Owens Dining Labs

February 3, 2019June 11, 2019

Garlic Butter Chicken and “Zoodles”

I’ll admit that I participated in the spiralizer fad a couple years ago with great fervor. For good reason, though: it gave me alternatives for using vegetables in place of pasta when we were on the Paleo bandwagon. The kids wouldn’t touch it but the wife and I were better off because of it. The unexpected benefit of the fad is that now you can buy pre-spiralized vegetables in the fresh produce and freezer section of your local supermarket of choice. They are in every major grocery store now too, so there’s no excuse. Continue reading “Garlic Butter Chicken and “Zoodles””

February 1, 2019February 4, 2019

Open-face Mushroom Swiss Burgers with Grilled Onions

It’s “open” so that you can pile tons of freshly grilled mushrooms and onions on a double cheeseburger without overloading in bread. Continue reading “Open-face Mushroom Swiss Burgers with Grilled Onions”

January 30, 2019February 2, 2019

Chicken Enchiladas and Elote: Easy, Quick and Affordable

Tonight was an experiment to see if I could convince kids #2 and 3 to eat an enchilada. They have always been averse to sauce of any type, so it was a gamble and I really wanted to keep the stakes low. It worked, at least for #2. He raved about it. Continue reading “Chicken Enchiladas and Elote: Easy, Quick and Affordable”

January 14, 2019March 21, 2019

Making the Most out of One Whole Chicken

Homemade Chicken Stock, Frozen and Vacuum Sealed.

Making the most out of every ingredient has become a personal objective of mine lately. Applying that mentality to the kitchen and meal prep is just a natural extension of cutting costs and making healthier foods for my family. Today I tackle a 4-part process to use the absolute most out of a single whole chicken.

January 14, 2019March 21, 2019

Part 4/4: Vacuum Seal Liquids with a Food Saver

Vacuum sealing foods for freezer storage is a big deal in our home. We buy bulk quality meats at a discount at places like Costco, sealing steaks into individual bags, then thaw as needed. We use our FoodSaver every week or two, but liquids can be a hassle since the FoodSaver is an external, not a chamber, vacuum sealer. There’s a big difference, particularly when dealing with liquids.

Here’s a quick hack to use your external vacuum sealer to store and freeze liquids WITHOUT EXPENSIVE HARDWARE OR ACCESSORIES.

January 13, 2019March 21, 2019

Part 3/4: Chicken Stock

Continuing our 4-part series of “Making the Most of a Whole Chicken”, we move on to part 3: Converting the remains of the chicken carcass from Chicken Noodle Soup to fresh Chicken Stock.

January 12, 2019March 21, 2019

Part 2/4: Chicken Soup with Noodles or Rice

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup – based on our Whole Roasted Chicken

Continuing from our Whole Roasted Chicken recipe in step one, we move on the harvest all of the edible meat from the roasted chicken, the vegetables we set aside from that recipe and add 2 simple ingredients to make a delicious and easy chicken noodle soup from scratch.

January 11, 2019March 21, 2019

Part 1/4: Whole Roasted Chicken

Part 1 of the series of 4: Whole Roasted Chicken

There’s no long-winded story about childhood memories of the smell of the kitchen here, because let’s be honest: who doesn’t love roasted chicken? Crispy skin, tender and juicy herbed meat? Let’s cut to the chase and roast!

December 31, 2018March 21, 2019

Sausage and Squash Casserole

Plated’s “Sausage and Squash Casserole” is bar none the best Plated dish we’ve had the pleasure of eating. This winter dish is the perfect balance of rich and savory flavor profiles, from the buttery butternut squash to the fennel in the Italian sausage. Topped with crumbed cornbread reminiscent of Thanksgiving stuffing.

July 19, 2018March 21, 2019

“Cuban” Chicken Empanadas with Lime Crema and Avocado

Decent stuff, very filling. I have a bit of experience with out local empanada sources and these would compete with the more mediocre of the group. Though, I’m not entirely sure what qualifies them as “Cuban” because the spices were simply cumin, paprika and thyme. Continue reading ““Cuban” Chicken Empanadas with Lime Crema and Avocado”