Savory Strawberry Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, rinsed and patted dry
Strawberries, a few per serving, cleaned and sliced thick (or leave whole if they are small)
2 T. strawberry jelly/jam/preserves
1/4 cup lemon Juice
1/4 cup diced onion



Spice rub
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. curry powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. kosher salt

Preheat: 400F
Heat a medium skillet on medium-high. Rinse chicken and pat dry, then roll in brown sugar mixture. Place chicken in hot skillet and sear, undisturbed, for about a minute. Flip and sear other side, about a minute, then turn heat down to medium and add strawberry jam and lemon juice. Stir until jam has melted into liquid, flipping chicken breasts to coat. Place chicken into glass baking dish and drizzle sauce over top.

Add strawberry slices to hot skillet and sear on each side for a few seconds. Carefully place slices on top of chicken, sprinkle with onion, and place in oven for 20-25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.


Slice chicken on a diagonal, drizzle with sauce, and top with strawberries.

Served with strawberry salad and bread.

Roasted Stuffed Cornish Game Hens

Made this for our Valentine's Day dinner <3 It's for 2, (of course!) with leftovers, but also easy to increase. Just make sure the hens don't touch when roasting, and don't crowd the pan when searing! Do that part in batches if you're preparing more than two.

• 2 Cornish game hens, rinsed and patted dry
• Sweet & Savory Stuffing, or whichever stuffing you prefer
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
• 1 tsp. rubbed sage
• 1 T. olive oil
• 2 bacon slices, halved

Preheat: 400°F. Sprinkle the cavity of each hen with a little salt and pepper. Stuff the hens and close the cavity with toothpicks, turkey lacers, or you can do what I did and skewer it closed with a bunch of little pieces of spaghetti ;) I like this option because it's not necessary to remove afterward because the cooking softens the spaghetti.

Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Mix salt, pepper, and rubbed sage together in a small bowl and sprinkle over hens. Place into skillet (2 at a time) and sauté about 10 minutes, turning often with a wooden spoon, being careful not to tear the skin. When nicely browned, place hens onto a rimmed baking sheet, breast side up. Place two bacon strip halves on each breast. Roast about 45 minutes, or until cooked through and juices run clear when thigh is pierced.

Served with asparagus, spicy corn, and fruity pecan & feta salad.

Adapted from Epicurious

Slow-Cooker Pork & Chicken With Peanut Sauce

Been taking it a little too easily lately, but finally made something tonight worth sharing! I am forever indebted to the friend who referred me to Crockpot365. Stephanie spent an entire year using her slow-cooker every day, and there are countless amazing recipes on her blog. Not only did I have no clue regarding the extent of what you can make in a Crock-Pot, but I also learned they cost about 2 cents an hour to run. That alone is fantastic, not to mention the extra time, flavor, and ease. There are a lot of recipes I want to try from Crockpot365, but so far I've just made one (and it's awesome! I definitely recommend checking out her blog). I changed it a bit, as I tend to do...

• Cubed chicken (I cubed a boneless skinless chicken breast and a boneless pork chop, but you can use either. Chicken thighs are actually better for the Crock-pot, but I didn't have any problems with the chicken drying out)
• Chopped onion (I used about half of one)
• 1/2 T. ground cumin (use more if you like)
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 2-3 T. lime juice
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• couple shakes of red pepper flakes (optional)

Put everything in the Crock-Pot and stir together as best you can. Don't worry about clumps. I cooked this on high about 4 hours, or you can cook it on low 6-8 hours. I was inspired at the last minute to throw in some frozen broccoli florets and was glad I did, as I didn't have the bell pepper the original recipe called for. I served this over rice noodles, but you could also serve it over rice.

not the best picture, but omg I was hungry.

Original Recipe

Southwest Baked Chicken

Servings: 4

• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine first 8 ingredients in a small bowl. Rub over all sides of chicken and place in glass casserole dish. Roast chicken in oven until no longer pink, about 40 minutes. Transfer to serving platter.

Served with sweet & tangy carrots, country green beans, and pan-fried potatoes.
recipe for sides below.

adapted from food.com 

Chicken and Gravy

2 Servings

• 1 garlic clove, minced and mashed to a paste with 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. crumbled dried thyme
• 4 tsp. lemon juice
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 T. vegetable oil
• 1/2 T. unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 T. all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 tsp. dried parsley

• Accompaniment: cooked rice

In a shallow bowl stir together garlic paste, thyme, and 3 teaspoons lemon juice. Add chicken, turning to coat, and marinate, covered, 15 minutes. Pat chicken dry. 

In a 9-inch heavy skillet heat oil and butter over moderately high heat until foam subsides and sauté chicken until golden, about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer chicken with tongs to a plate. Add flour to skillet and cook roux over moderately low heat, whisking, 3 minutes. Whisk in broth and remaining teaspoon lemon juice in a stream, whisking until gravy is smooth. Return chicken to skillet with any juices accumulated on plate and simmer, covered, 15 minutes, or until springy to the touch and just cooked through.

Stir in parsley and serve over rice.

source

 mmmm... carbs.

Served this with Jamaican Carrots- quick, easy, sweet & spicy!

Creamy Spinach Pasta

Created this last night to use up some leftover frozen spinach.

1/4 cup olive oil
1-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup cooked spinach
4 oz. cream cheese
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup parmesan
cooked pasta (penne, ziti, rotini, etc.)
kosher salt
fresh-ground pepper

Heat olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly tanned and fragrant, a few minutes. Add spinach and stir, mixing it with the garlic and coating the spinach with oil. Cook until heated through, a few minutes, and add cream cheese. Kick the heat up to medium-high and combine with spinach until cheese is melted. Add milk, a little at a time, until it becomes a creamy, sauce-like consistency. Add parmesan, salt and pepper to taste and continue cooking until heated through. If it is too thick, add more milk. Combine with noodles and mix thoroughly.


I served this with some garlic bread, and since I wanted to serve the pasta as an entree I added chicken. You could use leftover chicken; just cut into bite-size pieces. I poured a little bit of lemon juice over a chicken breast, ground some pepper over it and stuck it in the oven as I was doing my prep work and it was done at just the right time. I cut it into bite-size pieces and added it into the spinach mixture just before adding the noodles. It was wonderfully juicy from the poaching, and the lemon juice gave it a nice citrusy kick to cut through the heaviness of the cheeses. For extra flavor, sear the chicken for a minute on each side in a hot skillet before putting it in the oven.

Pretzel-Crusted Chicken Breasts With Cheddar Mustard Sauce (Rachael Ray)

This is absolutely delicious <3 I omitted the pickle and lemon, and my thyme and parsley were dried instead of fresh, because that shit's expensive, and I'm not doing the whole greenhouse thing. Yet. Anyway, you can substitute 1 tsp. dried herbs to 1 T. fresh. Also, I added a dash of nutmeg to the cheese sauce.

Ingredients

• 4 quart-size plastic food storage bags
• 4 small, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 5-ounce bag of salted pretzels, any shape
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 eggs
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups milk
• 3/4 pound, about 2 1/2 cups, sharp yellow cheddar cheese, shredded
• 2 heaping tablespoons spicy brown mustard
• 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley leaves, a generous handful, chopped
• 1/4 small yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 large sour dill pickle, finely chopped
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

---

Preparation

 

Preheat a large non-stick skillet with a 1/4-inch of vegetable oil over medium-high heat.
Sprinkle a little water into four medium food storage baggies. Place 1 chicken breast in each bag and seal it up, pushing out excess air. Use the bottom of a heavy pot or pan and pound each breast until flat, just shy of busting out of the bag. Repeat with the other 3 chicken breasts.

Place the pretzels in a food processor or blender and grind until fine. Transfer the ground pretzels to a shallow dish, add the thyme and some salt and pepper. Crack and beat 2 eggs in a second shallow dish with a splash of water. One at a time, coat each chicken breast in the egg and then the ground pretzels.

Add the pretzel-coated chicken breast to the hot oil. Cook in a single layer, in 2 batches if necessary, about 3 or 4 minutes on each side, until the juices run clear and breading is evenly browned.
While the chicken is frying, in a medium saucepot over medium heat, melt the butter and add the flour to it. Cook flour and butter for 1 minute and then whisk in the milk. When the milk comes to a bubble, stir in the cheese and mustard with a wooden spoon. Season with a little salt and pepper, and remove cheese sauce from the heat.

Transfer the fried pretzel-crusted chicken breast to a serving plate, drizzle with the mustard cheddar sauce, then sprinkle with a little parsley, finely chopped onion and sour dill pickle. Serve lemon wedges alongside.

Yields: 4 servings

original source

Easy Santa Fe Chicken

serves 4


4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
15 oz. can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
8.75 oz can whole kernel corn, drained
1 large red bell pepper, cut into bite-size pieces
1 large avocado, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
salsa

Prepare chicken any way you like- I usually grill it with the trusty ol' George Foreman. You can mix the rest of the ingredients together in a bowl, or you can keep them separate and allow everyone to top their own chicken breast to their liking. I like to keep everything in its own bowl, with the exception of mixing the red pepper in with the corn. Delicious, easy, and light!

Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

serves 2


2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
flour
2 T. canola oil
       (note: for a healthier alternative, omit flour and oil, and fire up the ol' George Foreman grill!)
hot sauce (I like Frank's and Crystal's)
2 hamburger buns
Bleu cheese or Ranch dressing
celery and carrot sticks (optional)

Heat canola oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Dredge chicken breasts in flour and add to skillet. Cook, turning once, about 4-5 minutes per side, or until internal temperature reaches 160F. Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon butter in small saucepan or in microwave and add 1/4 cup hot sauce. If it is too spicy, add more butter. If it is not spicy enough, add more hot sauce. Remove cooked chicken breasts from skillet and coat in sauce mixture. Place on buns and drizzle remaining sauce over chicken, or over veggies, if desired. Top chicken with Bleu cheese, plus more on the side for veggie-dippin'!