Jerk It Out No. 1

So I decided to try my hand at Jerk Chicken, finally. Found a simple jerk mix at The Way to His Heart blog.

Note: par my usual, I did add garlic because you know I love my garlic!

Things I can do different next time:

1. Next time, I will let the marinade set for a good few hours and then probably pan seal then bake ... Or grill!

2. I might try adding a few other spices that I'm seeing on other recipes like ginger and maybe molasses. (Actually I'm stealing a mix my friend has and basing my next attempt on their ingredient list!)

3. Next time I bake, I'm going to throw a touch of water in the bottom of the pan so I have more "sauce" when I mix it all up.

All in all, I'm super happy with this flavor and the hot spice was just enough for me. I'm sure Dave could have used even more red pepper!

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Jerk Seasoning

1 tbsp. Thyme
1 tbsp. Minced Onion
1 tbsp. Minced Garlic
2 tsp. All Spice
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp. Black Pepper

1 tbsp. EVOO
2-3 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

Combine all the spices. Coat the chicken with the EVOO and pour the spices over them. Work the spices over the chicken with your hands until everything is coated. Cover and cook on 375 degrees for an hour.

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Pair with a slaw or, like I did, warm corn salad with matching spices. Yummmmmmy!


Challenge Friendly: YES. Pair with roasted veggies or brown rice with spicy flavors.

Basic Ground Meat Seasoning

I used to love my ground beef! And I can season a burger so it's yummy and flavorful. So what happens now that I use ground turkey or ground chicken?? I can STILL rock that flavor no problem ;)

This is my basic seasoning mix for ground meat specifically. I use other flavor combos for my fish, full chicken breast, etc.

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Basic Ground Meat Seasoning

Equal amounts of the following:

- Cumin
- Paprika
- Onion Powder
- Black Pepper
- Garlic
- Oregano

Just a dash of sea salt.

Optional: Red Pepper, Red Pepper Flakes, Chili Powder.

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I like my spices if you can't tell! But really, the biggest surprise to me over any other spice was Cumin. I had never had it before and now I don't know how in the world I never used it before. To me, Cumin IS hardy meat flavoring and totally makes my ground meat taste like meat in my opinion.

I will say: depending on what I'm putting the meat with, I do add spices accordingly. Like if I'm doing a "pasta" dish, then I throw in basil, too. Mexican? Definitely throw in the red pepper! It all depends on taste. "Sausage" gravy (totally not healthy)? Yeah, my ground turkey easily compares to the real thing!