West African Peanut Soup

Adapted from Mark Bittman

My version is basically the same ingredients as Mark Bittman’s but I added cilantro at the end, and chopped everything smaller so that the kids have an easier time eating it.  Mark Bittman says to core and halve tomatoes and to slice sweet potatoes into thick slices, but I shredded them with the food processor.
This recipe is surprisingly delicious and packed with vitamins and protein!  (I even like this but don’t usually like sweet potatoes)
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp neutral oil (grapeseed, “extra-light olive oil”, peanut oil)
1 medium red or white onion, chopped
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tbs minced garlic
1/2 lb skinless, boneless chicken breasts chopped
pinch of cayenne pepper
salt/pepper
6 cups chicken stock
2 sweet potatoes peeled and cut into thick slices
8 plum tomatoes (coarsely chopped in food processor), or canned diced tomatoes, drained of liquid
1/2 lb collard greens or kale, chopped
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
Directions:
1.  Chop peanuts, or crush them with the side of a knife, orpulse them in a food processor to chop roughly.
2.  Put oil in a deep skillet or medium saucepan over medium heat; a minute later, add onion, ginger and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft, 3-5 minutes.  Add chicken and continue cooking for another 3-4 minutes, until just coloring.  Add 1/2 cup peanuts and the cayenne and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3.  Stir in the stock and the sweet potatoes, bring to a boil, and turn heat down to medium-low so the soup bubbles gently.  Stir in tomatoes and collards, then cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes.
4.  Stir in 1/4 cup peanut butter.  Taste, adjust seasoning (you may want to add more peanut butter at this point) and serve, garnished with remaining peanuts and cilantro if desired.

Greek chicken and rice pie

I’ve been trying to clear out my freezer and came across some phyllo dough.  I began to conjure up something yummy to make for dinner.

In the fridge I had some leftover chicken (2 pieces already cooked), spinach, feta cheese, tomatoes, lemon, and kalamata olives.  I have a yummy lemon rice recipe, so I thought if I made that earlier in the day, all I would have to do is throw the rest of this together later that night. 

Here is what I came up with (although I kind of just did it and didn’t measure, so who knows if I’ll ever be able to do it exactly the same again):

This misto spray bottle is awesome!  I fill it with "extra light" olive oil and spray each layer of phyllo dough instead of brushing with oil or butter.  With the spray, you end up with less fat, but it still tastes great!  (what I like about phyllo dough is the crispy layers, and you really can achieve this texture by just a light spray of oil.) 

Ingredients:
1/4 roll of phyllo dough*
2 chicken breasts, fully cooked and chopped
1/3 cup toasted almonds
1 1/2 cups chopped spinach
1/2 cup feta cheese
1/2 red onion, chopped
handful of oregano leaves, chopped
4 cups lemon rice (or somewhere around there- I didn’t measure the rice)
*I cut about 1/4 of a long roll of phyllo dough all the way through and then freeze the rest for later use.  This way, I’m not defrosting the whole thing and freezing over and over again, because I never use the whole roll in one sitting.
1.  layer phyllo dough, about 5 sheets thick, spraying or brushing each layer with oil or butter.
2.  Mix chicken, onions, spinach and oregano together with lemon rice.  Pour this mixture onto the first layers of phyllo dough.
3.  Top with some toasted almonds, feta cheese and pour some scrambled eggs evenly over top  (about 3) to hold the whole mixture together.
4.  layer the rest of the phyllo sheets, spraying each with oil.
bake at 385 for about 30 minutes (I really don’t remember exactly how long, so just watch it)

this was very delicious with the Greek dressing leftover from my salad.  In fact, you could actually pour a little dressing on the plate for each serving.  Everyone loved this!

Sesame Noodles with Shredded Chicken

Of course this was delicious because it came from America’s Test Kitchen!
It actually reminded me a little bit of my Pad Thai recipe
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup chunky peanut butter
2 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
1 piece (1-inch) fresh ginger, grated or minced (about 1 Tbs)
5 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs rice vinegar (I didn’t have any so I used apple cider vinegar)
1 tsp hot sauce
2 Tbs lightly packed light brown sugar
Hot water
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (1 1/2 lbs) trimmed of excess fat
1 Tbs salt
1 lb chinese egg noodles or 12 ounces dried spaghetti
2 Tbs Asian sesame oil
4 scallions, sliced thin on the diagonal
1 medium carrot, peeled and grated on large holes of box grater (about 2/3 cup) – I used my food processor’s shredding disc

1.  Toast the sesame seeds in a medium skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until golden and fragrant, about 10 minutes.  Reserve 1 Tbs sesame seeds in a small bowl.  In a blender or food processor, puree the remaining 3 Tbs sesame seeds, peanut butter, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, hot sauce, and sugar until smooth, about 30 seconds.  With the machine running, add hot water 1 Tbs at a time until the sauce has the consistency of heavy cream, about 5 Tbs; set the mixture aside (it can be left in the blender jar or food processor workbowl).

2.  Bring 6 qts water to a boil over high heat.

Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to 6 inches from the broiler element; heat the broiler.  Spray the broiler pan top with vegetable cooking spray; place the chicken breasts ion top and broil the chicken until lightly browned, 4 to 8 minutes.  Using tongs, flip the chicken over and continue to broil until the thickest part is no longer pink when cut into and registers about 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 6 to 8 minutes.  Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes.  Using 2 forks, shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces and set aside.*

Add the salt and noodles to the boiling water; boil the noodles until tender, about 4 minutes for fresh and 10 minutes for dried.  Drain, then rinse with cold running tap water until cool to the touch; drain again.  In a large bowl, toss the noodles with the sesame oil until evenly coated.  Add the shredded chicken, scallions, carrot, and sauce; toss to combine.  Divide among individual bowls, sprinkle each bowl with a portion of reserved sesame seeds, and serve.

*I simply shredded the chicken with the food processor- so much easier than with a fork!

Chicken-penne Salad with Green Beans

From Cooking Light 

To quickly prepare the beans in this recipe, trim just the stem ends, leaving the tapered blossom ends intact.  Line up 5 or 6 beans at a time and cut them roughly the same length as the pasta.  You can have an entire meal ready in about 35 minutes.

This is one of my favorite quick and easy dinners!

2 cups uncooked penne
2 cups (1 inch) cut green beans (about 1/2 lb)
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
1/2 cup vertically sliced red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 (7 oz) bottle roasted red bell peppers drained and chopped*
2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbs red wine vinegar**
1 Tbs cold water
1/2 tsp salt**
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp black pepper
1.  Cook pasta in boiling water 7 minutes.  Add green beans; cook 4 minutes.  Drain and rinse with cold water; drain.
2.  Combine pasta mixture, chicken, onion, basil, parsley, and bell pepper in a large bowl, tossing gently to combine.
3.  Combine oil and remaining ingredients in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.  Drizzle over pasta mixture; toss gently to coat.
* or roasted yellow peppers
**I usually add extra, to taste

healthier chicken pot pie

I usually love the taste of chicken pot pie, but for the longest time I wouldn't make it because it was such a fattening dinner.  The crust of course is the worst part for you, made up of butter and flour, so I figured, why not eliminate the bottom crust since it usually ends up soggy anyway.  

Sometimes chicken pot pie has heavy cream or butter in it, but instead this one uses low fat cream cheese.  I make this a little different every time, depending on what vegetables I have on hand, but this is the basic recipe.  

One Crust Chicken Pot Pie (adapted from kraft family magazine)

*1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-in pieces and marinate in italian dressing or oil/vinegar     /garlic/salt 20-30 minutes prior to cooking.
*1/2 onion

*4 oz. 1/3 less fat cream cheese, cubed

* 2 TBS flour

*1/2 cup chicken broth

*1 bunch of broccoli, chopped and 2 carrots peeled and diced

*1 pie crust

1.heat a large pan to medium heat with extra light olive oil.  Add onions and cook for 2 minutes, then add chicken and cook through (about 3 minutes).  Add cream cheese, and stir until melted.  Add flour, mix well.  Add broth and vegetables; cover and simmer 5 minutes.*

2.Pour mixture into deep dish 10-inch pie plate.  Arrange pie crust over filling and flute edges.  Cut four slits in crust to allow steam to escape.  

3.  Bake 30 minutes on 400 or until crust is golden brown.

* I often steam the vegetables separately in the microwave (in my pampered chef veggie steamer) to make this part go a little faster.

Chicken and cheese quesadilla Pie

This was easy and delicious!

from Cooks Illustrated Magazine

1 (10-inch) flour tortilla
1 rotisserie chicken, skin discarded, meat shredded into bite-sized pieces (about 3 cups)-  I used leftover chicken from French chicken in a pot  and it turned out great (even though there was probably less than 3 cups leftover)
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup drained jarred pickled jalapenos, chopped
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (I used about 1 1/2 cups)
salt and pepper
2 large eggs
1 cup whole milk*
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
salsa

1.  Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees.
Grease 9 inch pie plate.  Press tortilla into prepared pie plate and spray lightly with cooking spray.  Toss chicken, cilantro, jalapenos, 1 cup cheese, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper in large bowl until combined.  Spread filling over tortilla.
2.  Whisk eggs, milk, flour, baking powder, and 1/2 tsp salt in bowl until smooth. SLOWLY pour over filling (give it time to sink down into the chicken mixture or else you will end up with chicken on the bottom and bread on the top), then sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Bake until surface is golden brown, about 20 minutes.  Let cool 5 minutes.  Cut into wedges and serve with salsa.

*I just made this again and used 1% milk with a couple tablespoons of nonfat dry milk and it turned out great!

Tuscan Garlic Chicken Pasta

From Cooks Illustrated Magazine
serves 4-6


6 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
6 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 lbs)
salt and pepper
1 lb penne pasta
1 bag baby arugula (or spinach), coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
6 Tbs juice from 2 lemons
1 cup grated parmesan cheese

1.  Bring 4 qts water to boil in large pot.  Meanwhile, combine garlic, pepper flakes, and oil in bowl and microwave until garlic is golden and fragrant, about 1 minute.
2.  Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.
Transfer 1 Tbs oil from bowl with garlic mixture to large skillet and heat over medium-high heat until just smoking.  Add chicken and cook until well  browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.  Transfer to cutting board and tent with foil.  Let rest 5 minutes, then chop into cubes and set aside.
3.  Add 1 Tbs salt and pasta to boiling water and cook until al dente.  Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water.  Drain pasta and return to pot.  Stir in sliced chicken, arugula, basil, lemon juice, Parmesan, and remaining garlic mixture, adding reserved pasta water as needed.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve.

My kids couldn't get enough of this dinner!!