Check out this easy recipe for cooking a whole chicken in a pressure cooker. The pressure cooker is a great tool for cooking tough cuts of meat, dry beans and vegetables using increased pressure and temperatures. You can cook a whole chicken in 20 minutes, a beef stew in 15 and dry beans in 2 hours instead of hours of simmering. If you don't have a pressure cooker, you can use the one pot method to cook your chicken until it falls off the bone.

This recipe is a classic French preparation, using salt and pepper, aromatic veggies called a mire poix (onion, celery and carrots) and wine to flavor the chicken. This sounds very fancy, but is very simple and can be changed to meet your taste.

Now Get Crackin'!

Chef Egg

Chicken in Pressure Cooker

Pre heat the pressure cooker over medium heat. Season the chicken with salt, pepper and herbs. Add the oil to the pot, when it starts to smoke place the chicken in the pot and brown on all sides. Add the onion, celery, carrots, bay leaf and wine to the pot, squeeze the lemon over the chicken and add the rinds to the pot. Cover the pressure cooker with the lid, bring to a boil and then simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Let the pressure cooker release the pressure slowly and then remove the lid when safe. Remove the chicken from the pot and serve with the vegetables and juices.

One Pot Method

Pre heat a large pot over medium heat. Season the chicken with salt, pepper and herbs. Add the oil to the pot, when it starts to smoke place the chicken in the pot and brown on all sides. Add the onion, celery, carrots, bay leaf and wine to the pot, squeeze the lemon over the chicken and add the rinds to the pot. Cover the pot with a lid and place in a 325 F oven for one hour. Remove the pot from the oven and let sit for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the chicken from the pot and serve with the vegetables and juices.

Chicken wings are one of my all time favorite foods. The problem is that I don't like to fry food in my house. Besides being extremely dangerous and unhealthy, it opens up the door to frying just about anything ie. fries, tots, snickers, Oreos, ice cream, Twinkies, eggrolls, a boot, you get the picture.

Try this recipe for baked wings and get the same crispy results you would at a restaurant without all of the oil. If you don't like Buffalo sauce, toss your wings with teriyaki, curry, BBQ, and adobo sauces. You can also give dry seasonings a go like Old Bay, Ranch, Jamaican Jerk and Italian.

Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings

Pre heat the oven to 450 F. Place the chicken wing into a bowl and toss with oil, salt and pepper to coat well. Arrange the wings on a baking sheet and bake for 30 - 40 minutes or until golden brown. Prepare the buffalo sauce by placing the hot sauce, butter, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce into a pan and simmering over medium heat and reducing by half. When the wings are done, add them to the pan and toss to coat well.

Chicken with White Wine

Season the chicken breast with salt pepper and herbs then dredge lightly in flour. Place the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Lightly brown the chicken on both sides and remove from the pan. Add the shallots and capers to the pan sauté until soft. Deglaze the pan with white wine, place the chicken back into the pan and cook for 2 minutes. Finish the sauce with a tablespoon of butter, add the tomatoes and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Easy Taco Soup

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Place a large pot over medium heat, add the oil to the pot and brown the chicken well. Add the onions and rice and stir for 3 minutes. Add the next 6 ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes. While that is cooking, place the radish, onion, lime and cilantro into a bowl and stir to combine. To prepare the crispy tortillas, place a skillet over medium heat, add the oil and fry the tortillas until golden brown and sprinkle with salt to season. Serve the soup in a large bowl and top with the radish salsa and fried tortilla chips.

The Worlds Best BBQ Dry Rub

This is a recipe for a fantastic dry rub that I have been using for the past couple of years. It is unbelievably tasty on chicken, beef, pork, lamb, seafood and veggies. This rub is so awesome, it actually taste like a BBQ potato chip.

It starts of with a simple sweet and salty combo of brown sugar and kosher salt. Then it gets bold flavor from Jamaican allspice and cumin. Next, paprika adds a smoky sweet flavor and deep crimson color. The addition of garlic, mustard, oregano and black pepper round out the flavor spectrum to give you classic BBQ flavor.

I like to make large batches of this rub to store for the whole grilling season (which goes all year for me) and to share friends. This rub can be used by itself to give you a great flavorful crust on your grilled foods. It can also be topped with sauces at the end of cooking to create a dry rubbed/saucy combo that cannot be beat!

Classic BBQ Dry Rub

• 2Tbs Brown Sugar
• 2Tbs Kosher Salt
• 1Tbs Allspice
• 2Tbs Smoked Paprika
• 2Tbs Garlic Powder
• 1tsp Cumin
• 1Tbs Oregano
• 1tsp Dry Mustard
• 1Tbs Ground Black Pepper

Combine ingredients in a small bowl and seal in an airtight container to keep fresh

Chef Egg's Top 5 BBQ Tips

I love BBQ, next to Tacos it is my all time favorite food. BBQ is an American staple with influences from all over the world. From Brazillian churrasco, slowly roasted Thai suckling pig and Middle Eastern kabob to the many regional styles in the states, BBQ is one of the greatest and most delicious culinary feats ever!

Roasting, smoking and slow cooking cuts of meat over long periods of time comes from our ancestors need to utilize tough inexpensive cuts to feed large families. This cooking process leaves you with the most tender and mouth watering meats dishes.

Follow these simple tips below to make sure your grilling experience is easy, fun and successful.

1. Clean your grill well before cooking to reduce carbon build up, sticking foods and to get great grill marks. Start with a wire brush or a ball of tin foil. Next, heat the grill; clean the hot grates with a wet rag and tongs. When the grill is clean and hot, rub the grates with oil to season.

2. Do not marinade meats in marinades and sauces with sugar. This will cause the sugars to burn on the meat before it cooks through. Cook meats thoroughly before slathering with BBQ sauce. Once the sauce is on then you can char it over high heat before serving.

3. Start thick cuts of meat over medium/ high heat to create a seared crust that seals in flavor and juices. Once the crust has formed, place the cut of meat over medium low heat to cook through.

4. You can use the grill to cook fruits and vegetables. Keep these foods in large pieces when you place them on the grill so they don't fall through. Skinny veggies like asparagus and carrots can be placed across the grates to prevent them from falling though to the fire below.

5. KISS – Keep It Simple Stoopid! There are a million sauces, seasonings and marinades on the market and they will all give you vastly different results. Remember to keep it simple! A little olive oil, kosher salt, pepper and lemon will take you a long way with most grilled foods. This classic combination tastes great on grilled fish, seafood, meats, veggies, fruit and even baked good.

*Remember to be safe when grilling. Keep the grill set away from the house, awnings or anything that can catch fire. Most importantly, keep all kids, pets and drunk people away from hot grills when you are cooking a coolling the grill.

Now Get Crackin'! Chef Egg

Have you ever wondered how restaurant cooks your burger, steak, seafood and chicken so perfectly? The food is always so crispy on the outside and perfectly cooked in the middle but when home the results never turn out the same. The big secret is called "searing". This is when you brown the food in a pan over high heat until it is golden brown sealing in the juices and creating a browned and crunchy crust on the outside.

The steps below are going to be your guide as you sear a basic chicken breast. Once you learn the steps you can sear fish filets, scallops, shrimp, steaks, chops and vegetables. Remember that if you have large piece of meat or fish you can sear the outside and then throw it in a hot oven to finish cooking. This works great with a large pork or beef roast, a whole chicken or fish.

Follow the steps below and start to cook like the pro's today.

1. Heat it Up!

Pre heat a skillet over medium heat. This level of heat is perfect for getting crisp brown exterior on your chicken while cooking the inside so it's juicy.

2. Dry It Out!

Next you have to dry the chicken breast well with a paper towel. If the chicken is wet it will never brown the right way.

3. Pound it Flat!

After you dry the chicken, you have to pound it flat so it cooks evenly. You can take the chicken, wrap it in plastic and pound it flat (about ½ inch thick) with a heavy mallet, bottle of wine or oil. If the breast is really big, you can slice it into smaller pieces and then pound it.

4. Spice it up!

Season the chicken with kosher salt and pepper. This will give the chicken a crisp crust on the outside. You can also season the breast with dried spices and herbs. Be careful using wet marinades or sweet sauces because they will burn in the pan while cooking.

5. Smoke it Out!

Place a table spoon of oil in the pan and wait until it starts to smoke. This is the sign that your pan is ready to use. If the oil doesn't smoke the chicken will never brown.

6. Let it Breath!

Place chicken in the pan and make sure you leave space between the pieces. This will allow the moisture steam escape from the pan and give you a crispy juicy chicken breast. If you crowd the pan, the moisture from the chicken will build up and start to steam the breast leaving it gray and gross.

7. Relax!

After the chicken is in the pan, do not touch it, for real! Let the breast cook for 5 minutes on one side and then flip it over to brown for another 5 minutes. If you start moving the chicken around you won't get a crispy outside and perfectly cooked inside. When the chicken is cooked through, take it out of the pan, pop it on a plate, wrap it with foil and let it rest for 5 minutes. This will keep the chicken juicy as you slice it up.

Check out the recipes below for a really tasty, healthy and easy dinner!

Tomato and Avocado Salad

3 Tomatoes, Diced

2 Avocados, Diced

1 Cucumber, Diced

2 Garlic Cloves, Minced

¼ C Fresh Basil, Chopped (Sub 1T Dried Italian Herbs)

3T Balsamic Vinaigrette (Sub Italian Dressing)

Place all of the ingredients into a bowl and toss together.

Garlic Bread

8 Bread Slices

2T Melted Butter or Olive Oil

2T Parmesan Cheese

1T Dried Herbs

2t Garlic Powder

Pre heat the oven to 400 F. Place he bread on a baking sheet, drizzle with the butter and sprinkle the garlic powder, cheese then herbs. Season he bread with a little salt and fresh pepper. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Chef Egg's Chunky Chicken Chili

One of my favorite things to make is chili. There are so many concoctions and combinations you can make that it will make your head spin. There are regional specialties with beans, no beans, ground meat, chunky meat, some are red or green, spicy, sweet, smoky; hell some chili recipes even have coffee and chocolate. The possibilities are endless. All I know is that chili can be a healthy and filling meal that can be made fresh with anything you have in the house.

This is a great recipe for chicken chili that uses brown chicken breast and is flavored with homemade chili seasoning, red bell pepper, canned chilies and corn. Remember that you can add anything you like to this recipe. You can switch up the beans, types vegetables and even use ground chicken and turkey. If you like boost the flavor of this recipe by using the dark meat from the chicken. Just brown thighs and legs and simmer them with the bone on the chili. When the meat is tender, remove the bones and enjoy.

Enjoy this chili with rice, corn bread or tortilla chips and don't forget to garnish with a squeeze of lime and fresh chopped cilantro. Now get crackin'! Chef Egg

2 T Oil

1.5# Chicken Breast, Diced into small chunks

3-4 T Homemade Chili Spice

1 Onion, Chopped

3 Garlic Cloves, Chopped

1 Red Bell Pepper, Chopped

4 oz Canned Jalapeno, Chopped

12 oz Corn

3 cans White Beans and Garbanzo Beans, Drained and Rinsed

1 can Cream of Chicken Soup

2-3 C Low Sodium Chicken Stock

2 Lime, Juiced

1/3 C Cilantro Chopped

Pre heat a large pot over medium heat (don't go any higher, you will burn the spices). Season the chicken with 1 tablespoon of the seasoning, add the oil to the pot ad when it starts to smoke brown the chicken and remove. Add the next 3 ingredients to the pot and sauté until soft. Add the next 6 ingredients, stir, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Season the chili with more spices if you like then stir in the lime and cilantro at the end.

The most daunting task for anyone getting ready to prepare Thanksgiving dinner is the turkey. You may overwhelm yourself with questions like what size should I get? How long should I cook it? How should I season it? It is actually really easy to cook a turkey and this blog post will teach you what you need to know for turkey success!

First you need to know what types of turkey you will buy.

- A classic Butterball turkey usually comes frozen and is injected with liquid and oil. These additions keep the turkey moist and flavorful as it cooks.

- All natural turkeys do not have artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, hormones and antibiotics. They usually cost a bit more, but have really good flavor.

- Kosher turkeys have been killed in a humane way under the supervision of a rabbi. They are also brined to remove impurities giving this turkey a saltier flavor.

- Organic turkeys are generally all natural and have been fed an organic feed.

Next you need to know how big of a turkey you need to get.

Generally speaking you should allow for 1.5 lbs of whole turkey per guest. This will take into account for bones and lost water weight. Also, make sure your oven is big enough for your turkey. If it is not, think about buying two smaller turkeys or buy an extra turkey breast so you will have enough food for everyone.

Now its time to prepare the bird for cooking

- You will need to defrost the turkey one of two ways. First you can defrost the turkey under running cold water. This method will take 2-3 hours and is great if you are in a pinch for time. The second way is to let the turkey defrost in the refrigerator and will take several days to defrost. Never let a turkey defrost at room temperature!

- The next step is to remove the organs from the inside of the bird. There will be a bag on the inside of the turkey cavity and will contain the heart, liver neck and giblets.

- Next rinse the turkey under cold water and then dry completely with paper towels.

- Place the turkey in a roasting pan, breast side down and season the well with salt, pepper and dried herbs like parley, sage, rosemary and thyme. Herbs can be dried or chopped fresh. Remember to season the turkey outside, under the skin and inside the cavity.

- Now drizzle the bird with oil or melted butter and make sure to get some inside the turkey.

- Take 4 chopped carrots, 3 chopped celery ribs and , 2 chopped onions and place some inside and around the turkey. Pour 2 cups of water or white wine in the bottom of the pan. This liquid will be a good start to the basting liquid.

Now you are ready to cook your turkey. You should give yourself 2.5 – 5 hours prior to your meal to get this done depending on the size of your turkey. A whole turkey will need about 15 minute per pound in the oven.

- First place your prepped bird in a 450º F oven for the first 30 minutes. Then cover the turkey with foil and cook at 325º F until the internal temperature reaches 165º F.

- After the first hour baste the turkey every 30 minutes. The best way to cook the perfect bird is to invest in an inexpensive meat thermometer. Place the probe into the thickest part of the meat, not touching bone. When the turkey has reached 165º F, your turkey is ready to take out of the oven.

- Carefully remove the turkey out of the oven, cover with foil and let it rest for 30 minutes before carving.

Once you turkey is done it is time to reheat your sides and warm up your biscuits. Now its time to slice and serve the turkey to your guests with a homemade pan gravy.

- First carefully remove the legs, and wings at the joints and palace them on a platter.

- Slice the breast meat by first slicing down both sides of the breast bone and along the rib cage. From here you can remove the whole breast with little waste and slice the breast for serving. Arrange the sliced turkey on the platter with sliced meat from the thighs and pour some of the hot turkey juices on top before you bring it to the table.

- Now you can make a easy pan gravy by pouring the juices from the pan into a container and remove the fat.

- Place 3 tablespoons of the fat into a pan with an equal amount of flour. Cook on low heat for 10 minutes.

- Slowly whisk in the turkey juice until smooth and cook for another 10 minutes until thick and smooth.

Turkey Soup

After you have removed all of the meat from the bones, remember that there is one extra awesome step to get the most out of your turkey. Make an easy turkey soup by throwing the bones, onions celery and carrots into a pot, covering with cold water and simmering for 4 hours. Remove the bones from the pot and enjoy!

Now Get Crackin'!

Happy Thanksgiving from Chef Egg!!!

Chef Egg's Chicken and Vegetable Chili

It's starting to get cold outside and that means it is the perfect time for soups, stews and my favorite, chili!

I like to make a big pot of chili when I'm cook for a lot of friends for a pot luck dinner or watching a football game. I also like to make a big batch when I want something hearty to eat throughout the week or stock my freezer with leftovers. It also gives me a good chance to clean out the fridge since you can throw just about anything into a pot of chili. Some people like chili with no beans, some like no meat and all veggies, just remember, this recipe is a just a start and can be changed anyway you like.

Usually chili is dense and greasy, but this pot is going to be filled with fresh vegetables, 3 different kinds of beans and 2 different types of meat. It's going to have a really good flavor with a spicy kick, now let's get crackin'!

1. First thing you have to do is heat a really large pot over medium heat with a little oil in the bottom.

2. Next, season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper and when the oil the starts to smoke, brown the thighs on both sides and remove. I like to use chicken thighs because they have good flavor and will get really tender when we simmer the chili.

You can also brown chunks of beef and pork to add more flavor and texture to your chili pot.

3. Add the vegetables to the pot and cook until they are soft. You can add bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, corn, kale, anything you like and nothing you don't. When the veggies are soft take them out of the pot for the next step.

4. Add a little oil to the pot and brown the ground chicken in the pot. You can use any type of ground meat you have like beef, pork, turkey, chicken or venison. When the ground meat is cooked, remove any fat from the bottom of the pan.

A really good tip for removing hot oil from a greasy pan is to place a wad of paper towels into the pan, let it soak up the grease and then throw it away using a pair of tongs.

5. Add the vegetables to the pan along with the seasoning packets and cook for 1 minute on low heat. You want to toast the spices to increase the flavor.

I like to use pre made chili spice packets that you can by at the grocery store. They cost around $1.50 and have all of the spices you need for a flavorful and spicy chili like chili, garlic and onion powders, cumin and paprika. It's a whole lot cheaper than buying individual spices and mixing them together yourself.

6. Add the chicken thighs that you have chopped, canned tomato and chili's, beans and beer to the pot, stir and simmer for 1 hour on low heat. Stir every once in a while to make sure the chili does not burn on the bottom of the pot.

You can use all different kinds of beans like black beans, kidney, garbanzo, pinto, cannellini, great northern, pigeon and even baked beans. Beans are great in chili because they are cheap; they fill up the pot and are a great low fat source of protein. Oh yeah, they're also the musical fruit and the more you eat, the more you... well you know the rest.

I also think that a can of beer is a great addition to your chili. The darker the beer you use the more flavorful your chili will be. If you don't like beer you can use chicken stock or water.

7. The chili is ready when the chicken thighs get really tender and shred apart. From here you can bring out big flavor in your chili with a drop of soy sauce for saltiness, apple cider vinegar for acidity and a pinch of sugar to bring all of the flavors together.

I like to enjoy my chili over a bowl of rice with a little green onion and cheddar cheese. Sometimes I make a huge taco salad with lettuce, salsa and tortilla chips, the works. When I go to a party I mix a bowl with cheddar or jalapeno jack cheese to make chili con queso dip for tortilla chips.

Now that you have the skills to warm up on a chili day, I want you to get crackin'!

Peace, Chef Egg

Recipe: Chicken and Vegetable Chili

4 Chicken Thighs, Boneless and Skinless

2T Oil

Salt and Pepper

1 Onion, Diced

3 Carrots , Diced

3 Celery Stalks, Diced

1lbs Ground Chicken, Turkey, Beef or Pork

2 Packets Chili Seasoning

2 Cans Canned Tomatoes with Chili Peppers

3 Cans Beans, Rinsed

1 Can Beer or 12 oz of Chicken /Vegetable Stock

Toppings and Sides: Cheese, Sour Cream, Green Onion, White Onion, Radish, Cilantro, Tortilla Chips, Corn Bread, White Rice