Citrus Quinoa Chicken Bowl

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We are trying to eat healthier. My brother just found out he had some health issues and needs to start with his diet. So since he lives with us, I thought it’d be a good idea for all of us to eat better. I found this recipe and decided to give it a try.

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Start off with a simple dressing. Citrus and honey and some cilantro.

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Mix it together.

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Roast some garlic.

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Peel and segment an orange.

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Cook quinoa.

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Chop chicken breast.

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Cook the chicken breast in olive oil, roasted garlic and some seasonings. After chicken is cooked, toss everything together with avocado chunks and dress it the way you like. I overdressed this one, but the hubs loved it! WIN. I used this recipe I found on pinterest from Sally’s Baking Addiction.

What are some of your favorite healthy recipes?

Comfort Food: Chicken and Rice Soup

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When I’m sick, I’m a big baby, BIG baby. And when my mom was still alive, no matter how old I got, if I was sick, I could always go to her and she’d make me some of her magic maman soup and everything would be better. Then I would take a nap and feel better. Now that she’s gone, I’m forced to make it myself. It doesn’t have the same touch as love from my mom, but it still does make me feel comforted.

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Start off with some bone in, whole chicken pieces. Thighs or breast, your preference. Salt, lemon grass and ginger. THAT’S IT. Bring to a boil and let simmer until chicken is cooked. Remove the chicken, then scoop up all the fat and gunk at the top.

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Then add rice to the broth, cook until rice is tender.

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Mix in shredded chicken pieces. And serve with your favorite toppings! I like chili oil, white pepper and sometimes a little green onion and cilantro.

Since this is made with love, I didn’t really keep track of how much what, in where. This is definitely going into my cook book, once I start keeping track of measurements. If you want to try it out yourself, feel free to contact me (twitter, facebook, IG), and I’ll try to help you out!

 

Fried Chicken

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Can I tell you something? Deep frying scares me. I know, I’m southern. What’s wrong with me. I’ve been popped in the face by oil before. That’s what happened. However after years of cooking I’ve gotten the key concept down. Hot oil + Water= Death. Simple enough, you would think. It’s not always applied.

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When Vina said she wanted a homecooked southern meal, fried chicken is always the first thing to pop up. I had to face my fears and give her want she wanted. After all, she shot beautiful engagement photos for us. She can have whatever she wants.

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This recipe is so simple, that I don’t even want to call it a recipe. Just follow the instructions kid, you got this.

fRbLWDCt3EYO5ZVB.jpgFirst and foremost, you need chicken. Chop up a whole one, or just buy the pieces you like. Make sure they are completely thawed. PAT THEM DRY. This is important. After they are dry. Place them in a baking dish and pour buttermilk over it. Put it in the fridge over night, flip the pieces half way through. I also added a little salt and pepper.

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Preheat the oven to 325F. In a ziplock bag, mix together flour and cornmeal with your favorite seasonings (I like cajun seasoning). Shake it up. Add the chicken pieces a couple at a time if you are doing only wings, or one a time if you are doing whole chicken parts. Let them rest on wax paper for about 15 minutes or while you heat up your oil. This helps the coating stay on better.

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Fill a deep cast iron pot with about 1/2 in of oil. I used avocado oil. You can use criso shortening or peanut oil. Any high heat oil will do. Heat the oil to 350F degrees. Gently place a few pieces of chicken in the hot oil (don’t crowd the pot). Leave it alone for about 2 minutes, until one side is golden. Then flip over until the other side is a deep golden color as well.

Place the chicken on a cooling rack with paper towels underneath it to catch oil drippings. When all the chicken is fried, place the rack on a cooking tray and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked all the way through.

Enjoy!

Spatchcock: Favorite way to roast a chicken!

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As you probably have noticed, I love roast chicken. I’ve done it a couple different ways here already. Now I’ve found my new go to method. Spatchcocking. Spatchcock. Basically you take a whole bird, cut down the back bone and removed it.

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Similar to butterflying the bird actually. Then you open it up and lay it flat so that all the skin is at the top. Then you can season it and roast it. Cooks a little bit faster and you get all crispy skin!

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I saved the backbone to make soup with it later. You never know when you’ll need it! Have you tried this method? Do you like it? Or is there something EVEN BETTER to try?

Aji Verde Sauce and Peruvian Roast Chicken

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Dinner came in the form of a fresh, spicy green sauce, roasted chicken and sweet potatoes. This meal takes a little planning. I recommend letting the bird marinate overnight. This recipe came out of the Nom Nom Paleo book, and it was a winner with the boys. A very manly meal as one of my friends called.

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I like to do things in an order that makes the most time sense. Since the chicken takes the longest to do, prep and marinate wise. Lets start there. Mix up the ingredients.

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Split the bird, then pat dry.

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Get under the skin and rub this sauce all up in there, and over it. Cover and marinate over night. Clean everything up. Disinfect. Make sure all the gross raw chicken-ness is gone. Then lets start on the SAUCE.

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Olive oil on low heat and garlic. Let it bubble a little. There’s infusion going on up in there. Don’t brown it. You smell it? It’s ready. Remove from heat then set aside.

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Time to bust out my beloved Vitamix. Put in the fresh green ingredients and mayo. Mix it up to coarse. Slow drizzle in the olive oil/garlic mix, then turn that baby up.

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Stick it in a jar and in the fridge until ready to serve. So lets say the chicken is done marinating. Bring it to room temperature for an hour, and preheat the oven to 400F. Stick in the oven for about an hour or more, until the skin is crisp and the chicken is cooked!

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While you are letting that baby roast. Prep your sweet potatoes. I like to boil them until fork tender before I stick them in the oven. After I boil them, I drain, then toss in olive oil and season, then spread it out on a baking sheet.

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Serve them all together and enjoy a pretty healthy, filling dinner!

Peruvian Roast Chicken and Aji Verde Chili Sauce
(Adapted from Nom Nom Paleo)

Roast Chicken Ingredients

1 (4 lb) Whole Chicken
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbs melted ghee or olive oil
1 tbs kosher salt
1 tbs freshly ground black pepper
1 tbs ground cumin
1 tbs smoked paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
1 small lime, zested and juiced

Aji Verde Chili Sauce

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 jalapeño peppers, stemmed, seeded and roughly chopped
1 scallion, roughly chopped
1/2 cup Paleo mayonnaise
1/3 cup fresh basil
1/3 cup fresh cilantro
1/3 cup fresh mint
2 tsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp white vinegar

Directions:
For the sauce, heat olive oil and garlic in small skillet over low heat for about 3 minutes, until garlic is fragrant and oil bubbles. Remove from heat and set aside. In a processor, grind the rest of the chili sauce ingredients until mixed. Add the garlic oil and bend until smooth.

For the chicken, stir together the ingredients. Cut open the chicken down the backbone with kitchen scissors and flatten it out. Rub the marinade all over and under the skin. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Bring out the bird an hour before cooking. Preheat the oven to 400F. Cook for about an hour, until fully cooked!

Serve with sauce on the side and anything else you’d like, sweet potatoes for instance!

Soy Honey Chicken with Broccolini

p2l7JV2IURMn5x1S.jpgThe packaging lied. When I bought the broccolini, it was labeled as broccoli rabe. Upon googling, I found out the truth, as evidenced by wikipedia and google images. There is a difference! As you probably noticed from the lack of cooking posts on the blog, that I haven’t been cooking much lately. Because macarons are taking over my life. Since I have a nice break before I roll out a new mac flavor, I decided to do some SIMPLE cooking.

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First up, a soy honey chicken, braised broccolini and quinoa. I’ve never cooked broccolini before. I’ve had it, and it can be bitter, but braising it in chicken stock helped. Lets start there!

nTz0RAETSRt662Ot.jpgTrim the ends, and cut it into about 3 inch pieces. Added zest of a whole lemon. Set aside 3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled. I like to trim off the hard end.

In a straight edge skillet, I heat up a little olive oil, then throw in the garlic. Saute until fragrant (don’t burn!) then I added the broccolini and tossed it around with the tongs until coated with the oil. I add about a cup of chicken stock, and a pinch of salt. Bring to boil, then let simmer until tender. This takes about 8 minutes. When they are ready take the broccolini out of the braising liquid, and onto a serving dish. Squeeze a slice of lemon and top with fresh ground black pepper.

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For the chicken breast, I just cut into tenders and seasoned with black pepper. In a separate small bowl I whisked together soy sauce and honey to taste. In a skillet, heat up olive oil, toss in a sliced garlic clove, then brown the chicken. Then I poured in some of the sauce and called it a day. When the chicken is done, remove from skillet and discard the sauce. It can get a bit salty if you leave it.

With the leftover braising liquid, and some water I cooked some quinoa and added to my meal. It’s so simple I don’t have a recipe. Sorry!

Chicken Divan

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You might be surprised to know I’m not the only cook in the house. My honey also enjoys cooking, I just don’t let him in my kitchen often. But there are some days where I don’t want to cook, and thats when he gets to shine. One of his favorites to make, that can be done after work is his grandmother’s Chicken Divan.

 

His Chicken Divan

Ingredients:
3 boneless chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp curry powder (optional)
1 lb bag of shredded cheddar
1 lb of frozen broccoli or 2 large fresh crowns chopped
French bread/baguette

Directions:
Pre heat oven to 350F.
Bring a pot of water big enough to cover the chicken breast to boil. Add chicken breast. Boil until chicken is cooked. In a small bowl mix mayonnaise, cream of chicken and curry powder until thoroughly incorporated. Boil broccoli until slightly tender. Drain.

In a baking pan (9×13) shred the chicken and spread evenly. Layer the broccoli on top of the chicken. Pour mayonnaise mixture over the pan and spread evenly. Then top with desired amount of cheese, or whole bag! Bake for 25-30 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes, cut and enjoy with bread!

Sorry there’s no finished picture. He hasn’t made it in awhile for me to take pics!

Vertical Chicken Roaster

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As you can tell from my blog. I like to roast chickens. It’s pretty easy, and cheap and filling. Plus you can get creative with the sides and everyone’s happy. I saw this vertical chicken roaster on World Market, and was like hmm, I’ll give it a try. It was $20 and I wondered if I could get a crispy all around chicken.

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So I prepped the chicken as usual. rinsed it, dried it stuffed and seasoned it. Stuck on the roaster at 425F. After about an hour I checked on it and it was pretty…but not what I expected. It was crisp all around, but the bottom didn’t golden and not crisp. I ended up just sticking it on a roaster to finish it off.

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Maybe it’s just me, I will have to google to see how to properly use it. But I do like the idea of it. Have you used one of these before? What am I doing wrong?

Roast Chicken and Crispy Potatoes

So this dinner might take a couple of hours. But totally worth it. These crispy potatoes are OVEN BAKED and you are going to want to make them over and over again. I know I will, and I do. The roast chicken is so perfect. And crisp.
I used Emeril's Recipe for the perfect roast chicken. Listen to him. Do what he says. He's magical. Also I say, start the bird, first and foremost. It's takes the longest to cook.

And you already know how to make my green beans. So now onto the Crispy Oven Baked Potatoes!

Did you know that the type of potato matters? Russet (the big brown ones) are great for baking, but suck at boiling. they will fall apart. Red are awesome for boiling and they will hold shape pretty well. But the best potato for what we are doing right here? Yellow. Gold. Whatever you wanna call it. They are versatile. You can boil em, you can bake em. And that is what we are doing tonight.

Crispy Oven Baked Potatoes

Ingredients
5-10 yukon gold potatoes (or as many as you want to eat!)
Olive Oil
Salt, Pepper, your preferred seasonings

Directions
Preheat the oven to 500°.

Scrub your potatoes clean and cut them into bite sized pieces. Place them in a large pot of salted water. Bring this to a boil over high heat and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook 4-5 minutes, just until the edges are softened but is still hard in the middle.

Drain the potatoes and put them in a large bowl. Drizzle the potatoes with the olive oil and sprinkle them with your seasonings. Cover the bowl with a large plate or a pot lid and shake vigorously to roughen up the potatoes.

Spread the potatoes in a single layer over a baking sheet. Bake for 35-40 minutes, flipping the potatoes every 15 minutes until they’re brown and crispy.

 

Chicken Pot Pies

I don’t know why I was intimidated to try this. Maybe because I thought I was going to make the pie crust from scratch. HAHA. I think I am a lot more ambitious than I really am.
Basically the night before I decided to make the pot pie, I roasted this beautiful bird. I should really just eat it at this point. But I didn’t. I will have to roast this again, just to tear into fresh out the oven. Who else likes crispy skin?!

This is a fairly easy dish. I liked making them in individual ramekins, so that I could refrigerate and reheat during the week for a quick lunch or dinner. I would probably make again from leftover turkey or chicken!

My brother, who thinks chicken pot pies are gross, had two of these. I used my two favorite seasonings, Lawry’s and Nature’s to get that comforting homey feeling.

Mama Miemo’s Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients

4 Tablespoons Butter
1 small onion, diced
2 Carrots, diced
3 Celery stalks, diced
1/2 cup of frozen peas
Shredded chicken from 2 breasts and 2 thighs (or however much you want)
1/4 cup Flour
3-4 cups Chicken Broth, Plus More If Needed
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Salt And Pepper, (or your favorite seasonings) to taste
1/4 cup Heavy Cream
2 Unbaked Pie Crusts
1 whole Egg
2 Tablespoons Water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat, then add the onion, carrots,celery and peas.

Cook until onions are translucent. Add chicken, then flour, stir it until it’s all combined. Cook for 1 minute, then pour in chicken broth. Stir then let it cook and thicken. Once it starts to thicken add the seasonings to taste.

Add heavy cream, then stir the mixture and let it bubble up and thicken, about 3 minutes. If it is too thick, you can add more broth until your desired consistency.

Scoop your filling into the ramekins. Cut out dough to fit the ramekin top with a little extra around it. Press the dough so that the edges stick to the outside. Use a knife to cut a vent into the surface of the dough.

Mix together the egg with 2 tablespoons water and brush it all over the surface of the crusts.

Place the ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly.