Whiskey Glazed Carrots

So these definitely do not fall into the category of healthy New Year resolution-fitting recipes but they are definitely tasty. These are another Pioneer Woman recipe and, like pretty much everything else from her I’ve made, these are delicious. And the leftovers are worthy of fighting over who gets the last bite. Make them, now. Then just run a few more minutes on the treadmill, it is totally worth it.

Whiskey Glazed Carrots

From The Pioneer Woman Cooks

1 stick Butter, Divided Into 1 Tablespoon Segments

2 pounds Carrots, Peeled And Cut Into Thick Circles (baby carrots work too!)

½ Cup Jack Daniels Or Other Whiskey

¾ Cup Brown Sugar

½ Teaspoon Salt

Ground Pepper, to taste

Gather all your ingredients (this recipe goes fast once it gets going!). Then melt 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over high heat. Add carrots in a single layer in the skillet (will do two sets) and cook 60-90 seconds.

Remove all the carrots. Add the whiskey (keep your face back! trust me!). Let cook and evaporate for 30 seconds.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the rest of the butter. Sprinkle the brown sugar in. Stir. Add the carrots. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.

Remove lid. Add salt and pepper. Cook until glaze is thick and carrots are done. Will take around 5 minutes. Serve immediately (but hope for leftovers!).

A Great Grilled Meal

So one of the greatest things about being married to D is that he is a whiz at grilling things. Seriously, give him access to a grill and a stocked fridge/freezer and you will not go hungry. So not too long ago D was off while I was at work and decided to make dinner on the grill. So he went digging into the disaster area that is our freezer to see what he could find: frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts and a half empty bag of frozen mixed berries. Now, my mind probably never would have seen how the two could ago together, but this genius that I married set right to work, pureeing the berries and making awesome marinade for the chicken. Now, this night we actually put dinner on hold when his parents called to ask us to dinner, so the chicken sat in its fruity bath for about 24 hours and ended up turning a shocking purple color. I will admit I was slightly (or majorly) freaked out by the color and was really afraid of what the chicken was going to taste like: but it was so good! It was really moist and it didn't really taste like a berry. The fruit just provided a perfect accent to the mix of spices that D used. I definitely recommend this meal, it is really good!

Now, the other thing that D has made a few times now is his grilled baby carrots. These came about one day when he was searching for a side to go with our meal and I told him there were carrots in the fridge. At first he says he wondered if these would work, but his Eagle Scout brain kicked in and he reverted back to his Scouting days of making foil meals while camping. He ended up throwing these simple ingredients together and making an awesome side dish that I now beg him to make. We actually just had these again last weekend and I already want more: they are basically like crack to me now, I just want to take the whole bowl and go hide in a closet and eat them all myself.

So, before fall weather gets here, fire up your grill and try D's concoctions. I promise, they're great! What the chicken looked like after the marinade and before grilling.

Berry Spicy Chicken

Created by Doug

1/2 bag frozen mixed berries

5 big tablespoons sugar

1 - 1 1/2 cups Cranberry juice

7 chicken breasts (or really as many as you want)

Grill seasoning (to your taste)

Red pepper flakes (again, to your taste)

Mrs. Dash (to your taste)

Season salt (to your taste)

Water

Place berried, sugar and a little water in food processor or blender and blend until they form a sauce (add more water in small amounts if necessary). Set aside.

Butterfly the chicken and pound flat. Add a little salt and pepper and let sit a few minutes.

Place the chicken in a bowl or plastic bag (whichever way you prefer to marinate meat) and add the berry mixture. Add 1 to 1 1/2 cups of cranberry juice.

Let marinate (ours sat for 24 hours, but at least an hour is best).

Remove the chicken from the marinade (pour it out) and place the chicken on a plate or platter.

Add the spices to your taste (the more you add the spicier it will be).

Grill the chicken until cooked.

Grilled Baby Carrots

By Doug

1 small bag Raw baby carrots

1 -2 tablespoons Butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Place the carrots in a sauce pan and cover with water, place over medium heat and bring to a boil. Allow the carrots to boil for 3 minutes.

Drain 90-95 % of the water off the carrots (keep a little).

Place the carrots in a large piece of aluminum foil (you'll want a good, heavy foil).

Cover with salt and pepper and cut the butter into chunks and place around the carrots.

Wrap the foil up into a pouch like shape.

Place on the grill. The cooking time will depend on how big your pouch is and how soft you like your carrots. A good idea is 10-12 minutes for a small pouch.

Pizza Time!

So in our house we love pizza. We seriously have it at least once every 2 weeks, if not more. So a couple of months ago when a friend asked me if I wanted to come over for vegetable pizza I said sure. Well, I was in for a surprise. This is no normal pizza. There is no tomato sauce in site here! This is a recipe that she got from her mother-in-law and is a favorite in her house. I love this recipe because I think it is really easy to change to make it whatever you are in the mood for that day. There are so many possible variations to this pizza that it is sure to please everyone!







Vegetable "Pizza"



Crust (I used already made pizza dough, but you could use homemade, laid out crescent rolls, etc)

Dip (I used sour cream mixed with a ranch dressing mix, but you could use cream cheese instead)

Vegetables (raw or cooked. I used a bag of frozen broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower that I had cooked and cooled)

Shredded Cheese (whatever you prefer. I used cheddar)



Follow the directions for your type of crust (mine was bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes). Allow to cool. Make dip mix, chop vegetables into bite size peices. Spread dip mix across the cooled crust. Evenly distrubute vegetable across the crust. You may want to press them down a little so they stick to the dip. Sprinkle with desired amount of cheese. Cut into squares and serve.