Asian Chicken Burgers

I must be on an Asian kick lately.  Last week we had summer rolls and this week Asian burgers.  I found this recipe on Pinterest and figured I should give it a try.  The end result = A+. This dinner tasted like one big pot sticker.  And, the best part (beyond being simple) is that it's healthy!

What you need for four burgers:
Burgers -
1 package ground chicken breast
1 egg
2 tablespoons liquid aminos or soy sauce
2 green onions, slice
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger (yumm)
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1 1/2 cups coleslaw mix, chopped (use the rest of the package for the slaw)

Combine all of the above ingredients and mix.  Mold into four burgers.  They'll be pretty sticky and mushy, but have no fear, they'll come out tasty.  Set the burgers on a plate and put in the fridge for a few minutes while you make the slaw.

Slaw-
3 tablespoons liquid aminos or soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (more or less depending upon how hot you like your food)
a few shakes garlic powder
a few shakes ginger powder
2 green onions, sliced
the remainder of the cole slaw mix

Combine all the ingredients except the cole slaw in a large bowl and whisk together.  Then, add the cole slaw and combine.  Set the mixture in the fridge so that the flavors have a chance to combine.

Grab the burgers.

Use cooking spray, olive oil, or peanut oil to coat the bottom of a medium sized pan.  Heat over medium-high heat.  Once the pan is warm, add the burgers.  Allow to cook for five minutes on each side.  Serve with a heating mound of cole slaw on top.  Oh yummmm!  I just love the fresh taste of ginger in these burgers.

Enjoy!

Power Bars

These little goodies are my favorite go to snack.  I usually have a small bar every day around 11, and I'm good to go until lunch. One batch of these last the husband and me two weeks.  Obviously, peanut butter and all things nuts (and Nutella) are a part of my everyday diet.  These are a (semi) guilt free pleasure.  The other day, just for fun, I spread a bit of Nutella on a bar.  That may have been a bad idea.  Boy was it good.  I'm not so sure that still counts as guilt free pleasure.  Nutella is healthy, right?  Recently, I started making homemade greek frozen yogurt with Nutella....ok, enough about the Nutella and onto the recipe (Nutella frozen yogurt to come later).

What you need:

1/2 cup of different raw nuts (sunflower seeds, almonds, walnuts, flax seeds)
6 pitted dates
1/2-3/4 cup of raisins (or any dried fruit)
3 tablespoons dark chocolate morsels
3/4 cup all natural peanut or almond butter (no sugar added)
3/4 cup agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup oats (certified gluten free)
2 1/2 cups brown rice cereal
Nutella (optional)

Combine the nuts, dates, raisins, and dark chocolate in a food processor and pulse several times until coarsely ground. Set to the side.

Over low to medium heat, combine the peanut butter and agave nectar.  Allow the mixture to combine, but don't allow it to burn.  Add the vanilla and stir. Add the nut mixture and combine. Then, gradually add the oats and cereal and mix until combined.

Spread the mixture onto a cookie sheet.  Put wax paper over the top and use a rolling pin to mold the mixture together tightly.  Place in the fridge and allow to cool before cutting.

Summer Rolls

Just the title of this dish brings up warm memories of childhood delight - kick the can, lemonade slushies, countless hours as a mermaid, and catching lightning bugs  - not because I spend my childhood in small town Bristol, PA eating Asian Summer Rolls (ya, right - it was more like cheese steaks and fried dough) but because this recipe contains the word SUMMER.  I am fascinated with all things summer...and in less than 10 working days, it will be here! yay!

It's been quite a while, but my sister taught me how to make these quite a few years ago.  We spend some good sister bonding time (during the summer - yep, summer) in the kitchen rolling up these little puppies. We let them cool in the fridge while we headed to the beach. Then, after hours of basking in the sun, we'd come home and gobble up our fresh Summer Rolls.  I'll be honest, the experience wasn't nearly the same today. My sister wasn't here to help me (sigh). It seemed to take me a while to get the rice paper wraps to cook just right. The first 4 or so ended up in the garbage with holes and tears.  Once I got going though, it was pretty easy.

These are really quite simple as you can add any ingredients you want.

Here's what I used:
rice paper wraps (I found these in my local Asian market)
shrimp - cooked and cut into pieces
shredded carrots or Asian slaw
spinach
rice noodles, cooked - splash with rice vinegar after draining
cilantro, chopped
green onions, sliced
cashews, roughly chopped

Soak the rice paper wrap in warm water until soft.

Place onto a clean plate and add your ingredients.

Roll up like a fajita.  It's more fun (and much easier) if you have a little help.

Serve with Peanut Sauce (I made the sauce the night before):
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, chopped
a dash cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon sugar

Add olive oil to a small pot and let warm over medium heat.  Cook the onion and the garlic for a few minutes.  Add the cayenne pepper and cook for one minute more.  Add the remaining ingredients.  Give the mix a good stir to combine.  Allow it to cook for several more minutes.  There are so many great recipes for peanut sauce.  This one just happens to be simple.  I like simple - just like I like summer :)

I used an Asian slaw mix, so I made a little salad with the leftovers from the slaw and the noodles.  I added a ginger-peanut dressing and tossed.  It was the perfect side.

Monday Night Chicken

Oh boy, oh boy.  This one was sooooo good and easy!  It's Monday night - my dreadful gym day. This is the day of a million squats and even more lunges.  I know it's good for the jeans, but man, they hurt.  So, when I get home, I want something satisfying, but I don't really want to work.  This was perfect.

You'll need:
Organic chicken breast - I have two: one for me and one for The Husband. You use as many pieces of chicken as you need.  When I was single, I would freeze individual chicken breasts and pull them out as needed.

Olive oil
Salt/pepper
1 lemon
mushrooms (however many you have or want)
1/4 cup of chopped onions
small handful of sun dried tomatoes - I have the Costco version, so I add them in a lot of dishes.
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup to 1 cup of chicken stock - I use the Cottage Inn White Wine for this recipe

Set the oven to 425.  Coat the bottom of a cast iron skillet with olive oil.  Salt both sides of the chicken breast and once the oil is heated, add to the pan.  Let the chicken sit until the underside is nice and brown.  Don't move the chicken around too much.

Turn the chicken over, and squeeze a half of a lemon on the brown side of the chicken.  It's starting to look good here!

Put the skillet in the preheated oven and let bake until the chicken is done - probably about 10-15 minutes.  Then, in an effort to skimp on washing dishes - yes, remember, my legs are tired - no extra dish washing for me.  Actually, The Husband washes the dishes, so technically, it doesn't matter how many dishes I use.  But, I really love him.  So, in an effort to save dish washing time, remove chicken from the skillet and tent with foil.  

Return the skillet to medium high heat and add a bit of olive oil and the butter to coat the pan.  Once hot, add onions and mushrooms.  Cook for about 1 minutes and add sun dried tomatoes.  After about another 2 minutes, cover the mixture with the flour and stir in.  Add the chicken stock and the remaining lemon juice.  At this point, I'm really starving, but I know if will only be another minute!

 Cover the chicken with the mushroom mix and top with fresh parm cheese. I served this with a small arugula  salad made with with homemade dressing.  That recipe will just have to wait until another day.  I'm exhausted!  In all, this dinner from start to finish took less than a half hour to make.  It's easy, good, and healthy.  Let me know if you try it!

Braised Pork Tacos

Sunday dinner is my favorite of the week.  I feel like I can finally let food cook - slowwwww.  And that's just what I normally do on Sundays.  The husband and I usually have a few of our favorite people over, and I get to cook! Yay.

This is one of my favorite go to recipes.  It's so simple, cheap, and always makes the company happy.  I've experimented with braised pork recipes and finally found the ultimate one from the Pioneer Woman (she is my hero).  Hold on; it's a good one.  Add cilantro lime rice and pickled red onions and you've got yourself a complete meal!  This recipe serves 6 big eaters.

Ingredients:
1 whole Large Onion
1 whole Pork Shoulder ("pork Butt") - 5 To 7 Pounds
Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1/2 can (or less or more) Chipotle Peppers In Adobo Sauce
2 cans Dr. Pepper
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar


Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Peel the onion and cut it into large wedges. Put them in the bottom of a big dutch oven.

Clean the pork and dry it with paper towels.  Salt and pepper the pork and put it on top of the onions. Put the fat side of the meat up here.  Put the chipotle in adobo on top of the pork.  Add both cans of Dr. Pepper.  Then add the brown sugar.  I know, it's looks pretty gross here in the picture, but trust me, it's good. Really, really good.

Put the lid on top and put the pot in the over. Cook for at least six hours, turning the roast two or three times during the cooking process. Check meat after six hours.  If it doesn't fall apart, keep cooking it. At this point, the whole house smells AAAAAmazing!

Remove meat from pot and place on a cutting board. Using two forks. shred the meat, discarding large pieces of fat. Strain as much of the fat off the top of the cooking liquid as you can and discard it. Return the shredded meat to the cooking liquid, and keep warm until ready to serve.

I served this dish with tortillas (eventually, I'm going to make my own), cilantro lime rice, cherry tomato salsa, and pickled red onions (oh, and chipotle Gouda cheese).  

For the rice, cook any rice according to directions.  Once finished toss the rice with olive oil, cilantro and the juice of one lime.  

To make the salsa, I used the leftover cherry tomatoes from last week's recipe.  Chop each cherry tomato in half.  Add chopped onion, garlic, cilantro, salt, and pepper.  Toss with olive oil and white wine vinegar.  Allow this to sit in the fridge.

The pickled red onions add such a good flavor to the pork.  I make this while the pork is cooking. In a small pot, bring 1 1/2 cups of white wine vinegar, 1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar, teaspoon of salt, a dash chili pepper and bay leaves to a simmer over low heat.  Slice one whole red onion and put into a glass container with lid. Pour the hot liquid over the onions.  Cover and shake the mixture.  Put in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

Peanut Butter Pop 'Ems

I stumbled across the original recipe on Pinterest.  The first time I made them, they came out sweet, and by sweet, I mean sweeeeeeeet.  Also, I wanted to modify the recipe by packing these little balls of goodness with power.  That's right, power.  So, each time you pop one, you'll get a burst of energy - sustained energy.

Now, I'm not going to lie.  These little pop 'ems are sooooo yummy, you'll just want to pop a few at a time.  I agree.  Hey, they are better than eating an over processed chocolate bar or power bar.  Even better, a whole batch is way cheaper.  So, pop 'em without guilt!

Oh, and you can throw one of these bombs into a banana power smoothie.  That's right.  Do it.  I dare you!

As always - enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup walnuts

1/2 cup chopped pitted dates

1/2 cup almonds

3 tablespoons ground flax seed and/or hemp seed

1/4 cup agave nectar

1/4-1/2 cup peanut butter or almond butter

3/4 cup oats (I use certified gluten free)

2 tablespoons carob chips or semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla

optional:  coconut

Blend the walnuts and dates in a food processor on high speed (I use my Ninja blender) until you have chunky pieces.  Add almonds and carob chips and again, blend on high speed.  This mixture should be too fine, but instead pieces.  Add agave nectar, peanut butter, and vanilla.  Process the mix until combined.  Add the oats and again, process.  If you want, add a little coconut here - The Husband hates coconut, so I leave it out.  Otherwise, I'd be all over the coconut.  

Now, roll the mix into small, bite sized balls.  Yes, the mixture will stick to your hand.  If it's too sticky, add a bit more of the oats.  Here's another add coconut moment - you can roll the balls in coconut (oh yummmm).  When finished, store in the fridge.

My Comfort Food: Pasta!

It seems as though it has rained everyday in south Florida.  I know, I know...we live in a tropical environment, but in the past it would rain for 45 minutes and stop.  Not anymore!  Now, it rains, and it rains, and then it rains even more.  So, after 500 lunges and 250 squats, I wanted pasta - warm, cheesy, comfort food pasta.  Plus, as an added bonus, this dish is sooooo easy to make.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 links organic chicken sausage, casings removed
Olive oil
1/2 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
sliced mushrooms (I use however much I have in the house)
1/3 cup artichoke hearts, quartered
sundried tomatoes
1 tablespoon flour
3/4 cup Cottage Inn White Wine Broth
red pepper flakes
pepper
juice from a half of a lemon
1 tablespoon butter (optional)
arugula and/or spinach (I used a combo of both tonight)
Parmesan cheese
1/2 package pasta (I cook for two - tonight I used Spinach Garganelli Pasta, but usually, it's whole wheat)

Cook pasta according to instructions and set aside.  While pasta is cooking, brown the sausage in a pan.  Break up into small pieces.  Once cooked, put sausage onto a paper towel to remove excess fat.  To be honest, the chicken sausage barely has any extra fat.

In the same skillet, and olive oil to the pan.  Once warm, add onions and mushrooms and cook for 1-2 minutes.  Add garlic and cook an additional minute. Sprinkle with black and red pepper. Then add sundried tomatoes and artichoke quarters. Cook one more minute. Sprinkle flour over the vegetables and toss to coat.  After another minute or so, add chicken broth, lemon juice, and butter.  I'm sure you can use regular chicken stock, but this stock has such great flavor. Bring mixture to a small boil, then reduce heat.

Add a handful of spinach and/or arugula and cook for a few minutes more.

Place pasta in a large bowl and pour the sauce over the top (yummmm).  Toss the mixture and top with cheese (sometimes I throw a little cheese into the sauce while it's cooking too).

Seriously, this meal is the perfect soft blanket on a cold winter night (although it doesn't get very cold here).  Those squats and lunges were surely worth it!

Nutella and more Nutella: Nutella Bites and Fruit Pizza

The days seem to wiz by in a blur.  I'm not even sure if I remember the weekend!  Remember skipping stones across the water when we were kids?  Well, that's how my days seem and my stone just skipped straight over the weekend.  I did, however, figure out how to merge by music together for spin class.  Now I have one continuous playlist with no dead air between songs.  But, that's for another blog.  I have so much catching up to do.

Nutella Bites

Last Thursday I made these yummy Nutella Bites for my book club girls.  Yep, we finished them all.  This is a simple recipe that takes no time at all.

Ingredients:
Pastry dough - any kind that does not contain partially hydrogenated soybean oil
Nutella
1 egg
1 teaspoon water
a pinch of cinnamon sugar
fresh cut strawberries

Preheat the oven at 400.

Roll out the pastry dough and cut in to small squares.  Pop in a spoonful of nutella and fold the dough over to form a pocket.  Seal the edges by pinching them together. Place the bites on a non stick cookie sheet.

In a small bowl whisk the egg, water, and cinnamon sugar to combine.  Brush the egg wash mixture on the top of each Nutella Bite. This will also help seal the edges.

Bake for 15-17 minutes.

I topped them with strawberries and salted chocolate drizzle (from Target...I LOVE this yummy goodness). Make sure you eat these while they are still warm.  The Nutella just oozes from the pastry.  Combined with the strawberries, it's the perfect mix of savory and sweet.

Fruit Pizza

For Mother's Day, I made quiche (which was good!), but I also made Fruit Pizza.  I will thank my good friend Lily for introducing this one to me.  Not only was this FAB-U-LOUS on Mother's Day, but it was even better the next day.

This is another quick dessert.  I'll admit, I'm not great at baking.  Measuring seems to be a burden to me, so I never get desserts just right.  Fruit Pizza, though, I can do!  Start with a basic sugar cookie recipe or purchase a premade mix.  Roll out in the shape of a pizza and bake according to directions.  Do not overcook. All the large cookie to cool.

I used a cream cheese frosting and nutella for the "sauce".  To make the cream cheese frosting, mix 8 oz of softened cream cheese with 3 tablespoons of softened butter.  Add a 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of powdered sugar.  Start with a smaller amount of sugar and add more if not sweet enough.

Spead the cream cheese mixture in the center part of the cookie and the Nutella after that.  Top with any fruit you want.  Yep, it's really that easy.  Oh, and remember, save some for the next day!

Weeknight Minestrone Soup

I spent a little too much time at the gym tonight, which meant I needed to whip up something fast .  Luckily, I had all the ingredients for this simple meal.  To make the meal a bit heartier for my husband, I also make a melted salami and gouda sandwich.  I'd like one of these too, but I feel like it would just kill all the time I spent at the gym.  Plus, I'd rather save the extra calories for my after dinner chocolate!

Ingredients (this usually feeds four):
olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
1 small onion, diced
celery, chopped
carrots, chopped (I usually estimate how much to use of the carrots and celery)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Unsatlted chicken stock
Tuscan chicken stock
1 can of diced, stewed, or fire roasted tomatoes
1 can of cannelloni beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup ditalini pasta
1 small cooked chicken breast or turkey sausage (optional)

Heat olive oil over medium to medium high heat in a heavy medium size pot.  Yep, this is another good part of this meal - ONE POT to clean! Add onions and cook for 2-3 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for one minute more or just before the garlic turns too brown.  Add celery and carrots and cook for 5 or 6 additional minutes or until the vegetables look tender. I don't like my vegetables cooked too much.

Add one carton of the Tuscan chicken stock (so good - great flavor), half of the unsalted chicken stock, the tomatoes (I used the fire roasted), the cannelloni beans.

Bring the soup to a boil then lower the head and cover. Allow the soup to cook for 15-20 minutes (this is usually when I check my email, sort through my mail, feed the dogs). Bring the soup back to a small boil again and add the ditalini pasta and chicken or turkey sausage (I like turkey or chicken sausage better than chicken breast, but I only had a chicken breast in the fridge, so it had to work).  Cook for an additional 10 minutes.  Serve with parmesan cheese. I just now remembered I had some basil on hand from last night's meal (grumble).  If you have basil, chop some up to add to the top of the soup with the cheese.

I'm starting to think my husband gives all my meals two thumbs up with the hopes that I will keep on cooking, but after he had three bowls, I believed that he really did like this soup.  Plus, we have leftovers.

Enjoy!

Balsamic Bruschetta Chicken

My local grocery store stocked yellow cherry tomatoes this week.  I don't often see them, so I thought, why not?  Next, I needed to pair them with something simple and healthy.  My husband isn't a big fan of tomatoes, but I figured if I disguised them with all things good (garlic, olive oil, and balsamic) he wouldn't even notice.  

I told my husband he could move the tomatoes to the side - and that I wouldn't be offended.  Interestingly enough though, he finished the tomatoes first and piled on a few more.  So, we both gave this meal two thumbs up.  It was simple, healthy, yummy, and filling!

Ingredients (for 2 servings):

2 boneless skinless organic chicken breasts

1/2 package yellow cherry tomatoes 

1/2 package cherry tomatoes

red onion

2 cloves garlic

fresh basil leaves

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

parmigiano reggiano

salt and pepper

1 lemon

Set the oven to 400.

The sooner you get the tomatoes marinating, the better!  Cut the yellow and red cherry tomatoes in half and toss into a medium size glass bowl.  Cut two slices off of a red onion and dice.  Add to the tomatoes.  Chop the garlic and several basil leaves and toss into the tomatoes.  Next, add the salt, pepper, parmigiano reggiano, balsamic, and olive oil.  I don't really measure these ingredients.  Just add as much as you want.  C'mon, you can't go wrong.  Use a spoon to combine the ingredients (and smell the yummy garlic!). Set to the side or in the refrigerator if you're not ready to cook.  You could make this part a day ahead of time.  Imagine the yumminess the next day (is that even a word?).

Next, throw a little olive oil into a cast iron skillet on a medium high stove.  Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken and once the pan is hot, drop the seasoned chicken into the pan.  Let the chicken cook on one side until it turns a nice golden brown (about 5-6 minutes). Turn the chicken over.  Squeeze half the lemon on the chicken and then put the pan in the preheated oven (if I wasn't trying to be healthy, I'd throw a little butter on the chicken).  Allow the chicken to bake until cooked (about ten minutes more).  Pull out of the oven and squeeze the other half of the lemon on the chicken.  Place one chicken breast on each plate and spoon a mound of the tomatoes over the chicken.  Top with a bit more parmigiano reggiano and enjoyyyy!