In the Kitchen With Josh Fortney

 in Favorite Recipes by

These recipes were contributed by Josh Fortney, a Burleson resident, and originally appeared in the Burleson  July 2016 issue.

Hidden Veggie Pizza Bake

  • 1 large spaghetti squash  
  • 1 lb. Italian sausage or venison 
  • 1/2 onion, chopped 
  • 1/2 bell pepper, chopped 
  • 1 tsp. dried basil or premixed Italian seasoning
  • 8 oz. pizza sauce or tomato sauce 
  • 3 eggs
  1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Cut spaghetti squash in half, lengthwise. Bake cut side down for 20-25 minutes.
  2. Brown meat over medium heat; mix in veggies, seasoning and tomato sauce. 
  3. Scoop from squash its seeds and threads, and discard them.
  4. Lower oven temperature to 350 F. Fork out the spaghetti from squash into a 9×9-inch pan, or a 13×9-inch pan for a thinner bake.
  5. Stir the meat/veggie/sauce mix into the pan, as well.
  6. Whisk together the 3 eggs and stir into the baking dish until ingredients are well-coated and egg is no longer visible.
  7. Bake for 45 minutes, until top feels firm. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

 

Wet Hot American Chicken Kebobs

  • 1.5 lbs. chicken breasts or thighs
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1 green bell pepper
  • 1 yellow squash
  • 1 zucchini squash
  • 1/2 cup Franks Red Hot sauce
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup Season-All Seasoning Salt or 1 Tbsp. each salt and pepper
  1. Cut all meat and vegetables about 1-inch thick and set aside.
  2. Mix together remaining ingredients to create marinade; pour half of marinade into two Ziploc bags.
  3. Add chicken to 1/2 of the marinade mix and marinate in the refrigerator for an hour, or overnight. Place vegetables in other half of marinade for an hour or less.
  4. Thread meat and vegetables on skewers. Note: Wooden skewers should be soaked in water for a few minutes to prevent burning.
  5. Save the marinade from vegetables for later. Discard leftover meat marinade immediately.
  6. Place kabobs on grill over medium heat. Rotate a quarter turn every 2 minutes until meat is cooked through, roughly 10 minutes.   
  7. Place on serving plate and drizzle leftover vegetable marinade on skewers. Enjoy with corn on the cob or baked beans.

 

Grilled Corn on the Cob

  • 1 jalapeño pepper
  • 6-8 ears corn, shucked 
  • 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter or ghee
  • 1 lime
  • 2 tsp. honey
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  1. Preheat grill to a medium temperature.
  2. Place the jalapeño on the grill for 10 minutes, turning every couple of minutes. Remove from grill and let cool.
  3. Place ears of corn on the grill, turning every few minutes until lightly charred.
  4. While corn cooks, peel jalapeño and discard seeds; dice. Stir jalapeño into butter with a squeeze of lime juice, 1/2 tsp. grated lime peel, honey and salt.
  5. Once corn is charred, place on serving plate and cover with the jalapeño-butter mix.

 

Red, White and Blue Dump Cake

  • 1 15-oz. can strawberry pie filling
  • 1 cup frozen blueberries
  • 1 16.5-oz. box white or yellow cake mix
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1 11-oz. tub whipped topping
  • 1 cup strawberries, halved
  • 1 cup fresh/thawed blueberries
  1. Preheat oven to 325 F.
  2. Layer first 4 ingredients in a 13×9-inch pan in order listed above. Be sure to pour the butter evenly over the top (melt extra butter if 1/2 cup doesn’t cover it).
  3. Bake for 45 minutes or until top is golden brown.
  4. Let cake cool for 5 minutes. Cover with whipped topping, strawberries and blueberries. Best served warm.