Jack Daniels Glaze

Last week I had an impromptu lunch with a good friend of ours who loves TGIFridays’ Sesame Jack™ Chicken Strips appetizer.  Have you tried them!? What’s not to love – deep fried, crispy chicken tenders covered in a sweet Jack Daniels glazed sauce.  He mentioned to me how he had recently picked up a bottle of sauce similar to that at Fridays, which is when I remembered coming across a recipe on Pinterest!  Since we had no plans for the weekend, we invited him over to see just how accurate this recipe was.

Jackpot!

This sauce, sweet and sticky, with just a hint of Jack, was perfect on some baked-not-fried chicken tenders.  And what’s best – even my 8-year-old-picky-neighbor liked both the chicken AND the sauce!

Good on chicken tenders, we have all decided this sauce would be amazing atop anything on the grill… or just with a spoon.  A definite keeper.

Jack Daniels Glaze

Jack Daniels Glazed Chicken Tenders

What You Need:

• 1 head of garlic, roasted (instructions below)
• 2/3 c water
• 1 c pineapple juice
• 1/4 c soy sauce
• 1 1/3 c brown sugar
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• ½ tbsp dried onion
• 1 tbsp Jack Daniels Whiskey 
• 1 tbsp crushed pineapple
• 1/2 tsp minced ginger
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes

How You Do It:

1. To roast the garlic, cut the top off of a head of garlic so the ends of the cloves are exposed. Peel off any excess layers of the papery skin. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and loosely wrap with aluminum foil. Place on a baking sheet and roast at 350 degrees for about 45-50 minutes, or until the cloves appear golden brown.
2. In a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat, combine water, pineapple juice, soy sauce, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer.
3. Squeeze out the roasted garlic and whisk in to the simmering liquid, discard the papery skin. Add the lemon juice, onion, whiskey, pineapple, ginger, and red pepper flakes, and stir to combine.
4. Continue to simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally, or until the liquid has reduced by half and is thick and syrupy.
5. Thicken, if desired, by making a slurry and adding to sauce.

Jack Daniels Glaze recipe adapted from SunnySideUp.com.

Raw Veggie Pizza

While the husband was off gallivanting with a couple of his basketball players at a Women and Sports seminar, I hopped in the kitchen to whip together an appetizer to bring with us to dinner tonight.

If you know me at all, you know deciding on what to bring to someone's house is almost as agonizing as deciding what to serve guests (and even my husband, for that matter) for dinner. So for the past two weeks I've been thinking about this, combing Pinterest, sorting through my piles, yes piles, of recipes, and of course consulting my mom. Finally yesterday it hit me - my girlfriend from the ol' days at Polaroid used to make the most delicious cold veggie pizza. Biscuit crust, cream cheese + sour cream + ranch, veggies - done and done.

I consulted the master and this afternoon got to work...

Raw Veggie Pizza

Raw Veggie Pizza

What You Need:

• 2 cans Pillsbury Seamless Crescent Sheets
• 1 package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 c sour cream
• 1/2 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Dip Mix
• Raw veggies (I used shredded carrots, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, & broccoli)

How You Do It:

1. Unroll both crescent sheets onto 10x15x1 baking tray, blending the seams in the middle and pushing the dough up the edges to form a crust.
2. Bake at 375* for 17 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool at least 30 minutes.
3. Once the crust is cool, using a stand mixer, coming cream cheese, sour cream, and ranch mix. Spread evenly over crust.
4. Top with veggies. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Raw Veggie Pizza recipe adapted from Pillsbury.com & TGalv.