Category: Weeknight dishes

When I first started making steak, I thought, “How hard could this be?”

I was very wrong. I’ve done the reverse-sear (where you bake the ribeye in the oven and then sear it). I’ve attempted the put-it-on-the-cast-iron-BUT-DON’T-TOUCH-IT. I’ve tried just searing it, just baking it, basting, no basting, meat thermometer, or just poking. And after many trials and errors and attempting different ways of making the ribeye, I’ve finally found a go-to.

Ingredients:

• The finest ribeye you can find (1.25 inch thick)
• Salt and pepper
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 sprigs or fresh rosemary
• 2 tablespoons of butter

Tips:

• If you dislike butter, like my best friend (why), this recipe works just fine with olive oil!
• If your steak is a bit thicker or thinner, you can adjust the cooking time.
• Definitely use fresh rosemary.
• User a timer for the two-minute sagas.

How to serve:

• I love it with zucchini, but you can serve it with any old standby such as mashed potatoes, seasonal veggies, or a salad.

Directions:

• Make sure the steak is FULLY defrosted. It should soft to the touch.
• Pat the steak as dry as you can; the more moisture you have in the steak, the more you have against you in achieving the perfect crust.
• Season the steak generously both sides with salt and pepper, and don’t forget the tops and bottoms of the steak as well.
• Heat up 1 tablespoon of butter in your cast iron and wait for it to get smoking hot.
• Place your steak into the cast iron once hot enough and cook this side for 2 minutes.
• Flip to the other side and cook for another 2 minutes.
• Flip the steak and cook for 2 minutes
• During this 2 minutes, add in the other tablespoon of butter, the garlic and the rosemary during
• Baste.
• By now, your steak should have been cooking for 6 minutes total. Flip it over again, cook for another 2 minutes while basting.
• If your steak is on the thin side, it should now be a nice medium rare pink and you’re done.
• If your steak is on the thicker side, flip it over and cook for another 2 minutes while basting.
• Remove your steak from the cast iron and rest for 10 minutes.
• Ready to serve.

I came home tonight to a very sick siggy otter, which called for this very comforting dish for dinner. I definitely feel like he got notably better after eating it.

Ingredients:

• 1 rotisserie chicken
• 4 cups of organic chicken broth
• 3 cups of water
• 1 cup of diced celery
• 1 cup of diced carrots
• 1 chopped yellow onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 cup of raw rice
• 1 tablespoon of oregano
• Half to 1 tablespoon of salt
• 2 teaspoons of black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

Tips:

• If I had more time, I would have made my own broth. But if you have 1 hour or less, this is a great go-to.
• Go for a lower sodium organic chicken broth.
• Go light on the salt while cooking because you can always add more salt and pepper into your own bowl.

How to serve:

• To a sick siggy otter.

Directions:

• Work on the rotisserie chicken:
  
  1. Separate and tear the meat into large pieces. (Keep the thighs, wings and drumsticks bone in)
  2. Separate the white and dark meat.
  3. You should have three groups: bone in dark meat, white meat, and chicken bones.
  
• Chop the garlic, carrots, onions, and celery.
• In a pot, heat up the olive oil.
• Add the garlic and onions; cook until fragrant.
• Add the carrots and celery; cook until a little bit translucent.
• Add in the chicken bones, chicken broth and water; put the cap on and bring it to a simmer.
• Add in the oregano, thyme, a little bit of salt, and black pepper; put the cap on and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Add in raw rice and bring to a boil; then simmer for 20 minutes.
• Take the chicken bones out of the mixture.
• Add in the bone in dark meat you had set aside. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add more salt and pepper to taste.
• Ready to serve.

This is a personal fave! I made this dish a lot when I was on Keto since it’s a great way to consume a lot of fat. But I like it so much that I still make it often even though I’m no longer Keto. (Shout out to my work pal, who’s doing great on her 30 day Keto challenge!)

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken thighs (skin on)
• 1 cup of heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup of water
• Salt and pepper
• Garlic powder
• Chili powder
• 2 shallots
• Garlic
• 1 roma tomato
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1 tablespoon of canola oil
• 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
• Parsley for garnish

Tips:

• I used chili powder for a bit of a kick! Cayenne pepper or paprika work quite well as well.
• The amount of heavy whipping cream can be adjusted; for a very creamy texture, you can use 2 cups of heavy whipping cream instead of just 1 cup. If you do that, you can scratch the water.
• USE A CAST IRON.
• Make sure the cast iron is not too-too hot; heat it up slowly on medium heat.

How to serve:

• Fettuccini or Zoodles

Directions:

• Pat the chicken thighs very dry.
• Season the chicken thighs generously with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
• Heat up canola oil in a cast iron on medium heat.
• Place the chicken thighs into the cast iron, skin side down; it’s fine if they touch.
• Cook for at least 15 minutes on medium heat.
• Mince the garlic and shallots.
• Dice the Roma tomato.
• Once the skin is crispy and brown, flip the thighs and cook for another 15 minutes.
• Take the chicken thighs out and set them aside on a plate.
• In the same cast iron, throw in minced garlic and shallots. Cook until fragrant.
• Throw in the Roma tomato and cook for 2 minutes.
• Add the cream, water, salt, pepper, and chili powder and bring the mixture to a simmer.
• Add in the Parmesan cheese.
• Place the chicken thighs back into the cast iron on top of the mixture.
• Simmer for another 10 minutes.
• Melt the butter into the mixture.
• Add more salt, pepper, chili powder to taste.
• Garnish with parsley.
• Ready to serve.

I love this dish because I feel comfortable making it on a weeknight with very little fuss and cleaning. There is no marinating or prep beforehand; you just come home and make it.

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts
• 1 small cauliflower
• 2 small carrots
• 6 tablespoons of butter
• 1 cup of heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup of water
• 1 shallot
• Salt and pepper
• 1 teaspoon of Cumin
• 1 tablespoon of Brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon of Cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon of Garam Marsala
• 1 teaspoon of Indian chili
• 1 teaspoon of Yellow curry powder
• Garlic
• Ginger
• 1 small can of tomato sauce
• Fresh or dry parsley

Tips:

• Chicken thigh meat also works for this recipe. I like using chicken breast because the sauce is already quite fatty.
• Feel free to substitute the veggies with any other veggies that you enjoy (eggplant, bell peppers, potatoes etc. will all go well)!
• Searing the chicken in batches helps brown every single piece; if you are not picky about the chicken’s texture, you can also feel free to stir fry it.

How to serve:

• This dish is best served with Naan or basmati rice.
• Jasmine rice will also work.

Directions:

• Cut the chicken breast into 1-inch big.
• Cut the cauliflower into florets.
• Dice the shallots.
• Cut the carrots into 1-inch big.
• Mince the garlic and ginger.
• Toss the chicken breast in salt, pepper, Indian chili
• Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan.
• Place the chicken piece by piece into the pan; work in batches if you want that nice brown searing. Place the half-cooked chicken in a bowl and set aside.
• Place your vegetables into the same pan and stir fry until cooked. Place the cooked vegetables in a bowl and set aside.
• Heat another 2 tablespoons of butter in the same pan.
• Put in the diced shallots and cook til fragrant.
• Add the garlic, ginger, garam marsala, cumin, cayenne pepper, Indian chili, Yellow curry powder and cook until fragrant.
• Add in the 1 can of tomato sauce and cook until a little bit bubbly.
• Add in the 1 cup of cream and cook until a bit bubbly again.
• Add in 1 cup of water and bring the whole mixture to a simmer.
• Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in.
• Add some brown sugar and more of the spices based on preference.
• Simmer the mixture for 15-30 minutes, depending on how thick you like your sauce.
• Ready to serve.

Cooking is like one of those things for me. I can never be tired of it. And the more I cook, the more I seem to want to cook. I love that I found it and it found me.

I chose something simple for today – Chicken Adobo.

Here’s what I used:

• 6 chicken drumsticks
• 5 cloves of garlic (smashed)
• 4 tablespoons of low sodium soy sauce 
• 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar 
• 4 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon of canola oil
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1 shallot (chopped)

Tips:

• I keep the skin on the drumsticks for more fatty flavor, but you can do this recipe with skin off as well. 
• A clove of garlic is one off of the entire head of garlic.
• I used part of the soy sauce/vinegar when marinating and then more of them when cooking.
• I like to break apart my bay leaves (not into too many pieces) so the flavor becomes more spread out.

How to serve:

• This dish is best served over rice. 
• This recipe can probably feed 2-3 people.
• I like to roast some hearty vegetables (eggplant, zucchini) to go with this dish.

Directions:

• Make sure the chicken is fully defrosted.
• Put the chicken drumsticks into a mixing bowl and marinate it with 3 tablespoons of low sodium soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, the smashed garlic, and 2 bay leaves.
• Marinate the chicken for at least 1 hour
• Heat up 1 tablespoon of canola oil in a pot.
• Place the marinated chicken into the pot on medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes.
• Add the 1/2 cup of water and bring it to a boil.
• Add the rest of soy sauce and apple cider vinegar.
• Add the chopped shallots and turn the fire to medium-low
• Cap the pot and simmer for at least 45 minutes.
• Add more bay leaves if you wish.
• Ready to serve.