Ginger Soy Marinade

Ginger Soy Marinade
cilantro (2 frozen cubes if you don't have fresh on hand)
2 tsp minced garlic
1 TB honey
2 TB lite soy sauce
salt and pepper
3 TB olive oil
fresh lime juice and zest from 1/2 of a lime
2 tsp fresh finely chopped ginger
1 TB water

Mix all of the above ingredients together and use as a marinade or as a sauce to add once you've cooked your dish. I used a bunch of veggies and chicken breast and it worked really well. The sauce isn't too salty - I think adding the little bit of water helped and you could really taste the fresh ginger and citrus. The flavor might be a little bit strong for the lighter taste of shrimp, but maybe just use less of the sauce. Thankfully this sauce also doesn't get too thick or syrupy.

I had some leftover brown rice I was able to use but if you're making fresh rice you could try out this recipe here for Cilantro Lime Rice:
1 TB oil
1 cup rice
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
2-3 cloves garlic
2 TB fresh lime juice
zest from one lime
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 tsp salt

Heat the oil on low, add the garlic and rice - saute for about 2 mins. Add the broth, salt and lime juice, bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low for 15 minutes (depending on brown vs. white rice), when rice is done - add lime zest and cilantro, stir all together! Brown rice takes a lot longer to cook - so this recipe tends to work better with white but the extra flavors do nicely cover the sometimes grainy flavor of brown rice.

Spinach Chicken Parmesan

There are a few different ways to make chicken parmesan and although I don't make it the same way every time, there are some staples to what makes a good chicken parm! I usually try to add some veggies into the mix - be it spinach, or veggies into the tomato sauce, I feel better about eating this somewhat heavy dish when it has some nutritional value.

There's a little bit of prep involved with making chicken parm. One of the most important parts is having a good tomato sauce - whether it's a homemade sauce or your favorite pre-made tomato sauce, or just some diced tomatoes sauteed with herbs and garlic - just make sure it's the sauce you like best! This time around I just sauteed some diced cherry tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, and basil instead of making up a big batch of tomato sauce.

As you can see above, putting the chicken together is the other important part of the dish! You should take out two shallow bowls - in one you can whisk up an egg with a couple TB of milk, and in the other just some italian seasoned breadcrumbs. If you're using thicker chicken breasts, you'll want to slice in half horizontally so that they don't take forever to cook through. In a saute pan, over medium heat, add a couple TB of olive oil. Dip the chicken breasts in the egg wash first, then the breadcrumbs, then transfer to the hot pan. You don't have to worry about cooking the chicken 100% through because it will continue to bake through when you put the dish in the oven, but you'll probably cook for about 5-6 mins per side.

Dinner with Friends - you don't always have to go out!

Sometimes I find myself looking at my calendar and finding that I have dinner plans every night in a given week - I don't like to go out to dinner that much so if I'm making after-work plans a good solution is cooking in! It's more affordable and certainly better for you - and your apartment is definitely BYOB!

Months ago my coworker had me over her condo for dinner - and given the late spring timing, we tried out a dish with cherries, which we both really ended up enjoying. It was good for after work too because it didn't take too long to put together. Ever since this dinner whenever cherries are on sale I try to find a new dish to try with them - they're not just for making pies!

We prepped the ingredients first - pitted and sliced the cherries in half, sliced some red onion, made a simple champagne vinaigrette dressing and tossed everything together with arugula.

Cilantro Feta Stuffed Chicken

As promised, here is one of the dishes I made using my cilantro pesto! I'm totally into these flavors now, so watch out for more recipes using the cilantro pesto!

Cilantro Feta Stuffed Chicken with Cilantro Rice and Sauteed Fajita Veggies

Stuffed Chicken:
1 chicken breast
2 cilantro pesto cubes
1 TB feta
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil
1 TB fresh lime juice

Veggies:
2 cups mixed veggies - zucchini, red pepper, mushroom
1 TB olive oil
2 TB coconut milk
1/2 tsp garlic
1 TB fresh lime juice

My first attempt at Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

When I was on my winter break from grad school last year I made a list of recipes I wanted to try to cook - Stuffed Cabbage Rolls was on that list. Sadly, I never made it that far down the list though and so, here I am today, finally able to say that I have made stuffed cabbage rolls! I'm not even sure I made them in the traditional manner - but my version came out quite tasty, if I may say so myself. You could easily make these with a ground pork or ground meat instead, but I liked the ground chicken.

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
1 TB olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 tsp chicken bouillon
1 cup rice, cooked
1/2 cup mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 tsp garlic
Napa Cabbage leaves
1/2 lb. ground chicken
1 tsp dried parsely
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt and couple grinds of fresh pepper
1 egg
3 TB ricotta cheese
1 1/4 cup homemade tomato sauce
2 TB parmesan cheese

Thai Peanut Noodle Salad

Because I took care of my St. Patty's Day green recipe quota last week with my Green Chocolate Chip Cookies, I'm all set for this week and allowed to make this thai recipe instead! I was supposed to have friends over for dinner last Friday but due to a second cold over a two week span, I had to cancel sadly. Rescheduled for last night, I was so excited to try out this recipe. A big thank you to Our Best Bites for the inspiration for this recipe, and to my friends for helping me chop all of the vegetables and for bringing some lovely wine!

Some things to note: This is a big recipe - there were just 3 of us and we easily had 2 or 3 portions left. We all agreed that this would be a good picnic recipe because the combination of cabbages would hold up to the sauce and not wilt over a period of time. There's a lot of ingredients here so don't be daunted - it just takes a bit of time to get everything chopped up. If you're pressed for time you can definitely make the dressing ahead of time so you don't have to worry about that part later.

Thai Peanut Noodle Salad
8 oz. linguini fini (a bit thinner than regular linguine) - we used about half of the box
3 cups shredded napa chinese cabbage
1 cup chopped romaine lettuce
2 cups thinly sliced purple cabbage
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 cup baby carrots, thinly sliced
1/2 cucumber, halved and then sliced
1/3 cup red onion, very thinly sliced
1 chicken breast (marinated in a bit of OJ, soy  
                                                                                       sauce and garlic), grilled and sliced
                                                                                       1/2 cup honey roasted peanuts, chopped a bit

End of the Week, More Ground Turkey

At the end of my first full week at the new job I had some ground turkey I needed to use so I decided to make a good ole standby - ground turkey mexican soup. It's sort of a cross between a chicken tortilla soup and a chili - and it's fairly quick and I usually have all the ingredients on hand without having to make an extra trip to the grocery store.  When my parents came down on Saturday to help me go couch shopping I was able to offer up this homemade soup for lunch!

Turkey Fiesta Soup
1 lb. lean ground turkey (or chicken!)
1 green pepper, chopped
1/2 white onion, chopped
2 scallions, chopped
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 cup black beans
1 can petite cut tomatoes, no salt added (plus one can full of water)
1 package, ortega chili seasoning mix
Dash of cumin, paprika, salt and pepper
1/2 tsp. chicken bouillon paste
1/3 cup frozen corn
1 TB fresh lime juice
Garnishes: shredded cheddar, chopped scallion, cubed avocado, fresh diced tomato, sour cream

Chicken Sausage and Peppers over Rice

Finding a healthy chicken/turkey sausage was difficult, but I think the thin'n'trim brand makes some pretty good versions. I had a big combo pack of red and green peppers from a trip to the grocery store earlier in the week - and for one person to use 4 peppers in a week before they go bad is a challenge! I had to think of some dishes that highlighted the peppers and wouldn't just use a little bit of one of them chopped up. I also had to come up with some weeknight meals that didn't utilize a microwave (I don't have mine yet) and were pretty quick. Chicken sausage and peppers was the perfect solution! I would also like to point out that, thankfully, my smoke alarm was not set off by this meal!

Chicken Sausage and Peppers over Rice
2 chicken sausage links
2 peppers (I used one each, red and green)
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup sliced red onion
Dash of salt and pepper
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp each - dried parsley and basil
1 TB red wine
1 package Carolina Saffron Yellow Rice (or any other kind of rice you'd like really)

First off, let me apologize for my extended absence! Between the new job, commuting from NH, moving and Comcast not showing up, I've had very little access to personal internet business! But alas - I am back! I won't have Comcast at my apartment until Saturday, but I'm making it work.

This past weekend my family celebrated yet another 60th Birthday in the family - for my Uncle Fred, my dad's sister's husband. I've been wanting to make this sweet potato and chili dish for a family party for a while, so with the lingering cold temperatures I thought this would be great timing. I saw this dish on one of Rachel Ray's shows last fall as a special dish for an adult Halloween party because of it's bright orange color and hearty welcoming flavors! I've made it a few times now and each time it's come out a little different, probably as a result of my tendency to change recipes to see if I can make them better. This weekend's attempt was successful, though I think I added a bit too much tomato paste and so, the recipe below, reflects this change. As I'm sure you know by now, I don't like spicy either - so I cut way down the amount of ground chili the recipe calls for, but if you like spice - feel free to add more!

Chicken Chili and Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie
I would like to note that I am not a fan of Shepherd's Pie, so do not be turned off by it's name. It's basically just a layered casserole sort of dish, with the chicken chili on the bottom, topped with the mashed sweet potato mixture and finished with some grated cheese. Yummmmy!

Original Rachel Ray Recipe
(My ingredient portions are cut in half)

Easy Weeknight Dinner - Greek Turkey Burgers

This dish is a great weeknight meal that can be put together quickly - and on top of that, it's healthy! Probably a couple years ago I stopped using ground hamburg in my meals, and instead, replaced it with ground chicken or turkey when a recipe called for it. It's a great substitution - I feel better eating it and I like the taste of it better than red meat! This recipe makes 4 good size turkey burgers (at just 300 calories each!) or you can make meatballs with the mix as well. The ingredients actually go really well with a red sauce and pasta if that's what you're in the mood for.

Boxed Brownies in a pinch

I'm sure there have been plenty of times that you've passed by all of the boxed goods in the baking aisle and thought to yourself, can people really tell if I've made something from the box or from scratch? I think that if you're used to eating desserts from scratch you can tell sometimes - but in a time crunch, boxed brownies can definitely be a substitute. I did a test run tonight on one way to doctor up a box brownie mix to make it your own and make it a little more presentable than just the plain brownies. If I ever make box brownies, the least I do is add chopped walnuts, raisins, chocolate chips or peanut butter chips. I've read about adding butter and rum, espresso, peanut butter, crushed candy bars - you can be really creative here even if you don't have the time to make a batch from scratch. This time around I decided to test out a cheesecake brownie with this box of Betty Crocker Fudge Brownies. My dad knew immediately that it was a batch of box brownies, but my mother and I were pleasantly surprised with how good they turned out given they were from a box!

Messiest Chicken Roaster Ever!

I've always struggled with getting my chicken roaster to taste as flavorful as I want it to - without adding a whole lot of gravy, that is. I've tried a lot of recipes - lemon basil, brined, butter rubbed - and now . . . Tandoori Rubbed! You definitely have to like Indian flavors and spices to get into this meal - but I thought it was a great alternative to the usual roaster meal. The only thing I wish was that every single roaster came with a pop-up to tell you when it was done. I still haven't mastered the art of being able to tell when my roaster is just done perfectly, but I've adjusted this recipe so that you can try your best at a nice juicy chicken roaster! We made sandwiches with this roaster, but you could also make it into a Sunday dinner by pairing it with something like a coconut basmati rice and vegetables.

Picking up where I left off

After going to a Winter Farmer's Market in Raymond, NH this past weekend I was inspired to try out some new recipes this week for dinner. I found lots of winter root vegetables, Macintosh apples from the fall harvest still and some homemade blueberry jam. Once I returned home I was determined to plan out our entire week of dinners, which was only complicated by the fact that our oven broke on Sunday! Some of you may have seen the start of this on facebook, but to recap:

Sunday: Roasted Chicken with Apple Chutney, Mashed Root Vegetables and Sauteed Brussel Sprouts with Baked Apples for dessert!

Cooking is all about innovation and creativity. With the oven broke I decided to sear the chicken (bone-in chicken breasts) first in a hot pan on the stove, and finished under the broiler - making sure not to keep the pan too close to the top.

The Mashed Root Vegetables drove this menu. I bought a Rutabaga at the farmer's market and had never cooked with it before - so I went in search of a recipe to use it. My dad recently bought a vegan cookbook (The Vegan Table) thinking it was a vegetarian one - but as it turns out the book is full of these great, healthy recipes. This is where the recipe came from - except I substituted all of the animal products I wanted for their ingredients - no butter substitute for me, thank you!