Tag Archives: chicken

Lemon-Braised Chicken Tenders and Cauliflower

Sorry for the two week silence and no blog posts.  I’ve really tried not to talk too much about work here but my work situation has been so stressful the last several months, specifically the last few weeks, that I come home at night and don’t do much but lay around in the dark, watch television and eat take out or fried egg sandwiches.  My weekends, which is usually when I do my cooking, have been a lot more of the same.  I’m probably depressed but I’ll be changing jobs at the end of the month so I’m hoping things start to get better.  Usually cooking calms me down and helps me to decompress but I haven’t even been up for doing that much.  The only good thing that comes out of eating badly for two weeks and laying around is that finally I want something better to eat, something somewhat healthy and something that maybe includes a fruit or vegetable.  So I finally got off my butt and made some food, specifically these Lemon-Braised Chicken Tenders and Cauliflower.

Frozen chicken tenders (yes, frozen) are mixed with onion and cauliflower before sitting in a lemon juice-chicken broth bath until mostly cooked.  After finishing cooking in the oven, spinach and scallions are added as well as slightly sweet dates and nuts (I used pecans instead of pistachios).  This is a truly unique mixture of flavors which all works together wonderfully.  I’m shocked that I like cauliflower as much as I do considering I wouldn’t go near it as a kid.  Or spinach.  Or scallions.  Or onions.  Or dates.  Hmm, who is that in the mirror looking back at me?

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The ingredients:

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Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add frozen chicken tenders. Cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Transfer to plate.

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To the same Dutch oven add onion and cauliflower. Cook 2 minutes until lightly browned. Add garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper; cook 30 seconds more. Add lemon juice. Stir,  scraping up brown bit in bottom of pan. Add chicken broth and lemon peel. Bring to boiling; cover and transfer to oven.

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Bake 10 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink (170 degrees F). Add spinach and green onion; cover and let stand 2 minutes to slightly wilt spinach.

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In a small bowl combine olives, dates, and pistachios. Spoon chicken mixture over cooked rice, if desired. Top with date mixture and additional lemon peel, if desired.

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Additions:  None

Omissions:

  • Olives

Substitutions:

  • Pecans

Overall Rating:  Like It

Source:  Better Homes and Gardens magazine

Honey Cashew Chicken

I think I might have found the perfect meal.  For someone who didn’t eat much Asian food as a kid, I have identified Asian flavors as being my favorite thing to make and eat.  When I have nothing else to eat, my go-to is either chicken, rice, pasta or veggies with some kind of soy sauce-rice-vinegar-sriracha sauce.  This Honey Cashew Chicken is exactly right up my alley.  A little bit of protein, a little bit of veggies, a little bit of carbs in a sweet, spicy and salty sauce – Yes!

Bite-sized pieces of chicken are tossed in a light coating of cornstarch and cooked in a hot skillet with canola and sesame oil.  Fresh broccoli, red pepper and edamame are added and stir-fried until perfectly crisp before being mixed with cashews and a perfect concoction of soy sauce, honey and sriracha.  Served with a side of brown rice or quinoa, this will be a meal I will make again and again.

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The ingredients:

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Combine chicken, cornstarch, salt and pepper in a bowl; toss to coat.

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Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add canola and sesame oils. Add chicken mixture, and sauté for 4 minutes or until lightly browned.

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Increase heat to high, and add broccoli, edamame, garlic, onion and red pepper.  Cook 5 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender and chicken is done, stirring frequently.  Stir in cashews.

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Combine vinegar and remaining ingredients in a small bowl; stir with a whisk.   Add vinegar mixture to chicken mixture; toss to coat.

Serve with rice or quinoa.

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Additions:  None

Omissions:

  • Onion

Substitutions:  None

Overall Rating:  Love It

Source:  Cooking Light magazine

Sesame-Lime Chicken Salad

Something must be going wrong in the universe because I’ve been craving salad.  As in green leafy vegetables with other vegetables with a light dressing.  When, why and how did this happen?  I don’t even recognize myself in the mirror anymore.  I’m specifically craving the Thai Chopped Chicken Salad from Panera Bread.  I could eat it morning, noon and night.  And there for a little while, I pretty much was.  I got a little embarrassed at my local Panera after my third night in a row there and hoped and prayed that different staff was working and didn’t recognize my loser self.  So I decided instead of spending money on this salad that I can’t get enough of, I might as well try to make my own.  This Sesame-Lime Chicken Salad comes pretty close.

Romaine lettuce, chicken, carrots and red pepper are mixed together with a light sesame-lime dressing.  Crispy Chinese noodles top the salad for crunch and toasted sesame seeds and cilantro are added for another layer of flavor.  Instead of a jalapeño pepper, I used a good old red pepper which I cut up and roasted in the oven at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.  To add a little bit of heat and make it a little bit more like Panera’s salad, I threw some dashes of peanut sauce over the top too (my favorite is House of Tsang’s Bangkok Padang Peanut Sauce).  Luckily this recipe makes one gigantic bowl of salad so I can eat it often without worrying that someone out there might be judging me.

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The ingredients:

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In a large bowl, whisk together the canola oil, lime juice, sugar, sesame oil, chili, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Add the lettuce, carrots, and chicken and toss to combine.

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Serve the salad sprinkled with the sesame seeds, noodles, and cilantro.

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Additions:

  • Peanut sauce

Omissions:  none

Substitutions:

  • Red pepper

Overall Rating:  Love It

Source:  Real Simple magazine

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