In consideration of buying an air fryer, we had purchased some chicken drumsticks quite a while back. Discovering that there were still 5 in the freezer, I began a Pinterest search. Thankfully there were quite a few recipes for doing them in a regular oven. (We eventually talked ourselves out of the air fryer (too much electricity here in Mexico). I can happily say that both of us thought these were far superior to the AF recipe! AND, so very easy to prep, too.
Baked Chicken Drumsticks
Ingredients
2 pounds chicken drumsticks(I used 5 but six would have been better than sharing the 5th one)
2 tablespoons avocado oil
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cracked pepper
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray.
2. Add all of the ingredients to a large zip top bag and seal. Smush the chicken around in the bag to coat in the seasoning.
3. Arrange chicken on the baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a thermometer reads 165 degrees.
Since we are back trying to shed some pre-Christmas pounds/kilos, I find we are eating more salads. This one is very similar to a well known Italian restaurant chain in the US! It’s fresh and very tasty, as well as filling.
Italian Romaine Salad 204 caloriesper serving
1 head romaine lettuce or 2 small romaine hearts, roughly chopped
Time certainly brings out the essence of these ribs, even if you do not follow up with the BBQ sauce. I actually prefer them without the sauce, but that is a personal choice. If you follow the recipe to a T, you cannot go wrong one way or the other. FYI…they were so tasty we ate them all before I remembered a photo. Serve with a great coleslaw…
Oven Baked Dry Rub Ribs
For the dry rub
1/2 a cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon mustard powder
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon chili powder
Instructions
Take your ribs and trim off any excess fat, then place them in a baking dish or you could use the disposable foil baking dish.
Preheat your oven to 130°C/266°F
Take your rub mixture and rub it on the pork ribs one by one ensuring that you coat every piece of meat.
Once you have finished rubbing each and every rib, place them in your baking tray and cover it up with aluminium foil and place it into the oven.
OPTIONALAfter 2 and 1/2 hours, remove them from the oven, apply your fav BBQ sauce.Coat each rib with the sauce using a spoon or brush then put them back in the oven but this time don’t cover them.
Let them continue cooking for the last 30 minutes brushing them frequently with the sauce.
Since we now find spaghetti squash very often in our grocery stores, I decided to give this recipe a try. I also happened to always have the Norwegian smoked salmon (Costco) . They went together very well indeed! It actually tasted better than my photo shows.
Smoked Salmon Carbonara
Ingredients
1/2 cooked spaghetti squash, shredded(save the other half for another dinner OR freeze it)
3.5 g smoked salmon cut into ½ inch strips
1 large egg
3 egg yolks
1⁄2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 Tablespoon butter
1.5 teaspoons cracked black pepper
sea salt
2 teaspoons chopped chives
Instructions:
*See instructions below if you are unsure how to bake a spaghetti squash!
While the squash is baking, whisk together the egg, egg yolks and pepper.
Put the cooked, shredded squash into a pan on the stoveon LOW heat.
Place the butter along with 1 tablespoon of warm water into the pot with the shredded squash and stir to coat.
Add the egg mixture to the pot and stir vigorously. The goal here is to cook the egg sauce onto the pasta without scrambling it.
The sauce is cooked by the residual heat from the pot bottom. If the sauce is not thickening after 5 minutes of stirring, the pot should be heated again. Place the pot back on to a heated burner (lowest heat) and continue to stir the pot so the egg does not scramble.
When the sauce begins to thicken, add the parmesan cheese and continue to cook until the sauce is heated through and thickened.
Add the salmon strips to the spaghetti squash and stir to combine.
Serve garnished with chopped chives
*How to Cut and Cook a Spaghetti Squash
Instructions
1. Using a paring knife, cut around the middle of the squash making very small cuts with a paring knife. Continue cutting around the middle until you reach your original cut. Go back over the cutting line with your paring knife making your cuts a little deeper. Go all the way around again. The squash should come apart. Scoop out seeds.
BAKING IN OVEN FOR ONE OR MORE SPAGHETTI SQUASH
1. Spritz the cut side of the spaghetti squash with avocado, olive, or coconut oil. Sprinkle with salt and place cut side down in baking pan.
2. Bake at 350° for 60-75 minutes until fork tender.
3. Allow the squash to cool before removing the strands of spaghetti with a fork.
It is always difficult to choose a new recipe each week, and this time I went with a new KETO recipe, since we are once again back on the Keto track after our recent journey. It really is a great recipe, so don’t be afraid to try it, even if you are not on a KETO diet…
Note that this recipe calls for minced ginger. If you dont normally buy fresh ginger, I suggest buying a small jar of ginger paste (which you can find in the Asian section of many grocery stores).
Keto Cashew Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
1 ½ pounds chicken breast cut into chunks (Can also use thighs).
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
2 tsp avocado oil
1 green pepper cut into chunks
1 white onion cut into chunks
1/4 cup roasted cashews
Sesame seeds for garnish
Chopped green onions for garnish
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
3 tbsp liquid aminosOR soy sauce *
Sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp ground gingerOR ginger paste
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp chili garlic sauce Use only 1/2 tsp for a milder recipe or double if you want it spicier!
Instructions
In a bowl add sauce ingredients (chili garlic sauce, minced garlic, sesame oil, ginger, salt, and pepper to taste). Set aside.
Heat pan on low heat and toast cashews until lightly brown and set aside.
Add avocado oil to the pan and increase heat to high and add chicken and cook through.
Throw in the chopped pepper, onion, and the sauce mixture and cook on high for about 5 minutes.
Add the liquid aminos/soy sauce, cashews, and rice wine vinegar to pan. Cook until sauce has thickened.
Buen provecho...2022 