Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I have recently become hooked on lettuce wraps of all kinds. Whether it be as simple as tuna fish salad or throwing together my tacos in a big lead of lettuce, they are all so refreshing and delicious. This recipe was inspired by my taco recipe, but with an Asian flare.

Recipe yields 4 servings

Ingredients 

1 lb ground chicken

2 tsp sugar

Salt & black pepper, to taste

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup dry red wine

1 medium white onion

1 bag pre-cut broccoli slaw

1 can bean sprouts

1 can water chestnuts

1 head Boston lettuce, to use for the wraps

In a large bowl, add your ground chicken, sugar, salt, pepper, soy sauce, sesame oil and red wine. Use your hands to mix everything together and allow the chicken to absorb all of the ingredients. 

Next, finely dice the onion and add to a large, heated skillet (with 1/2 tbsp sesame oil). Saute for 2-3 minutes until translucent. 

Once the onion is done, toss in the chicken and saute until cooked through. 

Once the chicken is no longer pink, toss in the broccoli slaw, bean sprouts and water chestnuts. I sliced my water chestnuts before hand so they would be easier to eat in the wraps. Mix everything together and let simmer over a medium-low heat. All the flavors are really getting to know each other know!

Prepare your 'wraps' by gently removing the leaves from the head of lettuce and rinsing each one with cold water. Pat them all to dry and set aside.

In my house, I serve one big plate of lettuce and a dish of chicken and allow everyone to dig in and make their own wraps, just the way they want them. Enjoy!

Pesto Chicken & Peppers Skewers

Many of you may remember from last year, but one of the highlights of my spring is when my CSA membership starts back up. If you aren't familiar with what a CSA is, check out this post: Golden Earthworm Organic Farm CSA

So its been two weeks already, and my refrigerator is filled to the brim with crispy and fresh greens from varieties of lettuce, spices and veggies. Today I chose to whip up a batch of my arugula pesto (see here for the full recipe: Arugula Pesto) and grill up some chicken skewers. So simple and delicious, a perfect week night meal.

To start off, get all of your ingredients together. To have enough to feed 5 people, you are going to need..

2 lbs chicken breast
2 red bell peppers
1 very large yellow onion
1 cup of my arugula pesto
Wood skewers

Clean off your peppers and cut into about 1 inch squares. Similarly, cut the onion into chunks about the same size of the peppers.

Prep the pesto according to the instructions I linked to above.

Next, cut your chicken cutlets into cubes. Try to cut them evenly so they will all cook at the same time.

Now for the assembly, I like to start and end with chicken and get all my veggies somewhere in between. How about chicken - pepper - onion - chicken - pepper - onion - chicken. Sounds like a good combo to me. Prep all of your skewers until your ingredients are gone. Now, with a basting brush, coat all sides, edges and crevices of each skewer with the pesto. Man these are going to be good.

Heat up the BBQ to medium high heat and arrange all of the skewers on the rack directly above the flames. If they don't all fit, keep them in the refrigerator and cook in batches. Cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side, being sure to rotate so all four sides of your chicken cube gets a nice BBQ char to it.

Once the chicken is cooked through, you can remove from BBQ and serve immediately with a fresh salad or some spring veggies. Enjoy!

Quick & Dirty Turkey Chili

Man do I love chili! It's just so good.

So here in New York, good old Mother Nature has been giving us a bit of the run around. Monday was a sunny 75 degrees. A perfectly, lovely spring day if you ask me. Then Tuesday came and brought with it freezing rain. And to make matters worse, I woke up to snow on Wednesday. Yes, snow! I'm not sure what is going on around here, but this chili sure brightened me right up, regardless of all the rain and snow.

Chili is so great because of its many complex flavors, from various peppers to spices. Some people make their chili a scientific formula, with hours of slow cooking and getting the balance just right. That's great and all, but lets be honest, we don't always have 5+ hours to sit around and cook up a bowl of chili. That's where the quick & dirty turkey chili comes into play. Done in under 30 minutes, this is your go to chili recipe for a last minute weeknight meal.

30 minutes, you're asking? Yea, you heard right. Here's what your going to need for about 6 servings:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small pepper (you chose the type based on your need for heat!)

2 lbs ground turkey (you can also use ground chicken or beef, whatever your heart desires)

2 tsp chili powder

29 oz can of pinto beans, rinsed and drained

2 cups water

16 oz jar of your favorite chunky salsa

In a large pan, heat your olive oil and throw in the pepper. Make sure to finely dice the pepper. No one wants a big chunk of jalapeno in their first scoop of chili. Saute for about 30 seconds, just to heat up and then add in the ground turkey. Cook on medium heat until turkey is cooked through and starting to brown.

Sprinkle the mixture with chili powder, toss in your beans and pour in the water and salsa. Make sure to drain and rinse your beans so they are not sticky or gooey. 

Give everything a good stir and cover to bring to a boil. Once boiling, remove cover and let simmer, while continuously stirring. This is going to help the chili really thicken up. Also, using a potato masher, gently smash some of the beans to add extra thickness. Be sure to keep some whole, as this will give your chili some body.

Once you reach your desired thickness, about 15 minutes or so of simmering, cut the heat and transfer to a serving dish. Or if you are a savage like me, serve yourself straight from the pan. Now feel free to add some toppings, such as sour cream or shredded cheese. Me, I am good with just my chili and a corn muffin. 

Now that's what I call a good bowl of chili. Enjoy!

PS - check back next week for a new recipe for the corn muffins. They have a special kick due to a few secret ingredients I think your going to love!

The Patty Melt

Who doesn't love a patty melt? The gooey, melted cheese on butter toasted bread that comes from a delicious grilled cheese, stuffed with a juicy burger and sweet, caramelized onions. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. These are extra delicious and so quick to whip up on short notice. I would give it 20 minutes tops!

To make 4 delicious patty melts, you will need:

4 sirloin burgers or about 1 lb of chopped meat
Salt and pepper, for seasoning
1 tsp Worcester sauce, optional
1 large or 2 medium onions
4-5 tbsp butter
8 slices of bread, I used whole wheat
8 slice of cheese, I went for good ol' American

Let's get started by slicing our onions and tossing them in a skillet with 1-1 1/2 tablespoons of melted butter. Keep the heat on medium-low and allow these to slowly caramelize for the best flavor. Keep these going while you start to prep your burgers.

Season your burgers with a dash of salt and a pinch of pepper on each side. Feel free to also add a drop of Worcester sauce to add some extra flavoring. Again, melt about 1 tablespoon of butter in your skillet and throw in the burgers. Cook for about 5 minutes on each side for medium well, making sure to only flip the burgers once so they get a nice char.

As your burgers are finishing up, we can start to get our bread ready for toasting. In a third skillet (I never said clean up would be easy), melt 1/2 tablespoon of butter. Place two pieces of bread on the melted butter and top each with a slice of cheese.

Next up, add a burger and top with a generous helping of your caramelized onions. Just look how delicious those onions look, so soft and sweet.

Another piece of cheese? Yes, please!

Top with the other slice of bread and flip to toast the other side. Why don't you toss in some more butter before the flip. It really wouldn't be fair if only one side got the special treatment. Cook on medium heat until the bread is toasty, the cheesy is gooey, and the smell is unbearable.

Remove from the skillet, slice and eat right away. Mmm, delicious!

As these can be quite heavy, best to serve with a side salad and some fresh veggies to lighten things up. Enjoy!

Italian Chicken & Broccoli with Gravy

I'm backk! It has been a long (slightly painful) three months, of which I have neglected you. But now I am back and I am here with an easy weeknight dinner option that you are going to love.

As much as it pains me to admit, I have been practically living off junk food and take-out these past few months due to, lets call it, "job restrictions." This means, no cooking, no baking, no nothing! However, there was one little bright light in all of this - I found some very interesting inspiration for the blog in the never ending sea of take-out menus.

This dish here is great because it requires a lot of ingredients you would normally keep on hand (well at least we do in my house - as broccoli is just as much as a staple as salt and pepper!)

To get started you will need the following items to make 4 servings

Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs thinly sliced chicken breast (no skin and no bones)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt & fresh black pepper
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp butter
2 large heads of broccoli, keep those stems on nice and long
1/4 lb mozzarella (fresh will work, but Polly-O just melts so nicely and is extra delicious)
4 cloves garlic
2 cups chicken stock
1 hearty pour of your favorite red wine

Start off by 'flouring' the chicken breast. On a plate, mix together the flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Drop each piece of chicken into the mix being sure to coat both sides with the flour mixture. Repeat on all pieces.

In a large skillet (oven-proof is best, as this will make your job easier later on), gently melt your first tablespoon butter, being sure not to brown or burn it. Add the chicken and cook until browned on both sides and white through the middle, roughly 5 minutes each side (depending on how thick the chicken is). Remove the chicken to a dish and set aside.

In the meantime, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Toss in your broccoli (cut long and thin). Cook for 8-10 minutes until broccoli is tender, but not too soft. You want to make sure it still has some bite to it! Once the broccoli is finished, set it to the side in a bowl or dish.

Now lets get back to our skillet because its time to make our gravy. Without cleaning out any of the bits left behind from the chicken, melt the second tablespoon of butter in the skillet. Throw in the minced garlic and let it lightly brown for about a minute, just until fragrant. It is very important here not to let the garlic burn or you could ruin the flavor of your gravy. Once browned, pour in your chicken stock and red wine and bring to a boil. Make sure to stir and scrape all the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Let boil for 5 minutes or so, until the gravy starts to thicken.

If you can't get the gravy to thicken up, toss in about a teaspoon of flour and quickly stir it into the mixture so that it doesn't 'clump up.'

Once your gravy is in a good place, time to add the chicken back in the skillet. Make a small pile of broccoli on top of each chicken breast and then cover with a slice of cheese. Toss the skillet under the broiler for a minute or two to get the cheese to melt. Make sure to keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn.

There you have it, a delicious dish that covers off a bunch of your daily food group requirements in one. Plus, not sure if you were keeping track, but we only have to clean 1 pan and 1 pot. Not too bad if you ask me!

Also, as sneak peak, there are going to be some make-overs going on with the blog in the upcoming weeks, so be sure to keep an eye out for that! Enjoy!

Chicken Sausage & Lentil Salad

So I clearly let myself go during the month of November. I am sorry to all of you who were missing my posts. Life has been very busy and unfortunately has gotten in the way of my posting schedule. But no excuses! Due to some current changes, my posting will likely become less frequent then everyone is used to, but I am going to do my best to crank out at least two posts a week. With that in mind comes this dish of sausage with lentil salad. I love lentils anytime of the year, but there is something so warm and hearty about them for winter time. The salad is easy to whip up and you can either grill or pan fry the sausage to add on top. If you are at all health conscious, you can always substitute the sausage for some grilled chicken.

Recipe yields 6 servings

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup green lentils
1 bay leaf
3 tbsp olive oil
1 cup fennel
1 medium yellow onion
1 large carrot
1 rib celery
4 cloves garlic
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
12 chicken sausage
Salt & pepper, to taste

Finely dice the onion, carrots and celery.

Thinly slice the fennel and mince the garlic.

Cook those sausage!

Saute all of your vegetables in a drop of oil to soften them up.

Cook your lentils in a large pot with the bay leaf and 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer for 20-25 minutes.

Drain them when they are done and remove the bay leaf.

Now that your vegetables are cooked...

..toss in the lentils. Add in your seasonings and give it all a gentle stir (red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt & pepper). You don't want to smoosh everything.

Remove to a serving dish and top with the sliced sausage. Enjoy!