Food, Feminism, & life

Chicken, Cheddar, & Roasted Apple Sliders

I mentioned the blog What’s Cookin’ Chicago? the other day & hope you all checked it out. She has some great recipes! I saw these on there & knew I wanted to make them immediately & finally got to it last night. One pound of ground chicken made 12 sliders so I froze more than half of them to have for quick lunches & dinners. Total win in my book.

Mine look nothing like the original recipe, but they were good. Not mind blowing, but good enough to eat over & over & post about. I opted for fresh herbs since I had some leftover from Thanksgiving & think you should to. The fresh sage really pops in these & they have all the flavors of fall. I served them on wheat potato dough slider buns (2 PP each) with honey mustard. Yum!

Chicken, Cheddar, & Roasted Apple Sliders

Adapted from What’s Cookin’ Chicago?

Servings: 12 ● Points Plus: 3 (without bun)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean ground chicken
• 1 cup low fat shredded cheddar cheese
• 3 small red delicious apples, peeled, cored, and cut into quarters
• 1 tsp each fresh rosemary, sage, & thyme
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 cup milk

Directions:

1) Pre-heat oven to 400. Place apple quarters on a baking sheet, spray with non-stick olive oil spray & roast for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through. Once done, process in your food processor until chopped, or mash with a fork.

2) In a large bowl, combine the apples with all other ingredients. Press into 12 small patties.

3) Either: fry them in oil (will add points), or bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees, flipping halfway through. I pan-fried them with some non-stick spray to get the outsides crispy, then finished them in the oven for 10 minutes.

4) Serve on slider buns with your favorite toppings.

Cheddar, Cracker, & Panko Chicken

Adapted from What’s Cookin’ Chicago? (go check out this blog. It’s wonderful!)

This recipe exceeded all of my expectations. I may or may not have stared at it through my oven in awe of the cheesy crust that formed. I served this with cauliflower gratin & a side of honey mustard for dipping. You don’t really need the honey mustard, but I’m an addict.

Putting everything into your food processor is the trick here. You can simply crush up the crackers, but something about having the cheddar & crackers be the same consistency made the breading perfect. I also added some panko to the mix for added crunch. They got a huge “wow” from Frank. Enjoy!

Cheddar, Cracker, & Panko Chicken

Servings: 4 ● Points Plus: 6

Ingredients:

• 1 lb thin sliced boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
• 16 Keebler butter crackers (or any crackers you like)
• 6 oz Cabot 2% cheddar, cut into chunks
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 scallions, cut into chunks
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• Pam spray

Directions:

1) Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees & spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray.

2) Place the scallions, cheddar, garlic, salt, pepper, and crackers in your food processor. Pulse until everything is the same size, making sure not to make everything too small. It should have the consistency of panko.

3) Place the crumb mixture into a dish, add the panko, and combine.

4) Spray the thin chicken breasts with the Pam spray, coat each side in the crumb mixture, and place on baking sheet. You might have to press the crumb mixture into the chicken to get it to stick. Once all of the chicken is coated bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, flipping the chicken half way through.

*Note: The Points Plus values are for the chicken AFTER they are coated. I was left with almost half of the crumb mixture & deducted the points from there to figure out the total of each serving.

Pressure Cooker: Coq au Vin

Ever since I watched Julie & Julia I have been obsessed with Julia Child. I read her recipes as if they were novels & day dream about having the time to simmer Beef Bourguignon & Coq au Vin on the stove all day. One day I will spend an entire Sunday afternoon making her beef bourguinon, but for now a pressure cooker of Coq au Vin will have to do.

Frank & I received a pressure cooker as one of our engagement party gifts this past weekend & at first I was semi terrified of it. I’ve heard horror stories from my mom & grandma about how “back in the day” they used to rattle like crazy on the stove & sometimes explode. I can honestly say that mine & Frank’s minds were blown by how unbelievable this meal came out.

This is the type of meal that you would make if you were having company over, and no one has to know that it cooked in about 15 minutes. Once your prep is done it takes 8 minutes in the pressure cooker & tastes like you simmered it all day.

Pressure Cooker: Coq au Vin

Servings: 4 Points Plus: 9

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• Flour for coating chicken
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 TB olive oil
• 3 slices bacon, diced
• 1 TB flour
• 1 cup dry red wine (pinot noir is perfect)
• 1 tsp thyme
• 2 TB chopped parsley
• 1 Bay leaf
• 2 cups fresh mushrooms
• salt & pepper to taste
• 2 TB butter
• 1 cup low sodium & fat free beef broth

Directions:

1) Heat the oil in the pressure cooker. Dust the chicken with flour & sear when the oil is hot. Brown the chicken on all sides & then remove from the pressure cooker & set aside.

2) Add the bacon, carrots, onion, and garlic to the oil. Saute until the bacon is crisp & the onion is soft. Add the butter & melt, then add the flour & stir everything together. Slowly add the wine & stir until it begins to thicken & get smooth. Add the beef broth.

3) Add the thyme, bay leaf, & parsley. Stir and then add the chicken back to the pressure cooker.

4) Lock the lid in place & bring the pressure cooker to pressure. Lower the heat & cook for 8 minutes on high pressure. While the pressure cooker is cooking saute the mushrooms in a separate pan with a little salt & pepper.

Once finished, release the pressure according to your cooker’s instructions. Discard the bay leaf and season with salt & pepper.

5) Top each serving with mushrooms and serve with a glass of wine :)

*Note: While the chicken was cooking I boiled a bag of instant brown rice. The rice also took 8 minutes & was perfect as the bed for this dish.

Crunchy Asian Chicken Salad

Everyone has seen the recipe around the internet that uses ramen noodles in salads, but I’ve always been wary about it. I decided to finally make a version & it was much better than I imagined. I always assumed raw ramen noodles would be like eating raw pasta (which is gross). I was wrong. I made a huge batch of this last night to eat all week & was happy with the results. This salad is crunchy, cold, sweet & salty, and topped off with warm chicken. Definitely a perfect salad to me.

Crunchy Asian Chicken Salad

Servings: 4 Points Plus: 6

Ingredients:

• 6 oz boneless skinless chicken breast
• 2 TB teriyaki sauce (any brand you like)
• 2 TB sesame seeds
• 3 cups shredded iceberg lettuce (I shred it in a food processor)
• 1 1/2 cups broccoli slaw
• 1 cup shredded red cabbage
• 1/2 large cucumber, seeds removed, sliced into thin half moons
• 2 TB chopped cilantro
• 4 scallions, thin sliced
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 TB canola oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 TB agave nectar
• 1 package of instant ramen noodles, Oriental flavor
• 1 lime, cut into wedges

Directions:

1) Crush up the ramen noodles & set aside the seasoning packet. Spray a pan with non-stick spray & toast the ramen a bit. When the noodles start to brown, toss them around & remove from heat immediately so that they don’t burn. Set aside in a bowl.

2) Slice the chicken into thin slices & cook in a hot pan. When chicken is cooked, add the teriyaki sauce & toss to coat. Remove from heat & set aside.

3) Layer the lettuce, cucumber, broccoli slaw, cabbage, sesame seeds & cilantro in a bowl. Top with the warm chicken.

4) In a bowl, whisk together the rice vinegar, sesame oil, canola oil, agave nectar & 1 tsp of the Oriental seasoning that came with the ramen.

5) Immediately before serving, add the ramen noodles & the dressing & toss the salad. Top each serving with a wedge of lime.

*Note: If you plan on having leftovers of this salad then keep the noodles separate from the salad until you’re ready to eat a serving, otherwise they will get soggy. For lunch I pack the salad, noodles, dressing, and chicken in separate containers so that I can heat up the chicken. Then toss with the noodles & dressing right before you eat. This salad will keep in the fridge for 3 days.

Chicken & Kale Enchiladas Verde

Salsa verde is my favorite Mexican condiment. I like regular salsa, but tangy salsa  verde is where it’s at. I’ve been wanting to use kale in something & came up with this after remembering about the Sweet Potato & Kale Enchiladas from Veganomicon. I made them once & they were awesome. I would have made them again if I had sweet potatoes in the house.

These enchiladas are covered in salsa verde & a little bit of homemade red enchilada sauce. That recipe will be a separate post. If you don’t feel like making homemade enchilada sauce then you can use canned, or just skip the red sauce in this recipe. I really only use it for the color & the heat. Sprinkling some crushed red pepper on top of the salsa verde would do the trick for the heat factor.

Chicken & Kale Enchilada Verde

Servings: 6 Points • Plus: 7

Ingredients:

• 8 oz boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 vidalia onion, chopped
• 8 oz fat free refried beans
• 2 TB olive oil
• Juice of one lime
• 1 bunch of kale, stems removed & cleaned
• 12 corn tortillas
• 1 TB Mexican chili powder
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• Kosher salt & black pepper to taste
• 1 can roasted or regular green chilies, chopped if not diced in the can
• 1 1/2 cup salsa verde
• 1 cup enchilada sauce
• 2 1/2 cup low fat shredded cheese (I use WW’s shredded Mexican blend)
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

1) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle the chicken with salt & pepper. In a large pan with a lid, saute the onion in the olive oil. Once softened add the chicken & cook through. Add all of the spices to the chicken & onion mixture & let them cook a bit.

2) Clean the kale. Slowly add some kale in bunches to the same pan that the chicken is in. It will seem like it won’t fit, but keep pushing it down. It will fit! Once all of the kale is in, sprinkle with the garlic powder & squeeze the lime juice over it. Add the cup of water to the pan & put the lid on. This will wilt the kale. Once the kale is wilted remove the lid & saute everything together. Transfer mixture to a large bowl.

Yayyy Kale!

3) Add the refried beans, 1 cup of cheese & chilies to the bowl and mix together. Spray a baking pan with non-stick spray. Heat the tortillas two at a time for 15 seconds to prevent them from breaking when you roll them. Fill the bottom third of the tortilla with about 2 TB of filling & roll. Place seam side down in the baking pan (use two baking pans if you don’t have one large enough to fit 12 tortillas).

4) Once all of the tortillas are in the baking pan/s, pour the salsa verde over the entire thing. Then pour the enchilada sauce down the middle & cover with the remaining cheese. Bake 25 minutes until bubbly.

Raspberry Chipotle BBQ Chicken Pizza

This pizza has been in my head for a few days so I gave it a go tonight. Layers of chipotle barbecue sauce, raspberries, chicken, and red onions on top of wheat dough give this a ton of flavor without being too sweet or overwhelming. It was hard to stop at one piece! I served it with a side salad for a full dinner.

Raspberry Chipotle BBQ Chicken Pizza

Servings: 8 ★ Points Plus: 6

Ingredients:

• Trader Joe’s wheat pizza dough, left at room temperature for 20 minutes
  
• 6 oz uncooked chicken breast, cut into 1” cubes
• 1 tsp Mexican chili powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
  
• 1/4 red onion, sliced thin
• 1/4 cup raspberry preserves (I used sugar free, if you use regular add 1 point)
• 2 TB apricot preserves
• 1/4 cup low sodium & fat free chicken broth
  
• 1 cup raspberries, cut into quarters
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup chipotle barbecue sauce
  
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar
• Salt & pepper
• Flour for rolling out the dough
• Cilantro for garnish

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Heat a pan over med-high heat. Coat chicken pieces with Mexican chili powder, salt, pepper, & onion powder. Using non-stick spray cook chicken until done. Once finished, add the chicken broth & scrape up all of the bits from the pan. Add the apricot & raspberry preserves. Stir & bring to a boil. Let boil about 5 minutes until preserves thicken & glaze the chicken.

2) Flour a clean work surface & roll out the dough to the size of a large baking sheet. It should be about a 1/4” thick. Move dough to a pan & flatten to make sure it’s even. Bake for 6 minutes on top rack of oven.

3) When dough is done, remove from oven & cover with the barbecue sauce. Then top with chicken, red onion, raspberries, red pepper flakes, mozzarella, & cheddar. Bake another 6 minutes on top rack of oven.

4) Move to the bottom rack & bake 3-4 minutes. This will make the bottom crispy. Remove, let cool for 5 minutes & cut into 8 pieces. Garnish with cilantro.

*Note: If you can’t find chipotle barbecue sauce then combine 1/2 cup regular barbecue sauce with 1 chipotle pepper in adobo + 1 tsp of the adobo sauce from the can.

Beer Battered Chicken Fingers

Frank cooks too! Isn’t he handsome?

I have to confess, I didn’t make these. This was all Frank. He cooks really well when I actually let him in the kitchen. I’ll ask him to make his sauce & meatballs soon & post that. He makes the best sauce! He made this dinner for himself (because I had to run somewhere) but I took a bite of this chicken when it was done & it was amazing. If we owned a restaurant (which we often dream about as a couple), these would definitely be on the menu. It’s fun to watch him in the kitchen.

Beer Battered Chicken Fingers

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 8 oz beer (Frank used Newcastle, any beer that you enjoy would work)
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• Vegetable oil for frying
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips

Directions:

1) Combine flour, salt, & pepper in a large bowl. Slowly beat in the beer & let sit for about 30 minutes. This thickens the batter.

2) Pour enough oil into a large pan to cover the bottom & make a 1” depth. Heat until oil begins to shimmer. Dip the chicken strips into the batter, turning to coat, and drop into the oil. They should sizzle well. If they aren’t sizzling then the oil isn’t ready. If the oil isn’t hot enough then the chicken with absorb it instead of fry!

3) Repeat will all of the strips. Use a slotted spatula to flip the chicken fingers & drain each on a paper towel. Serve immediately (with ketchup, if you’re Frank).

Heirloom Grape Tomato, Chicken, & Mozzarella Pasta Salad

I’ve been craving tomatoes & mozzarella lately, so I whipped this up for lunch today. I let it sit in the fridge over night so that all of the flavors would blend. It’s a perfect light lunch. You can use any herbs you have lying around. I have rosemary growing on my windowsill so I used that & dried basil.

Heirloom  Grape Tomato, Chicken, & Mozzarella Salad

Servings: 2 Points Plus: 6

Ingredients:

• 4 oz chicken breast, raw
• 8 grape tomatoes (heirloom if you can find them), sliced in half
• 2 oz fresh mozzarella
• 1 cup cooked wheat pasta, any shape
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 3 TB balsamic vinegar (more to taste if you like)
• 1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• kosher salt & black pepper to taste

Directions:

1) Cut the mozzarella into small cubes & combine in a bowl with the tomatoes, olive oil, pasta, half of the herbs, and balsamic vinegar. Stir to combine & let the ingredients sit while you cook the chicken.

2) Dice the chicken into small cubes, spray with olive oil spray, & toss with the remaining herbs. Cook in a skillet over medium-high heat until cooked through. Add to the bowl with the mozzarella & tomatoes, divide pasta salad into two bowls & serve immediately.

Serve this with crusty bread to soak up the sauce that’s leftover (adds points)!

It’s Grillin’ Time!

Frank & I didn’t have a barbecue last summer (our apartment complex didn’t allow them), but now that we’re in a house we have one, and I am in love with it. As much as I love cooking, I rarely venture out to the grill. This is going to change this summer. Our house gets freezing from our air conditioning, but I still don’t like using the oven too much during the summer months. Why heat up the house when I can be outside in the sunshine making dinner?

Frank started Bar review last week & was pretty much locked in our office all day & night last night. This meant I was on my own for making dinner. Normally he would do the grilling while I prepared everything else in the house. I am not gonna lie - I was semi afraid of turning on the barbecue. I don’t know why. He showed me how, and then I got busy. I didn’t do anything fancy. I grilled up some chicken with our favorite teriyaki sauce (Soy Vay!), but made the grill super hot so that the outside would get those awesome grill marks & caramelize quickly. The chicken was so good.

I made a quick brown fried rice to go with it. The recipe is below. How pretty does this chicken look? I’m excited to try all sorts of new things on the barbecue this summer. Grilled sweet potatoes are on the menu for this weekend.

What are your favorite things to throw on the grill?

Brown Fried Rice

Servings: 4 Points Plus: 7

Ingredients:

• 3 cups cooked brown rice
• 2 TB sesame oil (I use dark)
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 cup diced carrots (I use frozen)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions:

1) In a wok or pan, heat the sesame oil over medium heat & saute the chopped onion & carrots until soft. Add the ginger & garlic & saute a few minutes. When the vegetables are soft, push to the side, add the egg & scramble. Break up the egg & mix with the vegetables.

2) Add the rice & soy sauce. Stir fry until all of the ingredients are combined. Turn the heat up to high & let the bottom of the rice get slightly crispy. Toss, repeat once. This gives you a few crispy pieces throughout the rice. Serve immediately!

*Note: I like to add peas & diced baby corn to the fried rice also. This is standard for most recipes. I left them out of this recipe because Frank doesn’t eat them. Adding them adds 1 points plus to the serving.

Coconut Chicken with Apricot Ginger Vinaigrette

The inspiration for this recipe came from Skinny Taste. After seeing a picture of coconut chicken I decided that I needed to make it asap.

I have a love/hate relationship with coconut. I love it in certain things, & hate it in others. I think it’s a texture issue. Coconut is also very sweet, and since I have to limit my sugar, I only used enough in this recipe to give it flavor without overpowering the recipe. These cutlets come out crunchy & slightly sweet & the warm vinaigrette is a perfect light sauce for them. I served them on top of shredded lettuce with vegetable quinoa pilaf on the side. I definitely recommend these for a summer meal.

Coconut Chicken with Apricot Ginger Vinaigrette

Servings: 4 ● Points Plus: 6

Ingredients for Chicken:

• 4 thin cut chicken breast cutlets
• 1/3 cup sweetened coconut flakes (in the baking aisle at the grocery store)
• 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1/3 cup egg whites
• 1/8 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• olive oil spray

Directions:

1) Pre-heat oven to 400 degree. Rinse each cutlet & pat dry.

2) Combine the coconut, panko, & spices in a bowl. Place eggs in a second bowl.

3) Either dip the cutlets into the egg whites, or brush egg white onto them, and then coat in the panko mixture. Place each cutlet on a lined & sprayed baking sheet as you coat them.

4) Spray coated cutlets with olive oil spray & bake about 25-30 minutes, flipping halfway through. Keep an eye on them to make sure coconut is not burning. I ended up flipping my every 8 minutes or so.

5) Broil the cutlets for 1-2 minutes when they are finished baking. This will make them extra crunchy right before serving.

*Note: I bake my cutlets on the bottom rack of my oven because this makes them more crispy. If you see that the coconut is browning too fast this way, then move them up to the middle rack. Broil on the top rack.

Ingredients for Vinaigrette:

Servings: 4 ● Points Plus: 2

Ingredients:

• 2 TB olive oil
• 2 TB apricot preserves
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 4 TB cider vinegar
• Pinch each of kosher salt & black pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger

Directions:

1) Microwave the apricot preserves & oil in a bowl for 30 seconds.

2) Combine all ingredients with the preserves, whisk & serve with the cutlets while still warm.