Grilled Chicken, Peppers and Red Onion Pizza

Grilled chicken and veggies are my favorite pizza toppings.  Especially on a thin crust and with bubbly white mozzarella cheese.  This is a quick and delicious dinner for a movie-night-in.  I made this for Blake and we jumped on the couch and watched some Alfred Hitchcock Presents (his short film thrillers).  Crazy pick I know, but we've become hooked.  If you have other veggies or even leftover steak, throw them on as toppings instead.

Ingredients: 

-1 can thin-crust pizza dough

-1 green bell pepper

-1 red bell pepper

-1/2 red onion

-1 boneless skinless chicken breast, pounded to an even thickness

-1 Tbsp olive oil

-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

-garlic powder

-salt and pepper to taste

-fresh basil for garnish

Swedish Meatballs over Egg Noodles

I don't think I've ever had "authentic" Swedish meatballs.  Sadly, the only version I've had is from a Lean Cuisine.  Don't judge...I lived alone at one point.  My roommate on the other hand, studied in Denmark and had plenty experience with this dish.  It was a pleasant surprise when she said SHE even enjoyed this recipe. I formed the recipe by combining a number of versions I've found over the last few months.  What are Swedish Meatballs, you ask? They are meatballs formed from ground beef, pork or veal.  They are often browned in a skillet, but I decided to bake mine.  They are then smothered in a light-brown creamy gravy-type sauce.  They can be served as appetizers with toothpicks or over egg noodles as a meal.  This is a great comfort meal to get you through the last of the winter.  They also make lots of leftovers unless you are feeding an army!

Ingredients:


-1 pound lean ground beef
-1 pound ground pork
-1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
-2 eggs
-1 white onion
-3 cloves garlic
-1 Tbsp olive oil
-1/2 tsp (meatballs) + 2 tsp (sauce) ground nutmeg
-1/2 tsp (meatballs) + 2 tsp (sauce) allspice
-1/2 tsp white pepper
-salt and pepper to taste
-1 can (12-ounces) condensed milk
-2 cups beef broth
-1/4 cup butter
-1/2 cup flour
-egg noodles

How-To: Easy Homemade Chicken Stock

Chicken Stock at home is so easy that you will be shocked you've never done it before once you've tried it.  First thing's first: What is the difference between stock and broth? Well, they are very similar, both use parts of chickens, water and veggies to make.  The main difference is that stock uses just the bones (carcass) of the bird while broth uses the whole chicken, meat included.  Stock has a richer taste with more "body".  Often times the bones from roasted chickens are used to make a stock.  This is what I have done here.  Just follow one of my two roast chicken recipes below..... and keep the bones:

Easy Roast Chicken

Roast Chicken on a bed of Lemon and Onions

Ingredients:

-bones and carcass from a roasted chicken (most of the meat removed)

-water

-3-4 stalks of celery

-2-3 carrots

-2 white onions

-2 Tbsp black peppercorns

-2 dried bay leaves

-5-6 springs of fresh parsley

Optional additional ingredients:

-fresh springs of thyme

-fresh sprigs of rosemary

-2-3 garlic cloves, crushed with a knife

-1 parsnip, peeled and cut into pieces

-2-3 cloves (if you like the flavor)

Roast Chicken over a bed of Lemon and Onions

I could live off of roasted chicken...and some weeks I do!  I'm always looking for new and different ways to raost a chicken and enjoy for days and days.  I found this recipe in one of my new and favorite cookbooks, "All About Roasting" by Molly Stevens.  It was a Christmas gift this year from my mom.  This recipe is so incredibly easy and makes a wonderful sauce to pour over the chicken.  Even better...you can keep the bones and make an awesome chicken stock for soup or to save. 

Here's another a similar recipe of mine - Easy Roast Chicken

Ingredients:

-1 whole chicken (about 4 lbs)

-1-2 Tbsp kosher salt

-1 Tbsp pepper

-2 tsp olive oil

- 1/2 lemon

- 1/2 white onion

-1/4 cup white wine

Optional Gadgets:

-meat thermometer

-kitchen twine

Giveaway Winner and $5 off Charest Studio's Large Basket

And the winner is.....Mary T. from Kansas City, MO! She was the 15th entry (see below random number generator = winner maker). Forgot to enter? Keep your eye out for future Reckless Abandon giveaways.  Entered and didn't win? Well, you can still get one of Dave's amazing handmade baskets for a discount! He is offering $5 his large baskets for Reckless Abandon readers.  Just send him an etsy message when you check out and mention Reckless Abandon by March 20th to receive the discount. 

Handmade Wire Hanging Basket Giveaway

In celebration of my 100th post on Reckless Abandon, I'm doing a give-away...my first one.  I'm just trying something new and fun for my readers.  I love finding eclectic things for the house and kitchen from etsy.com so I thought I'd share them.  I'd love your feedback on the giveaways.  This is an  amazing yet functional piece of art for your kitchen.  It will hold your lemons, limes, garlic or other smaller produce. Read more details below.


Here's how it will work.  To enter the giveaway you can do one, two, three or four of following things to be entered...once, twice, three or four times! Therefore increasing your odds to win...math wiz.  I will announce the winner Monday the 20th right here on Reckless Abandon so enter by 7pm MST on the 19th. Comment on this post each time you complete one of the entries.  Make sure your google profile is updated with your e-mail so I can't get in touch with you, or leave your email within the comment. You must be in the US or Canada to enter.

Ways to enter:


1. Pin one of your favorite Reckless Abandon recipes.  It can be one you've tried or want to try
2. Pin one of the pictures of Dave's amazing wire baskets using a picture from his shop or this post
3. Like Reckless Abandon on Facebook
4. Favorite Dave Charest's store: Charest Studios on etsy.com

Mini Chocolate Truffle Cheesecakes with Graham Cracker Crust

I don't bake.  I'm talkin'...never! First, because I don't have much of a sweet-tooth but secondly, because I'm awful at it.  It forces me to measure...which I'm not precise with while cooking.  My roommate, Annie, can bake so she took me on as her pupil and we conquered our first recipe together.  Of course, this is not my own recipe since the last thing I need to be doing is making up baking recipes.  I found this in a recent issue of Cuisine at Home.  Some due to accident and some due to person preference it toppings, it's adjusted just a bit.  This is the perfect bite-sized end to your Valentine's dinner at home.

Ingredients:


-2 sleeves graham crackers, 18 crackers
-1 Tbsp sugar
-1 stick melted butter melted + 2 Tbsp not melted
-12 ounces bittersweet bar chocolate, broken into pieces
-2 tsp. instant espresso powder (not just ground coffee)
-1 block (8-ounce) cream cheese
-1 cup sugar
-3 eggs
-1 cup heavy cream
-2 tsp. vanilla extract

Optional Toppings:


-Balsamic reduction
-powdered sugar
-jarred caramel sauce (I found butterscotch caramel sauce)
-pecans
-vanilla glaze from the bottle...yep that's how fancy we got
-shredded coconut

Equipment Needed:


-mini cupcake pan
-food processor
-hand mixer

Healthy Chicken Nuggets with Sriracha Ketchup

One of our favorite spots to watch the Kansas games in Denver, CO is at Stoney's.   Their array of dipping sauces is a large part that I keep going back.  My favorite is sriracha ketchup which I find myself putting on anything I can get my hands on.  I wanted to make a lighter version of chicken nuggets to go with sweet but spicy sauce.  These are incredibly easy and miraculously good for not being deep fried in batter.  Instead they are baked to a light crunchiness and inner juiciness! 

Ingredients:

-2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts

-2 eggs, egg whites only

-1/2-3/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

-1 tsp garlic powder

-1 tsp dried oregano

-1/2 tsp smoked paprika

-1 tsp Italian seasoning blend (or a mix of dried basil, thyme, sage)

-1/4 cup ketchup (4 Tbsp)

-1-3 Tbsp sriracha

Cod en Papillote (Parchment Paper) with Fresh Vegetables and Lemon

Have you ever cooked fish in parchment paper?  If not, it is one of the simplest and healthiest ways to prepare fish.  The technique is called "en papillote" which translates to in parchment.  The pouch holds in moisture to steam the food...in this case fish. The moisture could be a number of things: water, wine, stock or broth. In this recipe I use white wine and the juice from the lemon slices.  I made this for the girls the other  night during our second "Cooking with Rachel" class and they loved it!  I used a variety of vegetables I had on hand, but you can basically use any veggies you like. See a list of suggestions below.

Ingredients:


-Parchment paper (or foil)
-6-8 ounces of white fish per person (I used Cod)
-1 lemon, thinly sliced
-1/2 white onion, thinly sliced
-2-3 Tbsp white wine per fish packet
-1/2 Tbsp butter or olive oil per fish packet (optional)
-fresh sprigs of thyme
-1 yellow squash, sliced into sticks
-2-3 carrots, sliced into sticks
-cooking spray
-salt and pepper to taste

Quick Tip: Growing Green Onions

Did you know you could grow green onions...at home...in just water?  Yes, that means one batch of green onions can provide months supply of fresh scallions.  It also provides a pretty splash of green on a kitchen window sill. 

What you need:

-1 (or more) bunches of green onions

-a small water glass or small vase like in my pictures

-kitchen twine (optional)

Super Bowl Recipes - Lightened Up

Super Bowl is this weekend for those of you that don't know.  If you're like me food is your favorite part of the day.  This year why not take things to a "lighter" level instead of getting sick off heavy beer and deep fried wings.  Below are some of my recipes that will have you full yet not comatose.  Let me know if you try any of them and how they worked for your party!