Honey Chicken Stir Fry

Tags

carrot, chicken, chicken stir fry, dinner, easy dinner, food, foodie, honey chicken, meal, quick and easy, quick dinner, red bell pepper, soy sauce, stir fry, yellow carrot, zucchini

Finally back in the kitchen! I haven’t taken a complete hiatus, but I haven’t cooked anything new over the holidays. Our lives are busy, I never feel like I get as much do as I actually want to get done. So it’s time to start prepping meals ahead of time.
I like to buy and cut/slice/dice veggies and chicken ahead of time and vacuüm seal them for later use. This is a fantastic use of a surplus of summer veggies, just vacuüm seal and freeze. Stir fries, casseroles and soup tend to be the best meals to prepare this way, as well as anything you want to put over pasta or rice. Tonight’s dinner was simple to cook, since I prepped everything ahead of time.*

Honey Chicken Stir Fry

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil, 2 Tbsp. soy sauce, 5 Tbsp. honey, 1 tsp. minced garlic, 1 tsp. minced ginger, 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, 1 orange carrot, 1 yellow carrot, 1 zucchini, 1/2 red bell pepper, green beans, steamed brown rice

Directions:
Cut, dice, slice, julienne and chop veggies anyway you like (I played around with all of these techniques, have I mentioned before that I love my crinkle cutter and julienne peeler?). Cut chicken into small pieces. Warm oil, garlic, and ginger in wok. Add soy sauce and honey and stir until dissolved. Add chicken pieces and cook until chicken is done. Add veggies and sauté until tender. Serve over hot brown rice.

*Disclaimer: I did find the yellow carrots already sliced in the freezer section, this was a score because I love love love them and can never find them in our regular produce section. That’s one root veggie I plan to grow this year.

What’s on your dinner plate?

Summer Veggie Pasta

Tags

dinner, food, foodie, light fare, lunch, pasta, postaday2011, recipe, side dishes, sugar snap peas, tomatoes, vegan, vegetarian, White Cat wine, zucchini

Everyone has their own favorite summer veggie pasta dish, the perfect light balance for a hot summer evening. Mine always varies depending on which fresh vegetables I harvest from my garden or purchase at the farmer’s market.

I prepared the linguini al dente according to package directions. Then, I sautéed a small minced shallot in White Cat wine (I also love cooking with Red Cat wine) and added fresh sugar snap peas, wedges tomatoes and sliced zucchini. I sprinkled in some dried basil (from a plant I harvested earlier this summer). Finally, I tossed the pasta into sautéed veggies and served with fresh grated pecorino romano.

White Cat Summer Veggie Pasta

This would be really excellent with shrimp… mmm… Too bad Hubster needs to eat too…

What fresh vegetables are in your summer veggie pasta dish this week?

Fresh Corn & Zucchini Salad

Tags

barbacue, BBQ, corn, food, foodie, lunch, picnic, postaday2011, recipe, relish, salad, side dishes, vegetarian, zucchini

Summer is unofficially here… Grilling food is the main way to keep temperature cool indoors. Now just add the sun and salad side dishes.  Last year, my sister made a delicious corn salad for our 4th of July picnic. This isn’t the same dish, but it did inspire mine…

Fresh Corn & Zucchini Salad

Ingredients:
6 ears of corn (some yellow and some white), 2 zucchini, 1/4 c. fresh parsley, 1 bunch green onions, 2 tsp. Dijon mustard, 2 tsp. sugar, 1 tsp. cumin, 1/2 tsp. hot sauce, 1/2 c. vinegar, 1/2 c. vegetable oil, fresh ground sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper

Directions:
Cook corn and slice off ears. Peel and chop zucchini. Chop green onions and parsley. To make dressing, mix together mustard, sugar, cumin, hot sauce, vinegar, oil, salt and pepper. Mix ingredients together and keep chilled.

Next time I think I’ll add some red pepper to the mix.

What’s your favorite corn recipe?

Roast Chicken Dinner

Tags

carb free. diet, cauliflower, cauliflower mash, dinner, food, foodie, low carb, mashed cauliflower, recipe, roast chicken, roast zucchini, roasted vegetables, roasting, side dish, supper, vegetable, zucchini

Last night’s dinner was simple, roast chicken, mashed cauliflower and roast zucchini. Chicken and zucchini are often served in our household, however, I haven’t made mashed cauliflower in a while (I’ve been making my MIL Cauliflower Casserole ), then I saw this post and started craving my creamy mashed cauliflower.

 

Roast Chicken with Roast Zucchini Spears & Mashed Cauliflower

 

Roast Chicken Ingredients:
1 roasting chicken, 2 c. apple juice, 1/8 c. dark brown sugar, 1 Tbsp. chili powder, 1 Tbsp. paprika, 1/2. Tbsp. ground cumin, 1/2 tsp. garlic powder, fresh crackled black pepper, fresh ground sea salt.

Roast Chicken Directions:
Preheat oven 325ºF. Remove gizzards and rinse chicken. Place chicken on rack in roasting pan and pour apple juice into pan. Mix together remaining ingredients to create the rub mixture. Rub some of the seasoning under the chicken’s skin. Press skin back into place and rub seasoning all over the outside of the chicken. Bake (uncovered) for about 1 hour or until meat thermometer reaches appropriate temperature, juices should run clear when stuck with a knife. Baste occasionally. Remove chicken from oven and cover. Let chicken rest for 15 minutes before carving.

Roast Zucchini Spears Ingredients:
3 zucchini, extra virgin olive oil,  fresh ground sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper

Roast Zucchini Spears Directions:
Cut zucchini into spears and toss with olive oil. Spread out on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Bake at 425ºF for about 15 minutes (depends on how thick your spears are). Serve hot.

Mashed Cauliflower Ingredient:
1 head of cauliflower, 1 c. sour cream, 2 Tbsp. dried dill weed

Mashed Cauliflower Directions:
Cut cauliflower into small pieces. Steam until soggy. Place cauliflower and remaining ingredients into a food processor and blend. You can also mash the cauliflower by hand, but the food processor is a bit quicker. Serve hot.

Even though life is really hectic now, I feel better if I take a little time to cook. Now if only my dishes wold do themselves…

What is currently keeping you busy?

Minestrone

Tags

carrots, celery, Garbanzo beans, minestrone, recipe, red kidney beans, shell pasta, soup, tomatoes, vegetable soup, vegetarian, vegetarian recipe, vegetarian soup, zucchini

Hubster asks how can I eat hot soup in the summer? With fresh vegetables at fingertips length, how can you not make a minestrone?

The zucchini was fresh from my neighbor’s garden.

Minestrone

Ingredients:
2 zucchini, 4 carrots, 3 celery stalks, 3 tomatoes, 2 c. dark red kidney beans, 2 c. garbanzo beans, 1 bag fresh spinach, 2, Tbsp., butter, 3 Tbsp. minced onions, 1 tsp. dried sage, 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp. thyme, pepper, salt, 1/2 lb. small shells, 6 c. water

Directions:
Dice the tomatoes, chop celery and slice carrots. Sauteé vegetables with butter. Add minced onions, herbs, bay leaves, salt, pepper and water and bring to a boil. Cut zucchini into half moons. Remove bay leaves and add zucchini and spinach to soup and continue to slowly boil until zucchini is tender. Add beans and pasta and boil for 10 minutes.

Top with fresh grated pecorino romano cheese and serve hot.

Serve with homemade crackers or bread. Mmm…

What hot dishes do you still like to enjoy during the summer?

Hot CousCous Salad

Tags

CousCous, dinner, grilling, hearts of palm, lunch, pot luck, recipe, salad, side, side dish, side dishes, zucchini

I was grilling chicken and steak and needed a quick hearty side to serve with dinner. I grabbed a few of my favorite ingredients and mixed together a Hot CousCous Salad. Hearts of palm was actually on sale at the grocery store, score! I love adding them to my salads.

Hot CouCous Salad

Ingredients:
3 c. cooked CousCous, 1 zucchini, 10 cherry tomato, 3 hearts of palm, 1 c. Feta, 3 Tbsp. EVOO, 1 Tbsp. lemon juice, 1 tsp. dried oregano, 1 tsp. dried parsley, 1 tsp. marjoram, 1 clove of garlic

Directions:
Cut zucchini in half lengthwise and grill. Dice zucchini and add to bowl. Slice cherry tomatoes in half. Slice hearts of palm. Mince garlic. Combine all ingredients in bowl, serve hot.

*I ran out of cherry tomatoes, so I diced a medium tomato.

Chicken Vesuvius

Tags

artichoke hearts, asparagus, chicken, crab meat, Entertaining, hollandaise, risotto, zucchini

Chicken Vesuvius has been one of my favorite dishes at Georgine’s (restaurant) for a long time. Many restaurants have their own variations with not only the dish, but also the name. I’ve been wanting to make my own variation based on my favorite flavor combinations. One of my friends was joining us for dinner and what better time to try a new dish then for company?

My Chicken Vesuvius is a chicken breast topped with jumbo lump crab meat, asparagus, artichoke hearts, and hollandaise sauce. I served this with an Italian risotto (the first time I ever made it) and steamed zucchini. *Next time I would like to add sautéed grape tomatoes and Kalamata olives.

I made my hollandaise sauce by whisking 4 eggs yolks over low heat and adding hot water one spoonful at a time. When the sauce thickened I added warm lemon juice and removed from the heat as I continued whisking. Then, I added about a 1/2 cup of melted butter. I kept the sauce warm until ready to plate the meal.

Starting the Risotto

Risotto on the Way…

I cooked the chicken by dipping the breasts into eggs, then flour, and frying it in olive oil. The finished dish is layered upon the plate, so I can omit any ingredients the diner does not wish.

I started the risotto by sautéing fresh chopped basil and minced onions in the olive oil. Once the flavors were married, I added the short grain rice into the olive oil and sautéed until the rice was opaque in color. Then, I stirred in Italian blend seasoning and added chicken broth (Next time, I will start with a cup of white wine before adding the broth). I brought the risotto to a boil and then simmered it low, adding chicken broth as needed. Once the dish was almost done, I stirred in Parmesan and Romano cheeses. *Something I remember seeing the chef (where I used to wait) do, is add a bit of heavy cream at the end of the cooking time; next time I’d like to try that. Once plated, I topped with chopped parsley and fresh grated Gruyère.

Steaming Veggies

*I used my crinkle cutter to slice the zucchini before steaming. I love using the tool for an unexpected touch of added texture.

I forgot to take a picture until after we had started to dig into the dish.

One saucepan, one frying pan, a pasta pot, two steamers and two pots later. Voilà! My Chicken Vesuvius (and sides) looked beautiful! Everything tasted really great! I definitely want to add the cream to the risotto next time. A multilevel bamboo steamer might also help cut down on the amount of pots & burners being used.

Half-Polished Off Dish

XOXO,
Young Wifey