A Duck's Oven

A food and travel blog with comforting, simple recipes.

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on the table

Let’s face it: getting dinner on the table after a long, busy day is no simple task. A Duck’s Oven is here to help you make meal time the easiest and most exciting part of your day.

Recipes

Power Packed Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

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I’ve been on the go quite a bit lately- between work and classes I’m not home much during the day. I can only drink a Super Protein or eat a Giant Snickerdoodle so many days in a row… so I decided to make some somewhat healthy food that would keep me full for hours. Peanut butter granola bars with whey protein, wheat germ, and flaxseed oil definitely do that.

I found a recipe on All Recipes that serves as the base for these granola bars. I simply changed them from cinnamon raisin to peanut butter chocolate and added a few things.

First, combine the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, whey protein powder, flour, and salt in a large bowl.

Create a well in the middle, and pour the egg, vanilla, peanut butter, flaxseed oil, and honey into the center. Stir until well-combined.

 

Roughly chop up the chocolate chips.

Add them to the mixture and combine.

Flatten the mixture into a greased 9×13 inch baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Let cool for about ten minutes and cut into bars. Don’t wait too long because they’ll cut too hard to cut! Enjoy 🙂

Recipes

Ingredients

2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp whey protein powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup flaxseed oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup coursely chopped chocolate chips
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease a 9×13 inch baking pan. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, whey powder, flour, and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil, peanut butter, and vanilla. Mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut.

 

Chipotle Chicken Tacos and Mexican Rice

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Sorry for my absence! I’ve been quite busy. I think all my professors got together and decided to dump everything into the same two weeks… anyways, I have taken a break from preparing bagged salads and sandwiches to make a real meal, thanks to Simply Scratch and playing around in the kitchen.

The chicken gets to sit all day in a delicious marinade. I just used one breast to make enough for my boyfriend and I, and we had leftovers. To make the marinade, combine olive oil, honey, 2 or 3 chipotle chiles in Adobo sauce, ground cumin, minced garlic, chopped onions, cilantro, Kosher salt, and black pepper in a food processor.

Process until relatively smooth.

Pour into a plastic bag. Add chicken breast and shake until coated. I cut my chicken breast in half and trimmed the fat before adding to the marinade. Let sit in the refrigerator for 1-24 hours. I did mine about 7 and it was awesome.

After the breast has marinaded all day, place in a skillet, marinade and all. Brown both sides of the breast. Bring the marinade to a simmer and cover. Let sit for about 12 minutes.

 

While this is cooking, bring water, bullion cube, tomato sauce, onions, garlic, taco seasoning, and olive oil to a boil in a sauce pan. Once it has begun to boil, add 1 1/2 cups Minute Rice. Cover, remove from heat, and let sit for at least five minutes.

Once the chicken is done cooking, shred it using two forks and pulling it apart.

Place tortillas on a cookie sheet and spoon chicken onto the tortillas. Top with shredded cheese. Place in an oven preheated to 275 degrees and cook until cheese melts.

Dress up the tacos how you like, and roll ’em up! Serve with Mexican rice or spicy corn. Yum!

 

Recipes
Chipotle Chicken Tacos
Modified from Simply Scratch
Ingredients
Marinade:
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves of garlic smashed, peeled and roughly chopped
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon cumin
2-4 chipotle chiles in Adobo
1 tbsp chopped onion
1 tsp chopped cilantro
A heavy pinch of Kosher Salt and Black Pepper
1 chicken breast, sliced in half, fat trim
Tortillas
Cheese
Desired Toppings
Directions
Combine all ingredients for the marinade in a food processor and blend until smooth. Pour into a plastic bag along with the chicken breast. Let sit in the refrigerator for 1-24 hours. Once chicken is ready to cook, preheat oven to 250 degrees. In a skillet, pour in the marinade and brown both side of the chicken breast. Turn heat to medium and let sit, covered, for about 12 minutes. Once chicken breast is done cooking, shred with two forks. Place tortillas onto a cook sheet and spoon chicken onto them. Top with cheese. Cook in oven until cheese is melted. Top with desired toppings and roll into taco form.
Mexican Rice
1 cup water
1 bullion cube
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp chopped onion
1 tsp taco seasoning
1 1/2 cups Minute Rice
Directions
Combine all ingredients except Minute Rice in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add the Minute Rice, cover, and remove from heat. Let sit for at least five minutes. Fluff with fork before serving.

 

Garlic Crusted Chicken

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This is an awesome chicken recipe. Seriously, it is the ONLY chicken dish the boyfriend will actually request. We both love garlic, so that definitely helps, and it is absolutely packed with flavor, because it is flipped and seasoned four times while cooking. Mmmm. This chicken also has a hint of lemon. I originally got the recipe from The Hungry Mouse and modified it so I could make it with ingredients I always have on hand. We probably eat it every week.

Start by slicing chicken breasts in half length wise, like so:

Dredge the chicken breasts in flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a skillet and add A LOT of minced garlic.

Place the chicken breasts in the skillet on top of the garlic. Generously season with Italian seasoning, onion powder, and garlic salt.

Let them cook for 2-3 minutes, then flip.

Again, generously season with Italian seasoning, onion powder, and garlic salt. Let cook for 2-3 minutes, then flip. Again, season with Italian seasoning, onion powder, and garlic salt, but this time add lemon pepper and a few squirts of lemon juice to each breast. Let cook for 2-3 minutes, flip again, and reseason with Italian seasoning, onion powder, garlic salt, lemon pepper, and lemon juice. Let cook for a few more minutes.

Excellent paired with veggies or mashed potatoes. Yum!

Recipe

Ingredients
Modified from The Hungry Mouse
2 chicken breasts, fat trimmed, cut in half length wise
1 cup of flour
Salt and Pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tbsp minced garlic
Italian seasoning
Onion powder
Garlic Salt
Lemon Pepper
Lemon juice

Directions
Combine the flour with a dash of salt in pepper in a shallow dish or plastic bag and dredge the chicken breasts in the flour mixture. Heat olive oil in a skillet (the olive oil should be about 1/4 inch deep throughout the skillet, 1/3 cup is a rough estimate). Add the garlic to the olive oil and heat until it starts getting bubbly. Don’t let the garlic get brown- it’ll get plenty brown during this process. Lay the chicken breasts in the skillet on top of the garlic. Season them generously with Italian seasoning, onion powder, and garlic salt. Let cook for 2-3 minutes. Flip. Again, season them generously with Italian seasoning, onion powder, and garlic salt. Let cook for 2-3 minutes. Flip. Season the breasts with Italian seasoning, onion powder, garlic salt, lemon pepper, and a few squirts of lemon juice. Let cook 2-3 minutes. Flip. Again, season the breasts with Italian seasoning, onion powder, garlic salt, lemon pepper, and a few squirts of lemon juice. Let cook for 3-5 minutes, or until the breasts are no longer pink in the center.

 

Crock Pot Pork Chops

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When I started this blog I didn’t think that it might be difficult to keep up once school started. I’ve got a lot on my plate right now but I’m trying to blog as often as I can! Even if that means writing while I’m in class… Hey, it’s better than Stumbleupon!

On to the food. My mom gave me some pork chops a month or so ago, and they’ve just been sitting in my freezer. My boyfriend is not a big fan of anything that comes from a pig other than bacon, and neither am I really, because we don’t like meat that’s seasoned with sweet flavors (like honey or brown sugar). I was unsure of how to cook the pork, so I just did it like I would with chicken on a long day- throw it in the crock pot with the usual stuff. Aaand it turned out great! Despite being anti-pork, we loved this. Bring on the salty. And garlicky. Mmmm.

First, season the pork chops with salt and pepper. Melt butter in a skillet and brown garlic. Brown the pork chops right on top of the garlic (I didn’t do this, but in retrospect I wish I would have! 🙂 ). Place the pork chops in the slow cooker, along with chopped onions.

 

Dredge the skillet with white. Add water, a bullion cube, Italian seasoning, olive oil, and paprika. Bring to a boil.

 

Pour the liquid over the pork chops in the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 hours.

Ta da! How easy was that? We had it with garlic mashed potatoes and green beans.

Ingredients
2 pork chops
Salt and Pepper to season
1/4 stick of butter
1 tsp garlic
1/4 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 bullion cube
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp paprika

Directions
Season the pork chops with the salt and pepper. Melt the butter in a skillet. Brown the garlic in the butter. Brown both sides of the pork chops in the garlic and butter. Place the pork chops in the slow cooker with the onions. Dredge the skillet with the white wine and add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and allow the bullion cube to dissolve. Pour the liquid over the pork chops into the slow cooker and cook on low for six hours, or high for 3. Enjoy! 🙂

Oven Roasted Mexican Chicken and Spicy Corn

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I’ve become a big fan of marinades and things I can cook in the crock pot, mostly because I’ve found that I’m way more motivated to cook late at night, long after dinner, or late morning, long before dinner. Evenings and late afternoons I’m either still winding down from school or work or focused on homework. I absolutely adore my job, but getting 3 and 4 year olds to sit and focus on three to four hours of IQ tests can be very draining.

My boyfriend, Eric, and I are huge fans of Mexican food. Seriously, we eat it probably 3 times a week. This recipe for oven roasted Mexican chicken which I adapted from Crepes of Wrath is a bit different (and more healthy) than the usual tacos with beans and rice meal, and it’s still super good even if it’s not covered in cheese. When I was home last, my mom made a really good corn side dish that was super spicy, and I thought it would taste great paired with this chicken.

I might get a lot of flack from foodies about this, but I recently bought a tube (yes, a tube) of Gourmet Garden’s cilantro. I HATE buying herbs or vegetables that I don’t use often and come in large bunches, because it always ends up going bad and I feel like I’ve wasted my money. This stuff I can keep in the fridge for a super long time, it’s organic, it’s fresh, and it tastes great. It’s not like it’s artificial cilantro. Go ahead, try it. They’ve got quite a few other herbs, too.

Alright, to make the marinade for the chicken, combine hot sauce (I like Tapatio), pepper, kosher salt, Italian seasoning, cilantro, ground mustard, chili pepper, Worcestershire sauce, olive oil, lime juice, red wine vinegar, and garlic in a plastic bag. Mine is shown in a Tupperware container because I was out of the gallon sized bags, and didn’t want to go to the store to get some :).

I like to trim all the fat off of my chicken breasts and then cut them in half before marinading, so that more of that great flavor covers more surface area. Add the breasts to the bag/container and give it a good shake so the breasts are coated in the marinade. Let sit for 1-24 hours. I would usually make it all the night before, but mine ended up only sitting about seven hours and it was still great.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil. Place a wire rack on the cookie sheet and lay the breasts on it. I also spooned a lot of the marinade onto the breasts. I was going to roast some potatoes on there, too, but Eric begged for mashed so I caved. Bake for 30-40 minutes.

While that was cooking, I made the spicy corn. In a skillet, saute some onions in olive oil. Add chopped jalapeno and saute until a little soft. I added a whole jalapeno and it was honestly too much for me- next time I’ll do half.

Add corn and cook until heated, and lastly add sweet hot chili sauce and cilantro.

Yum. You might also consider serving this with homemade Mexican rice 🙂

Recipes!

Oven Roasted Mexican Chicken
Modified from Crepes of Wrath

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts, fat trimmed and sliced in half if you like
1/2 tsp hot sauce
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp ground mustard
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp cilantro
1/4 cup olive oil
juice of 1 lime
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp red wine vinegar

Combine all of the ingredients, except the chicken, in a plastic bag or Tupperware container and stir or shake until combined. Add the chicken. Allow to sit in the fridge for 1 to 24 hours. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and place the chicken on a wire rack over a baking sheet (preferably covered in tin foil to prevent the juices from burning to your baking sheet). Bake for 30-40 minutes, until cooked through and the juices of the chicken run clear. Cover with foil and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Spicy Corn

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 can corn
1/2 (or a whole if you’re brave) jalapeno pepper finely chopped
1/4 of an onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp sweet hot chili sauce
1 tsp cilantro

Directions
Saute onion in olive oil for a few minutes. Add jalapeno and saute for another minute or so.  Add corn and stir. Cook until heated through, add sweet hot chili sauce.  Simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Parmesan Chicken and Garlic “Butter Bombs”

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One of my favorite meals growing up was Parmesan chicken. I loved coming home after a long day of school (and maybe a few hours of socializing afterwards) to see the skillet out filled with chicken and marinara sauce. I was a very lucky kid- my mom made us breakfast and dinner everyday, even during the two years in high school that I was catching the bus at 6:30 in the morning. My mother is a saint.

I could never hope to come close to her awesome cooking, but I will continue doing what I can. So, here is how I make Parmesan chicken. I make it like my mom- it’s somewhat light because I don’t bread the chicken with bread crumbs or brown it in butter.

Dredge chicken breasts in a ziploc bag filled with flour seasoned with salt, pepper, grated Parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning (have you noticed I love this stuff?). Pour about a tablespoon of olive oil into a skillet and brown both sides of the breasts. Melt some cheese on the top of the breasts (I like a mozzarella and Parmesan blend). Pour tomato sauce on top of the breasts and COVER. Since I was just cooking for Eric, my boyfriend, and I, I cooked the chicken in a smaller skillet than usual and didn’t have a lid to fit it. This was a mistake. There was sauce everywhere, it even somehow got on the ceiling. Let simmer for 15-20 minutes, until cooked through.

I would usually pair Parmesan chicken with store-bought french bread or my go to focaccia bread recipe, but I’ve been meaning to try this recipe from Our Best Bites for a while, and thought it would taste great with all that marinara. I was seriously right. Our Best Bites calls them Cheesy Garlic Bread Swirls, but Eric insisted that they were actually “Butter Bombs” and I thought it was funny, hence the title.

First, make the french bread dough by proofing the yeast. After doing so, add flour, salt, vegetable oil, and an egg yolk. Let rise for an hour. It rises really quickly. I made the dough during a break in my classes and let it rise during my hour and a half long class, and it was coming out of the bowl when I got back.

Roll the dough out onto a floured surface into a large rectangle. Make the garlic butter mixture by combining a stick of butter (don’t skimp on this!), garlic salt, and minced garlic. Spread this mixture all over the rolled out dough. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan and mozzarella, or any other cheeses of your choice.

Roll up the dough jelly roll style and cut into equal pieces (mine made 16).

Grease a muffin tin and place the pieces into the cups.

Turn your oven onto 350 degrees and let the rolls rise while it’s preheating. Cook for 20-25 minutes, or until nice and golden.

Amazing. As I said, my batch resulted in 16 “Butter Bombs” and by the next morning there was only one left. We did have some help from my roommate and her boyfriend, but not much 🙂

Parmesan Chicken

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts
1 cup flour
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup grated mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, mixed
1 1/2 cup marinara (or spaghetti) sauce

Directions
Combine the flour, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese in a large ziploc bag. Put the chicken breasts in the bag with the flour and shake until coated. Heat the olive oil in a skillet and brown the chicken on both sides. Turn the heat down to medium-low and evenly distribute the mozzarella/Parmesan mixture on the chicken until it gets melty. Pour the marinara on the chicken and cover. Let simmer for about 20 minutes.

Cheesy Garlic Bread Swirls (Or “Butter Bombs” as Eric calls them)
Modified from Our Best Bites

Ingredients

Dough:
1 Tbsp. yeast
1 1/2 c. warm water
1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
4-5 1/2 c. flour
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 egg yolk

Garlic Butter:
1 stick butter (softened)
1 1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp minced garlic

1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions
Combine yeast, water, and sugar in large mixing bowl and allow to stand 10 minutes or until bubbly. Add salt, vegetable oil, and egg yolk and combine. Add 3 cups flour and mix well until combined. Add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough that barely sticks to your finger. Knead, either by hand or in mixer for another 2-3 minutes. Cover and allow to rise 1 hour. While dough is rising, combine butter, minced garlic, and garlic salt. Set aside. Roll dough into a rectangle that’s about 18-20 inches by 6 inches. Smear garlic butter over the entire surface of the dough and then sprinkle with cheese. Roll up jelly-roll style and cut into equal pieces that will fit nicely into a muffin tin. Place each slice in a muffin tin. Cover with a clean cloth. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and allow rolls to rise while the oven is heating. When the oven is ready, bake for 20-25 minutes.