Thai Chicken Tacos

This isn't authentic Thai (go figure...) but it has a lot of Thai flavors in it.  It was a delicious meal that was fairly simple to make.  I love tacos and Thai food so this seemed like a fairly good choice for dinner tonight.

The marinade/sauce I made for the chicken was a bit spicy.  (And we even topped the tacos with more sriracha!)  You can certainly adapt this to your taste if you prefer something different.  If you're not into spice, cut back on the sriracha.

We topped our tacos with cucumber, carrot, and green onion.  Overall it was very tasty and a bit different than the tacos I usually make.  The crunchy veggies were a great contrast to the warm, saucy chicken.  Jeremy usually isn't a big fan of cucumber but he thought it went really well in the tacos.  He agreed that this recipe will have to be made again. :)

I served this with a side of brown rice because we had only thawed one chicken breast.  We used less chicken and more veggies in our tacos and we got 6 tacos out of the one chicken breast.  The rice was just made according to the package (although I added 1/2 tsp. of parsley flakes and a 1/2 tsp. of sliced green onion).  It was a delicious side to the tacos.

Recipe:
1 tbs. soy sauce
1 tbs. sriracha (plus more for topping, optional)
1 tbs. honey
1/2 tbs. fish sauce
1/2 tbs. brown sugar
zest and juice of 1 lime
1/2 tsp. thai curry paste
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 chicken breast, cut into thin slices
1/2 tsp. cornstarch
2 tbs. water
5" soft corn tortillas*
2 green onions
roughly 3" of cucumber
1 medium carrot, peeled

1. Mix the soy sauce, sriracha, honey, fish sauce, brown sugar, zest and juice of the lime, thai curry paste, and minced garlic in a bowl large enough to hold both the liquid and the chicken.  Add the chicken and mix to combine.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours (until you're ready to cook).
2. Thinly slice the green onion, cucumber, and carrot.  (I used a mandolin so the cucumber and carrots were julienned... but you could do this with a knife -- it would just take longer. I used a knife to slice the green onion on the bias.  You just want very thin slices so each bite isn't overwhelmed with thick veggies.)
3. Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken with the marinade and cook, stirring frequently, until the chicken is cooked through and the liquid is slightly reduced (5-10 minutes depending on how thick the chicken slices are).
4. Mix the cornstarch and the water in a small bowl.  Add to the chicken and cook until the liquid thickens (if it gets too thick, add some more water).
5. Assemble the tacos by placing a small amount of chicken in each shell, top with veggies and sriracha as desired.  (Don't overfill the tacos or the shells have a tendency to break.)

* We ended up using 6 taco shells.  Depending on the brand we buy, they are sometimes thin enough to need doubling to ensure the taco doesn't break.  (So you might need between 6 and 12...)

Eggplant Parm-sagna

So, parm-sagna probably isn't really a thing... but since this is sort of a combination of eggplant parmesan and eggplant lasagna, I decided I couldn't call it either.  Plus I like how it sounds. :)  This was actually inspired by a lasagna I got at a local restaurant.  It had eggplant, spinach, roasted red peppers, homemade lasagna noodles, tomato sauce, and cheese. My dish has almost all of that... just no pasta.

All in all, this took about an hour and a half to make.  Not bad considering a lot of that time was just spent in the oven so it didn't require constant tending. And it was delicious.  Jeremy isn't a huge fan of eggplant but he really enjoyed this dish.

I baked the eggplant after breading it so that I didn't add a lot of oil by frying.  This allowed me to prep the rest of the ingredients while the eggplant was baking.  Then it was just assembling things in the lasagna pan and allowing it to bake.

Next time, I'm going to try to make this without the breading.  I think it'll be just as tasty and it will make it a little easier and healthier.

Overall, this was a great vegetarian meal.  We didn't miss the meat at all.  But since I usually make chicken parmesan, Jeremy did (jokingly) ask me what was wrong with the chicken since it tasted funny... I told him it was a chicken that had been on an all eggplant diet.  I'm so funny! :)

I served this with a salad so that we had a nice healthy meal.  You could certainly add a side of pasta if you wanted it to go further.  We both ate dinner and we have about half of the dish left over for tomorrow.  (I had 2 piles of parm-sagna and Jeremy had 3.)  Delish!

First Layer of Eggplant

Topped with Spinach, Peppers, and Cheese

Ta-Dah!

Recipe:

1 24 oz. jar tomato basil pasta sauce 

8 oz. shredded Italian cheese blend (I used a reduced fat 4 cheese blend)

1 lb. eggplant, sliced into ¼” slices (I got 18 slices) 

1 ½ c. fresh spinach leaves, chopped 

6 roasted red bell peppers, sliced 

2 eggs, beaten 

2 c. bread crumbs

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

½ tsp. garlic powder

1 tbs. parsley flakes

1. Lay the eggplant in a single layer on paper towels, sprinkle with salt.  Cover with paper towels and allow to sit for 1 hour to draw out some moisture.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

3. Place breadcrumbs and egg in separate bowls.  Add pepper, garlic powder, and parsley flakes to the breadcrumbs and mix to combine.  Dip each piece of eggplant in egg, then coat in breadcrumbs.  Place on a baking sheet in a single layer.  Roast for 7 minutes, flip the slices, then roast for 7 more minutes until tender.

4. Reduce oven to 350 degrees.

5. In a large lasagna pan (mine is 9"x13"), place ½ c. of the pasta sauce and spread to cover the bottom.  Place half the eggplant in a single layer on the bottom.  Top with the spinach, roasted red pepper, and half the cheese.

6. Top each pile with a slice of eggplant, then the remaining sauce, then the remaining cheese.

7. Bake for 30 minutes until everything is hot through and the cheese is melted and slightly brown on top.

8. Allow the eggplant to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving. 

Chicken and White Bean Stew

Given that we didn't go grocery shopping today, this is again a meal constructed with things I had left in the fridge/freezer/pantry.  I had a bit of spinach to use up and decided to use it in a stew.  This was a very comforting dish which was perfect for the cold day we're having here.

It took a while to cook but most of that was just letting the beans simmer.  That's fairly easy to manage since it just requires me walking to the kitchen to give it a stir every once in a while.  And the end result was definitely worth it.

This made about 3 servings of food.  We're both eating tonight and one of us will get a nice big bowl of leftovers (which means Jeremy will eat it).  (Or I might make one reasonable serving and one small serving... almost a side dish for lunch tomorrow...)

Jeremy even put up with the tomatoes in this dish.  He hadn't even swallowed the first bite when he said "yum."  We had our stew with a slice of homemade whole wheat bread.  Very tasty.

The chicken stayed nice and tender with this preparation.  It was tender enough to cut with a spoon!  The flour coating helped the liquid adhere to the chicken so it was nice and juicy and flavorful.  Definitely a very tasty stew. :)

Recipe:
Chicken:
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts (this was 2 large breasts for me)
1/4 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Stew:
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 large onion, diced
1 tbs. minced garlic
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. dried rosemary leaves
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
2 1/2 c. chicken stock
1 c. great northern beans, dry and uncooked
2 c. fresh spinach leaves, chopped finely
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

1. Place the beans in a large bowl.  Cover with 4-6 c. water.  Soak for at least 6 hours or overnight.  Drain and rinse when ready to begin cooking and set aside until step 4.
2. When you're ready to start making dinner, place the flour, 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper into a large ziploc bag.  Cut each chicken breast into thirds.  Butterfly the piece so the chicken is relatively flat.  Place the chicken in the flour bag and seal.  Shake to coat the chicken in the flour.
3. Heat a large dutch oven over medium high heat.  Add enough olive oil to just cover the bottom.  Shake the excess flour off of the chicken and place in the oil.  Sear on both sides until golden brown (doesn't need to be cooked through).  Wrap the chicken in foil and set aside until step 6.
4. Reduce the heat to medium.  Place the onion in the pan and saute until slightly tender.  Add the garlic, diced tomatoes, rosemary, thyme, and bay leaves.  Cook until the liquid from the tomatoes is almost all gone.  Add the beans and chicken stock.  Mix to combine.  Place a lid on the pan.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer.  Simmer covered for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
5. Add spinach and garlic powder to the stew.  Stir to combine.
6. When the spinach is all wilted, place chicken on the stew.  Continue simmering for 30 minutes until chicken is hot and cooked through and the beans are tender and creamy.  Give everything a stir to coat the chicken in the sauce.
7. Adjust salt and pepper to taste (I added a bit of both...).  Serve and enjoy.

Veggie Burritos with Spinach-Green Chile Sauce

Tonight I felt like Mexican food... or at least "mexicanish" food.  We didn't have any cheese around but had a ton of spinach so I made spinach burritos.  These took a bit of time to make (good thing it's the weekend!) but were delicious.  As is, this recipe is vegetarian.  You could easily make it vegan (if you wanted...) by switching out some vegetable stock for the milk.  It wouldn't be quite the same but probably still delicious

The burritos had a nice spicy flavor in both the sauce and the filling (although the sauce was kind of sweet from the spinach and onions).  If you want a more mild dish, cut back on the chipotles in adobo, chipotle tabasco, and cayenne pepper.

These would be easily adaptable if you wanted to add meat or cheese or any other veggies.  I was a little low on ingredients because tomorrow is grocery day.  If I'd had them I probably would have added some bell pepper and possibly some fresh jalapeño.

This recipe made 5 nice size burritos.  (Not the huge mission style burrito but a more mexican style burrito -- closer to an enchillada.)  Jeremy ate 3 of them topped with a little bit of raw onion.  I had two as is.  You could swap corn tortillas for the whole wheat but I used the wheat because it was what I had on hand.  This recipe could easily be scaled up if you needed more food.  I still have about 3/4 c. of the sauce leftover.  I'll find a use for that somewhere.  

Recipe:
4 cups of fresh spinach, divided (2 cups can be left whole, 2 cups should be chopped finely)
1 large onion, 1/2 sliced, 1/2 chopped
2 tbs. minced garlic, divided
1/4 c. skim milk
2 4.25 oz. cans of green chiles
1/2 c. frozen corn kernels
1/2 c. brown rice (uncooked)
2 chipotle peppers in adobo, minced
1 tsp. ground cumin, divided
1 tsp. chipotle tabasco sauce
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. black pepper, divided
1/2 tsp. salt, divided
5 whole wheat flour tortillas

1.  Cook the brown rice according to package directions.  Set aside until you're making the filling.
2. Heat a medium sauce pan over medium heat.  Add 1 tbs. olive oil.  Add sliced onion and 1 tbs. garlic with 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. black pepper.  Saute until the onion starts to become tender.  Add the whole spinach and saute until wilted.  Add the green chiles and milk.  Turn off heat and place ingredients in a blender.  Blend until smooth.  Stir in 1/2 tsp. ground cumin and 1 tsp. chipotle tabasco sauce.  Set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
4. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat.  Add 1 tbs. olive oil.  Add onion, 1 tbs. garlic and saute until tender.  Add chipotle in adobo and stir to combine.  Add chopped spinach and saute until wilted.  Add corn, rice, 1/2 tsp. ground cumin, cayenne pepper, paprika, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. black pepper.  Add water and stir to distribute the spices.  Turn off heat as soon as the water disappears.
5. Place approximately 1/4 c. of the spinach sauce on the bottom of an 8x8 inch glass baking dish.  Place approximately 1/2 c. of the filling in each tortilla, roll the tortilla and place seam-side down in the baking dish.  After all 5 are rolled, spoon about 3/4 c. of the sauce on top.
6. Bake, uncovered, in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the sauce is bubbly and the tortillas are hot through.

Corn Garden Soup

Last night I decided to make a corn soup. And I threw just about every veggie I had in the apartment into a pot and voila! a soup! This was a very tasty and healthy soup. It had a nice sweetness from the corn and a subtle spiciness from the jalapeños. You could certainly substitute any veggies you like in this. Soups are so versatile and healthy that they're regularly a go-to meal for me when I want something healthy and comforting at the same time.

I blended part of the soup to give it a bit more substantial mouth-feel. (I thought it was almost creamy... Jeremy didn't.) I left it a bit chunky so that we had some things to chew on as we ate it. (I get bored with completely pureed soups when they're a whole meal... need something to chew!) The soup had a great orange-yellow color from the carrots, corn, and roasted red peppers. Overall, we both really liked the soup.

I served this with a honey whole wheat bread that I made in our bread machine yesterday afternoon. It added some much needed bulk to the very light soup. This will probably make a better lunch than dinner since it was so light that we were both hungry later in the evening. Jeremy even had two bowls and two pieces of bread and was still hungry! I guess that's what happens when the soup is nothing more than a big bowl of veggies. :)

This recipe made a nice big pot of soup so I have a lot of it left in the fridge. I'm looking forward to the leftovers. :)

I used chicken stock for the liquid in this soup but if you wanted it vegetarian (or just didn't have chicken stock on hand) you could certainly use vegetable stock or water. I always use low or no sodium chicken stock so that I can control the saltiness so if you're not using that, be careful of the saltiness before you add seasonings.

Recipe:

2.5 c. frozen corn kernels
4 carrots (medium), diced
4 stalks celery, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
2 jalapeños, minced
1 large onion, diced
1 tbs. minced garlic
4 c. chicken broth (low sodium)
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
1 bay leaf
3 roasted red bell peppers, diced
2 tbs. olive oil

1. Heat a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add olive oil. Add celery, carrots, bell pepper, jalapeños, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies begin to soften (4-5 minutes).
2. Add the garlic and bay leaf and cook for 1-2 more minutes.
3. Add the chicken broth, corn, and the frozen corn kernels. Bring the soup to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 25-30 minutes to allow the flavors to combine.
4. Ladle some of the soup into a blender. Blend until smooth. Return the blended soup to the pot and continue blending until you're satisfied with the texture. (You could make it completely smooth if you wanted, or keep it more chunky.)
5. Taste the soup and adjust seasonings as needed. (Tasted good to me... I didn't do a thing but depends on what you want.)
6. Ladle into bowls and enjoy!

Brown Rice and Pinto Bean Veggie Burgers

Success! I finally made a veggie burger that stayed together!  Only a couple of pieces dropped off toward the end of eating the burger.  Other than that, it was moist inside and crispy outside.  Overall a very delicious meal.

Jeremy and I used multi-grain sandwich thins as the buns for the burgers.  And we topped each of them with a little pepperjack cheese, lettuce, tomato (for me), onion (for him), and jalapeños.  I had one burger and Jeremy had two -- I don't think I could even have fit a second one in me... We also had a salad on the side.

This recipe made 7 burgers.  I wasn't really measuring so I could easily have made them a little smaller to get a couple more out of the mix.  I just kept making what looked like decent sized patties and seven is what I got.

I cooked the rice and beans earlier in the day so that they were cooled and ready to go when Jeremy and I got back from the gym.  That made assembly pretty easy (although just a bit messy!).  I was covered in the burger mix because I stupidly used too small of a bowl.  The mix is also quite sticky so my hands were covered by the time I was done mixing and forming the patties.  I kept calling Jeremy into the kitchen to do things for me so that I didn't get the whole kitchen covered in food.

Overall this was a very easy and tasty meal that I will certainly make again.  Now that I've had one veggie burger not fall apart, I'll keep working on that with more recipes.

Forgot to take a picture last night... this is lunch today topped with pepperjack cheese, lettuce, salsa, and  jalapeños. :) 

Recipe:

1 c. brown rice, uncooked

1 c. pinto beans, uncooked

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. black pepper

1 tbs. garlic powder

1 tbs. onion powder

1 tbs. parsley flakes

½ tsp. paprika

½ tsp. cayenne pepper

2 tbs. olive oil

2 eggs

sliced cheese (optional)

1. Cook the rice and beans according to package directions.  (Separate pots please, these are different cooking times...)  Drain the beans, allow both to cool until at least cool enough to handle.  (I left them for a couple hours while we were out.)

2. When you're ready to start making the burgers and cook them, preheat oven to 450 degrees. 

3. Place the pinto beans in a large bowl.  Mash with a potato masher (not smooth, but mash most of the beans).  Add the rice and mix well to combine.

4. Add salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley flakes, paprika, and cayenne and mix to combine.  Taste to ensure the seasonings taste good. 

5. Add the olive oil and eggs and mix well to combine.  (I use my hands... a spoon just doesn't mix as well...) 

6. Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray.  Form mixture into 1" thick patties (they should be about 3 1/2" across). Place on a baking sheet.  When all the patties are formed, spray the tops with a little more cooking spray.

7. Bake for approximately 30 minutes until golden brown and crunchy on the outside. If adding cheese, top the burgers with cheese for the last 5 minutes of baking.  Allow the burgers to cool for a couple of minutes before biting in. 

Butternut Squash Soup

With the new year come new year's resolutions.  Jeremy and I are trying to get the gym regularly, eat healthier, and get into good shape.  We're not bad... but we could do better.  With my cooking, I'm trying to use more fish and veggies throughout the year.  We eat a lot of veggies, but I want to vary the types we eat more.  So, to that end, I bought butternut squash last time we went to the grocery store.

I decided to make a soup out of it because it's a fairly healthy and filling preparation.  I served this with a spinach salad (woo more veggies!).  I like spinach better than lettuce so I'd rather have that in a salad.  Overall this was a very easy meal to whip up and it was very tasty.  I will certainly be making this again.

This made a huge pot of soup.  I'm going to freeze some of it so that we can have some later and don't have to eat this for every meal for the next couple of days.  Overall this is a very easy and delicious soup. It was somewhat creamy (without any dairy at all!).  And since this was made with water it's vegetarian.  I debated whether to use water or chicken stock when making it and decided on the water.  It was plenty flavorful so I'm glad I used water.

If you've never cooked with leeks, it's important to clean them properly because they're grown in sandy soil.  Start by cutting off the roots and the green, tough leaves (they're not good for eating). Slice the remaining leek in half and then cut into half moons.  Fill a large bowl with water and separate the leeks into the bowl.  Swish them around a bit to clean them and allow them to sit for a minute so the grit falls to the bottom of the bowl.  Remove the leeks to a paper towel and then cook!

Recipe:
1 butternut squash (mine was 3.5 lbs), peeled, seeded, and diced (I used a spoon to scoop out the seeds)
3 leeks, greens removed, sliced thinly and cleaned
2 small granny smith apples, cored and diced (about 1 cup diced)
7 c. water
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1 tbs. olive oil
1 tbs. margarine

1. Heat a large soup pot over medium heat.  Add olive oil and margarine.  When margarine is melted, add leeks. Saute for 5-7 minutes until tender.
2. Add squash, apple, thyme, and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer.  Simmer for 20-25 minutes until the squash and apples are tender enough to squish on the side of the pot.
3. Blend the soup in batches, transferring to a clean bowl until everything has been blended.
4. Return soup to the pot and add salt, pepper, cayenne, and nutmeg.
5. Serve and enjoy.