Roasted Corn and Chicken Chowder

I have a subscription to the Food Network Magazine. I often open it up in the mornings and scan through recipes for new dinner ideas. I will be honest. Many times I look at the ingredients list, and know that I will never make it because it calls for many items that I don’t keep on hand. 

However, the Roasted Corn and Chicken Chowder in the July/August 2015 issue struck my fancy.

Looking through the fridge, I substituted a few ingredients. First, instead of the whole milk the recipe called for I used skim milk and a touch of half and half. I also added extra chicken and some left over rice that I had in the fridge so it would be more appealing to my husband.

One thing I would do differently if I could, is grill the corn. There is also roasted frozen corn at the supermarket which I may try as a substitute in the future.

This soup was thick and creamy, making it great for bread dipping. The chicken rice, and sweet potato were accented by the thyme. It was a great summer soup meal.

Ingredients

2 ears of corn, husked

2 tablespoons of butter

6 scallions, sliced

1 celery stalk, sliced

1 large sweet potato peeled and chopped

2 teaspoons of dried thyme

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

5 cups water

¼ cup cornmeal

3 cups shredded chicken breast

1 cup white rice cooked

½ cup skim milk

2 tablespoons half and half

Method

1. Preheat the broiler. Place ears of corn on a flat rimmed pan. Roast the corn underneath the broiler, turning every few minutes until the corn has nicely browned. Set aside and let cool. Once cooled, cut the corn from the cob.

2.  Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the scallions, celery sweet potatoes thyme cayenne salt, and pepper. Cook for three minutes. Sprinkle in cornmeal and cook until toasted, about 1 minute. Add water and stir in the corn. Turn heat up high until it soup simmers, then adjust accordingly to simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are soft.

3. Reduce the heat to medium low, and stir in chicken, rice, milk, and half and half. Heat for three minutes, or until chicken is warmed through and soup has reached desired consistency. 

Raspberry Chicken Salad

Raspberry Dressing 
¼ cup raspberry preserves

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon raspberry vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
A handful of berries for texture (we used a few strawberries and raspberries)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Use an immersion blender, or food processor, to blend the above ingredients together. This made enough dressing for two salads in my household.


Salad
Mix together the following ingredients to create the salad base. Use as many of the ingredients as you’d like according to your tastes.

• Spring Mix
• Arugula
• Cooked Chicken
• Raspberries
• Chives
• Feta Cheese
• Grape tomato halves
• Bacon crumbles

The inspiration for this salad was found from: Raspberry-Chicken Salad

Balsamic Salad with Chicken

Since my trainer has placed me on a diet, I have been eating the same meal every day at 10:30 for the past two weeks. 

The same healthy meal.

Every day.

This really isn’t my style, but since my body has hit a weight loss plateau, I am motivated to do this. I was told that I needed to eat 4 – 5 ounces of chicken with some type of greens, lettuce or spinach, with a light dressing. The dressings couldn’t be thick and white. 

I hate lettuce. And spinach. If I eat salad, I usually drown it in something horrible for my body, like Bacon Ranch, which is why I never eat salad. 

So, I made a challenge to find something that I would like that fulfills my requirements and that I actually like. My balsamic chicken salad was the answer.

It is easiest to start with plain chicken. I had tried rosemary chicken and slow cooking it in balsamic vinegar, but it was really just a waste of ingredients. I take cooked chicken and chop it together with red leaf lettuce and a handful of basil leaves. The basil gives an aromatic smell in addition to providing flavor to the boring lettuce. 

I created a balsamic vinaigrette to soak some flavor into the chicken that plays nice with the basil. I used the recipe that was located at Joy Bauer. However, I felt that the balsamic taste was really the star of the dressing and it did not need the other ingredients. I started using just straight balsamic vinegar.

In good news, since I have been working on this diet plan, I have dropped three and half pounds. Bye bye plateau!


Balsamic Chicken Salad Recipe
Yields: 1

Ingredients

1 chicken breast, 4- 5 oz
4 leaves of red leaf lettuce, chopped I shred mine thin)
5 basil leaves, chopped
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Freshly ground pepper (optional)

Method*

1. Toss the chicken, lettuce, and basil leaves together.

2. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar over the salad and grind the pepper. 


*Basically, make a salad out of the ingredients. 

Homemade Date Granola Bars

I have officially hit the weight loss plateau after a year. My trainer suggested that I change my eating habits. Okay, suggested might be a mild term. He laid out an entire meal plan for me.

Therefore, my next few recipe posts are going to be just me learning to cope with the meal plan. It consists of small and clean meals, heavy on protein to help my muscles repair and build.

One of the small meals consist of a protein shake and a granola bar after my work out. I like granola bars, but realize that the kind I like to eat aren’t necessarily healthy. Since they are loaded with sugar and unnecessary carbs, I decided to make my own.

Of course this step involves Pinterest. I searched for Healthy Granola Bars, and I came up with a link to tasty looking “Healthy Five Ingredient Granola Bars.” I already had 4 out of 5 of the ingredients so I decided to make them after a quick trip to the store for pitted dates.

These were fun to make and did not require much baking. I don’t like to turn the oven on in the summer since it is already so hot. I kick it up for twenty minutes or so to toast the oats, but that was not a necessary step.

Overall, the recipe was very tasty. My husband like them a lot as well (I made ten bars three days ago, and there are only three left now). However, when I calculated the calories per bar, it was 228 calories per serving. This is not horrible, but I prefer that it would be a little less. Therefore, if I make them again, I will cut them into 12 bars instead of 10. This would lower each serving by 38 calories, making them 190.

The original recipe from Minimalist Baker is below.

Healthy 5 Ingredient Granola Bars (No Bake)

Yield: 10 bars (or 12 smaller bars)

Ingredients

·         1 cup packed dates, pitted (soak in water and drain if they are dry and not sticky)

·         1/4 cup honey

·         1/4 cup creamy salted natural peanut butter (I used Skippy Natural with Honey)

·         1 cup roasted unsalted almonds, coarsely chopped

·         1 1/2 cups rolled oats

Method

1. This first step is optional. Toast oats in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.

2. Process dates in a food processor until small bits remain (about 1 minute). It should form a "dough" like consistency. Mine turned into a ball

3. Place the oats, almonds and dates in a large bowl. I smashed my dates with a wooden spoon to chop and mix them throughout the mixture. Set aside.

4. Warm the honey and peanut butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir and pour over oat mixture and then mix.

5. Once thoroughly mixed, transfer to an 8x8 dish or other small pan lined with plastic wrap or parchment paper so they lift out easily.

6. Press down until uniformly flattened. Cover with parchment or plastic wrap, and let set in fridge or freezer for 15-20 minutes to harden.

7. Remove bars from pan and chop into 10 even bars. Store in an airtight container for up to a few days. The original blogger says to keep them in freezer so that they stay fresh.

Zucchini Pasta with Dill Pesto

I am growing an apartment porch garden this summer for the first time. This means that I am continuing to learn new things, something I always dedicate my summers to. I am finding that gardening is fun, but a little challenging because there are so many judgment calls. The beautiful thing about my situation, is that I have friends who garden and are gracious to give me tips.

The other day I posted some pictures about my garden growing. My friend and colleague Lindsay mentioned that I should trim my dill because it was beginning to seed. This way, the more I prune, the more it will grow. After watching a video on how to prune dill on Youtube, I went outside to my porch and I pruned. 

Taking my beautiful green dill back to the kitchen, I stared at my trash can and thought that I could not throw it away. After a quick brainstorm and a look at my produce, I decided to make a pesto using dill. This was a risky decision because I have not even made basil pesto before and am saving it for a summer bucket list moment.

Pesto needs a significant amount of at least one herb, nuts, and some liquid. In a rummage through the pantry, I found almonds, a lemon, olive oil, and chicken broth. My inner Italian said, “Bada bing!”

Texture was a big test while I was making my pesto experiment. After my first run with the food processor, I found that the almonds made it too much like putty. So I added more lemon juice, which made it too citrusy. In the end, I used more chicken broth to get the desired balanced texture and taste.

Recipe for Zucchini Pasta with Dill Pesto
Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients
1/8 cup whole almonds
1 Tbsp garlic, divided
1 cup fresh dill
¼ tsp ground black pepper
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup + 2 teaspoons olive oil
1/3 cup chicken broth (or more to depending on desired texture)
Juice of one lemon
2 zuchinni, sliced in thin rounds
Parmesan Cheese to taste
4 cups cooked farfalle (bow tie) pasta (I used half a box of Barilla)

Method

1. Using a food processor, grind the almonds to a thick dust.

2. Add 1 teaspoon of garlic, the dill, ground black pepper, salt, olive oil, lemon juice, and chicken broth to the mixture. Blend the mixture, adding more chicken broth if needed to achieve desired paste thickness. 

3. When pesto is finished, heat teaspoons of olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and heat until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add the zucchini rounds and cook just until soft, about 3-4 minutes. 

4. Place pasta in a large bowl and use a slotted spoon to transfer the zucchini to the pasta. Then, pour the pesto over the pasta mixture and gently mix the ingredients together. If the pasta gets too sticky, add a little olive oil to loosen. 

5. Serve the pasta with parmesan cheese, black pepper, and salt. 

Braised Sweet Red Cabbage

I love it when I have leftover vegetables and I get to play around and make a new dish. I had made some BBQ chicken in the crockpot to eat on with my school closing schedule and my husband’s erratic police schedule. I had some leftover red cabbage in the crisping drawer in the fridge that I needed to use. So I thought about making a side out of the cabbage to go with the BBQ. 

The BBQ sauce is sweet, so I wanted to do a tangy sweet cabbage. Originally, I wanted to use it and make a slaw. I looked up some inspirational recipes online and settled for Red Cabbage Slaw by the Food Network Kitchens. When I tasted the dressing to go on the slaw, I didn’t like it. The vinegar was too heavy for my taste. But, I had this otherwise beautiful dressing and I chose to braise the cabbage with it instead, and rendering the vinegar to a more mild state.

As the cabbage cooked, I snuck pieces from the pan and tasted a tart sweetness, inspiring me to add some fennel seed and craisins. The end result ended up being a warm cabbage, similar to pickled German cabbage, with a touch more sugar and crispy texture.



Ingredients
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons Sugar
½ head Red Cabbage, chopped to 1/2 inch thick pieces
1 Tablespoon fennel seed
½ cup Craisins
Salt to taste

Method

1. To make the sauce, whisk together the oil, vinegar, and sugar until the sugar is dissolved and oil and vinegar no longer separate.

2. Heat 2 Tablespoons of sauce in a skillet on medium high heat.

3. Add the cabbage, then carefully pour the rest of the sauce over the cabbage. Cover and cook on medium heat for about 7-8 minutes.

4. Add the fennel, Craisins, and salt and continue cooking until cabbage reaches the desired tenderness and the sauce has evaporated into the cabbage. 

Carnitas Burrito Bowl

The beauty of the burrito bowl is its flexibility to accommodate different tastes of people sitting at your table. For the vegetarians, lose the meat, add more beans. For the manly men, get a burrito wrap and make a full burrito. For the low carb people, go easy on the rice. For the conscious of their diet, such as I, the desired portions of carbohydrates, vegetables, protein, and dairy that are sought after can be fulfilled, simply by adding more or less into the bowl.

My burrito bowl consisted of shredded pork carnitas (see the slow cooker recipe here), rice, pico de gallo, black beans, cheese, and cilantro with a dollop of sour cream and hot sauce. The reasons for these choices was because they were easily at hand. I had tried to also add an avocado, but was not fully ripened yet. I also considered adding bell pepper, but not all people at my table digest that well. Additionally, I thought about adding roasted corn, but my desire for lowered carbs kept this from the choices.

Here is a list of ingredients you may want to consider adding when building a carnitas burrito bowl:

• ·        Avocado
• ·        Guacamole
• ·        Salsa
• ·        Roasted Corn
• ·        Roasted Bell Peppers
• ·        Diced Jalapeno Peppers
• ·        Pickled Jalapeno Peppers
• ·        Black Olives

 

Bowl Construction Steps:

1. Add the rice.

2. Add the carnitas.

3. Add the pico de gallo and black beans.

4. Add the cheese.

5. Top with chopped cilantro, sour cream and hot sauce.

6. Give a little stir and enjoy!

Pork Carnitas in Slow Cooker

Tomorrow I have a date night with my Mom for dinner, so I will be leaving my husband alone for dinner. Normally, I would say that he can fend for himself because he is truly capable of culinary genius. However, he has to work the midnight shift so and I feel like a bad partner when I leave him hanging.

Therefore, to get out of the sticky situation, I made a large meal so he could eat the leftovers tomorrow. Since I have been on a slow cooker kick, I thought that I would make pork carnitas. Carnitas are my favorite thing to order in my burrito at Chipotle. I am definitely a pork fan, and when it can be mixed into fresh Mexican food, I am all for it.

I googled many recipes for carnitas and took my favorite aspects out of them to create the recipe below. I chose the ingredients that were my favorite and I knew would not get lost in the cooking process. I also considered the cooking time. My slow cooker always seems to cook quicker than the recipes call for, yielding extremely dry meat. My cook time below is based on my slow cooker. Most recipes recommend cooking the meet on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 6-8 hours.

I was overly pleased with this recipe. The majority of the meat was tender and juicy, with shredded crisps to bring out smoky flavors. I am looking forward to using this recipe to eat standing alone, or adding it for other Mexican creations. Keep posted for new ideas!

Pork Carnitas Recipe

Yields 4 servings

Ingredients

1 14 oz can Chicken Broth

2 lbs boneless pork shoulder

1 Tbsp olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 tsp dired oregano

1 tsp cumin

1 onion, coarsely chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped

1 orange, cut in half

3 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Directions

1. Pour the chicken broth into the slow cooker.

2. Rinse and dry the pork shoulder. Trim any excess fat. Mix together the salt, pepper, oregano, and cumin. Brush the pork with olive oil, then rub the spice mixture into the meat.

3. Place the pork in the slow cooker and top with the onion and jalapenos.

4. Squeeze the orange halves over the pork, then place the halves next to it.

5. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours (see my cooking note above)

6. When the meat is tender, remove from the slow cooker and let cool for five minutes. Then, pull apart and shred the pork with two forks.

7. In a large pan, heat the vegetable oil over high heat. Press the carnitas into the oil and fry until crisp on one side. Break crisps apart to desired width.

8. Serve and enjoy!

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

I originally found this dish at Skinnytaste, but have made some adjustments to fit me. Each time I take a bite of this dish for the first time, I think how good it tastes for the little amount of effort that went into it. This makes me happy.

Salsa chicken can be eaten in so many versatile ways. My favorite is in a burrito bowl with a little rice, shredded cheese, sour cream, and pickled jalapenos. I would like to try it in a salad this summer when the farm stand veggies come back into season, too. My husband prefers it as a burrito. I have also just eaten plain with a touch of salsa. It is salsa chicken, after all. 

Some of the adjustments to the original recipe is the cooking time and the spices. The original called for the chicken to be cooked for four hours. I find that my crock pot dries meat out when it is in there for that long. I have adjusted my total cook time to three and a half hours for this reason.

We also do a lot of Latino cooking in my household, so I have a ton of spices to use. I added cayenne for heat, which can be easily adjusted up or down depending on preference. Then I added oregano and extra cumin to crank up the depth. In the future, I am thinking I will add some chipotle peppers and liquid smoke to make a smokier version... with cheddar cheese. Yes. 

Salsa Chicken Recipe

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts

1 cup and 2 Tbsp. salsa, divided

2 Tbsp. cayene (if you don’t like spicy, I suggest 1 tsp.)

1 Tbsp. garlic salt

1 Tbsp. oregano

1 tsp. cumin

Ground black pepper to taste

1 15 oz. can Black Beans, rinsed and drained

Directions

1. Place the chicken breasts in the slow cooker. Add 1 cup of salsa, cayenne, garlic salt, oregano, cumin, and black pepper. Cook the chicken on low for three hours (see note about cooking time above).

2. Take the chicken out and set aside. Measure 1 cup of the salsa broth from the pot and set aside. Drain the crock pot basin.

3. Add the black beans and the reserved salsa broth and extra salsa back to the crock pot. Set it on warm. 

4. Shred the chicken with a fork. Add it back to the crock pot and stir the ingredients. Leave it in the crock pot to warm for half an hour.

Serve either by itself, as a burrito, as a burrito bowl, or in a salad. Enjoy!

Apple Sausage with Roasted Maple Sweet Potatoes and Carrots

Autumn, my favorite season, is finally here. I love the crisp temperatures cooling down and the leaves turning vibrant shades of yellow, red, and orange. Most of all, the local farm stand has baskets filled with no-wax apples and giant sweet potatoes. I purchased a large amount of both items and decided to make a lunch dish for the work week.

When making for something to take to work, I would like it to last at least three to four days. Plus, it is beneficial for it to be easy because I am usually making it on a school night when I have to get up early to teach the next day. Easy meals with little or no fuss are the best. 

In addition to ease, I also need it to be healthy. I have been trying a whole “eat to live” approach this year, as opposed to “living to eat.” I still love to eat, please don’t misunderstand, I am just learning to love eating healthy. This is a relatively new idea for me, after thirty years of eating a diet that increased my waistline. Embracing fresh organic produce has filled me with energy, motivation, and happiness. 

This particular dish was both sweet and savory. I loved the blend of the sausage combined with the apple and sweet potatoes. I also added some dill and onion to break up the sweetness of the other ingredients. Then, the maple syrup tied all of the components together. It was hearty treat. 

When I began to type this recipe out, I realized that it seems a little long. The steps are short, and there is a lot of down time because the ingredients are roasting. The most cumbersome aspect of the dish is all of the chopping. Once that is completed, it’s a piece of cake!

Apple Sausage with Roasted Maple Sweet Potatoes and Carrots Recipe
Serves 4

Ingredients
2 medium sweet potatoes, sliced into ¼ inch rounds
4 carrots, halved and sliced
1 yellow or white onion, quartered 
2 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped
1 Tbsp Olive Oil, plus more to drizzle
3 medium apples, sliced 
4 Chicken Apple Sausage Links (Aidell’s is my favorite)
2 Tbsp Pure Maple Syrup

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 

2. Mix the potatoes, carrots, onion, and dill together in a bowl. Add the olive oil and toss the ingredients to fully coat them.

3.  Layer the oil coated vegetables on a baking sheet in a single layer. Roast the vegetables in the heated oven for 20 minutes. 

4. While the potatoes, carrots, and onions are baking, slice the apples and place them in the same bowl that contained the vegetable mixture. Swirl the apples around to lightly coat them in oil and dill. Add more if needed.

5. After the vegetables have baked for 20 minutes, add the apples to the pan. Continue baking in the oven for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes and carrots are tender.

6. While the apples and vegetables are baking, place the sausages in a skillet. Fill the skillet with water until sausages are at least half way covered. Boil the sausages for ten minutes. 

7. When sausages have finished, drain the water from the pan and allow sausages to cool. Slice the sausages into half inch rounds. Place sausage rounds into serving bowl.

8. When vegetables and apples have finished baking, allow to cool for five minutes. Then, add mixture to the bowl with the sausage. 

9. Drizzle maple syrup over the mixture and stir. 

Thai Chicken Pasta with Soba Noodles and Peanut Sauce

My husband took a recipe that he had found in the Food Network Magazine as a base and created a masterpiece. We both felt that this dish was better than Thai Chicken Pasta at The Cheesecake Factory. It is rich and creamy, with a mellow peanut butter taste that is supported by the hints of Asian seasonings.

I came home from the gym and he was working on making this. He asked me to try the sauce. It ended up being so good that after he was done making it, I got a spatula to lick the basin of the food processor. I felt like a kid licking the bowl of the brownie batter. Simply put, this peanut sauce is better than brownie batter.

Peanut Thai Chicken Pasta

Serves 6

Noodle Ingredients

¾ strong brewed green tea

1 cup creamy peanut butter

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ cup rice vinegar

5 Tbsp brown sugar

¼ peanut oil or macnut oil

2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds with additional for garnish

1 tsp Sriracha

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

1 tsp ground ginger

2 ½ cloves of garlic, minced

2 Tbsp red chili pepper flakes

1 cup carrots, shredded

16 oz. Asian Soba Noodles

Chicken Ingredients

2 Tbsp sesame oil

2 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp oyster sauce

1 Tbsp granulated sugar

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, into cubes

1 lb sliced white cap mushrooms

Topping

½ cup dry roasted peanuts, chopped

1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions

1. In a large food processor or blender, combine tea, peanut butter, soy, vinegar, brown sugar, peanut oil, sesame seeds, sriracha, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, and chili flakes.  Process or blend ingredients until creamy.

2. Bring half a pot of water to a boil and cook the soba noodles for two minutes. Remove the noodles immediately, drain in a colander, and bathe in cold water until cool. Drain the cold water, then toss in peanut butter sauce mixture and add shredded carrots. Store noodles in fridge for up to an hour.

3. Mix sesame oil, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar. Stir the mixture until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside.

4. Cook chicken until the pieces are white on all sides. Add mushrooms and cook until mushrooms soften. Add the above sauce and cook until sauce is rendered and almost gone.

5. To serve, place the noodles in the bottom layer of a bowl, then add the chicken and mushrooms. Top with cilantro and peanuts to taste.