Dinner Archives - Page 2 of 2 - HOLLY'S CHEAT DAY

Copycat Carrabbas Dipping Oil

November 8, 2016 By Holly

Happy Happy Tuesday everybody!!! Sometimes it’s the simplest things that bring us the greatest pleasure, am I right? I feel like we all have those restaurants that have pretty decent food, BUT their dinner rolls, or freshly baked bread they bring out, are the real reasons that we go to these restaurants.

Obviously I absolutely looove all the delicious Italian food at Carrabbas, I don’t want y’all to think I don’t, but the oil and bread that they bring out to you the moment you sit down is just the cherry on top of that place. Like I said, it’s the simple stuff, because it doesn’t get much easier than an olive oil with extra herbs and Parmesan thrown in, but y’all it’s just so aromatic and fresh.

Honestly, every time I’ve been there I usually request to have the bread and oil to continue to come throughout the meal because it’s just that delicious. I’m not trying to pat myself on the back or anything, but I think I got the taste pretty darn close to the Carrabbas version in this recipe. Obviously please feel free to add or subtract whatever herbs you prefer in this, and definitely buy a great quality Italian or French bread to dip into this wonderfully flavorful oil. I hope you’re having a wonderful day and thank you so much for stopping by!!!

garlic to chop up…

then everything into your bowl…

mix, mix, mix and enjoy!!!

Copycat Carrabbas Dipping Oil

2016-11-06 13:51:06

Delicious and savory dipping oil, perfect for covering in bread.

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Ingredients

2 Garlic Cloves, Peeled and Finely Minced.
3/4 Cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
2 Tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar.
1/4 Cup of Parmesan Cheese (Or More To Taste), Shredded.
Pink Himalayan Salt or Sea Salt, To Taste.
Dried Rosemary, To Taste.
Dash of Chili Powder (Optional).
Dash of Dried Oregano.

Instructions

Peel and finely mince your garlic cloves, set aside.
In a small bowl, place the minced garlic, the oil, oregano, parmesan, rosemary, balsamic vinegar and chili powder.
Mix all ingredients together, serve and enjoy!

Notes

I liberally salted this dipping oil to get the taste I was going for.

HOLLY'S CHEAT DAY https://www.hollyscheatday.com/

Skillet Tater Tot Casserole

September 12, 2016 By Holly

Happy Happy Monday y’all!!! There are few food items in this world that I am a bit embarrassed to admit that I love to nosh on, but one of those items is tater tots. I don’t know why either, maybe because the word ‘tater’ is used, maybe because they seem like the bastard spawn of baked potatoes, honestly just not sure, but in my mind there is no denying their deliciousness.

I will also admit here today that I have been known to on many a cheat day, go through the drive-in at Sonic (yes I said drive-in, haha). I go to Sonic for one thing and one thing only, their cheese tots, nom, nom, and honestly I feel like such a hillbilly to even admit that, but oh well there it is for all to judge, haha.

Let’s be real though, sometimes I think some of us (definitely not me of course) just want to lounge around in yoga pants, glasses and our hair on top of our heads in a bun on the weekend and do nothing except enjoy food and fun, amaright? Well, luckily if you’re feeling a bit ~~hillbilly~~ hungry you too can enjoy some delicious, cheesy gooey tots baked to perfection in an iron skillet while still in the comfort of your ~~stretchy pants~~ own home.

These little guys baking up smelled absolutely delectable y’all, and no joke it was thrown together so quickly, the oven wasn’t even done pre-heating yet. These tots would make for a wonderful side dish or main dish, way too good to miss you guys 🙂 Have an awesome day and thank you so much for stopping by!!!

all the ingredients (except the tots) into your bowl…

all mixed together…

frozen tots in…

all mixed in and into your skillet…

bake, bake, bake and enjoy…

Skillet Tater Tot Casserole

2016-09-09 18:54:37

Delicious and easy savory dish made in an iron skillet.

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Ingredients

1 (2 Lb) Bag of Tater Tots, Frozen.
1 (16 Ounce) Container of Sour Cream.
1 (10.75 Ounce) Can of Cream of Chicken Soup.
1 (1 Ounce) Packet of Ranch Dressing Mix.
2 Cups of Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Shredded.
10" Iron Skillet.

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Take a stick of butter and rub it in the inside and up the sides of your iron skillet.
In a large bowl, place your sour cream, cream of chicken soup, ranch mix, shredded cheese and mix together until well combined.
Now add your frozen tater tots and mix them into your sour cream/ranch mixture until evenly covered and mixed in.
Now place your tater tot mixture into your skillet and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the tater tots have become golden brown and the cheese is bubbly.
Serve immediately and enjoy!!!

Notes

You can totally use a different kind of cheese or even add an extra protein like chicken or beef.

HOLLY'S CHEAT DAY https://www.hollyscheatday.com/

Crustless Fig Bacon Quiche

August 24, 2016 By Holly

Happy Wednesday everybody!!! This is definitely not the typical hump day treat that you would expect from me, but y’all, I’m in love with this quiche. Obviously, quiche is just a big giant omelette beautifully displayed in a pan, but I feel like this is so much more.

To me, what is so fun about quiche is that you can throw in any number or mix and match of ingredients, and it’s completely okay. If you love your veggies and cheese, throw that in, if you like your stuff a little more unique (like myself) then throw in whatever sounds best to you.

I recently had some goat cheese stuffed figs (a seasonal favorite) and they were absolutely fabulous, and it got me thinking about throwing those exact items into a quiche, because why not right?

I then thought the flavor might be amped up even more if some cooked turkey bacon and onions went in too, and y’all the results were absolutely fantastic. The tanginess of the goat cheese, the saltiness of the turkey bacon and then the subtle sweetness of the fig toppers is perfection. I hope you’re having a fantastic week so far and thank you so much for stopping by!

chop up your onion…

cut up bacon into your pan with the onion…

eggs, heavy, cream, salt, pepper and goat cheese into the bowl…

all mixed…

bacon and onions into your pan…

egg mixture onto your bacon/onion layer…

figs on top (you can put more if you like)…

and enjoy!!!

Crustless Fig Bacon Quiche

2016-08-23 10:40:27

Delicious and easy quiche filled with goat cheese, bacon and topped with slightly sweet figs.

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Ingredients

6 Eggs.
3/4 Cup of Heavy Cream.
4 Ounces of Goat Cheese, Room Temperature.
2 Figs, Sliced.
1/2 of a Medium Onion, Chopped.
4 Slices of Turkey Bacon.
Salt and Pepper to Taste.
8" Pie or Quiche Pan.

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Spray your pan liberally with non-stick spray and set aside.
Cut your bacon into smallish pieces and chop your onion.
Place your bacon and onion into a pan on medium heat and cook until bacon is almost fully cooked and onions are brown.
Evenly spread your cooked onions and bacon into the bottom of your pie/quiche pan and set aside.
Now in a medium bowl, place your eggs, heavy cream, goat cheese, salt and pepper and mix until smooth.
Pour your egg/cheese mixture on top of your onions/bacon layer.
Cut your figs and gently place them on top of quiche and bake for 25-28 minutes.
Let cool slightly and enjoy!

By Holly

HOLLY'S CHEAT DAY https://www.hollyscheatday.com/

Summer Southern Series: Skillet Fried Corn

August 10, 2016 By Holly

Happy Hump Day y’all!! Today I am bringing you guys another recipe in my Summer Southern Series, and I am so excited because this one is absolutely one of my personal favorites.

Corn on the cob is pretty much a staple around these parts in the summertime, and though I love me some corn on the cob, I love kicking up the delicious factor by throwing it in a skillet and frying it up! This is a recipe courtesy of my mom, who in my opinion has perfected this skillet fried corn.

Don’t let the word ‘frying’ freak you out either because there are no giant vats of oil or frying baskets that need be used for this. This is pretty darn easy and not to mention ding dang delicious. I feel like this skillet fried corn turns out to be the perfect mixture of sweet and creamy, but enough savory to put this over the top as an awesome side dish.

The hardest part of about this dish is just the waiting for it thicken up, but even then, this probably took me 20 minutes from beginning to end to cook. I hope you all are having a fantastic week so far and as always thank you so much for stopping by!

Alrighty, first things first, cut the kernels off of your cobs…

when you’re done with that, add your butter in your skillet to start melting…

now add your corn to your skillet…

cook that up a bit then add your water…

cook up a bit more, then add your cornstarch and then your cream…

cook some more and enjoy!!!

Summer Southern Series: Skillet Fried Corn

2016-08-09 09:10:51

Absolutely delicious corn fried to perfection in an iron skillet.

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Ingredients

6 Ears of Corn, Kernels Cut Off.
2/3 Cup of Water.
2 Teaspoons of Cornstarch.
1/4-2/3 Cup of Heavy Cream.
4-6 Tablespoons of Salted Butter.
Salt and Pepper To Taste.
1-2 Tablespoons of Sugar (Optional).
9" Iron Skillet.

Instructions

Cut the ends off of your corn, then hold them vertically on a large plate while you carefully cut the kernels off.
Now place your butter in the bottom of your skillet and place on low to medium heat, when the butter is completely melted, raise the temperature to medium/high heat.
Now add your corn kernels to your skillet, and if you feel the need to add sugar to your corn do so now, and cook your corn for about 1-2 minutes.
Now add in your water to the corn and continue to stir until it begins to slightly thicken and some of the water has evaporated.
Now add your cornstarch and cook for 1-2 minutes until it thickens more.
Now add the desired amount of heavy cream to thicken up the mixture even further.
At this point you can add more butter and add salt and pepper to taste, this is totally up to your preference, as well as how much longer you want to cook to reach desired thickness and creaminess.
Serve and enjoy!

Notes

The corn I used was so sweet I didn't need any sugar, and adding any is totally up to your preference.

HOLLY'S CHEAT DAY https://www.hollyscheatday.com/

Orzo Pasta Salad

May 23, 2016 By Holly

Happy Happy Monday y’all!!! I don’t know about you guys but I’m recovering from this past weekend big time. A really awesome long time friend was in town from Nola this past weekend, who is looking to move to the ATL, so obviously, you have to take your New Orleanian friend to bars.

So anyways, I know it’s a seemingly strange recipe for a cheat day, but I don’t get pasta except on cheat days, and this happens to be another fav of mine growing up that my mom would make during the summer.

Y’all this recipe is so easy, and every single piece of this salad is so fresh (hello basil & arugula) I literally can’t get enough of it. This can totally be used as a side dish or a main dish, which is always good when it comes to culinary indecision haha. Anyways, I’m going to go drink a gallon of water and eat some veggies or something and hope for the best haha. Have a wonderful day and thank you so much for stopping by.

Pasta into your pot…

nice and cooked…

pine nuts nice and toasted…

chop up your Arugula…

balsamic vinegar & olive oil…

pasta into the bowl…

arugula…

pine nuts…

fresh Basil…

tomatoes…

mix, mix, mix…

and enjoy!!!

Orzo Pasta Salad

2016-05-19 08:53:05

A delicious and fresh pasta salad filled with tomatoes, basil, arugula and orzo pasta.

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Ingredients

1 Cup (Measured Dry) Orzo Pasta, Cooked.
2.5 Tablespoons of Olive Oil.
2 Teaspoons of Balsamic Vinegar.
2 Large Tomatoes, Seeded & Diced.
2 Cups of Arugula, Coarsely Chopped.
1/4 Cup of Fresh Basil, Thinly Sliced.
1/4 Cup of Pine Nuts, Toasted (Brings Out the Flavor).
Pink Himalayan Salt (or Regular Salt) & Pepper to Taste.

Instructions

Cook and drain very well your orzo pasta, set aside.
Toast your pine nuts, just watch to make sure they don't burn, and set aside.
Chop up your Arugula, Basil and Tomatoes, set aside.
Now place your olive oil & balsamic vinegar in the bottom of your bowl.
Now add the rest of your ingredients on top of that, mix very well to make sure the dressing is covering everything, then liberally salt and pepper to taste, mix again and enjoy!!

Notes

You don't have to toast your pine nuts, but it brings out the flavor so much more.

HOLLY'S CHEAT DAY https://www.hollyscheatday.com/

Butternut Squash Soup

October 5, 2015 By Holly

Happy Monday y’all!! I honestly never thought I would be so excited to share a soup recipe, but here we are and I’m all excited to share a soup recipe, stranger things have happened 🙂 I feel like I’ve never actually had butternut squash soup before I made this one, but I have had butternut squash ravioli and drool y’all, so dang good.

Since it’s pretty much been non stop raining/misting/torrential downpours for forever here ~~OK, just for a week but I’m dramatic~~ and nothing says ‘stay in and eat delicious warm winter food’ like this kind of weather. Soo I went on the prowl for a wonderfully Fall-esque soup and I kept running into pumpkin soups, which honestly I’m not sure if I’m sold on.

I did however have the whole butternut squash ravioli pop into my head, and I thought maybe butternut squash soup would also be a wonderful comfort food. I do have to say when I started peeling the butternut squash I was initially concerned because for reals y’all, these squash smell, shall we say…earthy? After the soup was made and smelling amazing, I realized that the initial smell was nothing to be worried about because this soup is heavenly.

Full of spices and the delightful richness of the squash make this soup just incredible, and I would be less than honest if I didn’t admit that I ate waaay too much of it aka I was uncomfortably full, oh well, that’s what cheat days are for. Anyways, make this soup tonight y’all, it was a cinch to make and absolutely scrumptious. Have a wonderful start to your week!

peel your butternut squash…

chopped up…

onions & butter into the pot…

nice and sauteed…

spices into your pot…

now your chicken broth and squash…

nice and boiled, then add the half & half and stir in…

then hand blender into the soup…

nice and smooth…

then yummies!!!

Butternut Squash Soup

2015-09-29 10:48:46

An easy and delicious Fall soup.

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Ingredients

1 Whole Butternut Squash, Peeled & Chopped.
1 Whole Onion, Chopped.
1 Quart (32 Ounces) of Unsalted Chicken Stock.
1 Teaspoon of Ground Cinnamon.
1 Teaspoon of Pink Himalayan Salt or Table Salt.
1/2 Teaspoon of Ground Nutmeg.
2-4 Tablespoons of Butter.
3/4 Cup of Half & Half or Whole Milk.
Chopped Pecans For Garnish (Optional).

Instructions

Using a vegetable peeler, peel the entire butternut squash, then chop into medium sized pieces, removing any of the seeds you find, set aside.
Chop your onion, set aside.
In a large pot on medium high heat, place your butter and onion and sauté the onion until soft and browned.
Now add your cinnamon, nutmeg and salt to the onions and mix together.
Now add your chicken stock and butternut squash.
On a low boil, boil your butternut squash in the chicken stock until the squash is tender.
Once the squash is tender when you stick a fork in it, turn the heat off of your pot, then add the half and half and mix into the soup.
Now either using a handheld blender, a food processor or a regular blender puree your soup until smooth.
At this point I taste tested it and added a little bit more salt to it, but totally up to you.
Now serve hot with a garnish of chopped pecans if you wish.

Notes

You can choose to use salted chicken broth, but I use unsalted chicken broth because I like to control how salty it is.

HOLLY'S CHEAT DAY https://www.hollyscheatday.com/

Chicken and Waffle Sandwich

September 30, 2015 By Holly

I hope y’all don’t mind some serious Southern food, because that’s what I’m bringing y’all today. In my opinion, food doesn’t really get much more Southern than some good old skillet fried chicken. Not baked in an oven to make it healthy ~~boring!~~, but straight up battered and fried to perfection in a couple inches of oil, yum, yum, yum y’all.

Though waffles are not a Southern invention, throwing fried delicious foods on random stuff, i.e., donuts, waffles, etc. kind of is or at least I like to think so. Basically around these parts we like to think of the unhealthiest ways to enjoy food and we do that. Ever since I made my coconut waffles a few weeks ago, I’ve been on a major waffle kick on my cheat days, and you might have noticed in previous posts, I love me some salty and sweet together.

Y’all salty and sweet doesn’t get much better than this chicken and waffle sandwich, which I did in fact pour pancake syrup on before noshing #justkeepingitreal #noshame #innerchunkykidatwork. You will notice in the recipe section I used a waffle mix and you may be thinking ‘Holly, why didn’t you make homemade waffles like before?’ well, if we’re being honest, because I flat out just didn’t feel like making them from scratch, that’s why 🙂

Also, I totally shared my mom’s secret to really awesome fried chicken in the recipe section, which ironically she got from a nutritionist family friend when she was kid-don’t you just love Southerners?. Enjoy you guys!

To make the waffles…waffle mix…

warm water and butter…

all mixed up…

into the waffle maker…

waffle ready and looking all delicious…

time to let our chicken hang out in some buttermilk for a while…

time to get the oil nice and hot…

for your chicken batter, flour, salt & pepper into the bowl…

take your chicken and heavily cover in the flour mixture…

into the pan, nice and browned on one side…

(here’s the secret) right before you take your chicken out place some butter into the pan…

it’s really going to bubble up, so be careful…

and enjoy!!!

Chicken and Waffle Sandwich

2015-09-23 10:49:26

Fluffy waffles sandwich crispy delicious fried chicken to make an amazing sandwich.

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THE FRIED CHICKEN

4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts.
1 Cup of Buttermilk.
3 Cups of All-Purpose Flour.
2 Tablespoons of Himalayan Pink Salt or Kosher Sea Salt (Or to Taste)
1 Teaspoon of Pepper (Or to Taste).
1 LB (16 Ounces) of Vegetable Shortening or Coconut Oil.
2-4 Tablespoons of Unsalted Butter To Place In Pan Towards the End of Cooking (Optional).
12" Cast Iron Skillet.

THE WAFFLES

1 (16 Ounce) Box of Belgian Waffle Mix-I Used Classique Fair Brand.
2 1/2 Cups of Warm Water.
4 Tablespoons of Butter.
1 Belgian Waffle Maker.

FOR THE FRIED CHICKEN

In a bowl place your chicken into your buttermilk making sure to well coat the chicken with the buttermilk, cover your bowl and let it sit in the fridge for at least an hour (I did mine overnight).
Place your vegetable shortening or coconut oil into your skillet or pan turning the heat onto medium high to start to heat the oil.
In a separate bowl place your flour, salt and pepper and whisk briefly with a fork, set aside.
Once the oil is hot but not bubbling because that's too hot, heavily cover your chicken in your flour mixture then carefully place in your oil.
Let your chicken cook on each side about 5 minutes or until it's golden brown, and right before you take your chicken out place about 1 tablespoon of butter into the pan (this is the secret to good chicken btw) let it simmer and bubble for a bit then place the chicken on a plate with a couple of paper towels to soak up the extra grease, let cool.

FOR THE WAFFLES

Preheat your waffle maker.
In a large mixing bowl place your Belgian Waffle Mix, warm water and melted butter into your bowl and mix until well combined.
Place 3/4 cup of the batter into your waffle maker and cook for around 3-4 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through, continue until all waffles are made, there should be about 10 then enjoy with your chicken!

By Holly

HOLLY'S CHEAT DAY https://www.hollyscheatday.com/