Spicy Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs

This is a meal I've been cooking for a couple of years now.  Stumbled on the recipe and it's been in heavy rotation ever since.  It's by no means a "fancy meal" but it tastes pretty damn good and it's really QUICK.

Since the sticky honey is hard to clean, I cheat and use a baking sheet with foil rather than the broiler pan. What's the point of a quick meal if clean takes FOREVER?!?  Another "cheat" is I use a boxed risotto but it's so easy and so good.  http://www.lundberg.com/products/risottos/Creamy_Parmesan_Risotto.aspx
Since summer is here, I found fresh zucchini at the farmers market, so baked it in the over with some salt, pepper and garlic powder.  From start to finish, this meal is on the table in under 30 minutes.

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/spicy-honey-brushed-chicken-thighs-10000001591042/

Memorial Day Weekend - We eat!

On Saturday, I didn't make it to the store until pretty late in the evening and knew I had to make something quick and easy.  Fish is always something I turn to on these kind of nights.  Halibut is in season and one of our family favorites.  A bit pricey but totally worth it!!  I had been sitting on this recipe since last fall and now I'm not sure what I was waiting for.

First time trying something new, I follow the recipe but next time I will be making some adjustments.  I will cut down on the chicken broth and add more coconut milk and up the amount of curry. Also, it's sitting on a bed of spinach.  Totally need to double the amount of spinach!!  I served it with bowls of basmati rice.  This was a totally winner despite all the changes I'm going to make on the next round.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/thai-style-halibut-with-coconut-curry-broth-recipe/index.html

Sunday night we were in the Memorial Day spirit and decided on pulled pork sandwiches.  I've done these before and they are AMAZING!  Great weekend meal.  Prep takes a good 45 minutes but then you're basically done.

I toasted the buns with butter and served it with baked beans and cole slaw (purchased from Gelson's).  Topped it with some KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce and gobbled them up.  Don't be intimidated by the recipe.  You throw everything into a blender, reduce, add stock and reduce some more.  It's really EASY and totally worth the work.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/slow-cooker-pork-tacos-recipe/index.html  (Yes it says for tacos but felt they were better as pulled pork sandwiches)

Monday - Memorial Day, I'm off duty.  Earl is cooking his amazing ribs.  I requested fall off the bone ones, so they've been baking in the over for a couple of hours now and then he'll throw them on the grill.  We'll have corn, beans, cole slaw (homemade and tastes just like KFC's), pasta salad (from Gelson's) and corn bread (Marie Calendar's mix).

This weeks menu:
Spicy-honey chicken with risotto and zucchini
Herbed chicken with quinoa and braised kale with bacon
Steak with roasted potatoes, onions, red peppers and carrots
Homemade pizza using Trader Joe's dough, Rao's pizza sauce and soy cheese.  Might top it with pepperoni and pineapple.

Welcome to Ms. Sicily Cooks!

I am a self proclaimed recipe junkie.  Love searching for new recipes and trying them out, making a few adjustments and adding them to my dinner rotation.

Each Friday/Saturday I plan out the next weeks meals and shop for just those items.  It keeps you on plan and prevents you from wasting any food.  I'm big on shopping fresh, local and organic.  Totally recommend finding a farmers market near you for fresh produce.  It makes a HUGE difference.  Sophia is 2 and LOVES her vegetables and I give all the credit to fresh food, not my cooking.  Yes, it might cost a little bit more but the taste and health benefits are worth every penny.

So here is a look into what Ms. Sicily Cooks!  Enjoy!