Chicken, Penne and Broccolini – Leftover Remix
January 11, 2012 - Written by Diana
Sometimes I am at odds with my son about dinner. If it takes too long, he won’t bother. If he has to read directions, he won’t bother. If it takes too many pots and pans, he won’t bother. This isn’t to say he’s hopeless or can’t cook. Slowly we are building up his repetoire and the meals he does cook are very delicious. My method with him is to encourage him to try to experiment by adding different vegetables and herbs to a basic recipe.
This time we took some chicken from our roast chicken the other night and added pasta, some broccolini, a few herbs, smash some galic and voila – dinner is served. This is a good college kid meal, you can change up the pasta, the veggies, substitute the oil with broth to make it a little lighter. Swap the lemon with white or red wine vinegar for a little different. We stood side by side at the stove cooking this dish. When we were done, I asked my son if he thought he …
Lemon Rosemary Roasted Chicken
January 8, 2012 - Written by Diana
Tonight’s chicken was lemony goodness and very easy to prepare. I’m a fan of just a few steps to great food, the oven does most of the work here, slowly roasting to perfection. My husband is a big poultry fan. When we go to restaurants, often I will order a steak and my husband some chicken or turkey. It never fails that the server will swap our plates and give my husband the steak and me the chicken. We taste off of each other’s plates though, so in the end it doesn’t matter. He won’t swap this though. I had to let him chew the bones a little before I put them in the freezer so that he could pick off every morsel of chicken left behind.
Today’s chicken we bought fresh from the market yesterday. You tell them what you want and they will bag it and even skin, bone and cut it up for you all in a few minutes. They’re really fast. I bought two whole chickens and a couple of whole breasts split along with some sausage. The …
Chicken & Fall Vegetable Soup
November 2, 2011 - Written by Diana
Staying with my mom while she recovers from her surgery, I made Chicken & Fall Vegetable soup for dinner. Soup makes you feel good when you are sluggish and don’t want something heavy, especially if your throat is a little sore too. My mom is a fan of almost all vegetables, and since the fall vegetables are in season, this is the perfect time to make this soup. It is easy to prepare but will take longer than 30 minutes because it takes a while for the carrots and butternut squash to soften. The soup was served in a bowl over warmed wild rice. The rice would absorb the stock from the soup so we precooked the rice separately and then put a couple of tablespoons in the bowl and ladle the soup over top. The leftovers were stored as single servings in the freezer for meals on busy evenings after I left to go back to my family and home.
Mom can’t eat onions or tomatoes; acidic vegetables and fruit upset her tummy. If you feel it could use a few more vegetables, feel free …
Almost Salsa Chicken in a Crockpot
October 13, 2011 - Written by Diana
Almost Salsa Chicken
I put out a request for quick dinner ideas -something that wouldn’t take that much work, but would be healthy and delicious and maybe my son could do it. Crockpot suggestions came in, but I knew my son couldn’t be trusted to stop and think that far in advance. Crockpot was out for him, but on my day to cook, it’s always a welcome suggestion. Jenn Fowler suggested Salsa Chicken – and knowing the way my family feels about salsa, I was ready to try it out.
Unfortunately, the cupboards were not fully stocked, so a few substitutions were made. The dish came out a little less mexican, and a little more health nutty, but it was delicious. Instead of black beans, garbanzos aka-chick peas were used. Then instead of rice, some wheat berries were made in the rice cooker (brown rice setting) and gave the dish a nuttier flavor. The wheat berries and salsa chicken was served on top of some butter lettuce and arugula. A …
Chicken, Chard, Bean and Butternut Squash Soup
February 10, 2011 - Written by DianaI told you I was going healthy for the Superbowl. We brought this soup, plus some berries and greek yogurt with honey – plus vegan chocolate avocado cupcakes. We did splurge though because my sister in law made some awesome queso with sausage that was great with chips and they also had some Buffalo Wild Wings. It was a small gathering, but there was plenty of food and even though our favorite team disappointed, we had a good time (well most of us).
I bought my butternut squash last fall at the farmer’s market. We put them into baskets and stored them on shelves in the unheated basement. The food doesn’t freeze down there, but it does get rather nippy downstairs. Last year I tried storing them in a warmer spot, but some of my squash went bad. This year, they are in perfect condition and not even drying out. I’m thrilled that we put up a nice shelving unit to use for winter storage.
Anyway, I also have been trying to work with beans more, but not canned beans, dry beans, and so that was the start of this soup. I …
Tequila Lime Chicken
September 22, 2010 - Written by DianaThere’s still time to grill on this last summer day, though if you are my brother in law (Deb’s husband) fall or even winter snow won’t keep you from your grill. Here’s a great end your summer with Grilled Tequila Lime Chicken Dinner. This recipe uses 1800 Silver Tequila – gotta love it, go with the good stuff.
- 1/4 cup 1800 Silver Tequila
- 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
- 1 fresh squeezed orange
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons minced seeded jalapeño chilies
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 6 boneless chicken breast halves with skin
Mix lime juice, tequila, orange juice, cilantro, jalapeños, chili powder, salt and pepper in bowl. Coat chicken in marinade and cover to chill overnight. Grill chicken over medium …
Chicken & Summer Vegetables Over Rice
September 20, 2010 - Written by Diana
We love roast chicken, and if I didn’t stop my husband, he would eat the whole chicken in one sitting. He’s not a large man, but now that the kids are away, we need to watch our portion sizes. So, the last time I made a roast chicken, I use the meat from half on our plates and told him not to touch the other half. I also have some rice I’m trying out and I’ll go into the details in another post. I am a person who likes fragrant rice. I’m not a fan of that flavorless stuff that comes in a box and is ready in 60 seconds. I want fragrant nutty tasting delicious real rice.
Today we were making salsa and though we filled about 20 pints, we’ll probably make another batch and spend another day chopping. Salsa is …
Smoked Chicken Salad with Herbs
August 19, 2010 - Written by DianaI have a smoker that I’m trying out, and I’m not ready to discuss it yet; however, I did smoke a couple of chickens. We ate one for dinner that night, and then chilled the other in a fridge and tore it up for a salad. I made a nice cold chicken salad for dinner, served in romaine lettuce leaves. The leaves make a cool vessel for the salad, roll it up, slice it across into two and it’s a chicken salad lettuce wrap with hardly any mess. My family loved the chicken salad, with my daughter and husband fighting over the last bits. I liked the smokey taste, but also all the fresh herbs that came straight from the garden. I have a kitchen tool, sort of a knife that I’ve come to like a lot that is perfect for chopping herbs, so I’ve been using big bunches in my recipes when I can. I also chopped and then toasted some almonds in a pan to add into the salad. The toasty almond bits were really delicious when they hit your tongue. I also added a couple of green onions and a little bit of chopped celery,topping it off …
Grilled Chicken, Prosciutto, Avocado Sandwich
July 2, 2010 - Written by DianaTired of the same old burger? I was, I wanted something different for my daughter and I tonight. Grilled Chicken is one of our favorite summer meals, this rendition of it gives it little umph. The prosciutto and provolone gives it a cordon bleu lean, then the avocado, tomato and onion take it to a summery place. My daughter liked it so much she made herself a second helping. I took one whole chicken breast and sliced it into cutlets before grilling it. The sandwich will be a little large after all the fixings are piled on, so you don’t need a huge piece of chicken.
- 1 large chicken breast sliced into 4 cutlet sized pieces
- 4 slices Prosciutto
- 4 slices Provolone
- Grilled Vidalia Onion Slices
- Tomato Slices (fresh from the garden)
- Avocado – mashed
- Mayo
Grill the chicken on one side, then flip. Top with prosciutto and provolone until the provolone softens. I used deli-rounds for the sandwich. Mayo one side of the deli round and top with the grilled chicken. Mash the avocado with a fork, then spread on the other deli round. Top with tomato slices and grilled onion slices. …
Cinco De Mayo Chicken Fajita Wrap for Lunch
May 6, 2010 - Written by DianaToday, I had a really delicious lunch and very appropriate for Cinco De Mayo. I ate it cold, though you can keep the pieces separate, and heat up some of it before you assemble. After a quick walk with my friend , I get heated up, so I wanted a cold bite, not a warm one. Grill your chicken, peppers and onions the night before or use leftovers. I have a container that has little pockets for putting all the parts in so that you can assemble it when you eat. Or you can assemble ahead, though try not to make it too wet, so it’s not soggy. This would even be great as a salad without a wrap.
Cinco De Mayo is a celebration of Mexico’s defeat of the French in Puebla, a state of Mexico. While the holiday is observed mostly in Puebla, and in the U.S. to celebrate Mexican heritage, or maybe just because we like Mexican food. I think the Mexican Food is the real reason I celebrate. Fajitas, and Margaritas – that’s something to cheer about if you ask me.
Here’s my Chicken Fajita Wrap Recipe: …
