Blood Orange Chicken Red Peppers and Spinach #FreakyFruitsFriday

Posted on October 11, 2019 by Cindy Kerschner

I received product from Melissa’s Produce to use in creating recipes for #FreakyFruitsFriday. As always all opinions are my own.
Blood Orange Chicken Red Peppers and Spinach
Blood Orange Chicken Red Peppers and Spinach turns ordinary chicken into a sweet, healthy alternative weeknight meal.
It’s October and what better fruit comes to mine for Halloween than Blood Oranges?

Never heard of these tasty treats? Here’s a description from our sponsor, Melissa’s Produce:

Named for their deep red flesh and rosy blush on the skin, Blood Oranges are the perfect blend of juicy, sweet and tart. Traditionally grown in Italy, Blood Oranges are popular with chefs for use in creating amazing sauces, sorbets and desserts.

Choose Blood Oranges that are firm and heavy for their size. Blood Oranges may have a full-colored blush or have no blush at all. Avoid blemishes and shriveled or moldy spots. For the juiciest, sweetest fruit, look for Blood Oranges with a sweet, clean fragrance. Store at cool room temperatures for up to one week or refrigerate for up to two weeks.

Learn more about Blood Oranges, how to use, and where to buy here on Melissa’s website.

I am a fan of using citrus to brighten meat and vegetable dishes. Squeezing juice from these blood oranges over the whole dish will draw out the flavors. Spices add depth, which is great. But sometimes a dish just needs something to tie it together. Citrus juice can do just that. No more dull tasting chicken!

Blood Orange Chicken Red Peppers and Spinach

5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 1 each 4 ounce chicken breast
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 each blood orange I use Melissa's Produce
  • 1/2 tsp smoked salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground coriander
  • 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 each roasted red pepper
  • 1/4 cup spinach

Instructions
 

  • Heat medium sized fry pan with vegetable oil over medium heat.
  • Pound chicken breast to 1/4-inch thickness. Squeeze juice from 1/2 blood orange over both sides of chicken. Season both sides with smoked salt. pepper and coriander.
  • Fry chicken over medium heat for about 5 minutes until chicken starts to brown. Flip over. Add slice of roasted red pepper.
  • Add spinach to pan. Saute until wilted. Place over roasted pepper. Drizzle with juice from second half of blood orange.

Blood Orange Chicken Red Peppers and Spinach
Thanks Camilla from by Culinary Adventures with Camilla for hosting our Freaky Fruits Friday event!

Enjoy these great exotic fruits recipes and ideas from the Freaky Fruits Friday Bloggers!

Here’s another Freaky Fruits Friday post from last week in case you missed it! Rambutan Apple Pie!
Rambutan Apple Pie

Posted in #FreakyFruitsFriday, chicken, oranges, What's For Dinner? | 11 Comments

The Offset Smoker Cookbook Review

Posted on October 6, 2019 by Cindy Kerschner

I received a complimentary copy of The Offset Smoker Cookbook by Chris Grove to review from Ulysses Press. I received no further compensation. All opinions are my own.

offset smoker cookbook
When I heard that Chris Grove came out with his current cookbook, The Offset Smoker Cookbook, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy.
Keeping up with Chris Grove can be a bit of a challenge. Chris, his wife and partner, Alexis and their BBQ team travel across the country to perform and compete at festivals, barbecue contests and grilling classes.
This cookbook gives us a chance to see why the Nibble Me This blogger and grill master is an ever present addition in the world of barbecue and grilling.
I’ve had the pleasure of attending various cooking events with him.

Chris Grove

The Offset Smoker Cookbook takes you on a journey from the hows and whys of purchasing an offset smoker for barbecue and grilling to techniques and exciting new recipes.

Grove takes the time to explain the best methods for smoking and grilling different meats in easy to understand terms. His tips will benefit everyone form novice griller to competition chefs.

Some popular tips include:

  • Lighting techniques and best fuels
  • Moisture and humidity tips
  • Using the offset pit as a grill
  • How to reverse sear meat

Recipes and  cooking techniques from whole suckling pigs to sides, rubs and seasonings:

  • Spatchcocked BBQ Chicken
  • Whole Smoked Brisket
  • Jerk-Style Pork Loin Sliders
  • Chunky Hushpuppies
  • NMT Steer Seasoning

 

The Offset Smoker Cookbook is available wherever books are sold. Copyright © 2019 Ulysses Press ISBN: 978-1-61243-907-5.

Any mention or photos of product brands does not consist of an endorsement related to this cookbook review. As always opinions are my own.

Posted in cookbooks, grill, What's For Dinner? | Tagged | 1 Comment

Rambutan Apple Pie #FreakyFruitsFriday

Posted on October 4, 2019 by Cindy Kerschner

I received product from Melissa’s Produce to use in creating recipes for #FreakyFruitsFriday. As always all opinions are my own.
Apple Rambutan Pie
Rambutan Apple Pie welcomes fall with hearty apples and sweet rambutans in one delicious bite!

What’s a rambutan?
rambutan cut
Here’s a great description from Melissa’s Rambutan page:

Closely related to the lychee and longan, the Rambutan is very unusual looking with its hairy appearance. It gets its name from the Malaysian word for hair, “rambut.” It has a juicy-sweet texture, and an enjoyable flavor similar to a lychee, but less acidic. Peel off the hairy skin to extract the fruit, and remove the seed. The rosy flavor of the rambutan resembles a combination of a strawberry and a muscat grape. Its fragrant perfume characterizes this unique fruit. The rambutan can be eaten by itself or in salads, with vegetables, and in sauces.

I started thinking about how to use these little, sweet treats. Hmmm. Maybe combine them with a familiar fall flavor?
Pumpkin? Ah no.

Apple? Yes!
Rambutan Apple Pie

Apple pie blends well with other fruit like raisins or pears. So why not rambutans?
It was definitely the right choice!
Pie crust tip:
Use foil or pie crust shields around the crust to prevent over-browning.
Rambutan Apple Pie
Rambutan Apple Pie

Rambutan Apple Pie

5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 1 refrigerated or homemade pie dough
  • 5 cups thinly sliced, peeled apples
  • 1/4 cup chopped, peeled rambutans
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp lemon juice

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bring dough to room temperature. Line a ceramic or glass 9-inch pie plate with dough.
  • In a medium sized bowl, combine apples, rambutans, sugar, cinnamon, flour, and lemon juice. Pour into pie shell.
  • Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then cover edges with foil to
    prevent over browning. Return pie to oven and continue baking at 425 for
    approximately 30 minutes until apples are soft, juices gel and crust is brown
    and flaky. Cool on wire rack about 2 hours before cutting and serving.

Enjoy these recipes from Freaky Fruits Friday Bloggers!

Posted in #FreakyFruitsFriday, apples, dessert, fruit, pie, What's For Dinner? | Tagged | 13 Comments

Cinnamon Pecan Muffins #FallFlavors

Posted on October 3, 2019 by Cindy Kerschner

I received sponsor products to use in my recipes from Millican Pecan and Door County Coffee & Tea Company as part of the Flavors of Fall promotion. As always, all opinions are my own.
Cinnamon Pecan Muffins welcome autumn with warm flavors and crunchy nuts. Great for breakfast, coffee break or midnight snack.
Cinnamon Pecan Muffins
Cinnamon Pecan Muffins
Welcome to Flavors of Fall where we celebrate all things associated with fall like squash, apples, pecans, sweaters, football; you get the idea!  Ellen from Family Around the Table and Christie from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures have gathered 24 bloggers who have over 100 recipes they’re sharing this week in celebration of cool weather and sweatshirts.  We hope you find many must make recipes so get your pinning, tweeting, and sharing fingers ready!

Cinnamon is my go to fall spice. I love the smell of these muffins baking! Warm or cold these muffins make fall feel present and accounted for!

Pecans add a bit of sweet crunch. I prefer Millican Pecan pecans. These nuts hold up their flavor and texture, never dry or overly oily.

Cinnamon Pecan Muffins

Cinnamon Pecan Muffins

5 from 3 votes
Print Recipe
Servings 9 muffins

Ingredients
  

  • 1/4 cup butter, unsalted, softened
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup chopped pecans I use Millican Pecan pecans
  • 1/4 cup pecan halves for decoration

Instructions
 

  • In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugar, add milk, egg and vanilla.
  • In a separate bowl, mix flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Add half dry ingredients to wet mixture, stir. Repeat with remaining half of wet mixture. Fold in chopped pecans. Add 2 pecan halves on top of each muffin.
  • Fill paper lined muffin tins with 1/4 cup of batter. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Cinnamon Pecan Muffins

Here’s what we made for Thursday:

Beverage
Homemade Pumpkin Spice Creamer by Tip Garden
Plum Spice Bubble Tea by Daily Dish Recipes

Breakfast
Cinnamon Pecan Muffins by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
Coffee Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
Praline Pumpkin Spice Mini Muffins by Family Around the Table

Savory
Butternut, Kale, Butterbean & Pesto Salad by Sweet Beginnings
Coffee Rubbed Pork with Autumn Spices by A Day in the Life on the Farm
Eggplant Parmesan Boats by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
Eggplant Rolantini by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
Potato Rosemary Bread with Roasted Garlic by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
Savoury Pecan Granola by Crumb Top Baking

Dessert
Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake by Cheese Curd In Paradise
Easy Cinnamon Roll Apple Cobbler by Palatable Pastime
Vegan Chocolate Pecan Hand Pies by The Baking Fairy

Make sure you like Fall Flavors on Facebook and follow the Fall Flavors on Pinterest, too!

flavors of fall
Flavors of Fall Door County Prize Package

 

Prize 1 – Door County Coffee and Tea Company

Founded in 1993 in Door County, WI, Door County Coffee and Tea Company is a small family owned business. Roasting a variety of flavors for 26 years, one winner will receive three full pot bags of all of their fall flavors. 21 bags in all! Their mission through the years has been to produce high quality, best-tasting coffee using only Specialty Class 1 Arabica coffee beans. Combine that with superior roasting technology and you get a wonderfully even and perfect roast every time and that means the perfect pot of coffee. A $40 value.

 

Flavors of Fall Millican Prize Package

Prize 2 – Millican Pecan Tower of Treats Gift Tins

Originally founded as the West Texas Pecan Nursery in the late 1800’s, Millican Pecan is now in 5th generation ownership. Located in San Saba, TX, the family continues the tradition of pecan farming while also branching the business into the online world. The family also enjoys educating people about pecans. One winner will receive The Tower of Treats Gift Tins. The tower includes 3 decorative gift tins stacked on top of each other. The bottom tin includes our 2 lb. Chocolate Pecan Sampler, the middle tin is our Flavored Pecan Sampler and the top tin is a 8 oz. tin of Milk Chocolate Caramillicans (similar to Turtles). An $80 value.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Two (2) winners will be selected. The prize packages will be sent directly from the giveaway sponsors. Bloggers are not responsible for prize fulfillment. Winners have 24 hours to respond once notified by email, or they forfeit the prize and an alternate winner will be chosen. The #FallFlavors bloggers are not responsible for the fulfillment or delivery of the prize packages. Bloggers hosting this giveaway and their immediate family members living in the household cannot enter or win the giveaway. Entries will be verified. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. Open to US Residents only. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter the giveaway. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter or any other social channel mentioned in the #FallFlavors posts or entry. Thank you to our sponsors Millican Pecan and Door County Coffee and Tea for providing prizes.

Posted in #FallFlavors, breakfast, brunch, muffin, snacks, What's For Dinner? | 16 Comments