This Glazed Bacon-Wrapped Chicken could not be any easier to put together with a few ingredient. The bacon keeps the chicken nice and moist that you can cut with a fork. The smokiness of the bacon and the sweet from the brown sugar gives a big and bold flavors that will have your family will be asking for more. Serve with your favorite sides and you will have a easy dinner.

Now the we are moving closer to the winter months I tend to like to have heartier dishes that make you feel warm inside when it is colder outside. This Beef and Mushroom Ragu is packed with vegetables and protein that will give you energy to get through your day and is the perfect family meal. The time to prepare the dish is short while to cooking time takes longer but its all hands free so you can spend time doing other things while your home fills with the wonderful smell of this dish.

Growing up in Minnesota there is nothing like the classic soup of chicken wild rice on a day that is cold to make you feel warm inside. Why not combine two of my favorite classic soups into one with this version of creamy chicken wild rice and dumpling. soup This recipe is a bit healthier without all of the heavy cream that is normally in the chicken wild rice but replaced with nice pillow like dumplings that make up for it for sure. If you are gluten free you can easy replace the flour for a gluten free option like rice flour.

This recipe is very simple to make, this recipe can be easily made withing the 45 minutes i mention below in the recipe if needed and only needs a few ingredients that are extremely easy to find anywhere around.

Add butter and saute the onion, carrots, celery and chicken until slightly tender and the chicken is cooked . Add the flour and spices, let cook for 2-3 minutes making sure all flour is mixed in.

Stir in the chicken broth and milk. Let the soup come to a boil and thicken. Add the cooked rice to the soup, cover the pot with a lid and allow mixture to simmer.

Add the dumplings by dropping a tablespoonful on top of the simmering soup.  Cover and cook for 5 minutes,  serve the soup warm.

Fall time here in Minnesota brings one of our most favorite crops here, APPLES!!. Every year we seem to have a new variety created here and they keep getting better and better. For a main dish, there is nothing that goes better with apples then pork, they both seem to balance the flavors out just perfectly. This one pan pork chops and apples is a great family favorite that everyone will enjoy. and is  one of those great recipes which looks and tastes a LOT more complicated than it really is.. Also its a easy and healthier family meal that only uses one pan for everything so clean up is a breeze.

This recipe is simple and only uses a few ingredients. You want to start off by slicing your apples thin and seasoning your pork on both sides with the seasoning.

 Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook until browned and just cooked through, remove the pork chops for the pans and saute the apples until light brown and add the cider and reduce by half. Then add the cream and mustard and heat until you have a thickened sauce, should be an additional 5 minutes. Plate and serve the pork chops with the apples and sauce on top.

The tinga sauce is a classic mexican sauce made from tomatoes, chipotle chilis in adobo, garlic and cinnamon that packs a bold smoky flavor with just the right amount of heat that wont be too overwhelming for the whole family. As you cook the liquid out of the  sauce to thicken the sauce it fill your home with a great scent that almost as great as the taste.

One of my favorite things to do in the summer is to barbecue, but on days like today where it is all rainy with no sign of letting up or in the middle of the winter when it is negative degrees below zero there need to be a way to get a great flavor rib without needing to go out in the elements. These oven baked BBQ ribs come out fall off the bone tender and juicy.

In a bowl combine  the brown sugar,salt, black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, mustard and  chili powder. Once mixed add the apple cider vinegar to form a thick marinade. On a foil lined pan, rub the marinate onto both sides of the ribs. Cover with foil and let rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour, over night is preferred.

Ina 300°F oven, place the ribs in the oven covered and bake for 1-1/2 hours to 2 hours until the internal temp is about 180-190°F degrees. Brush on your favorite sauce and back for an additional 20-30minutes until the sauce caramelizes onto the ribs.

Let the ribs rest for about 5 minutes then cut the ribs into individual ribs and serve.

All of my life I have had this fascination with the steak sandwich. There was a time in my life if i saw one on a menu of a restaurant I would order it, well that still is true!! I love the taste of the steak that a simple burger doesn't offer and with the addition of the great taste of grilled onions and peppers on this one it is just amazing favor in your mouth.

Preheat and oil your grill. In a bowl, add the garlic, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and vegetable oil. mix until combined. Add the steak and let marinate for 10-15 mins, you can marinate longer if you desire.

Cut the pepper into sections and the onions into 1/4-1/2in rings, keeping the rings together. Oil both sides of the peppers and onions.

Once your grill is hot on high, add the steak and vegetables until the vegetables are tender and the steak has reached 130-140 degrees internal. Let the steak rest for 10mins.

Preheat the broiler on your oven, mix the ingredients for the Aioli in a small bowl. Spread over each of the hoagie rolls. Slice the steak across the grain in 1/2" slices. Add to the hoagie roll equally and top with 3 slices of cheese. Place under the broiler until the cheese is bubbly and bun begins to brown.

If you love saffron, this recipe is needed for the ready and if you never tried saffron what are you waiting for. This is a simple dish that takes one pan and a few ingredients that are readily available at the store. If you don’t know what saffron is, it is the dried stigma (tiny threadlike strands) of the Crocus Sativus Linneaus, a member of the iris family. It makes a very distinct yellowish color to the meal with a great bold flavor. Saffron is known to help with mental and heart health.

Now to the dish.
 
The first thing I do is dredge the chicken breast in flour that is seasoned with salt and pepper. (You can skip this step for health reasons) I do this for the coloring of the chicken. Add the oil to a hot pan and sear the chicken until it is golden brown and remove for the pan, you might need to do batches of this a couple times. The chicken should not be fully cooked since it will finish cooking later.

Once the chicken is finished being seared, add the diced onions and cook until golden brown then add the garlic and cook until the garlic is soft.

Add the rice and stir in until the rice and  onion mixture is combined

Add in the Chicken stock

Then it is time for the star ingredient, when adding the saffron  grind it softly between your fingers to break it up and let it release its aroma faster into the dish.

Add the frozen peas, add then frozen so they don't over cook and fall apart while the dish is cooking. Stir everything together thoroughly.

Add the chicken back into the pan. Cover the pan and let it cook over low for about 35 mins until the rice is fully cooked. I remove the chicken and give the rice one good stir before serving so everything is  fluffed up.

Here is a great and easy recipe, In all seriousness this recipe can be made in the time the jasmine rice takes to cook. All of the ingredients are easy to find, most people have everything in there cupboard and refrigerator. Please check it out for a go to weeknight meal for the busy family. Please let me know if you have tried it. Thanks!!