I officially need a bigger kitchen.

Well, my family officially thinks I live in the kitchen. Christmas gifts included:

A set of 4 meat thermometers 

A new cutting board

A cookbook holder

A Bobby Deen cookbook

An Ina Garten cookbook 

A new kitchen timer 

A bottle of vodka 

A new potholder 

A skillet

I'm not complaining. Almost all of the above were desperately needed and/or much appreciated. 

First thing I tackled (after the vodka, natch) was the Bobby Deen cookbook. 30 minute meals under 350 calories? Good work, Ma. So far everything we've tried has been easy and delicious, so I'm sold. 

Well, not the zucchini and corn fritters. I don't want to talk about those. (Hubs thinks I "saved them" by making them a hash and putting them under some chipotle pork chops. But that was not the intent. I have long standing deficiencies in the fritter/fried cake department.)

Last night we tried the Lemony Greek Chicken Soup with Spinach. Adjusted it just a tad to make a bigger pot by adding more low sodium broth (half regular and half low), two small chicken breasts and more spinach, but otherwise followed his recipe. I was afraid it wouldn't be enough as a main course, but it worked for me. Hubs had two bowls. Some French bread would have been a nice addition. Or a spinach salad, actually! 

Trying to update to a better photo btw. Low light and yellow soup are a bad combo...

Lemony Greek Chicken Soup with Spinach 

9 cups chicken broth 

1/2 cup orzo pasta

8oz chicken breast, cooked and cubed

Half a bag baby spinach, rough chopped

Juice from one lemon (1/4 cup)

3 eggs, room temp 

Fresh pepper 

Bring chicken broth to a boil. Add orzo and cook 7 minutes (or 2 less than the box tells you to). Stir in chicken and spinach, cook two more minutes. Turn off heat. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and lemon until it gets nice and frothy. Keep whisking as you take a ladle full of broth and very slowly add it to the eggs. Repeat with another ladle or two. Then stir the soup as you pour the egg mixture slowly back into the soup. (This makes sure you don't end up with scrambled eggs. This isn't egg drop soup.) 

Season with fresh pepper and serve immediately. 

  

If you can make this easier, I would love to hear it.

This is not the first chicken tortilla soup recipe I've posted. It's not even the first one using a crock pot. Sorry. BUT. If I promise that it's easier (AND tastier), am I forgiven? Yes? Fabulous. Hubs is fighting the World's Longest Cold™ and I've worn a sweater two days in a row, so soup is officially in order. I'm feeling particularly lazy, however, so I figured I'd do it with as little work as possible. And I totally lazied the crap out of this one. If you have raw chicken, throw it in. Still frozen? Throw it in. Mine was straight out of the freezer and worked. just. fine. The only thing that could have made it easier would have been pre-chopped onions so I wouldn't have a chopping board/knife to clean. (Hint: buy pre-chopped onions.) Well, to clean twice, anyway. You'll still need to chop up some cilantro at the end. Or not. Be as lazy as you want, my little slugs. That's all you. Chicken Tortilla Soup  Throw all of this into a crock pot*: Half an onion, sliced or chopped (1/2-1 cup's worth) 1 heaping spoonful minced garlic (out of a jar) 1 tsp chili powder 1.5 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp thyme (or oregano) 1 bay leaf 16 oz jar fire-roasted salsa verde 1 can diced tomatoes 1 32oz box chicken broth (don't use low sodium. If you do, you'll need to add some salt. See? Pointless.) 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts Set it on the 8 hour setting. Go do something else. I'm not bossy. Do what you want. After about 6-7 hours, pull the chicken out and shred it with a couple of forks. It should break apart easily. It won't be hard. I promise. Throw it back in and let it cook til your little light/timer goes off. Top with any or all of the following: Tortilla chips (hence the name...) Shredded Mexican cheese (out of a bag, natch) Chopped cilantro Plain Greek yogurt * It doesn't have to be in a slow cooker. Cook the chicken separately, shred and then throw it all together and simmer a half hour or so, and I'm sure it'll all still be just fine and dandy**. ** American Horror Story has now ruined the word Dandy for me. Amirite? Gahhhh.

Your kitchen willl totally reek of veggies after this.

I've posted a version of Divan before, but I wanted to change it up and get some extra veggies in here. Because the adults in this house like some greens. The child? Um, no. So rather than try and trick him into eating something he'll probably refuse to taste anyway, I just made this for us. The last time I made Divan, I used a mixed veggie mix from Trader Joe's rather than straight broccoli and it was pretty awesome. This time, the steam in the bag fresh Brussel Sprouts were on sale, so I went that route. Next time I may try something else...everything I've tried so far tends to work. (But when does veggies and cheese NOT work? I mean, really.) Speaking of, I added more cheese than I normally do, but with all the extra veggies, I went with it. A good call, I think. Chicken Brussels Divan About 16 oz. chicken breast About 16oz halved Brussel sprouts, steamed One small head broccoli, cut in small pieces and steamed 1 can condensed cream of broccoli soup (Campbell's is best)* About 1/4 1% cup milk 1 cup finely shredded cheddar jack cheese 1/4 cup breadcrumbs Curry powder Salt & Pepper *Cream of Chicken or Cream of Mushroom work well, too. Regular or low-sodium. Season the chicken well with salt, pepper, and curry powder. Cook at 375 about 25 minutes. Let cool slightly and cut into bite sized pieces. Mix chicken pieces with brussels, broccoli, soup and milk. Season with a pinch each of S&P. Spread into baking dish, sprinkle evenly with cheese and then breadcrumbs. Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes until cheese is melted and everything is bubbly.

Kobe's back!

And so is Kobe soup!

You may remember that when Kobe scored 81 points in 2006, Hubs and I were eating Tom Ka soup, which we thereafter dubbed Kobe soup. It's one of those that I don't use a recipe for, so it's a little different every time...I realized, however, that the way I did it tonight was enough different (and enough better) than when I posted it last time to warrant a Take Two post.

Comeback Kobe Soup 

(Tom Ka Gai)

Peanut oil
8oz chicken breast, thinly sliced
1 package extra firm tofu, drained well and cubed in 1 inch pieces
2 cans light coconut milk (I like the Thai Kitchen brand)
14oz chicken broth (fill one of the empty coconut cans)
About an inch of fresh ginger, minced
1 tbsp or so chopped lemon grass (I use the kind in a tube from the produce section)
3 tbsp fish sauce
1/4 cup lime juice
2 tsp palm sugar
about a tsp turmeric
1-2 tsp chili paste
2 dried chiles, chopped fine
One can peeled, broken (or chopped) straw mushrooms, drained
one can baby corn, drained (cut them in 3rds or 4ths if they're whole)
Thinly sliced green onion and chopped cilantro, to serve

Heat a large soup or stock pot over medium high, add a little peanut oil (1 tbspish). Add tofu and let cook, tossing or stirring occasionally, until they start to brown (takes like 10 minutes). Remove tofu, and add chicken, and cook a minute or two. Add turmeric, lemongrass and ginger and stir to coat. Cook another minute.

Add broth and coconut milk, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, stir tofu back in and remaining ingredients (besides the cilantro and green onion), and let simmer about 15 minutes.

Top with the green stuff, and that's it!

Kale's just a leafy green, people. The insanity confuses me.

Have you joined the Kale craze yet? It's freaking everywhere. That's not to say I'm not on board...I am, mostly. The hubby likes it, it's super healthy, it's not romaine...but it's a little bitter and thick and a little rabbity. 

But basically, I'm willing to play with it. I tend to just buy the pre-cut/washed bags, cause I'm lazy (what?) but if you do, make sure and pick out the pieces with the giant stems still attached. Cause they're what we refer to as nasty. 

Anyway, here's an easy one to try if you're curious and/or already on the Kale Train. Homemade Shake and Bake chicken with a roasted tomato and garlic kale salad. Try it. Let me know if you're on board.

And if you have kale recipes YOU like, let me know. Normally we do a golden raisin, pinenut, cheese with garlic lemon dressing concoction. So I'm open for new ideas!

Walnut Panko Chicken with Tomato and Kale Salad

12 oz chicken breasts (3 4oz pieces or equivalent) 

1 cup milk

1 tbsp vinegar

1 tbsp Dijon mustard 

1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts 

1/4 cup panko, toasted

2 tbsp Parmesan 

1 tsp fresh chopped rosemary (or 1/2 tsp dried)

1/4 tsp fresh ground white pepper

1/4 tsp salt

A couple cups fresh kale, trimmed and cut in pieces (just buy a bag) 

Olive oil

A cup quartered cherry tomatoes

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 

Balsamic vinegar 

Preheat oven to 425. 

Mix milk, vinegar and mustard in Tupperware or large bag. Add chicken, and let sit in fridge for 5 minutes-2 hours.

Mix remaining chicken ingredients (walnuts through salt) in shallow bowl. 

Place kale in a salad bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Use your hand to toss well, till everything is well coated. Set aside. (This tenderizes it a bit. Not a necessary step, but a good one) 

Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Make a separate foil "bowl" about 6" square. Fold up the sides so the contents don't leak. In it, place the tomatoes and garlic. Sprinkle well with olive oil and a good dash of balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

Place bowl on one side of cookie sheet. 

Remove chicken from milk bath, let excess drip off, then roll in panko mixture till well coated on all sides. Place on other side of cookie sheet, then bake everything for 20 minutes (or until chicken is cooked through).

Let sit 5 minutes. Add tomatoes to kale and toss. Serve with a bit of Parmesan on top. 

Break out the crock pot. The big one.

So, the crock pot.

We like to pretend it's magical and frees us from "cooking." It doesn't. It makes it easier. A little. Sometimes. You still have to chop. You still have to clean up. However...there's something about doing the work early in the day that makes it seem like you didn't really cook. And I'm on board with that.

Plus the house smells good all day. Though when you're watching your calories and all you smell is chicken and cumin deliciousness wafting from your kitchen all day this may be more obnoxious than "good," but I digress.

Anyway, I informed hubby we'd be having a crock pot heavy fall this year. I probably say that every year, but I'm going to try and mean it this time.

You need a big crock pot for this one, just to warn you. You could also just simmer in a stock pot on the stove for a couple hours if you had to, but that kind of kills the point of crockpotting, doesn't it?

Crock Pot Tortilla Soup
4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used 2 large and 3 small)
One small onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
8 cups chicken broth
Large can (28oz) diced tomatoes
4-5 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
3 bay leaves
1/4 tsp dried oregano
2 corn tortillas, torn into small pieces
about a cup frozen corn
juice from one lime
about 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
more chopped cilantro (to top)
shredded mexican style cheese (to top)
greek yogurt or sour cream (to top)
tortilla chips, crushed (to top)
Tapatio or Mexican hot sauce (to top, optional)
Radish slices (to top, optional)

Throw everything from chicken to oregano into the crockpot. Stir gently, and turn on for however long works for you. I did 6 hours.

After about 5 hours (or 30-60 minutes before you have it set to be done), remove all the chicken to a big bowl. Use two forks and shred into pieces (it should basically fall apart). Add back to soup and add in the tortilla pieces, corn, cilantro, and lime juice and keep cooking.

When it's done, serve with more cilantro, cheese, yogurt and tortilla chips, etc. on top. People tend to like to top their own food to taste, but you can be a Type-A host and do it for them. Just really depends on how many small bowls you have/want to wash/fancy you want to be.

Eat more garlic. It's good for you.

I love garlic. Love it. I normally buy it by the head and use as needed, but once in awhile I cheat and get the bag of pre-peeled cloves. Problem with those, however, is that you really need to use them quickly, and they include a LOT of garlic.

Enter 40 Clove Chicken. I make this kind of a lot. But usually with chicken breasts and just do it on the stovetop (also delicious, but more of a mess. And healthier, cause I replace most of the butter with sherry) and serve with mashed potatoes. I just searched this blog for that recipe but apparently I've never posted it?? I apologize. Next time I do it, I will.

You can use bigger pieces of chicken for this, whatever fits in the skillet without being squashed (Breast, thigh, etc., but it'll work best if they are bone-in pieces. Cook it a little longer—up to 1.5 hours for an entire chicken.)

Oh, and crusty bread is necessary with this one. You need something to smash those roasted garlic cloves onto. Also, the final product photo is terrible, but I'd already dug in before I realized I hadn't taken one, and it was too late to do any art direction on my plate. Sooooo, yeah...here it is before I stuck it in the oven.

One Pot 40 Clove Chicken and Potatoes

1.5-2lbs chicken wings/drummettes (About 16 pieces)
Salt and pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves (or 6 fresh sprigs)
Olive oil
2 tbsp butter
4 medium yellow potatoes, quartered
About 40 cloves of peeled garlic

Heat oven to 350.
Sprinkle chicken well with salt and pepper. In large heavy skillet, heat about 2 tsp oil and 2 tbsp butter over medium high. When hot, add chicken and brown about 3 minutes, turn and brown the other side about 3 minutes.

Add potatoes, and stir to combine. Turn off heat. Add garlic, and do your best to get all the cloves on the bottom (under the chicken and potatoes). Sprinkle thyme, salt and drizzle a little olive oil over the top of everything.

Stick skillet in hot oven, cook for an hour. About half way through, turn the chicken pieces over and throw a piece of aluminum foil loosely over the top. Add salt to taste and let rest about 5-10 minutes before eating.

Use those figs!

Yay for figs! They've been everywhere here lately-the farmers market, the grocery store, the other grocery store...so obviously I had to figure out how to use them. This originally was going to be a goat cheese and thyme stuffed chicken, but I only bought goat cheese in my head, so plans changed about 5 minutes before I started cooking.

Luckily, too. This was delicious. And I did it all in one skillet. (Plus a bowl here and there. You are welcome, hubby.)

This recipe might call more the most butter I've ever used, like ever. It wasn't a huge quantity, but it was in everything. And it was awesome. The recipes I found and combined to make this all called for a LOT more, so I actually replaced some with a bit of olive oil, and still ended up using 3 tbsp less than directed. So if you're a Paula Deen at heart (the butter loving part, not the other part), go ahead and throw some more in there-you can add at least another tbsp to the sauce. I just didn't want the calories and didn't miss it. Your call.

Also, I've been making 3-4 servings of everything lately so hubby can take leftovers for lunch. So this will work with 3 or 4 chicken breasts. It's not exact. You may have some leftover cheese mixture if you make 3, or just don't fill the chickens as full and make 4. I trust you can figure this one out.

I served with a side of simple mashed red potatoes (skins on, mashed with some butter, milk, salt and pepper to taste).

Blue Cheese, Caramelized Onion and Walnut Chicken with Fig Sauce

3-4 boneless chicken breasts
Half a medium-small red onion, halved and sliced thinly
about 3 oz blue cheese
About 2 tbsp chopped walnuts
salt and fresh pepper
8-10 figs, halved
1 cup red wine
1 tbsp sugar
1 cup chicken broth/stock
butter
olive oil
toothpicks

Heat oven to 400.

Heat about 2 tsp butter and a dash of olive oil over medium heat in a large oven safe skillet (if you have one, otherwise a large frying pan or similar is fine) and cook onions for 8 minutes or so until they are soft and starting to brown. Remove to a medium bowl to cool.

Add the wine and sugar to the pan and bring to boil (high heat). Reduce to medium and simmer until it's reduced to about half. Add the broth and reduce again til about half gone. Pour liquid carefully into a pyrex or bowl (or whatever you've got) and set aside.

Take the cooled onions and add in the blue cheese and walnuts. Gently mix together.

Take your chicken breasts and with a thin knife, make a hole into the middle of the narrow end, fanning your knife a bit to make the hole wide on the inside. It may be easier at this point to stick a finger or two in there and widen a bit more (don't break through!) If you have a different way you want to make a pocket, do it. The point is that you're gonna put stuff in it and you don't really want it escaping.

Take the cheese and onion mixture and (with your hands) push it down into the pockets. Take a toothpick and close the hole up a bit, if you can. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper.

Add 2 tsp butter and a splash of olive oil to skillet/pan and heat to medium. Brown the chicken for about 3 minutes a side, then either put the skillet straight into the oven or transfer the chicken to a (cooking spray coated) baking dish. Let cook 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let set. If you used the skillet method, remove from skillet and place on a serving dish before continuing.

In the skillet/pan, add another tbsp of butter and once hot (foamy) add the figs, cut side down. Let cook 3-4 minutes, then add the wine sauce back in. Cook another few minutes until hot and the figs are pretty and brown. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve over the chicken.

And I wanted to order take out.

What is it about the colder weather that makes me so freakin' lazy? I just want to be in a sweatshirt and cuddled up in bed with a book, the couch with my hubs, or in the comfy chair with my bebe. Cooking is so not on the agenda.

So once we got E down last night, I asked the hubs what he wanted to do for dinner, hoping he would say he'd go pick us up some salads...Alas we're broke and he's way more as lazy as I am in the evenings, so he shrugged and said, "Isn't there chicken?"

Siiiiiiiiigh. Yes. There is chicken. And I suppose we can do something with it. Panko "shake and bake," you say? Fine. And I'll make some risotto. No, it's fine, it's really not that hard. Just come help me with the chicken...

And this was the result. Holy crap. It's a little monochromatic, but the chicken was crispy and delicious, the risotto was ridiculously flavorful. And this is why pantry meals win.

Bacon & Thyme Risotto (for two)
olive oil
3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup arborio rice
1/4 cup vermouth (or sherry or white wine)
2 cups chicken stock (bouillon)
1-2 tsp bacon bits
Sprinkle pepper
Dash dried thyme
Sprinkle Parmesan cheese

heat a bit of olive oil over medium high heat. Add garlic and rice and saute about 2 minutes. Add vermouth and let cook out, a couple of minutes, stirring frequently. Add bacon, pepper, thyme and about a half cup broth and keep stirring frequently until most of the liquid is absorbed. Add another half cup of broth and repeat. Repeat. Repeat. It should take about 20 minutes or so. Maybe more.

Sprinkle with parmesan and serve hot.


Crunchy Herbed Chicken
2 6oz chicken thighs or breasts
About 1/4 cup flour
Salt & pepper
1 egg
About 1/4 cup panko
About 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
pepper
dried thyme
dried oregano
dried basil

Arrange three deep plates. In the first, combine flour, and a good pinch each salt and pepper. In the second, whisk an egg with a fork. In the third, combine panko, breadcrumbs, and a good pinch each of pepper, thyme, oregano and basil.

Rinse chicken and pat dry. Dredge in flour mix, then dip in egg, then dredge in panko mix.

Bake 20 min at 350. Turn up to 400 and bake 5 more.

Slow cooker Posole. Because I am lazy now.

It's finally cold. Ok, it's not cold. 60s during the day, 30s at night. But that's cold enough for little freezing baby hands, and not just the kind I'm used to in the middle of the night. And def cold enough for soup.

E and I were at the store at 8am because that is now my life, and chicken thighs were on sale...so I thought I'd take advantage of the cold day ahead of me and try and make some crock pot posole happen.

Having all day meant I could have done it the long way. Or I could just throw everything in a pot and sit on the floor with my home-on-a-weekend-for-an-awesome-change hubby, coaxing the kid to try and walk to us all afternoon. I chose the latter.

Not as good as the slave away in the kitchen method, but damn good for doing next to nothing. And I bought prechopped onion and garlic and pre shredded cabbage, so I really did next to nothing. Don't judge. I'm working two jobs from home, chasing a kid from 6am til 6pm, and attempting to read a book this week. If I can get my act together I may even watch one of the 3 weeks worth of Dexter I have TiVoed.

Ok, that was a complete exaggeration. I'm obviously totally caught up on Dexter. It's called priorities.

Slow Cooker Posole
4 boneless chicken thighs
1 tbsp garlic, minced
One small onion, chopped
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
3/4 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
One can chopped green chilis (hot)
6 cups chicken stock
1 29oz can hominy, drained
Bay leaf
Salt, to taste
Shredded cabbage
Lemon slices
Chopped cilantro
Chopped green or white onion
Tortillas
*I also threw in a couple slices of cooked bacon, but that was mostly because they were hanging out on my counter after breakfast and I didn't want to toss them. Or keep eating them.

Combine chicken through bay leaf in large crock pot and set for 6 hours (or whatever you have time for). When done, use a fork to pull meat apart into pieces, taste and add salt as needed.

Serve with cabbage, lemon, cilantro, onion, and tortillas. And hot sauce, if you add Tapatio to everything (guilty). And and if you don't have a brand of store bought tortillas, you prefer, I really like The Tortilla Factory. They look and taste handmade.

Maybe it's just an acquired taste.

Tarragon is one of those herbs I just don't use much. I've tried dried, I've tried fresh, and it's always just too...sweet? (If you can get them, and they aren't ridiculously expensive, always spring for the fresh stuff. With the exception of something that's going to cook a long time, like chili or crock-pot recipes, fresh herbs almost always win out over dried.) It's really pungent, but I'm not sure how best to describe it. I kept trying, but I just hadn't found a tarragon-centric recipe that I've liked much.

Until now.

This tarragon and lemon chicken is. so. good. I originally was going to try just lemon and tarragon, but it was missing something for me. So I added some garlic and mustard, and then I actually found myself wanting more of the sweetness to come through, so I added some white wine, and bit more tarragon, and boom. Perfect.

Served it over mashed red potatoes (with margarine, salt, pepper and a bit of white wine) and a simple green salad, and we gobbled it right on up.

Tarragon Chicken
2  boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin
Salt
White pepper
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
Zest of one lemon
Juice from half a lemon
About 2 tsp fresh chopped tarragon
1/4 cup white wine (i.e. Sauvignon blanc)
1 tbsp olive oil
Cooking spray

Sprinkle chicken with a bit of salt and pepper. Coat pan with cooking spray, and cook chicken over medium high heat for about 3 minutes. Pour over half the sauce, then turn chicken. Cook another two minutes, pour over remaining sauce, and cover. Cook another 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through (less if it's really thin, more if it's not).

Serve with the cooked juice ladled on top.

Phabulous?

We did Sam's Chicken Adobo last night, and while I have no idea if it's super authentic—Adobo is like the mainstay recipe of the Philippines—it was mighty tasty.

Which brings me to my question of the day...why are people from the Philippines Filipino? The ph-f conversion confuses me. Can someone explain this one to me? People from France aren't Phrench. People from Philadelphia aren't, um, Filadelphians.

I'm not stoned, I swear, though I realize that's kind of a stoner thing to get all caught up on. Anyway, just wondering. Doesn't matter. We'll move on.

I also made Filipino eggrolls, called Lumpia, though I know they're supposed to be smaller than what I made...I used egg roll wrappers instead of wonton wrappers, cause that just seemed like that much less work. When you're cooking in half hour increments (AKA "Naptime") 20 big rolls seems far less daunting than 60 small ones. So they probably weren't as crunchy as they should have been, but whatever. I served with two dipping sauces-one I'll give the recipe for, and the other was just 1/4 cup or so of sweet chili sauce with a tbsp of fish sauce added. And then I mixed the leftover sauces together at the end, and that was actually my favorite of the three. (Actually, I preferred the rolls the next day, too, just reheat about 5 minutes a side at 400.)

And I used ground turkey, but ground pork would probably taste better. Also, when you open the eggroll wrapper package, and there are only 10 wrappers, even though the nutritional information clearly states there are 21 in there, relax. They're stuck together. Don't shrug and start rolling anyway.

Again, not stoned. But really not helping my case here.

Simple Chicken Adobo
2 pounds chicken thighs
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 tsp fresh ground white pepper
2 tablespoons brown sugar
6 garlic cloves, crushed
4 bay leaves 
Hot rice, to serve

Note: I used boneless/skinless thighs because I think chicken skin is utterly disgusting. It still worked, but was a little drier than it should have been.

In large pot or dutch oven, combine soy, vinegar,  pepper, sugar, garlic and bay leaves over high heat. Add chicken. When it comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium low, cover, and cook 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, turn over chicken pieces and leave uncovered to simmer an additional 30 minutes.

Serve over steamed white rice.

Lumpia Eggrolls
1 lb ground lean pork or turkey
1 carrot, (or about 10 baby carrots) grated
1 small white onion, grated
1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped fine
1 can bamboo shoots, drained and chopped fine
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 /2 inch piece fresh ginger, grated
3 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 package eggroll wrappers (about 20)
1 egg white, beaten

Combine meat through pepper (probably easiest to mix with your hands). Coat a baking sheet lightly with cooking spray. Place a heaping tablespoon of filling  on a wrapper and roll up. Dip your finger in the egg white and use as glue to close, and place seam side down on cookie sheet. Repeat til you're out of either wrappers or filling. Obviously.

Bake at 425 for about 12 minutes a side (20-25 minutes total).


Dipping Sauce
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons water
1 teaspoon cornstarch, mixed with the water
1/2 inch piece ginger, grated

Mix. Dip. 

I don't always plan ahead, but when I do, I prefer something tasty.

For the negative three of you who don't know...I had a baby in February. And I don't know how many times I can use E as an excuse for not cooking/posting, but I'm going to milk it for as long as humanly possible. Because when I DO cook, it's more likely than not of the of the "Holy shit, how is Jeopardy already on? WTF are we going to eat?" variety.

What I need to do is plan ahead and make weekly meal plans. When I do, it works out, but it's so much easier said than done. This is from one of those magical days where I planned ahead—we had a cold greek pasta salad from somewhere I honestly can't recall (Costco, maybe??), so I thought I'd try and recreate it as a hot main entree. A list was made, E and I went shopping (he's great as long I narrate the shopping trip to him as we go...once we hit the check out line, however, he loses it and turns into Mr. Crankypants. The second I pay and wheel the cart out, however, he's his usual sweet, babbling, giggly self. He loves the "let's make strangers think my mom mistreats me" act. He thinks it's hilarious.)

Anyway, the plan worked. I'm still not eating much dairy, so I went without the feta and I didn't miss it at all. Hubby was a fan of it both ways.

Greek Pasta
One jar marinated artichoke hearts, undrained
2 small chicken breasts, cut in bite sized pieces
1 package cherry tomatoes, halved
Half a small red onion, halved and sliced
Olive oil
Thyme
Basil
Oregano
Balsamic vinegar
Pasta
Herbed feta (optional)

Heat oven to 425. Combine tomatoes and onion in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil and a splash of balsamic. Toss to coat. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring once halfway through.

While the tomatoes roast, cook the pasta. Drain and return to pan with a bit of olive oil or cooking spray.

Sprinkle chicken with thyme, basil, oregano and salt. Heat a tbsp or so of olive oil on medium high, add chicken and sauté until cooked through. Add artichoke hearts and tomato mixture, cook another couple of minutes til hot. Pour into pasta and combine gently.
Top with herbed feta to serve.

And I guess Mac & Cheese is now out.

Mister man has been monumentally fussy lately, so I'm thinking it may be something he's eating...which means something I'm eating. Which means, again, I have to alter my diet. About 50% of babies with food issues are sensitive to dairy, so that's where I'm starting. (Full disclosure: I'm an idiot and couldn't figure out what "dairy" consisted of other than milk, cheese, and yogurt. Um, as it turns out, butter. Duh.) So buh-bye, Italian and Mexican (and cookies!!!), and hello Asian.

I'm fine with this, really. You know I'm a big fan of food with an Asian kick, but most of my favorites are also spicy, and I figure spice can't be helping E's stomach much either, so somehow I'm going to have to get used to bland(er) versions. I broke out this recipe for that reason-I started making this stir-fry in my pre-spice (AKA pre-Hubby) days, but haven't in a long time. Cause yeah, it's a little bland. Add some sriracha and it's much better. But that's just my chile-loving bias talking.

I served it with potstickers, so I also made a sauce for those...it is kind of spicy, but so good.

Sesame Chicken Stir-fry
sunflower, peanut or canola oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced thinly
4 small portabellas, cleaned and thinly sliced
1 bunch green onions, cleaned, tops trimmed and sliced thickly
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bell pepper, cleaned, halved and thinly sliced
8oz Asian noodles (your choice), softened according to package directions.
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

Heat small amount of oil in hot wok. Add chicken and stir-fry until white. Add garlic, green onion, bell pepper and mushroom, stir-fry about 5 minutes or until mushroom is soft. Add noodles, combine well, then add soy sauce and sesame oil and toss all to coat. Heat through another minute or two.

Potsticker Sauce
Combine:
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp Sesame oil
1 tbsp oyster sauce
Sweet chili sauce to taste (a few tablespoons)

Greek Couscous

We were sent home from a Memorial service last weekend with an excessive amount of pita bread, hummus, and other ridiculously delicious dipping sauces from a local restaurant. So what else could we do but attempt to eat it all??

I'm a huge fan of Greek salad, and I'm loving the quickness of couscous these days. Add it all together, and we made quite the healthy feast out of it.

Greek Chicken Couscous
Two boneless skinless chicken breasts
S&P
Oregano
Thyme
1 cup couscous (I've been using the whole grain kind)
1 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp olive oil
zest from one lemon
juice from half a lemon
about 1 tbsp fresh chopped basil
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp vinegar (I used cider)
3 minced garlic cloves
S&P
1 cucumber, peeled, quartered lengthwise and chopped
1 package yellow or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 yellow or red bell pepper, chopped
small handful kalamatas (10?) chopped
Crumbled feta (reduced fat works)

Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt, pepper, oregano and thyme. Spray a pan with cooking spray and cook over medium high heat until done, 5-10 minutes a side depending on size. Let cool and chop into bite sized pieces.

Bring chicken broth to a boil, then stir in couscous, cover, and remove from heat. After about 5 minutes, remove lid, stir, and transfer to a large bowl to cool.

Mix dressing in a small bowl-olive oil, lemon zest and juice, basil, thyme, vinegar, garlic, and a pinch each of salt and pepper.

Combine cooled chicken and couscous, and stir in dressing. When combined, add in cucumber, tomatoes, bell pepper and olives and top with cheese—1/4 cup or so.

Playing catch up...again.

I'm not going to pretend like I'm cooking a whole lot this month week. This is me right now:

I'm 39 weeks pregnant. Which means I'm kind of into couscous and crock pots and other next-to-no effort meals. And boxed mac and cheese and pre-made cookie dough, but we're going to ignore that part, if you don't mind.

So I'm going to dig through the ridiculous number of photos of food I have around and try and just catch up with everything I meant to post but didn't, because I was obviously too busy discovering new ways to get Ramona to pose in human-esque poses while I take photos of her focusing on preparing my house for the baby invasion.

So. Here you go. First up is a one dish chicken tamale casserole. I love tamales..this isn't exactly the same flavor, but it's a decent substitute for a quick fix. And about a zillion times easier.

Tamale Casserole
1 cup shredded 4-cheese blend (reduced fat is ok)
1/3 cup 1% milk
1/4 cup Southwest style Egg-beaters
1 tsp cumin
red chile flakes to taste (1/4 to 1/2 tsp)
1 can creamed corn
1 regular box (8.5 oz) corn muffin mix
1/4 tsp salt
1 can (4oz) chopped green chiles
1 can (10oz) red enchilada sauce
2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded
light sour cream or greek yogurt
chopped green onion

Heat oven to 400.
Spray a large baking dish with cooking spray. Mix the enchilada sauce with the chicken and set aside.

Combine 1/4 cup cheese with milk, egg, cumin, red chile, corn, muffin mix, salt and green chiles, and stir very gently until just combined. Pour into baking dish, and bake at 400 for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven, and use a fork to puncture the whole thing a bunch of times all over. Pour chicken mixture over it, and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese. Put back into oven and cook another 15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Remove from heat and let sit a few minutes before cutting. Serve with sour cream and green onion on top. (And more cheese, if you're into cheese.)

Real Simple, indeed.

I'm sure you don't know this about me, but I'm kind of...lazy. (I'm also sarcastic. Just a little.) If there's a hard way and an easy way, hello...I'm going easy. I mean, I'm obviously willing to make an effort—this is a cooking blog, after all, not a 'Where Did Pam Drive Through Tonight' blog—but I'm the kind of girl who is just as happy with a 90% as with a 103%. They're both A's, people. And I got a lot of them. (Plus, without slaving over unnecessary extra credit assignments, I saved myself some drinkin' time.) Just sayin'.

So there I was, checking out at the grocery store, when this caught my eye:

Um, YUM. AND it's from a CROCK-POT? Sign.me.up. Needless to say, the magazine came home with me.

Me: (As I toss it on the table triumphantly) This? This is happening.
Hubby: Uhhhh, yeah it is.

The husband is always down for country food. He would eat biscuits and gravy every weekend if I agreed to make them he could. So anything resembling pot pie is going to be well received. And it was. And I'm happy to say that I was able to simplify an already simple recipe. Winners all around.

Creamy Chicken and Mushroom "Potpie"
1 package brown mushrooms, stems trimmed, cleaned and halved
One handful of small baby carrots
1 medium brown onion, chopped
1/3 cup white flour
1 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper
About 1.5 lbs (three 8oz or four 6oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 package crescent rolls (regular or the circular kind)
16oz bag of mixed frozen veggies (peas, green beans, carrots)
1/3 cup cream

Set up your crock pot. Combine mushrooms, baby carrots, onion, flour, thyme, bay leaf, about 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 cup water. Sprinkle chicken with more salt and lots of fresh pepper, and place on top. Cover and cook for as long as you've got, 7-8 hours on low or 4-5 on high.

When eating time approaches, cook rolls according to package directions until golden. About 15-20 minutes before the crock pot will turn off, stir in the frozen veggies, cream, another 1/2 to 1 tsp salt, and break chicken up with a fork a bit (it should pull apart pretty easily). Cover and let finish cooking.

Serve in a bowl with a roll on top.

If Mary Poppins made Asian food, it would be a little like this.

I'm going to go ahead and thank Sam again for a quick and easy dinner base. Stuff in a wok takes a little bit of time to prep, but this doesn't really have that many ingredients, and it came together really easily.

Since both of these use similar ingredients, I did all the prep work ahead of time, arranged all my little prep bowls in two areas, and actually cooked them both at the same time. I felt a little like Mary Poppins; organized and efficient and a little bit of a rock star. And I am totally going to pretend that I didn't mix up the garlic/ginger bowls in the midst of my awesomeness. (I intended for the rice to have less ginger than the wraps...but it worked, so whatever.)

Oh, and if you just want to mix any leftover chicken mixture into the rice for lunch the next day, it makes a great chicken fried rice.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Peanut Oil (or canola)
2 garlic cloves, minced
About 1 inch fresh peeled ginger, minced
12oz chicken breast pieces, cut into thin strips
1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained and sliced again
1/4 cup hoisin sauce (I like Lee Kum Kee brand)
2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
One bunch green onion, sliced thinly (trim off a lot of the dark green tops first)
About 8 butter lettuce leaves, washed

Heat a bit of oil over medium high heat in large saute pan. When hot, add chicken and stir fry about 3 minutes until mostly white. Add garlic and ginger and keep cooking until chicken is done. Stir in half of the green onion, soy sauce and hoisin. Turn off heat and cover.

Serve in lettuce leaves like a taco. Top with more green onion and sriracha if you like hot sauce. So. Freaking. Good.


Fried Rice
2 cups broth (chicken, etc.)
1 cup white rice
1 tbsp peanut oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
About 1.5 inch piece of peeled ginger, minced
1 egg
1/2 cup chopped carrot
a couple green onion stalks, chopped
small handful of cilantro, chopped
3-4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or you can substitute in some fish sauce)

Bring broth to a boil, then add rice. Cover, reduce to very low, and cook about 15 minutes or until done. Remove from heat, uncover, and fluff with a fork. Let cool for 20 minutes or more. (It can be cold, actually, if you want to do this ahead of time.)

In large wok or saute pan, heat oil over high heat. Add ginger and garlic and cook about a minute, stir frying the whole time. Add egg, and let sit just a minute to cook, then scramble. Keep moving everything around the whole time. When egg is cooked, add carrot and 1 tbsp of soy sauce. Stir-fry another 4-5 minutes, then add rice and heat another minute or two. Add in rest of soy sauce, and cook another minute or until hot and well combined. Mix in green onion and cilantro.

Cambodian Curry

I know that I'm a fortunate girl to know the founders of The Pepper Project personally. Not only are Tom and Cris both wonderfully talented people, but their generosity astounds me. (So go buy something. 100% of the profits go back to various artists and causes in Cambodia. One Hundred percent. That's called working for free. Well, that's what I call it. Tom and Cris call it donating their time for something they believe in, but they are obviously better people than I am.)

Tom—the chef half of the couple—knows I love to experiment with ethnic dishes, so it's not unusual for him to return from one of his trips abroad with a little something extra tucked into his bag for me—fish sauce, pho stock (A pho-kit, if you will. Ahem.), sea salt or spices. A couple months ago, he grabbed me some Cambodian curry powder, which is amazing. I've used it in place of Indian curry powder, which worked excellently, and last night I tried it in an actual Cambodian recipe, which was similar in flavor to a Thai curry.

My point is that you probably can't get your hands on this stuff (but if you can, do it!), and so feel free to substitute Thai curry powder or paste in this recipe.

Cambodian Chicken & Veggie Curry
Peanut oil (or canola)
12 oz. chicken breast, cut into smallish chunks
2 tbsp curry powder
2 carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4 in thick
1 medium sweet potato, peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/4 in thick
One medium brown onion, peeled, ends removed, and quartered
4 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 can light coconut milk
Small eggplant
Cooked white rice, to serve

Wash the eggplant and halve it lengthwise. Slice into pieces (about 2 cups worth) about 1/4 in thick and place on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt. Let sit about 15 minutes as you chop the other vegetables, etc. Rinse well. (This step cuts the bitter flavor of the eggplant, if you were wondering.)

Heat about 1 tbsp of oil in wok or large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and stir-fry until cooked, about 5 minutes. Remove chicken and set aside. Add another 1/2 tbsp of oil and curry powder. Stir-fry about a minute, then stir in fish sauce and sugar. Add carrots, potato and onion, and toss well. Stir-fry about 10 minutes, stirring often, then add coconut milk and about 1/4 cup water. Bring to a slight boil, then add eggplant, combining well. Continue stir-frying, stirring often, until potatoes are tender, another 5 minutes or so.

Serve over hot rice.

About 1055 calories (not including rice):
211/5 servings
264/4 servings
352/3 servings

Don't try and trick me with your bubbles, cider...you're still not champagne.

Even though I allow myself to have some alcohol these days, I really don't want it. I'd say realistically, I've had maybe one glass of wine every week or two on average. Even during the holidays. Though I did discover that sparkling cider is far tastier with a splash of champagne on top.

That said, I have had a lot of excess sparkling cider around, and this was a great way to use some of it up. The chicken was good, but the rice was amazing.

Plus it gave me an excuse to use some of the many, many, many pecans we have gathering in the backyard right now. Too bad shelling the little suckers takes so long...otherwise we'd have some mad pie going on right now.

Cider Glazed Chicken with Browned Butter Pecan Risotto
1 tsp light butter
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup cider
2 cups chicken broth (plus additional)
2 tbsp light butter
1/4 cup chopped pecans

1 tsp light butter
4 chicken breast fillets, pounded thin
Salt and pepper
Chicken broth
1/2 cup apple cider (sparkling or regular)
1 tsp dijon mustard

For the chicken:
Sprinkle breasts with salt and pepper. Heat the butter in a saute pan over medium high. Brown chicken about 3 minutes, flip, brown another 3 minutes, then reduce heat to medium and cook until done, 2 or more minutes depending on thickness, adding a splash of chicken broth if chicken starts to stick.

Remove chicken. Add cider and mustard, combining well, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for a few minutes until thickened. Add chicken back to pan and cover until ready to serve. Pour cider sauce over chicken to serve.

For risotto:
Melt 1 tsp butter in large saute pan, and add rice. Saute over medium about 2 minutes. Add a half cup of cider, and let cook down, stirring often. When liquid is absorbed, repeat with remaining 2 cups of broth, half cup at a time. When broth is gone, taste the rice—if it's still a bit hard, repeat with another half cup of broth.

Melt 2 tbsp butter in a small pan. Let cook down until it just begins to brown, a minute or two. Add pecans, and toss well. Let cook another minute or two, then stir pecan mixture into rice.