Chicken Quesadillas

Quesadillas are quite prevalent here in Texas as a staple of everyones food diet. Well, I have not had any in quite a long while and decided to cook some up. Probably a little different flavor than most quesadillas but I like it a little different.

Ingredients:
1 lb Chicken Breasts, frozen
Flour Tortillas
Garlic Salt
Mesquite Seasoning
Paprika
Ground Cumin
Celery Salt
Perfect Pinch - Cajun
Ground Allspice
Italian Seasoning
Ground Cloves
Shredded Italian Style Cheese
Finely Shredded Sharp Cheddar
Fiesta Blend Cheese
Mozzarella & Parmesan Finely Shredded Cheese
Vegetable Oil
Apple Cider Vinegar
Water
Tequila
Olive Oil

I began by gathering the spices.

I also made sure to have all my cheeses too.

So I mixed my spices together. No real amount, just remember to go light on the Allspice and Cloves. They tend to overpower everything else. I also went light on the Cumin as well. I love, yes love, Garlic Salt so I added a LOT of that.

I have used pre-made marinades before and they always call for vinegar, vegetable oil, and water. So that is what I added to the spice mix. About 1/4 cup Water, 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar, and 1/2 cup Vegetable Oil. Mix together well.

Now I did not take a picture of me freezing and then dicing up the Chicken. It's pretty simple and allows you to cut into smaller pieces due to the Chicken being frozen. Try not to cut yourself. Please. Then add to marinade and mix together.

Hey look! I found a bottle of Tequila! Let's use this in cooking tonight.

I put about 2 shots worth of Tequila into a skillet and turned the heat to MEDIUM. Once the Tequila began to burn off, I added in the marinade and Chicken.

It looks so pretty when it's cooking. This part should only take a minute or two due to the Chicken being diced up so finely.

Strain the Chicken out and put it in a bowl.

Grab a small skillet. Using a small Tortilla, add some Cheese. Then some Chicken. Then some more Cheese. Fold it over and put it in the skillet with some Olive Oil(not too much).

Flip over after about a minute or minute and a half. Take off about a minute later.

Looks tasty I know...let's cut it up. Enjoy.

Lentil Soup x2

Lentil Soup is a very easy and tasty dish to make. I made it two different ways and will have both represented here. Originally I made a simplified version only consisting of Lentils and Onions. The second version has more in it. I will explain Version 1 first and follow it with Version 2.

Ingredients:
Version 1:
1 White Onion
1 cup Red/Orange Lentils
1 cup Green Lentils
Italian Seasoning
Celery Salt
Perfect Pinch Cajun
Garlic Salt
6 cups Water
1/4 stick Sun Dried Tomato Basil Butter

I began by getting my spices together.

I then got out my White Onion and proceeded to dice it up.

Oh my, found some tasty Butter to caramelize the Onion in.

Now put Onions in with the melting Butter.

Once Onions are caramelized, add in 2 cups of Lentils.

Pour in your water.

Let it cook, stirring once in awhile, until done. The Lentils will be like little sponges and soak up almost all of the water.

I served this on Wild Rice with some shredded Cheese on top. Enjoy.

Version 2:
1 White Onion
1 cup Red/Orange Lentils
1 cup Green Lentils
Italian Seasoning
Celery Salt
Perfect Pinch Cajun
Garlic Salt
Ground Black Pepper
6 Celery stalks
8 Sm Carrots
1/4 stick Butter
6 cups Water

Alright, this recipe mainly follows Version 1 with a few changes.

First off, like no pictures. Sorry but it's sort of redundant. You begin by dicing up your Onions, Carrots, and Celery stalks.

Then you caramelize the Onions in regular Butter.

Add in the diced up Carrots and Celery when the caramelization begins. Stir together thoroughly.

Add in Lentils once Carrots soften up a bit.

Add in Water at same time. Stir.

Once Lentils are soft enough to eat, turn off heat and serve. Enjoy.

Cajun Styled Steak

I call this a Cajun Steak. I know there are a lot of people out there, most likely every chef known to humankind, that will disagree with my name for this steak. I call it that because I used a Cajun spice with this recipe. I ended up using a bit too much that caused it to be almost overpowering...although adding Mesquite seasoning to it might have emphasized the spicy flavor.

Ingredients:
1 lb NY Strip Steak
1 cup Vegetable Oil
0.75 cup White Vinegar
Garlic Salt
Celery Salt
Perfect Pinch - Cajun
Mesquite Seasoning
Italian Seasoning

First off begin by gathering all your spices.

Now I chose two of them to be more present than the rest. I'd say for I used twice as much of these two as the other spices used.

Place the spices in a Ziploc bag and pour in your Vegetable Oil and White Vinegar. You can use any kind of Vinegar instead of White Vinegar, but that is what I generally use for marinades. Seal bag and mix thoroughly so the spices don't clump up too much.

Now get your steak. It looks so pretty.

Put steak in bag and seal it closed. I pushed the air out and rolled the bag up around the steak so the marinade covered every part of it.

Now you can use a grill or a skillet. I chose a cast iron skillet since I do not own a grill. Living in an apartment does not provide a lot of use for a grill these days. Make sure your skillet is ready to go and turn the heat to MEDIUM. Once it begins to get warm to the touch...well hot to the touch, put the steak on.

I choose to flip it every few minutes for an even cook through. You can flip it every 5 minutes if you want, it's up to you.

I served it with it with some delicious Quinoa I made in my Rice Cooker, topped with Scallions. Enjoy.

Clams in Broth

Alright, so I am not really known for my taste for seafood. Today I decided to twist that up and cook up some Clams. I've done this once before and I love how easy it is to do.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb Clams
1 Yellow Onion
1/2 stick Butter
Garlic Salt
Garlic Powder
Perfect Pinch: Cajun
Ground Black Pepper
Italian Seasoning
White Wine

I began by putting my bottle of White Wine in the fridge. I then gathered the other materials. Make sure to scrub your clams with a brush or something since they most likely have some grit/sand/dirt on them still.

Dice up your Yellow Onion. I used about 3/4 of the Onion in this recipe. Put Butter in a saucepan and turn the heat to MEDIUM. Once the Butter starts to melt, add in the diced Onions.

I did my seasoning at this point as well. I did a healthy pinch of everything listed, with a little more emphasis on the Italian Seasoning and Garlic Powder.

Now grab your chilled White Wine.

Pour some in the saucepan once the Onions have caramelized.

Now find your clams.

Put them in.

Turn them every so often if you want. I did but I also have no idea if this helps them cook properly or not. When they are done, they will open up. Take them off pretty quickly once this happens.

I chose to serve them in a bowl along with a portion of the broth they were cooked in. Enjoy.

Beef Stir Fry

So the other night I decided to make myself some stir fry. I know, I know. It's nothing new and why is he posting this? Well, this time I changed it up a little bit.

Ingredients:
1 lb Stir Fry Beef
1 can Cut Baby Corn
1 can Bean Sprouts
1 cup Frozen Peas
1 cup Frozen Cut Green Beans
Sesame Seeds
Spicy Brown Mustard
Sesame Seed Oil
Sweet & Sour Sauce
Stir Fry Sauce
Teriyaki Sauce
Garlic Salt
Vegetable Oil

Alright, first step of course is to assemble your ingredients.

Now I chose to cut up the stir fry meat first. You don't have to do this but you would be left with huge strips of meat instead of size appropriate pieces. Cutting them smaller solves that issue.

Using a wok, pour in a spoonful of Vegetable Oil and turn the heat to MEDIUM. Add in your cut up Stir Fry Beef. Add in a few dashes of Sesame Seed Oil.

Add in some Lime Juice, Spicy Brown Mustard, Sesame Seeds, Teriyaki Sauce, and Garlic Salt. I used a good squirt of the Lime Juice bottle. Maybe a spoonful of Spicy Brown Mustard. A dusting of Garlic Salt. Go crazy with the Teriyaki Sauce, because why not!?

Once the meat is done cooking, which should be right when it turns that grayish brown color of being cooked. Strain the meat out of the wok and place in a bowl to the side. I put mine in the microwave to retain heat better.

In your wok you still have the liquid mixture. Add in your Frozen Peas and Frozen Cut Green Beans.

Some more Spicy Brown Mustard? I think so.

Add in a good sized amount of Sweet & Sour Sauce. About the same amount of Stir Fry Sauce.

Now mix it around. Get your can of Cut Baby Corns and Bean Sprouts. Open them up and drain them of all liquid. I chose to put the Baby Corns in first, then the Bean Sprouts.

Mix them around and let them cook for awhile. You can check when they are done by tasting a piece of the Baby Corns. Once those are done, everything else should be too.

Now that it's done, you get the Stir Fry Beef out and throw that back in the wok.

Mix.

Now give it a minute or two of cooking. Turn off heat and serve. Enjoy.