Air Fryer Mahogany Chicken

Yesterday a friend told me she wished she could cook like me. My food always looks so good and I never have any problems in the kitchen.

This morning I sent her a picture of my lunch I was making. It was supposed to be Mahogany chicken. It is Mahogany in one place but burnt in most others. I told her even the best cook in the world has problems in the kitchen from time to time. We just don’t post them on our blogs or instagram feeds. We quietly learn from our mistakes and try again and post our good looking pictures.

So what did I learn from this mistake? A glaze with so much sugar in it can burn quickly and I should have been checking it more frequently. I knew that but because I don’t use glazes very often it just didn’t occur to me at the time.

I also learned that different air fryers have different wattages and that means some cook quicker than others. It’s a matter of knowing how your particular air fryer works. When I remade the chicken to get a better picture, I dropped the temperature and extended the cooking time. I added the changes I made to the note at the bottom of the recipe.

In case you are wondering what happened to the chicken, only the skin was burned so I removed it and chopped the chicken meat up for a salad which was delicious.

Mahogany Chicken

• Difficulty: Easy
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From Easy Air Fryer Magazine

1 1/2 TBS soy sauce

1 1/2. tsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp grated, peeled fresh ginger

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 TBS honey, divided

2 bone in, skin on chicken thighs, trimmed of excess skin and fat

1/2 lb broccoli florets, cut in half if big

1/2 bunch scallions, cut into 2 inch pieces

1 1/2 tsp olive oil

In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, garlic and 1 1/2 tsp honey, mix well.  Reserve 1 1/2 tsp of the mixture for later use.   Add the chicken and turn to coat.  Refrigerate for 1 hour. Stir the remaining 1 1/2 tsp honey into the reserved marinade for a glaze.

Place chicken in the air fryer basket, skin side down and air fry at 375 degrees for 12 minutes.  Brush chicken with reserved honey/ marinade mixture and flip using tongs.  Air fry, brushing twice with the glaze, during the last 3 minutes of cooking., until the chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes more. 

Hamburger Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette (Whole 30)

Back in October, my friend, ess, rescued this little beared dragon from a very neglectful situation. Reptiles have very specific things they need in their environment to be healthy. He didn’t have them.  He wasn’t being fed properly so he was starving and as a result was severely under weight. He didn’t have anything in his cage to rub on so there were wounds on his body where the shed skin he couldn’t rub off literally tore his skin.

Ess and I took the beared dragon, now named River, to the vet and discovered that River dodged the metabolic problems reptiles get when the don’t have a proper home environment but our little dude was still a sick little guy.  Bearded dragons have a fungus on their scales.  When they are healthy and have the things they need in their environment they  naturally keep this fungus in check.  River wasn’t healthy so the fungus was taking over. When the fungus gets to the stage it was with River it gets in the blood stream and is usually fatal.

Ess decided she wanted to try treating him.  We found out on Monday,  after 8 months of treatment and regular visits to the vet, River is now cured. He is completely healthy.  I could just cry.  I am so happy.

Hamburger Salad With Mustard Vinaigrette

• Difficulty: Easy
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Adapted From Paleo Scaleo

Beef Patties

1/2 lb ground beef

3 TBS lightly beaten egg

1/2 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp mustard powder

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 TBS almond flour

Salad

4 cups salad greens

2 roma tomatoes, sliced

1/4 small red onion, sliced

Dressing

4 TBS olive oil

1 TBS balsamic vinegar

2 tsp Dijon mustard

pinch salt and pepper

Combine the ground beef, egg and spices in a medium bowl. Using the hands, thoroughly mix the ingredients together. Add the 1 tablespoon of almond flour to the mixture and mix with your hands again. Divide the meat and shape into two patties. Use your thumb to make an dent in the middle of the patties. Place the patties in the fridge. Next, combine all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine, Place a skillet over medium-heat, once hot, place the patties in the in the pan. Cook 4-5 minutes per side or until the preferred doneness. Divide the greens between two plates. Top with tomatoes and onions, add a burger and drizzle with the mustard vinaigrette.

Cold Veggie Noodle Salad (Whole 30)

Yesterday was my first day of working from home. I am very blessed to be able to do so but I am finding it does present a unique set of challenges.

Apparently, working from home makes you forget how to dress as I got half way through my day and discovered I had my sweatshirt on inside out and backwards. Score one for me. Good thing I am not on video calls.

I added tuna to this recipe to bulk it up to make it a main meal instead of a side dish. The sauce would be good on any veggies, cold or warm.

Cold Veggie Noodle Salad

• Difficulty: Easy
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From The Made Whole Made Simple Cookbook

1/2 large carrot, shaved into ribbons

1 medium zucchini, shaved into ribbons

1 green onion, sliced on the bias

1 clove garlic, sliced

1 tsp sesame seeds, plus more for garnish

For the Sauce:

2 TBS unsweetened sunflower seed butter

1 TBS Dijon Mustard

1 TBS toasted sesame oil

2 tsp coconut aminos

In a medium bowl, toss the carrot and zucchini ribbons with green onion, garlic, and sesame seeds.

In a small bowl, whisk together all of the sauce ingredients. Then pour the sauce over the veggies and toss to mix. Garnish with sesame seeds and serve right away. Store the sauce and veggies separately in the fridge for up to three days.

Broccoli Salad (Whole 30)

“Something magical happens when food is cooking — the rest of the world melts away, and nothing exists except what’s in the skillet in front of you–and it talks, it breathes, and lives. The sounds, aromas, textures, flavors and the heat of the kitchen–even the occasional searing burn– feel good.” David Link

People ask me all the time why I like cooking. I never really had a good answer. Its just something I really enjoy doing. This quote from David Link comes as close to explaining it as I can get.

Broccoli Salad

• Difficulty: Easy
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From The Frugal Paleo Cookbook

1 bunch broccoli, cut into small florets

1/2 cup craisins

1/4 cup almonds, slivered or chopped

1/4 cup finely minced red onion

1/4 cup sunflower seeds, or more almonds slivered or chopped

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup red wine vinegar.

5 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Salt and pepper

In a large bowl, mix together the broccoli, craisins, sunflower seeds, onions and almonds.

In a seperate small bowl, combine mayonnaise and apple cider vinegar.

Pour the dressing over the broccoli and mix in the bacon. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Cucumber and Onion Salad

I have a love/hate realationship with America’s Test Kitchen magazines, like Cook’s Illustrated and Cook’s Country. Every time I sit down and read the magazines, I learn something new. The recipes I have tried have always been good. But OMG!!! They can take a simple recipe and add so many ingredients and steps to it makes me want to just give up before I even get started and I am a fairly experienced cook.

Every so often, however, America’s Test Kitchen publishes a recipe that is perfect in its simplicity.

Pickled Cucumber And Onions

• Difficulty: Easy
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Adapted From Cook’s Illustrated

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

2 TBS water

1 TBS sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

8 oz cucumber, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and cut into thin slices

1/2 cup thinly sliced onion

Whisk vinegar, water, sugar, salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Add the cucumbers and onions. Toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving to allow the flavors to meld. Can be refrigerated up to 3 days.