Pistachio Crusted Chicken Breasts

I found this recipe in the Passover By Design cookbook. I never got around to making it on Passover but did try it after. The recipe is for chicken tenders on skewers but I was too lazy to make it that way so I kept it simple. The original recipe also has a raspberry sauce to serve it with but I wasn't interested in serving it with a sweet sauce and knew nobody in my family would enjoy that. I served it with a mayonnaise based sauce but any sauce/dressing will do. It was a big hit and I will be making it again both during the year and on Passover.

4 Bonesless skinless chicken breasts
Salt
Pepper
1 C. White Wine
1 C. Shelled Pistachio, coarsely chopped

Flatten chicken. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Place them in a bowl and add wine. Marinate for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350. Roll piece of chicken in nuts, pressing them so the nuts adhere to the chicken. Bake 13-15 minutes, turning once.

Herb Roasted Chicken Legs

Sometimes the simplest recipes are the best. When I first saw that this recipe included cilantro I was excited as it is one of my favorite herbs and I have a nice amount growing in my yard(If you live nearby and want to make this please come by and take some). Then when I saw how simple it was I was even more excited to try it. It comes from weelicious.com which is one of my favorite cooking websites. Speaking of which, I am compiling a list of my favorite food sites so if you have one(healthy or not) that you think I would enjoy please email me and I will take a look.
Back to topic-I made this one as it says with both boneless skinless chicken breast and with legs. If you use the boneless skinless chicken breast I would recommend pounding them and cooking for about half the time. If you don't pound the chicken(which I did) it will take the full 40 minutes to cook through. We all enjoyed this one, especially my daughter who couldn't get enough.

1/4 Cup Fresh Cilantro, chopped
1 1/2 Tbls. Lemon Juice
1 tsp. Kosher Salt
2 Tbls. Olive Oil
2 lbs Chicken Legs

Preheat oven to 375°F. Place tall except chicken into a ziploc bag and mix well. Add the chicken legs, coat with the mixture, close and marinate for 30 minutes in the fridge. Place chicken legs in a greased baking dish, pour the marinade over and roast for 40 minutes.

Roasted Carrots with Garlic

This recipe is from the Uncommonly Kosher cookbook. I have cut down the oil but otherwise left the recipe as is. We have been enjoying this one for quite a while. I often double this one as many get gobbled up before serving and we like the leftovers too.

10 large Carrots, sliced
8 large Garlic Cloves, minced
2 Tbls. Olive Oil
2 Tbls. Parsley, chopped
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 425. Place carrots in a bowl. Mix garlic, olive oil, parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Toss garlic mixture with carrots. Arrange on a single layer on a cookie sheet(I use parchment paper for easy cleanup) and bake for 40 minutes. Turn carrots while roasting.

Tiny Taco Meatballs

I had some ground turkey in my freezer and was trying to decide between tacos and meatballs when it came to me-how about taco flavored meatballs? Well a quick google search showed that I wasn't the only one who had this idea. I found this recipe and we were not disappointed. The only change I made was I used ground turkey rather than ground beef. They would probably be good half beef and half turkey as well-it was just what I had in the freezer. I served them over brown rice and some of my more adventurous family members enjoyed them with a little taco sauce poured on top.

2 eggs
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 envelope taco seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 pounds ground turkey
Taco sauce, optional

Combine the first five ingredients. Add the turkey and mix well. Shape into 1 inch balls. Place meatballs on a greased rack in a shallow baking pan. Bake at 400° for 14-18 minutes. Serve with taco sauce if desired.

Thai Quinoa

I had planned on posting a different recipe today however I made this recipe for Thai Quinoa and it was so good that I needed to share. I never got a chance to take a picture because it was gobbled up so fast-I hardly got a spoonful of it myself as it was such a hit with my guests but the spoonful I got was delicious. The combination of the jalapeno, basil and cilantro were wonderful. I did make one change. I didn't have any mango so I threw in a handful of craisins instead. I served it at room temperature. Next time I am doubling this one.


1 Cup dry quinoa
3 cups water
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
6 leaves fresh basil, finely chopped
3 sprigs fresh cilantro, leaves gently torn (discard stems)
1⁄3 cup minced red onion (about 1/2 small red onion)
1 handful Craisins
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
fine sea salt
1 tablespoon lime juice

Rinse the quinoa thoroughly either in a strainer or in a pot and drain. (Do not skip this step or a bitter-tasting, natural soap-like coating will remain.) Once the quinoa is drained, place it into a medium pot with the water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the water is absorbed, about 10–15 minutes or until the grains turn translucent and the outer layer pops off. In the meantime combine the minced jalapeño, basil, cilantro, red onion, and craisins in a medium bowl. Drizzle in the oil, soy sauce, 1⁄2 teaspoon salt, and lime juice. Stir to combine.
Add the drained quinoa and toss to combine. Season with salt to taste. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Yield: 6-8 servings

Sun-Dried Tomato and Garlic Chicken

Are you looking for a use for all the sun dried tomatoes you have? I know I was. I came across this one for Sun-Dried Tomato and Garlic Chicken.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
15-18 Garlic Cloves
1 Onion, sliced
1 Green Pepper, sliced
1/2 cup Sun-Dried Tomatoes (not packed in oil), chopped
1/4 cup White Wine
1/2 cup Chicken Broth
1 tsp. Dried Oregano
1/4 tsp.Ground Black Pepper

Rinse and cut all visible fat off of chicken breasts. Coat a pan with Pam and preheat oven to medium heat. Mince 2 of the garlic cloves, and place them in the pan with the chicken breast. Surround the chicken with the remaining garlic cloves. Cook the chicken for 2-4 minutes on each side, or until the chicken and garlic cloves are browned. Remove the chicken from the pan. Lay the onions, green peppers, and tomatoes over garlic cloves in a 9X13 baking pan. Arrange the chicken over the tomatoes, onions, green peppers, and garlic. Pour wine and broth over chicken, and sprinkle with oregano and pepper. Cover and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Serve chicken breasts with the vegetables and pan juices.

Basic Pancakes

One of the meals that all my kids like is pancakes. I have tried various types of pancakes that are healthier however I never revamped the basic pancake recipe that I had always made for them. I decided to give it a try the other night and the results were great. The original recipe used white flour, sugar and frying the pancakes in oil. I added wheat flour, switched the sugar to splenda and added flax seed. I also "fry" them in Pam. Just as tasty but better for you. Enjoy!

2 Eggs
2 C. Skim Milk
2 1/2 Tbls. Canola Oil
1 C. White Flour
1 C. Whole Wheat Flour
1 tsp. Flax Seed
4 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 C. Splenda

Beat eggs lightly then add milk and oil. Mix. Add dry ingredients and mix until slightly lumpy. Spray a skillet with Pam and heat. Drop by 1/4 C. full and cook until bubbles form. Flip and cook for another minute.

Sun Dried Tomatoes

In attempt to use and preserve all the tomatoes I bought on sale I decided to "sun dry" some. I really had no desire to leave the tomatoes outside and let the cats that roam eat them so I found a way to dry them in the oven.

Cut Roma tomatoes into quarters. You can also try this with cherry tomatoes cut in halves. Place cut tomatoes on a baking sheet. Sprinkle lightly with coarse salt. Place in oven at 175F degrees for 8 hours. Larger pieces may require more time. Store in a glass jar filled with olive oil to cover tomatoes, or in a plastic container in the refrigerator for non-oily tomatoes. You can also store these in the freezer.

Roasted Tomato Soup

Today tomatoes were on sale for .49 agrout per kilo which is a few pennies per pound so I bought the 3 kilo I was limited to. I decided to make some tomato soup. I believe this recipe originated in a South Beach Cookbook. I doubled the recipe since it doesn't make a lot and I had a lot of tomatoes. I still have a bunch so if you have any good tomato recipes you'd like to share I am happy to receive them!

2 1/2 pounds plum tomatoes(about 10 tomatoes), cut in half lengthwise
1 medium onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
1 Tbls. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. salt
black pepper
1 Tbls. olive oil
1 cup vegetable broth or chicken broth

Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange tomatoes, cut side up and scatter onion and garlic in a single layer around the tomatoes. Sprinkle with basil, oregano, salt and pepper; drizzle with oil. Bake on middle rack until tomatoes are golden on the bottoms and start to collapse, about 40 minutes. Remove from oven and put in pot, add 1/2 cup of broth and puree until smooth. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup of broth and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Serve warm.
Makes 4 (1 1/4 cup) servings.

Turkey Meatballs and Zucchini

A friend of ours has a food blog and he shared this recipe for Meatballs and Zucchini. I was hesitant as I had never made meatballs without some sort of tomato sauce but since the author is a wonderful cook I figured I would give it a try. The results were not the prettiest however they were delicious. The only change I made was using ground turkey rather than beef. Also, if you like food salty you may want to add some more. I thought it tasted perfect however there were eaters in my house that needed to add a little salt.

2 kilo(2.2 lbs) Zucchini, cubed (1/2 inch cubes)
2-3 Tbls. Oil
6 Cloves Garlic, halved
1 Large Onion, diced
1 kilo(2.2 lbs) Ground Turkey
3 Eggs
Parsley
1 tsp. Oregano
Pepper
Salt
1 C. Water

Salt the cubed zucchini in a colander and let sit for at 30 minutes. Wash the zucchini and let sit.
In a pot heat the oil and brown the garlic. Remove the garlic from the oil and add the onion. Saute until soft. Add the zucchini and cook covered for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the remaining ingredients into the meatballs. Add the water to the zucchini. Drop in 1 inch meatballs and cook covered on low for 1/2 hour. Add in the browned garlic and let cook uncovered for another 30 minutes until the liquid is reduced somewhat.

Chicken and Rice Revisited

When I originally posted the recipe for Simple Chicken and Rice Bake it went up with a really bad picture of the tiny amount of leftovers. My sister and brother-in-law, who is one of my "followers"(if you want to be a follower just click on the follow button on the right of the screen) made the recipe and took a much better picture:

Much prettier than mine-thinking I may make it again soon!