with some black beans, these were quite tasty. I plan on throwing the extras together with some quinoa for a quick grain salad lunch. Be adventurous, how will you use your leftovers?

Lemon and Thyme Pulled Chicken, serves 4-5

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 lemons, sliced and deseeded

1-2 Tablespoons picked thyme

4 garlic cloves, sliced

1 large shallot, sliced

1-2 teaspoons paprika

2 cups chicken broth

Salt and Pepper

 

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. In a baking dish add the garlic, shallot, lemon and thyme to cover the bottom of the dish. Season the chicken breasts with paprika, salt and pepper and add to the dish. Pour the chicken broth into the dish. Cover with foil and bake for about 1 hour.

After an hour, remove the chicken from the liquid and pull apart with two forks. Once the chicken is bite sized return back to the cooking liquid to allow the chicken to absorb the broth. Let the chicken sit for 10 minutes in broth before consuming.

 

Shaved Brussels Sprouts, serves 3-4

8 large brussels sprouts, 3 cups

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

S&P

 

Start by cutting off the root ends of the brussels, and peel off the outer layer. In a food processor, pulse the brussels until desired shredded consistency.

Heat olive oil in a sauté pan and add the brussels. Season with chili powder, salt and pepper and cook for about 4 minutes or until the brussels start to brown. Remove from heat and use to garnish tacos.

* Assemble the tacos with black beans and on corn or flour tortillas. Salsa would also taste good, or add a little spicy jack cheese. Whatever your heart desires.

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