easy recipe – Hoots of a Night Al

How to Make the Juiciest Chicken EVER!

January 7, 2017 6 Comments

I love baked chicken breasts as a healthy weeknight meal. However, my chicken breasts always used to come out dry, which drove me crazy. That is, until I discovered dry poaching. It’s a basic cooking technique that is used to keep the chicken moist and juicy during baking. Read on to see how easy it is!

All you need is a baking dish (I use and love this one), parchment paper, and olive oil. Pour around a tablespoon of oil into the baking dish, and use a pastry brush to spread it on the entire dish.

Once your dish is coated in olive oil, place your chicken breasts in. You can marinate them beforehand, or add your chosen spices at this point. I have been loving the Grill Mates Mesquite marinade lately.

Next, tear off a piece of parchment paper that is roughly the size of your baking dish. Pour about a tablespoon of olive oil on the parchment paper, and spread it out with a pastry brush.

Finally, place your parchment paper (olive oil side down) into your baking dish and tuck it around the sides of your chicken. It doesn’t have to be tucked too tightly, just enough so the moisture won’t escape during baking.

Bake your chicken at 400 degrees for around 40 minutes (more or less depending on the size of your chicken breasts). Once your chicken reaches 165 degrees internally, remove it from the oven and enjoy!

I have used this method time and time again, and every single time it results in moist, flavorful chicken. I promise if you’re sick of eating dry chicken, this is the answer to your prayers!

Do you have any other easy cooking techniques I should try?

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Food, Recipe

3-Ingredient Roast Chicken

August 4, 2016 6 Comments

This recipe creates the most delicious, moist chicken, with minimal time and effort. All you need is chicken, lemons, and salt & pepper! Sound too good to be true? Read on!

Now, this isn’t the chicken recipe to bust out when you want to impress your friends at a dinner party. (Also, stop trying to impress your friends, they already love you…just be yourself.) It is however, simple, delicious, and goof-proof, which is EXACTLY how I like my recipes.

The only ingredients you need are a whole chicken, salt & pepper, and lemons. I usually get the Young Whole Chicken from HEB pictured below, which is roughly 3 pounds. That is more than enough for myself and my husband, but feel free to get a larger chicken if you’re cooking for more.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash and dry your chicken and remove any of the included “innards” (I know that is the correct word, it just felt like it needed quotes.). Take your lemons and pierce them repeatedly on all sides with a fork to create holes. Liberally salt and pepper your chicken inside and out, and stuff the punctured lemons into the cavity.

I’ve cooked this on a baking sheet, in a dutch oven, and in a casserole dish, and each time it comes out great. The latter two are better, however, if you want to save the delicious juices to spoon over your chicken or for future recipes. Whatever you choose, lay the chicken breast-side down into a baking dish you’ve brushed with olive oil or pam, and place it into the oven. Cook for 1 hour at 350, and roughly 20 minutes at 400. (Your cooking times may vary if you are cooking a larger chicken.)

Once you have insured your chicken is fully cooked (165 degrees internal temperature), remove it from the oven, and let it rest on a cutting board for at least ten minutes. After that, carve into your delicious chicken, and enjoy! I typically squeeze the lemons over Louis’s chicken as he loves the citrus flavor, and you can also spoon the pan sauce over the chicken.

This chicken is so delicious, moist, and flavorful without being super lemony. I’m not a fan of lemon, so I was worried when I first cooked this, but the lemon flavor really doesn’t come through. It seems they just help the chicken stay juicy while cooking.

This dish can be paired with potatoes, salad, vegetables, or whatever you’re craving! If you’re trying to cook a whole chicken for the first time, try this simple recipe, and I know you won’t be disappointed!

3-Ingredient Roast Chicken

Ingredients

Whole Chicken
Lemons
Salt & Pepper

Instructions

Wash and dry chicken and remove innards.
Pierce lemons repeatedly with fork.
Liberally salt and pepper inside and outside of chicken.
Insert lemons into cavity.
Bake at 350 for 1 hour, and 400 for 20 minutes.
Let chicken rest for 10 minutes on cutting board.
Carve and enjoy!

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Recipe, Walt Disney World

Strawberry Oolong Tea Slush Recipe

June 22, 2016 12 Comments

Summer is here! Wonderful, fun, happy, HOT summer! If you’re already feeling the heat, I have a quick and easy recipe for you to help cool off.

image source

Have you ever been to Walt Disney World? In particular, Epcot? Outside of China in the World Showcase, there is a small stand called Joy of Tea. It sells egg rolls, red bean ice cream, and tea (duh.). MOST importantly, it sells the famed Strawberry Oolong Tea Slush. Okay, famed may be an exaggeration, because I’m pretty sure Louis and I are its biggest fans, as most people reach for Mickey’s Premium Ice Cream Bar to cool off. Regardless, don’t be dismayed! It’s delicious, and we were able to replicate it at home recently. I wanted to pass along the yummy recipe to you!

All you need is Oolong Tea, Strawberries (fresh or frozen), Ice, and Sugar (to taste). First brew the oolong tea, then allow it to cool. Wash and slice your strawberries. Combine the tea, strawberries, ice, and sugar in a blender. Blend on high until the mixture is the consistency of a slush. You may need to add more ice depending on your desired consistency. Feel free to add a couple of cubes at a time until it is slushy enough for your liking. 🙂 Drink up! That’s it!

The amount of each ingredient will vary slightly based on your preference and blender, but I’ve listed a good starting point for each below. We have this Ninja Master Prep Blender, and I really like it.

We seriously love the combination of the flavor of the oolong tea mixed with the strawberries. It’s sweet and refreshing, plus it has the added boost of caffeine! It also reminds us of strolling through Epcot on our Disney trips sipping on our slushes! I know we’ll be enjoying this treat all summer, and I hope you will, too! Do you have any other easy, slush recipes I need to try?

Strawberry Oolong Tea Slush Recipe

Ingredients

2 cups brewed, cooled Oolong Tea

1 1/2 cups sliced strawberries (fresh or frozen)

1 cup ice

Sugar (to taste)

Directions

Brew and cool Oolong tea. Wash and slice strawberries. Combine all ingredients in blender. Blend until desired slush consistency is reached (adding ice cubes as needed). Enjoy!

This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click on these links or make a purchase using these links, I may receive a small percentage of the profit at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Hoots of a Night Al!

Food, Recipe

Healthy Baked Fish & Chips

March 9, 2016 1 Comment

A little over a year ago, Louis and I visited England (you can read about our trip here), and while there, we ate fish and chips for basically every meal. No regrets. However, with our 2016 goal of becoming healthier, I can’t exactly fry up fish and french fries anytime we crave it. My solution? Bake it!

For the fish, you will need:

1/2 lb of cod (cut into 2 equal portions)
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning (I typically use Ragin’ Cajun, but feel free to use your favorite!)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites, beaten
2 cups cornflakes, crushed

For the “chips,” I use my Simple Homemade Baked Fries recipe. You can find that here. I bake my fish and chips together in the oven at 425 degrees. I put the potatoes in first, prep my fish, and put the fish in for the last 20 minutes.

To prepare your fish, crack two eggs and beat the egg whites. Next, use a blender or food processor to crush 2 cups of cornflakes. These don’t need to be extremely fine, but definitely make sure there are no large chunks. Finally, thoroughly mix together your flour, Cajun seasoning, and salt. Place the egg whites, flour mixture, and cornflakes each on a separate dinner plate or shallow dish.

Dip the fish into the egg white, then dredge it in the flour mixture, dip into the egg white again, and finally coat all sides with the ground corn flakes. Don’t be discouraged if the flour or cornflakes aren’t sticking all over your fish. Feel free to use your fingers to press the coating on to help it stay better.

I bake our fish on a wire rack on a foil-lined baking sheet. This helps prevent the fish from getting soggy on the bottom and allows it to bake evenly all over. Make sure to spray the wire wrack with nonstick cooking spray as well. You don’t want to lose any of that delicious crunchy coating when you take it off!

As I mentioned above, the potatoes need to be baked for 30 minutes, and the fish needs to be baked for 20 minutes, both at 425 degrees. I typically put the potatoes in, prep my fish, and pop it in the for the last 20 minutes. I’ve cooked several filets of cod for 20 minutes at 425 degrees, and they’ve all been totally cooked at that point! You want your fish to be white and flaky and have an internal temperature of at least 135 degrees.

I think a delicious dinner of fish and chips can’t get much easier than this! Everything can cook at once in the oven, and you don’t have to deal with the mess and extra calories of frying anything! I hope you enjoy this tasty, healthy meal as much as we do!

Food, Recipe

Seasoned Garlic Roast Chicken

October 6, 2015 5 Comments

Chicken is a staple in our weekly meal rotation, but I’ve only ever cooked chicken breasts or chicken strips. I’ve heard that cooking bone-in chicken parts (thighs, wings, etc.) yields juicier and moister chicken, but cooking a whole bird has always intimidated me. I guess it doesn’t take much for me to be intimidated? Hah. This week though, I decided to face my “fears,” and go for it!…And I’m so glad I did.

I couldn’t find a recipe that looked like exactly what I wanted (you know based on all my experience of never having cooked a chicken), so I sort of made up my own. First open your chicken, remove the innards (I squealed unpleasantly and immaturely the entire time I did this.), rinse well under water, and pat dry. Place the chicken on a baking sheet lined with heavy duty aluminum foil. Cut up 1 to 1 1/2 sticks of salted butter and allow it to soften. While your butter is softening, slice the top inch off of a head of garlic and rub the exposed cloves all over your chicken.

Slice the top inch off of 2-3 more heads of garlic and deposit them into your chicken’s…butthole? Rear cavity? Hahah. I’m sorry. I felt wildly inappropriate anytime I did anything in this “area” of my little chicken and laughed awkwardly the entire time. Liberally season the inside of the chicken with seasoned salt, kosher salt, and fresh ground black pepper, as well.

When your butter is softened, add in 2-3 Tablespoons of seasoned salt (I used Lawry’s), and Kosher Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste (I probably used 1-2 teaspoons of each). Stir the seasonings into the butter until they’re well mixed in and it looks like the sickly orange color below. It will look better after it’s cooked…promise. Spoon the butter mixture onto your chicken and smooth it all over including any crevices (like the “armpit” beneath the wing). I felt like I was frosting a hideous cake, and that’s basically how it looked when I was done! I’m a wizard in the kitchen, what can I say?

Cook your chicken in the oven for around 1 hour at 425 degrees. My chicken was just over 3 pounds, and it was fully cooked after an hour at this temperature. If your chicken is closer to 5 pounds, it will probably take around an hour and a half. Be sure to check that your chicken’s internal temperature is 165 degrees to ensure it’s cooked completely. The seasoned butter should have created a beautiful brown skin all over the exterior.

Once you’ve confirmed your chicken is fully cooked, remove it from the oven, loosely cover it with foil, and let it rest for at least ten minutes. After what will feel like forever, you can finally carve into your little birdie and enjoy the moist, juicy meat! I was amazed at how easy this was, and I felt silly for being so intimidated! Louis has coined this his new favorite meal that I make, so I’m marking it down as a success!

Another perk of cooking a roast chicken at home is that you get to smell the delicious scents wafting throughout the house! I had Christmas music playing while I cooked, so it felt just like the holidays to me. (Even though we eat turkey not chicken….eh. Poh-tay-toh, Poh-tah-toh.) While the chicken is in the oven you can use that hour to whip up some garlic mashed potatoes, green beans, or a yummy salad to accompany it. I hope this encourages anyone else who is nervous to try out a new recipe! Happy cooking! (Not really, I hate cooking, but as it’s a necessity of daily life, might as well make the best of it 😉 )