Half Baked Harvest's 30 Minute Butter Chicken Meatballs

I'm on a HUGE kick with chicken meatballs here lately. This is about my 5th or 6th chicken meatball recipe and we're still going strong! If you need a cheap and cheerful weeknight chicken recipe why not try a chicken meatball? 
 

First you start with baking your chicken meatballs and for that you need ground chicken, an egg, some panko and salt and pepper. Once the meatballs are in the oven you'll start on your sauce! You'll need some olive oil, onion, ginger, and garlic in a skillet. You are going to make a very fragrant and mildly spicy, but delicious sauce!

To the skillet you'll add a host of spices: garam masala; curry powder; turmeric; and cayenne. And once those spices get all toasty and fragrant you're going to add some tomato paste, coconut milk, yogurt, and butter. The sauce will be creamy and luscious and when the meatballs are done baking you'll throw them right in!

This is one of those perfect weeknight meals that people love. Meatballs in a fragrant and somewhat spicy sauce served over rice. It's just comfort food!  

30 Minute Butter Chicken Meatballs

Adapted from Half Baked Harvest website

by Tieghan Gerard

Serves 4-6

1 pound ground turkey or chicken

1 egg

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

salt and black pepper

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced or grated

1 inch fresh ginger, grated

1 tablespoon garam masala

2 teaspoons curry powder

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, more or less to taste 

1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste

1 can (14 ounces) full fat coconut milk

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

*steamed rice and naan, for serving

Preheat the oven to 450F. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Add the ground chicken (or turkey), egg, breadcrumbs, and a pinch each of salt and pepper to a bowl. Coat your hands with a bit of olive oil, and roll the meat into tablespoon size balls (will make 15-20 meatballs), placing them on the prepared baking sheet. Transfer to the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the meatballs are crisp and cooked through. 

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook 5 minutes or until fragrant. Add the garlic and ginger, cooking another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the garam masala, curry powder, turmeric, and cayenne and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the tomato paste, coconut milk, and 1/2 cup water. Stir to combine, bring the sauce to a boil, cook 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly. Stir in the yogurt and butter. Add the meatballs and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro. Serve the meatballs and sauce over bowls of rice with fresh naan. Enjoy! 

Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner @ IHCC!
 

Half Baked Harvest's Spicy Chicken Paprikash {Paprikash #1}

I recently ordered a copy of Half Baked Harvest's Quick & Cozy and I've been having a good time trying the recipes! The first one I made was her Baked Buffalo Chicken Tenders and those were amazing. Then last week I shared her Double Baked Beef Taquitos and those turned out great. This week I'm trying her Spicy Chicken Paprikash. 

For those of you who've never heard of Chicken Paprikash, it is a Hungarian dish that came to America in the early 1900's. Paprikash is a VERY popular dish in Cleveland, Ohio where I'm from. In fact, I believe Tieghan Gerard of Half Baked Harvest is also from the Cleveland area and I'd venture to say that's why she has a recipe for it in her book! It is absolutely delicious and comforting and every single time I go back home I do my best to eat paprikash at least once (and pierogi, but that's another post altogether)!

There are A LOT of ways to make Chicken Paprikash and everyone's version is different! Most versions are chicken in a paprika-heavy cream sauce based on sour cream, or a mixture of sour cream and heavy cream, served over thick dumpling-like noodles or even egg noodles. Everyone has their favorite version!

I have never made Chicken Paprikash before, so I'm going to experiment with several different versions until I find the one that speaks to me. This version is in fact creamy, comforting, and delicious but differs from the traditional Chicken Paprikash because it has quite a bit of tomato paste and 1 full teaspoon of cayenne. The heat of the cayenne is tempered by the addition of sour cream and in my case, heavy cream, and when served over pasta it is not overly spicy, but you do taste the cayenne. 

All in all, this is a delicious version and one that I think everyone would enjoy, but is it THE CHICKEN PAPRIKASH recipe for me? No. I am looking for a more traditional version that is paprika forward and perhaps served with the traditional dumpling-type noodle. 

Chef Michael Symon, also from the Cleveland area has a recipe that I will be trying next! Stay tuned for my next Chicken Paprikash adventure! 

Spicy Chicken Paprikash

Adapted from Half Baked Harvest's Quick & Cozy

by Tieghan Gerard

Serves 4-6 

2 pounds boneless, skinless, chicken thighs or breasts*

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 large yellow onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tablespoons smoked paprika

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/3 cup tomato paste

3/4 cup sour cream/heavy cream*

soft pretzels, noodles, dumplings, for serving*

Notes: Oftentimes when a recipe is a saucy type chicken dish and calls for the chicken to be cooked in a skillet and then added to a sauce I will change the method of cooking the chicken. For example, I find that this method leads to the chicken becoming tough and overcooked so instead I will place the chicken in a crockpot on high for 3-4 hours with about 1/2 cup water, salt and pepper. This method allows the chicken to cook through and be very tender, falling apart into nice chunks. My family likes this method best, but if you prefer to cook your chicken on the skillet, go right ahead!

In addition to changing the method of cooking the chicken, I also prefer my paprikash made with a combination of sour cream and heavy cream so I went half sour cream and half heavy cream. And lastly, Half Baked Harvest suggests serving the paprikash with pretzels and I'm sure that's good, but we served our paprikash, like always, with noodles.

To Cook The Chicken: Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil. When the oil is shimmering, add the chicken and cook, turning once, until it is golden brown, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate. (Alternatively, cook the chicken in the crockpot per my instructions above).

To Make The Dish/Sauce: To the same skillet as the chicken over medium heat (or in a new skillet if you cooked the chicken in a crockpot), add the butter, the flour, and the onion. Cook, stirring, until the onion is soft and just beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, smoked paprika, sweet paprika, and cayenne and cook, stirring, until very fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste, and cook, stirring, 1 minute more. Add 2 cups of water, stirring to form a sauce. 

Return the chicken to the skillet, along with any collected juices. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer gently until the meat is cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the sour cream/heavy cream and the remaining 1 tablespoons butter to incorporate. Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed. Serve family style.  

Pretty Pasta @ IHCC!
 

 

Half Baked Harvest's Double Baked Taquitos {From Half Baked Harvest's Quick & Cozy}

Who doesn't love a tray of crispy taquitos covered in cheese?  

These are really easy! A quick filling of ground beef with taco seasoning, enchilada sauce, and cream cheese all stuffed into corn tortillas and baked until crispy. A quick splash of enchilada sauce on the bottom and top of the crispy oven-baked taquitos and then douse them all with cheese and bake them again! It's almost like a cross between an enchilada and a taquito.

I really loved the fresh avocado salad on top made which was a flavorful mix of avocado, cilantro, jalapeno, lime juice and sea salt. It was a fresh, zesty, tangy topper to the taquitos. A hit for sure! 

Double-Baked Taquitos

Adapted Half Baked Harvest Quick & Cozy

by Tieghan Gerard

Makes 14-20

1 pound ground beef

1 yellow onion, chopped

3 tablespoons Homemade Taco Seasoning (recipe follows) or storebought seasoning

2 cups red enchilada sauce

4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature, cut into pieces

16 to 20 corn tortillas

extra virgin olive oil

2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend

2 avocados, chopped

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 jalapeno, seeded, if desired, and chopped

1/4 cup fresh lime juice, plus lime wedges, for serving

flaky sea salt

sour ream or plain Greek yogurt, for serving

 Homemade Taco Seasoning: 2 tablespoons chili powder; 1 tablespoon chipotle chile powder; 1 tablespoon smoked paprika; 1 tablespoon garlic powder; 1 tablespoon onion powder; 2 teaspoons ground cumin; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; 1 teaspoon fine pink Himalayan salt. In a glass jar, combine the chili powder, chipotle chile powder, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, oregano, and salt. Stir to mix well. Store at room temperature in a cool, dark place for up to 6 months. 

Preheat the oven to 425F. In a large skillet set over medium high heat, place the beef and onion. Cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until the fat has rendered and the beef is browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the taco seasoning and 3/4 cup water. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce thickens to coat the meat, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce and the cream cheese. Cook, stirring, just until the cream cheese melts, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat.

Working in batches, warm the tortillas in the microwave in 30-second intervals until pliable. Place the tortillas on a baking sheet and rub one side with olive oil. Flip them over and spoon 2 tablespoons of the beef mixture down the center of each on the unoiled side. Roll up the tortilla as for a cigar and place seam-side down on the bakin sheet. Repeat with the reamaining tortillas and beef.

Bake the taquitos until they begin to crisp, about 10 minutes, then carefully flip them over and cook until crispy, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, leaving the temperature set at 425F. 

Coat the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish with 1 cup of enchilada sauce. Arrange the taquitos over the sauce and top with the remaining 1/2 cup enchilada sauce and then the shredded cheese. Bake until the cheese is. melted and bubbling, 8 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the avocados, cilantro, jalapeno, lime juice, and a pinch of flaky salt. Stir in gently to mix. Top the taquitos with the avocado mixture and sour cream. Serve warm with lime wedges for squeezing.

 July Potluck @ IHCC!

 

Southern Summer Series: Just A Few Miles South: #10 {Kentucky Boy Po-Boy Sandwich}

Making this Kentucky Boy Po-Boy Sandwich should come with a warning. You're gonna be shopping and cooking your heart out, making a total of 9 recipes in order to assemble this bad boy!

Ready to make a mess and drive yourself batty? Okay, here we go. I'll warn you right now, this is going to be a long post. There's lots of steps and 9 recipes, ok? 

We're going to start by preparing and making the Pulled Cubano Pork. Either start the night before or wake up early the day of because your pork needs to marinate in Jared's Pork Rub, a seasoning blend consisting of 13 special seasonings for several hours or overnight. Then it is going to roast in the oven for several hours until it's fork tender and can be pulled and sprinkled with something called Chicken Salt, which consists of salt; pepper; cayenne; and paprika. This is going to be some very well seasoned and delicious pork, and we do love our pork in Kentucky!

While the pork is in the oven let's get started on the other 6 recipes. After all, this isn't idle hour. To heck with enjoying summer break, you have work to do! 

Next I suggest making the Bourbon Barbecue Sauce because it needs about 45 minutes to cook. This is a delicious barbecue sauce that is a wonderful combination of flavors: sweet, slightly spicy, and a little zippy. It's a combination of garlic, ketchup, cola, Worcestershire, steak sauce, spices, vinegar and Bourbon. It thickens wonderfully and is great on this sandwich, but so many other things as well.

Next you need to make your Kentucky River Beer Cheese and Special Sauce because we ALWAYS need time for our sauces and beer cheese to combine so the flavors meld. If you're unfamiliary with beer cheese it's a spreadable cheese and this one is made with purchased spreadable Cheddar cheese; beer; Bourbon; hot sauce, and seasonings and spices.

The Special Sauce is a mayo-based sauce that is unlike any other mayo- based sauce I've had. It's heavy on the mayo with some Dijon, sliced green onions and a lot of Parsley. It's herbaceous and oniony.

Then you're going to make a simple cornmeal dredge for your dill pickles slices and get some Fried Pickles going.

You'll want a hearty baguette or mini baguettes and you'll be ready to assemble your sandwich. I toasted my baguette, but that was not in the recipe. This is going to be ONE LOADED SANDWICH! You're going to start with a layer of the Special Sauce, followed by a layer of thinly sliced red onion, then shredded lettuce. Then you'll add the pulled pork, the beer cheese, the barbecue sauce, and top the sandwich with the fried pickles. 

Next you'll need to pretend that you've had a long night out on the town because this is one of those sandwiches you'd probably eat in the middle of the night! There is A LOT going on and it's one of the messiest things I've ever eaten, but it is very good!

If you want a more simple sandwich I'd go with the baguette, a smear of beer cheese, pulled pork, barbecue sauce and maybe the fried pickles.

There are a lot of ways to serve this sandwich and all of them are delicious! 

 **Every summer I like to chose a cookbook or a special focus and do a summer cooking series. Some of the summer series that I've done in the past are: popsicles; ice creams; cookies; salads; and healthy recipes. One series I've always wanted to do is a series of southern summer recipes. So, this summer I chose a local cookbook from James Beard Nominee, Ouita Michel. Each week I will be cooking recipes from Ouita's Just A Few Miles South Cookbook.  

*This is the last week of the Southern Summer Series! 

 Wallace Station Pulled Cubano Pork

Adapted from Just A Few Miles South

by Ouita Michel

3-3-1/2 pound boneless pork butt (shoulder)

1/4 cup Jared's Pork Rub (recipe follows)

Wallace Station Chicken Salt (recipe follows)

Rub pork butt with Jared's Pork Rub and refrigerate several hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 425F. Place pork butt in a baking pan and roast, uncovered, 30-40 minutes, until the rub begins to darken and char. Reduce heat to 300F. Remove roasted pork from the oven and add water to a depth of 1/2 inch in the pan. Cover and continue baking 1-1/2 - 2 hours, or until the internal temperature registers 200F and the meat is very tender. Remove the roast from the liquid and cool slightly. When the meat can be handled, discard any visible fat and pull the pork into shreds using two forks. Season lightly with Wallace Station Chicken Salt. The pork can be used to make quesadillas or tacos or tossed in barbecue sauce for pulled pork sandwiches. The leftover pan juices can be chilled, causing any fat to rise to the top and solidify. After discarding the fat, the rich broth can be used as part of the stock for Whitesburg Soup Beans.

Jared's Pork Rub: Mix together 6 tablespoons light brown sugar;  6 tablespoons kosher salt; 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes; 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander; 3 tablespoons leaf oregano; 2 tablespoons dry mustard; 1-1/2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper; 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg; 1 teaspoon ground cloves; 6 tablespoons ground sweet paprika; 3 tablespoons ground cumin; and 3 tablespoons dried thyme and store tightly covered.

Wallace Station Chicken Salt: Mix together 1/4 cup kosher salt; 1/4 teaspoon cayenne; 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; and 1/4 teaspoon ground sweet paprika and store tightly covered.

Kentucky Boy Po-Boy Sandwich

Adapted from Just A Few Miles South

by Ouita Michel

4 (6-inch) Po-Boy baguettes or French baguettes

1/2 cup Special Sauce*

24-28 thinly sliced red onion rings

2 cups (6 ounces) shredded iceberg lettuce

1-1/4 pound Wallace Station Pulled Cubano Pork*

1/2 cup Kentucky River Beer Cheese*

1/2 cup Bourbon Barbecue Sauce*

24 Fried Pickle slices*

For each sandwich split a baguette partway through, leaving a hinge. Open the bread and slather 2 tablespoons Special Sauce on the bottom. Cover with 6-7 onions rings; 1/2 cup shredded lettuce; 5 ounces pulled pork; 2 tablespoons warm beer cheese; 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce; and 6 warm pickle slices. Using a squeeze bottle helps distribute the barbecue sauce evenly over the sandwich ingredients. Repeat for more sandwiches. Serves 4  

Special Sauce: Place 1 cup mayonnaise; 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard; 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt; 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard; and 1/4 teaspoon white and black pepper in a medium bowl. Set aside. Add 1/2 bunch curly parsley, stems removed; 2 green onions, thinly sliced; 1 clove garlic, chopped; and 1-1/2 tablespoons canola oil to a food processor or blender. Puree until smooth. Add this to the mayonnaise and spice mixture and mix well. Chill 30 minutes before using.  

Bourbon Barbecue Sauce: Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a 2-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic and saute 30 seconds. Whisk in 1 cup ketchup; 1 cup cola (Coke); 3 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce; 1/4 cup steak sauce; 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper; 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard; and 2 tablespoons white distilled vinegar and mix well. Bring sauce to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 30 minutes. The sauce should be slightly thickened. Add 2 tablespoons bourbon and simmer another 10-15 minutes. Serve warm on Po-Boys or other sandwiches. Refrigerate any leftovers. Makes 2-1/2 cups.

Kentucky River Beer Cheese: Immerse 2 (6-1/2 ounce) tubs spreadable Cheddar Cheese in a bowl of hot water until softened, or soften in a microwave 1 minute on 30 percent power. If the cheese is still firm, stir and continue to microwave on 30 percent power in 15-second increments until softened. In a medium bowl, with a mixer, whip cheese and 2 tablespoons Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale or your favorite beer; 1 tablespoons Kentucky Bourbon; 2 teaspoons Crystal hot sauce; 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce; 1/2 teaspoon onion powder; 1/2 teaspoon ground sweet paprika; 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder; 1/2 teaspoon white pepper; and 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper. Continue to whip until well blended. Taste for seasoning. Chill until ready to use. Makes 2 cups. 

Fried Pickles: Heat canola oil in a deep skillet or small kettle fryer to 350F. Drain 24 dill pickles slices slightly and dredge in 1/2 cup Weisenberger Mill Fish Batter Mix or Tyler's Cornmeal Dredge (1/2 cup all-purpose flour; 1/2 cup cornmeal; 1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder; 1/2 teaspoon onion powder; 1 teaspoon ground sweet paprika). Lower carefully into hot oil and fry for 4 minutes or until golden brown. Drain well. Use to garnish sandwiches or serve as a snack with remoulade for dipping.

Southern Summer Series: Just A Few Miles South