Roasted Chicken & Vegetables ;

An American Classic amiright ?

But, first, let me tell you this,

i have NEVER had a juicier, more tender chicken IN MY LIFE.

This has got to be one of my top 10 favorite recipes for Chicken.

& thats saying a lot .

This smelled wonderful even BEFORE it went into the oven, and dont even get me started on how my kitchen smelled during the roasting.

MMmMM!

i would say it was "breathtakingly" amazing, but its quite the opposite,

i found myself doing deep breathing exercises instead! haha

it was such an addicting smell, it has GOT to be illegal to inhale this much good stuff !

But it wasnt just the chicken that was delicious, but the vegetables were SO full of flavor !

i have never enjoyed eating JUST vegetables this much before.

i ate 3 servings of vegetables alone ! and ate 1/4th of the Chicken, hehe

Can you say Happy Stomach ?

Overall, this Roast Chicken was a 10 in my book. AHHH SO GOOD .

But you know what the best part of the day was?

Enjoying my time in the kitchen with my Best-Friend, Tiffany.

Its always fun having someone cooking with you, isnt it? haha

Tiffany and i had a great laugh when it came to her having to stick her hand into the chickens... backside, haha !

BUT it was done for the sake of good food! & Boyyyyyyyyyyyy, was it good !

Oh, and we had fun playing Twister & baking Peanut butter centered chocolate cupcakes as we were waiting for the chicken to cook !

Ugh, i think we're starting to get old, at the tender age of 20.

Tiffany and i were laughing at each others pain during Twister, and then we had to suffer with sore thighs & legs afterwards. Haha !

Roast Chicken & Vegetables

Recipe ;

- One 5 pound Chicken

- Bundle of medium sized asparagus

- 1/2 pound snow peas

- large handful of grape tomatoes

- 2 red onions halved & cut in 3rds

- 3 Large potatoes cut in large chunks (1.5 inches)

- 3 Medium sized carrots cut in 1 inch pieces

- 1 whole garlic bulb halved

- 4 garlic cloves roughly cut

- 2 lemons

- 5 tbs olive oil

- 1/2 cup oyster sauce

- Kroger Chicken Seasoning

- salt, pepper, & garlic powder for taste

Preheat your oven to 400 F.

Clean & take out insides of chicken, pat dry. Place

the chicken in a large baking/casserole dish, (with

enough room for the vegetables.) (if there are extra

vegetables, roast them in a separate pan, season

them the same as the ones with the chicken.)

Squeeze 1 lemon over the chicken & drizzle

2 tbs of olive oil over the chicken, rub until

completely oiled. Sprinkle Chicken Seasoning

over entire chicken, this will add flavor & help

give you a beautiful golden brown color.

Squeeze half a lemon inside the chicken

and place both halves of the lemon inside,

also stuff the halved garlic bulbs as well.

Drizzle 3 tbs of olive oil over the all vegetables

and add the 4 cloves of roughly chopped garlic,

& mix. Sprinkle salt, pepper, & garlic powder
over the veggies.
Place most of the potatoes under the chicken

(it will prevent the chicken from boiling in its

own juices, which you want it "roasted" not

boiled. Plus, it will add amazing flavor to your

potatoes!) In a separate bowl combine the oyster

sauce and snow peas & mix until covered. Layer

the snow peas and asparagus at the bottom of the

casserole dish (since theyre thin veggies, they tend

to burn easier, placing them at the bottom will

prevent that.) Place the rest of the vegetables

(except the grape tomatoes) in the casserole dish,

around the chicken. & bake for 40 minutes.

After 40 minutes, take the chicken out of the oven

& with a ladle, drizzle the chicken drippings over

the chicken & vegetables (this will prevent the

chicken from drying out.) At this point, add in the

tomatoes into the dish as well. Sprinkle a bit more

of the Chicken Seasoning & place back in the oven

for another 40 minutes, or until completely cooked.

*Tip before serving, ladle the juices over the

chicken again to give it that "glossy" look & to

keep your chicken moist~ ENJOY the yum !

Stuffing the Chicken
Adding my lemon halves & whole garlic bulb inside my
chicken.

Sprinkling Chicken Seasoning
i used Kroger's Chicken Seasoning,
real yum stuff ! i love it!
i even sprinkled some of this on the side of my plate,
and dipped my chicken into it while i was eating.
totally recommended !

Chicken Rub-down
After rubbing the lemon, oil, & seasoning~
my poor casserole dish was too small, even though this was
my largest one..
Soooo, i just baked the rest of my veggies in a seperate
baking dish. hehe~

Placing Potatoes Underneath the Chicken
Placing most of my potatoes underneath my chicken to
give it a little height, so it doesnt boil in its own juices.
but also adds amazing flavor to the potatoes as well.
MmMmmm ~
ahaha ! Tiffany holding up the Chicken,
isnt the tail flap so adorable?!

Sliced Red Onions
This is how i cut my onions, but i would probably
cut them a bit thicker next time.
They do shrink during the baking process.

Layering My Vegetables
i laid out my sauced snow peas & asparagus over the
potatoes that were underneath the chicken.
Layering the thinner veggies at the bottom will help
prevent them from getting burned.

My Extra Vegetables
i roasted the extra vegetables along with my chicken,
they were done by the first 40 minute session of cooking.
So i enjoyed munching on these with Tiffany, as we
waited for for the chicken to roast.
OH ! and can you believe my little brothers LOVED these
veggies? yes, JUST veggies.. their exact words were
"Dude, these vegetables are BOMB."
haha !
You know somethings good when teenage boys are
fighting over them !

Ready to Bake !
This picture was taken right before it was placed in the
oven, for its first 40min cooking.
Along with my extra pan of veggies.
(which were ready to eat after the 40 mins.)

Side Dish Pasta
As the chicken was in the oven, i had 40 mins to spare,
so i decided to add a side dish to go along with my roasted
Chicken & Veggies.
This is a quick & simple fix-dish. with some left-over
vegetables, specifically the asparagus, and tomatoes.

Recipe ;

- asparagus sliced in half, length-wise &

  chopped in 2inch pieces

- baby tomato quartered

- parsley roughly chopped

- turkey sliced thin

- 2 cupsbow-tie pasta

- 1 clove finely chopped garlic.

- 2 tsp olive oil

- 2 tbs balsamic vinaigrette

- salt & pepper for taste

Cook the pasta as directed on the package, Drain and place

in a mixing bowl. Cook the asparagus & tomatoes with

1tsp of olive oil, garlic, pepper & salt. Cook just for 2 mins.

Combine the rest of the ingredients with the pasta, mix &

Enjoy.

After 40 mins of Cooking
After the first 40min. session, Tiffany added the tomatoes
& as we set the timer for another 40mins, we munched
happily on the delicious vegetables .
P.S Thanks Tiffy for being my hand-model, haha

FINISHED ROASTED CHICKEN & VEGGiES !
isnt it the most beautiful chicken you've ever seen?!
it tastes just as great as it looks. i PROMISE.
This 5 pound chicken easily *Serves 5 people.
i also sprinkled some extra Chicken seasoning as i ate
my chicken~  Mmm, i think im addicted to that stuff.

Special Thanks to Tiffany, for helping me cook.
Youre the bestest friend anyone could ask for, & i just
adore cooking with you! ahhhhh i love ya Tiffy !
Lets hang out again soon, okay?
Miss ya already! ♥

Baked Potato with a "Grate" Cheese Topping;

2 words.

Cheese & Potatoes.

Okay, now that i have your attention,

can i say that THIS IS ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS ?!

i ate 2 whole potatoes just for breakfast alone.  MMmmMmm.. 

Actually, just looking at these pictures again makes me want to make another,

can you say Midnight Snack? haha .

You know that moment,

when you see your baked potato during its last 5 seconds of perfection, right before you stab your fork in it?

When you see the bubbly melting cheese oozing over the skin, and all the toppings piled high on that potato, hiding that starchy goodness within.
Ooh~ and that moment you put your fork in it and you purposely lift that bite a bit higher than your lips, JUST so u could see all that yummy cheese stretching?
Yes. that is what this dish provides.
Comfort, Major Deliciousness . & Satisfaction Guaranteed !

Prettiest potato ive ever seen!
Definitely makes me drool, haha

The Perfect Baked Potato

Recipe ;

- 2 Medium sized Potatoes, Baked

- 1 cup Montery Jack Cheese

- about 3-4 Branches of broccoli chopped

- 2 tbs chopped red onion

- 2 tbs chopped picked peppers

- Bacon bits (optional)

- Salt & Pepper to taste

In a bowl combine ingredients 2-5 & microwave for

1 minute, or until cheese is completely melted.

While microwaving the cheese, cut the potato in half &

(* TIP: pinch the sides of the potato while pushing inward,

it`ll help give that "overfilling"  look.)

Spoon insides a bit to make the potato "chunky".

Then, just spoon on the Cheese topping, sprinkle some

salt & pepper over the top, and enjoy this yummminess!

*Serves 2

Homemade Food Event

During the last Sunday of January, i hosted a "Homemade Food Event"
Invited guests were advised to bring a dish, whether its a drink, appetizer, snack, dip, anything!
but it had to be HOMEMADE , & made by themselves.
& for those who didnt know how to cook, or just didnt have the time to make a dish,
they helped chip in a few $dollars to someone who was, just to be fair & to help out ~


Anyway, the event went pretty well, but i guess i  picked a bad weekend to host it,
it was the week before mid-terms & some of my friends pick sunday night as their "finish homework night".
But i didnt want to move it to another week because ive already had to postpone it twice.
So , the next time i host another Food Party, i shall pick an empty Saturday night ~


Back to the topic of food,
so since i was the host of this event, i felt i had to put a little more on the table.
i avoided main course meals, since majority of the guests were planning on brining heavier meals, such as Korean BBQ, Steak Kabobs, Pastas, etc.
So instead i made 2 snack appetizers, 1 drink, and 1 dessert.
Heres what i made :

Ingredients for My Mini Skewers

Recipe ;

- Toothpicks

- Mozzarella 

- Basil

- Salami (feel free to use any other dry meats)

- Baby Grape Tomatoes

Tomato, Basil, Salami & Mozzarella Skewer
i love these single appetizer bites!
simple to make, & super yummy.
combine them in whichever way you want,
i went with sort or a swirled-layered pattern ~

Spicy Potato Wedges (before the fryer)
these are actually small yellow spuds you can find at any
local grocery market.
ive noticed i  tend to find "mini food" alot cuter than
the normal sized foods you usually see everywhere else,
it also gives it a little more of a "special & personalized"
feel, haha.

Spicy Fried Potato Wedges
honesty, who DOESNT like potatoes ? especially if theyre
in fry form?!
these were absolutely delicious, straight out of the fryer.
spicy, crunchy, hot, starchy food of the Gods!

Recipe ;

- yellow mini potato spuds, sliced.

- cayenne pepper (add alot if u like it spicy!)

- parsley flakes

- garlic powder

- pepper

- salt

- dill

(sorry i have no measurements for the seasoning, its super

easy to just combine these spices according to preference.

but be sure to make enough of the spice mixture, since

you will need to coat the potatoes, twice.)

After you have prepared your seasoning, you add

your potato wedges & half the spice-mixture into a

large mixing bowl & toss them until theyre coated.

Drop them in the fryer until theyre golden brown.

As soon as theyre out of the fryer toss them back into the

bowl and sprinkle the spice mixture & toss again, until

fully coated.  Enjoy~

Preparing the Watermelon Citrus Drink
i used the watermelon shell as the punch bowl itself.
i cut off the top of it & also a thin slice of the bottom, so it
would be able to stand on its own.
be careful to NOT cut too deep into the flesh of the fruit,
or you will have leaking issues.

Hollowing Out
so as soon as i got it to stand, i started hollowing out
the fruit. Once again, be careful to NOT puncture through
the bottom of the fruit.

Finished Punch Bowl

Mixing & Blending Process
look how much fruit i got out of that melon !
okay, so during this process is where i added the other
citrus fruits into the bowl.

Recipe ;

- 1 Watermelon

- juice of 1 Grapefruit

- juice of 3 Oranges

- juice of 1 lemon

- Sugar (if needed to be sweeter)

- 2 liter Fruit Soda (i used pineapple)

puree the fruit mixture in your blender, fill the watermelon

halfway with the mixture, & fill it the rest of the way up

with the fruit soda. Save the remainder of the fruit mix in

the fridge for later, when the bowl needs to be refilled ~

Watermelon & Citrus Drink
i needed the extra sweetness from the sugar, since its the
middle of winter & watermelon isnt in season... hehe~

Baking Yellow Cupcakes (buns)
this was actually a cake mix, since  the grocery store
didnt have a very wide selection of cupcakes,
i had to gamble a bit with this, but luckily these worked
just the same!
these yellow ones will be used as the "buns" or our
AWESOME cupcake creation.
if youve never baked cupcakes before, BE SURE TO ONLY
FILL UP THE CUPS  2/3rds OF THE WAY.
they WILL expand !

Baking Chocolate Cupcakes (hamburger meat)
you wont need as many chocolate cupcakes as you did
for the yellow ones, since you will be slicing these
horizontally to use as the "meat" portion of
your cupcake burger.
(1 choco cup cake = about 3-4 slices)
so feel free to indulge on the left over chocolate cakes~
if youve never baked cupcakes before, BE SURE TO ONLY
FILL UP THE CUPS  2/3rds OF THE WAY.
they WILL expand !

Cutting the Cupcakes
okay, heres the hardest part of making your
burger cupcakes. The red portion are the parts that you
dont need. which is the center slice, & the edges of the
muffin top. (just cut along the black dotted lines.)
The easiest way to remove the edges is to remove the
middle piece first, then flip the top upside down &
cut off the edges while rotating the top.
(it`ll be easier to understand if you look at the finished
product.)
Be sure to cut off the edges of the chocolate cupcake too,
& a bit off the top, to flatten it, so that the top bun can rest
more easily on the chocolate cupcake "pattie" .
be sure to slice the whole chocolate cupcakes into
equal even/flat slices.

Cupcake Burger !
is this freaking adorable or what?!
haha, this was a big hit amongst my friends,
they loved it !
it fooled my parents & friends, they really believed it was a
mini burger , haha

Recipe ;

- Coconut Shavings

- Green, Red, & Yellow food coloring

- Sesame seeds

- Sliced yellow & chocolate cupcakes

- White Frosting (i made mine from scratch)

if you want the recipe for simple frosting, "click here"

For the "Lettuce" portion of your burger,  add a few drops

of green food coloring to shaved coconut & mix.

Divide your frosting into 2 bowl & add red food coloring

for the "Ketchup" & yellow to the other for the

"Cheese / Mustard" portion of your cupcake burger.

(i dont like having too much frosting on my cakes, so i

drizzled the frosting around the edges only)

Once youre done stacking the "burger" sprinkle a few

sesame seeds over the top & enjoy your creative desserts !

A Thankful Thanksgiving;

Truth be told, im not very close with my own family.
we just cant seem to get along..
i dont spend much time wit them, & i cant even recall the last time
i had dinner with my mom.
or even the last time i even had dinner MADE by my mom.
which is probably how i started cooking on my own.
But ever since i met Frankie,
his family has welcomed me with open arms,
and i have been so blessed since.~

Frankie, his dad, cousin, niece, auntie, mom, myself, Amy (sister), Auntie

his parents are such a wonderful pair ~
His mom tends to buy random trinkets & gadgets that she never uses,
but still insists that i read the manuals for them anyway; from ice-cream churners,
waffle irons, cone makers, individual egg steamers... any random cookware!
She buys a ton of little dolls, hair-clips, accessories, bags, & keychains and she
attaches them to any place she can find, haha! 
shes just an adorable person, whos fun to be around~
Even sitting around watching game shows with her is a joy, served with
corn-on-the-cob (her fav.)  while garnished with random arguments
over the correct answers, to the trivia questions.
---
& his dad is a totally " hip & happenin` " individual !
He initiates conversations of Frankie's interests,
like tracking cars, work, & tennis. While learning a few curse words from Frankie,
and tries to fuse them into his sentences. (which always makes me laugh)~
He also brainstorms new ideas for his company by involving the development
of car-parts, since Frankie has such a deep passion for cars & the track.
oh and did i mention that he even drinks with Frankie & his friends?
haha, such an awesome dad.
& every other week or so, he tries to have a "cooking day" with me,
and we`d cook together, exchange tips, provide suggestions, and show off by
channeling our inner iron chef skills. BAM !
----
but even with all these amazing features, the best part about them is
their never ending love for their family.
once in awhile, ill catch a glimpses of them just looking at Frankie in
complete adoration, and it`ll make my heart melt.
Theyre such an interactive, supportive, happy, & generous bunch~
im extremely thankful for them to consider me as one of their own.
i love them all deeply.
This entry is dedicated to them;
it was truly a Happy Thanksgiving !

Our Thanks Giving Dinner!
with Roasted Turkey & Glazed Sweet Ham

My Dog Coco !
hes patiently waiting to eat his ham & turkey

Yummy!  our Roasted Turkey & Glazed Sweet Ham

My Garlic & Bacon Mashed Potatoes!
a favorite among my friends,
& always requested by Frankie`s dad

Recipe;

- Boiled Potatoes (in salted water)

- Drained & Mashed

- Pour in Heavy cream, till desired consistency

- Finely chopped garlic (alot if youre a garlic lover like me)

- a handful of Bacon Bits
- a sprinkle of black ground pepper, & more salt if needed.

"Swedish Potatoes"
This is a recipe from my step-dad
its his "specialty" or atleast, the only thing he can cook
that doesnt come in a box. keke~
Believe me, even if the word" anchovie" sets you off,
you wont even taste them! these potatoes are SO good.

Recipe;

- 5 Peeled & Sliced potatoes (cut french-fry style)

- 2 oz. can of anchovies; cut into tiny pieces.

- one large onion, finely chopped.

- 3/5 of a pint of Heavy Cream

- 1 Cup of Bread Crumbs

- Half a Stick of Butter ; sliced.

- Salt & Pepper to sprinkle.

Butter the bottom of your casserole dish, and layer the

potato slices at the bottom. (enough to just cover it).

sprinkle pieces of anchovies on top, with a sprinkle of

onions on top of that. add a splash of heavy cream

over it all & repeat.

ending with potatoes on top.

add a final splash of heavy cream, sprinkle the bread crumbs on top

and scatter the sliced pieces of butter on top of it all.

& bake at 420 degrees, until potatoes are tender & golden brown.

Adding the Last Dash of Cream
over the potatoes

Finishing with a Sprinkling  of Bread Crumbs

The Final Touch.
adding slices of butter ontop of your bread crumbs