Ginger Chicken Recipe

Ginger Chicken Hindquarters with Brown Rice

I love marinating meat overnight, it makes the next day's dinner so simple. This marinade was very easy to whip up and delicious on the baked chicken hindquarters. I think when the weather gets nice it will be even better on the grill, can't wait!

The marinade and cooked off chicken juice combination was so good that I couldn't let the leftover sauce go to waste, so I poured it over my brown rice....INCREDIBLE!

Ingredients:

1 Cup Honey
3/4 Cup Soy Sauce
1/4 Cup Minced Garlic
1/4 Cup Ground Ginger
4 Chicken Hindquarters

Directions:

Place chicken hindquarters skin down in a baking dish. Cook honey, soy sauce, garlic and ginger in a sauce pan over low heat until the honey is melted and pour over the chicken.

Cover with foil and marinate overnight in the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and bake for 30 minutes (with foil on). After 30 minutes, uncover, flip chicken over to the skin side up and spoon sauce over the top. Raise the temperature of the over to 375 degrees F and bake for 30 more minutes. Serve with brown rice.

ENJOY!!!

Applesauce Brownie Recipe

Grandma Heikens' Applesauce Brownie Recipe

Brownie Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup Butter (or Margarine)
2 Tablespoon Cocoa
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
2 Cup Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon
2 Cup Applesauce

Topping Ingredients: 

2 Tablespoons Sugar
1 Cup Chocolate Chips
1 Cup Chopped Walnuts

Directions:

Combine sugar, eggs, butter, cocoa and salt, beat throughly. Sift (see below) baking soda, flour and cinnamon. Add flour mixture alternately with applesauce to the cocoa mixture. Spread on jellyroll pan (see below). Sprinkle topping mixture over and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Sifting, is it necessary? No, it is not. If you do not own a sifter, no worries you can still make the above recipe by stirring the flour mixture thoroughly. However, many baked recipes call for a sifter so if you are planning to bake often you may want to purchase one. They are fairly inexpensive and range from $6 to $30. Sifting helps to break up the clumps that often form over time, especially if you live in a region that has humid weather (that's us Iowa). Breaking up the clumps helps to evenly mix together the ingredients, increasing the flavor and holding the shape after it has been baked.

Jellyroll pan, if you are unsure what that is, it looks like a flat cookie sheet but with sides approximately an inch tall. You can also pour the brownie mixture into standard cupcake pans to create individual round brownies as shown in the above picture. I filled two standard cupcake pans, making two dozen individual brownies. Make sure to grease the pans.

I also skipped the walnuts, as I am not a big walnut fan and used mini chocolate chips.

Thank you Grandma Heikens for sharing this recipe! You can find Grandma Heikens in the Ackley catering kitchen, whipping up lots of delicious taste of home recipes and ready to take your catering orders. You can call her Grandma Heikens, but she also goes by the name Norma. 

Try It Before You Make It: Featured Recipe

Who Needs A Bun Series: Cheesy Bratwurst Soup

Ingredients:
3 Large Potatoes, cubed
2 Cup of Frozen Green Beans, cooked and drained (Can substitute with 15oz can of green beans, drained)
1 Small Onion, chopped
1 Cup Cheddar and American Cheese Mix (Kraft has this cheese mix, but you can just use one of the cheeses)
1 Cup Water
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 Package of Fresh Mushroom, Wild Rice & Swiss Bratwursts, cut into half inch slices (From Triple T Specialty Meats, 401 Sherman Avenue, Ackley Iowa or visit www.tripletmeats.com)

Directions:
Combine bratwursts, potatoes, green beans, onion, cheese, water and mushroom soup into a large pot. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for approximately 60 minutes or until bratwursts and potatoes are cooked through.

ENJOY!!!

If you live in the Ackley area you can try this recipe before you make it by ordering our Wednesday lunch special. Stop in or place you order by phone at 641-847-0031.                                                                        
If you don't live in the Ackley area, but want to make it at home, give it a whirl! It is best with Triple T's Mushroom, Wild Rice & Swiss Bratwursts, but you can substitute it with another cheese bratwurst. Or we can ship our bratwursts directly to your door. Call 1866-TTT-MEAT (888-6326) for more information.

Who Needs A Bun Series: Creamy Bratwurst Stew Recipe

I love quick and easy recipes just as much as the next fast paced person, but I also believe in the saying, "Good things take time." That is certainly true with this recipe. It is not difficult, but the preparation work is very time consuming. However, its creamy yumminess is well worth the work, another great addition to our Who Needs A Bun series.

Creamy Bratwurst Stew

Yummy, Creamy Bratwurst Stew. I added shredded cheese on top (Of course!)

Ingredients:
4 Medium Potatoes, cut into 1" chunks
18 Baby Carrots, cut into 1/2" chunks
4 Celery Ribs, cut into 1" chunks
1/2 White Onion, chopped

Triple T Specialty Meats' Green Pepper & Onion
with Pepper Cheese Fresh Bratwursts

1 Green Pepper, cut into 1" chunks
1/2 cup Chicken Broth
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Dried Basil
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
2 cups Half-and-Half Cream
3 tablespoons Cornstarch
1 tablespoon Cold Water
2 lbs Fresh Bratwurst (I used one package of Green Pepper & Onion with Pepper Cheese and one package of Garlic & Onion Fresh Bratwursts from Triple T Specialty Meats, www.tripletmeats.com)


Directions:
In a 5 quart crock pot, combine the potatoes, celery, onion, green pepper and fresh bratwurst sliced in 1" chunks. In a separate bowl, mix the chicken broth, salt, basil and pepper. Pour over the top of the crock pot contents. Cover and slow cook on low for 7 hours. After 7 hours is up, stir the Half-and-Half into the crock pot mixture. In a bowl, combine corn starch and water. If it is too thick, continue to add more water until the mixture is smooth, then stir into the crock pot. Recover the crock pot and cook on high for 30 minutes. The mixture should be creamy as shown below.

ENJOY!!!

Easy Parmesan Chicken Recipe

How many times have you prepared chicken breasts and felt like the flavor was great, but the meat was too dry? There is a solution...use dark meat chicken. I know you have heard advertisements tell you that 100% all white meat is better. Well, I am here to tell you that the below recipe using chicken hindquarters was absolutely delicious! The flavor was far superior than any chicken breast that I have ever prepared because it was so moist. 


Now lets get back to those advertisers saying that 100% white meat is better, how true is that really? After comparing nutritional values of both chicken breasts and chicken legs using the United States Department of Agriculture's website nutrition tools, I noticed that the leg's saturated fat is .20g higher per 100 grams and 40mg higher in cholesterol than the breast meat. However, the leg's nutrition has significantly higher levels of Iron, Zinc, Thiamin, Riboflavin and Vitamin B-12 than the breast. Thus the fat content of dark meat is justifiable by its flavor, moisture and nutritional benefits. 


Parmesan Chicken Hindquarters

Ingredients:

1/2 cup fine dried seasoned bread crumbs

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 tbsp. dried parsley flakes

1/4 tsp. garlic salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/4 cup Three Cheese Italian dressing

4 chicken hindquarters (On sale at Triple T Specialty Meats, located at 401 Sherman Avenue, Ackley IA 50601)

Directions:

Combine the dry ingredients. Coat the chicken in the Italian dressing, then dip into the dry mixture. Place the chicken pieces, bone side down onto greased baking sheet. Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. 

Enjoy!