What's for Dinner: Chicken Taco Twist

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For Faraz's birthday dinner, tonight, I made this chicken taco twist. I saw this idea for a twisted bread sometime ago, I think on Pinterest, and changed it up to my liking.

Cut them as small or large of a serving as you would like.

What you need:

• ground chicken
• taco seasoning
• bell peppers, diced
• 2 tubes of [refrigerated] french bread
• Egg, lightly beaten
• Oregano

I doubled the recipe and made two twists today.

What I did was:

1. Season your ground chicken with black pepper, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, and chili powder. Cook it over medium heat before adding in the [low sodium] taco seasoning. Mix well.
2. Add in the diced bell peppers [I used red and yellow ones today] and mix it with the chicken for a few minutes before removing it from the heat.
3. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking tray with foil [for easy cleanup].
4. Meanwhile, with the french bread dough: score the top from one end to the other [in both loaves]. Next, using your fingers, spread open the dough a few inches to create an indent in the middle for the filling.
5. Add in the chicken mixture. Now, using your fingers again: pinch the dough together to closing around the mixture completely. Repeat the process with the second bread.
6. Transfer both loaves onto the lined tray [seam side down], one next to the other. Next, twist the two bread dough with one another as if you were creating a braid.
7. Brush on the beaten egg on top of the twisted bread. Create score marks/slits on top of the bread dough [for ventilation].
8. Sprinkle some oregano on top.
9. Bake in your preheated oven, for about 30 minutes. Or until the top is golden brown and the bread is completely cooked through.
10. Since I was making two sets, I repeated the process of steps 4-9 a second time.
11. Slice and serve!

For dessert, I made [individual-sized] chocolate frosted "donut" cakes.

P.S. This post is a part of my "What's for Dinner" series, where I share what I've been cooking and my recipes. Grab and share my button:

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What's for Dinner: Barbecue Chicken

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BBQs are a favorite around here from spring through fall [and often even in the midst of winter]. In fact, we have already done a barbecue a handful of times in the mere few weeks the weather has been nice. Not to mention I love how healthy it is the way I make mine. 

Typically I take scored chicken [leg and thigh pieces] and marinate it with black pepper, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, paprika, lemon juice, yogurt, raw papaya, some tandoori masala and some tikka masala. Working with scored chicken does wonders for the marinade to seep inside. Some days, I use my homemade tandoori masala mix instead, which you can find by clicking here. 

Let the chicken marinate before cooking it over the charcoal on the barbecue grill outside. 

This recipe is so versatile and I have used this recipe in many ways: cooked slowly over low heat on the stove, in my George Foreman grill, in the oven, with boned-in meat and boneless: it's a fail proof go-to recipe. Not to mention I have used the chicken in many things: on top of pizza, in wraps, burgers, and pita pockets to name just a few from the top of my head. The possibilities are endless. 

Serving this chicken barbecued alongside the raita I mentioned on this post is absolutely delicious and a perfect pair.

P.S. This post is a part of my "What's for Dinner" series, where I share what I've been cooking and my recipes. Grab and share my button:

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What's for Dinner: Baked Boneless Chicken Wings

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I turned my boneless chicken wings recipe into a healthier version today [Friday night] by baking them. Full of flavor, without the oil/frying factor.

Here's how I made it today:

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking tray with foil. Spray non-stick cooking spray over the foil.
2. I seasoned boneless chicken cubes with black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, chili powder, and onion powder. Mix in an egg.
3. Meanwhile, [in a ziploc bag] season your flour with black pepper, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, and chili powder.
4. In batches, coat all of your chicken with the flour mixture. Just add the chicken into the ziploc bag and shake well until it's nicely incorporated.
5. Transfer your coated chicken onto the lined foil tray. Before transferring it into your preheated oven, spray non-stick cooking spray over the top of the chicken.
6. Bake the chicken, in your preheated oven, for about 10-12 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, mix your [heated up] hot sauce and about a tablespoon of [melted] butter.
8. Let your chicken cool for a few minutes once it is out of the oven before coating it with the sauce.

P.S. This post is a part of my "What's for Dinner" series, where I share what I've been cooking and my recipes. Grab and share my button:

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What's for Dinner: Sweet Chili Shrimp

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For dinner tonight, I recreated the Sweet Chili Shrimp appetizer from Red Lobster. I made a homemade version of Sweet Chili Shrimp [and served it over a bed of lettuce]... and it tasted spot on. By the way, click here for my version of their Cheddar Bay Biscuits which would be great to serve alongside this shrimp!


What I did was basically make my popcorn shrimp recipe to start off. Minus the salt, since I was adding sauce. And I added chili powder and onion powder to the shrimp.

1. So: I took [small] shrimp [peeled and deveined] and seasoned it with black pepper, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, onion powder and chili powder.
2. Next, add in an egg [amount depending on how much shrimp you are working with... just enough to "wet" the shrimp so the breading sticks].
3. When you are ready to fry the shrimp: in a ziploc bag [for convenience and easy cleanup], add in flour [amount depending on how much shrimp you are working with] and season the flour with black pepper, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper and chili powder. Shake well to make sure the flour is thoroughly seasoned.
4. Add in the shrimp, in batches, to the flour. Shake well.
5. Finally, fry the shrimp until they are golden brown!

Meanwhile, for the Sweet Chili sauce, I just used a store-bought sauce today. I wanted to make sure the taste would be accurate, and it was, so next time I'll experiment with making the sauce completely homemade too. That's not to say, the store-bought wasn't a great help/alternative: I'm all about semi-homemade/getting some help from the store when I can, but I do like controlling the quantity/quality of ingredients in my food which is why I prefer homemade when I can. 

Today, I used the Sweet Chili sauce from the brand "Frank's Red Hot".

1. After allowing the fried shrimp to cool somewhat for a few minutes, toss the shrimp with the sauce. Coat all the shrimp with the sauce.
2. Once your shrimp is coated, transfer it on top of the [chopped] bed of lettuce.
3. Optional: for presentation purposes, adding a sprinkle of chopped scallions on top would be a great touch.

P.S. This post is a part of my "What's for Dinner" series, where I share what I've been cooking and my recipes. Grab and share my button:

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What's for Dinner: Cajun Roasted Potatoes

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To serve alongside my Cajun shrimp, I made these Cajun roasted [red] potatoes.

I cut my red potatoes into small pieces [first I halved them, then quartered each half]. I transferred all of the potatoes onto a foil-lined baking sheet, Next, I sprayed the potatoes with non-stick cooking spray before I seasoned the potatoes with black pepper, garlic powder, salt, onion powder, paprika, and of course Cajun seasoning.

I baked it in a preheated 350 degree oven for 50 minutes all together. For the first half of the baking time, I had all the potatoes facing skin side up. For the second half? Skin side down.

P.S. This post is a part of my "What's for Dinner" series, where I share what I've been cooking and my recipes. Grab and share my button:

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What's for Dinner: Cajun Shrimp

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I seasoned my shrimp with black pepper, garlic powder, paprika, Cajun seasoning and lemon juice. In a preheated 400 degree oven, I baked my shrimp for about 12 minutes.

I served these alongside my Cajun roasted [red] potatoes.

P.S. This post is a part of my "What's for Dinner" series, where I share what I've been cooking and my recipes. Grab and share my button:

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What's for Dinner: Chocolate Chip Cookie a la Mode

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For my parents' 30th anniversary last night, for the dessert, I made this individual sized chocolate chip cookie [mini pie sort of things] that I served with french vanilla ice cream. A la mode means to be served with a scoop of ice cream.


Click here for my homemade chocolate chip cookie recipe. I baked them in a muffin pan, in a preheated 325 degree oven for about 15 minutes.

To garnish? Drizzle chocolate syrup or hot fudge on top followed by a sprinkle of walnuts.

Click here to see the recipe for the chicken and roasted potatoes if you missed it yesterday.

P.S. This post is a part of my "What's for Dinner" series, where I share what I've been cooking and my recipes. Grab and share my button:

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What's for Dinner: Chicken Tawook and Roasted Potatoes

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Today marks my parents 30th wedding anniversary!

I've been out of the kitchen for the most part post-surgery, but tonight I made these chicken kababs. Tawook
is pretty much cubed chicken that is marinated, skewered and then grilled.

I marinated the boneless chicken cubes with salt, black pepper, chili powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, ginger powder, onion powder, thyme, ground mustard, lemon juice, yogurt, and raw papaya [to help tenderize the meat]. Let the marinated chicken sit for a few hours.

Set your broiler on high. Skewer your chicken. Put it under the broiler for about 15 minutes. Take it out, flip them over, and set back under the broiler for another 7-10 minutes.

Broiling Tip: Whenever you use the broiler feature in the oven, make sure you leave the oven door open a little bit.

I served the chicken alongside a combination of corn, peas, and roasted potatoes.

For the roasted potatoes: I took small gold potatoes-- cut each in half, and then each half into quarters (small pieces-- you get the picture). I seasoned them with salt, black pepper, garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, and chipotle powder. Drizzled them with olive oil. Mix well. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes.

For dessert, I made chocolate chip cookie a la mode. A la mode means to be served with a scoop of ice cream. I'll try and post that tomorrow: easy and delicious as usual.




P.S. This post is a part of my "What's for Dinner" series, where I share what I've been cooking and my recipes. Grab and share my button:

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My Recipes Featured in Local Newspaper

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When my brother Ayaz emailed me a link to a tweet by our local newspaper asking for our favorite pizza pie recipes, I let it sit in my email box for a few days before going, "what the heck, I'll share my Bubble-up Pizza and my favorite pizza recipe.

I figured that would be it, a RT (retweet on twitter) at the most.

Surprisingly, shortly thereafter, I got an email from the Social Media Editor affiliated with the newspaper. She asked me whether I would mind sharing some of my recipes on a post they would be featuring for Pi Day (today), how I started cooking, and why I post my recipes on my blog amongst a few other things.

As a result, my Pi Day recipes from last year (Chicken Pot Pie and a Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie) are part of their Pi Day feature in their newspaper's website today [alongside a link to my "What's for Dinner" secton of the blog!

Click here to see the full article (mine is the last one). Below, I took a screen shot of my portion [because I'm not sure if the link will work for everyone or not.):

What's for Dinner: Braided Pizza Bread

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It's a cold and snowy day [again]. We seem to be having a lot of these lately. Another foot of snow, making the total for the winter season thus far unreasonably high.

As a mid afternoon snack, I made this braided pizza bread using a refrigerated pizza dough I had handy. I lay the rectangular dough out on foil [for easy cleanup] on top of a baking sheet. cut the top and bottom parts of the dough to create strips.

Down the center, pour marinara sauce, shredded mozarella cheese, parmesan cheese, oregano flakes, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes. Next time, I'd add strips of bell peppers and chicken too.

Fold the strips on top to create a braided look. Brush the top gently with oil oil. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and oregano.

Bake in your preheated 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes.

P.S. This post is a part of my "What's for Dinner" series, where I share what I've been cooking and my recipes. Grab and share my button:

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What's for Dinner: Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake

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Cheesecake and chocolate chip cookies are pretty high on the list of "my favorite desserts". Here are a few other variations I have done as well: my chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake and chocolate chip cheesecake.

What I did today, instead, was use cookie as the base of the cheesecake [crust], and put chocolate chips in the filling portion along with the little leftover cookie dough batter. Just mix it right in. 

It was pretty much a chocolate chip cookie cheesecake...yum!

What you need:

• Your favorite cookie dough recipe or store-bought cookie dough.
• 2 [8-ounce] packages of cream cheese, softened/room temperature
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 and 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• [about] 2/3 cup of milk chocolate chips

What I did was:

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Spray your springform pan with non-stick cooking spray as an extra precaution.
2. Make your cookie dough using your favorite recipe or use a pre-made dough/log [let it come to room temperature]. Press the chocolate chip cookie dough down into the base of your springform pan.
3. To make the filling, in a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract.
4. Add a cup of milk chocolate chips [and any left over cookie dough batter you have] and mix. Tip: to keep your chocolate chips from sinking to the bottom, toss them with about a teaspoon of flour.
5. Transfer your filling to the spring-form pan on top of the cookie dough base.
6. Bake in your preheated oven for about an hour.
7. Optional: for presentation purposes, if I was serving this to guests, I'd melted milk chocolate chips and drizzled that on top of the cheesecake before serving it.

P.S. This post is a part of my "What's for Dinner" series, where I share what I've been cooking and my recipes. Grab and share my button:

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What's for Dinner: Pizza Pinwheels

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This was a quick snack I put together this past Friday night... another spin on pizzas.

I took [rectangular] pizza dough [store bought or homemade] and topped it with marinara sauce. On top of that I added: garlic powder, red pepper flakes, oregana, shredded mozzarella cheese and grated parmesan cheese.

Roll it into a log [as neatly as you possibly can]. And using a sharp knife, cut them into even pieces. Lay them on a baking tray.

I baked it in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 12-15 minutes and it was delicious!

P.S. This post is a part of my "What's for Dinner" series, where I share what I've been cooking and my recipes. Grab and share my button:

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What's for Dinner: Shrimp Pasta

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For dinner today, I made shrimp with pasta [in a marinara sauce]. Alongside, I made my cheddar bay biscuits.

For the pasta:

I seasoned my shrimp with cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic powder, chili powder, basil, parsley, and lemon juice. I prefer making my shrimp in the oven, so I baked mine in the oven for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees.

Cook your pasta [as the box says]. I used capellini today because that's what I had at home. When the pasta is cooked, add in the marinara sauce and mix. It'll warm up from the heat of the pasta. Mix in some Parmesan cheese. Lastly, toss in the shrimp.

When serving, sprinkle some parmesan cheese, basil, and  parsley on top... and dinner's ready!

P.S. This post is a part of my "What's for Dinner" series, where I share what I've been cooking and my recipes. Grab and share my button:

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