Asian Marinaded Chicken Thighs with Asparagus bundles

Tags

asparagus, bacon, chicken, dinner, Gluten free, healthy, low carb, paleo, sides

 

 

 

One of my go to, easy put together dinners is this asian marinated chicken. This chicken dish is super quick to put together, not to mention delicious. 

 

Ingredients (serves 4, or two really greedy hungry people)

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1/2 cup coconut aminos, or soy sauce

2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tsp sesame oil

1/4 cup raw honey (regular honey is ok too)

1 tsp fresh grated ginger (1/2 tsp if using powdered ginger)

2 cloves of garlic, minced (or 1 tsp powdered garlic)

1 bunch of scallions, sliced (optional)

 

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together coconut aminos, rice wine vinegar, garlic, ginger, honey and sesame oil. Pour mixture over boneless chicken breasts, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

While the chicken marinates, I prep my side dishes. Since Brent and I follow a low carb diet on a more regular basis these days, I made some bacon asparagus bundles. We found a great hardwood smoked organic bacon, sliced to order with our local grocer that doesn’t run cheap but we find we cant stay away from it! Its so good. 

 

Bacon Asparagus Bundles

1 bunch of asparagus

6 slices of bacon

a sprinkle of natural sea salt

Preheat an oven to 450*. Arrange a baking sheet with parchment paper or non stick foil.

Trim asparagus of woody ends.

Wrap several stalks of asparagus with bacon. Some prefer to tie the bacon in a knot but i prefer the spiral method for more bacon coverage.

Sprinkle the asparagus lightly with sea salt. Roast in the oven for 10 -12 minutes, depending on how you like your asparagus. I like mine with a little char/crunch. 

 

Back to the chicken.

Heat a large grill pan or non stick skillet over a medium high heat. Allow the pan to fully heat to get the desired effect with the chicken. If the pan sizzles wildly after a sprinkle of water hits the pan, place the chicken on the pan and allow to cook undisturbed for 6 minutes. Turn over and cook for an additional 6 minutes or until the center is no longer pink.

Allow the chicken to rest and while resting, garnish with chopped scallions.

 

This is, hands down, our favorite chicken dish. I added a bit of sauteed fennel to the dish.

The leftovers are great for lunch!! (if there are even any leftovers)

Paleo Crockpot Chicken and Veggies

Tags

chicken, crock pot, dinner, low carb, paleo, recipes, slow cooker

 

Love Love LOVE my Crock Pot!

 

I love a freshly cooked meal but I cannot stress enough the relief I feel when I come home after a long day and dinner is already done. Nearly every crock pot recipe I post, I praise my slow cooker for saving the day. Don’t get sick of it- i will never stop loving it. 

One thing I used to LOVE to make was “rotisserie” chicken in the slow cooker.  I’d let a regular chicken, rubbed with everything good, slow cook in the vessel for nearly a day. The chicken would FALL off the bone and even in some parts get a roasted looking skin- but- the parts of the chicken not all golden brown were swimming in their own juices making for one soupy chicken. It wasnt terrible. It just wasnt that roasted effect that I wanted. 

Normally, the solution to keep the chicken from swimming in juices would have been to stick foil wrapped potatoes in the bottom and them problem solved… but not wanting any potatoes I decided to just use balls of foil to prop the chicken up. And for bulk i added some celery and carrots.

The results were a complete dinner in one crock pot. The only job for the night was cleanup. 

Ingredients: (serves 4)

4 drumsticks (skinless)

4 thighs (skinless, bone in)

2 Tbsp of your favorite seasoning (i use a mixture of onion powder, garlic powder, italian seasoning and salt)

4 medium sized balls of foil

1 cup baby carrots

2 stalks of celery, sliced

Directions:

Using a large plate or bowl, arrange chicken in a single layer and generously apply your favorite chicken spices on each side of the chicken. set aside.

place the carrots and celery in the bottom of the slow cooker.

Place balls of foil on top.

arrange the chicken legs and thighs on top of the foil balls.

Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

The juiciest chicken ever.

And tons of tender carrots and celery that slowly cooked in chicken drippings.

Complete crock pot dinner? Check!

 

Dirt Chicken

Tags

chicken, dinner, recipes

Dirt Chicken.

You read that right.

When I went to Oktoberfest last fall, there were kiosks and kiosks of beer, beer, and more beer. But there was one in particular that I remember quite well because I was still sober when I discovered the table.

Todd’s Dirt. A table offering samples of said dirt in different dips beckoned me. I tasted all of them and vowed, after the event, to stop by and pick some up.

Then I got drunk.

And I forgot.

It wasn’t until several weeks later that my friend Mike told me he was roasting a chicken with his dirt and I started to really crave Todd’s Crabby Dirt. And Chicken. So, I did what any desperate for dirt person would do…

I looked up the ingredients online.

Of course as I sit here and write this up, I have already acquired my very own bottle of Crabby Dirt… but this crazy list of ingredients I am about to share had no exact measurements but, for the time, satisfied my craving for Crabby Dirt.

I set up a bowl and combined the following:

1 packet of Lipton Onion Soup Mix

Basil

Oregano

Thyme

Kosher Salt

Garlic

Chipotle Powder Chili Powder

Celery salt

Dry Mustard

Paprika

Cloves

Ginger

Black Pepper

Cayenne Pepper

White pepper

Onion

Sage

Cinnamon

Parsley

 

There was no measuring these ingredients. I was simply shaking the contents of each bottle into the bowl and hoping for the best.

My nose was telling me it was close enough.

It smelled savory but had an intense smokiness from what I can only guess are the many peppers in this rub… and a sweetness that kind of snuck up on you like that of some cinnamon.

I braced myself and seasoned the chicken. Then, to be sure, I added more onion.

A lot more onion.

Because cinnamon has its place in my life and I don’t think its chicken… but I was willing to try.

I roasted the chicken at 425* for about an hr. The end resulted in a sweet smoky chicken that I ate an alarming rate. The flavors were a little different but the essense of Todd’s Dirt was there!

After my victorious feat, I shared with my friends how desperate I was to recreate this and they in turn surprised me with my own bottle of crabby dirt!

Todd’s is great! and he has a whole line of spices that I highly recommend trying.

on some chicken.

and then roasting it…

and then call me over.

I love a good roasted chicken!

Get yourself some DIRT!!!

Moo Shu Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Hope you all enjoyed the Mickey Pics!

I was looking for something different to make last week. I sometimes grow tired of the same old things. Not that I eat the same thing all the time, but looking at a chili recipe, or a pasta dish has me wanting to Tap Out. I get bored so easily.

While perusing my Food Network cookbook, I came across a recipe for Moo Shu Pork. In an effort to save some money, I tweaked the recipe to accommodate what I already had on hand. I had so many chicken breasts in the freezer and with the price of good meat these days, I used what I had on hand.

Moo Shu Chicken (from page 169, Food Network Magazine Cookbook)

3 T hoisin sauce

3 T rice vinegar

2 cloves garlic

salt and pepper

1 lb of chicken breast, sliced into strips

2 T olive oil

8 oz shiitake mushrooms

14 oz bag of cole slaw mix

1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced

12 Bibb Lettuce leaves

To start, mix together hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, and 2 cloves garlic in a bowl. Place the bowl in the fridge to allow the flavors to get to know each other better.

In a non stick skillet, place your chicken in a single layer and cook thoroughly. Roughly 8-12 minutes over medium heat. Please don’t rush this process like I did. If all the chicken barely fits in the pan, do half batch at a time. The way I did it- the impatient way- will lead to unevenly cooked chicken. No bueno.

Once the chicken is cooked, set aside. In a separate skillet, combine shitake mushrooms with the hoisin sauce mixture that was sitting in the fridge.

add 3 or 4 Tablespoons of water and allow this to simmer and thicken. About 10 minutes on low. When the sauce is to your liking, you may want to season with salt and pepper. Add your scallions too.

Now, add the cooked chicken to the mushroom hot tub.

Allow them to heat through, folding the mixture into itself for 3 minutes.

When its done, spoon a hefty spoonful onto a lettuce leaf topped with cabbage slaw. Drizzle with some of the mushroom sauce and dig in.

Perfect light dinner! and Different too!

Health bloggers: this is a healthy recipe!

Tips:

-if you want to make this vegetarian, skip the chicken and just use all mushrooms. Maybe a little tofu… but mushrooms preferably…scratch that. I prefer meat.

-Packing this to go? Bring the chicken mixture in a microwave safe container and carry the lettuce and cabbage in separate containers to maintain the textures throughout. Assemble right after heating the chicken mixture.

Chicken cordon bleu burger

Now that summer is finally cooling off, I can breathe a little more easily in my kitchen which means I am cooking again! yay! I knew I had to get my ass in the kitchen when I got called out on Twitter by a reader who noticed all my restaurant check-ins… But they were nice about it.

“Do you ever cook at home?

yes, yes I do cook! and Thank you for calling me out! lol. There are absolutely no windows in my kitchen and while I’m not making excuses, it is impossible to do anything in the kitchen during the summer months without breaking into a drenching sweat. So, I took a cooking sabbatical. But now that there is a friendly breeze, I am ready to wean myself back into my menu planning.

While grocery shopping, I had a hankering for a burger- a homemade burger. But I didn’t want to eat beef. So, I picked up some ground chicken and walked the grocery store aisles, picking up other random things and thinking of inspiration.

And then? I saw it. The Canadian Bacon. And it hit me. Cordon Bleu. Chicken. Burgers. I made this once when I used to live with my mom and every now and then she asks me if I can make them for her again. I say yes but always get side tracked. There was no time like the present to revive this dish.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Burgers (serves 4)

Ingredients:

1 lb lean ground chicken

2 T poultry seasoning

salt

pepper

4 slices of canadian bacon (diced)

4 slices of swiss cheese (diced)

4 boston lettuce leaves

4 hamburger buns (I used flatbread)

I started by seasoning the ground chicken with the poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. I mixed it well and set it aside. I diced the canadian bacon and the swiss cheese.

I then portioned the ground turkey into 4 burgers. I took a handful of bacon and a handful of cheese and stuffed them into the burger.

In a non stick skillet, I cooked these burgers over medium heat for 4 minutes on each side.

I let the burgers rest for a moment before cutting into them and placed a burger on a bun with one boston lettuce leaf.

The innards of this tasty burger. It is well seasoned so it didn’t need anything more but if I had to put a condiment, I would use a little spicy mustard.

Look at that action shot! that’s an actual bite! It was great. My only regret is not having decent hamburger buns. That would be my only change next time- but it was still one tasty burger.

Easy (and Ugly) Chipotle Chicken

I have made some pretty UGLY things before in the kitchen… but this is definitely one of the top 3 most disgusting (but delicious) things I have ever made in the history of this blog (you dont even wanna know what was going on before i took pictures of everything *shiver*)

Getting back into the swing of cooking I raided my cabinets and freezer for something quick and easy (because i STILL havent been to the grocery store). I found some boneless chicken thighs, chipotles in adobo sauce and sour cream.

Chipotle Chicken and Avocado.

1 lb of boneless chicken thighs

1/2 cup fat free sour cream

1/2 tablespoon adobo sauce

salt and pepper

I mixed the sour cream and the adobo sauce together with some salt and pepper. Then I marinated the chicken with it overnight.

The following day, I heated a george foreman grill (please note its hot like hell in my kitchen) and grilled each chicken thigh for about 6 minutes.

Once they were done, I scratched my head and wondered what else I could do.

So i made more chipotle crack sauce with sour cream and adobo sauce to spread onto the chicken….

and I sliced up an avocado with sea salt.

No sides.

Too lazy to make one!  how sad is that?

If this were your meal would you even have a side? If so, what would it be?

Chicken and White bean Stuffed Peppers

Hiya Kiddos!

Just want to take a moment to wish a congratulations to the 5 winners of the crackers giveaway! You will have received an email from me. Please pardon my lateness. I am blogging from my phone today so please excuse the lack of names.

I have had quite the weekend! I met up with some Yelpers for beer and sausage then went to Long Island where I was tricked into driving.. for those that dont know- i am a 27 year old non-driver. I got into the car and courtney pulled into a parking lot and told me i was going to drive. I drove in circles with complete confidence and then got tricked into driving to her house. I did so and managed to do it safely. I only confused the gas and brake pedals twice.

Before i went to Long Island, I placed an order with fresh direct on some peppers. They were on sale. And I was thinking stuffed peppers for sure. The peppers were about $1 per lb and i ordered 5 peppers…. when the delivery arrived there was a note on the receipt saying there was a price adjustment on the peppers… which were so huge they cost me $15. Gee-sus!

Look at these HUGE Ass Peppers!

Ingredients:

5 bell peppers split in half, core and seeds removed

1 tsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 lb chicken breast

15 oz of canellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup of brown rice, cooked

1/2 cup cheddar cheese (+ 1/2 cup for the topping)

salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat the oven 400*. Arrange the peppers in a baking dish. I began by sauteeing the onions in olive oil over a medium flame. When they were translucent (after 7 minutes or so), i transferred them to a dish and added the chicken breast to the already hot pan. I pan-fried the chicken breasts over medium for about 6 minutes per side. When it was done, i chopped it up into bite size pieces.

I returned the cooked onions, chicken, beans, rice, and cheese to the pan and tossed to heat through. Seasoned with salt and pepper according to my preference.

Then, filled up the peppers with the yummy filling. The peppers were on the large side, so i was lucky to have enough filling for them. If you’re peppers are on the large side, you can always add more veggies or rice to the filling.

Sprinkle liberally with cheese. yum. I added a bit of water to the pan and covered it with foil for some steam action. I cooked on 400* for 35 minutes.

Behold. Rice, beans, and chicken in a huge and fresh bell pepper. This was awesome. You can even freeze them (but note that the pepper will be softer when you defrost and reheat) and makes a great lunch or dinner (2 halves for dinner in my house LOL)

I love how versatile stuffed peppers are!

What do you stuff into your peppers?? (or would like to?)

Dinner with Murrow Ladies

A few months ago, one of my friends from High School, Nneka, hit me up on facebook. I cant recall her specific wording but to paraphrase, her comment went something like this: “I will travel to Queens if you cook for me”. And really, the Italian in me cannot say no to anyone when it comes to food… not that i wanted to say no… but when i accepted the offer- publicly- i immediately started something.

Pretty soon, Jessica (hey gurl), was in on it and then Megan… plus a few boys that tried to crash the girls day. We set a date and then i immediately began menu planning.

Ulitmately, i decided on chicken as the protein. Nneka, doesnt eat pork. Megan, only eats Chicken or Shrimp. And when Fresh Direct had a sale on whole free range chickens, i decided whole chicken indeed.

To start, i made (for the very first time ever) roasted red pepper hummus. The recipe, which i cannot share at the moment, is a part of a beta ipad cookbook application that a fellow foodie asked me to test for her. What I can do (now that i know how to make hummus) is recreate my own version of this delicious spread.

I paired it with some kettle chips. I really didnt think the ladies were going to like this but sure enough, one of them went home with a nice container full of homemade hummus. So, yay for my first time!

To go with the chicken, i decided to make a spinach artichoke penne and cheese.

Here is my thick and creamy bechamel sauce! yums!

Poured it all over some al dente penne and gave it a healthy sprinkling of mozzarella cheese.

I roasted two small chickens. One was rubbed with Garlic, onion, salt, and pepper while the other was rubbed down with Emeril Essence. I roasted them at 450 for 30 minutes then brought the temp down to 350 to bake for one hour. When it was done (160*), i let it rest before carving.

It was delicious! And i used the pan drippings to make an amazing chicken gravy…although the chicken did not need it.

Nneka preparing to server herself.

the goods. We also had some asparagus that i cooked in butter and salt.

the spread. Looking at this photo i think to myself “why didnt i make any bread?”

the answer: I wasnt being awesome.

Note to self: Be Awesome- EVERY DAY.

Meg and Jess ate, and ate well. Here they sit digesting and talking…. about life. and boys. and then they found out they live a block away from eachother.

see how food brings people together?

Nice!

So once the ladies had made a little more room in their tummies i brought out dessert…

Rich homemade vanilla ice cream….

with some Pure Dark Chocolate chunk oatmeal cookies…

for Homemade chip ‘wiches.

i think i did a pretty good job… the ladies went home that night and fell into glorious food comas.

Claire Robinson’s Beer Braised Chicken

AGH! Time has surely escaped me! But if it helps at all, I have had this post ready to go for a few days now- just didnt have a moment to hit PUBLISH.

Friday, I was still in Holiday Party Mode. There were a lot of office parties last week. And I made it my business to be there…in holiday spirit. There was a also a lot of wine involved. Fast Forward to today, its Monday, although you probably wont read this till Tuesday… I spent the weekend baking and decorating 6lbs of cookie dough. WTF was I thinking? Not a job for one woman… or my tiny kitchen. Next year, you all have to come and help me. I will provide the wine and christmas carols.

I threw my back out last night (SUNDAY)…when i SNEEZED.

Yeah. I sneezed. And not to mention the annoying tickle in my throat that presents itself days before I see my niece and nephew. 😦 Taking lots of vitamin C in hopes of fighting it off.

okay, rambling done. Santa came early this year and brought me a dutch oven. Santa told me I was not to use it until Christmas but when i found a great recipe that required my dutch oven, i sent Santa a text and begged to use my dutch oven early. Santa put up a good fight but I was a good girl this year so really, how can anyone say no? Santa’s one request: Save me some.

You got it Santa.

Beer Braised Chicken (Courtesy of Claire Robinson: 5 Ingredient Fix)

Ingredients

• 3 slices thick cut applewood bacon ( I used half a pack of thickly sliced smoky bacon)
• 1 whole chicken, quartered (i used a pack of 8 chicken legs)
• Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 fennel bulb, trimmed cored and thinly sliced
• 1 bottle dark beer (Guiness)
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400*.

Dice the bacon into small pieces. In a Dutch oven, crisp up the bacon and set aside on a paper towel to drain and cool.

(i might have taken several pieces to nibble on… homemade bacon bits!!!)

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and brown in the rendered bacon fat. When the chicken is browned on all sides, remove from the pan and add the fennel to the dutch oven.

Caramelize for about 10 minutes and season with salt and pepper. Pour in the dark beer and bring to a simmer.

Simmer the beer and fennel for 5 minutes and put the chicken on top of the fennel.

Cover and place in the oven for 40 minutes. After 20 minutes, flip the chicken.

Remove the pan from the oven and put over low heat. Remove the chicken pieces to a warmed serving platter.

Add the vinegar to the sauce and simmer to reduce to a thicker consistency, about 5 minutes.

Pour the sauce over the chicken pieces, top with crumbled bacon and serve immediately.

I served mine with a little bit of white rice. But this was a rich hearty dish that was cheap to make, easy to follow, and delicious to devour! The chicken was fall off the bone tender! The bacon was a nice addition of flavor and texture and the beer created an easy method for tenderizing the chicken!

Will i be making this again?

Most Definitely! This is great for those who are intimidated by large ingredient lists, novice cooks or someone looking to make an easy and tasty meal.

Thanks for the Dutch Oven santa! There will be a place of beer braised chicken and rice with an ice cold beer on Christmas eve…. but Santa- please dont drink and fly the sleigh!

5 Ingredient Meatloaf

If you live in NYC, you will know that the cost of the Metro Cards will be going up again soon. This annoys me. Time and time again they raise the fare and it seems service gets worse and worse.

Last night I was on my way home and normally it would take 45 minutes… 1 hour and 30 minutes later, i was home. cranky. and hungry.

the last thing i wanted to do was slave over dinner… so i decided to whip up something semi quick.

Spinach Meatloaf (adapted from Weight Watchers Take 5)

Ingrdients

1 lb lean ground chicken

1/2 cup italian bread crumbs

1 egg

10 oz chopped spinach (strained thoroughly)

1 packet of Lipton Onion Soup Mix

Freebie: 1/4 tsp black pepper

Preheat oven to 375*. Combine all ingredients in shallow bowl.

Using your hand or a spoon mix up all the ingredients till they are evenly distributed. The mixture was still a little too wet for my liking so i added some dry oats…. but if that happens just add a little bit more bread crumbs.

In a nonstick baking dish or a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray place the meat mixture in the center of the pan and form into a loaf. *i sprayed the top of the meatloaf with cooking spray.

Place in the oven and bake for 25-35 minutes or until temperature inside loaf reaches 165*.

This recipe serves 6! yay for leftovers!

Now for a side dish, i scored some yummy New Potatoes…aka Creamer potatoes.

I gave them a good scrub and sliced them up.

Purplely goodness. FYI- they taste like regular potatoes… nothing crazy about them except their gorgeous color.

I drizzled these with olive oil, tossed some sliced shallots on top, salt and pepper and roasted at 425* for 20 minutes in my toaster oven.

Then while 10 mins to spare, i threw some baby broccoli in my steamer and let it cook for 10 mins.

This was a great meal to sit down to… after the hellish commute home.