Chicken Adobo – Authentic Phillipines Recipe

Last night was a special night.  My Brother in Law, Paul invited us over to meet some of his best friends to have an authentic dish from the Phillipines called Chicken Adobo.  Of course being the foodie that I am, I thought this was a wonderful idea.  Paul’s best friend Hans and his girlfriend prepared the meal and I of course was the annoying guy trying to learn the secrets.  Here is what I came up with.

Ingredients:

1-2 whole chickens (cut into pieces)
1 whole garlic clove
olive oil or vegetable/corn oil
1 tsp ground black pepper
4 whole black pepper cloves
3 dried bay leaves
3 cups soy sauce
2 cups vinegar
1-2 cups 7-up/Sprite/Water (optional)

Hans informed me that this entire recipe is very easy and simple to make and after watching the preparation, I could not agree more.  To start, he said to use equal parts soy sauce and vinegar for the base of the dish.  Vinegar has a strong bite to me, so I would put 2 cups of vinegar and 3 cups of soy to serve as your marinade and your cooking sauce, so you could go either way.  Add peppercorns bay leaves, whole garlic cloves to mixture.  Add Chicken and this will help marinade your chicken as well.
An added step that could be done to create an extra layer of texture would be to sear the chicken pieces.  Heat oil and add chicken and sauté until the chicken begins to brown.  Once the browning has started, add chicken parts back to soy/vinegar mixture to finish off cooking.  Let simmer for and additional 25-35 minutes or until chicken is done.  You can turn the mixture to low to keep warm and it will stay great all day long.

Another added tip.  If the taste of the sauce is too powerful, you can add some 7-up, Sprite, or water to cut the power of the Soy/Vinegar mixture.

Serve over a bed of rice.

I want to sincerely thank Paul, Hans and his wonderful girlfriend for having us over and introducing us to this great authentic dish from the Phillipines.  Thanks.

Try this one out.  If you love food packed with flavor, this will sure to not disappoint.

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

We couldn't wait to take a photo before digging right in... YUM!

At the end of the day, I found myself sitting at my desk, thinking that I really need is a good comforting home cooked meal.

I told myself that I was going to cook the first thing that popped in my head, and that turned out to be Chicken Enchiladas.  This dish is so simple to make that I call them my Easy Chicken Enchiladas.

Ingredients:

Diced Bell Peppers

Small Diced Onion

Garlic

Tomato

Chicken Broth

Rice

Chicken

Mozzerella Cheese

Las Palmas Green Enchilada Sauce

Mission Flour Tortillas

First, Dice your favorite Bell Peppers, Onion, Garlic, and Tomato and set aside.  In a side pot, boil some of your favorite pieces of Chicken.  I used Boneless Chicken Breasts.  Boil until they are cooked through and give them a rough chop.  Add them to the Peppper/Onion/Tomato/Garlic bowl you already have ready.  In another side pan boil a couple cups of Chicken Broth and add minute Rice to this until complete.

Now it is time to assemble.   Take your Tortilla, add a small amount of Cheese, then Rice, then Chicken/Vegetable mixture, then pour some enchilada sauce over the top and finish off with Cheese.  Roll into a wrap and put into lasagna pan.  Repeat this process until all of your ingredients are gone.  When you are finished with this step, pour the remainder of your Las Palmas Green Enchilada Sauce over the top of the finished Enchiladas, and finish off with lots of Cheese.

Now Bake for 30 mins of 400!  They will turn out perfect and make GREAT leftovers!  Enjoy.

Fogo De Chao

There are certain days in every mans life that they do not look forward to, and turning 30 is one of those days.  Well that day happened for me this Friday.  My wife, Sarah, knew she had to do something to lift my spirits and she knew the one thing that would do that would be a great meal.   So she had her wonderful mother Barbara and step dad Karl come over and take our son for the night so that we could enjoy a night out to celebrate my birthday.  So off we went to a still unknown (by me) destination.  I was like a kid in a candy store.  As soon as I saw where we were going (Fogo De Chao in downtown Indy), I lit up with happiness – I was like a kid in a candy store.  As I walked into the place, I saw men walking around with huge skewers of Beef, Pork, Chicken, Sausage……..It was like this place was made just for me.

You start off your meal with a trip to the Salad Bar, which happens to be the best Salad Bar I have ever been to.  It was filled with so many tasty treats including; Marinated Peppers, Hearts of Palm, Asparagus, Artichokes, Olives, Smoked Salmon, as well as fine Cheeses and Antipasto meats- and all of it is packed with flavor.

Then they issued us our meat card.  If you have your card on red, the servers do not bother you.  If you turn your card over to green, the meat express pulls in and you are offered some of the finest meats I have ever eaten.  We ate everything from Filet Mignon, Top Sirloin, Prime Rib, Pork Tenderloin, Chicken, Sausage….and the list goes on and on.  The quality is what I could not believe.  You tell the servers exactly how you want the meat cooked, and they serve you as much as you would like of all of these fine cooked meats.  This is all served with Garlic Mashed Potatos, grilled Polenta Cakes, and sweet Plantanes.

I was in my heaven.  After stuffing myself to the max (you know we also had dessert- a papaya ice cream for me, hot molten chocolate cake for Sarah), it was time to leave and my wife told me that I had a smile on my face that she had never seen.  I was so happy and content because I just had the best dining experience of my life.  I am just sad it took me 30 years and 1 day to find this place.  I am so glad that I have a wife who knows me so well and I will be going back as many times as I can.  If you ever have the chance to experience Fogo De Chao, I highly recommend going………just don’t forget to call and invite me!

Grilled Buffalo Wings

Tonight, Sarah and I were wanting something simple, quick and delicious.  We both love to eat alot of Fresh Vegetables, as well as Grilled Meats.  I saw that we have several packs of Chicken Wings and tons of Vegetables, so we decided to go with loaded Salads and Grilled Buffalo Wings.

The Salad part is easy.  Throw your favorite fresh Veggies together; toss and serve.  That is easy.  Most people when they think of Buffalo Wings think that you have to deep fry them.  Deep frying adds lots of fat to a dish that can be made just as flavorful on the grill.

On the side burner of your grill or stove top, melt a stick of Butter, a whole bottle of Franks Red Hot, a few cloves of Fresh Garlic, Salt and Pepper, and a small amount of White Cooking Vinegar or Apple Cider Vinegar.  This last ingredient is not needed, but it really helps your hot sauce mixture to penetrate the meat

Place your Wings on the grill.  Salt and Pepper them after placing on the grill.  Grill your wings on medium high until the skin on your Wings has a nice brown color to it.  Now drop the temperature on your grill to medium low and let Wings finish heating through.  Grilling is also a much healthier option than frying, so that is an added benefit as well.  Total grill time tonight took me about 30 minutes tonight.  Grilling time will vary due to grill temperature differences.  You will be able to tell when they are done.

When your Wings are done grilling, toss them in your Hot Sauce mixture that you have heated up on the grill or stovetop.  After tossing, let the wings sit for 5 minutes or so in a bowl that is covered with aluminum foil.  This step allows all the juices to redistribute into the meat, plus the foil keeps the heat in.

Enjoy these wings and let me know how they turn out for you.  I know I like these much better than anything I have ever had from BW3s!  Let me know if you try them out!  You will not be disappointed.

Perfect Grilled Chicken

It is a Thursday night tradition that my brothers and I get together to eat some of our favorite foods or try new recipes.  Well, tonight I am going with an old standby.  Grilled Chicken on the BBQ.  There are some keys to having perfect chicken on the grill though.   For really good chicken, I think a wet marinade is a must.  One of my favorite chicken marinades consists of melted butter, garlic, olive oil, and soy sauce.  This combination creates a savory treat that all are sure to enjoy.   Once you place your chicken on the grill, season with cracked pepper and salt.  Cook the chicken on a medium high temp (skin down) for a few minutes until the skin starts to brown.  Turn the grill down to medium or medium low for the rest of the cook time.  Now for the most important part……..Create a dipping sauce for your chicken.  The dipping sauce should consist of beer or water, worchestire sauce, soy sauce, and some sort of dark soda.  This soda is the sugary ingredient needed to give the chicken that dark BBQ look that we all strive for.  Every time you flip, make sure and dip the chicken in the sugary dipping sauce.  Do this step often.  It keeps the meat moist and I promise it will be some of the most flavorful chicken you have ever eaten!  Enjoy!

Depending on thickness of the chicken you are cooking, cooking time will vary.  30-45 minutes should get the job done.