Homemade Turkey Vegetable Soup

Turkey. It's not just for the holidays! Turkey is a great option for affordable dishes that can span multiple meals. This batch of soup is great for dinner and provides me with lunch for another one or two days! Delicious, nutritious and affordable!

How to Make It:

I'll get a nice sized turkey breast and roast it for sliced turkey breast served with gravy one night, and the next night I'll use what's remaining for a home-made turkey soup. Put the turkey breast carcass into a stock pot. Cover with water and seasonings of your choice. Set at a low boil for 90 minutes or so. Strain the broth and return it to the pan. Toss in the vegetables you'd like (here, I used carrots, mushrooms, spinach celery and onion). Salt (generously) and add freshly ground pepper. 

Oakland Dust Steak Rubbed BBQ Pork Spare Ribs – Indoor Style!

So delicious oven BBQ'd pork spare ribs covered generously in Oakland Dust Steak Rub is our new favorite meal. I realize BBQ purists may scoff at the idea of using the oven to create a BBQ style rib, but some of us city folk – without an outdoor option – have to resort to other measures to get our BBQ rib fix. My boyfriend wants this dish on a weekly basis. Totally fine with me. :) It's so simple, incredibly delicious and low-carb!

How to Make It:

Heat oven to 300 (f). Pull aluminum foil to twice the length of a cookie sheet. Generously season a slab of pork spare ribs with Oakland Dust Steak Rub all over. Lay ribs on the bottom half of the aluminum foil meat side up. Wrap the top layer of aluminum foil over the ribs and seal the top and bottom sheets tightly together all around the ribs. Bake for 2.5 hours. Remove the top layer of aluminum foil and brush ribs lightly with BBQ sauce. Continue baking for 20 minutes. Done and done! I serve this with cob corn grilled on a stove grill pan and traditional slaw for the full BBQ meal effect.

P.S. Last time I made this recipe I ran out of the Oakland Dust Steak Rub and used an alternative rub. My boyfriend was so disappointed and we both agreed that while the ribs where still quite good, they were a distant second to the Oakland Dust Steak Rub version. Thanks for such a delicious product, Oakland Dust!

Roast Spatchcocked Lemon Chicken

Ryan showed me this picture of his dinner the other night and I asked if I could post it because it looked so cool. I, for one, had not heard of "spatchcocking". You?  Apparently, the technique involves flattening the chicken allowing more of the skin to crisp at high temperatures. Ryan followed Martha's recipe  — you can find it here.

Chicken With So Easy Creamy Mustard Sauce

This has become a go-to meal for when I'm feeling tired, lazy... or both. The sauce is so easy, but incredibly rich and delicious.

How to Make it:

The Chicken:

• 2-3 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• White truffle salt (I used Selezione Tartufi White Truffle Salt from Sur la Table) and fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350 (f). Add oil and heat up an oven-safe skillet to medium-high heat until the oil is hot. Generously salt and pepper the chicken. Carefully add the chicken to the pan. Don't move the chicken while it's browning. After about 6-8 minutes turn the chicken (the chicken should turn relatively easily, if it's sticking to the pan it's not ready to turn). Put the chicken in the oven and cook for about 25 minutes or until thermometer reads 165 (f).

So Easy Creamy Mustard Sauce:

• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon mustard (I used Olivier® Napa Valley Toasted Shallot and Dark Beer Mustard from Sur la Table, which is crazy delicious)
• Salt and pepper (if needed)

Remove the chicken from the skillet and set on a plate wrapped in aluminum foil to keep warm. Set to medium heat and add the cream to the skillet. Deglaze the pan using a whisk. Stir in the mustard. Add salt and pepper to taste, if needed. It's that easy!

I served the chicken with steamed spinach. Topped with the Creamy Mustard Sauce and a little freshly grated Romano cheese.

Lemon Garlic Baked Chicken

I love this recipe because it's quick, easy and healthy!

How To Make It

• boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon fresh, minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• salt & pepper

Simply add olive oil, the juice of 1/2 lemon and the minced garlic to a shallow baking dish. Place chicken in the baking dish smooth side up. Flip it over so it's coated with the olive oil mixture. Sprinkle the upside with half of each the garlic salt, fresh thyme and salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes at 375 (f). Turn over and sprinkle the other side with the remaining garlic salt, fresh thyme and salt and pepper. Lay a slice of lemon on top of each piece of chicken. Bake for another 20 minutes. Spoon some of the pan juices over the chicken and serve atop some sautéed spinach. See? Delicious AND healthy!