Chicken with Cilantro Lime Quinoa

I stumbled upon this recipe, Blackened Chicken and Cilantro Lime Quinoa on Pinterest.  I liked that it was gluten free, used quinoa (instead of rice) and had "nutrient- dense" avocados as an ingredient. Doesn't it look scrumptious! Mmmmmmm!

Ingredients (Serves 2-3)  (from www.sarcasticcooking.com )

2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (I used 6 organic boneless skinless so I could save my extra seasoned chicken breasts for enchiladas another night. I suppose I could have tripled the spices, I opted not to because I didn't want my boys to think it was too spicy)

½ Teaspoon of Paprika

¼ Teaspoon of Salt

¼ Teaspoon of Pepper

¼ Teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper

¼ Teaspoon of Onion Powder

¼ Teaspoon of Cumin

1 Teaspoon of Olive Oil (EVOO)

2 Cups of Low Sodium Chicken Stock

1 Cup of Quinoa

Juice and Zest from Two Limes

A Dash of Salt and Pepper

2 Tablespoons of Cilantro, chopped

1 avocado 

2 tablespoons plain greek yogurt

1 cob of fresh corn kernels  (removed from cob for garnish and pinch of sweet crunch)

In a small bowl combine all of the dry spice ingredients.  Season chicken breasts.  Add EVOO to a large pan or skillet and heat over med/med-high heat. Add chicken breasts to pan, brown on each side and cook chicken breasts all the way. 

Rinse quinoa before using (I always give myself a little more quinoa than the recipe calls for b/c rinsing the quinoa always means that some goes down the drain).  Add quinoa and chicken broth to a medium sauce pan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce to a low heat until all of the chicken broth has been absorbed. I stir frequently and add splashes of additional broth to prevent browning, sticking to the bottom of the pot and to get the quinoa to the fluffy texture that is preferred.

Add the warm quinoa to a large bowl. Toss in the lime zest, lime juice, salt and pepper, and chopped cilantro. Mix to combine.

Avocado Cream Sauce
Place the flesh from an avocado along with two tablespoons of Greek yogurt in a food processor (I use my DeLonghi Immersion Blender for this) and puree until smooth.  I added a pinch of sea salt, a few pinches of ground pepper and a squirt of lime juice in. 

 

Serve the sliced chicken breast on top of the quinoa.  Top with avocado cream sauce finished with fresh corn off the cob kernels.

Adult Version - served with 1/2 a can of Old Speckled Hen

 

  

Kid version - boys prefer their food separate.

 

Summer Braised Chicken and Vegetables

Another recipe from that interesting culinary resource, the Williams-Sonoma catalog that I tried recently and enjoyed was Summer Braised Chicken and Vegetables.. 


Summer Braised Chicken and Vegetables from the Williams Sonoma Catalog



 

From Williams Sonoma website (with my comments/adjustments added in):

This lighter take on braised chicken combines creamy Good Mother Stallard beans with red bell peppers, corn and snap peas. A handful of fresh herbs and a squeeze of lemon juice brighten the flavors. To cook the beans, soak them overnight and drain, then place in a large pot with water to cover by 2 inches. Add 1/2 yellow onion, 1 carrot and 1 celery stalk. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the beans are tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 3 lb. bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 2 large leeks, white and light green portions, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
• 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 lb. Good Mother Stallard beans, rinsed, soaked overnight, cooked until tender and drained (I used Black Eyed Peas instead)
• 1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels
• 1/2 lb. sugar snap peas, trimmed and cut in half on the bias
• 1/2 lb. green beans, trimmed and cut in half or thirds
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
• 1 to 2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

Directions:

In a 6-quart essential pan or a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil until just smoking. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Working in batches, sear the chicken, turning once, until golden brown on both sides, about 8 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate. Discard all but 2 Tbs. of the fat in the pan.  I only used 2 lbs and seared them until golden brown in a separate sautee pan not in the Dutch Oven. 

 

Set the Dutch Oven medium heat. Add the leeks and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Increase the heat to medium-high and add the wine. Bring to a simmer, then cook for 1 minute. Add the stock and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper.

Return the chicken to the pan. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and cook until the chicken is fork-tender, about 45 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and cover loosely with aluminum foil.  I didn't have the 45 minutes to let the chicken just hang out and cook. I browned the chicken in the sautee pan and didn't transfer it to the Dutch Oven. After the chicken was browned I added a splash or two of white wine, squeeze of lemon and fresh chives from the garden.  I turned the chicken on low and let it soak up the flavors.

Add the beans, corn, snap peas and beans to the Dutch Oven and increase the heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the snap peas are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Add the basil, chives and lemon juice, to taste. Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper.

Transfer the vegetables and braising liquid to warmed bowls and top with the chicken. Serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6.

This recipe went over really well with my boys.  They enjoyed the chicken and the veggies that were warm but still crunchy!

Williams-Sonoma Catalog/Recipes

Some of my FAVORITE recipes come from this catalog!


I LOVE when the latest Williams-Sonoma catalog arrives in mailbox!  Sure I like looking at newest cooking gadgets but what I really look forward to is the recipes!  The catalog is filled with recipes and the latest and greatest cooking apparatus to use to make your recipe - marketing geniuses.

I posted this Roasted Corn Chowder in a previous Roasted Brussel Sprout blog post.

 

The Williams-Sonoma will provide you with great recipes and even COMPLETE Menus!

 

You can request the Williams-Sonoma catalog here .

 

You can also search Williams-Sonoma's recipe in their online Recipe Database.

 

 

 

Chili

The cooler weather is upon us after a very hot summer!  Hooray!  Cool mornings and beautiful sunny splendid days make me think CHILI!  I am sure everyone has a great chili recipe (feel free to share yours in the comments below).  Here is mine, I will warn you ahead of time - I am not great at giving exact recipes.  I'm a "little of this, little of that" type of cook. 

Ingredients:
1 medium onion (diced)
2 garlic cloves minced or crushed
1 lb ground beef
1 can Rotel Mexican Lime and Cilantro
1 can diced tomatoes (15 ounce can)
1 can kidney beans (15 oz)  - I like to get the mixed light and dark can (Organic) - you can always do two cans - 1 light, 1 dark - drained and rinsed
1 can garbanzo beans (15 oz) - drained and rinsed
1 can black beans - drained and rinsed
3 cobs of corn - slice corn off of the cob
sprigs of fresh cilantro (remove leaves and chops leaves finely)
lime juice - a few squirts/squeezes
salt - to taste ( I prefer sea salt)
pepper
chili powder/cayenne pepper to taste

Instructions:
Sautee onions and garlic and then add ground beef, brown ground beef.
add in a few quirts of lime juice and fresh cilantro, sprinkle a little salt,  add pepper,
Toss in corn kernels and can of Rotel.  Stir. 
Add in all beans and tomato. Stir.
Add in chili powder and/or cayenne pepper to taste.
Heat until bubbling.  Add additional salt, pepper, pinch of sugar as needed.

Tonight I didn't have another can of diced tomatoes besides the Rotel so I used a bunch of fresh cherry tomatoes from the garden (2 handfuls or so) and a handfulor so of frozen chopped Early Girl tomatoes from the garden too.  I tossed in a 2 pinches of The Gourmet Collection's Fisherman's Seafood Spectacular  blend of spices (lemon, paprika, parsley, chili, onion, rosemary, lime...).  Sometimes I use a small can of tomato paste.  I tend to buy my meat that is grass fed from our local farmer's market.  My neighbor does my recipe but with ground turkey and enjoys it too!

To Serve:
We love it with shredded CABOT Sharp Cheddar Cheese and a dallop of Breakstone's Sour Cream with Blue Tortilla Chips to dip (Tostitos makes this Simply Natural brand made from Organic Corn that are very tasty).

School Lunch and Snacks Week 1

First week of school is under our belt so I wanted to share the lunches for that first week. My older son that is GF so we do our best to keep him GF while at school too. We do allow him small amounts of gluten each week since he is gluten sensitive not allergic to gluten. I also included our non-GF younger son's snack for Kindergarten in most photos. Already brainstorming Week 2's lunch and snacks...



GF Lunch:  Udi's bread with cheese and lettuce, mayo and mustard, local organic grapes, local cucumbers from the farmer's market, trail mix, snack size Pirate's Booty, Horizon MILK. 
Snack:  Earthbound Farm Carrots and Ranch Dip (I didn't see any gluten in the ingredients - please correct me if you find otherwise) and Babybel, water in Sigg bottle.


Kindergarten snack: green beans (from the farmer's market), cherries and sweet cherries
GF snack:  Earthbound Organic Carrots and Ranch Dip (I believe this is GF, please correct me if I am misinformed) and Babybel cheese.
Lunch: Red pepper, green beans (from market), Babybel cheese circle, Laughing cow Creamy Swiss cheese triange, Nitrate Free Pepperoni (Applegate Uncured Natural Pepperoni), grapes (local, unsprayed), trail mix (yogurt covered raisins, dark chocolate, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds.  Honest Kids drink. Sigg Waterbottle.


Kindergarten Snack:  Quaker Salt and Pepper Rice Cakes, farmer's market pickling cucumbers, Sigg waterbottle.
GF lunch:  Quaker Salt and Pepper Rice Cakes, Applegate Ham and Applegate Yogurt Cheese roll-ups (both nitrate free), farmer's market pickling cucumbers, Fig Newmans (not GF but wheat free, our son is fine with them),  apple from local farm (we picked before school started), Honest Kids drink
GF snack: Banana bread (made from Pamela's Baking Mix) and Babybel cheese, Sigg Waterbottle.


Kindergarten Snack:  Horizon Milk, organic baby carrots, pickling cucumbers, Annie's Cheddar Bunnies (not GF)
GF Snack:  Snyders GF Pretzel Sticks, Organic Baby carrots, Sigg Waterbottle
GF Lunch:  Applegate Ham and Applegate Yogurt Cheese Roll-ups, pickling cucumbers, GF chocolate chip cookie (made from Pamela's baking mix), Honeycrisp apple slices (from local farm), Pirate's Booty. Horizon Organic Milk.



Kindergarten Snack:  Horizon Honest Kids drink, Annie's Cheddar Bunnies, Babybel Cheese circle, mini raisin box.
GF Snack:  Snyders Pretzel Sticks, Babybel Cheese, Sigg Waterbottle
GF lunch:  Pirates Booty, left over steak kabobs sliced thin (local grass-fed beef bought at our farmer's market), GF blue cheese dressing, sunflower seeds,  organic spinach salad with pickling cucumbers, organic baby carrots (not pictured- added after).  Chocolate Milk (without high fructose corn syrup was purchased at school.

The Roasted Brussel Sprout

I am sure some of you saying to yourself, there is a typo in her blog name. I know that!  I actually forever thought it was called Brussel Sprouts not Brussels Sprouts.  It was one of my mom and grandma's favorite dishes at Christmas time. My mom always served them roasted in one of her beautiful pottery bowls that she picked up on Cape Cod many moons ago.  My mom always said it wasn't Christmas without Brussels Sprouts. 
Recently, I rediscovered Brussels Sprouts as a food one Christmas when I was trying to recreate my mom's Christmas meals that I missed so very much (my mom passed away six years ago).  When I was shopping for them in the grocery I noticed the sign, Brussels Sprouts.  Well I'll be darned, all of those years calling it a Brussel Sprouts when it really was Brussels!
They have quickly grown to become one of my favorite vegetables in the winter and through the year when I can find them.  I LOVE them quatered, roasted with a little bit of Wegman's Basting Oil and sprinkled with sea salt.  However, my boys prefer them raw, au natural! These are the same boys that like raw cabbage, okra and turnips (my kids are weird). 

So the name fits!  It reminds me of my mom and grandma who were two of the best cooks I knew and who both inspire me so much to spend the time creating and working hard to feed my family healthy foods.  It connects my love of cooking with my love of gardening.  And it is a little quirky and different which I kind of like.  So there explains the name. 

 

Boiled Red Potatoes, Rosemary Lemon Chicken, and Roasted Brussels Sprouts

 

Wegmans Recipe for Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Roasted Brussels Sprouts recipe and reviews

1 pkg (14 oz) Food You Feel Good About Cleaned & Cut Brussels Sprouts, quartered 

2 Tbsp Wegmans Basting Oil  (I used a little less)
Salt (sea salt) and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

1. Toss Brussels sprouts and basting oil together in large bowl; season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread in single layer on baking sheet. (I put on parchment paper or foil)
    
2. Roast on center rack of oven 20-25 min, turning once, until slightly browned and tender when pierced with knife tip.

Back to School Cupcakes

On the first day of school, our neighborhood has a little cupcake celebration at one of the community parks.  I saw this adorable back to school cupcake on Pinterest and couldn't resist. I used Betty Crocker's GF Chocolate Cake Mix for the cake. Red Sugar Sprinkes. Gummy worms and gummy leaves. Snyders GF pretzel sticks for the stem.
So cute! 
They got gobbled up in a matter of minutes at the park!
I personally thought they were a little too sugary but the kids seem to like them.