Recipe to Reality: Chicken with Apricots, Ginger, and Sliced Almonds

My favorite types of foods are mostly one-pot comfort foods like pastas or rice dishes, but they aren't always the most healthy!

This recipe adapted from Food and Wine Fast was a delicious medley of savory and sweet!

My husband really gobbled this one down!

Here's What You'll Need!

• 1/4 cup of sliced almonds
• 2 tsp. unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup dried apricots
• 1 tbs. olive oil
• 3 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
• 1 scallion, chopped
• Zest of one lime
• 1 green chile, minced
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 tbs. maple syrup

Put it All Together!

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the almonds out evenly in a cake pan and bake for about 5 minutes or until browned. Set aside and let cool.

2) Melt the butter in a skillet and add the apricots. Cook over medium heat until browned, about 3 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.  

3) Add olive oil to skillet and heat up while seasoning chicken with salt and pepper. Cook the chicken over medium heat for about 3 minutes, then lower heat and flip breasts and cook for another 7 minutes. Transfer chicken to plate with the apricots. 

4) Add the ginger, scallions, lime zest, and chile to the skillet and stir for about 30 seconds. Add the wine to deglaze and simmer over medium heat, scraping all those yummy bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the maple syrup, apricots, chicken, and simmer until all heated through.

5) Top with cracked almonds and a side of green beans and you have a savory, sweet, and healthy treat!

I think my husband was a little skeptical when he heard I was mixing fruit with our protein, but he absolutely loved  this dish. We can't wait to have it again :)

Stay Savory,

Recipe to Reality: Inside Out Chicken Cordon Bleu

 Between all the season premieres (anyone watch How I Met Your Mother last night?!) and paper grading I've been doing, I haven't had much time to post! I'm still cooking, but have a queue of recipes that are just waiting to be discussed!

This Inside Out Chicken Cordon Bleu from the Food Network Magazine had all of the flavors associated with the traditional dish, without the extra carbs of breading. The nutty gruyere cheese paired with the sweet black forest ham really put this chicken on a pedestal!

Serves 4
Total Time: 35 mins

Here's what You'll Need!

• 3 tbs. fig jam
• 1/4 tsp. ground thyme
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 package thinly sliced chicken breasts
• 1 cup shredded gruyere cheese
• 1/4 lb. black forest ham
• 5 tbs. olive oil
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 tbs. red wine vinegar
• 4 stalks of broccoli

Put it All Together!

1) Mix the jam, thyme, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl.

2). Trim your chicken breasts and paint each breast with some of the fig jam mixture. You should only have used half the jam mixture after painting each breast.

3) Next, place a handful of the gruyere cheese on top of each breast.

4) Wrap a slice or two of ham around the chicken and cheese.

5) Heat 2 tbs. of olive oil over medium high heat in a medium sized nonstick skillet. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. Then flip the chicken and cook for another 3-4 minutes on the other side.

6) Cut broccoli florets off the stalks and blanch in boiling water for about 2-3 minutes. Drain and rise with cold water to stop the cooking process. Mix the leftover jam with the shallot and vinegar and drizzle on chicken and broccoli.

Enjoy a healthy (but fancy!) weeknight meal at home!

Stay Savory,

Product: Kraft Fresh Take

Back to School week has kicked my butt!

While I don't have children of my own yet, I'm a 6th grade teacher at a middle school. While all my students are proving to be quite well behaved so far, bring a mom to 40 kids daily wears you out! Even though this only marks the end of week two, I'm exhausted! So when I'm leaving work after a long day, I have no desire to cook for hours.

I wanted to share my opinions on a relatively new Kraft product called Fresh Take. It's a mixture of breadcrumbs, shredded cheese, and spices that you coat a protein in and then bake in the oven. It retails for about $4 and can be found in the refrigerated aisle of your supermarket next to the cheese.

This product is incredibly tasty, and so simple! The amount of flavor that is packed into the breadcrumb/cheese mixture is actually hard to believe! This is a perfect weeknight meal to pair with a quick salad or a veggie with about 5 minutes of prep time and 25 minutes in the oven.

There are many different flavor combinations to choose from and the Kraft site also suggests a wide variety of recipes to use their Fresh Take product with.

If anyone has been toying with the idea of trying this out, I highly recommend it!

Recipe to Reality: Chicken Cacciatore

Did you know that the word "cacciatore" means "hunter" in Italian?

I didn't! 

Let's just say I embraced my hunting instincts and cooked up some boneless skinless chicken thighs for the first time this past weekend!

Let's add on-the-bone chicken to the list of foods I don't eat...so I was up to trying the boneless thighs, but wasn't used to so much cleaning! They have much more fat than the breasts.

This is a classic dish my grandma used to make, but I didn't use grandma's recipe! Instead I got this recipe  from the February 2012 edition of Food & Wine Magazine.

Time: 45 minutes
4 servings

Here's What You'll Need!

2 tbs. olive oil
2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
Salt
Pepper
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
8 oz. button mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp. rosemary
1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning
2 tbs. tomato paste
1/2 cup white wine
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

Put It All Together! 

1) Heat olive oil in a large, deep skillet.

2) I wasn't completely sure about the chicken being cut into "2-inch pieces" so I cut mine into strips and seasoned with salt and pepper. Add to the skillet over high heat for about 4 minutes on each side until browned. Remove the chicken from the skillet and transfer to a plate.

3) Add the onion, garlic, mushrooms, rosemary, and spices to the skillet. Also season with salt and pepper. Cook until veggies are soft and onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and allow to reduce by half before adding tomato paste and crushed tomatoes.

4) Return the chicken to the skillet and bring to a boil.

5) Cover the skillet containing the chicken and tomato sauce partially and simmer over low heat for about 15. At this point the chicken should be cooked through and sauce should be thicker.

 Serve over rice and enjoy!!

After this experience I will certainly try chicken thighs again! The meat was juicy, the sauce tangy and flavorful. My husband took one bite of this and looked over at me with a gracious "Mmmmmmm!"

Hope everyone had a great back to school week!

Stay Savory,

Recipe to Reality: Mexican Lasagna

I have to admit that even though my heritage is practically 100% Italian, I'm not a big traditional lasagna fan due to the ricotta cheese involved.

Ever since I was young, I have been repulsed by white condiments. This includes, but is not limited to, mayonnaise, cream cheese, ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, and many white salad dressings (ranch, blue cheese, etc.)

It's a completely irrational fear, and to be honest, I haven't even tried 90% of those items, so for me to say, "I don't like it" is really not fair...

But the one time I did try mayonnaise I was at a friend's house and she had made sandwiches and I didn't want to be rude or offend her, so I sucked up my superficial craziness and ate the sandwich...needless to say, I had a "stomach ache" for the rest of the night. All in my head? Perhaps.

I blame my father who started this absurd hatred for white condiments.

I have a feeling that as I was growing up a scene like this was stuck into my consciousness...

Mom:  Jasmine, have some potato salad.
Me:     Daddy, are you having any?
Dad:   Oh no, I don't touch that stuff. That's gross...but you can have it if you want

He's never admitted to brainwashing me, lol, but I've always been a Daddy's Girl.

OKAY! BACK TO THE FOOD!

Basically, I was trying to say that I don't really like Italian lasagna, but this Mexican Lasagna as per Rachael Ray is fabulous!

Here's What You'll Need!

• 3 tbs extra-virgin olive oil

• 2 lbs ground chicken 

• 2 tbs chili powder

• 2 tsp ground cumin

• 1/2 red onion, chopped

• 1 can fire roasted tomatoes

• 1 can black beans, drained

• 1 cup frozen corn kernels

• Salt

• Pepper

• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

• 4-5 wheat tortillas

• 2 1/2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

• 2 scallions, chopped

Put It All Together!

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees,

2. Start by browning the ground chicken in a skillet with 2 tbs of the oil.

3. Season the ground chicken with the chili powder, cumin, and red onion. 

4. Once the meat the coated in the spice mixture, add the tomatoes, beans, and corn.

5. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

6. Use the leftover tbs of olive oil to grease the bottom of a 7" x 11" glass pan.

7. Start by cutting the tortillas in halves (or quarters) and put a layer on the bottom of the dish.

8. Next, spoon on a layer of the meat and beans.

9. Cover again with a layer of tortillas, and then a layer of cheese.

10. Repeat steps 7-9 as necessary, leaving the cheese layer on top.

11. Put assembled lasagna into the oven for about 13-14 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and the entire meal is heated through.

12. Garnish with chopped scallions and enjoy your Mexican treat!!

Completely ricotta free, and absolutely scrumptious!

Stay Savory,

Recipe to Reality: Sweet & Sour Chicken with Fried Rice

Absolutely Delicious!

I was SO excited to try this recipe for a few reasons.

#1. Who doesn't love Chinese food?

#2. The only ingredient that I had to buy were the chicken tenders which means this meal cost me like $4 for the two of us!

#3. In addition to originally finding the recipe at Life as a Lofthouse on Pinterest with great instructions and comments, Heather Lynn from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks  also made this recipe this week and only had good things to say about it!


Here's What You'll Need:
For your chicken...

1 package of boneless, skinless, chicken tenderloins (I like these because they're easier to cut into chunks, but you can use regular chicken breast as well)

Salt

Pepper

1 cup of cornstarch

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup of vegetable oil

For your sauce...

3/4 of a cup of granulated, white sugar

4 tbs ketchup

1/2 cup distilled white vinegar

1 tbs soy sauce

1 tsp garlic powder

Put it all together!

1. Preheat your over to 325 degrees.

2. Rinse your chicken and cut into cubes. I like to use the tenderloins because they are well cleaned (except for the tendon...) and easier to butcher.

3. Make yourself two assembly line-style bowls. One should contain the cup of cornstarch and the other the two beaten eggs seasoned with salt and pepper. Also, start heating a skillet with the 1/4 cup of oil on medium heat.

Salt & Pepper Kitties Watching Me Work!

4. Coat your chicken chunks in the cornstarch first, and then into the egg mixture.

5. Add coated chicken to skillet and cook until browned (you can't see any pink).

Cornstarch and Egg making Strange Chicken Shapes!

6. While browning, mix together all your ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl. 

7. Move the browned chicken into a 7' x 11' glass baking dish and pour the sauce over the chicken.

Thank you, Hubby for this shot!

8. Bake the chicken for a total of 60 minutes, checking in at 15-minute intervals to stir them around and make sure they are being coated at every angle! An hour seems like a long time, but don't worry your chicken will stay moist and tender!

While the chicken is baking, why not start the rice? You can use leftover rice, but I didn't have any so I made a fresh batch!

For Cooking Rice

2 cups of white rice

1 tbs olive oil

1 tsp salt

4 cups of water

1. Combine all ingredients and stir rice continuously while bringing to a boil.

2. Once boiling, lower heat to simmer and cover.

3. When water is absorbed (about 12-13 minutes) rice is done!

Here's What You'll Need:

For fried rice!

2 cups cooked white rice 

3 tbs sesame oil

1 cup frozen vegetable medley, thawed

1 small onion, chopped

4 cloves of minced garlic

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/3 cup soy sauce

Putting It All Together!

1. Heat the sesame oil in a skillet on medium-high (I used the same skillet that I cooked my chicken in rinsed out) and add the thawed veggies, onion, and garlic. Cook for about 3-4 minutes until the onions have become a bit translucent and veggies are tender.

2. Lower heat to medium low and push the veggies to one half of the pan. Add the beaten eggs to the other side of the pan and scramble them.

Hibachi at Home!

3. Add the veggies and scrambled egg to your rice with the soy sauce and you're all set!

Did you ever think it could be that easy?!

We devoured this plate of food and have a ton of fried rice as leftovers in the fridge.

The chicken was juicy, tangy and paired perfectly with the fried rice.

I will be making this for my friends the next time they come over because it's delicious, cheap Chinese food.

Who knew I could make Chinese food?!

YUM.

Stay Savory,

Recipe to Reality: Curried-Chicken and Vegetable Pan Roast

Curried Chicken with Roasted Veggies

   My husband and I first tried Indian food about 2-3 years ago after we were both curious to expand our palettes. We had to ask the waiter for recommendations since we weren't familiar with the cuisine, but after taking my first bite I knew I was in love! I remember saying, "I have never tasted anything like this!" We were both completely blown away by the exotic spices and couldn't get enough.

Chicken Tikka Masala & Coconut Curried Veggies

If you have never had Indian food before, I'd recommend getting Chicken Tikka Masala. Tikka means that the meat has been marinated in yogurt and cooked on a Tandoori grill, and Masala refers to a common spice used in Indian cuisine. The dish is served in a tomato based sauce full of rich Indian spices. This is my husband's absolute favorite dish, and while I try to be adventurous and try other dishes, I always have to take a bite of his as well!

When I found this recipe to make an Indian style dish at home without the inconvenience of using a ton of spices, I was very excited to try it. The recipe comes from the Food & Wine Annual Cookbook of 2011.

Total Time: 1 Hour and 15 Minutes
Servings: 2-3

Ingredients

• 2 lbs of butternut squash in 1-inch cubes
• 1 lb of brussels sprouts, halved
• 1 large red onion cut into slices
• 1 cup of canola oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup of plain nonfat Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon Madras curry powder
• 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless, chicken thighs
• Warm naan for serving

The first thing I did was preheat the oven to 450 degrees. 

Autumn Veggies!

I decided to buy the pre-cubed butternut squash since the squash is so difficult to break down and I'd prefer to keep my fingers, thank you! I took the squash cubes, the halved brussels, and onion slices and mixed them together in a bowl with 1/2 a cup of canola oil, salt and pepper. I also added a little Vegeta spice mix to my veggies. Then I spread them out on a baking sheet.

In the same bowl, I combined the yogurt, ginger, garlic, curry powder, the other 1/2 cup of canola oil, and salt and pepper. I decided not to use Greek style yogurt, just because I'm not a big fan. Also, I found the Madras curry powder right in the spice aisle of my local supermarket, you shouldn't have to go to a specialty store. 

Coated Chicken Ready to Bake!

Next, coat the chicken in the yogurt and spices mixture and lay the chicken on top of the veggies.

The recipe suggests cooking the chicken and veggies for a total of 60 minutes, but I found that both the chicken and veggies were done after 40. I set a timer for 20 minutes and turned the pan halfway through cooking. I also drained some of the juices halfway through cook time.

All done!

After 40 minutes I was left with golden brown chicken and caramelized veggies. Feel free to serve with naan bread or over rice. We chose to keep it low-carb.

This recipe can also be prepared the night before and baked the next day.

My husband, who is more of a meat and potatoes guy, ate all of his veggies and even had a second helping! We both loved the sweetness of the squash, with the slight bitterness of the brussels. The Madras curry spice was warm and inviting, and we didn't have any leftovers!

Can't wait to make this again...maybe in the fall or winter!

Stay Savory,

Recipe to Reality: Chicken with Mango Salsa

Finished Product!

Ingredients Ready to Go!

One of my absolute favorite ingredients is mango. Unfortunately, the mango isn't as widely used in American cooking as I'd like. My newlywed husband and I just returned from our honeymoon in Hawaii before Candee and I started this blog, and I was happier than a pig in the mud  because of the widely used mango fruit in the cuisine over there. I sampled mango bread, which was similar to a zucchini bread in its spices, but obviously with mango, mango ice cream, and don't forget the mango daiquiris! ;) It saddens me that the mango is not more prominent within the USA, but I am not surprised...

I'm not going to lie. The mango is one of the most difficult and frustrating ingredients to work with. Maybe butternut squash is more difficult for me because of its tough outer skin, but it's really a close call! I've made this recipe twice now, and the last time I made it was last summer because it requires time to break down those mangoes.

I started by marinating the chicken. I bought boneless, skinless, chicken breasts from Perdue which are pretty well cleaned on their own, but as a science teacher that delves into the human body, I know a thing or two about connective tissue...and let me tell you, it's not my thing. My rule of thumb when cleaning chicken is: If I wouldn't want to eat it, I clean it. I make sure that my knives are sharp and get to it.  

Trimming the Fat

I combined all my marinade ingredients, 4 garlic cloves chopped, juice of 4 limes, salt, 4 tablespoons of Caribbean Love Spice, 1 tablespoon of salt, and a 1/2 cup of olive oil and let my 3 chicken breasts marinate for about 2 hours. For my marinating tip, check out the video below.

After two hours, I preheated the oven to 375 degrees and baked the chicken for 45 minutes as instructed. The time was perfect. They came out moist and juicy.

Ready for the Sauna!

While I was waiting for my chicken, I started to make the mango salsa, which is where the headaches start! For those of you not familiar, the mango has a large starchy pit in the middle. Very different than the pit of an avocado. The avocado pit is a sphere where the mango pit is long and wide. To get the pulp from a mango, first you need to peel off the thick, waxy skin.

Mangoes are eaten in many forms of ripeness. Some chefs use green mangoes when the pulp is hard and the flavor is more bland for texture in a salad, while other chefs look for mangoes that are red and yellow in color when the pulp is super soft and incredibly sweet.

Mango Madness!

Because I bought the mangoes the same day I planned on preparing them, I looked for ones that were red and yellow in color, but you never know what you're gonna get! One of my mangoes was very ripe, another medium, and one was still pretty hard and tart, but it made a good combination for my salsa. In the picture above you can see the difference in color between the mango pit on the left and right. The one on the right has a deeper yellow color and also a softer texture. I'm no professional, so I just used my paring knife to try and get as much pulp off the pit as possible. 

The Fruits of My Labor

   After about half an hour, I had three mangoes diced. To my mangoes I added a diced and seeded jalapeno, a diced red onion, the juice of two and a half limes, a handful of chopped cilantro, a tablespoon of salt and a 1/4 cup of sugar. You need to let the salsa sit for about half an hour to let all of the flavors blend. The salt forces some of the water out of the mangoes and after you let it sit, it makes its own juice. 

Colorful Mango Salsa!

Overall, I love the combination of the sweet mangoes, spicy jalapenos, and sharp onions. They complement the chicken that has been marinating in the Caribbean spices. My husband and I love eating this meal, but I'd call this meal a once-a-year-wonder. See you next July, Mango Salsa!

Click here for the full recipe by Ike Green courtesy of Food Network.com