Zhender's Cranberry Relish

If you live in Michigan, there is a good chance that you have been to Frankenmuth.  That is a lovely city about an hour and a half Northwest of Detroit where they have cultivated a beautiful German themed community and have the best fried chicken in the Midwest.  The places for chicken are two huge competing restaurants that are owned by members of the same family (if you go back far enough).  Zhender's and the Bavarian Inn both have similar, but not identical menus.  Both offer the family style chicken dinners (all you can eat) which are one of the best ways to get insanely full anywhere in the state of Michigan.

One of the fun sides that come with the meals is a cranberry relish - especially if you go to Zhender's.  I have seen a few recipes on the web, and I have tweaked it a bit to lower the sugar.  This is a member submission on epicurious.  Here is one shared from The Flavors of Frankenmuth (from John Zhender). Love the way this turns out.

Ingredients
1 lbs Cranberries, fresh
2 Granny smith apples
2 Naval oranges
1 3/4 cups Sugar

Directions

1. Freeze cranberries overnight.
2. Clean apples, then core into large sliced (leave skin on).
3. Add half the frozen cranberries and apples to a food processor.  Chop until they are around a 1/4" large pieces.  Move to a mixing bowl.
4. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.  Move those to the same mixing bowl.
5. Clean the oranges.  Remove the tops and bottoms of the oranges and cut into sliced.  With the rest of the peel, add to the food processor and lightly chop until the peel pieces are around 1/4" large.  Add to the mixing bowl with the cranberries and apples.
6. Add sugar to the mixing bowl and blend.
7. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.

Enjoy!

Basic Roasted Chicken Breast

Here is a very basic way to cook chicken breast. We have been cutting these thinly to add to salads and use for sandwiches. Not gonna lie - we were inspired by our love of salads at Panera! This is a simple recipe, but one I want to record so I can keep going back to it.

Ingredients (for 3 chicken breasts)
3 Chicken breasts (skinless and fat trimmed)
1 tbsp Olive oil
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp Black pepper
1/2 tsp Paprika

Olive oil spray or cooking spray

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Place the chicken in a mixing bowl.  Add olive oil, Kosher salt, black pepper and paprika.  Mix to coat the chicken.

3. Spray the bottom of a cooking dish with olive oil spray.

4. Bake for 26-28 minutes (more for larger breasts) until a meat thermometer registers 165°.

Enjoy!  If you are using it for salads, let cool before slicing.

NOTE: For very large chicken breasts, cut in half and cook for 35-40 minutes.  Use the meat thermometer to be sure it is cooked through.

Easy Shrimp Boil

I have longed for going back to Door County, Wisconsin, where I could get a classic fish boil.  I have not had one of those in almost 30 years, but it seems like something that I have to get on.  So when I saw a recipe for a Weeknight Ship Boil from Eating Well, I thought that this was something I had to try.  I played with it a bit and really liked the way it came out.  I think I will be making this again in the near future!

Ingredients (Serves 3-4)
5 quarts Water
1/3 cup Seasoning mix (Morton's Nature's Seasons or McCormick's Old Bay)
1 tsp Celery seed
4 tbsp Lemon juice
8-10 Baby red skinned potatoes
1 cup Carrots (baby cut or sliced into one inch pieces)
1 lbs Shrimp, peeled & raw (21-25 per pound)
5-7 oz Chicken or turkey cooked sausage (kielbasa or andouille works well), cut into 1-inch pieces
2 Ears corn, husked and broken in half
Melted butter for serving (optional)

Directions
1. Combine water, seasoning mix, celery seed, and lemon juice in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Add potatoes and cook for 15 minutes.
2. Add carrots and cook an additional 10 minutes.
3. Add shrimp, sausage, and corn to the pot and cook (stirring occasionally) for around 6-7 minutes.
4. Using a slotted spoon and tongs, divide the shrimp, sausage and vegetables among the 3 or 4 serving bowls. Drizzle each portion with around 2 tablespoons of the cooking liquid.

Enjoy!  Serve with butter, if desired.

New England Style Lobster Rolls

Well this was fun!  I tweaked the recipe for New England Lobster Rolls from A Family Feast site.

This came out so well - we can hardly believe it.  I had been inspired to do this for some time.  Pam loves, loves, loves these.  But it was not until I saw that you can buy frozen lobster meat at Meijer that I decided to give it a try.  I might do this again with lobster tails - but we will definitely do this again!  From the Family Feast site: "If you are using live lobsters that you will cook yourself, the yield is about 25%. So for four pounds of live lobsters, you will end up with one pound of cooked meat (give or take a few ounces depending on the size of the lobsters."

Ingredients (for two large Lobster Rolls)
8 oz Lobster meat, loosely chopped into bite sized chunks
3 tbsp Olive oil mayonnaise (adjust as desired)
1 tsp Lemon juice
¼ cup Celery, sliced thinly
1 tsp Parsley, dried
1/2 tsp Celery seeds
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste.
Rolls (you can use Italian or French bread or split-top hot dog rolls)

Directions
1. Place the cooked lobster meat in large bowl.
2. Add mayonnaise, lemon juice, celery, parsley, celery seeds, Kosher salt and black pepper. Mix thoroughly.
3. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for around an hour.
4. After the hour, divide the lobster salad on the rolls.  You can add lettuce on the lobster roll if you prefer.

Enjoy!

One-Pan Petite Meatloaf With Roasted Veggies

We made this last fall and it was really great. Just catching up and getting my recipes loaded. This one was adapted from a great recipe from Cooking Light from Gina Homolka, the founder of skinnytaste.com @skinnytaste. I am a big fan of sheet pan dinners - so it was worth a try. I loved how this came out and it is a great way to make a hearty meal, even after a long day at work. Most of the ingredients can be purchased in advanced, and the veggies can be traded in and out as they are available.

Ingredients (Makes 4 servings)

Olive oil cooking spray
1 lbs Ground turkey (93% lean)
1/2 cup Old fashioned oats
6 tbsp Ketchup, divided
2 tbsp Minced onions (dried)
1 tbsp Parsley (dried)
1 large Egg
1 tsp Marjoram (dried)
1 tsp Kosher salt, divided
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
One bunch asparagus, trimmed and thin (or green beans)
8-10 oz Baby carrots, with larger ones cut in half
2 tbsp Olive oil
1/4 tsp Black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. 
2. Coat a large rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. 
3. Combine turkey, oats, 4 tablespoons ketchup, dried onion, dried parsley, egg, marjoram, and 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt in a medium bowl. 
4. Divide into 4 (4- x 2 1/2-inch) loaves; place, evenly spaced, on pan. Combine Worcestershire sauce and remaining 2 tablespoons ketchup in a small bowl; brush over loaves. 
5. Combine asparagus, carrots, olive oil, black pepper, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt in a large bowl. Scatter vegetables around loaves. 
6. Bake at 450°F for 20 minutes. Stir vegetables and continue to bake until loaves are no longer pink in the center, 10-12 more minutes.

Enjoy!