Our Favorite, Easiest Roasted Chicken Legs and Thighs

My most simple, no fail, everyone loves, chicken recipe.







Clean and skin chicken pieces
Drizzle olive oil over chicken. 
Sprinkle a little dry Italian salad dressing blend (I used a half a packet here)
Sprinkle plain bread crumbs, about a cup. 
Cover and bake at 350° for 1hr 45min. Uncover and cook an additional 30 minutes until brown.

I'm Italian, so....Meatballs!

Basic, simple, and simply delicious! You can bake these in the oven at 375° for about 30 minutes until golden brown, but I prefer them fried. The key to a good meatball is to not over-mix. Mixing beef too much makes it stiff and you end up with a heavy meatball. 

Recipe:

In a large bowl 1lb ground beef 1/2C seasoned bread crumbs 1/2C grated cheese 1 egg 2 cloves garlic crushed 1T parsley 1t salt

Mix by hand just until combined. Over mixing beef makes it tough.
I use my handy dandy ice cream scoop to form into even sized balls.
One Pound of Beef typically yields 11 meatballs.

In a medium frying pan, put about 1/4 inch oil and fry over medium high heat, turning once when bottom is brown.

Drain on paper towel.
You can add to sauce and cook another hour, but I have trouble getting them in the pot!

Shrimp, Avocado and Black Bean Salad

My local grocery store has a really nice fish dept and they will steam and season shrimp you purchase free of charge! It's amazing! They have several seasonings to choose from and being close to the Eastern Shore of MD, Old Bay is a staple flavor here. I typically get shrimp with "Medium Heavy Old Bay" or "Heavy Garlic Butter" and they never dissappoint. So easy to go home and have them for a quick lunch or toss over pasta for simple dinner dish.

These are Old Bay shrimp chopped with tomato, avocado, lettuce, salsa, black beans, sour cream and fat free shredded cheddar for a simple, healthy, quick delicious lunch! 

Triple Chocolate Overload Cupcakes

I try to eat healthy. I really do. But I have true longing to eat all the things that we all know are terrible for you. Fast food burgers and candy bars. Whipped fancy coffee drinks loaded with sugar. My weakness is cake. And Chocolate. My God, if I suddenly developed an allergy to chocolate I would be both thankful and suicidal. It is what keeps my sane and fat at the same time. We all have something we crave. For some it's coffee, others pizza. For me it's chocolate, so I developed this recipe for my Triple Chocolate Overload Cupcakes for those moments where I need relief from everyday life and want to bask in the glory of the cacao tree.

Recipe:

Chocolate Cake

2C Flour
1C Cocoa powder
1t baking soda
1t baking powder
3 large eggs at room temperature
1C strong brewed coffee
2C sugar
3/4C oil or softened butter
2T vanilla
1 3.9oz pkg instant chocolate pudding mix

Chocolate Buttercream

1 sticks softened butter 
2C confectioners sugar
1/2C cocoa powder 
1-3T milk

Fudge Filling

1T butter
1/2C heavy cream
1/2C semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2C milk chocolate chips

Directions:


Heat oven to 350°
For cake:
Stir sugar into cup of coffee to dissolve. Set aside to cool.
In a bowl, mix flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and pudding mix. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl beat sugar and softened butter.
Add eggs and vanilla mix until smooth. 
Add mixed dry ingredients and coffee mixture slowly, about a half a cup at a time alternately. 
Blend well.
Using an ice cream scoop, scoop batter into approx 24 prepared cupcake liners. 
Bake in center of oven approx 15 minutes, until top is firm and bounces back when you touch it. 
Cool completely on a wire rack. 

Using the handle of a wooden spoon or a wine cork, press a hole into the center of the cupcake to prepare for filling.

Filling:

In a small sauce pan, heat heavy cream and butter until butter melts.
Do not boil.
Remove from stove and stir in chocolate chips until melted. 
It will thicken as it cools.
Once thickened, spoon into a zipper baggie and make a small cut at the corner.
Squeeze into each cupcake, about a half teaspoon.

Frosting:

In a mixing bowl, whip butter with an electric mixer until fluffy.
Slowly add confectioner's sugar and cocoa and whip until smooth.
Add milk 1T at a time until desired thickness is reached. 
Pipe onto cupcake and add desired decoration.

Cottage Pie Recipe

I think I have finally found my niche. I have created weight loss blogs and blogs about exercise and running and being fit and healthy and in real life,  my passion is for food. I have decided that I need a place to post what keeps me happy outside of my Facebook world food pages. I need a place to post recipes and make comments for myself and perhaps tweak things for next time, so, taking the name that I have used since the inception of my kitchen dabbling, thank you for visiting me. The Miserable Gourmet. Welcome and I hope you enjoy the food that my family enjoys and are tempted to try one of the many dishes that we love. Ok, on with it! 

The first dish I am posting is the last dish that I posted on the local community cooking page that I belong to. I made this last night, so the recipe is fresh in my mind. I tend to not follow traditional recipes and directions so when I find something we like, I have to write it down quickly so that I can try to duplicate it next time! This one is a simple, traditional comfort food that everyone loves. 

Cottage Pie

Cottage pie, often confused with Shepherd's pie is a dish made of ground beef, vegetables, mashed potatoes and comfort. It can be simple, or a little more upscale depending on your ingredients. This one was created with those crunchy onions that everyone in my family loves.

Recipe

2lbs lean ground beef
1 onion diced
1T garlic minced
1/2t salt
1/2t black pepper
1/2t onion powder
1/2t granulated garlic or garlic powder
1/4C ketchup
8oz can tomato sauce
1 knorrs beef bullion cube
1C water
1/4C Worcestershire sauce
1 12oz bag of frozen mixed vegetables
(I use carrots/peas or carrots/peas, corn and green beans)
4-6 cups prepared mashed potatoes, cooled
2C shredded cheese ( this one has cheddar and mozzarella blend) 
1C dried crispy onions


In a pan over medium heat, break up ground beef and move to the side of the pan.
Add onion and let beef and onion cook side by side about two minutes. 
Slowly stir meat and add in onions. 
Add garlic, salt and pepper and continue to cook, stirring occasionally  until meat is no longer pink.
Remove pan from stove and drain grease from meat. (I dump the meat into a colander and press it with a wooden spoon to remove most of the grease.)
Put the mean back in the pan, and return to the stove over low heat.
Add ketchup, tomato sauce, Worcestershire, broken up bullion and water. 
Simmer, covered about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
Once thickened, turn off heat, remove lid and allow to cool about 15 minutes.

In a large casserole dish, sprayed with cooking spray, layer the meat into the bottom evenly. 
Spread the mixed vegetables across the top of the meat creating a second layer.
I pipe the mashed potatoes and then spread them, but you can gently dollop them on top of the vegetables and then gently spread them across so you don't end up mashing everything together. 
Top with cheese and crispy onions and cover with foil.
Cook in a 350° for 30 minutes, cover and cook an additional 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted and onions are golden. 

Hope you enjoy!