Meat

Cider-Glazed Chicken

Another reason why I love October? Apple cider! When I saw my grocery store had stocked the produce cooler with the autumn beverage, I had to scoop some up. I knew that this recipe for Cider-Glazed Chicken was tucked away in my recipe book somewhere and I’d been waiting for just the right time to pull it out. Chicken breasts are browned in butter until fully cooked and then tossed in a simple glaze of apple cider and dijon mustard. So easy and so quick! The glaze gave the boring chicken breasts a tasty flavor with the subtle hint of apple without overpowering it. Whether you want to make this recipe or not, pick up some apple cider somewhere along your travels and do some cooking with it. Enjoy the burst of apple while you can!

The ingredients:

Brown salt-and-peppered chicken breasts in butter.

Remove the fully cooked chicken from the pan and set aside. Pour apple cider and dijon mustard into the hot pan. Stir together until slightly thickened.

Add back the chicken breasts and coat in the cider-dijon glaze.

Top with fresh parsley and enjoy!

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions: None

Overall Rating: Like It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Pizza Supreme

We’ve all done it. Gotten home from work and craved pizza so we picked up the phone and called the nearby pizza joint. Afterall, when that craving hits, it’s either that or one of those dreaded, dull cardboard-ish disks known as the frozen pizza, right? Wrong! You can make pizza at home in the same amount of time (or less!) than it takes for a pizza to be delivered. Last night I made Pizza Supreme – refrigerated pizza dough, topped with pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, red and orange peppers, mushrooms and turkey sausage. Cutting of the veggies: 5 minutes. Browning of the sausage: 3 minutes. Cooking of the veggies: 5 minutes. Assembly of the pizza: 2 minutes. Bake time: 8 minutes (according to the recipe, it should take 15 but my thin crust was toasty brown after 8). Total time until pizza was in my mouth: 23 minutes! And it tasted…wait for it…supreme! Making your own pizza allows you to control the oil, the sauce, and the cheese and it’s a great use for whatever veggies (or meat) that might be lurking around in the fridge. And another benefit? You won’t be left with a bellyache! I mean, unless you eat the whole thing. Which…is easy to do.

Question: What are your favorite pizza toppings?

The ingredients:

Brown the turkey sausage in olive oil.

Add peppers, mushrooms, onion, garlic and red pepper flakes.

While the veggies cook, roll out pizza dough on a baking sheet and top with pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese.

Then add the veggie-sausage mixture.

Bake at 500° until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted. Slice and enjoy!

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions:

Shallot instead of onion

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

When I told a friend I was going to make enchiladas, she said, “Wow, isn’t that hard?” Enchiladas may seem like one of those meals you only order in a restaurant but they are actually very easy to make. These Easy Chicken Enchiladas really are simple…and delicious. The recipe says to boil the chicken but I baked mine in the oven at 350°F for about 15-20 minutes (until the internal temperature of the chicken read 165°F on a meat thermometer). The filling is a simple mixture of softened onion and poblano pepper, corn, sour cream, chicken, cilantro and cheese. This mixture is spooned into warmed corn tortillas (just make sure to work with the tortillas quickly as they tend to tear if they get too cool) and topped with enchilada sauce and more cheese. This recipe actually calls for salsa verde but I substituted enchilada sauce to keep that authentic enchilada flavor (feel free to stick with salsa if you prefer). I also used a reduced-fat colby-monterey jack cheese blend which still melted nicely in the oven. When you get the urge for Mexican food, consider making this at home – it’s much healthier than restaurant enchiladas and just as tasty!

Question: What’s your favorite Mexican meal?