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chicken

Chicken Fajita Soup

February 16, 2016

Chicken Fajita Soup

AHHHH I’m in Florida!!!!

It’s the best/scary/awesome all rolled into one.

…

Read More

Filed Under: Recipes, Soups, Stews, Chili Tagged With: chicken, chicken fajita soup, soup, taco tuesday

Whole30 #2: Days 10-12 Recap

April 16, 2015

I am documenting my second Whole 30 journey to help me see how far I’ve come from my first Whole30 (Feb 2015) to this one (April 2015). Plus, I don’t want to fall into any food ruts. Hopefully this will keep me inspired through the whole process. I’m looking forward to the transformation in how I approach food, cook with it, and enjoy it. Check out all my Whole30 related posts HERE from why I did my first Whole30, why I am doing this one, and food diaries. 

doing-the-w30-IG-300x300

{Day 10}

Friday, April 10th 2015

I went to the gym in the morning. It felt good to go. I signed up for the abs class but got a more in depth training session with the trainer as I was the only one who showed up. Yay me! It felt good getting a lesson on arms and abs. And then I was sore.

Breakfast

Whole30 2 Days 10-12-1

2 over-easy eggs with homemade bacon and guac (store-bought), then a clementine & some berries at work

Friday’s are tough as it’s Pod Breakfast Day at work and it’s typically a sea of bagels, muffins, and donuts. Thankfully, I made breakfast at home and found some fruit to snack on once I got at work.

Lunch

Whole30 2 Days 10-12-3

Whole30 2 Days 10-12-4Whole30 2 Days 10-12-5

Watercress and Fig Salad from Cocobeet, Kale Chips from Cocobeet

I love Cocobeet!! They are $$$ but the quality of their juices and food is so damn good. I miss going for their breakfast bowls when I wanted to treat myself to a healthy, hearty breakfast. (I miss you quinoa!!) And their Chia Pudding is the best. THE BEST.

But I found a few things that are whole30 complaint. I grabbed one of their salads and boxes of kale chips. It was my first time trying kale chips & nutritional yeast- so good!

Dinner

Whole30 2 Days 10-12-6

Aidell’s Chicken and Apple Sausage with roasted broccoli, served with mustard

I was tempted to make a meat and mushroom sauce over butternut squash noodles but I was burned out. So it was a simple dinner kind of night. I cut up 2 crowns of broccoli and tossed them with some olive oil, garlic, and salt & pepper on a baking sheet. I tossed it under the broiler. After a few minutes I added the sausage links that I sliced up on a diagonal. A few minutes later it was all done. Divide up and drizzle with mustard. Done!

{Day 11}

Saturday, April 11th 2015

I spent a good chunk of the day at work catching up on things there while Price and Autumn ran lots of errands. They even planted flowers. So cute. It was a good day, not much to say…

Breakfast

Whole30 2 Days 10-12-8

Eggs with potatoes and bacon

When I was growing up my dad would make ‘potatoes and eggs’ on the weekends. I loved it. I like my do my potatoes the same way but slicing them on a mandoline and putting them in a skillet to ‘fry’ up. I only used about a tablespoon of oil on the whole batch of potatoes- not too bad! It just another way of making home fries.

Whole30 2 Days 10-12-7

‘Lunch ‘

Whole30 2 Days 10-12-9

Kale Chips & some pistachios 

I finished off the kale chips while I was at work for the afternoon. I wasn’t really hungry from the big breakfast.

Dinner

Whole30 2 Days 10-12-10

Meaty mushroom sauce on butternut squash noodles

Our butternut squash was a dud! It was soft in the middle (like seeds in the long part, weird) so we had to chop it up to spiralize it. It made our noodles tiny and annoying, but dinner was good overall.

Dessert

Whole30 2 Days 10-12-11

Cocoa packed chia pudding (chia, compliant coconut milk, cocoa powder)

I wanted to try something new so I made this chia pudding quickly on Friday night. It was a big dud as the cocoa made it pretty bitter and thickened it up too much. Blah. Live and learn.

{Day 12}

Sunday, April 12th 2015

The weekends are so hard for me to stick to Whole30. I just want to make waffles to enjoy and to get food while out running errands. Or get take out. I’m starting to feel less committed to this Whole30, as compared to the first one, and Price feels the same way. We will stick it out to accomplish it but my heart isn’t into it like the first one. Hoping that feeling changes soon.

Breakfast

Whole30 2 Days 10-12-12

Eggs with potatoes and bacon

I’m getting tired of eggs.

Lunch 

Whole30 2 Days 10-12-13

Cashew Cookie Lara Bar (1pm) & salad (3pm) made with mixed greens, romaine, sprouts, tomatoes, cucumber, and almonds with a homemade ranch dressing

I grabbed the Lara Bar while I was shopping at Trader Joe’s. I was so hungry after our busy morning together shopping so I inhaled it in the car. It tasted like it was was best food on earth. ha!!

Once we got back home and I got Autumn down for a nap I made Price and I salad that we enjoyed sitting on the back porch. I can’t wait to get our patio table up to use!

Whole30 2 Days 10-12-14

Dinner

Whole30 2 Days 10-12-18

Chicken (Organic, free range) with roasted tiny potatoes and broccolini (8.30pm)

Dinner was awesome. I loved the tiny potatos and broccolini. I’m already thinking about my next Trader Joe’s trip and when I can get more.

I’ve been having a FB msging convo with Rachel about quality of chicken. While we would love to buy organic free range chicken (and other meats) for our families we’re running into a budget problem. It’s so easy to grab store brand chicken at $2.49 a pound compared to $6.99 a pound (like what I bought a trader joe’s). So we have been talking quality in terms of taste and processing. I did notice that I really enjoyed some air chilled chicken that I recently bought. I need to remember the brand and where I got it (Market Basket?) to get it again, and check and see if it was organic or not and how much it was a pound.

Whole30 2 Days 10-12-16 Whole30 2 Days 10-12-17

 Dessert

Whole30 2 Days 10-12-19

Chia pudding (complaint coconut milk, cocoa powder) with a sprinkling of unsweetened shredded coconut

I was so excited about the unsweetened shredded coconut that I picked up from Trader Joe’s. The chia pudding was still blah, but the coconut was a nice add to it to jazz it up.

____________________

What are your favorite Whole30 recipes? Please share!

Are you considering doing Whole30? Give it a try!

Filed Under: Whole 30 Tagged With: breakfast whole30, chicken, cocobeet, dinner whole30, food diary, free range, Lara Bar's, lunch whole30, organic, organic chicken, salad, Whole30, Whole30 bacon, Whole30 diet, whole30 food diary, whole30 foods, whole30 lunch, whole30 recap

Whole30 #2: Days 7-9 Recap

April 14, 2015

I am documenting my second Whole 30 journey to help me see how far I’ve come from my first Whole30 (Feb 2015) to this one (April 2015). Plus, I don’t want to fall into any food ruts. Hopefully this will keep me inspired through the whole process. I’m looking forward to the transformation in how I approach food, cook with it, and enjoy it. Check out all my Whole30 related posts HERE from why I did my first Whole30, why I am doing this one, and food diaries. 

doing-the-w30-IG-300x300

{Day 7}

Tuesday, April 7th 2015

I got the change to work from home in the afternoon. I love that! I was able to make a fresh lunch. No leftovers for me! Man, leftovers get so boring. It was nice to have something ‘fancy’.

Breakfast

Whole30 2 Days 7-9-1

 Scrambled eggs with sweet potato has, guac

We don’t have scrambled eggs often. Hardly ever. I got an herb packet while I was in Seattle so I am going to have to use that next time as they were good.

Lunch

Whole30 2 Days 7-9-2

Sauteed fish over salad with tomatoes, red onion, avocado, TJ’s verde salsa

I threw this together quickly once I got back from my final punchlist of a project. It felt like a celebratory lunch.

Dinner

Whole30 2 Days 7-9-3

Chicken breast with baby zucchini over lightly dressed greens

Price really likes these baby zucchini, I should get bags and bags of these when I go shopping there. They are quick to prepare and taste so good. I like that they don’t get very watery like how ‘adult’ zucchini tend to get.

{Day 8}

Wednesday, April 8th 2015

Woohoo! 1 week through. Today was a rough day, not because of Whole30 exactly, but because I am a moron. Such a moron.

Breakfast

Whole30 2 Days 7-9-4 Whole30 2 Days 7-9-5

Spinach and Sweet Potato Crustless Quiche served with quacamole and salsa verde; venti cold brew with some cinnamon sprinkled on top

I made my quiche look like cake!!! It has quacamole frosting and a salsa finishing sauce. And I’ve lost my damn mind. It didn’t taste like cake. It didn’t trick me. It just made me more annoyed. I dunno. ha!

I grabbed this cold brew on the way into work. I was so excited that I had a moment to get a coffee and to try cold brew. I sprinkled some cinnamon on top. It was so good, but then…

Lunch 

Whole30 2 Days 7-9-6

Salad- mixed greens with 2 hardboiled egg whites, sweet potato hash, (leftover) chicken breast, 1/2 avocado, with homemade ranch

I was in need of this salad. I felt so off from the caffeine bomb from the cold brew. I would have preferred something like a burger and fries, like when you ‘soak up’ booze after a night of drinking, but my salad was my only real option.

Snack

Whole30 2 Days 7-9-7

I had a HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE headache from my caffeine crash. I thought I was going to throw up on the bus ride home. I had a bunch of water and this bag and started to feel better. UGH.

Dinner

Whole30 2 Days 7-9-8

Roasted Chicken with roasted green beans and grape tomatoes with a ‘special sauce’

I started to roast the chicken but then had to go to the gym so then it was Price’s job to take over. He finished it up and broke it down for our dinners and lunches coming up. It was really yummy.

I made a ‘special sauce’ with some homemade mayo, Franks Red Hot, and spices. So good!

Food Swap!

Whole30 2 Days 7-9-13

My friend Kellie is also doing Whole30 with us. She swapped (Puerto Rican) sofrito for mayo from me. I can’t wait to use it!

Exercise 

I went to the gym!! I was supposed to meet with a trainer after work to create a program but he was sink or something so I met with the assistant manager who was nice and showed me some arms stuff to do. Looking forward to meeting with a train to create a real program and doing it.

{Day 9}

Thursday, April 9th 2015

No coffee for me today after yesterday’s mishap. ugh!!

Breakfast

 Whole30 2 Days 7-9-9

Spinach and Sweet Potato Crustless Quiche served with quacamole

We didn’t like this quiche much. Maybe it was the sweet potato but not our favorite. Blah!

Lunch 

Whole30 2 Days 7-9-11 Whole30 2 Days 7-9-10

Clementine with chicken breast and string beans, homemade mayo

My lunch felt boring but it was really good. I feel like I take too big of a serving of chicken but if I don’t eat much then I don’t feel full. And I don’t think it’s a volume thing as a protein thing.

Clementines are da bomb…

Dinner

Whole30 2 Days 7-9-12

Stir fry of shaved pork & baby bok choy on cauliflower rice 

I really like cauliflower rice now. I don’t miss regular rice. I do like sticky, tart sushi rice but regular rice- blah.

I need to get more coconut aminos. It was missing form this dish. I have to be better prepared next time!

____________________

What are your favorite Whole30 recipes? Please share!

Are you considering doing Whole30? Give it a try!

Filed Under: Whole 30 Tagged With: breakfast whole30, chicken, crustless quiche, dairy free, diet, dinner whole30, eggs, gluten free, guacamole, homemade mayo, lunch whole30, paleo, soy free, sugar free, Whole30, whole30 breakfast, whole30 dinner, whole30 foods, whole30 lunch

Whole30: Days 28-30

March 12, 2015

I am documenting my Whole 30 journey to help me see how far I’ve come and to keep me inspired through the whole process. I’m looking forward to the transformation in how I approach food, cook with it, and enjoy it. Read why taking on this challenging dietary adventure is so important to me HERE.

doing-the-w30-IG-300x300

{Day 28}

Sunday, March 1st

It was a good/bad food day. Good in that it was Whole30 foods, but bad in timing of eating. I grazed most of the morning and early afternoon picking at a recipe I was trying to develop for the blog. At least dinner was awesome.

Brunch

Whole30 Days 28-30-1

(Failed) sweet potato waffles with a berry sauce (no sugar!)

I was trying to make my waffled hashbrowns but with sweet potatoes and it just didn’t work out well so we ate the waffles that sorta survived.

Dinner

Whole30 Days 28-30-2

Salad with steak, with a homemade mayo based ‘ranch-y’ dressing, topped off with salsa and guac (Holy Guacamole)

This was so good, and not just because it was delicious, but because we all sat down to dinner together. It’s pretty rare for us to eat with Autumn as she eats so early (5.30) but we get out act together today and had an early dinner together. So nice. I really need to put that effort in on the weekends. Plus, she loved the steak. kept asking for more and more, as well as humus. Adorable!

{Day 29}

Monday, March 2nd

In the home stretch! I felt good all day and then crashed and had a banana at night as a snack/dessert. It was really good then but annoyed with myself later. I need to get better about fighting urges like that. Blah.

Breakfast

Whole30 Days 28-30-3

Eggs over a potato hash with salsa and guac

I overcooked my eggs and was pissed so I made myself new eggs. Annoyed to waste food, but I should at least be able to enjoy the eggs I am eating, no?!?!?

Lunch

Whole30 Days 28-30-4 Whole30 Days 28-30-5

Salad (romaine, carrots, tomatoes) with some yummy  leftover steak, with EVOO & vinegar dressing. Almonds.

Awesome salad. I got the almond from a job walk through. They were giving them out to promote heart health instead of junky snacks. Love that.

Dinner

Whole30 Days 28-30-6

Leftover Roasted Chicken with potatoes and green beans

We finished up the chicken from the Mayo Crusted Roasted Chicken that I made on Saturday night. It was basic but quick and it works some nights just to get dinner out of the way.

Dessert

Whole30 Days 28-30-7

Banana with some almond butter and a sprinkling of cinnamon

Super hungry. I shouldn’t have given in but I’m all over the place with being hungry/not. In a moment of weakness I grabbed the banana. Kinda pissed about it but I have been weird/blah/whatever since getting my period post-baby & post-breastfeeding. My body is just freaking out some days. AHHH!!!

{Day 30}

Tuesday, March 3rd

 It’s our last day!!! Kinda exciting, kinda bittersweet. I know I can extend it but I need to take a break from it to test things out and just have a damn cookie. It was a crazy busy day but a good one.

Breakfast

Whole30 Days 28-30-8

Egg scramble with mushrooms, topped off with salsa and guac

I’m tired of eggs, I don’t care anymore. I am very thankfully for picking up the organic salsa from Costco though.

Lunch

Whole30 Days 28-30-9

Mixed greens salad with berries and prosciutto, EVOO & vinegar dressing

This has to be my favorite salad, at least currently. I freaking love the berries in the greens. Nice mix with the salty prosciutto

Snack

Whole30 Days 28-30-10

Cherry Pie Lara Bar

Lunch was great but it left me hungry. I need to up the protein in my salads.

Dinner

Whole30 Days 28-30-11

Chicken skewers with mixed veggies (peppers & mushrooms) in a sunbutter sauce

Price made this as I was at a planning board meeting (my first one!!) so he made dinner for us. He was bummed he didn’t make a dipping sauce for the chicken but I was starving after the meeting and going to Trader Joe’s (for Autumn’s goat milk). It was really good. I can’t wait for all the snow around our grill to thaw and for Price to start grilling again!

____________________

I’m so proud of us for doing Whole30 and that we did it together. I know that this experience has taught us both about our eating and drinking habits. It’s been very eye-opening. I’ve noticed changes throughout the process about cravings,

I’ll do a follow-up with our lives post Whole30 soon!

Filed Under: Whole 30 Tagged With: breakfast whole30, chicken, clean eating, dairy free, dinner whole30, eggs, food diary, gluten free, Lara Bar's, lunch whole30, paleo, salad, soy free, steak, Whole30, whole30 foods

Mayo Crusted Roasted Chicken

February 20, 2015

Mayo Crusted Roasted Chicken

A few years ago when I lived with 2 roommates, I learned that I could not live with 2 roommates. So it goes…

Mayo Crusted Roasted Chicken-1

We all have our idiosyncrasies but one of my roommates was off on another planet. Like she insisted on having the biggest room although she froze in it because it had very large widows and a nonworking fireplace (all of which let in a lot of cold air). Also, she would cook her food, eat it out of the pot, and leave said pot on the top of the sofa. Great when my other roommates puppy would discover it. Super great. She was in a residency program so maybe she was just off from being sleep deprived from her long shifts and weekends on-call. So while she drove me crazy but, at least she did teach me about making fantastic baked chicken. So a big thank you to her for that.

 Mayo Crusted Roasted Chicken-2

She used to bake chicken breasts and drumsticks all the time. They were quick and easy for her to whip up and keep on hand for when she had to work late nights or be on call. But there as something that should would do that I had never heard of before… she would slather the chicken with mayonnaise. What?!?

Years later, while I was feeling in a bit of a chicken rut, I thought of what she used to do. Well, it turns out she wasn’t crazy after all since I googled it and it’s a thing. A pretty common thing actutally… where have I been living all these years? Under a rock!?!?

It makes the chicken super moist and flavorful, while giving the exterior a bit of a naughty crunch too.

Mayo Crusted Roasted Chicken-5 Mayo Crusted Roasted Chicken-6

Mayo Crusted Roasted Chicken-7 Mayo Crusted Roasted Chicken-8

The great thing about this recipe is that is paleo and Whole30 compliant, assuming you use complaint mayo, of course! Finding something that fits the Whole30 requirements and is downright delicious just makes me want to jump for joy!

The one thing to note that as it cooks the oil in the mayo will separate from the egg base, and will drip down into the pan. The veggies there can be a bit oily, so if you want to avoid that just put down a wire rack that you use for baking first before you put down the veggies. But I would give them a bit of a drizzle with oil so they stay moist and don’t stick to the rack.

Mayo Crusted Roasted Chicken-3

I swear I am a changed roast chicken woman. This makes it so freaking juicy. It is the perfect chicken to make this FREEZING weekend. Stay warm and cozy my friends!

Mayo Crusted Roasted Chicken-4

Mayo Crusted Roasted Chicken

Makes 1 whole chicken

Ingredients

  • 5-6 pound whole chicken
  • 1/2 pound carrots, peeled, cut into 2″ long pieces
  • 1/2 pound celery, peeled, cut into 2″ long pieces
  • 2 large onions, sliced into 1/2″ wedges
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3-4 bay leaves
  • approximately 1/3 Cup mayonnaise
  • salt and pepper

Process

  1. Preaheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
  2. Remove the giblets from the chicken. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry.
  3. Place the carrots, celery, onions, garlic, and bay leaves in a roasting pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the chicken on top.
  4. Liberally rub mayonnaise on the whole chicken. Generously sprinkle with salt and pepper. Tuck the wing tips under the chicken to prevent burning.
  5. Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter. Cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes prior to slicing and serving. lice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.

Filed Under: Poultry, Recipes Tagged With: chicken, dinner whole30, mayo chicken, paleo, roasted chicken, whole chicken, Whole30, whole30 foods, whole30 recipe

Whole30: Days 7-9 Recap

February 14, 2015

I am documenting my Whole 30 journey to help me see how far I’ve come and to keep me inspired through the whole process. I’m looking forward to the transformation in how I approach food, cook with it, and enjoy it. Read why taking on this challenging dietary adventure is so important to me HERE.

doing-the-w30-IG-300x300

{Day 7}

Sunday, February 8th

Price had to go into work today to make up time time he had missed from taking Autumn to the Dr on Friday so it was mainly just Autumn and I hanging around. I prepped food for Price but I got to do whatever for my meals. So I basically did whatever, and whenever. Like lunch at 2.30, very unlike me. But sometimes things are just ‘meh’ when it comes to the day and food.

Breakfast

W30 Days 7-9-1

Spaghetti squash with steak and veggies.

I got ta late start to breakfast so I just morphed it into lunch food. I used up the spaghetti squash, TJ’s Cruciferous Crunch mix, mushrooms, and some steak. I didn’t like that I make it into stir fry since once I was done with it it just felt weird to eat it for breakfast so I picked at it and ate the steak and some of the rest.

Lunch

W30 Days 7-9-2

Waffled Hashbrowns with a fried egg and salsa

This made up for my lack luster breakfast. I’m loving my Waffle Wednesday posts so I was excited to make this. I need to make more and more and more of these hashbrowns.

Dinner

W30 Days 7-9-3

Beef Burger Patty with grilled pineapple, guac & cilantro. Side of sweet potato fries.

I was struggling to think of what to make for dinner and ended whipping this up. It worked but I miss buns and ketchup. I think I only use ketchup for burgers and fries which is a vast improvement from when I used to eat it with everything. So I miss it with meals like this. But it was still really, really good.

{Day 8}

Monday, February 9th

We were getting pummeled with snow and daycare was closed so I stayed home with Autumn.  It felt great that is was a

Breakast

W30 Days 7-9-4

Potato and veggie hash with 2 fried eggs

Lunch

W30 Days 7-9-5 W30 Days 7-9-6

Shrimp scampi with zoodles and an apple with crunchy almond butter

This lunch felt like a treat but I felt like I needed a treat as I was home yet again with Autumn because of the snow. Shrimp for lunch is such a treat! And it was a very good lunch. I make it scampi style with some oil, garlic, crushed red pepper, and some ghee.

And an apple with almond butter never hurts anyone. So good.

Dinner

W30 Days 7-9-7

Chicken breasts with a kumquat relish on a bed of chard and mashed potatoes (Modified Blue Apron Meal)

This was a winner! We loved it. It was so flavorful and hearty.

I forgot to cancel Blue Apron this week so I just ended up modifying the ingredients to make it Whole30 compliant. I skipped the sugar in the relish recipe and I swapped out the freekah for the mashed potatoes made with vegetable broth. And I made a pan sauce with the drippings in the pan after I cooked the chicken, some veggie broth, and almond flour. I have to make this one again.

{Day 9}

Tuesday, February 10th

Yet another snow day. The MBTA was closed down so I had to work from home (unless I drove in), but daycare was closed so I had Autumn at home, so no real working, besides a conference call. Price had to get in so he drove in. So just me and Autumn again! 🙂

Anyway, I feel that the biggest progress in this process

Breakast

W30 Days 7-9-8

Scrambled eggs with veggies, salsa mixed an an avocado, and pineapple

Price was still home when I made this so I enjoyed the company. Autumn ended up eating quite a bit

Lunch

W30 Days 7-9-9

Chicken with swiss chard mashed potatoes and asparagus

I’m always so glad when I make a lot of food when cooking something as it makes the next meals come together quickly. As in this one as I got to enjoy leftover chicken and mashed potatoes from the night before. I just quickly made some asparagus in a skillet and ta-da, all done!

Dinner

W30 Days 7-9-10

Pork Cutlets with a Beet, Heirloom Carrot, and Hazelnut Salad (Modified Blue Apron Meal)

There was not much to modify about this recipe to make it Whole30 compliant, just ditch the butter and use ghee. Simple! And we ended up with a delicious, filling dinner. Plus, it just meant that I only needed to dirty a pot and a skillet. Next time, if I use prepared beets I’ll only need to dirty a skillet- such a win!!

W30 Days 7-9-11

____________________

I’m glad that I have stuck with Whole30 so far at this point without any slip ups. The strict restrictions have really helped me stay in check with what I was eating while at home, which is when I will most often snack on stuff like Ritz crackers or Goldfish crackers. It’s not about not even having them at home, since I have other similarly tempted things (chocolate pudding, cheese, etc), but more about controlling cravings. yay!

We had some great dinners so the repetitive nature of some of the foods so far is. I’m glad that I forgot to cancel the Blue Apron package as those dinners were fantastic!

Filed Under: Whole 30 Tagged With: Blue Apron Meals, breakfast whole30, chicken, dairy free, dinner whole30, food diary, gluen tree, lunch whole30, meals whole30, Men of Whole30, pork, shrimp, soy free, steak, sugar free, whole 30, Whole30, whole30 foods, Whole30 meals, whole30 program, zoodles

Homemade General Tso’s Chicken- SRC

January 26, 2015

Homemade General Tso's Chicken

Oh, back to life. Back to reality.

Homemade General Tso's Chicken-1

We’re back from our Caribbean cruise vacation. It was such a wonderful time. A wonderful break from life. It was a wonderful way to celebrate my 30th birthday!

Homemade General Tso's Chicken-2

But we’re back home now and back to the normal grind. Back to work today…

But it seems like Tuesday will be a day at home, and maybe even Wednesday, because of this blizzard heading our way. Yay? I mean it’s great for another day ‘off’ but I’ll need to make up the time in the end and snow. But, damn, I love a good Nor’easter. I heart you already Winter Storm Juno!!

Homemade General Tso's Chicken-5 Homemade General Tso's Chicken-6

Homemade General Tso's Chicken-7 Homemade General Tso's Chicken-8

I am a Weather Channel junkie. JUNKIE. Whenever there is a big storm I watch the Weather Channel, or our local news channel, 24/7. I love tracking storms. I love watching the updates throughout the day(s) as they get more and more information from different areas to get more specific quantities of snow/rain with tides or wind gusts. Oh, it’s so damn exciting.

Plus, it’s a good break from reality so we get to veg out and I get to cook!! I have some fun recipes to get to work on too! I’ve had my eye on a brownie recipe for awhile that I gotta make. And I’m working on perfecting my chocolate chip cookie recipe. It’s getting there!!

Homemade General Tso's Chicken-9 Homemade General Tso's Chicken-10

Homemade General Tso's Chicken-11 Homemade General Tso's Chicken-12

And I know I am going to be making this General Tso’s Chicken again.

Hot damn, this General Tso’s Chicken is so freaking good. It will make you toss your take out menus in the trash. Okay, maybe you still need take out for your egg rolls and such, but I doubt we’ll ever order General Tso’s again. It is gonna be homemade for us all the way now.

Homemade General Tso's Chicken-13 Homemade General Tso's Chicken-14

Homemade General Tso's Chicken-15 Homemade General Tso's Chicken-16

This is another one of those instances when I love Secret Recipe Club as it helped me discover another great blog and recipe. I thoroughly enjoying checking out the recipes on Asiya’s blog Chocolate and Chillies. She posts delicious recipes while sharing about her life in Toronto as a stay at home mom to 2 little boys. Her recipes often pack some heat (from chillies!) since she is Indian and her husband is Pakistani. There were quite a few recipes that caught my eye, including her Chocolate Truffle Energy Bites, Black Bean Burger, Pasta with Spinach Pesto, Roasted Red Peppers and Sundried Tomatoes, but I picked out her General Tso’s Chicken recipe.

I stuck with the recipe with the exception that we love broccoli with our General Tao’s so I added that. Because of that addition I doubled up the sauce. If you don’t want broccoli then cut back the sauce to follow the recipe exactly as it was on Asiya’s blog.

Homemade General Tso's Chicken-3

So while the Northeast is getting slammed with snow, we’ll be cozy at home making chocolate chip cookies and another batch of General Tso’s Chicken, since we know take out is not getting through 24+ inches of snow!

Homemade General Tso's Chicken-4

General Tso’s Chicken

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1″ cubes (about 1 lb)
  • 1 teaspoon orange juice
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/3 cup cornstarch
  • 3 1/2 tbsp canola oil, divided
  • 2 Cups pieces of broccoli
  • 1 inch ginger, minced
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 5-7 dried red chillies
  • 2 green onions, white part only, cut into 1 inch length

Sauce

  • 5 Tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 6 Tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
  • 2 Tablespoons hoisin sauce
  • 1/2 Cup water
  • 1/4 Cup sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon orange juice
  • 2 Tablespoons cornstarch

Process

  1. Marinate the chicken in orange juice and salt for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and set aside.
  2. Coat the chicken with the 1/3 cup cornstarch.
  3. Over high heat, heat 2 Tablespoons of oil in a wok/large non-stick skillet.
  4. Add the chicken and fry until cooked through.  Remove and put on a paper towel lined plate.
  5. Add the broccoli and stir every 20 seconds or so. After 2 minutes add 1/4 Cup of water and cover for 1 minute. Remove the broccoli, set aside.
  6. Heat the remaining oil in the wok and add the garlic, ginger, and dried red chilies.  Fry until you can smell the spices.
  7. Add the sauce and mix.  When the sauce boils and thickens add the chicken, broccoli, and green onions.  Stir to coat everything with the sauce.  Serve immediately with some hot steamed rice or quinoa.

Adapted from Chocolate and Chillies

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Check out all the other great Secret Recipe Club posts this month!

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Filed Under: Poultry, Recipes Tagged With: chicken, Chinese Food, dinner, General Tso's Chicken, homemade chinese, Secret Recipe Club, SRC, stir fry

The Ultimate Chicken Sandwich

July 31, 2014

Ultimate Chicken Sandwich-1

There are plenty of nights now when we just wing it when it comes to dinner. I always have high hopes for a great meal every night but real life gets in the way. I mean I can pin some great ideas until the cows come home while I am on the bus heading into work wishing that I was actually heading home. At least I’ve been on a one-pot meal pinning streak so I’m looking forward to trying one of those soon.

Ultimate Chicken Sandwich-4 Ultimate Chicken Sandwich-5

Ultimate Chicken Sandwich-6 Ultimate Chicken Sandwich-7

I wish I had the energy to cook but most days I’m drained. Hmm… maybe it’s the lack of sleep and constant moving I’m doing. We’re the on the go kind of family but lately I’ve been hauling butt walking all around town trying to enjoy the nice summer time weather and gets steps, which I’m tracking with my Fitbit. Love it.

Ultimate Chicken Sandwich-8 Ultimate Chicken Sandwich-9

Ultimate Chicken Sandwich-10 Ultimate Chicken Sandwich-11

So when it comes to dinner I’ll admit that we’re there are equally as many meals of cereal or take out as there are of cooked ones. And by cooked I often mean assembled. Does cutting up tomatoes and dressing with olive oil count as cooking? Yes… cool!!

Anyway, this sandwich is the kind of meal I can manage- grab a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, cut off one of the breasts which you then thinly sliced. Cook up some bacon, which I hardly qualify as cooking in this case as you just do it in the oven. Then assemble the mega sandwich, cut, enjoy.

Ultimate Chicken Sandwich-2

This would also work just as well with some turkey. would be a nice post Thanksgiving sandwich to change things up from the stuffing loaded ones. Don’t get me wrong, I love Pilgrim Sandwiches, but I get over stuffing pretty quickly. Anyway, I even thick sliced deli chicken or turkey would work well.

I suggest serving this with some chips, as opening a bag is the kind of cooking I like. Ha!

Ultimate Chicken Sandwich-3

The Ultimate Chicken Sandwich

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 6 slices of bacon, cut in half
  • loaf of Italian bread (I used a Vieira Saloio)
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup spicy brown mustard
  • a large bunch of arugula
  • 1 large breast of roasted chicken, such as a rotisserie chicken
  • 2-3 tomatoes, thinly sliced
  • 6 slices of bacon, sliced in half
  • 1 avocado, very thinly sliced
  • salt and pepper

Process

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the 12 pieces of the bacon on the foil so they are just touching on their long edges. Bake for 12-14 minutes (depending on thickness of bacon) until crisp. Remove the bacon from the baking sheet and place on a plate covered with paper towels.
  2. Halve a loaf of Italian bread to separate the top and bottom.
  3. Spread the mayo on one half of the bread and spread the mustard on the other half. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  4. Put a generous amount of arugula on the bottom half of the sandwich.
  5. Completely cover the arugula with the sliced chicken.
  6. Cover the chicken with the tomatoes, bacon, and then avocado. Cap off with the upper part of the bread.
  7. Cut into 4 sandwiches and enjoy!

Post contains affilate link(s).

Filed Under: Poultry, Recipes, Thanksgiving Tagged With: bacon, bacon in oven, chicken, chicken sandwich, fast dinner, Mayonnaise, mustard, quick fix meal, sandwich, ultimate chicken sandwich

Vietnamese Grilled Chicken Vermicelli Bowl

July 28, 2014

With just one bite you will be hooked on this Vietnamese Grilled Chicken Vermicelli Bowl. Fun textures and flavors will have you wanting more and more. It’s a versatile dish that will work with chicken, shrimp, pork, beef, or tofu. Have your passport ready as this will transport you!

Grilled Chicken Vermicelli Bowl-2

Bun is a delicious Vietnamese Vermicelli Bowl. This noodle salad has a wonderfully marinated chicken that is grilled. It’s packed full of great flavors and interesting textures. You’ll love every bite of it!

…

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Filed Under: Poultry, Recipes, Salads Tagged With: chicken, Grilled Chicken, noodle bowl, Peanuts, vermicelli, Vietnamese food

Fusilli with Fresh Corn and Chicken in a Garlic Cream Sauce- SRC

June 23, 2014

Fusilli with Fresh Corn and Chicken in a Garlic Cream Sauce

Holy cow.

You guys this recipe knocked my socks off.

Fusilli with Fresh Corn and Chicken in a Garlic Cream Sauce-01

And then the dog ate them. Just kidding! He only eats the baby’s socks. And thankfully it’s summer so we’re going barefoot now. woohoo!

This recipe is simple but it hits all the right notes.

Fusilli with Fresh Corn and Chicken in a Garlic Cream Sauce-04 Fusilli with Fresh Corn and Chicken in a Garlic Cream Sauce-06

Since getting this month’s Secret Recipe Club assignment I’ve made this twice. Making a recipe again when I don’t have to is big. Especially in such a short period of time! But when you find something you love you go with it. And I loved Mary Kay’s blog called Homemade Cravings. Seriously, I had some cravings after I checked out her blog.

Fusilli with Fresh Corn and Chicken in a Garlic Cream Sauce-07 Fusilli with Fresh Corn and Chicken in a Garlic Cream Sauce-08

Check these out…  Mini Layer Nacho Bites, Panera Autumn Squash Soup, Cream Cheese and Caramel Frost Apple Cupcakes.  See, she has great taste! Check out her Pinterest account too. She pins some great dishes as well. yum!

Since I made this twice I made some alterations the second time around. Nothing too drastic but just a few things to make it my own. I increased the amount of chicken to the recipe to add more protein and increase the amount of servings this pasta dish made. (hello leftovers!) As well, I increased the amount of sauce that is made since I loved it the first time I made it so I had to have more!

Fusilli with Fresh Corn and Chicken in a Garlic Cream Sauce-09 Fusilli with Fresh Corn and Chicken in a Garlic Cream Sauce-10

It’s quick to get all of this together but my tip to you is how to get the kernels off the corn cobs easily and neatly. Take a big pan and put an upside down bowl in the middle of it. That is going to be your pedestal where you hold up your corn, bottom side down. Then you run your knife down the side of the corn, allowing the kernels to fall off into the pan.

Fusilli with Fresh Corn and Chicken in a Garlic Cream Sauce-02

Be sure to use all the great fresh corn you have at your finger tips this summer when you are making this great pasta dish. Yum! I bet this would also be great with some fresh zucchini as well.

Fusilli with Fresh Corn and Chicken in a Garlic Cream Sauce-03

Fusilli with Fresh Corn and Chicken in a Garlic Cream Sauce

Ingredients

  • 1 pound Fusilli (Rontini works well too)
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 1/2  pounds chicken, chopped into bite size pieces
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 4 ears of fresh corn on the cob, kernels cut off
  • 3/4 Cup half and half
  • 1/2 Cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 Tablespoon parsley, minced
  • Salt and Pepper

Process

  1. Cook the fusilli according to instructions on package. Reserve 1 Cup of the pasta water.
  2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat, add the chicken pieces. Brown the chicken and then move to the outer edges of the skillet.
  3. Add the garlic to the center of the skillet and saute for a minute.
  4.  Add the corn kernels to the skillet. Mix everything together and cook for another 4-5 minutes until tender, stirring every 30 seconds or so.
  5. Add the cup of pasta water, half and half, and the cheese. Allow to come to a low boil.
  6. Remove from heat and toss with the drained fusilli until all pasta is evenly coated. Toss with the minced parsley.

Adapted from Homemade Cravings

 

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Secret Recipe Club

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As well, check out my 2 years of Secret Recipe Club posts!!!!

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Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive.

Filed Under: Recipes, Rice, Pasta, and Grains Tagged With: chicken, corn, cream sauce, dinner, fusilli, garlic, half and half, how to cut corn off the cob, parsley, pasta, pasta and chicken, pasta dinner, recipe, Secret Recipe Club, SRC

Incredibly Easy Chicken Pot Pie

March 21, 2014

 

Impossibly Easy Chicken Pot Pie

Finding quick, easy recipes is my jam right now.

I’ve been attacking Pinterest like crazy looking for quick/easy dinners like one pot dinners, slow cooker meals, quick pasta dishes, and salads. I’m so looking forward to all the salads we are going to be eating once the weather warms up. Yes, we eat plenty of salads in the winter but we just get all wild and crazy in the spring and summer. Ah, greens bliss. Plus they are super quick meals to toss together which is key right now.

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Filed Under: Poultry, Recipes Tagged With: a year of pie, Better Crocker Bisquick, Bisquick, Bisquick mix, chicken, chicken pot pie, Simple Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Fajitas

November 8, 2013

chicken fajitas

I’ve been feeling quite proud of myself lately for the fact that I have been cooking dinner during the week for us. Earlier on when I was dead tired to the world we did the cereal and boxed mac and cheese thing quite regularly. This week we only had cereal for dinner once!

chicken fajitas_0

And I’ve been baking. Maybe it’s the nesting stuff kicking in? I thought that would be more related to things like laundry, cleaning, and decorating, though. Either way people in my and Price’s office seem to enjoy it when I bring in goodies. I’m just making it up to them in advance for my 3 months away while on maternity leave.

chicken fajitas_01 chicken fajitas_02

chicken fajitas_03 chicken fajitas_04

Ugh, don’t get me started on maternity leave. 12 weeks?!?!? That is going to go by in a blink of an eye. :-/ I’m sure there will be plenty of nights of cereal or boxed mac and cheese during that time period was well… it all comes in cycles.

Well, one of the yummy things I whipped up this week for dinner were these Chicken Fajitas. I had them in mind to celebrate this weekend’s NASCAR race in Phoenix. I couldn’t resist making fajitas for my Sprint Cup Snacks series once I had that them in my head!

chicken fajitas_05 chicken fajitas_06

chicken fajitas_07 chicken fajitas_08

I actually prepped these one morning before work by making the marinade, trimming the chicken, and setting it all up to marinate for the day. So when I got home all I had to do was take out the chicken, cut up the veggies, assemble the toppings, and just cook the chicken and then the veggies. It all came together quite quickly and nicely. Plus you cook the chicken and then the veggies using the same pan so clean up was pretty quick too!

chicken fajitas_09 chicken fajitas_10

These chicken fajitas will be a hit at your house this weekend or any week night. Plus if you make a mega batch you can give your significant other leftovers for lunch to make up for the cereal you served for dinner earlier on in the week. ha!!

chicken fajitas_00

Chicken Fajitas

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • Salt
  • 2 Tbsp canola, safflower, peanut or grapeseed oil (a high smoke point oil)
  • 1 large onion, sliced into 1/4-inch strips
  • 3 bell peppers of various colors, sliced into 1/4-inch strips

For the marinade

  • 2 Tbsp lime juice
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 jalapeno, seeded and minced
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

For assembly

  • 8-12 flour tortillas
  • Your prefered toppings: shredded cheese, salsa, sliced avocado/guacamole, sour cream, thinly sliced iceberg lettuce dressed lightly with salt and cider vinegar

Process

  1. Depending on the size of the chicken breasts, slice them in half horizontally, so that the center thickness is around 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch thick. *Do not pound the chicken breasts, doing so will not result in the right texture/consistency for fajitas.*
  2. Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the chicken, coating well, cover, and let marinate at room temperature for 1 hour or in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours, but remove them an hour before cooking so that they can come closer to room temperature.
  3. Once done marinating, wipe off most of the marinade and sprinkle the chicken with salt.
  4. Heat a large cast iron frying pan on high heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Add a tablespoon of canola oil to the pan. As soon as the oil begins to smoke, lay the chicken breast pieces in the pan. Let the chicken cook undisturbed for 2-3 minutes, until you have a good sear.  Once seared well on one side, turn the pieces over and cook for another 2-3 minutes until well seared on the second side.
  5. Once seared on the second side, remove to a cutting board, stack the pieces on top of each other, and cover with aluminum foil to rest for 5 minutes. If you want to test for doneness, cut into one piece with the tip of a sharp knife.  It should be just done, if not, you can put it back in the hot pan for a minute or two.
  6. While the chicken is resting, cook the onions and peppers. Add another tablespoon of oil to the very hot frying pan. As soon as the oil is hot, add the onions and peppers to the pan.  Use a metal spatula to scrape up some of the browned bits from the chicken and stir to coat the onions and peppers.  Spread the onions and peppers in an even layer in the pan, letting them cook undisturbed for 2 minutes so they sear with some blackening. Stir the vegetables and continue to cook for another 2 minutes.
  7. Slice the chicken against the grain into strips.  Serve at once with the peppers and onions, some warm tortillas, and your preferred toppings.

Adapted from Simply Recipes

Filed Under: Poultry, Recipes Tagged With: chicken, chicken breasts, Chicken Fajitas, dinner, flour tortillas, mexican, Onions, peppers, Phoenix, Phoenix International Raceway., sprint cup snacks

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