Good Ole Fashioned Home Cookin'

So I have written about downtown Waukesha and all the yummy eats and treats I have found there, but I must get back to my first love - Home cookin'! I have done quite a bit of it lately and have decided to finally compile all the foods together and tell you about it.

Ok let's start with one of my new favorites - Buffalo Chicken Style Sloppy Joes!!!

I got this recipes from 30 Minute Meals with Rachel Ray and just had to make it. I have made this recipe 3 times and have learned to tweak it slightly each time to get just the right amount of sloppy! They are absolutely delish and you get to control the temperature on them. I typically have been adding the 1/3 cup and then have the Frank's Red Hots out on the table for guests to add more. You do need to use a quality bun for this or you will have one heck of a sloppy mess on your plate. As a side dish, I made mashed red potatoes and topped them off with some low fat cheese. This was supposed to represent potato skins that you would get at a bar, but unfortunately I was out of bacon bits. I did add some low fat sour cream to the potatoes to help mash them. This has become my new go-to recipe for a group.



Then I got a grill a few months back and find new recipes all the time to make on it. One of my favorite marinades has become Balsamic Vinegar, EVOO, garlic salt and pepper. The Balsamic Vinegar definitely helps to tenderize the meat slightly so for my smothered chicken breast, I had quite the tender juicy piece. I buy frozen chicken breasts and cut them down the middle to make two smaller breasts out of them. They cook faster this way and its the right amount of meat to fill me without over stuffing me. After I grilled up the chicken, I had some sliced mushrooms cooking in a pan with a little garlic salt and laid those over the breast of chicken and put a piece of provolone over the top. Voila! Amazing smothered chicken. For sides this time I grilled some zucchini that I marinaded in balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper and then made smashed cauliflower (cooked cauliflower, cream cheese, spray butter and garlic salt). It was delicious and very low in carbs!



Pork chops were something new for me to grill. I got a great deal on 1/4 inch pork chops and was leary on how to cook them. I marinaded them in red wine vinegar, just a dash of EVOO, garlic salt and pepper for about an hour and got my grill blazing hot. These thin chops took only a few minutes per side and I like that I got the amazing grill marks too (getting fancy schmancy I know). I heated up some cooked green beans with garlic garni (a great spice mix like Mrs. Dash from California) and a little spray butter. And then I just made regular mashed potatoes to go with it.

So that was what I have made for myself recently that has been fun. I'm really wanting to make some good Kebabs soon and I also ventured out for the Art Crawl on Saturday so more blogs to come soon!!! Happy Eating!