Roasted Chicken with Roasted Asparagus

Hi guys! I hope you're having a wonderful weekend. Happy Memorial Day!! In honor of the weekend I wasn't going to post a recipe only because I know people are going to BBQ but I thought, why not make this recipe anyway so I can left overs for the remaining of the week. This recipe is all about roasting. This was my first time "roasting" chicken and I decided to use my crockpot. This was by far, the best roasted chicken I've ever had.

 Not just because I made it (obviously) but because it has half the calories of fried chicken and the ingredients are so simple! Enough rambling, let's get on to the recipe! 

Ingredients-

•1lb of whatever chicken you like to cook with. You can use chicken breast, drumsticks, a whole chicken or tenderloins. I used tenderloins. Either way, this recipe will still be amazing. 

•2 whole lemons. One sliced, one juiced. 

•2 whole oranges. One sliced, one juiced. 

•2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning. 

•1tblsp Dried rosemary or freshly chopped.

•1/2 tsp of paprika 

•1 medium onion chopped. 

•4 cloves of garlic or 2tbsp of minced garlic. 

•1/4 cup olive oil. 

•1tsp of Salt and pepper. 

•chopped fresh parsely or cilantro as a garnish. 

*OPTIONAL* 

-You can use some carrots, celery, red and yellow bell pepper to place as a bed at the bottom of your crockpot to lay the chicken on. This is totally optional. I chose to do this, and I honestly didn't really taste a difference.- 

Let's start cooking! 

1. Grab a ziplock bag and pour in olive oil, chopped garlic, lemon juice, orange juice, 1 medium onion, paparicka, Rosemary and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Make sure all ingredients are combined. 

2. Place washed chicken in ziplock bag, close the bag and shake it so the chicken can evenly get the seasonings. I let my chicken marinate overnight but you can always stick this step and just place it right in the crockpot. 

3. Place chicken in the crockpot and cook on high for 4hrs or low for 8-9hrs. That's it! Your done! See how easy this was?! 

After 4hrs of cooking on high or 8-9 hrs of cooking on low, your chicken should look something like this 

Roasted Asparagus recipe:

•A handful of asparagus, I used frozen asparagus they are now in the freezer aisle at my grocery store. 

•1tbsp of olive oil. 

•1tbsp of pepper

•1tbsp of lemon juice. 

• salt is optional. 

1. Lay asparagus evenly on a baking sheet. Coat with olive oil, pepper, and lemon juice.

2. Place in oven and cook for 10mins. Turn over the asparagus so the other side can cook. Cook again for another 10mins. 

3. Your done! 

I hope you guys enjoyed this recipe and please let me know if you decide to make it! This recipe is great for meal prepping for the rest of the week. If you don't have a crock pot, you can always use your oven. You would bake the chicken uncovered at 400F for about a hr or until chicken is cooked and juices run clear. 

Pasta with Zucchini & Mushrooms

Hi guys! I hope you had a great weekend. Of course I have a new recipe for you guys! This dish was EXTREMELY easy to make and I garrantee you will fall in love after making this. This is a one pot dish, and I did mention healthy?! No need to feel guilty after eating this.

I substituted regular spaghetti with whole wheat spaghetti but you can obviously use whatever you want. Also, instead of using heavy cream, you can use milk. I didn't try milk so I don't know how that would taste. 

This recipe will only take you 20mins to make and it makes 6servings.  Ready for the recipe?! Let's go! 

Ingredients:

•1lb or box of spaghetti of your choice. 

•1lb of Cremini mushrooms. I used two jars of mushrooms that was already thinly sliced by green giant. 

•2 zucchini sliced

•2/3 cup of peas. I used a frozen bag of peas. It is way cheaper to buy veggies frozen. My bag was 78cent. 

•2 tablespoons of minced garlic. 

•kosher salt and ground pepper to taste

•1/3 cup of grated Parmesan cheese. 

•1/4 cup of heavy cream or milk. 

Let's get to cooking!

Instructions:

In a large pot pour in 4  1/2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, season your water with salt. Once water is boiling, combine spaghetti, mushrooms, zucchini, peas, garlic. 

Cover with lid and let the pasta cook for 8mins. Uncover and reduce heat to low until the pasta is tender and liquid has reduced. Once liquid is gone, stir in Parmesan and heavy cream( or milk). 

Your done! Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Please let me know if you guys try this recipe I would love to know if you enjoy this. Until next week! Xoxo

Breakfast! French toast with Sausage, Egg and Potatoes!

Hi guys! In honor of Mothers Day I decided to cook brunch for my mother and grandma. Now let me tell you, I was SO nervous about cooking for them because they are so critical of everything. Food being #1. I have just started taking a interest in cooking so I am still perfecting my craft. On today's menu I have the PERFECT French toast and I promise you it will have you reminiscing on it after you eat it.

also made a dish that I'm not sure what to call it but it was so delicious. It consists of sausage with egg and potatoes with cheese.

 After I was done eating this meal I wanted to marry myself that's how good this meal was. If you want to see how I made this meal keep on scrolling. 

French Toast Ingredients 

-8 pieces of thick sliced bread. ( I used Texas toast, white bread) 

-3 large eggs

-1/2 cup of milk

-1/2 cup of half&half 

-2 tablespoons of honey. (Warm in the microwave for 30secs) 

-1/4 tablespoon of salt. 

-2tsp of ground cinnamon 

-2tsp of vanilla

-4tsp of butter

Time to cook! 

1. In a bowl crack open the 3 eggs and beat them. 

2.  Next pour in the milk, half&half, honey, salt, ground cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Wisk throughly. 

3. Soak your bread in the mixture for 13 secs. Make sure your bread isn't dripping and set aside on another plate or foil. 

4. Spray some PAM in the skillet and then heat a tablespoon of butter in the non stick skillet over medium high heat. The PAM will prevent your butter from burning. Cook 2-3 mins on each side. 

5. Your done! Remove & serve with powdered sugar, honey or maple syrup. 

Potatoe, Egg, Sausage and Cheese Recipe: 

-1lb of ground sausage or turkey. 

-3 jumbo eggs or 6 medium eggs. 

-3 medium sized potatoes. Or 6-7 small red potatoes ( washed and peeled) 

-4 tbsp of olive oil. 

-4tbsp of garlic powder. 

-1tsp of salt free seasoning or seasoning salt. 

-1/2 tsp of black pepper

-1/2 medium onion chopped. 

-3 green onions chopped. 

-1/2 cup of shredded cheese 

Time to cook! 

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. 

2. Cut your potatoes into cubes, drizzle 2 tbsp of olive oil over the potatoes. 

3. Sprinkle the salt free seasoning or seasoning salt, black pepper and garlic powder over all the potatoes. Mix well and make sure everything is coated. 

4. Place in the oven & cook until they are fork tender or for your liking. 

5. Place your ground sausage or ground turkey in a skillet on medium high heat. 

6. Brown the sausage & add in the potatoes with your yellow onions, & green onions. Stir the ingredients. Mix well. 

7. Crack open your eggs and beat them. Pour the eggs in the skillet and scramble them with the other ingredients. 

8. Sprinkle in your choice of cheese and stir throughly. 

9. Once eggs are cooked, remove from heat. Add more cheese if you like. 

10. Your done! Enjoy! 

Baked Ziti with Turkey Sausage (Recipe)

I am a huge fan of using my crockpot. It is so easy to use and doesn't take a long time to cook through. For this recipe I decided to pull out my crockpot and see how this dish turned out. I found this recipe on Pinterest but I tweaked it a little bit. This recipe is SO easy to make and you will not regret it. It is full of cheese and so much flavor. 

What you will need for this recipe:

-13oz of turkey smoked sausage (hillshire brand is perfect) 

-1tsp of minced garlic

-1 container of Parmesan cheese

-2egg whites (3/4 egg white if you're using liquid egg whites) 

-2cups of shredded mozzarella cheese 

-1/2 tsp of oregano 

-2jars of spaghetti sauce

-1 box of uncooked ziti pasta 

-1/4 tsp of parsley( optional) 

Now it's time to cook! 

1. Grease the inside of your slow cooker. This step is VERY important please don't skip this. You will regret it. 

2. Cook the sausage and minced garlic in a skillet. Let the sausage brown and drain the oil. Put aside. 

3. Mix together the 3/4 egg cup of mozzarella cheese, 3/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, 2 egg whites, and 1tsp of oregano in a bowl. Set aside. 

4. Evenly spread 2cups of spaghetti sauce to the bottom of your crockpot. Layer with 1/2 of cooked sausage. 1/2 mozzarella cheese, 1/2 of the uncooked pasta, 1/2 of the mixture of the egg whites with the cheese. Repeat steps until you're done with your ingredients. Too with remaining sauce, mozzarella cheese, and Parmesan cheese. 

5. You're done! Cook on LOW for 4-5hrs or until pasta is tender. 

Round The Clock Restaurant Review

If you guys don't know I am from Chicago and we are best known for our famous deep dish pizza! There are so many different places to eat here in Chicago that sometimes I forget to try out new restaurants. That changed yesterday. I tried a new restaurant out called "Round The Clock" in Lansing IL. They serve breakfast, lunch, dinner and also offer dessert. Walking in to the restaurant I noticed how nice and friendly the staff were with me and that is always a A+ in my book. It was so many options to choose from which I loved. I decided on a Grilled Turkey Panini with bacon and a order or sweet potato fries. The service was very fast and I did not have to wait a long time to put my order in or have my order come to me. My waitress was super nice and the bill was so cheap! I would definitely go back to this restaurant and if you are looking for a new place to try, I recommend this restaurant!

Welcome To My Cooking Blog!

Hi guys! Welcome to my new cooking blog where I take you on an adventure on creating new recipes and also visiting restaurants and giving my honest review! 

I've always wanted to started a food blog and I thought, why not do it now?! I love cooking and trying new recipes out so I hope you guys will enjoy everything I put on here. The recipes on here will cater to everyone, whether you're and vegan, diabetic, health conscious, or if you're just looking to try new things like me. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and a of course dessert will be included! I would love your feedback so don't hesitate to comment! My first food post for Sunday dinner will be in a few hours. I hope you enjoy! xoxo