Chicken with Creamy Green Chile, Tomatillo, and Avocado Sauce

March 14, 2012 · 27 comments

in chicken/poultry,healthy,mexican/tex-mex,quick and easy

 

I’m pretty excited to share this dish with you for many reasons, the most obvious being that it tastes great and all three of us cleaned our plates. Second, it’s incredibly easy and quick. Third, with spring and summer approaching, it’s a great dish for grilling—and eating. It’s creamy but still light and healthy.

When I saw this sauce, it reminded me of a pasta dish I’d made back in the day and really enjoyed. I love the tartness of tomatillos, and I was on board with the addition of the avocado and half and half for creaminess. I used the recipe as I saw it on Our Life in Food (a blog you should visit if you haven’t already because I guarantee if you like the food here, you’ll like it there. We have very similar tastes!). Carrie used half and half, and I did the same since I had some leftover from bolognese. The original recipe uses water, so you could go that route, or a light sour cream or Greek yogurt would work equally well.

As you know, I really don’t like cilantro. (Except in Chipotle’s rice. I have no idea why.) I can handle it in very small doses, so I added about 1 Tbsp. cilantro to this, though the original recipe calls for 1/4 cup. Obviously you can leave it out altogether if you hate cilantro. This sauce is not very spicy, so if you want it to be, you should add a second jalapeno.

We  had this with a black bean/corn/tomato salad thing. The whole meal felt light and fresh, and perfect for an unseasonably warm day (80 degrees in March. In Chicago!).  You could easily grill everything rather than broil it, too.

Chicken with Creamy Green Chile, Tomatillo, and Avocado Sauce

Adapted from  Food and Wine Annual Cookbook 2010, via Our Life in Food

1 very small onion, peeled and quartered
1 jalapeno, stemmed, seeded, and halved
1 poblano pepper, stemmed, seeded, and quartered
2 medium or 3 small tomatillos, husked, cored, and quartered
1 clove garlic, peeled
1-2 Tbsp. Canola oil, divided
1 avocado, peeled
1 Tbsp. cilantro (or more)
2 Tbsp. lime juice (about 1 lime)
1/4 cup half and half
4 small chicken breasts/chicken breast halves (about 5 oz. each)

 

Preheat the broiler (or grill). Place the onion, jalapeno, poblano, tomatillos, and garlic in a broiler-safe pan. Drizzle with about 2 tsp. canola oil and broil for a few minutes, until vegetables begin to soften and char. Remove and place in a food processor; allow to cool as you cook the chicken. Add the avocado, cilantro, and lime juice to the food processor. Process until well-combined, and then stream in the half and half until the desired consistency. Season to taste with salt.

Meanwhile, cook the chicken on the grill or on a stove. To cook on the stove, place a large skillet over medium heat; add about 1 Tbsp. canola oil. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken and cook for 4-5 minutes per side or until cooked through.

Serve the chicken topped with the sauce. Refrigerate any leftover sauce in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

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Andouille Soup with Red Beans and Rice

March 11, 2012 · 13 comments

in beans and legumes,healthy,soups and stews

 

It wasn’t my intention, but I’m sharing this soup during a week that Chicago is supposed to get to 77 (!!) degrees. I’m pretty sure the temperature was in the 20s last week. Yay, Midwest! At any rate, while I definitely hit the soup hard in the winter months, I could easily eat it year-round.

I’ve mentioned many times how I like to make  brown rice, but that method doesn’t really work well when you’re making one-pot meals. I love making (or should I say, eating) an andouille/red bean/rice one-pot meal, but I often have more issues with it than not. I end up burning the bottom because the rice absorbed all the liquid before I had the chance to notice, or I take the pot off the heat and then realize as we’re about to eat it that, oops, the stupid brown rice is still not cooked. I sometimes parboil the rice, but then you have to worry about figuring out how much liquid to add and just…enough already.

This soup allows me to have all the flavor of that meal without any of the worry.  This soup is slightly spicy, very hearty, and quite delicious. This is definitely one of those meals you feed to someone who thinks soup doesn’t count as a meal. Between the sausage, brown rice, and beans, this one packs a protein punch and definitely fills you up. I use chicken andouille and since every other ingredient in this recipe is quite healthy, it also makes for a low-calorie meal. Score.

Andouille Soup with Red Beans and Rice

1 Tbsp. canola oil
12 oz. chicken andouille, sliced
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 Tbsp. Cajun seasoning, divided
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes (I usually use fire-roasted)
1 qt. chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 (14.5 oz.) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup brown rice
3 green onions, sliced

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the canola oil. Place the sausage in the pot and cook until nicely browned. Remove from the pot with a slotted spoon. If there is an excess amount of fat, drain it from the pot.

Reduce the heat to medium, and add the onion, bell peppers, and 1/2 Tbsp. (1.5 tsp.) of the Cajun seasoning. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are soft, about 5-7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the diced tomatoes, broth, bay leaf, remaining 1.5 tsp. Cajun seasoning, and kidney beans into the pot; stir the sausage back in.  Bring to a boil.

Place the brown rice in a small mesh strainer and run cold water over it until it runs clear, about 30 seconds. Add the brown rice to the soup. Simmer over medium-low until the rice is cooked, about 35-40 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Ladle into bowls and top with sliced green onions.

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Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole with Mushrooms

March 7, 2012 · 10 comments

in chicken/poultry,healthy,rice and grains

Mushrooms and hearty grains go together for me like peas and carrots. Except an earthy mushroom pilaf or something similar is way better than peas and carrots, of course.

The other day I got a craving for a homey, creamy casserole. And I really wanted wild rice. I sometimes get weird cravings.

This recipe is similar to ones you may have had from the Campbell’s site, but doesn’t use any processed ingredients. Instead of canned condensed soup, herbed chicken broth is thickened with a little flour, and milk is added in to make it a touch creamier. The mixture is combined with wild rice, brown rice, and chicken for a hearty meal. It tastes great, and you can feel good about eating it, too.

This dinner does take a bit of time to make, particularly since wild rice takes a while to cook. But, it’s definitely easy to pull together, and you can assemble it the night before you bake it. I did just that. If you’ve made soups and stews with rice and pasta before, you know they tend to absorb excess liquid in the fridge. So, the next day before baking, I poured about 1/4 cup of broth over the top of the casserole to combat any dryness. You don’t need to do this if you baking the casserole right after assembling it.

 

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole with Mushrooms

1/2 cup wild rice
1/2 cup brown rice
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. boneless/skinless chicken thighs or breasts
2 Tbsp. butter
1 lb. mushrooms, sliced
1 large leek, sliced
1/2 tsp. minced rosemary
1 tsp. minced thyme
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1/8 tsp. dried sage
1/4 cup sherry
3 Tbsp. flour
1.5 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup milk (or half and half or cream)
2 Tbsp. breadcrumbs
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
cooking spray oil

Bring a large pot with 5-6 qts. of water to a boil. Place the wild rice in a mesh strainer and rinse with cold water for about 30 seconds. Add the rice to the boiling water.

After 20 minutes, rinse the brown rice in the same manner and add to the same pot (you are not removing the wild rice). Simmer for 30 minutes. Drain the rice and then put it back into the pot; cover with the lid. Allow to rest for 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 and grease a 2 qt. baking dish with spray oil.

Meanwhile, heat a large saute pan or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the oil. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and then add to the oil. Cook through, about 5 minutes total. Remove the chicken from the pot.

Add the butter to the same pan you used to cook the chicken. Once melted, stir in the mushrooms and leeks. Cook until the mushrooms are tender and the moisture from the mushrooms has been evaporated. Stir in the rosemary, thyme, parsley, and sage. Then, add the sherry to the pan. Deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits and cook until sherry is nearly evaporated.

Sprinkle the flour over the mushrooms and then cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes. Add the chicken broth and stir until thickened. Pour in the milk and cook until warmed through and thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Combine the mushroom/broth mixture with the rice and chicken (and any accumulated juices). Pour into the baking dish.

Mix the breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese in a small bowl with a few turns of cracked pepper, and sprinkle over the top of the casserole. Spray with cooking oil.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until bubbly and the breadcrumbs are golden brown.

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Spetzofai (Greek Sausage and Peppers)

March 4, 2012 · 13 comments

in greek,pork

For once, I’m bringing you a dish with lots of peppers, NONE of which are poblano or jalapeno. After the last several weeks, where my blog stats indicated that the vast majority of people landed here by searching for something related to the word “poblano,” I felt like I better post a Greek recipe soon, so I don’t lose my Greek cred. ;)

Spetzofai is a very simple, rustic Greek dish of Greek sausage (loukaniko), peppers, and tomatoes.  Greek loukaniko is preferred for this recipe, but if you can’t find it, any sausage you want to use will be just fine. Loukaniko is usually flavored with orange zest (among many other herbs and spices) and my favorite type is a spicier version, one that we often just sliced into coins and fried up as appetizers before family dinners. (Yum.)

You can vary the heat level based on your own tastes, be in through the use of different peppers, using a spicier sausage, or even just something like crushed red pepper flakes. But no matter what, I always recommend a hunk of crusty bread for sopping up the sauce and some Greek cheese, of course.

Spetzofai

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1.5 – 2 lbs. loukaniko or other sausage, sliced into 2″ pieces
2 red bell peppers, cut into strips
2 green bell peppers, cut into strips
1 banana pepper, sliced into rings
1 large onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup water or broth
Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the oil. Once hot, brown the sausage on all sides (in batches, if necessary), and then remove to a plate. Pour off most of the fat.

To the pot, add the peppers and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to get tender. Stir in the garlic and oregano, and cook an additional 1-2 minutes.

Add the red wine and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the tomatoes and broth or water, along with salt and pepper to taste. Put the sausage back into the pot.

Bring the mixture to a low boil, and then cover with a lid. Simmer over low heat until the sauce is thickened and the sausages are cooked.

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Tex-Mex Slowcooker Stew (Soup)

February 29, 2012 · 9 comments

in chicken/poultry,crockpot,healthy,mexican/tex-mex,soups and stews

 

Last week, I started a new job. Although the hours are the same as my previous one, the commute is a little longer, so I’ve been getting home about 15 minutes before our normal dinnertime. Not cool.

It’s been really hard for me to think of meals that can be made in a minimal amount of time. One thing I’ve started doing is prepping as  much as I can in advance, whether that means trimming and pounding chicken at 6am, forming burger patties as my morning eggs cook, or assembling a baked pasta dish the night before that my husband can pop into the oven when he gets home.

And then, of course, there’s the slowcooker. So many people swear by them and, while I’m definitely using mine more frequently and finding more meals I enjoy from it, it’s still a struggle. It’s not just about finding a recipe that doesn’t use processed ingredients, but finding one that won’t dry up or turn into a pile of mush by the time you get home.

This recipe is a winner on so many levels. At the most basic – everyone in our family loved it. Always a huge success. The other great thing is there is no rice or pasta or really anything that has the potential of overcooking. While the original recipe calls for cooking the chicken on low for 4-6 hours, let’s be real. Most people can’t do that, and I’m one of them. Since the only thing really cooking all day is chicken, it’s not an issue to let this go the entire time you’re at work. Using chicken thighs, which have a much lower tendency to dry out than chicken breasts, really helps, too.

My stew is thinner and also redder than Josie’s, and that’s because I used tomato sauce in place of the diced tomatoes. You know how you always just assume you have staples around? Yeah, well, I definitely thought I had diced tomatoes and chicken broth and of course I realized at about 9:30pm the night before I made this that I had neither. I ended up subbing tomato sauce and Better Than Bouillon, which worked out fine, but the tomato sauce obviously made this more of a soup than a stew (which we were okay with).

The original recipe calls for microwaving the vegetables but I opted for sauteing them since it’s not much more difficult. I actually cooked them the night prior so that in the morning all I needed to do was dump everything into the slowcooker and turn it on.

I’m always SO happy when I find a slowcooker recipe that tastes great and is enjoyed by the whole family. I’m definitely glad to have this recipe in my back pocket!

Tex-Mex Chicken Stew/Soup

Adapted from Slow Cooker Revolution via Pink Parsley

1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 large onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 jalapenos, minced (seeds/ribs removed to your preference)
1 Tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
4 cups chicken broth
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained OR 1 (8 oz. or 14.5 oz.) can tomato sauce, for a more soup-like consistency
1/4 cup Minute Tapioca
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
3 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed
2 cups frozen corn
1 (14.5 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 chipotles in adobo, minced
cilantro to taste

Heat a saute pan over medium heat and add the oil. Once hot, stir in the onion, bell pepper, jalapenos, chili powder, cumin and cayenne. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add in tomato paste and garlic and stir about a minute longer. Empty the skillet into the slowcooker.

To the slowcooker, add the chicken broth, tomatoes, tapioca and brown sugar. Stir to combine, and then add the chicken thighs. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or longer (I cooked mine for nearly 10). Remove the chicken from the slowcooker and shred or dice into bite-sized pieces.

Add the chicken back into the slowcooker along with the corn, beans, and chipotles. Cover and cook on  high for about 10 minutes, or until heated through. Stir in cilantro and season to taste with salt and pepper.

 

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Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Zesty Dry Rub

February 26, 2012 · 7 comments

in healthy,pork,quick and easy

 

I bookmarked this recipe around Thanksgiving and I’m not entirely sure why. The original recipe is for a turkey breast, which I’ve never cooked and really have no intention of ever cooking, since we’ve don’t have small Thanksgiving get-togethers. Still, the ease and sound of the rub made the recipe too good to pass up.

Given that an entire turkey breast made for 2 adults and a toddler would yield entirely too many leftovers that I’d probably freeze and then completely forget about, I decided to go another route. I’d planned to make this with a turkey tenderloin. However, neither the butcher nor the regular grocery store  had a turkey tenderloin (or really anything involving turkey besides ground turkey), so I just used a pork tenderloin.

Pork tenderloins are one of my favorite proteins for many reasons: they’re quite mild, so they are very much a blank canvas and work with a multitude of flavors; they cook pretty quickly; they’re lean and healthy; one tenderloin is pretty much the perfect size for us, with my husband eating a bit more than me and my son eating a bit less. The main benefit for me, though, is that the vast majority of the time, I sear the tenderloin in my cast iron skillet and then, before putting it in the oven to finish up cooking, I throw whatever our sides will be right into the same pan (in this case, sweet potato wedges and brussels sprouts). They need about 5 minutes longer to cook than the tenderloin, which means you can remove the tenderloin and let it sit for that amount of time before slicing into it. Also? Only one pan to clean.

I halved the rub recipe and still had a little extra, but it’s easier than trying to figure out how to scale the recipe down to 40% or something. Plus, you can always use the extra rub on whatever you are cooking alongside the pork or save it for next time (assuming it hasn’t touched the raw pork, obviously).

We all really liked this rub. It was a tiny bit spicy, a little smoky, and the tang from the lime gave it a nice balance. I love allspice in pretty much any application, so it’s  no surprise that it was probably my favorite flavor on this pork tenderloin. It’s definitely more of a background flavor than a predominant one, but it’s definitely there and makes this all the better.

 

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Zesty Dry Rub

Adapted from Food Network via Our Life in Food

1 pork tenderloin (about 1 lb.)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Juice from 1 lime
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. allspice
1/8 tsp. cayenne

Preheat the oven to 425.

Rub the pork tenderloin on all sides with the olive oil and lime juice. Mix the remaining ingredients into a small prep bowl, and then rub the mixture all over the pork tenderloin.

Heat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the tenderloin. Sear on all sides, about 2-3 minutes per side. Place the whole pan in the oven to finish cooking the tenderloin, about 12-15 more minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer registers at 160.

Rest for 5-10 minutes under a foil tent before slicing.

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Not Your Usual Chicken Fajitas

February 22, 2012 · 11 comments

in chicken/poultry,healthy,mexican/tex-mex,quick and easy

 

I’ve mentioned previously that I’m not a fruit-with-my-meat kind of girl. It’s just never appealed to me. Everything from turkey with cranberry sauce to pork chops and apples just sounds…not good. I’ve tried a few variations and they’ve just never been my thing.

Pineapple on pizza is actually one of those things I file in the “gross” category. But, I kept trying pineapple in different combinations, and ended up thinking it was actually okay in more savory dishes. A week after I made (and enjoyed) a “Hawaiian” barbecue sauce with pineapple, I decided to try out this recipe.

While I have a standard chicken fajita recipe that I really enjoy (and other off-the-cuff versions I’ve thrown together many times) these are definitely different from others I’ve made. Let’s get the huge thing out of the way – they have no cheese. Crazy, I know. While they do include common fajita ingredients like peppers and onions, they’re also made with carrots, jicama, and pineapple.

To my own amazement, I really enjoyed these (did I also mention that I think carrots are, generally speaking, pretty blah?). The jicama and carrots were just slightly sweet and provided a bit of a crunch. The pineapple added a little sweetness, and the chipotle a great smokiness.

It was actually my intention to use steak in these fajitas, like in the original recipe, but Tom ended up making an impromptu trip to the butcher’s a night earlier in the week to pick up some grass-fed ribeyes (mmm). So, I decided to go with chicken thighs rather than eating red meat twice that week. I also amped up the meat content. I completely forgot to buy a jalapeno, so I ended up just using chipotle, which was perfect because it lent some smokiness to the dish, in addition to heat. I’ve actualy found chipotles to be my “gateway” ingredient when it comes to trying sweet things in savory dishes. It somehow makes adding them okay. Great, even.

Like Bittman suggested, we had these with some very simple guacamole, and I also made my “famous” beans, of course. Zachary loved this whole meal (I did take his portion out before adding the tequila since it didn’t cook for long after that) and kept asking for more of everything. More chicken! More pineapple! More beans! The kid loves Mexican-inspired food as much as I do, for which I’m very grateful. In fact, the other night, he was VERY upset about having to wash his hands before dinner (much like keeping socks on, it’s akin to torture) and in the middle of a whiny toddler temper tantrum, he managed to eek out “QUESADILLA!!” between cries (we were not actually having quesadillas that night, much to his disappointment).

Not Your Usual Chicken Fajitas

Adapted from Mark Bittman

4 tsp. canola oil, divided
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into strips
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 large bell pepper, cut into strips
1 chipotle in adobo, minced
1 large carrot, cut into sticks
5 oz. jicama (about half a jicama), cut into sticks
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup cubed pineapple (canned and packed in its own juice is fine)
3 Tbsp. lime juice
1/4 cup tequila
warmed tortillas and garnishes of your choice for serving

 

Season the chicken with salt and pepper.

Put a large skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium-high heat until it smokes. Add 2 tsp. of the oil and, a few seconds later, the chicken. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 3 minutes. Add the onion, bell peppers, chipotle, and garlic and cook, stirring, until they turn soft and golden brown, and chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove everything from the skillet.

Add the remaining 2 tsp. of oil to the skillet. Raise the heat to high and add the jícama and carrots. Stir immediately, then cook, stirring every 30 seconds or so, until the vegetables soften and begin to char slightly, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer everything to the plate with the chicken.

Add the pineapple, lime juice, and tequila to the skillet. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring to scrape any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan, until the glaze thickens a little. Return all the vegetables and meat to the pan and toss to coat with the lime and tequila mixture.

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Art Smith’s Goat Cheese Drop Biscuits

February 20, 2012 · 20 comments

in breads and muffins,goat cheese

I’m fortunate enough to live in a city with absolutely amazing cuisine. This presents (first world) problems,  however. How do we choose which restaurant to go to for my birthday? How will we ever have time to even make it to half the restaurants on our to-try list (a constantly expanding list I keep in Evernote, by the way)? How can we go back to a restaurant that was awesome, when there are so many other ones we want to try, too? I hear a lot of bloggers and good cooks say they rarely dine out because they can make better meals at home. I consider myself a good cook, but I don’t have that problem in the slightest.

Tom and I visited Table Fifty-Two, Art Smith’s restaurant focusing on Southern cuisine, quite a while ago. It was actually while I was hugely pregnant, and I remember this distinctly because the cab driver we had on the way home was telling us how he’d gotten into an accident once while he was driving a woman in labor to the hospital (a really great story choice on his part).

Unfortunately we haven’t been back, and it’s definitely not because we didn’t like it. We loved it, in fact, and do need to go back. Truly everything we had, from the goat cheese drop biscuits that are offered in place of bread, to the fried green tomato (my first!) to our soups, entrees, and the hummingbird cake that Tom ate on his own, despite our waiter’s urging that it could feed like 12 people. From start to finish, we had a great meal.

But the goat cheese biscuits? Those were really good. You obviously know what a huge goat cheese fan I am, and you should probably know I’m a huge carb fan, too. I already eat way too much “regular” bread at the start of a restaurant meal, so I was obviously all over these biscuits. They come to the table warm in small cast iron skillets. They are light, a little tangy, buttery, and fabulous.

I’ve been wanting to make these at home forever, but the extra large log of goat cheese I bought gave me the push I needed (I think we had 4 meals with goat cheese that week…). And I’m so glad. They were incredibly easy to make and turned out perfectly. I ended up freezing most of them (almost immediately, so I wouldn’t eat 8 at once) and I can’t wait to warm them up in the near future.

Goat Cheese Drop Biscuits

Source: Art Smith, via Oprah.com

2 cups self-rising flour (or make your own)
1 tsp. salt
4 Tbsp. cold butter
4 Tbsp. (2 oz.) goat cheese
1 cup buttermilk
extra butter for greasing the pan and topping the biscuits
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Place a 10-inch cast iron pan into the oven, and then heat the oven to 425°.

Place flour and salt into a medium-sized bowl. Cut in the butter and goat cheese with a pastry blender or two forks. Make a well in the middle of the ingredients and pour in the milk. Stir just until the mix is moistened, adding an extra tablespoon of milk if needed.

Remove the hot skillet from the oven and place a tablespoon of butter into it. When the butter has melted, drop 1/4 cupfuls of batter into the pan. Brush the tops of the biscuits with additional melted butter (I put 2 Tbsp. butter in the pan to melt, then poured off about half into a small bowl, using that portion to brush onto the biscuits).

Bake from 14–16 minutes until browned on the top and bottom. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.

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Goat Cheese-Stuffed Chicken Meatball Crostini for Courtney’s Virtual Baby Shower!

February 17, 2012 · 25 comments

in appetizers,chicken/poultry,healthy

 

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I love being a blogger. When I first started this little blog, it was basically to catalog my recipes. I was floored when I got my first comment (from someone I didn’t even know!) and continue to be amazed at how many people I’ve met through blogging. One of those people is my good friend, Courtney, who blogs at Cook Like a Champion. Courtney is pretty damn awesome. We chat via email on a daily basis and I really, really wanted to surprise her with a visit last weekend when a few other bloggers went, but I just couldn’t swing it because I didn’t have a job (something I have since remedied, phew).

Courtney (as you may have guessed by the title of this post) is pregnant! She is expecting her first baby—a girl—early in March. I couldn’t be more thrilled for her and her husband, Eric. She is going to be an amazing mom.

In food blogger fashion, many of us are getting together to celebrate Courtney virtually. Josie at Pink Parsley is hosting this baby shower, and I’m so happy to be participating!

I saw these chicken meatballs on Tastespotting not long ago, and they looked perfect. They’re healthy, pretty, and full of goat cheese. You can’t really go wrong. Like me, Courtney is a big goat cheese fan, so I knew I had to make these for her shower. I debated on how to present them, and ultimately ended up making them very portable and shower-friendly by placing them on crostini. The bread is lightly toasted in the oven and then rubbed with garlic, topped with a basil leaf, a spoonful of marinara, and then the meatball. I had originally intended on just doing a basil puree, but I liked the pop of red from the marinara, and felt these could use a little sauce, anyway.

I hope Courtney adores these bites as much as I adore her. :)  Please be sure to check Courtney and Josie’s blog for the full round-up of dishes for the shower!

Goat Cheese-Stuffed Chicken Meatball Crostini

Meatballs adapted from Inspired Taste

Meatballs
1 lb. ground chicken
1 /2 cup breadcrumbs
2 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers (about half a large pepper)
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. freshly chopped parsley
freshly ground pepper to taste
3 oz. goat cheese
1 Tbsp. olive oil (optional)

Assembly
20-25 slices of French bread, cut about 1/3″ wide
olive oil, for drizzling
1 clove garlic, halved
20-25 small leaves of basil
2/3 cup marinara sauce

 

Preheat the oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment or foil (spray lightly with oil, if using foil).

To  make the meatballs, lightly mix together the first 10 ingredients (through ground pepper). Form into 1-1.5″ meatballs (you’ll get about 25) and place on the baking sheet.

Break the goat cheese into several small pieces and place one piece on the top of each meatball, pressing down lightly. Drizzle with olive oil, if using (it will help with browning) and bake about 15 minutes, or  until cooked through.

Meanwhile, place the bread slices on a baking sheet and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Place in the oven for about 5 minutes or until crisp (just put them in during the last 5 minutes the meatballs are baking).

After you take the crostini out of the oven, rub it with the cut side of the garlic clove, while the bread is still hot.

To assemble: Place 1 basil leaf on top of each slice of toast. Top with about 2 tsp. of marinara sauce and 1 meatball.

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Breaded Buffalo Chicken with Avocado-Goat Cheese-Jicama Relish

February 14, 2012 · 18 comments

in chicken/poultry,goat cheese,quick and easy

Blogging for me lately has been a comedy of errors. I’ve been dealing with random kitchen disasters, taking horrible photos, or having some other  issue to keep me from blogging as much as I want. I’m sure part of it has to do with me trying to get “ahead” with some posts because I start a new job next week (yay!) and I’m anxious about having time to cook, since I’ll be getting home 10 minutes before our normal mealtime (boo).

Anyway, I debated blogging this. Not because it isn’t great  - I really loved it, in fact – but because part of the breading came off the chicken and I wasn’t happy about posting a picture of my patchy chicken (not to mention the photos themselves weren’t great).

chicken a la patchy

But then I decided to blog it. Because I think  you’ll really like this dish. Because not everything always goes perfectly for me. Because we really liked this dish. Because I wanted to post something new.

I made this same chicken the week or two prior and didn’t have any issues with the breading (should have photographed that round, clearly). I attribute the flaking breading this time either to using a different pan (my cast iron instead of my standard nonstick), or to the universe setting me up for kitchen failures lately. So, don’t worry too much about the breading staying on – it should. And if it doesn’t, well, you just cover it up with the relish. Or swear a few times and just deal with it.

I really like the spiciness of the buffalo chicken paired with the creaminess of the avocado and goat cheese. As you may remember, I’m not a blue cheese fan so although that’s the typical complement to buffalo, I always go for goat cheese. The jicama gives a nice crunch and starchiness, as does the radish (okay, I mostly added that for a little color). The relish is finished with a little lime zest to brighten everything up.

This chicken is fairly healthy, too. Using a nonstick skillet assures you use less oil but keep a crispy crust. Buffalo sauce allegedly has no calories (yeah, I know that’s not right, but that’s what it says on the bottle…). We had these with some corn fritter/cake thingies. Zachary was very upset at the end of this meal because he misunderstood that he was eating the corn cake and not that we would be having cake for dessert. Poor guy.

Buffalo Chicken with Avocado-Goat Cheese-Jicama Relish

4 medium chicken breasts, about 4-5 oz.
2/3 cup buffalo/wing sauce
1 cup breadcrumbs
2 Tbsp. canola oil
1 large avocado, diced
1 cup peeled and diced jicama (about 1/2 of a jicama)
3 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
2 radishes, thinly sliced and halved
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley or cilantro
Juice of 1-2 limes

Pound the chicken breasts to about 1/3″ thickness.*  Place in a dish or bag and toss with the buffalo sauce. (You can do this in advance and just leave in the fridge or do this in the beginning, before starting the rest of your meal).

Season the breadcrumbs with salt and pepper. Remove the chicken from the buffalo sauce and dredge in the breadcrumbs.

Add 1 Tbsp. canola oil to a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Once hot, place 2 of the chicken breasts in the oil. Cook until chicken is done, flipping once, approximately 3 minutes per side. Remove the chicken, add the remaining oil, and cook the second batch of chicken.

Meanwhile, make the relish. Combine the avocado, jicama, goat cheese, radishes, and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper to taste; add lime juice and lightly mix to combine.

Serve the relish on top of the buffalo chicken.

*If you don’t want to pound your chicken, pan-fry it as usual for about 2 minutes per side and then move to a 375° oven to finish cooking. If your chicken is too thick, the coating will burn before the inside is cooked thoroughly.

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