My CSA share this week came with the most beautiful carrots. I am not the biggest fan of carrots but I don’t mind them mixed into a dish. These were too pretty to not use! Cooking Light had a recipe in its latest issue that sounded really intriguing: Champagne-Browned Butter Chicken. The dish is pretty simple to make, although it takes a good hour and a half so this is not a weeknight meal. But the presentation is definitely snazzy enough for company!
Do you remember the first recipe you learned how to make? One that was probably so simple, but made you so proud when you had completed the dish? Mine (besides grilled cheese) was a chicken recipe my mom referred to as “Chicken a la Simon and Garfunkel” based on the lyrics in their song Scarborough Fair:
Are you goin’ to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.
Remember me to one who lives there,
she once was a true love of mine.
I knew the song so I was able to help make dinner by seasoning the chicken and keeping my mom company while humming the tune to the song (which I have to assume was more of a distraction than a help.. I’m a truly awful singer and I’m sure that translates into a truly awful hummer as well).
I figured this was as good as any time to learn how to roast a chicken. So I settled on Cornish game hens seasoned and stuffed with parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. I also made a “Scarborough Fair” Risotto to go with the chicken.
Ingredients: (I was making this for a family dinner but lowered the amounts to happily feed 2. Multiply as needed).
2 Cornish game hens
1 tablespoon each of dried parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme (divided)
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 lemon
4 sprigs each of fresh parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme
I have no idea who decided that different foods should get taco-fied, but I am all for this movement. I love tacos, and Cooking Light comes up with the best taco recipes. These Kung Pao Chicken Tacos are everything I want in a meal: quick and easy to make, colorful, a hint of spice, and full of many ingredients I already had on hand.
Kung Pao chicken is a spicy stir-fry Chinese dish that includes peanuts, vegetables, chili peppers, and chicken. It is usually served over rice, but Cooking Light took some inspiration from Korean taco trucks and added the Kung Pao chicken to corn tortillas.
Ingredients:
6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
3 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce, divided (or coconut aminos to make gluten free)
I’m excited to share with you this recipe for Quinoa Chicken Curry, but before I do, I wanted to share a bit about quinoa.
Although quinoa seems to be a bit of a “new” super food, it has actually been around for thousands of years and was considered one of the most important crops of the Incas. This grain-like seed is really easy to cook (you cook it like rice) but is chock full of nutritional benefits. Quinoa’s high protein content makes it a great choice for vegans and vegetarians. It is also a complete protein which means it contains all the essential amino acids. Quinoa is also rich in vitamins and minerals, including magnesium, phosphorous, zinc, iron, potassium, calcium, vitamin B, folate, and riboflavin. Quinoa is also naturally gluten free, and can be ground into a flour that allows for gluten free baking. Whew.
I really didn’t know much about quinoa, or how to use it. So I was excited to be given the chance to review The Complete Idiot’s Guide Quinoa Cookbook to learn more about it. The book is full of quinoa recipes, including breakfast, dinner, and even dessert recipes. I wanted to try one of the more traditional preparations of quinoa, but can’t wait to delve into the more interesting uses for it in future posts (Lemon Poppy Seed Quinoa Cupcakes, anyone?) The book had a recipe for Quinoa Indian Chicken Curry that sounded absolutely fantastic!
Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained
4 cups chicken broth, divided
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
6 teaspoons curry powder, divided
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup frozen peas
1 medium head cauliflower, chopped into 1 inch pieces
I am a pasta addict. I love it. I will never ever be carb free because I don’t want to know what life is like without pasta. I am a huge fan of fresh pasta because 1. I personally think it tastes better and 2. takes about half the time to cook. When Buitoni contacted me about a new ravioli they were introducing (it should be available in early July), I was already sold. But then they told me what kind of ravioli it is: Chicken Marsala Ravioli. Chicken Marsala is one of my ultimate favorite recipes so I was beyond excited to work with this ravioli!
The Ravioli, “generously filled with all natural white meat chicken, roasted portobello mushrooms and caramelized onions with impastata ricotto, aged parmesan, and asiago cheeses accented with marsala wine”, is one of Buitoni’s new Riserva line of pastas. Other pastas include: Butternut Squash Agnolotti (which I will have a post on soon!), Chicken and Four Cheese Ravioli, Spicy Beef and Sausage Ravioli, Quattro Formaggi Agnolotti, and Wild Mushroom Agnolotti. How fantastic do they all sound?? The Butternut Squash Agnolotti and the Chicken Marsala Ravioli are only available in the Northeast, but the rest are available in grocery stores nationwide. Look for them in the refrigeration section, you can see if your store carries Buitoni products here.
This pasta would probably be fantastic just with a light butter sauce, but I decided to highlight the flavors of the ravioli that were already present in the pasta through a marsala sauce with mushrooms. Caramelized onions and marsala can both be pretty sweet, so I added some spinach to the mix to counteract that. Buitoni was also generous enough to send me a Buitoni apron, a Buitoni cutting board, and a few free coupons so one lucky winner can try these new pastas themselves! More information is below…
Ingredients:
1 package of Buitoni Chicken Marsala Ravioli
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided
1 shallot, minced
2 garlic cloves (or 1 garlic scape), minced
1 package of baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 package of shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
1/4 lb pancetta, cubed (or prosciutto, that was actually my original plan!)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup baby spinach leaves
1 cup Marsala wine
1/2 cup vegetable or chicken broth
1/4 tsp or less of truffle oil (optional)
Parmesan cheese, grated, as garnish
Parsley, chopped, as garnish
Begin by bringing a large pot of water to a boil.
While waiting for the pot of water to boil, mince your shallot and garlic. I used a garlic scape from my CSA share, it’s perfectly fine to use garlic cloves. Slice your mushrooms. Be sure to remove the stems of the shiitake mushrooms, they can be really woody tasting.
In a large saute pan, add 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. (You’re adding pancetta or prosciutto to this dish so have a light hand with the salt. You just need some to draw the water out of the mushrooms).
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms cook down and the liquid has evaporated.
While waiting for the mushrooms to cook down, cube the pancetta and add to a small saute pan over medium high heat. Cook for 4 minutes.
Your pot of water should hopefully be boiling. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil to the pot of boiling water and add the ravioli. Cook for 6 minutes and drain.
Add the Marsala and the broth to the mushrooms. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Add the pancetta to the mixture when it is finished cooking.
Don’t wipe down the saute pan that had the pancetta. Just add the 1 cup of spinach leaves and cover. Cook until wilted, about 1 minute.
Add the ravioli to the mushroom mixture and toss. Remove from heat, add a very slight amount of truffle oil if using, and mix in the wilted spinach.
To serve, add the ravioli to a plate. Spoon the sauce, mushrooms, spinach and pancetta over the pasta. Top with parsley and Parmesan cheese.
The pancetta adds the perfect amount of saltiness to the dish to bring out the other flavors. The spinach works to counteract the sweetness of the Marsala. Mushrooms add an earthy flavor to the whole dish.
I loved the ravioli by the way. It has a ton of flavor and really did a great job of capturing the flavor of chicken marsala into a pasta! My boyfriend absolutely loved this recipe. In fact, he ate a good three servings of this in one sitting!
What kind of sauce would you serve with your Chicken Marsala Ravioli?
Now on to the giveaway. Please be sure to use the widget below to enter. Each person can enter up to 7 times, but only the first entry (writing in the comment section what Buitoni pasta you want to try and how you’d prepare it) is mandatory. Good luck!!
Chicken Marsala Ravioli with Spinach and Mushrooms
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
1 package of Buitoni Chicken Marsala Ravioli
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided
1 shallot, minced
2 garlic cloves (or 1 garlic scape), minced
1 package of baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 package of shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
1/4 lb pancetta, cubed (or used prosciutto, that was actually my original plan!)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup baby spinach leaves
1 cup Marsala wine
1/2 cup vegetable or chicken broth
1/4 tsp or less of truffle oil (optional)
Parmesan cheese, grated, as garnish
Parsley, chopped, as garnish
Instructions
Begin by bringing a large pot of water to a boil.
While waiting for the pot of water to boil, mince your shallot and garlic. I used a garlic scape from my CSA share, it’s perfectly fine to use garlic cloves. Slice your mushrooms. Be sure to remove the stems of the shiitake mushrooms, they can be really woody tasting.
In a large saute pan, add 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. (You’re adding pancetta or prosciutto to this dish so have a light hand with the salt. You just need some to draw the water out of the mushrooms).
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms cook down and the liquid has evaporated.
While waiting for the mushrooms to cook down, cube the pancetta and add to a small saute pan over medium high heat. Cook for 4 minutes.
Your pot of water should hopefully be boiling. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil to the pot of boiling water and add the ravioli. Cook for 6 minutes and drain.
Add the Marsala and the broth to the mushrooms. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Add the pancetta to the mixture when it is finished cooking.
Don’t wipe down the saute pan that had the pancetta. Just add the 1 cup of spinach leaves and cover. Cook until wilted, about 1 minute.
Add the ravioli to the mushroom mixture and toss. Remove from heat, add a very slight amount of truffle oil if using, and mix in the wilted spinach.
To serve, add the ravioli to a plate. Spoon the sauce, mushrooms, spinach and pancetta over the pasta. Top with parsley and Parmesan cheese.
I have inexplicably been picking up an avocado each and every time I buy groceries. I didn’t have a recipe for the avocados, I just kept buying them. I guess my subconscious really wanted one. So I finally sat down and found a recipe highlighting them: Seared Chicken with Avocado. I added some tomato to give it a bit more freshness but the rest of the recipe is pretty intact.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 teaspoons blackened seasoning
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 teaspoon coconut oil
1 diced peeled avocado
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 1 lime), plus the zest of the lime
I know, I know. I really need to up my chicken recipes. Cooking Light must realize this too because they had a recipe for Spicy Moroccan Chicken Skewers that I couldn’t pass up. The original recipe suggested serving the skewers with Greek yogurt, so I made a quick raita to go with them. I also served it with a simple couscous. This recipe does involve marinating the chicken for 2 hours, so prepare accordingly. (I made this over a weekend, I think this might be tough to make on a weeknight.)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons chile paste (such as sambal oelek)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
5/8 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 30 pieces
Adding spices to your meal is a great way to add tons of flavor to a dish without adding calories. Because you need so little of the spice to enhance a dish, it’s a pretty cost-effective way to add flavor as well. (I try to buy my spices outside of supermarkets where they are really marked up. Spice Terminal in Reading Terminal was my favorite spot — I hope it’s coming back soon! update: The Head Nut is now open!) This dish in the latest Cooking Light for Tandoori Chicken Thighs incorporates traditional Indian spices which I absolutely love. I also made a quick saffron rice to go with the chicken.
Well, that’s quite a long title for a dish. I don’t really know what else to call it though, this recipe was a result of me trying to make a meal with what I had on hand. I was send some chicken from Gold’n Plump, and one of the options was Lemon Pepper Seasoned Boneless Skinless Breast Fillets. I had some tarragon left over from my Salmon Croquettes and I thought the lemon pepper seasoning would go perfectly with that, along with some sun dried tomatoes and artichoke hearts.
Ingredients (this makes two servings):
2 lemon pepper seasoned boneless skinless breast fillets
1/2 box pasta of your choice (I used fusilli)
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup cream
4 artichoke hearts, quartered
1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon chopped tarragon
salt and pepper, to taste
1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
the juice of one lemon
Gold’n Plump’s chicken is individually packaged, which is awesome for people who live alone or do not have a family of four. I tend to not buy chicken because I never manage to finish the four fillets usually included in one package. The individual servings allow me to take what I need and freeze the rest for later use.
Bring a pot of water to boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain and set aside. While the pasta is cooking, add the olive oil to a saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and the green onions, and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add the cream, sun dried tomatoes, tarragon, and artichoke hearts.
Cover and simmer on medium low for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. While the cream mixture is simmering, heat a grill pan (or a saute pan if you don’t have a grill pan) over medium high heat. Add the chicken and sear on both sides, about 3 minutes per side.
The chicken will not be fully cooked through. Slice into thin strips and add to the cream mixture. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked.
Add the pasta to the cream mixture and toss to coat.
Add the mozzarella cheese. Cook for another 1-3 minutes to allow the pasta to absorb some of the sauce, and to let the cheese melt.
Remove from heat and squeeze the lemon juice in to the dish. Mix and serve.
Despite the cream, the flavor of the chicken still shone through, it was really nice! I loved having such a nice amount of flavor from the chicken without having to remember to marinate it beforehand.
Artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, and tarragon work so well together.
You could have this dish without the pasta, but I like it to soak up all of that yummy sauce.
Note: Although the Lemon Pepper Chicken is available in some markets, it is not available in the Philadelphia area.However, Targets in the area do carry the following Gold’n Plump products:
I haven’t posted a chicken recipe on here since September! I figured it was definitely time to change that. I really don’t eat much chicken so I guess I’ve gone a long time without even making it without realizing. I have been on a couscous kick so when I came across Cooking Light‘s recipe for Couscous Stuffed Chicken I was pretty pumped. However, I apparently do not possess the skill to create pinwheels with chicken. What they lack in beauty though they most certainly make up for in flavor!
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. First make the couscous. Add the broth to a small pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the couscous. Cover and let stand for 4 minutes.
Add the couscous to a small bowl and fluff with a fork. Allow to cool. Add the chopped tomato, olives, feta, olive oil, parsley, lemon zest, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper.
Place chicken between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound to 1/4 inch thickness. (I failed at this step. My pounding brought it by no means close to 1/4 inch thickness. Next time I make this, I think I’ll try it with chicken tenderloins instead).
Add the couscous mixture on top of each piece of chicken.
Roll up and secure with wooden picks. Pretty sure this should have looked prettier than mine ended up.
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a large oven proof saute pan over medium-high heat. Coat with cooking spray and add the chicken rolls. Cook for six minutes until the chicken is browned. Turn over and bake at 400 degrees.
The original recipe said 5 minutes. Because my pieces were so thick it took closer to 20 minutes.
So yeah. My presentation isn’t going to win me any awards. BUT this dish tastes so good! The chicken remained really moist and flavorful.
The couscous mixture was fantastic. I am not the biggest fan of olives so I included fewer in my rolled up chicken (which meant my olive-loving boyfriend got more in his mixture. No complaints from him).
I think thin chicken tenderloins would work much better with these if you are big on presentation.
I honestly don’t know why I don’t make more dinners that involve chicken. I guess I just never have any on hand. This week, we were celebrating one of my friend’s birthdays by making her dinner and we settled on a chicken dish. I was really at a loss for what to make, so luckily Budget Bytes came to the rescue with her recipe for Balsamic Bruschetta Chicken. (Please excuse the photos in this post. I wasn’t exactly planning on making a post about it so they aren’t that fantastic. But this recipe is too good not to share!)
It’s difficult to not associate barbecues with Labor Day weekend. The unofficial end of summer is usually spent the same way summer began on Memorial Day: relaxing (preferably at a beach) and enjoying the company of friends and family while eating burgers, hot dogs, and grilled chicken. Well, there was no beach for me this weekend, but I was still able to “grill” despite the kind of crummy weather so that I still got my barbecue fix. Cooking Light has a surprisingly simple looking recipe for Pulled Chicken Sandwiches that I just had to try.
Ingredients:
For the chicken:
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chile pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs
Cooking spray
For the sauce:
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon molasses
Remaining ingredients:
8 sandwich rolls, toasted
Pickles, your choice
Don’t let the number of ingredients deter you from making this. It really is simple! The original recipe actually used dark brown sugar, but I had light brown sugar on hand. Feel free to use whichever one you happen to have. You can substitute chicken breasts for this, but thigh meat adds extra juiciness to the sandwich that you really don’t want to miss out tasting.
Begin by preheating your grill. I was stuck indoors, so I just used a grill pan.
Combine first 7 ingredients (light brown sugar through ginger) in a small bowl. I somehow misplaced my measuring spoons so I kind of eyeballed all of these ingredients. Don’t worry about getting the perfect amounts, it’s more about the proportion to the other spices.
Rub the mixture evenly over the chicken.
Place chicken on a grill rack coated with cooking spray.
Cover and cook for 20 minutes, or until a thermometer registers 180 degrees, turning occasionally.
Let stand for 5 minutes.
Shred with 2 forks.
Set to the side for now.
Prepare your onions. If needed, slice your pickles. My boyfriend prefers sweet pickles so we bought the mini ones and minced them for an easy topping.
To prepare sauce, heat oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes or until soft. Stir in 2 tablespoons brown sugar, and the next 5 ingredients (chili powder through ground red pepper) and cook for 30 seconds.
Add ketchup, vinegar and molasses.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.
Stir in chicken and cook for 2 minutes, making sure the chicken is thoroughly coated in the sauce.
Toast the buns.
Place about 1/3 cup chicken mixture on bottom halves of the toasted roll.
Top with pickles if desired.
This recipe was promising from the start. I haven’t seen my boyfriend so excited for a meal I’m cooking in a long time; he even offered to help out! (He worked on grilling and shredding the chicken while I prepped and worked on the sauce, it really sped up the cook time). And this recipe really delivered. It tasted like it had slow cooked for hours, subtly sweet and spicy at the same time. I really don’t like pickles, but my boyfriend had his topped with pickles and said it really made the sandwich that much better.
This meal could easily be used in the winter months to remind you of the warmer weather. You could make this as I did on a grill pan, or to really enhance the flavor, you could cook the chicken in a slow cooker for 5 hours on low.
I swear, every single recipe I’ve come across in the past week has included avocado. I am somewhat blaming one of my coworkers, who manages to consume at least 1/2 an avocado a day, every day. So this recipe choice is very much influenced by her avocado obsession. My CSA share’s inclusion of corn this week made this a must try. I adapted this from Cooking Light‘s August Issue.
Ingredients:
2 ripe avocados, divided
1 1/2 cups water
The juice of 1 lemon
The juice of 2 limes
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
A pinch of ground red pepper
1/4 rotisserie chicken, shredded
Corn kernels from 3 ears of corn (or 1.5 cups of defrosted corn kernels)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/3 cup chopped scallions
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Peel and chop 1 avocado and put into a blender.
Add the water, lemon and lime juice, honey, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and pinch of red pepper. (Add more red pepper if desired) Blend until smooth.
Place in the freezer for 15 minutes. During this time, chop your red bell pepper, scallions, and cilantro, and peel and dice your remaining avocado. Shred the chicken as finely as you choose.
Combine the diced avocado, bell pepper, corn and scallions and pour the avocado puree over the mixture. Mix to combine. Spoon into four bowls and top with chicken and cilantro.
This meal is too easy to not try. Using frozen corn kernels and rotisserie chicken makes this a 20 minute meal. I made this the night before in the hopes of having it for lunch the next day. I was a bit worried that it might oxidize overnight and turn an unappealing color, but the citrus from the lemon and lime kept that from happening. The original recipe uses orange juice instead, but that didn’t sound all that appealing to me. I also substituted rotisserie chicken for grilling my own chicken because I had bought 1/2 a rotisserie chicken to make another dish from Cooking Light also.
I loved that the citrus came through in the dish, but could have used a bit more red pepper flakes. This is a very chunky chowder, which makes it feel like a real meal versus a too smooth soup. My coworker even tried a bite, and she approved. I will be making this for lunch again in the near future!
Tacos are one of my favorite “quick dinners.” For the most part, it all comes down to assembly. I tend to make tacos more as a way to clean my fridge of various vegetables (lettuce, tomatoes, corn, avocados, etc.) but this recipe from the August issue of Cooking Light sounded so tasty I couldn’t wait for a fridge-cleaning day, went out, and bought these ingredients.
Preheat your broiler. Place the corn on a pan and broil the corn for 18 minutes, rotating every 6 minutes to allow for an even char. If you are using frozen corn kernels, allow them to thaw. No cooking/broiling needed — you can skip down to combining the kernels with the tomatoes.
While the corn is cooking, quarter the tomatoes. Shred your chicken.
Cut the kernels from the corn.
Place the kernels in a bowl and mix in the tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Heat the tortillas. Divide the chicken evenly among the tortillas.
Top each with 1/4 cup of the corn mixture and 2 avocado slices. Serve with lime wedges.
I loved the flavors in this dish. However, I don’t feel like the flavor of the corn had the chance to shine through, so I’d suggest using defrosted corn kernels to speed up the process. The colors of this are so pretty too! Heirloom tomatoes add extra pizazz, but using plain old cherry or grape tomatoes would get the job done.
Wow. I haven’t used chicken in a recipe in over a month. I think it is time to finally give poultry it’s time in the limelight. I received fennel in my CSA share and thought this recipe for Sauteed Chicken Breasts with Fennel and Rosemary from Food & Wine sounded like a perfect use of the ingredient.
As a plus, I had all of the ingredients already in my kitchen, with the exception of the chicken.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, plus more for garnish
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock. divided
