Halal Guys Chicken and Rice Copycat Recipe

November 23, 2012 by 1 Comment

halal guys chicken and rice copycat recipe

The Halal Guys Chicken and Rice is one of my favorite frugal New York street food experiences.  Located on the corner of 53rd and 6th, New Yorkers and tourists alike line up for a taste of this mouth-watering goodness for just $6 a pop (more on Frugal New York Eats).  Every once in a while, I crave it and nothing I can get in my smallish Minnesota city comes close.

Recently, I experimented with Halal Guys Chicken and Rice copycat recipes I could make at home.  The one I landed on was definitely close enough to keep me happy until my next New York City trip.  To make it even easier, I used my crock pot to cook the chicken thighs.  It’s a great meal to make on a busy evening.  Just set the crock pot to go before you leave for the day, and come home to the savory smell of chicken.  The rice can be ready in about half an hour.  For a kick, add Harisa Hot Sauce.

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Halal Guys Chicken and Rice Copycat Recipe
 
Ingredients
  • For the Chicken:
  • 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
  • 1 tsp. dried oregano
  • ½ tsp. ground coriander
  • ½ tsp. cumin
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • ¼ C. olive oil
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (the kind in the bag work well)
  • For the Rice:
  • 2 Tbsp. butter
  • ½ tsp. turmeric
  • ¼ tsp. cumin
  • 1½ C. Basmati or Texmati rice
  • 2½ C. chicken broth
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • For the Sauce:
  • ½ C. mayonnaise
  • ½ C. Greek yogurt
  • 1 Tbsp. sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. white vinegar
  • 1 tsp. lemon juice
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
  • Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. For the chicken, whisk together the lemon juice, oregano, coriander, cumin, garlic, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Place inside a crock pot and pour sauce over it. Cover and cook until chicken is done (4 hours on high, 6-8 hours on low).
  2. For the rice, heat butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Saute the rice for a couple minutes together with the tumeric and cumin, until it begins to brown slightly. Add the chicken broth, cover and reduce heat. Cook 20-25 minutes until liquid has been absorbed.
  3. Serve with shredded lettuce, tomato wedges, and pita.

Thanks to Serious Eats and The Huffington Post for the recipe inspiration.

Filed Under: Copycat Recipes Tagged With: , , ,

Venison Medallions with Balsamic Reduction

November 11, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Venison Medallions with Balsamic Reduction

I live in Minnesota:  Land of 10,000 lakes and even more hunters.   While my own husband enjoys fishing and duck hunting, deer hunting is something he’s never really gotten into.  That’s too bad, because I really like the taste of venison.  However, we’re lucky to have friends that do deer hunt… and bring us meat!

These venison medallions were such a treat.  This recipe is based on Emerill’s Venison Medallions recipe on Foodnetwork.com but adapted according to our taste.  The balsamic glaze was to-die-for.  And SO easy.

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Venison Medallions with Balsamic Reduction
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • Venison medallions
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp. butter
  • 3 Tbsp.minced shallots
  • ¼ C. balsamic vinegar

Instructions
  1. Liberally season venison medallions with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Brown medallions for 3 minutes on each side. Remove from heat.
  2. Add butter to skillet, scraping to deglaze the pan. Sautee the shallots until translucent. Add balsamic vinegar and heat until reduced. Pour over browned venison medallions.

 

Frugal Tip:  Hunting and foraging for food is the most basic of frugal tips.  My husband jokes that his duck hunting expenses go to “put food on the table” but c’mon… I know better.   Hunting is just an excuse for men to escape their jobs, wives, obligations and be primal.  However, I never turn down free meat.  If you get offers, do the same!  Use the internet to find ways to prepare things according to your own taste.

Filed Under: 30 Minutes or Less, Meat Tagged With:

Nutter Butter Turkey Cookies for Thanksgiving

November 7, 2012 by Leave a Comment

nutter butter turkey cookies thanksgiving

How cute are these Nutter Butter Turkey Cookies?  They’d be perfect on the table at Thanksgiving.  To make them, you’ll need:

Step #1:  Choose your candy for the turkey’s nose, wattle, and feet.  Use a serrated knife to “saw” the M&Ms in half.  I used the red ones as the turkey wattle and the brown ones as the turkey feet.  Really, you could use similar candy for any of these parts.  It’s a fun way to use up any leftover Halloween candy (if there is any). Yes, some will break.  You may have to eat your mistakes.  I have really been having fun making seasonal treats from the Wilton Candy Eyes.  I also used them to make Spider Cupcakes and Elmo Cupcakes.  You can buy them at craft stores that carry cake decorating supplies, or on Amazon.com.

nutter butter turkey cookies

Step #2: Break the Oreos in half and use the part with the most white frosting on it as the base to hold the turkey upright.   Add additional white frosting on top to provide extra support.

nutter butter turkey

Step #3:   Secure the candy corn to the back of one half of an Oreo as turkey feathers.

nutter butter turkey

Step #4:   Add frosting to the back of the Nutter Butter cookie where the turkey feathers will go.  Press together.

Nutter Butter Turkey Cookies for Thanksgiving - Frugal Bites

Filed Under: Desserts Tagged With: ,

Bob’s Swiss Steak Recipe

November 5, 2012 by Leave a Comment

bob's swiss steak

One of the reasons why I started this food blog was to have favorite family recipes in one spot.  This is Swiss Steak Recipe is one such recipe.  Bob (a.k.a. “Dad” to me and “Pa” to my kids) has been making this recipe for quite some time.  It’s one of my husband’s favorites.  He brought out his recipe card yesterday and made it for a family gathering.  We serve it on top of homemade German Spaetzle Noodles.  Very easy, very yummy!

bob's swiss steak recipe

My husband’s handwriting is a little hard to read!

Frugal Tip:  Find recipes you love that use cheaper cuts of meat.  When you simmer and cook them slowly, they become tender and flavorful.  You could also speed up the process and make this in a pressure cooker.  A pressure cooker is great for tenderizing tough cuts of meat in a relatively short period of time.

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Bob’s Swiss Steak
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 1 lb. tenderized steak
  • 2 cans whole stewed tomatoes
  • 2 celery stalks, cut ½”
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • seasoned flour (season with pepper, garlic powder)
Instructions
  1. Dredge steaks in seasoned flour and brown in a large skillet. Add tomatoes, celery, and onion. Simmer in the covered skillet approximately two hours until meat is tender. Sever over egg noodles.
Filed Under: Blog, Meat Tagged With:

Turkey Artichoke Panini

October 30, 2012 by 3 Comments

turkey artichoke panini panera bread

I admit it, I’m not much of a sandwich person.  The idea of white, fluffy bread and poor-quality fillings doesn’t satisfy my hunger or my palate.   Gourmet sandwiches are another story.   If a sandwich has a beyond-the-basic spread, quality ingredients, and artisan bread… I’m in!

panini press

George Foreman Grill = Panini Press

I first mentioned my Turkey Artichoke Panini on the Mommysavers Frugal Forums, and someone said it sounded just like a Panera Copycat.  I’ve never had their version, but this one is really good!  I created this recipe almost entirely by chance.  I had made a big batch of my spinach artichoke dip for a party, and had some left over.  The next day, I used the dip along with some smoked turkey on a sandwich; and it was fabulous!  Since then, I’ve discovered that caramelized onions and red peppers make it even better.

This time around, I used Sam’s Club Castle Wood lunch meat.  It’s Sam’s private label brand, and it comes in wide variety of flavors and combo pack options.  I also picked up some focaccia bread to give it a true gourmet flair.  Feel free to use artistic license when you make this.  I’ve got the basic recipe for you to print out below, but add your own personal touch!  Different types of meats and cheese are fun alternatives to make it even better-tasting to you, personally.  My husband didn’t want the red peppers on his, so I created sandwich with them, and one without.  Both fabulous!

To see more photos of the sandwich creation process, view my Google+ Photo Album:  Turkey Artichoke Panini

Frugal Tips:  Don’t have a panini press?  You can use your George Foreman grill!

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Castle Wood Turkey Artichoke Panini
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 can artichokes, chopped
  • ¼ C. onion slices
  • 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 oz. fresh spinach leaves
  • ⅓ C. cream cheese
  • ⅓ C. mayo
  • ½ C. Parmesan cheese
  • 1 round focaccia bread
  • Castle Wood turkey lunchmeat (at Sam’s Club)
  • Swiss cheese slices
  • Optional: roasted red peppers
Instructions
  1. In a skillet, heat onions in olive oil. Add garlic and spinach, toss until spinach is wilted. Add artichokes, cream cheese, mayo, and Parmesan cheese. Turn heat down to low and stir until ingredients are blended.
  2. Spread artichoke mixture on focaccia bread. Layer turkey lunchmeat and swiss cheese slices, and more spinach leaves and roasted red peppers if desired. Use a panini press or George Foreman grill to toast the bread.

 

sam's club castle wood lunch meat

turkey panini gourmet sandwich

turkey panini gourmet sandwich

turkey panini gourmet sandwich

turkey artichoke red pepper panini

Additional Resources:

Disclosure:  I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Sam’s Club Private Label #CBias #SocialFabric.  All opinions are my own.

Filed Under: 30 Minutes or Less, Blog, Breads Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
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