Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bombs

I can't help but share one of my all time favorite foods; chicken bombs. I've made bacon wrapped chicken thousands of times, but it was always missing something. I couldn't quite put my finger on it. One day my boyfriend and I were making stuffed jalapeños and we had left over cream cheese and sweet chili sauce mix. We decided to experiment. With much trial and error, the bacon wrapped chicken bombs were born!

Ingredients:

-Chicken breast (butterflied)

-Jalepenos (washed, and halved)

-Cream cheese (or goats cheese)

-Bacon (thawed)

-Sweet chili sauce

Instructions:

Take about half a package of cream cheese and mix with the sweet chili sauce. I usually just keep mixing and adding until the flavor seems right. If possible, leave it overnight because it'll become more flavourful the longer it sits. Now is the time to add your spices if you a choose. I usually don't add anything, but you can put in salt, pepper, chipotle, or cayenne. 

If you don't know how to "butterfly" a chicken breast, nows the time to learn. Set your breast on a cutting board, and with a serated knife, cut it horizontally, about 3/4 the way through. When you open the breast up, it should be laying flat. If not just cut it a little more, but make sure not to peirce through the other side. 

Next you want to spread a good amount of your cream cheese mixture onto the breast. (Keep in mind some of it will spill out as it cooks)

Place half a jalepeno in the chicken breast, and fold over like a sandwich. 

Now this is the tricky part. Getting your slippery chicken wrapped. Take a slice of bacon and start at one end and gently wrap your chicken. I usually use 2 or 3 prices of bacon to do this. 

After I'm done wrapping it, I stick it onto a skewer to keep the bacon in place. It also helps when it comes time to turn your chicken bomb.

I also learned that if you brush some sweet chili sauce on the outside it becomes extra tasty! I did that twice, once before I put it in the over and a second time before I flipped it. 

Bake at 350 until done. Be sure to flip it once so the bacon on the bottom becomes cooked also well. 

When it is done you can serve with garlic mashed potatoes, or on a bed of rice. Either way I can guarantee you'll enjoy it.

-Chantal

Ginger Beef

The other day I had a craving for one of my favourite chinese dishes, but since I'm allergic to most take out, I set off on a journey to recreate it in my home. I've always had a love-hate relationship with ginger beef. I LOVED the ginger flavor of the sauce but I HATED the cheap cuts of beef they used to create it. Eventually I became allergic to some of the ingredients in it, and quit eating ginger beef all together. It wasn't up until recently that I've found a restaurant that would make it for me GLUTEN FREE. I was in heaven. That is until I was abruptly reminded of why I didn't like it.

When I started to make this I was a little discouraged with the recipes I was finding online. Most had ALOT of sugar, or ingredients I didn't have etc. So I did what I do with every recipe. I made my own.

Ingredients:

1.75 lbs steak (sliced)
Cornstarch
Oil of choice
Carrots (sliced diagonally)
Onion (julienned)
1/2 cup fresh ginger (minced)
10 garlic cloves (minced)
6 tablespoons soy sauce (I used VH gluten free)
8 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/2 cup of sugar
Red pepper flakes (to taste)
Salt and pepper (to taste)

Instructions:

I started off by cutting up 1.75 lbs of steak into little slices (It sounds like a waste of a perfectly good steak, but trust me it's worth it!) Make sure your steak is still cold, it's easier to work with, and keeps the steak tender.

Heat up your oil of choice on med-high. Meanwhile, take a zip lock bag and put in some cornstarch, your steak slices, and salt and pepper. Shake until fully coated.

Once oil is fully heated, add your coated beef. Flip after roughly 7 mins. I had to do mine in two batches.

Cut your onions and carrots. Also mince your garlic and ginger.

Sautee the carrots first, add onions after a couple mins, then the ginger, and finally the garlic. I always add the garlic last because it will go bitter if cooked too long.

Once the carrots are tender but still a little crunchy, you can start to add your soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, sugar and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil.

This next step isn't necessary, but I added some cornstarch to thicken up the sauce a bit.

Toss in the cooked beef, and put it on top of cooked long grain rice. You are now free to enjoy this masterpiece!

I don't think I will ever go back to traditional take out after making this dish! The beef is soooo tender and it's packed full of flavour. This will for sure be one of your new favourites!  

-Chantal