Category Archives: Meaty Meals

Quick Butter Chicken

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This isn’t my recipe, it’s Arron & Claire’s, and it’s a keeper. It’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s tasty. In short, this recipe gets the job done on nights where I am craving Butter Chicken and don’t have a jar sauce on hand in my pantry. Luckily, I stock all of the ingredients to make it when push comes to shove. 🙂

Quick Butter Chicken:
4 Chicken Thighs, bite size cubes
1/3 C Plain Yogurt
1 tbsp Garlic, minced (or 1/2 tea Garlic Powder)
1/2 tbsp: Garam Masala/Cumin/Ground Ginger/Chili Powder
S&P

Oil
1/2 C Yellow Onion, diced
30 g Cashews, rough chopped (opt)
3 C Passata Sauce

5 tbsp Butter
1 tbsp: Ginger, grated/Chili Powder/Cumin/Ground Coriander/Garam Masala
1/2 tea: Sugar (or a pinch of carrot, grated)/Salt

2/3 C Water
1 C Heavy Cream (18 – 35%)
5 tbsp Butter
1/4 tea Chicken Stock Powder

Mix the cut up meat in the yogurt mixture and rest it for 20 mins as you prep everything else. When ready, get your skillet heated up. After 3 mins, add some neutral oil and drop the meat in carefully in small batches. Brown the chicken to take advantage of the maillard reaction. All of that browning = flavour. (The meat will finish cooking as it rests in the hot sauce later.) Rest rest each browned batch in a bowl with paper towels set inside as you work.

In a bigger skillet, or a big pot, heat up some different oil and dump in the diced onion to soften. Add the cashews. Sautee for a minute before adding the passata sauce. Stew that together for 5 mins before adding the meat in. Stew the sauce another 5-8 mins to cook the meat through.

At the end, add the water, butter, heavy cream and chicken stock. When you’ve stirred it all together, plate some of the meat in shallow bowls off to one side, top it with a ladle of sauce, and drop the starch of choice (cooked rice, mash potatoes or naan bread chunks) over the sauce. Serve with a dollop of sour cream if desired, topped with some chopped cilantro leaves.

What I Air Fried This Week

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I made a lot of the same things I’ve already made, and I also went back to try the Chocolate Croissants again because I wanted to play with the times.

Instead of the typical 350-400* bake, I dropped it down to 300-320* for ten mins using a can of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls and a crushed up Flaky chocolate bar. Nailed it!

I also saw this video recipe for Lemon-Pepper Wings and decided I needed to try it since the flavourings were right up our alley. I mean, lemon and pepper? C’mon! So I used frozen chicken parts that I coated in seasonings and then in flour. I dropped them in the basket and flipped once half way, cooking them at 400* the whole time ( 8 mins + 8 mins).

The recipe called for rolling them around in some melted butter with the lemon-pepper blend, and they were fantastic. What I didn’t like was how the butter made the crisp texture straight from the air fryer soggy. :-\ I will definitely make these wings again but I will roll them in the lemon-pepper dry seasonings before I cook them and forgo the butter bath altogether.

And if that doesn’t work, I will dust the crispy wings in the lemon-pepper seasonings as a rub after they come out of the air fryer all hot and crispy.

Yes, I know. I need better lighting for my pictures. I agree. I have a ring light but my kitchen is still largely a mess from the unexpected repairs the husband had to do in there, and my ring light is buried in a corner right now. Oh, well.

Air Fryer Italian Meatballs

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I made 4 dozen mini meatballs the other night because I needed to use up the medium ground beef I bought two days beforehand. I had other materials I needed to use or lose them at the same time, so this what I decided to make to test out my air fryer.

PS: I paired them with this lovely red pesto sauce I bought a few months back.

Italian Meatballs:
1 kg Med Ground Beef
1/2 C Italian Seasoned Breadcrumbs (optional, for bulking out the filling only)
1/4 C Parm Cheese, grated
1 Egg
3 Shots Hot Sauce (optional)
2 Tbsp Dried Parsley
S&P

I used this meatball tool from my late MIL’s house. It scoops up the perfect mini meatball size portions.

I bought some shallow foil pans from the dollar store that fit my 10″x10″ basket perfectly, and they ended up holding 16 balls each, so that helped speed up this whole cooking process unlike cooking meatballs on the stovetop in a skillet. I am not a fan of making meatballs on the stovetop and finishing them in the oven. Too much splatter to clean up. Not with the air fryer!

I cooked each tray of balls in their first runs at 320*F for ten mins with a gentle shake of the pan (not the basket), and for their second run I blasted them at 400* for the last five mins. I temped them before blasting and again when they finish (to verify they did at some point hit 165*).

Enchilada Lasagna

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Made this delicious Enchilada Lasagna for dinner tonight. It’s all of the normal enchilada materials, only presented like a lasagna. It’s magic is in the velvety sauce. So good!

Enchilada Lasagna:
1 lbs Ground Beef
1 Tbsp Green Chilis (or cut up pickled jalapeno rings)
1/2 Tea ea: Onion Powder / Garlic Powder / Salt/ Pepper

3 Tbsp ea: Butter / Flour
1 Tbsp ea: Chili Powder / Paprika (any kind)
3 C Chicken Stock, hot
1 Tbsp Tomato Paste
1/2 Tea ea: Oregano, crushed or rubbed / Cumin / Salt / Pepper / Sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp Taco Seasoning (from a store bought packet)

1/2 Onion, diced
2-3 C Pepper Jack Cheese, grated (or Marble)
Eight 7″ Tortillas

In a hot fry pan, drop meat to brown, chopping it up as it cooks down and the fat renders out. Add the chilis and the seasonings, stirring them in completely. Spoon out the fat into a small bowl for discarding later when the meat finishes cooking. Spoon out the meat into a bigger bowl; set aside for now.

Add the butter to the fry pan to melt completely. Add the flour. Whisk both together and let is cook for a full minute as the colour of the fat deepens. To this, add half the chili powder and whisk continuously before adding the second half to whisk in. Add the paprika one half at a time and continue to whisk as the second portion also goes in, whisking so none of the mixture burns.

Add 1 cup of the broth to the pan and whisk the butter mixture into the liquid. When it’s smooth and incorporated, add the next 1 cup and mix it in. Continue with the last of the broth. At this point, add the tomato paste and really work it into the sauce to evenly distribute it.

Place one seasoning at a time into the pan and give it a good stir before adding the next so each one gets time to meld into the sauce properly. Remove the pan from the heat and start setting up the baking dish, tortillas, meat, onions and cheese for assembly.

Lay two tortillas on the bottom of the dish. Ladle a small spoonful of the enchilada sauce over them, spreading it out thinly all over the tortillas. Top this with 1/3 of the meat, followed by 1/3 of the onions and 1/4 of the cheese. Continue this layering two more times until you finish with the last 1/4 of the cheese.

Top with foil and bake it 15 minutes at 375 degrees. Rest it after that on the stovetop for another 15 mins before cutting it into 4-8 portions. Plate it with some cut up lettuce, a dollop of sour cream, and some diced tomatoes or a small spoonful of salsa.

Bowtie Ballsagna

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(From the archives.)

Here is a dish I have been wanting to update for awhile now.

Bowtie Ballsagna:
2-3 C bowtie noodles
2-3 C fresh spinach
3 C homemade pasta sauce + 12oz of tomato puree
24-36 mini meatballs
6-8 fresh Thai basil leaves
2 C ricotta cheese with S&P to taste
2 C grated mozzarella and parmesan cheeses
2 C toasted breadcrumbs (optional)

Bowtime Ballsagna layering, from the bottom up:
Thin coating of pasta sauce (no meatballs)
Cooked bowtie pasta noodles
Pasta sauce with meatballs
Wilted spinach (in a thin covering)
Ricotta cheese
Cooked bowtie pasta noodles
Pasta sauce with meatballs
Wilted spinach (in a thin covering)
Ricotta cheese
Pasta sauce (no meatballs)
Mix of grated parmesan and mozzarella cheeses
Breadcrumbs (toasted, and optional)

Start by cooking your bowtie noodles in water that’s been generously salted. In a large non-stick pan, start wilting down the spinach with a small pinch of salt and a teaspoon of oil; set aside to cool when it’s all cooked down.

As you cook the pasta and wilt the spinach, reheat your prepared or jarred pasta sauce in a deep sauce pot. To this, add your freshly cooked (if you had time to make any, of course) or frozen meatballs, the tomato puree, some freshly picked and cleaned Thai hot basil (if using dry leaves, half the called for amount; whole or chiffonade) and freshly cracked black pepper. Let that cook long enough to heat the meatballs all the way through.

Note: If you don’t have fresh or dried out Thai hot basil leaves, fresh sweet basil will be fine in the sauce. We like a bit of zing in our lasagna sauce, so that’s why I grow Thai hot basil in my garden.

Scoop out a bit of the pasta sauce to spread all over the bottom of your lasagna pan thinly. Scoop out a few more spoonfuls of just the pasta sauce and set aside (this is for the topping). When your pasta is done cooking, drain it well. Layer more or less than half of the cooked pasta over the sauce in the lasagna dish. (Only use enough to cover the sauce, otherwise this lasagna will become very bulky.) Over the pasta, place a generous amount of sauce with half of the meatballs to cover the pasta noodles, but not much more.

Over the sauce and meatballs layer, lay half of your wilted spinach all over and top that with a few blobs of ricotta cheese; (I use a medium size offset spatula to) spread the ricotta over the spinach in an almost opaque layer. Top the ricotta with the second half of your pasta noodles and top them with the last of the sauce and meatballs. Top those with the last of the wilted spinach, and then top the spinach with the last few blobs of ricotta spread out and the reserved pasta sauce before finishing the lasagna with your two grated cheeses (and toasted breadcrumbs if you like).

Beef Stew

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It’s getting to be that time of the year again. Oh, you know which one I’m talking about. Yup, the stewing season. I love this season so much, and yet I didn’t make a single stew last year for whatever reason (I can’t recall why right now), but I’m into it this year. Yee-haw.

Let me know what you think of this if you try it, and if you made any noticable changes that improves it. I’m always look for new ways to make old favourites.

A Burger For The Ages

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I don’t make a lot of burgers by hand at home. When we do burgers, it’s typically store bought pre-formed and frozen for convenience only. The husband takes them to work fully cooked on the smoke bbq and cooled down, with a slice of cheese and anything else he wants to add to it on the fly.

I was cleaning out the two freezers last night (the one attached to the fridge, and our cube stand up mini freezer) and found some portioned ground pork in ziplock bags. I pulled them out thinking I can use it for a dinner this week. Not specifically anything like burgers, but sometimes I like to form them into a meatloaf or meatballs before even thinking about burgers.

Tonight I made burgers for a change of pace. And now my husband is demanding to be kept in the style to which he quickly became accustomed to (as of tonight). *sigh* Ok, fine. Here is what I made him:

Creole Burgers:
14 oz Ground Pork
3 tea Creole Dry Rub
I Egg
3/4 C Breadcrumbs (of your choice, though I used Italian flavoured)
1/4 C Parmesan Cheese, grated up

Don’t overwork the meat mixture as you combine everything. I measured out meat for three patties at 4.6/4.7/4.7 oz each. Each was hefty and fantastic. It was a tasty burger on its own that could forgo a bun if need be. But, of course we topped it with sauces, veg and lettuce from our herb garden.

I was spoiled Beyond when this truck showed up at my workplace.

I was, I suppose, trying to give that Beyond Meat burger I had earlier this week a run for its money. I think this burger is just as tasty as the meatless one. Similar flavour palette, same texture, same satisfying feeling in our tummies.

Try this burger recipe and tell me what you think.

Creole Dry Rub

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I forget where I found this recipe, but it’s solid gold. I have used on loads of meats and vegetables alike, so it’s versatile. And we often smoke meats on our charcoal bbq. The husband doesn’t like ribs with anything but this rub on it. Give it a go.

Creole Dry Rub:
2 TBSP + 1.5 TEA Paprika
2 TBSP Garlic Powder
1 TBSP ea: Onion Powder, Dry Oregano, Dry Thyme, Cayenne, Black Pepper
1 TEA Salt

Pour all into a small mason jar, give it a shake, and rub it all over generously all over your chicken, pork, beef and other.

I often double this recipe to have some on hand at a moment’s notice when cooking in the kitchen since it can be sprinkled over roasted veg or into a lovely breakfast hash.