Category: Food

Greek Chicken and Veggies Sheet Pan Dinner

My goal for the summer is to spend the least amount of time possible in the kitchen and the perfect way to accomplish that is to cook meals that require me not standing around the stove! Sheet pan dinners are perfect for this!

Now this meal did require some prep but you can cut down by not marinating the chicken ahead of time or preparing during a weekly meal prep. Let’s cook!

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of chicken (I used boneless, skinless chicken tenders and thighs to cut down on cooking time. If you use larger pieces or skin cook for an extra 20-25 minutes or until chicken reaches internal temperature of 165 degrees)
  • 1 cup Greek Vinaigrette (I used Ken’s)
  • 2-3 tablespoons of oregano
  • 2-3 tablespoons of garlic salt
  • 2-3 tablespoons of all purpose seasoning (I used Trader Joe’s 21 seasoning salute but Italian seasoning can work here as well)
  • 1/4 cup of olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
  • 8-10 cloves of garlic minced
  • 1/2 red onion finely chopped
  • 1 lemon
  • 1-2 cups zucchini sliced into coins
  • 1-2 cups yellow squash sliced into coins
  • 1-2 cups of yellow potatoes quartered

Directions:

Place chicken in bowl and add 1/3 of olive oil, 1/3 cup of Greek vinaigrette, 1/3 of minced garlic, 1/3 garlic salt, 1/3 oregano, 1/3 all purpose seasoning & 1/3 red onion. Add juice of 1/2 lemon. Add all of red wine vinegar. Mix until chicken is coated and set aside to marinate for at least one hour. When ready to cook, pre heat oven to 400. As a shortcut I pre-cooked my potatoes only in the microwave for 3 minutes so they would be fork tender. In another bowl add potatoes and 1/3 of Greek vinaigrette, oil, seasonings, garlic and red onion. Mix to coat and add to sheet pan sprayed with oil. Repeat with zucchini and squash in same bowl and then add to sheet pan. Add juice of the other half of the lemon over veggies. Cook in oven for 45-50 minutes or chicken reaches internal temp of 165 then (you may want to check and turn the chicken and veggies about 20 minutes into baking). Set oven on broil and broil for 5-8 minutes. I garnished with crumbled feta cheese, kalamata olives, and banana pepper rings. Then dinner is done!!!

The flavors of this meal were amazing and we all enjoyed it. It was even better the next day as leftovers. We will definitely add this to the rotation. Make sure you check out my reels on Instagram to see how I made this!

Love Ricki

Cajun Sausage Ravioli

Recently I was gifted some delicious sausage from a friend and I challenged myself to come up with a quick 30 minute meal using it. The sausage is Lord & Barrett Sausage Co. Creole Style Green Onion Smoked Sausage & I highly recommend because it was delicious and I’m personally not a big fan of smoked sausage. Let’s make the recipe!

Ingredients:

  • Smoked Sausage (sliced)
  • 1/2 medium onion chopped
  • 1/2 cup of peppers chopped (I used a combo of red, yellow and orange mini sweet bell peppers but you can certainly just use a green bell pepper)
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic minced
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
  • 2 packages of fresh ravioli – I only used one but you definitely need mor because not a lot come in the package
  • Seasonings- I used Cajun seasoning, garlic & onion powder
  • 1-2 tbsp of olive oil
  • 1-2 tbsp of butter
  • Chopped fresh or dried Basil (optional)

Directions: Prepare water to boil for pasta according to package. Heat skillet on medium heat and add a tablespoon of oil and sauté sausages until crispy or cooked though which took me about 5-8 minutes. Remove sausage and drain oil excellent for about a teaspoon. Add butter and cook onions, garlic & peppers until soft. Make sure once water boils to add ravioli and cook til al dente. Reserve a cup of pasta water in case you need to thin your sauce out later. Season lightly & then add heavy whipping cream to onions and peppers mixture. Let cook until simmering and then add sausage, cooked ravioli and Parmesan cheese. Taste for more seasoning and add if needed. Top with more cheese and Basil.

This recipe is delicious, quick, doesn’t require a lot of ingredients and easy to make. Perfect to get you in and out of the kitchen during the summertime! I also made a video to show how I made this on Instagram. Follow me @severalpeoplesmama Let me know if this is something you or your family would enjoy!

Love Ricki

Shrimp and Grits

Easter Brunch has been a tradition I started for my family a few years ago. Because Easter is my favorite holiday I have a special dish I prepare usually only at this time of year: Shrimp and Grits. This dish is so good and so easy to make! If you’re invited to my house for brunch you better get there early or you WILL miss out! Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 1 small to medium onion finely diced
  • 1-2 peppers diced, you can use all one color or a combination I used green and red
  • 1-2 tbsp of minced garlic (I used a paste found at Aldi)
  • 4 slices of bacon diced
  • 2 pounds fresh raw shrimp, peeled & deveined
  • 1-2 tbsp of olive oil
  • 2-3 tbsp of butter
  • 2-3 tbsp of flour
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 2-3 tbsp tomato paste
  • Seasonings: Tony’s creole seasoning, pepper, cayenne (optional), garlic and onion powder, Italian seasoning & old bay

Directions: Season shrimp. Add bacon to sauté pan on medium heat. Cook bacon til crispy, remove from pan to paper towel. Reserve about 1-2 tbsp of bacon grease. Turn heat of to medium high and add seasoned shrimp. Cook about 1-2 minutes on each side until pink. Remove to paper towel with bacon. Add tbsp of olive oil and 1 tbsp of butter then onions and peppers. Sauté til soft. Add garlic and cook for and additional minute. Add another 2 tbsp of olive oil and then flour. Cook for 3-5 minutes, you do not want raw flour! After flour has been absorbed in the veggies, slowly whisk in chicken broth. A gravy should start forming. You can add more chicken broth or water depending on how thick you want your gravy. Stir tomato paste and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes and then add back in shrimp and bacon. Turn heat to medium low. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes and I taste for seasoning. I add another tbsp of butter to make my gravy creamy and smooth. Serve over grits (see my reels on Instagram for how I make my grits). Enjoy!

This recipe goes fast and is best served immediately so make sure you have your grits ready. If you do create this recipe please be sure to tag me @severalpeoplesmama. I’d love to see it and share!

Love Ricki

Spring Brunch Cocktails

Hi y’all! Yesterday I hosted a live on my Instagram where I shared my favorite drink Prosecco and 3 cocktails I enjoy making with it. I promised I would post the recipes on my blog today so you can have a reference point. I want to say I had so much fun on the live and maybe got a little tipsy too and I look forward to more lives and sharing more recipes and some girl chat with y’all in the future!

Here are the recipes!

Sunrise and Moonlight Mimosa

Ingredients:

  • Prosecco (my favorite is LaMarca)
  • Strawberry and blueberry syrup (see this post for the recipe)
  • Orange juice
  • Pineapple juice
  • Fresh or frozen fruit

Directions:

In a champagne flute add fruit and then pour orange juice & pineapple juice. Top with Prosecco or champagne. Add strawberry syrup for a sunrise mimosa and blueberry syrup for a moonlight mimosa. Enjoy!

Peach Bellini

Ingredients:

  • Prosecco
  • 1-2 cups frozen peaches
  • 1 cup of ice
  • Peach nectar or simple syrup
  • 1-2 tbsp Strawberry syrup (optional)

Directions:

In a blender add peaches, ice, peach nectar, simple syrup (or sugar, if you want this sweet) & strawberry syrup. Blend until a slushy consistency. Add to a champagne flute and top with Prosecco. Enjoy!

French 75

Ingredients:

  • 2 ounces of your favorite Gin
  • 1 oz of fish lemon juice or more if you’d like
  • 1 oz of simple syrup (add more if you’d like it sweeter)
  • 1 cup of ice
  • Prosecco
  • Lemon peel or twist for garnish

Directions:

In a shaker add lemon juice, gin, ice and simple syrup. Shake until blended and add to champagne flute. Top with Prosecco and lemon peel or twist. Enjoy! Note: this is my new favorite drink but be careful, that gin will make you sin! Lol

I hope you enjoy these drinks in the future either at a brunch or happy hour or to unwind after a long day. If you do recreate them please tag me on Instagram @severalpeoplesmama

Love Ricki

Chaffles: My New Obsession

Blueberry Bacon Chaffles

Hi y’all I know it’s been a minute (or 5) since I’ve posted a recipe on the blog but to be honest between working from home, my grazing box business, mommin’ and my social life I’ve been busy!!! Plus if you following me on Instagram (make sure you are @severalpeoplesmama) you know I’ve been posting recipe reels a lot lately because their quick and easy and everyone’s loves a video. But my goal is to post more on the blog so you will have a reference point so I thought I would share the basic foundation recipe for my new obsession- the chaffle! The chaffle is a low carb/keto friendly version of a waffle which can be made to be sweet or savory & while searching Pinterest I have found several recipes that I will try and share but first we need to get to the basic recipe.

All you need for a basic chaffle is a mini waffle maker (you probably could use a regular size one too but these are too fun!) and the ingredients below:

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 2 tbs of almond flour (you can also use coconut flour but those are preferred in sweeter versions)
  • 2 eggs

Add what you like, mix the ingredients together, spray your waffle maker and pour in & cook for about 3-5 minutes.

And that’s it! That makes about 4 mini waffles. The fun part is adding different ingredients and making all the versions!

Today on Instagram I’ll be making a Blueberry Bacon chaffle which would be a perfect low car/keto option to add to your Easter Brunch! Make sure you go there to check out my reels and subscribe to the blog for upcoming versions and so many other recipes coming up!!

Love Ricki