Raspberry Chipotle Chicken

Recipe adapted from Real Simple Magazine. 

This sauce was bomb. 

Like, bomb enough to bring the term bomb back for. 

Served with baked asparagus fries, and we've got ourselves a winner. 

• Ingredients
• 2 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon minced chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
• 4 chicken breasts

1. 1. Combine first 4 ingredients in a small saucepan, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Cook over medium heat 4 minutes or until slightly syrupy.
2. 2. Heat a large grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle chicken evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Grill chicken 6 minutes on each side or until done. Spoon raspberry mixture over chicken.

Tip that I just figured out: usually I buy a can of chipotle peppers, use one, and end up tossing the rest. I recently bought a can, used one...and....omg I should FREEZE THE REST! BRILLIANT! I stuck the rest in a baggie and stuck it in the freezer. Super easy to stick it under some warm water, defrost, and grab another pepper, when I need it. Waste not, want not and stuff.

1. 

Honey Sriracha Chicken

Since Ive made this twice, I figure I should probably document it?

Ingredients

• 2-3 pounds chicken legs, thighs and/or wings.
Marinade –
• 2 tablespoons sriracha sauce
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated and peeled
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon vegetable/any neutral flavor oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ black pepper
Topping-
• ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
• 3-4 stalks of scallions, chopped (optional)
• 1 jalapeno, chopped (optional)
• Lime wedges, serve on side

Instructions

1. Wash and thoroughly dry the chicken pieces using a paper towel.
2. In a large non-reactive bowl add all the ingredients for the marinade and mix well till they are well combined. Add the chicken pieces and toss well to coat them all with the marinade. Let the chicken marinate for minimum 30-45minutes at room temperature or in refrigerator if keeping for longer time. Toss the chicken at-least once while marinating.
3. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
4. In a large baking-dish/baking-sheet place the marinated chicken pieces in a single layer along with all the marinade. Bake until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thick, 40-55minutes. Flip the chicken 1-2 times while baking to ensure even baking.
5. Once done take out the chicken on serving platter, sprinkle with topping and serve immediately.

My only tip would be to maybe spray your dish before putting all the crap in it. My glass dish got all kinds of gunk on it. 

WORTH IT.

Butternut Squash-Chicken Pan-Roast

Recipe and picture by Food and Wine.

Holy ridiculously easy new favorite recipe, batman.

1. One 1 1/2-pound butternut squash, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch dice
2. 3 Fuji apples, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch dice
3. 1 tablespoon chopped sage
4. 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
5. Salt
6. Freshly ground pepper
7. 6 whole chicken legs (3 pounds)
8. 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, thinly sliced

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. In a large roasting pan, toss the squash, apples and sage with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Season the chicken legs and set them on top. Dot with the butter and roast for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the squash and apples are tender and the chicken is browned and cooked through.
2. Transfer the chicken to a plate and keep warm. Place the roasting pan over a burner and boil, stirring, until the pan juices are reduced, about 5 minutes. Return the chicken to the pan and serve.

Ok, technically, I have forgotten the sage each of the two times I have made this. I'm sure it would be amazeballs, but it is still LEGIT without it. This is so simple and delicious. The leftovers are fantastic, too. 

BBQ Chicken Enchiladas

Recipe and pictures from How Sweet Eats.

How Sweet Eats is just.....she just....NEEDS TO BE MY BFF AND COOK FOR ME EVERY DAY. That's all.

makes 8 enchiladas

8 large whole wheat tortillas 

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

28 ounce can red enchilada sauce

1/2 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce (or more depending on your tastebuds) (I will use more next time)

1/2 large sweet onion, sliced

1 tablespoon BBQ seasoning

pinch of cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded colby jack cheese

Preheat oven to 375.

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil on low-medium. Add sliced onions with a pinch of salt, and let caramelize until soft and golden – about 10 minutes. While onions are cooking, dump enchilada sauce into a bowl and whisk in your favorite BBQ sauce until combined.

Add shredded chicken to onions with BBQ seasoning and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Mix thoroughly. Pour in about a half of a cup of enchilada/BBQ sauce mixture, and add 1/2 cup cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup colby cheese. Stir until mixture comes together and turn off heat.

Pour a drizzle of enchilada/BBQ sauce in the bottom of a baking dish. Take each tortilla and fill it with 1/2 + of chicken mixture. Roll each up and set it in the baking dish. Dump remaining enchilada/BBQ sauce on top of tortillas and add remaining cheese. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes. 



I snagged a rotisserie chicken at the store, and shredded that sucker right up. Easy peasy. These were SUPER easy to put together and came out really good. The sauce was pretty much enchilada sauce with a touch of bbq sauce. I would have liked it to be a little bbq-ier, so I'll probably add a bit more of that, next time.

Chicken and Lime Soup

Recipe from Budget Bites.

I'm have fully claimed my seat upon the YAY IT'S FALL!! train. Soup. All the soup. I want nothing but soup. What I love about soup is that it's totally easy to make healthy (and it's almost impossible to buy actual healthy pre-made soup. SODIUM BOMBS) and to store. 

I had to doctor this recipe a smidge, because I didn't have everything on hand. Happens. 

INGREDIENTS		COST
2 Tbsp	olive oil	$0.24
1 medium	yellow onion	$0.28
2 stalks	celery	$0.45
1 medium	jalapeno (nope didn't have, used cayenne pepper)	$0.09
4 cloves	garlic	$0.32
3/4 lb.	chicken breast	$1.46
6 cups	chicken broth*	$0.42
1 (14.5 oz.) can	diced tomatoes w/chiles (used 1 can of tomato paste)	$0.95
1 tsp	oregano	$0.05
1/2 Tbsp	cumin	$0.08
1 medium	lime	$0.33
1/2 bunch	cilantro	$0.43
1 medium	avocado (didn't have. boo.)	$1.29
TOTAL		$6.39

*I use Better Than Bouillon chicken soup base to make my broth because it is less expensive than buying canned or boxed broths. (OK and I use the boxed low sodium broth from Trader Joes....haven't gotten around to trying that Bouillon stuff yet)

STEP 1: Dice the onion, celery, and jalapeno (scrape the seeds out of the jalapeno before dicing). Mince the garlic. Cook the onion, celery, jalapeno, and garlic in olive oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until tender. 

STEP 2: Add the chicken breast, chicken broth, canned tomatoes with chiles, oregano, and cumin to the pot. Bring the whole pot up to a boil over high heat then reduce the heat to low, place a lid on top, and let simmer for one hour.

STEP 3: After simmering for an hour with a lid on, carefully remove the chicken breast from the pot and use two forks to shred the meat. Return the meat to the pot. Squeeze the juice of one lime into the soup. Get as much juice as possible from the lime by using a spoon to scrape the inside of the lime.

STEP 4: Rinse the cilantro and then roughly chop the leaves. Add to the pot, give it a quick stir, and serve. Dice the avocado and add a few chunks to each bowl. 

(might want to toss a bit of salt and pepper up in there, too)

Avo and some crunched up tortilla chips would be KILLER on this. I mean, it's BASICALLY a chicken tortilla soup. I loved how non-fussy the chicken was. Just chuck it in there raw, then shred it up an hour later. I didn't have diced tomatoes, but the tomato paste actually worked out pretty perfectly. 

Crap, I just realized that I bought some carrots to toss in there, but I forgot them!! Soups like this are nice, because you can just cram all the veggies you want in there. I bet you could put spinach or kale in this, too. Veggies are our friends, folks. 

Throwing this one in the keeper file. 

Chicken and Chorizo Casserole

The other night, I decided to make myself dinner. I was going to make fish, rice and asparagus. Healthy! I got excited when I remember that I had some homemade balsamic dressing in the fridge and decided to dump it on EVERYTHING. Omg. 4 bites in and I never wanted to taste that damn dressing again. Blech. I called it a bust and ate frozen yogurt for dinner. That is how you adult. Before I left, I decided I wanted to do some late night cooking. REAL cooking. That way I wouldn't be screwed again the next day for food.

This recipe came from What to Cook and How to Cook It, a cookbook my sister got me last Christmas. I love it because it has a picture of all the ingredients AND a picture of each step. Ah lav pitchurs!

Ingredients
1lb 2oz skinless, boneless chicken thighs
5 oz chorizo (see note)
1 Tsp olive oil
1 onion (I used yellow)
2 cloves garlic
1 red bell pepper
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
1 tsp dried thyme
3 Tbl dry sherry or white wine
1 (14.5 oz) can chopped tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth
1 (14.5 oz) can chickpeas, drained
1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsely
S & P

(chorizo note from the recipe: there are two types: cooking chorizo, which is soft, like a regular sausage, and cured chorizo, which is firm and dry, and is eaten raw, like salami. Either type will work, but choose the cooking chorizo if there's a choice. I got fresh pork chorizo from the butcher at Whole Foods and it was DELICIOUS.)

1. Cut the chicken into bite-size chunks and the chorizo into thin slices. Place a large heavy frying pan or shallow flameproof casserole dish over medium-high heat, then add 1 Tbl olive oil. After 30 secs, add the chorizo. Fry for 3 mins, stirring occasionally, until the chorizo is starting to crisp and has released some of its red oil.

2. Transfer the chorizo to a plate and set it aside. Add the chicken to the pan, season with salt and pepper, then fry for 5 mins, stirring often, until golden.

3. While the chicken cooks, start preparing the vegetables. Thinly slice the onion and garlic, then seed the pepper and cut it into chunky strips. Add them to the pan, then reduce the heat. Cook gently for 109 mins until the onions, peppers and garlic have softened, stirring every few mins.

4. Stir in the cinnamon, paprika, and thyme and fry for 1 min, until fragrant.

5. Reduce the heat to medium. Now pour in the sherry or wine - it will sizzle and reduce down to almost nothing (Ehh...my pan must have had more liquid than hers did, because mine didn't sizzle and reduce that much. No harm done, though). Then add the tomatoes and broth. Stir, then simmer, uncovered, for 15 mins, until the sauce has thickened a little and the chicken is tender.

6. Add the chickpeas and chorizo to the pan, stir well, then simmer for 2 more mins, until heated though.

7. Roughly chop the parsley leaves, add to the casserole, then stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Drillzle with extra-virigin olive oil, if you wat. Serve with crusty bread (I didn't, I served it over rice).

This dish turned out SO fragrant. It smelled and tasted delicious. I love the combination of spices, as well. It's a one pot dish, which is certainly always appreciated.

Crockpot Beer Chicken Tacos

With the dipping temps outside comes boots and crockpotting! Woot!!

The original recipe by How Sweet Eats is for carnitas, but I had chicken on hand, so that's what I went with.

Crockpot Beer Carnitas

serves at least 6 generously with leftovers

5-6 pounds pork shoulder roast (or butt)

1 tablespoons canola oil

8 ounces of your favorite beer

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 tablespoons smoked paprika

1/2 tablespoon cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder

1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

for serving: corn tortillas, guacamole, fresh cilantro, freshly chopped mango.

Combine seasonings together in a bowl and mix until combined. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add oil. Once hot, add pork and sear on all sides until golden brown (about 2 minutes per side).

Add pork to the crockpot and sprinkle seasonings all over. Pour in beer, then cook on low for 10-12 hours. Check once or twice if possible and if needed, add more beer (I did not add any). Before serving, use forks or kitchen tongs to shred pork. Let sit on low or warm for another 20-30 minutes before serving.

Ok, SO. I used about 5 chicken breasts, which is significantly less than the 5-6 lbs of pork called for in the recipe. Naturally, I didn't adjust anything else. The end result was a little soupy and a little salty. The other spices seemed fine, just a little salty. HOWEVER. It was still great. We served it on pita with cheese and avocado and it was delicious. 

Chicken Taco Bowls

Recipe and pictures from Budget Bytes.

Hoooo boy. We have a keeper with this one, folks! This was super simple and SUPER tasty. It says to cook on low for 8 hrs, but I was in rush and cooked it on high for 3 hours. It wasn't AS shreddy and fall apart-y as slow cooker chicken usually is, but it was still cooked and perfectly moist.

INGREDIENTS		COST
1.5 lbs.	chicken breasts	$2.90
1 (16 oz.) jar	salsa	$1.99
1 (15 oz.) can	black beans, drained	$1.19
1/2 lb. (8 oz.)	frozen corn	$0.57
1 Tbsp	chili powder	$0.15
1/2 Tbsp	cumin	$0.07
1/2 Tbsp	minced garlic	$0.10
1/2 tsp	dried oregano	$0.03
1/4 tsp	cayenne pepper	$0.02
1/4 tsp	salt	$0.02
to taste	cracked pepper	$0.02
2 cups	dry rice	$0.66
8 oz.	shredded cheddar	$2.49
1/2 bunch	cilantro (optional)	$0.45
TOTAL		$10.66

STEP 1: Add everything except the rice, cheese, and cilantro to the slow cooker along with 1/4 cup of water (for good measure). Give everything a good stir and make sure the chicken is covered in the mixture.

STEP 2: Secure the lid on your slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hrs.

STEP 3: Near the end of the cooking time, cook the two cups of rice according to the package directions (Bring the rice and 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium pot with a lid in place, as soon as it reaches a boil, reduced the heat to low and let simmer for 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving).

STEP 4: After 8 hours of cooking, carefully remove the lid of the slow cooker. Stir with a fork to shred the chicken (it should be super tender and will shred easily). Build the taco bowls by placing rice on the bottom, then the taco chicken mix, shredded cheese and fresh cilantro.

Slow Cooker Bacon-Wrapped Apple BBQ Chicken

Part 2 of my epic cheat meal, served along side roasted grape, goat cheese and honey stuffed sweet potatoes. The title of this one was just....yes. Bless you, Pinterest.

• 3-4 boneless chicken breasts (I used 2 giant ones)
• 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
• 1-2 apples, peeled and grated (I used 2)
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 6-8 slices bacon

Directions:
1. In small bowl, combine BBQ sauce with grated apple and lemon juice.
2. Wrap 2 pieces of bacon around each chicken breast. Place chicken breasts in base of crock pot, pour BBQ/apple mixture over the chicken.  Set to low and cook for 8 hours.


It doesn't specify which type of apple you're supposed to use! I went with fuji. It's pretty much the only red apple I'm familiar with, and it didnt really seem like a green apple would go with this. Because I would know...


The prep? Took about 3 mins. SO easy, and SO amazing. The chicken could have been cut with a fork. I love my crockpot! Throw crap in it in the morning and dinner is ready when you come back from doing laundry at your parents being out all day! Maybe one apple would have been plenty, as there was a ton of juice. I have no regrets, though. I have a feeling this will make another appearance. 


(It doesnt LOOK that appetizing, I know! I swear it tastes 1000x better than the turd it looks like in the pic!)


(recipe)

Crockpot BBQ Beer Chicken

How Sweet It Is strikes again!

This recipe was the first thing to grace my new crockpot.

And it was WORTHY.

Crockpot BBQ Beer Chicken

serves about 8-10

3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 6 large)

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

8 ounces of beer (I used a classic amber)

32 ounces of barbecue sauce

Season chicken with onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper. Add to crockpot, then add beer and 24 ounces of barbecue sauce. Cook on low for 8 hours, tossing once or twice if desired. After 8 hours, shred and add remaining barbecue sauce. Serve as desired.

Notes (these are all hers):

1. I’ve found that *thinner* barbecue sauce works better (such as Bone Suckin’ Sauce) than thicker sauce (like Sweet Baby Ray’s). If you choose to use a thicker sauce, you may want to add a little more beer (or liquid) in order for the sauce not to burn and thicken on the edges of the pot. This is also the reason I don’t use myhomemade barbecue sauce.

2. If you don’t want to use beer, you can try a ginger ale, chicken stock, or even water.

3. This makes a ton of chicken and I usually freeze immediately freeze a container for later.

I set everything up this morning and let this blaze all day. It has SO few ingredients and was SO easy to make! When I got home from work, I panicked. The sauce had cooked WAY down (duh) and the chicken looked dry. Once I took a fork to it, shredded it up, and mixed it with the remaining sauce, all worries were gone. This couldn't be easier! I plopped a bunch on a slice of whole wheat bread, topped with a drizzle of bbq sauce and went to town. 

LeGreg was supposed to come down here tonight, which is why I made food. Now he's not coming until tomorrow. There will be no leftovers. That's a promise, not a threat.   

Stuffed Chicken with Tomatoes and Arugula

I got some pretty rad new additions to my kitchen for Christmas!

• Crockpot (from my parents)
• Cast iron dutch oven pot thing (from LeGreg's parents, at his suggestion)
• What to Cook & How to Cook It, by Jane Hornby (from my sister)

My sister got me the cookbook after I flipped when she mentioned making goat cheese stuffed, bacon wrapped chicken. Can you even imagine. The cookbook is rad, because it shows pictures of the ingredients and each step of each recipe. I had to stop putting sticky notes on the recipes I liked out of it, because it was basically every page.

Last night, for New Years Eve, I decided to make that chicken for LeGreg and our friends Nic and Rob. It was....killer.

Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 25 mins
Serves: 4 (easily halved)

Ingredients
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
4 med skinless boneless chicken breasts (omg the ones I got from Trader Joe's were ENORMOUS)
3.5 oz soft goat cheese (or any full-fat soft cheese)
8 strips dry-cured smoked bacon (Trader Joe's didn't have any cured bacon, so I just got smoked un-cured)
1 Tbl sunflower or veggie oil
4 large or 6 smaller ripe tomatoes (I got 5 med, and it was A LOT...but not too much)
1 clove of garlic
2 Tbl extra-virgin olive oil
3.5 oz arugula or other leafy salad green
1/2 lemon
S&P

Preheat the oven to 400F. Finely chop the needle-shape leaves from the rosemary. Put the chicken onto a cutting board. Using a small sharp knife, cut a slit into the thickest part of each chicken breast, then poke down inside the chicken to make a pocket, using your fingers to help, then seal the pocket up as well as you can (uhhh.....yeah right).

Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then sprinkle with half of the rosemary. Wrap 2 strips of the bacon tightly around each piece of chicken, tucking in any loose ends.

Place a shallow, flameproof casserole (dish?) (like your brand new cast iron dish!!) over high heat, then add the sunflower or veggie oil. After 30 secs, add the chicken. Cook for at least 2 mins on each side, until the bacon is starting to turn golden. Kitchen tongs are useful here. (The bacon totally stuck to the pan and my gigantor chicken had to be shoved in there for all 4 pieces to fit, so it looked slightly mangled by the time they were done browning. Oops)

Meanwhile, very thickly slice the tomatoes and thinly slice the garlic. Add the tomatoes to the casserole (DISH), then sprinkle them with the remaining rosemary and the garlic. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with about 1/2 Tbl of the olive oil. Put the pan into the oven for 25 mins.

Remove the pan from the oven and set aside for a couple of minutes to let the chicken rest. The chicken will be surrounded with delicious tomato flavored juices.

(I stopped here. I didn't serve with the arugula, instead I served with a side of green beans. )

Put the arugula into a large bowl. Squeeze the juice from the lemon over it and drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve the chicken with the salad, drizzling some of the pan juices around each plate.

Everyone, including myself, LOVED this. The chicken was cooked perfectly, the goat cheese was creamy and delish, and BACON. 

I really need to get some different colored plates to take my pics on. My pea green plates look like snot on camera! Damn it...

Buttermilk Baked Chicken

Apparently this is from Down Home With the Neely's. I've never seen the show and I have no idea how I stumbled across this recipe. But stumble I did, and THANK GOD.

Ingredients

• 2 cups buttermilk (I used the low fat buttermilk from Trader Joe's)
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce
• 1/2 yellow onion, sliced
• 5 sprigs fresh thyme
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (3 pound) chicken cut into 8 pieces, rinsed and patted dry (I used a package of boneless/skinless thighs)
• 2 cups crushed corn flakes
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (forgot to buy, so didn't use)
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Fit a sheet tray with a wire rack and spray with nonstick cooking spray. (Ok, I just saw this. I did NOT spray with non-stick cooking spray and REALLY wish I had. Not that the result was disastrous or anything, but a whole bunch of the coating stuck to the wire)

Mix together buttermilk, lemon juice, hot sauce, onion, thyme, garlic, salt, and pepper to a large bowl. Add chicken and coat with mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 3 hours or up 12 hours. (I put this crap together at 5am and it sat in the fridge alllllll day until dinner time)


Mix corn flakes, Parmesan cheese, and thyme together. Season with salt and pepper.

Remove chicken from the marinade, letting the excess drip off, and dredge through the corn flake-Parmesan mixture, pressing to help it adhere. 


Place on the wire rack-fitted sheet tray and bake for 45 minutes until golden and crisp. 


Cook's Note: Remove the skin to save calories. Soaking chicken in buttermilk leaves the chicken incredibly moist with a delicious flavor. 

I wasn't feeling great on Friday, when I made this, so I didn't actually have any. LeGreg took one bite and said "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO THIS CHICKEN???". It was GOOD. Super good. So moist that he was cutting it with his fork. Other than taking the time to let it sit, it was actually pretty simple and easy to make! Saturday morning he said "I can't wait til lunch, so I can have the rest of that chicken". This, the day after my zucchini bread success!! Look at me go!!

I served the chicken with fried red potatoes with rosemary and a tomato/avocado/italian dressing salad thing. This shall be filed under WIN. 

Baked Lemon Chicken

I love lemon things!! So lemon chicken sounded pretty legit. And easy. LIKE ME!!! Just kidding.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs (I used panko bread crumbs which, after tonight, I realize are probably actually huge bread crumbs. It would probably be better with a more finely ground bread crumb)
  
• 4 (4 ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Directions

1. In a shallow dish, combine the butter, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper. Place bread crumbs in another dish. Dip chicken in butter mixture, then coat with crumbs.
2. Place in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Drizzle with remaining butter mixture. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until juices run clear.(I went 30-35 mins, which was a bit too much)

Omg SO lemony!! Besides the bread crumbs being a bit too big, it was reeeeeally good. I ate it with cooked broccoli, asparagus (both from the frozen foods section of Trader Joe's), and cous cous. The advantage to cous cous is that, compared to the 30+ mins it takes to make rice or quinoa, it only takes like 5 mins to make. Win.

Lemon for life.

No pics. It just looked like breaded chicken. Pale breaded chicken, thanks to the huge white bread crumbs.

Electic Skillet Cooking-chicken, veggies

I got a 12-in electric skillet for Christmas. Truth be told, I don't know what the hell to do with it. I mean, I just don't get what I can do with it that I can't do with a regular pan on the stove. Yet more proof for the title my blog. Since my mother was SO excited to give it to me, I certainly couldn't take it back, so it was time to put it to the test.

Also-I feel like I need to start eating 'cleaner'. I owe it to my body. I recently figured out that I have some sort of acute lactose intolerance, which blows, but I think I need to take it even further. I'll be trying to load the veggies into every meal, eat leaner meats (mostly chicken), and limited the gluten. Back to good 'ol quinoa!

Ok, so I started with making some quinoa (in a regular pot). The usual: 1 part quinoa, 2 parts chicken stock or water (I used half low sodium stock, half water, but it came out a little bland).


4pcs chicken tender-sized chicken breasts
4 bok choy
4 broccoli


I put the electric skillet on low-medium, threw in some "buttery spread" (ugh. I miss butter) and 3 cloves of sliced garlic. Let the garlic get nice and soft/light brown. Then I threw in 4 bok choys (pieces of bok choy?) and 4 stalks of broccoli, stems and all. I put some low sodium broth and white in, enough to cover the bottom of the skillet, and let it simmer. I covered it, so it would steam the veggies. Make sure to flip them every once in a while. When both types of veggies were soft enough for a fork to easily go through, I took them out and put the chicken in. There should still be some 'juices' left in the pan to cook the chicken in.

Cook for a few mins on each side, making sure it's cooked all the way through. Throw it all together and you've got yourself a pretty damn healthy meal! Mine came out a little bland. I always feel like regular broth is too salty, and low sodium isn't salty enough. And I totally suck at seasoning stuff!! I'll have to work on all that...

I'm still not totally convinced that I couldn't just do all that in a pan on the stove, but the skillet worked well enough. Moms told me that it would be good to make stuff with 'sauces' in, so I'll have to try that next.

Mostly Green Curry Chicken

This is a Rachael Ray recipe from her 365: No Repeats book. Rachael Ray is annoying as all hell and she's full of crap if she thinks ANYONE can make these recipes in 30 mins. Not happenin. However, there are a kagillion (365) recipes in this book and most are easy enough. This particular recipe doesn't even HAVE curry in it, which I find odd, but whatevs...

1 1/5 cups chicken stock/broth
1 13.5 can of coconut milk
1 cup jasmine rice (I used quinoa instead. Little healthier)
3 Tbl veggie/canola oil
4 6-8 oz chicken breast halfs, but into bite size pieces
salt and pepper
1 green bell pepper (plus other color bells, if you so desire)
1 med yellow onion, thinly sliced
3 lg garlic cloves
1 sm jalapeno pepper (eff that. this whitie left this out)
3 in piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
2 cups broccoli florets
zest and juice of one lime
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaved, chopped
1 cup frozen peas
hot sauces, such as tobasco (nah)

In a sauce pot, combine 1 cup of the chicken stock, 4 oz (1/4 cup) of the coconut milk, and the jasmine rice (or quinoa). Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15 to 18 mins (or until all the liquid is absorbed). Turn the heat off and keep the rice covered until ready to serve.

While the coconut jasmine rice is cooking, preheat a large nonstick skillet over high heat with about 2 Tbl of veggie oil. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Add the chicken pieces, spreading them evenly across the pan, and brown the chicken on all sides, about 3-4 mins. Remove the browned chicken to a plate and reserve. Add the last Tbl of veggie oil to the pan. Add the green bell peppers, onions, garlic, jalapenos, ginger, and broccoli florets. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3-4 mins, or until the veggies start to wilt. To the skillet add the remaining coconut milk, and 1/2 cup chicken stock. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 4-5 mins. Add the chicken back to the skillet, and return it to a simmer for about 2 more mins. Add the lime juice, lime zest, cilantro, scallions, parsley, and frozen peas. Stir to thoroughly combine. Simmer a minute more to heat the peas., taste, and adjust the seasoning. Add more salt or some hot sauce, if you like heat. Serve over coconut rice (or quinoa).

Ok, that's totally not my pic beeeecause my camera jumped ship and can't be found at this exact moment. But it pretty much looked the same. The coconut quinoa turned out a lot better than I expected and the chicken and veggies were pretty good, too. I probably could have use a LITTLE hot sauce or something to spice it up a bit, but I was pleased with the result.

Brie Tortellini

Holy easy amazingness, Batman!!! I haven't cooked in approximately a thousand years because I'm NEVER home. A girl gets kinda tired of eating crackers for dinner, though, ya know? Enter the easiest pasta dish eeeeever.

1 package of tortellini (mine was cheese. Pretty sure anything goes)
about 1/2 lb chopped up tomatos (or however much you want)
1/2 cube brie (ish)
chicken (I totally cheated and used that ready to eat bagged cubed stuff. Don't judge me)
sliced fresh basil (I definitely forgot this, but I'm certain it would be perfect)

cook the tortellini as the package says. Drain and return to the pot. Immediately start adding little cubes of brie. Every few cubes, stir it up. The cubes will melt and start turning into a thick sauce. Keep adding until it's to your desired cheesiness. I like mine medium cheesy, so it was about a half triangle. Mix in the chicken and tomatoes, and add the basil last. SO EASY. And hello, the sauce is all melted cheese. Heck yes.

Basil Chicken over Angel Hair

I made this tonight! I love and adore angel hair pasta. No clue why. I think it's the light dreamy texture of it. Since I haven't actually cooked anything at my new place and my personal training client canceled on me tonight, I decided it was a good night to kick back, open a bottle of Downhill Wine, and whip up some food!

1-8oz package of angel hair pasta
2teas olive oil
1/2c finely chopped (I did sliced) onion (I assumed yellow?)
1 clove chopped garlic (one glove? For 4 servings? Yerrite. I did 2. The Ashtons raised me better than that)
2 1/2c chopped tomatoes (I used Roma)
2c cubed cooked chicken breast (oops)
1/4c chopped fresh basil
1/2 teas salt
1/8 teas hot pepper sauce (I used a couple shakes of ground red pepper)
1/4c Parmesan cheese

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook angel hair pasta until it is al dente, about 8-10 mins (the one I used only took 3 mins!! Keep an eye on it). Drain, and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat oil over med-high heat. Saute the onions and garlic. Stir in the tomatoes, chicken, basil, salt, and hot pepper sauce. Reduce heat to med, and cover skillet. Simmer for about 5 mins, stirring frequently, until mixture is hot and tomatoes are soft.

Toss sauce with hot cooked angel hair pasta to coat. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

Other than throwing raw chicken in with everything because I didn't READ THE DIRECTIONS (every teacher I've ever had hates me), which I don't think really negatively impacted it at all, this was a totally easy and freakin tasty dish!! It's a very light sauce, mostly just the juices from the tomatoes, which I liked. The basil and garlic took over the flavor, which suits me juuuuust fine. I'll just go ahead and file this one under success ;)

ps-holy crap my food pics totally suck...I'll have to work on that...

Chicken and Rice Soup

From Isabel's Cantina (link to the right)

It's been a bit on the chilly side and, judging by my last post date on here, I was due to make something. Soup sounded like a good choice, so I had my parents over for dinner at my new place. Since my social circle now consists of...well...them. I picked this recipe because it seemed like the most simple and I wasn't trying to blow up my new kitchen, ya know?

2Tb olive oil
1 lg yellow onion
4 garlic cloves minced
2 md diced carrots
2 diced celery stalks
6c chicken broth
2 bay leaves (mom failed and brought me basil! oh well ;) )
pinch of saffron
3-8oz boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1in pieces (oops I used 3 whole halves)
8oz asparagus, cut into 2in pieces
salt
pepper
6c cooked rice
1 jarred roasted red pepper, cut into strips (bought this and totally forgot to use it)

Dad's tip: hold the asparagus on each end and bend it. Wherever it breaks is where you should cut it to cut off the ends.

heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed (HA! like me!!) pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is soft and translucent, about 3 mins. Add the carrots and celery. Continue cooking for a few mins more, stirring to coat the veggies with the oil. Add the chicken broth, bay leaves, and saffron. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat so the broth simmers. Cook for 20mins, skimming off any foam that rises to the surface.

Add the chicken and asparagus, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the chicken is just cooked through and the asparagus is tender, about 5 mins. Discard the bay leaves.

To serve, ladle the soup into the bowls and add a scoop of rice to the center of each bowl (I used that frozen rice from Trader Joes, so I just threw it in with the soup to thaw out). Top the rice with strips of bell pepper and serve hot.

It was pretty good. Not great, but good. It tasted like chicken noodle. But with rice. It definitely needed more salt and pepper than what I put in it and some other seasonings. Perhaps the missing bay leaves? I think my mom suggested oregano, too. I bought a par-baked loaf of crusty bread at Trader Joe's and stuck in the oven for a few and served it nice and warm. That bread was awesome. So good! Super crunchy on the outside and really soft on the inside. The soup was pretty quick and easy to make and really good the next day when the rice soaks up a bunch of the broth.

My roommate came home just before dinner so I invited her to join us, as my parents hadn't met her yet and I know she works a lot and is pretty beat when she gets home. She was excited for food and some fresh ears to talk off. I definitely learned a lot more about her and my dad kept asking her the questions that he and I were talking about that I hadn't asked her yet. Good job, dad!