Air Fryer chicken Thighs

 

Ingredients

• 4 Bone in, skin on chicken thighs, trimed of excess fat and skin
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon Smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon Onion powder

Instructions

• Preheat your air fryer to 380F for 5 minutes. After pre-heating, spray with cooking spray.
• Add the chicken thighs to a large zip-top bag or a bowl with a lid. Top with the kosher salt, smoked paprika, garlic powder, oregano and onion powder. Shake to coat.
• Place the chicken thighs in the air fryer, skin side down, for 12 minutes. 
• Turn your chicken thighs skin side up and cook for 10 minutes more. If you would like your chicken thighs super crispy. Cook for 4 minutes increments to get your desired crispness. 
• Thighs are done when an internal meat thermometer reads 165F. Serve. I cooked my chicken for a total of 25 minutes.Cut up some potatoes and and place those along side the chicken.. not touching the chicken... optional. You want to spray the potatoes with cooking spray.
  

Rice Krispy Treats

 

Ingredients

• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 16 oz bag mini marshmallows, divided
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 6 cups rice krispies cereal

• Instructions

  1. Line a 9-inch square baking dish with parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Once melted, add in all but 1 cup of the marshmallows. Reduce heat to low and continue stirring until completely melted.
  3. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Add the cereal and the remaining 1 cup of marshmallows.
  4. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Press GENTLY with your fingertips just until completely spread out (the harder you pack them in, the harder they are to eat).
  5. Allow to set, about 1 hour. Cut and enjoy!

Jamaican Fried Chicken

 

Marinate/Seasoning Rub Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic or garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon black or white pepper
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 2 teaspoons minced thyme
• 2-3 teaspoons hot sauce – adjust to taste
• 1 teaspoon of Allspice can be added if desired

1. Combine the dry ingredients into a large bowl.
2. Place chicken with or without the skin in the bowl with all the marinate/seasoning rub ingredients.
3. Mix with hands or stir until each piece of chicken is thoroughly coated.
4. Discard extra rub/seasoning
5. Leave chicken in the bowl, cover tightly and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight. The chicken can also be placed in a reclosable zip-lock bag instead of in the bowl if desired while it marinates.
7. Coating Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon salt, adjusted to taste
• 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 Tablespoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• 1 cup milk

Mixing/Coating the Chicken

1. Whisk together the dry coating ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Pour 1 cup milk into a separate, shallow bowl or dish.
3. Dip/roll each piece of chicken in the milk.
4. Take each piece of chicken from the milk and immediately roll it in the coating mixture until completely covered.
5. Shake off any excess. 
6. Place on a plate or platter to await frying.
7. Frying the Chicken
9. In a deep cast iron skillet or deep fryer, heat 2-3 cups vegetable oil to 375 degrees. The oil temperature will drop once the chicken is added.
10. Use a pair of tongs to gently place four pieces of chicken in the oil. It’s best to fry no more than four at a time so the skillet or deep fryer isn’t overcrowded.
11. Turn the pieces once every 10-20 minutes with the tongs, depending upon the size of the pieces.
12. Fry the chicken until it has a rich, golden brown color.
13. The chicken is done when the inside is no longer pink and the juices are clear when pierced with a chicken fork.
14. Remove the chicken from the pan or deep fryer using tongs.
15. Drain the chicken on paper towels that have been placed on a wire rack.
16. Repeat the process with the remaining pieces. Allow at least 10 minutes time for each batch to cool before serving. 

School cafeteria pizza

 If you love and miss the old school rectangle pizza, here’s the recipe:

Half sheet pan and line with parchment paper.

Crust:  

• 2 ⅔ flour
• ¾ cup powdered milk
• 2 T sugar
• 1 packet of quick rise yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 ⅔ cup warm water (105-110 degrees)
• 2 T vegetable oil

Filling:

½ pound ground chuck

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

1 8oz block mozzarella cheese – grated yourself  (To be authentic school pizza, you will have to use imitation mozzarella shreds.)

Sauce (I make sauce the day before):

• 6oz can tomato paste
• 1 cup water
• ⅓ olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• ½ tbsp dried oregano
• ½ tbsp dried basil
• ½ tsp dried rosemary crushed

Crust:

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees.  Spray pan with Pam and lay Parchment paper down (Pam makes it stick)
2. In a large bowl – flour, powdered milk, sugar, yeast, salt – whisk to blend
3. Add oil to hot water (110-115 degrees) – pour into your mixture
4. Stir with a wooden spoon until batter forms – don’t worry about lumps – you just want no dry spots
5. Spread dough into pan using fingertips until it’s even.  If dough doesn’t want to cooperate, let rest 5 minutes and try again
1. Bake just the crust for 8-10 minutes – remove from oven and set aside.
6. Brown meats until it resembles crumbles – set aside and drain meat
7. Get out the pizza sauce – to partially baked crust, assemble:
1. Sauce – spread all over crust
2. Sprinkle meats
3. Sprinkle cheese
4. Bake at 475 degrees for 8-10 minutes until cheese melts and begins to brown
5. Remove from oven – let stand 5 minutes
6. Cut in slices and serve!

Greek whole chicken

 

Ingredients

• 1 large whole chicken without giblets 
• 1/2 cup chicken stock or white wine
• 4 floury potatoes such as Maris piper, peeled and chopped into large cubes
• 1 small red onion peeled and halved
• 4 large garlic cloves peeled and crushed
• 3-4 tbsp virgin olive oil or more, as needed
• 2 tsp dried oregano or more, as needed
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 lemon
• salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 170C (325F).
• Pat the chicken dry with kitchen towels (see above) and then rub all over with olive oil. Season generously with salt and pepper and place on a large roasting tin or casserole.
• Squeeze half the lemon over the chicken and place it in the chicken cavity together with the onion and one bay leaf. Sprinkle with the dried oregano and pour a third of the stock into the pan. Cover with foil and roast for 40 minutes.
• Take the pan out of the oven and arrange the potatoes, garlic and other bay around the chicken, drizzling with extra olive oil and seasoning with salt, pepper and more dried oregano. Squeeze the other lemon half over the potatoes, place in the pan, and add a bit more stock to the pan if it is dry. Cover with the foil and roast for another 40 minutes.
• Check the roast, turning the potatoes over. Add more stock if the pan is dry, cover and continue cooking for another 20-30 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender and the chicken juices run clear. Increase the oven temperature to 220C (425F) and cook for a further 5-10 minutes or until the chicken skin crisps up.
• Let the chicken rest, covered with foil, for 10 minutes before carving and serving with the potatoes and a Greek salad on the side.

Crack(er) Toffee

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 cups milk chocolate or semisweet chocolate chips

• optional 3/4 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a cookie sheet with at least a 1/2 inch edge or jelly roll pan with parchment paper. Line saltine crackers in a single layer on the cookie sheet.

2. In a small pot combine sugar and butter and bring to a boil. Once mixture is at a boil, continue boiling for 3 minutes. Mixture should be a deep caramel color. Immediately pour over saltines and spread to cover crackers completely.

3. Bake at 400 degrees for 5 to 6 minutes. It will get all bubbly and the crackers will look like they are floating. Remove from oven and straighten any crackers that have gotten out of line. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the top and let sit a couple of minutes to melt. If your pan isn't hot enough you can even pop it back in the oven for a couple of minutes to melt them. Sometimes I melt the chocolate chips in the microwave for about 1 minute then spread it on. Spread melted chocolate and top with chopped nuts if desired. Cool completely. You can pop it in the fridge for a couple of minutes to help the chocolate set. Break into pieces and eat.

Recipe Notes

Note: You should either use salted butter or salted saltines but on or the other. You can also use one container of chocolate cake frosting and melt in inside the microwave for 40 seconds and once you get to the final step pout it all over the top 

Chickpea Taco (Meatless)

 

Ingredients

• 6 soft tortillas

Taco filling

• 1 avocado chopped into cubes
• 2 tomatoes diced
• 1 1/2 cups chickpeas canned, drained and rinsed
• 1 green pepper chopped
• 1/2 big onion finely sliced
• 6 tbsp red cabbage finely sliced
• 1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (to roast the chickpeas)
• 1-2 tbsp soy sauce gluten-free (to roast the chickpeas)
•  fresh cilantro to taste

Tahini dressing

• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1/8 cup (or more) water (to thin out)
• 2-3 tbsp lime juice or lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic finely minced
• 1-2 tsp maple syrup or agave syrup
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/3 tsp salt or more to taste
• 1/4 tsp black pepper ground
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin (optional)
• 1 tsp hot sauce (optional)

Instructions

• Put the chickpeas in a pan/skillet together with the balsamic vinegar and soy sauce. Pan-fry at low-medium heat for about 5 minutes and stir frequently.
• Chop your veggies and the avocado. You can lightly sauté the veggies (onion, green pepper, red cabbage, tomatoes) in a pan/skillet for a few minutes with a little bit of oil or leave them raw (like I did).
• Mix the ingredients for the tahini dressing in a small bowl with a whisk. If you use a thick tahini paste then you might need more water to thin it out.
• Stuff your tortillas with the veggies, the roasted chickpeas and drizzle the tahini dressing on top. Enjoy hot or cold!

Air Fryer Brussels

 

Ingredients

• 1 lb  Brussels sprouts stems cut up and halved and any loose leaves removed
•  Calorie-controlled cooking spray
• Salt
• Black pepper

Instructions

• Preheat the air fryer to 350F 
• Place Brussels sprouts into a bowl, spray with cooking spray, add salt and black pepper and mix until well coated.
• Add Brussels sprouts to the air fryer basket and fry between 8-12 mins, removing and shaking the basket a couple of times when cooking for even crisping.
• Serve warm or at room temperature.

Air fryer cauliflower wings

 

Instructions

• Preheat air fryer to 400F / 200C
• Mix together hot sauce, almond flour, avocado oil and salt in a large bowl.
• Add the cauliflower and mix until coated.
• Add half the cauliflower into the air fryer and fry for 12-15 min (or until crisp at the edges with a little bite still, or it reaches your desired doneness).
• Make sure to open the air fryer and shake the frying basket half way thru to turn the cauliflower. Remove and set aside.
• Add in second batch, but cook it for 2-3 mins less.
• Serve warm (although they can also be served cold) with some extra hot sauce for dipping.

Oven Baked Buffalo Cauliflower Wings

• No air fryer? No problem. Here's how to make your Buffalo cauliflower wings in the oven.
• Preheat oven to fan assisted  350F.
• Place the cauliflower in a single layer on a lined baking sheet.
• Bake for 35-40 mins (until done and is crisp at the edges with a little bite still or until it reaches your desired doneness) turning a couple of times during baking.
• Serve warm, although can also be served cold with some extra hot sauce.

Blackened Salmon

 

Ingredients 

• 3 salmon fillets (6oz each)
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• ½ teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• Lemon slices, for garnish

The lemon butter sauce

• 1 stick salted butter (1/2 cup – 4oz) softened to room temperature 
• 2 tablespoons parsley flakes 
• 1 garlic clove, pressed or minced
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon chili powder, or Cayenne pepper 
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions

1. To make the blackened salmon: Make a spice mix by mixing all of the spice ingredients together (paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, basil,Cayenne, salt, pepper, olive oil). Coat the salmon fillets with a small amount of oil. Generously sprinkle the fillets with the spice mix.

2. Add ingredients for the lemon herb butter to a bowl (butter, parsley, garlic, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, pepper, and lemon juice), then stir with a fork to combine. Refrigerate the lemon herbed butter while you are cooking the blackened salmon.

3. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Once hot, add the salmon fillets and cook for about 4-5 minutes, until crispy and blackened. Flip the salmon fillets over and cook an additional 4-6 minutes. If your salmon fillets are browning too quickly, then turn down the heat.

4. Scoop a dollop of lemon herb butter to top each blackened salmon fillet, and allow to melt slowly. Garnish with lemon slices and serve the blackened salmon and lemon butter sauce with sauteed zucchini, asparagus or cauliflower rice. Enjoy!