Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Healthy can be delicious... 

Anthony and I have been trying to eat healthier and choose better options... it's been (mostly) successful and not that difficult. The other night I was craving chinese food and as much as I wanted to order Sesame Chicken and an Eggroll... I went online and found a few inspiring Chinese New Year recipes and settled on this yummy option.

And as usual, I had to tweek it to fit our tastes and lighten it up a bit. I opted to swap out the ground beef for ground chicken, used Tamari soy sauce, fresh ginger instead of pickled, 86'd the water chestnuts and chopped up some red cabbage, scallions and cucumbers. Soooooooooooooo delicious and no starch to be found.

Next time I will use a sturdier lettuce. I doubled up the lettuce and we still had a few breaks. I was actually thinking maybe next time using the red cabbage to hold the chicken and chop the lettuce. I'm a risk taker... what can I say? :)

According to allrecipes.com, the recipe yeilds 4 services (2 for us) and is 388 calories/serving or 776/person. But since I swapped out beef for chicken it was only 605/person! That doesn't seem like a lot but little changes like that add up... or at least that's what I keep telling myself! :)

High Five for Friday

I've been following Lauren at From My Grey Desk for quite some time now and love reading her "High Five for Friday" posts. The high fives have spread to other great blogs too and when I decided to expand my humble cooking blog into my humble life blog I knew I wanted to join the fun!


1. I think I'll start off my five favorite things this week with revamping my blog and sending high fives to everyone that follows!

(Yes, that is a pad of sticky notes, and yes, they are amazing!)

2. My smoosh face looking for morning snuggles... how could you resist this:

3. These delicious and slightly healthier Asian Lettuce wraps:

(Recipe here)


4. Yummmmmy strawberry yogurt cake... I need to make this:

Pinned here

5. My last favorite thing of this week was hearing all about Anthony's mom's trip to Sudan. She took some absolutely beautiful pictures of the people. I love this capture of the three boys that wandered on to their compound daily for trail mix:

Check out more pictures and learn about SUDEF

So head on over to From My Grey Desk and check out Lauren's blog as well as links to lots of other High Five Fridays!

Asian Chicken with Stir-fry Veggie Rice

This recipe was formed out of desperation and a ticking expiration date.... "What the heck am I going to do with these 2 chicken legs?" I googled and googled until I stumbled on a few Asian glazed chicken thighs that sounded delicious... so I winged it!

Asian Chicken with Stir-fry Veggie Rice

Ingredients:

2 chicken thighs

1 tblspoon sesame oil

juice of 1 lime

1/4 cup teriyaki or soy sauce

1 tblspoon honey

4 garlic cloves, crushed

ground ginger (or fresh grated if you have it)

1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes

jasmine rice - (2 cups cooked)

any veggies you want about 2 - 3 cups worth chopped

2 tblspoons teriyaki or soy sauce

sesame seeds for garnish

Directions:
Combine sesame oil, lime juice, sauce, honey, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes and pour into a large ziplock bag. Add chicken to the bag and smoosh around so marinade and chicken make friends. Place bag in refrigerator (after checking for leaks) and marinate overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove chicken from bag and reserve marinade. Place chicken in a shallow baking dish and pat the top skin with a paper towel to remove marinade. Then brush skin with a little olive oil or sesame oil. This will help the skin become delicious and crispy. Pour reserved marinade around chicken (not on top). Bake for 45 minutes.

In the meantime, measure out enough jasmine rice for the number of people, 2 in my case so I used a cup of rice and it made about 2 cups. Put your rice in a mesh strainer (so the holes aren't bigger than the rice) and rinse with cold water until the water is no longer milky. This step is super important for nice flaky light rice. You are basically rinsing a lot of sticky starch out of the rice. Cook rice according to instructions, but keep a close eye on your rice. I always find the instructions call for a much longer time than necessary. When the liquid is absorbed, remove from heat, leave covered and fluff when ready to serve.

About 20 mins before the chicken is done, heat a wok or large skillet over medium. Drizzle in oil and add chopped veggies. Stir fry until veggies are just softened and add either teriyaki or soy sauce. Continue to stir fry until veggies are done, the sauce should be mostly absorbed. Remove from heat, drizzle with a little sesame oil and a tsp of sesame seeds and toss.

Plate a scoop of rice, top with veggies and add chicken to plate. Drizzle as much of the chicken's sauce on the rice and veggies as you like. The sauce is amazing so don't skip the drizzle!

Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Couscous

Last year my office had it's annual Christmas party at a delicious tapas restaurant and someone ordered the Chicken Tagine... I had no idea what it was but it sounded fantastic. It arrived in a strange triangle cone dish and I already liked it. It felt foreign and new... The strange shaped dish is called a tagine and it's a casserole dish made for slow cooking and shaped like a cone to trap moisture and allow it to drip back into the dish. Although I'm sure a tagine would bring back that fun foreign and new feeling, my stock pot did a wonderful job!

Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Couscous

Ingredients:

4 garlic cloves, minced

1tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp sweet paprika

1 tsp salt
1 whole chicken cut up, back and wings removed (freeze and make stock!)

1 medium onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups chicken broth

1 (16 ounce) can of diced tomatoes

2 lemons, one sliced and the other juiced

2 tblspoons honey

1 cup dried apricots, chopped

1 cup greek olives or black kalamata

1/4 cup whole blanched almonds

1 cup couscous

1 handful of chopped cilantro for garnish

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix together garlic and spices and rub all over chicken pieces. Heat a heavy bottom stock pot or casserole over medium high heat. Drizzle in enough oil to coat bottom and add chicken and brown on all sides. Do this in batches so it's not too crowded to brown. Once all chicken is browned, set aside. Add the chopped onion, garlic and any remaining spice mix to the pot. Cook until soft. 

Add chicken broth, tomatoes with their juices and both lemons. Stir to scrape any bits and flavor off  the bottom. Add chicken and cover, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. 

Add in honey, apricots and olives. Simmer for an additional 15 minutes. Taste and season if needed.

At this point, my chicken was so tender it was falling off the bone and the skin had come off. I removed the bones and skin. No other recipe I've ever read suggested to do that, so if you'd like to keep them, by all means. I used tongs and roughly shredded the chicken. Simmer uncovered for about 10 mins until the sauce is slightly reduced. In the meantime, make your couscous per directions on package. In a small skillet, toast almonds over medium heat. Roughly chop almonds.

Add coucous to your bowl, ladle chicken and sauce on top and garnish with cilantro and almonds.
Absolutely DELICIOUS! You could also add a can of chickpeas at the same time as the olives. And I would have if I had them! 

Stuffed Peppers

To stuff or to be stuffed... in this case - BOTH! We're stuffing peppers and then stuffing them in our face!

Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:

2 bell peppers (any color), sliced in half lengthwise and cleaned out
olive oil
salt

1 bag of Uncle Ben's Whole Grain Boil in a Bag brown rice

1/2 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb ground beef (chicken or turkey would work too)
2 tblspoons worcestershire sauce
salt & pepper

1 can tomato sauce
1/2 cup beef broth
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tblspoon sugar
a pinch of crushed red pepper
salt & pepper

1 cup shredded cheese (cheddar, monterey jack or mexican blend)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400. Slice 2 bell peppers in half and remove stem. There a few different methods to this part. I prefer to slice in half rather than loping the top off. I think the stuffing cooks faster and you get double the real estate for cheese topping! I also don't believe in leaving the stem on for an artistic rustic look. If you can't eat it, don't put on the plate.
Place the 4 halves in a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast peppers while cooking the remaining ingredients, about 15 - 20 minutes. Some people boil peppers before stuffing but why boil (which adds no flavor) when you could save yourself an extra pot to clean and add delicious roasted flavor.
Cook brown rice according to package directions, set aside.
Heat large skillet on medium. Drizzle in a little olive oil and add chopped pepper, onion and garlic. Saute until pepper and onion are soft. Add beef and brown. Add worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper.
At the same time, to a medium sauce pan add tomato sauce, beef broth, garlic powder, onion powder, sugar and crushed red pepper.
Once bubbling and slightly reduced, add half of sauce to ground beef mixture. Let that cook for a little bit. Add rice, stir to incorporate. Add half of cheese, stir to incorporate.
Remove peppers from oven, stuff with beef mixture, pour remaining sauce on top and around peppers and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Pop in the oven for about 30 minutes or until bubbling and cheese in browned.

Lentil Soup

It's not much of a looker but it's got a great soul... Lentil soup that is. So earthy and warm.

Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 large onion, diced

1 cup carrots, diced

2 tsp kosher salt

2 large tomatoes (beefsteak works great), sliced

balsamic vinegar

olive oil

1 tsp sugar

salt & pepper

1 lb lentils, picked and rinsed

8 cups of chicken or veggie broth

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

salt & pepper

balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450. Slice tomatoes into 1/2 inch slices. Combine balsamic vinegar, oil, sugar, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add tomatoes and allow to marinate for 10 minutes, tossing to coat. Spread tomatoes on an aluminum lined baking sheet. Drizzle each with remaining dressing and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Roast for about 25 minutes. Once they are cool enough to touch, peel off skin and chop up just a little.

Drizzle enough olive oil in a large soup pot to coat bottom. Heat over medium. Once hot, add garlic, onion, carrots and salt. Stir and allow that to sweat for about 7 minutes or until the onions are translucent.

I have a real dislike for celery but if you don't mind its putrid taste, cut the carrots portion in half and dice a 1/2 cup of celery into the mix. I used a mini food processor to speed up the chopping a bit. It's very easy and helps keep things a little more uniformed. 

To the pot add: tomatoes, lentils, broth, coriander and cumin. Stir and turn heat up to high to bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes or until lentils are tender.

Remove half of the mixture into a blender (mostly solids, but enough liquid to blend). Cover lid with a towel and blend until smooth. Return to pot and stir. 

Ladle into bowl and drizzle a little bit of balsamic into each bowl. I served it with a crusty bread that I sliced into thick slices, drizzled with olive oil, broiled until toasted and rubbed fresh garlic on each slice. AMAZING!

Chicken Paprikash

Hungarian Paprika is one of those spices that everyone should know and love. Some people don't find that the little red tin variety tastes any different than the generic kind. Although I haven't tasted both side by side, I will say that when an entire nation prides itself on one product they call uniquely theirs, it's a matter of quality. Take maple syrup for example, have I ever tried Maine's maple syrup and known it wasn't from Vermont. No. But would I ever, EVER, allow anything but Pure Vermont Maple Syrup into my home? Hecky naw!
So with that clear example at hand, I give you:

Chicken Paprikash

Ingredients:

2 or 3 swirls of EVOO, enough to coat bottom of pan

2 lbs chicken breast, chopped into 1 inch pieces

salt & pepper

baby red potatoes

2 large or 3 medium onions, sliced from root to tip

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

4 tblspoons Hungarian sweet paprika

1 tsp hot Hungarian paprika (or cayenne pepper)

1/2 cup white wine

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

salt & pepper

2 tblspoons butter

1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:

Add potatoes to a large pot and cover with cold water. Add salt and boil until potatoes are fork tender. Drain and set aside. I prefer red potatoes for their silky smooth texture. Next time I make this dish, to add more traditional flair, I'll use chicken thighs and serve it with dumplings instead.

In a large skillet or heavy bottomed soup pot, heat oil over medium/high and add seasoned chicken pieces. Brown up the chicken and remove from pan. Don't worry about cooking it thru as it will go back into the pot to finish. 

Add onions and garlic to pot. Cook while stirring until onions pick up all the delicious bits off the bottom of the pan and start to turn a light brown. Add paprikas (and cayenne) and stir to coat everything. Add wine, broth and chicken. Stir to make sure you pick up any bits off the bottom. Turn heat down to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Taste and season as necessary. 

Stir in butter and allow to melt. Stir in sour cream so incorporated. 

Serve poured over potatoes or noodles or dumplings. Also since there is so much delicious sauce to mop up, some bread would be nice, especially rye bread. 

Pesto Gnocchi with Chicken Sausage

This weekend Jourdan came to visit from Orlando and we went to the Incubus concert in Tampa. It was the best live show I've ever seen. Great set list (although I was hoping for "Make Yourself"), great performance and energy. Anyhoo... we were hanging on the couch talking recipes and Jourdan was telling me she had made one of the Everyday with Rachael Ray recipes and how delicious it was. I decided to give it a shot. Pesto Gnocchi for dinner! I figured after talking so much about it I didn't need the recipe I could "Wing It"... well according to Jourdan, my picture didn't look ANYTHING like it was supposed to... it tasted delicious though!

Pesto Gnocchi with Chicken Sausage

Ingredients:

2 medium tomatoes, sliced into thick slices

2 drizzles of extra virgin olive oil

2 drizzles of balsamic vinegar

1 pinch sugar

salt & pepper

2 swirls extra virgin olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 links of fresh hot italian chicken sausage, remove casing

1 package of gnocchi

1 cup milk

3 tblspoons pesto

handful of parmesan

salt & pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450. In a medium bowl, mix together EVOO, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Marinate tomatoes while waiting for oven to preheat. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat with nonstick spray. Lay tomatoes out in a single layer. Roast for 25 minutes or until soft and "roasty looking".

In a large pot, bring water to boil. Add gnocchi and boil for 3 - 4 minutes. Drain and set a aside.

Heat a large skillet on medium with 2 swirls of EVOO. Add garlic and sausage and break up sausage while browning. If you can't find links of italian chicken sausage, look for bulk italian chicken sausage or if you like pork, then use that. This recipe would be delish with chopped chicken breasts and add in italian seasoning. Or don't add any meat and have a veggie dish instead.

Once the sausage is browned up nice, add the gnocchi and toast them up a little. Lower heat to low/medium and add about half of the milk to loosen up the bits on the bottom. Add pesto and stir to combine. Season and taste. Add more milk to control how "saucy it is". The sauce should me smooth and thick, not runny, unless you like it runny...  Add roasted tomatoes and break up a bit in mixing. Add parmesan and stir until melted.  I like to garnish with a little parm and serve with garlic bread (or cheat and pop some texas toast in instead). 

Namaste!

I try to make one dish a month from another country or culture... this week I had a craving for chickpea curry or Chana Masala. I searched and searched for recipes and decided to base it off of a recipe I found on the Candid Cooks blog.  It looked fantastic and her description made my mouth water. I made a few changes and it was phenomenal! I'm pretty excited to now have a few new spices added to my pantry and repertoire.

Chana Masala with Chicken

Ingredients:

2 tblspoon each of butter and extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp of cumin seeds

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp grated fresh ginger

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp garam masala

2 tsp curry powder

1 tsp ground coriander (smells amazing)

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp red chili powder

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast, chopped up evenly

1 can diced tomatoes (DO NOT DRAIN LIQUID)

2 cans chickpeas/garbanzo beans (DO NOT DRAIN LIQUID)

2 tsp salt

1 tblspoon honey

1 cup coconut milk

1 tblspoon greek yogurt

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Directions:

Heat butter and olive oil in a soup pot until foamy then add cumin seeds. Cover and listen for popping, after about 1 minute add onion, garlic, ginger and all the spices. Cook over medium heat until the onions are translucent.

Add the chopped up chicken, tomatoes and chickpeas. The Candid Cook made it pretty clear there would be dire consequences for not using the canned liquid so I wouldn't temp the flavor gods and just follow directions! Season with salt and honey. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer, cover and let it hang out for at least an hour.

Before serving add coconut milk, yogurt and cilantro... allow it to heat thru and ladle over some basmati rice. And it would almost be a crime not to serve some naan along with it!

Corn Chowda

I really enjoy a fresh creamy corn chowder. Corn is in season right now down here in Florida so I couldn't resist whipping up my favorite recipe. 

If you've ever tried to remove kernels from an ear of corn you know what a mess it can be. I learned this trick from a show on Food Network... either Rachael Ray or Alton Brown's Good Eats.

Place a small bowl upside down inside a bigger bowl and run your knife down the cob. Much less mess and your kernels collect nicely in the bowl. 

Now don't get too excited... this isn't one of those blogs... I won't be taking step-by-step pictures... I've tried it and end up burning my garlic bread trying to capture everything. But I thought this tip was worthy of a share. 

Corn Chowda

Ingredients:

2 tblspoons butter

drizzle of olive oil

1 onion, diced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp thyme

1/4 cup flour

6 cups chicken stock

2 cups heavy cream

3 cups of diced potatoes (preferably red bliss)

6 ears of corn (kernel-ed)

salt & pepper

garlic powder

onion powder

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

Heat butter and oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and thyme. Cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Dust with flour and stir until coated. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil.

Add cream and potatoes and bring to a heavy boil for 7 minutes or so. This will break down the potatoes and help thicken the chowder. 

Add corn and seasoning and simmer for 15 minutes. Make sure to taste during this stage. Potatoes are salt absorbers so you may need to add a little more than you think. 

Finally add in parsley and little drizzle of olive oil. Ladle into bowls and serve... (with garlic bread!)

Eggplant Parmesan

I absolutely love Eggplant Parm... actually I absolutely love MY recipe. I don't know if it's the serious extent I take the seasoning or if I've just been disappointed too many times by soggy slimey restaurant attempts.


I love how the eggplant melts in your mouth and the salty crunchy combination of the breading... I prefer a little bit of sweet marinara on top and a little mixed in with the pasta. And of course a nice nutty parmesan is key! 


I tell myself that even though it's technically a fried dish... I get extra points for it being a fried vegetable!


I really hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

Eggplant Parm

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant or 2 smaller ones (cut into similar sized circles or crescents)

2 eggs (beaten with a tiny bit of water)

breadcrumbs

salt & pepper

garlic powder

dried parsley

vegetable oil

1 handful thin spaghetti

1/2 a jar of good marinara

pinch of sugar

garlic powder

shredded parmesan

Prep work: 

You'll need the usual breading station set up. A bowl for the eggs, a bowl for the breadcrumbs and large plate or baking sheet for the breaded eggplant. Also you'll want a baking sheet to put the fried eggplants on, once you're done frying you can sprinkle with parm and pop in the oven to melt cheese.

Directions:

Season the egg mixture with salt and pepper and the breadcrumbs with salt, pepper, garlic powder and parsley. Dip cut up eggplant into the egg mixture and then into breadcrumbs. Get your water boiling for your pasta and start heating up the oil. You'll know the oil is hot enough by dropping a few drops of water in and if they sizzle up immediately, you're good to go.

Add pasta to water. Pour marinara in small sauce pan and season with a little sugar and some garlic powder. Heat on low.  Once pasta is cooked, drain and place back into the same pot, add just enough sauce to coat pasta nicely.

Fry the eggplant in batches, flipping when brown.

Once you're done frying, sprinkle parmesan on top of eggplants and pop under the broiler for a just a minute or two so that the cheese melts. 

Plate pasta and eggplants. Spoon marinara over eggplant and sprinkle with a little more cheese. DELISH!