What do you do when you are carving McDonald’s chicken nuggets but are trying to eat healthy? Apparently, get some shake and bake?!
I’ve never used Shake and Bake– my only experience comes from watching Charlie’s Angels, so I was skeptical at first, but this chicken nuggets tasted like a chicken nuggets! They may not be the “chicken” from McDonalds but it tastes pretty good and is healthier.
Quincy definitely approved.
Get the recipe here!
When cooking there are a few dishes that I am convinced can’t be made as good in my kitchen as in restaurants. Or I’ve tried to make a dish and failed every time.
Gumbo was always one of those dishes. I was just convinced that it would be 1) too much work with making a roux and 2) just not taste as good despite my efforts. Well, one day something convinced me to try a Gumbo recipe. It was from Cook’s Illustrated, which is my one recipe source that can gives me hope that it will turn out. But then it was a lightened up/healthier gumbo, so I was skeptical all over again. Anyone who knows gumbo is that “light” is not typically a word you read to describe it.
Well, don’t be skeptical about this recipe. This is not a traditional roux in any sense, but it is so much easier and the taste is spot on. I have adapted a few things based on what ingredients I have had around
For a long time, I was a staunch believer that a soup is not a meal.
But as a lot of my food obsessions go, out of no where I was craving soup one day. So I had some. And then I had some more. The bf didn’t complain when we had lots of soup for dinner, even during sweltering summer, since he had been a soup-lover in a food desert since our relationship started.
So I have made broccoli and cheese, french onion, gumbo, and more. This pastina soup is a soup my bf has talked about in great awe as a food from his family. I was lucky enough to get to travel up and try the soup, and I was hooked in its simplicity. It is an Italian style chicken noodle soup. Made from scratch, it is a perfect dinner as a chill starts to come in the air.
PASTINA SOUP
INGREDIENTS
For the Chicken Stock:
Water
1 whole chicken*
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
For the Pastina Soup:
1/2 onion
1 carrot
2 celery stalks
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 cup pastina or other small pasta
Chicken from stock, chopped
Parmesan cheese, grated
DIRECTIONS
For the Chicken Stock:
Place chicken in a large pot and cover with water. Put on low heat (the water should bubble occasionally and produce steam only). Cook for at least 2 hours, up to 6 hours. Add carrots, celery, and onion and cook for another 2 hours. Strain stock into large bowl.
For the Pastina Soup:
Grate onion, carrot, and celery. Heat olive oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, and celery stalks. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 2-4 minutes. Stir in stock and bring to a boil. Stir in pastina and cook for 4-6 minutes, until pasta is al dente. Add chicken and season with salt and pepper (will need a significant amount since stock is unseasoned, make sure to taste). Cook until chicken is warmed through. Serve and top with grated parmesan cheese.
From Cinnamon Freud
*You can use any combo of chicken or reserved chicken bones for the stock. I have done this with a whole chicken, with wing tips mixed with old bones, and more. Just make sure to have chicken to put in the soup! Same thing with the veggies, you can use scraps of veggies that you have saved too and can add in other veggies and herbs.
Why is grilling a summer event? Is it logical to stand in front of a big metal contraption that is 100+ degrees when it is already 100+ degrees outside? And then you have to run in and outside, thus making your AC fight an even harder uphill battle to keep your house somewhat cool/bearable. And mosquitoes? It takes approximately 5.3 seconds for my to get 6 separate mosquito bites, 3 of them in places that I swear was covered with clothing. So basically grilling leads to me getting felt up by mosquitoes…and it’s the most action I have gotten in a while.
So you’ll see me this winter in my long underwear (…I promise to wear real pants too) grilling defiantly. And these summer months you will see me inside standing in directly front of my AC vent in an attempt to get somewhat cool. (Except I won’t be grilling at all since I don’t have a grill, but that is another story entirely.)
Moral of this complaining rant: use a grill pan so you have AC in summer and heat in the winter and grill marks on your food. Unless you want to stand outside in the heat. Now that I have solved that problem, let me tackle that one little issue called world peace.
This chicken is light and refreshing, perfect for summer. Warm, grilled chicken pairs well with cool yogurt and crispy cucumbers. It will taste wonderful whether you grill it inside or outside. You can go through the entire process of marinating and such, but I won’t lie, sometimes I just splash a mix of the marinade in the pan while I cook the chicken and call it a day.
And looking back at this post I think I may understand why I am single and get those desperate spam e-mails for online dating: I complain a lot, get felt up by mosquitoes, and wear long underwear. But I can cook! Come and get it, boys.
CHICKEN SOUVLAKI
From Cinnamon Freud
INGREDIENTS
For the Chicken:
1-1 1/2 pounds chicken breast, cut into approximately 4 ounce pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons dried dill
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
For the Tztaziki Sauce:
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 cucumber, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried dill
4 cloves garlic, minced
Olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Special tools: cheesecloth/tea towel
For Serving:
Wild Rice
Green onions, sliced
DIRECTIONS
For the Chicken:
In a large ziploc bake or baking sheet, combine olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, dill, oregano, garlic, salt, and pepper. Add chicken and shake/stir to cover completely. Marinate for at least 30 minutes (up to overnight).
Prepare your grill. Grill chicken for 3-5 minutes per side until cooked through (will depend on the thickness of your chicken breast).
For the Tzatziki:
Secure a cheesecloth over a measuring cup. Spoon yogurt on top. Refrigerate and let yogurt drain for at least 3 hours.
I love chicken pot pie, but sometimes I just don’t feel like messing with the oven, pie crust, and all the work a pot pie entails. And I often have problems with my chicken pot pie recipe getting thick enough (I hope Ina Garten doesn’t put a hit out on me now…). So this is a quick and dirty pot pie replication with a little of chicken and dumplings mixed in.
Instead of crust, I made some homemade späetzle, which is mix of doughier egg noodle or a smaller dumpling. Basically, it’s hearty, stick to your bones, warm deliciousness. Throw in browned chicken, and the traditional pot pie vegetables. Then mix it all together with a thick chicken pot pie gravy (that is the perfect thickness). Or here is a great idea that I have also tested out: use your leftover turkey from Thanksgiving instead of chicken. It will taste especially great if you are tired of turkey sandwiches.
I love this dish, but I may still have to make myself a pie crust every now and then to be able to make it through life. Maybe I will eat this for dinner and apple pie for dessert- problem solved.
For the Spätzle:
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
For the Spätzle:
Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil.
In a bowl, whisk egg, milk, flour, white pepper, salt, and black pepper together. To make the späetzle use a cheese grater or strainer. Place or hold strainer/grater over boiling water. Pour batter into strainer/grated and press with the back of the spoon to force through. Allow batter to drop into boiling water in small pieces. Let cook for 2-3 minutes, until they float to the top. Remove with a slotted spoon. Repeat with remaining batter. Set aside.
For the Strawberry Poppy Seed Vinaigrette:
4 strawberries, hulled and chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds
Pinch of salt
For the Salad:
4 cups spinach
8 ounces cooked chicken, sliced
1 cup chopped pineapple
8 strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/2 cup blueberries
1/4 cup toasted pecans
My name is Karen, and I have a problem. I have a sweet tooth.
I have accepted that this is my lifelong trait to bear and that I will always choose dessert over dinner, sweet over salty (or salty and sweet together!). I could eat cookies for breakfast, cake for lunch, and pie for dinner and be a happy camper. So, when I came across a recipe that combines chicken and sugar for dinner, I knew I would like it. A way to have sugar for dinner? I’m in.
The chicken is soft and juicy with a crispy brown sugar crust. The balsamic vinegar brings great acidity with the meatiness of mushrooms and the tender mango. A strange cast of bedfellows, but I promise the combination is delicious.
So apparently there is this great American tradition that everyone loves to do on Sunday and Monday nights. It’s called football- have you heard about it?
I am not a sports fan by any means, but I do love food. I am definitely one of those people whose only interest in sports is the food that is eaten while watching. Chips, dip, cracker, pretzels, wings- such good food is served with that background noise of a sports game. This food becomes perfectly acceptable for dinner if you happen to be watching men run around a field with a ball on television.
This is a healthified version of chicken wings that can be enjoyed during a sports game guilt free. They are sticky, tender, and delicious. Fantastic finger food and great served with summer rolls.
Olive oil
16 drumsticks, skins removed
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup teriyaki sauce
3 tablespoons honey
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Sriracha
Sesame seeds, for topping
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Coat with olive oil. Brown chicken wings, about 5 minutes per side. Pour balsamic vinegar, teriyaki sauce, honey, garlic, and Sriracha into pan. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove cover and cook for an additional 8-10 minutes, until sauce is thickened. Remove chicken from pan. Pour remaining sauce over top. Top with sesame seeds.
cinnamon freud 