What dinner really looks like

The next installment of what dinner really looks like!

Tonight we had bruschetta, thick hearty soup, and beer.

The soup is one of my favorites. Nothing exact. 3 cups mushrooms chopped, 1 large onion chopped. Saute in a pot with some olive oil. Add in 2 cups chopped parsley (with stems). Salt, pepper, paprika to taste. Add 2 cups of chicken stock... simmer away. In another pot cook whole wheat pastina, reserve half the water to add to the soup along with the noodles. Done and done!

Perfect for eating after a long afternoon playing around with the puppy down the street! How cute are they together!!! Whaten's sure do love the snow!

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Chicken and Mushroom Pasta

Secret time. I also love making this minus the chicken... I know I know I go on and on about how awesome rotissory chickens are... but sometimes I just love me some extra bonus mushroomy goodness! If you want the recipe for this delicious quick Chicken and Mushroom Pasta Meal, head on over to Food Fanatic for the recipe and post!

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Fresh Possibilities - Giveaway

GIVEAWAY CLOSED: Winners have been emailed

I was contacted by the people putting together Kraft Fresh Possibilities Tour, and asked if I wanted to give some Fresh Possibilities a try. Sure!

You might guess that I'm not the type to normally pick up prepackaged mixes, but I'm always willing to give something a try. Plus, it's breadcrumbs and cheese, I love both of those things, so what could go wrong? The cool part is they way it's packaged, it's one large ziplock bag that has cheese on one side side, and bread crumbs on the other, you pull the divider apart and mix the two together. Toss in your chicken, shake, and you are ready to pop them in the oven! Serve with your favorite dipping sauce and a side of potato salad (recipe to come) and dinner is ready.

The tour is currently working its way around the country, if you want to try these mixes first hand head here: Try Fresh Take, to see if the truck is coming near you!

Now for the giveaway! I have three $10 walmart giftcards that Fresh Possibilities would like to give away so you can go try some for yourself! To enter just head to KraftRecipes.com and then comment here about which flavor or recipe idea you'd like to try! One entry per person, US only.


I was provided samples of Fresh Possibilities, all opinions are mine.



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Cashew Chicken Chili

Morning chowers! Did you see me on the news today? Crazy right? (I'll post the link once I have it... if I don't look ridiculous that is...) I hope I did ok... I'm kinda freaking out writing this and prepping myself for the big moment. I have to get there at 6:45 AM... I know most people are up and out and about at that time, but lets face the facts, work starts at 830 for me, so this girl isn't up that early. If this is your first time here since you just saw the broadcast, WELCOME! and to all my dedicated readers welcome back :)

This is the recipe I made on the news and I hope you all give it a go. I love making it and it's great the next day for leftovers. So if you are looking for something healthy, easy, warm, and delicious, let me introduce you to my cashew chicken chili. The best part is it's made from mostly kitchen staples like Red Pack tomatoes, so it's wicked fast to pull together. Especially when you're out spending most of the day playing in the snow.
 
You still reading? Or did I loose you already? I have fun news, today is ALSO the 5th anniversary of the steph chows!! FIVE years?? How did that happen? To celebrate I'm going to be doing some kind of fun giveaway, still figuring out the details so make sure to come back and enter!

Cashew Chicken Chili
recipe by steph chows

1 onion diced
2 cloves garlic diced
1 yam cubed (1/2 inch)
1/2 tsp hot chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 can (16 oz) great northern beans
1 can (16 oz) red kidney beans
2 cans (14.5 oz each) Red Pack petite diced tomatoes with green chilies
(if you don't want this to be too spicy sub Red Pack diced tomatoes with basil garlic oregano)
1/2 bottle stout (I used Guinness) 
3/4 cup dry roasted unsalted cashews
1 lb skinless chicken breast tenders, cubed

Heat a 5qt stock pot over medium heat. Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom lightly. Saute for 3 minutes until they are lightly browning. Add garlic and cook 1 more minute. Add yam, chili power, salt and pepper and toss to coat. Drain and rinse your 2 cans of beans. Add beans and 2 cans tomatoes to the pot. Pour half a bottle of beer in and enjoy the rest for yourself. Stir in the cashews, turn the heat down to a simmer, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes.

If you are vegan stop here, if you eat meat, continue on. Heat a frying pan over medium heat, add a drizzle of olive oil and cook cubed chicken until done. (time will vary depending on how thick you cube your chicken). Once chili is done simmering remove from heat and stir in chicken. I do this so the chicken doesn't get tough and overcooked. Serve with your favorite hearty bread and enjoy!




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Jambalaya Rice- and a giveaway!

Giveaway ended: The winner is Carmen! Congrats!!

Jambalaya Rice; definition according to John: a bucket full of yum. I have to agree, especially the recipe we found in the latest Menu magazine by Wegmans. We tweaked a few things but in the end this is a total keeper!! One major change we had was upping the amount of canned tomatoes used. They called for 1 1/2 cups, since we love tomatoes we had to use more (we used a 28oz can in full). Especially since the wonderful people at RedPack sent us this stellar giftpack!

Look at the huge can it came in! How fun is that? I want to use it as an end table (John seems to be against this idea for some reason) :) There were also tasty recipe cards in the huge can, but I wanted to make this Jambalaya!

Giveaway!
Want to win your very own HUGE can filled with all types of fun goodies? Just comment below with your favorite thing to make with canned tomatoes. Make sure you type in a valid email address (it's not published) but that's the way I get in contact with you!
Want an extra entry? Go like RedPack on Facebook and leave a separate comment telling me you did.

Jambalaya Rice
recipe by Wegmans (click for original recipe), my slight adaptation below
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 1/2 lbs Skinless Chicken Breasts, 1-inch dice
2 tsp Konriko Creole Seasoning
1 1/2 cups Chopped Onions
4 cloves Garlic, chopped
1 cup 1-inch diced celery (about 2 stalks)
1 Tbsp dried rosemary leaves
1 pkg(13.2 oz) Wegmans Don't be Piggy (non meat sausage crumble) - best product name EVER!
2  bay leaves
2 boxes(8 oz each) Wegmans Whole Grain 5 Rice Blend
28 oz can RedPack diced tomatoes
2 cups Food You Feel Good About Chicken Culinary Stock
1/2  orange pepper, 1-inch dice (about 3/4 cup)
1/2  red sweet pepper, 1-inch dice (about 3/4 cup)
1 cup frozen okra
1 Tbsp dried basil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Add oil to braising pan on MEDIUM-HIGH. Add chicken and creole seasoning to pan. Cook, stirring about 2 min, until chicken begins to brown.
Add onion; cook, stirring, 3-4 min, until onion begins to soften. Add garlic, cook, stirring, 1 min. Add celery, thyme, sausage, and bay leaves. Cook 1 min.
Add grain blend; cook, stirring, 1 min. Add tomatoes; cook 1 min. Add stock, okra and peppers. Bring to simmer on HIGH; cover.
Transfer to oven. Cook 1 hour, 10 min.
Remove from oven; let rest 10 min. Remove bay leaves; stir in basil.



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Going Greek

Summer is normally a time when I'm craving all those healthy good for you things like salads, and hummus and veggies... but for some reason my belly has been craving the winter time comfort foods like mac and cheese, pasta, and ice cream... umm ok ice cream may not be winter time.. but it's comfort food for sure!

John and I have decided to get back on the wagon and start having better for us weeknight meals. Ok who am I kidding, he didn't fall off the wagon, it was me and me alone! :)  To satisfy his need for protein, and my need for some lighter but satisfying meals I decided to make us some wraps.

Filled to the brim with rotisserie chicken (super fast and easy), field greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, mushrooms, (a few pop chips for a little crunch) olives, feta, black pepper and a drizzle of balsamic/oil. My belly and waistline were happy and satisfied!

How are your summer cravings going? Out of whack like mine? What's your go to summer dinner?


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Wolfgan's BBQ chicken pizza

Otherwise known as man pizza if you ask me. I'm being stereotypical but I think just about any man would love this creation... ok fine, and probably every woman, I LOVED it. Sunday morning before I headed to the grocery store I handed John The CarbLovers Diet Cookbook and told him to pick what he wanted to for dinner. He immediately hands down wanted this, period. No more looking necessary.

To make it even easier we used a rotisserie chicken instead of cooking and cubing our own. Super fast and perfect with some home made bruschetta on the side. John literally stopped eating and clapped because this was so good, HA!

Wolfgang Puck's BBQ Chicken Pizza
recipe from The CarbLovers Diet Cookbook

2 tsp olive oil
1 cup thinly sliced yellow and red bell peppers
1 lb refrigerated pizza dough (we used whole wheat)
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup fontina cheese (we used sharp cheddar)
1.5 cups cooked chicken breast cubed (I used a rotisserie chicken and shredded the meat)
1/4 cup BBQ sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley

Cook the peppers in olive oil and roll out your dough. Top dough with peppers and cheese. He has you bake it for 12 minutes at 500 and cook the chicken separate, then top the pizza with it. I shredded the chicken, tossed it with the BBQ sauce and put it all onto the pizza and into the oven at the same time. Top with parsley once out of the oven.

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Meatloaf... umm Meatmuffins... that sounds really gross

I like meatloaf, not everyone does, but I do. I informed John that we'd be having chicken meatloaf (he doesn't eat pig or cow) for dinner, he made a grossed out face and then said fine fine he'd eat it as long as it wasn't dried out. Obviously he doesn't know me very well, if it's dried out I'm not eating it either.

I learned some important lessons while making this. I like red meat meatloaf... I really don't like chicken meatloaf... John on the other hand ended up liking these a lot, so that was a bonus! In the future though when I'm craving meatloaf, I'm making the red meat version, but I'll keep all the rest of the mix-ins I used here. John will just have to fend for himself that night, or I'll have to make two batches one red, one chicken :)

I guess I can't call this meatloaf since I made them in a muffin tin. Hey it cut the cooking time down wickedly, these were done in 20 minutes flat! Fully cooked and not at all dry. Double bonus.

Sorry they aren't' really pretty to look at either... sorry my vegetarian and vegan friends.

Chicken Meatloaf Muffins
1 lb lean ground chicken (I grind my own with skinless chicken breasts trimmed of fat)
drizzle of olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
3-5 garlic cloves chopped
1 small can sliced mushrooms chopped (fresh works too I just didn't have any on hand)
1 slice of whole wheat bread cubed
1 tsp rosemary
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg lightly beaten
2 Tbs brown mustard
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup plain fat free greek yogurt
BBQ sauce to coat the tops of the muffins - does that count as frosting? are these considered cupcakes now?

In a medium pan heat olive oil and cook onions and garlic until tender, remove from heat and let cool a bit. In a small bowl mix egg, rosemary, salt, pepper, mustard, and worcestershire sauce. In a large bowl with your hands gently mix together ground chicken, onions/garlic, mushrooms, bread. Pour in egg mixture and yogurt, gently toss to incorporate. Scoop into greased muffin tins and drizzle with BBQ sauce. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160 when you poke into the center of one of the muffins.

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An asian twist

I'm always on the lookout for new dinner ideas that wont take forever and are super tasty. I stumbled on this recipe through Ladies Home Journal and John and I both loved it! You use an egg mixed with hoisin sauce as the base on the chicken and then cover it in sesame seeds! Shopping tip: buy sesame seeds in the ethnic / asian section of your food store, they come in much larger containers for waayyyyy less than what you'll find in a spice aisle.


Sesame Chicken Skewers with Ginger Slaw
Recipe by LHJ

* 1/2 head (about 2 pounds) napa or savoy cabbage, thinly sliced
* 1/2 red bell pepper, halved, stems and seeds discarded, thinly sliced
* 1/2 yellow bell pepper, halved, stems and seeds discarded, thinly sliced
* 1/4 pound snow peas, trimmed, cut lengthwise into thin slices
* 2 scallions, thinly sliced
* 1/2 seedless cucumber, quartered lengthwise and sliced
* 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
* 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
* 1 tablespoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger
* 1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
* 1 pinch red pepper flakes
* 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons canola oil (I used half of this without any issue)
* 1 large egg
* 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
* 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1-1/2 pounds total), cut into 1-inch cubes (I used chicken tenders, no time spent cutting them up!)
* 1/2 cup sesame seeds
* 1 tablespoon cornstarch
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 8 (6-inch) bamboo skewers

Directions

1. Toss together cabbage, bell peppers, snow peas, scallion and cucumber in a large serving bowl, for ginger slaw; set aside.

2. Whisk together vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, sugar and pepper flakes in another bowl until sugar is dissolved. Add 1/3 cup oil in a slow stream, whisking constantly, until thickened and emulsified, for dressing; set aside.

3. Whisk together egg and hoisin sauce in a shallow bowl; add chicken and turn until coated on all sides. Combine sesame seeds, cornstarch and salt in a shallow bowl. Thread chicken onto skewers and roll in sesame mixture, coating well on all sides.

4. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over moderate heat. Add skewers and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides and chicken is cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes.

5. Pour dressing over ginger slaw and toss until coated well; serve with warm chicken skewers.




PS... agave sweetened jam coming up next! so stay tuned!

Sesame chicken with bok choy

So this is another recipe from Real Simple. They say it takes 25 minutes... I think it took even less actually. Perfect weekday meal, or quick weekend meal. I have to say the chicken was a bit bland, but mix it up with the side and it's good to go! I also added brown rice (the 10 minute boil in the bag kind) because the side would be a bit skimpy without it... at least for my big appetite! So follow this recipe... except cut up the chicken, and once it is cooked, toss it into the pan with the bok choy and dump in a bag of brown rice.. now we're cookin!

oh why hello there little jalapeno round, would you like to set fire to my mouth now?? (they said to use a red jalapeno... I couldn't find any... sure would have added a nice pop of color though!)

Sesame Chicken With Gingery Bok Choy
Recipe from Real Simple

Ingredients

• 2 large egg whites
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 8 small chicken cutlets (1 1/4 pounds total) (I cut mine into 1 inch cubes)
• 4 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 6 heads baby bok choy (about 1 pound), quartered
• 1 jalapeno (preferably red), sliced (seeded for less heat, if desired)
• For my version (1 bag boil in bag brown rice)

Directions

1. In a bowl, whisk together the egg whites, sesame seeds, ¼ cup of the cornstarch, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Dip the chicken in the batter and shake off the excess.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the chicken and cook until golden brown and cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes per side; transfer to a plate. Repeat with 1 tablespoon of the remaining oil and the remaining chicken.
3. Meanwhile make boil in bag brown rice according to direction...
4. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, ginger, sugar, 1 tablespoon water, and the remaining teaspoon of cornstarch.
5. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bok choy and cook, turning, until just beginning to soften, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the soy sauce mixture and jalapeño and cook until the liquid has thickened slightly and the bok choy is tender, 3 to 4 minutes.
6. Toss the chicken and rice in with the bok choy and serve.

Saucy Mama - recipe

OK I finally figured out what I wanted to make for the saucy mama recipe contest!! The wing sauce was calling my name from the moment I pulled it out of the box, so I knew I had to use it. Plus with my new fancy grill John bought me, I knew it had to be cooked outside on it! This meal is super easy to pull together. Even if you worked all day, this would be so wuick to toss together in time for dinner!

Healthy "chicken wing" breasts, hot sauce grilled corn, and lime chipotle coleslaw!

You know you're drooling, admit it.

OK first the chicken

Healthy "chicken wing" breasts
4 skinless boneless chicken breasts, trimmed of fat
1/4 cup Saucy Mama Hot Wing Sauce

Trim breasts of fat and lay out flat in a large bowl, pour sauce over top and using your hands coat all sides of the chicken. Let marinate in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.

On a preheated grill, cook breasts until cooked through (time will vary on grill/thickness of breasts) Mine took about 5 minutes each side.

Next the corn!
Hot sauce grilled corn
4 ears of corn
4 light drizzles of Saucy Mama hot sauce

Using your hands rub the wing sauce over the naked corn on the cob (husks removed). Place on a preheated grill, cook for about 10 minutes, rotating to lightly cook all sides.

Finally.. the coleslaw, it doesn't get any easier than this!

Lime chipotle coleslaw!
1/4 head of green cabbage rough chopped
3 carrots sliced thin using a vegetable peeler lengthwise
(or the super easy method, grab a bag of the ready to go chopped coleslaw mix from your grocery store)
1/4 cup Saucy Mama lime chipotle marinade

Chop up the cabbage and carrots, or dump the bag of premade veggies into a bowl.
Top with marinade and toss to coat.
Chill until ready to serve.

Seriously that's it! And it's so good! I love the kick of the wing sauce with the kick of the lime chipotle dressing. Make them all together or with other family favorites :)

Chow!

And the best part... I still have 2 more bottles of the lime chipotle to give away!! So leave a comment for another chance to win!

Lentils, shrimp, sausage, need I say more

Did the title catch your attention? If you are anything like me you would have clicked on it in .0001 seconds flat, because I love all three of the above ingredients... mix them together... oh baby!! I saw this recipe over at the Beantown Baker (she rocks, go and visit her). I knew I could adapt it to make John eat some (easy sub out the chorizo for jalapeno chicken sausage, or any spicy chicken sausage). I keep telling him, for example tonight at dinner while I mowed some nice rare steak "buddy, you are so missing out." His loss, more for me to eat!

The other thing I changed with the recipe is I added more garlic, nixed the carrots, and I also doubled the lentils so mine is less of a stew and more of a goulash. These stuff is SO GOOD!! Dried lentils are also crazy cheep so there's another added bonus! I roasted up some asparagus to top off the dish, not necessary but they went really well with it :)



Chicken sausage, Lentil and Shrimp Goulash - adapted from Beantown Baker
1 T olive oil
1 small onion, peeled & diced
2 clove garlic, peeled & minced
2 spicy chicken sausage links
1 bay leaf
1/4 t smoked paprika
1/8 t chipotle powder
1 14-oz can diced fired roasted tomatoes
1 1/2 c low-sodium broth (i used mushroom)
1 1/2 c dried lentils
salt to taste
20 cooked shrimp (i used frozen and just thawed them out first)

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat.
Add the onion, garlic & sausage. Cook until the onions are translucent.
Stir in the bay leaf, paprika and chipotle & cook for 1 minute.
Add the tomatoes, chicken broth & lentils. Bring to a boil.
Cover & reduce heat to simmer. Let simmer for about 20 minutes, until the lentils are tender.
If the stew is a little dry add a little more broth. Test for seasoning & add salt if needed. Stir in shrimp & cook until just heated.

CHOW!!!!

These stuff tastes better the longer it sits and marinates. I make a big batch and then pack it up in containers for John to bring to work for lunch. Totally quick and easy... and only dirties one pot! Gotta love that part :)

REMINDER: if you took part in the jam exchange tomorrow (my birthday!!) is the last day to ship your stuff out please!!! Can't wait to see what I get :D

Chicken Parm

Isn't it fun when you find out something random you never knew about someone who is very close to you??? This happened with me and John this weekend. He doesn't eat red meat, so I'm always trying to come up with new ways to make chicken fun. Well I realized I had never made chicken parm for him before... so off I went, slicing and dicing, breading, and cheesing up some chicken parm... pour some nice chunky red sauce over it... only to find out... he doesn't like chicken parm... wait what??


He loves red sauce, wants it on everything... loves when I do oven breaded chicken... but apparently breaded chicken and red sauce don't go together... he's a nut isn't he? I always tell him, "it's a good thing you're cute, cause otherwise you'd be in big trouble"

Well let me tell you, he ate said chicken parm... and said it tasted really good. So take THAT not liking chicken parm!!

The most important part of making this is to not over cook the chicken. If it's not tender... I wont eat it. dry chicken = inedible in my mind. So keep and eye on this and try to cut your chicken pieces to equal thicknesses so you don't under/over cook half of them.

I was busy making a couple batches of muffins in the oven so I cooked these on the stove. That is also why I don't cook the breast in full form... they cook much faster when you cut them up, so it's less likely to dry out.


steph chows chicken parm

Mix the following in a shallow bowl
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 Tbs corn starch
salt, pepper, chili powder, parsley flakes to taste

Cut the chicken into finger sized pieces about 1/4-1/2 inch thick
3 skinless chicken breasts fat trimmed

Slices of mozzarella (you can use full fat, reduced fat, fat free... whatever floats your boat)
Pasta sauce of choice heated up

Heat a large pan covered in olive oil spray over medium heat. (I like to use my pancake pan since it's huge)

As pan is heating take chicken pieces one by one and dredge in the flour mixture and place on hot pan. Start with the slightly thicker pieces and end with the thinnest (see this way they all cook evenly) Cook 2-3 minutes and then turn. Don't smoosh the pieces down with a spatula... that just pushes all the juices out... don't do it! Place bits of mozzarella on each piece. Continue cooking until it's not pink in the middle (I'll take a piece and slice it open to check). Remove from pan and cover with pasta sauce of your choice. Sprinkle with more parm if you like, and serve!

Chow!

Sesame Chicken

I'm a big fan of Chinese food, and although most places have brown rice now, and will steam your food instead of deep frying it... the sauces can still be killer. I had an amazing sesame tofu last week while celebrating my friend sugar's birthday. It was delicious! I had them steam the tofu and veggies and they came out so tender, and the sauce... oh the sauce! I needed to figure out how to recreate it!

So this brings us to the internet search for sesame chicken sauce recipes. I came across a ton of different version (all requiring a trip into a deep fryer first). Many recipes later I came to the combination of this one.

It looked beautiful and was wicked tasty! But did it taste like the sesame chicken sauce of my favorite local Chinese joint... not so much... That's ok though, at least it was good! So make this if you want a healthy alternative to your normal take out :) We served it over "boil in the bag" brown rice, quick and easy.


Sesame Chicken
sauce from Kitchen Snippets

1 lb chicken cut into inch cubes
1 large head broccoli, cut into little chunks and steamed
1 Tbs whole wheat flour
salt and pepper to taste

sauce
3 tbsp of sweet chili sauce
2 tbsp of tomato ketchup
1- 2 tbsp of honey (depend on how sweet you want)
1 tbsp of oyster sauce
2 tbsp of light soy sauce
1/4 cup of water
some toasted sesame seed

1. Dredge chicken in flour and salt and pepper. Shake off excess and set aside. In batches in a olive oil spray covered frying pan, lightly cook chicken a few minutes each side. Remove from pan and place in a large bowl
2. Place broccoli in a steamer basket over hot water and cover, cook until bright in color but not soggy. Once cooked toss in with cooked chicken
3. Mix all the sauce ingredients together and pour into a pan. Bring it up to a boil and let the sauce thicken a bit.
4. Pour sauce over chicken and broccoli and toss it gently until evenly coated with the sauce. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve with warm brown rice.

Skinny Buffalo Wing Sammies

John and I both love buffalo wings, but rarely eat them. He will basically only eat chicken breast meat, sans the skin... so I've tried making a bunch of "healthy buffalo wing" recipes. They have gone by well, but nothing amazing. My version is adapted from The Most Decadent Diet EVER! (page 78) and it is a keeper. We wrapped the tenders up along with the colorful coleslaw also found in the same book (recipe to come tomorrow).


Boneless buffalo strips
1.5 Tbs whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 lb chicken tenders
1/4 cup Anchor Bar Wing Sauce (you know the place where buffalo wings were invented!!)
3-4 glugs Franks Red Hot

Mix dry ingredients and one at a time dredge tenders, shake off excess and place on a baking sheet edges not touching. In a large non-stick pan sprayed with olive oil, cook tenders 2-3 minutes per side. Work in batches so tenders aren't touching. Place cooked wings into a bowl and toss to coat with Anchor Wing Sauce and Franks Red Hot.

We wrapped these bad boys up in whole wheat Flat Out wraps cut in half, along with some tasty low-cal coleslaw!! Come back tomorrow for the colorful coleslaw recipe!

MMMMM bar food without the guilt!! We also chowed tasty sweet potato fries to finish off the meal!!!! SO GOOD!

Maple-Mustard Chicken for dinna!

Ellie is at it again with her Maple-Mustard Chicken, it's on page 212 of The Food You Crave. I'm seriously loving this cook book! Stockton (my brother-in-law) who is a fabulous cook btw whipped this one up for us. We cooked up some spinach and rice to have on the side and there wasn't one leftover to be found. We doubled the sauce for the below recipe since lets face it, we were hungry! (and we had more chicken then it called for)

Stockton preparing the chicken for its tanning time in the oven

Maple-Mustard Chicken
It's super simple!
Mix up:
1/3 cup French mustard
1 clove garlic minced
3/4 tsp dried marjoram (we used some fresh sage since we had it on had from the soup we made the night before)
3 Tbs maple syrup (use the good stuff!!)

Preheat an oven to 375 and trim the skin and fat off of 8 bone in chicken thighs. Slather them with the sauce and cook for about 45 minutes.

Hot out of the oven

speedy dinner

I bought around 10 lbs of chicken breasts awhile back when it was on sale at Wegmans for 79 cents a pound or something crazy like that. Gotta love bulk package deals... Problem is... it's just me I'm cooking for most nights, and 10 lbs of chicken is going to last AWHILE! Needless to say I froze a ton of it and realized recently that I still have a bunch in the freezer, slowly growing icicles... ewww no good! I took out a freezer pack of them the other night to defrost in the fridge and made up some super quick tasty BBQ chicken sandwiches for dinner.

Super quick, I pulled out the good old George Forman grill preheated it, then tossed the breasts on with a little olive oil spray for 7-8 minutes. Take them off the grill and place on a cutting board to rest a few minutes (lets all the juices reabsorb) chopped them all up then tossed them with some Jack Daniels BBQ sauce (yum). That's it, you're done!

I put mine on some toasted bread and grated some fresh sharp cheddar on top. I also had enough leftovers for lunch a few days this week. Chow!

Spicy Honey-Brushed Chicken

This recipe was a total hit with both John and me! I always ask him what he wants for dinner and a lot of the time he gives no input... last time he said, "something spicy, with lots of protein"... so off I went, what was something new and fun that I could make that was protein packed and nice and spicy!?

This recipe came from Cooking Light and was delicious. It was super quick to mix up and grill and packed a wonderful flavor! The spicy mixed with the sweet was amazing.

Spicy Honey-Brushed Chicken

Ingredients
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Cooking spray
6 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons cider vinegar

Preparation

Preheat George Forman Grill.

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken to bowl; toss to coat. Place chicken on a grill with cooking spray. Grill chicken 6 minutes.

Combine honey and vinegar in a small bowl, stirring well. Brush 1/4 cup honey mixture on chicken. Grill for 1 more minute. Remove chicken from grill and coat with remaining honey if desired.

Chow!

I served this up with some broccoli and some mashed sweet potatos. yum :)

Easy Chicken Tacos and Corn on the Cobb

Chicken soft tacos are oh so tasty. There is a little place downtown that makes great chicken fresco soft tacos but it's really not a great eat in place... they got rid of most of their drink options unless you are just looking for beer and the atmosphere is kinda cramped... anyway John and I were craving some tacos but didn't feel like venturing out and cramming ourselves into the downtown place... so we made our own at home! These are super quick to make up with the help of an Ortega Chipolte taco seasoning package... cheating? perhaps, but super quick and easy :)

Chicken Soft Tacos (feeds 2-3 people depending on how hungry you are)
1.5 lbs skinless boneless chicken breast cut into bite size cubes
1 package Ortega Chipolte seasoning mix
3/4 cup water
toppings:
2-3 flat out low carb wraps cut in half or soft taco shells
green leaf lettuce
tomato - sliced
salsa
low fat sour cream
onion - chopped
shredded cheese

Spray a large pan with olive oil and heat on high, cook cubed chicken breast tossing around to brown on all sides. Once almost cooked through add water and seasoning and stir to mix. Continue cooking until most of liquid has evaporated. Strain and assemble tacos using your choice of toppings.

Chow!


Corn on the cobb
4 fresh from the farm corn cobbs, husks removed
pot filled with enough water to cover cobbs

Take whole corn cobbs or break in half to fit in a pot filled with enough water to cover the corn. Place on stove, turn burner on high, once the water starts boiling, set a timmer for 4 minutes. YES only 4 minutes. When it rings remove and drain the corn, let cool for a few minutes then serve. I could totally eat corn all day with nothing on it, although a little salt and pepper is always tasty. John likes a splash of red hot on his. Whatever floats your boat!

Chow!

Balsamic Chicken Mushroom Onion Sandwich

Here is a quick 20 minute healthy meal for you! There is no need to eat frozen dinner packages that don't fill you up to save time. This is a very quick and easy meal that will satisfy without hurting your waistline. I made these friday night after long day at work followed by an intense spinning class. Simple quick easy and satisfying!

Balsamic chicken sandwich with mushrooms and onions (serves 2)
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
balsamic vinegar
black pepper to taste
1/2 container sliced fresh baby bella mushrooms
1/2 medium sweet onion (chopped)
2 whole wheat rolls
romaine lettuce leaves

Place chicken in a bowl or bag and piece a few times with a fork. Pour 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar and black pepper to taste over the chicken and set aside while grill heats up. I don't have an outdoor grill so I used my handy George Forman grill but you can easily cook the chicken outside on your grill.

While grill is heating, lightly spray a pan and start sauteing chopped onion. Once brown add mushrooms along with 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar and black pepper to taste, cook until vinegar is reduced to a thick sauce.

Once grill is hot, cook chicken for 7 minutes or until done. (don't over cook they get chewy and dry BLEH)

Cut rolls and place a chicken breast along with a helping of the onion/mushroom mixture and top with a lettuce leaf and the top of the roll.

Enjoy!


Corn on the cob
(a great summer side any night of the week!)
4 ears of corn husks removed and silk cleaned off
pot of water

Fill a pot with 3-4 inches of water (enough water to cover the corn ears) set the stove on high and bring to a boil.
Place corn into the water and let boil 4-5 minutes, using a spoon make sure to rotate them in the water bath so all sides cook.
Remove from water and let cool. (Again over cooking will leave the corn soggy and bland)
Top with some pepper, red hot, or whatever else floats your boat.

Chow!