Today I am blogging over at Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free, and I’m sharing this delicious, easy, one-pot braised chicken recipe. It’s healthy and perfect for a still-chilly February day. (Ironically, today, we’re far from chilly here in Dallas – highs near 80 degrees are forecasted. Only in Texas.)
Head on over to Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free to check out the recipe!
I’m blogging over at The Balanced Platter today about some easy tips to keep eating healthy. Eating healthy can still be doable, even after that initial “I’m gonna change my diet and be healthy!” push you made at the start of the new year has long since fizzled. Along with some ways to make cooking and eating whole, healthy, unprocessed foods a bit easier, I’m also sharing a technique for roasting chicken that I’m sure you’ll love – spatchcocking. This technique can make roasting a whole chicken a weeknight event, and can make it taste better than any other method I’ve tried! (Roast chicken is definitely a wonderful way to your lover’s heart, too, so why not try it tonight for Valentine’s Day dinner?)
Head on over to The Balanced Platter to find out how to whip up a delectable roast chicken!
This post is linked to Gluten-Free Virtual Support Group at Gluten-Free Easily.
This soup is a bit random. Chicken, a lot of different vegetables, and even some ham all found their way into my soup pot this past weekend. But often times, isn’t that the beauty of soup? You might have a kitchen full of various bits and bites, leftovers, and odds and ends, and with the right combination and a little simmering time, you have a rustic, comforting meal. It’s not culinary extravagance, but it’s good, particularly when a cold wind is blowing outside.
This particular soup started because I wanted to find something to make using the ham bone from Christmas that I’d thrown in the freezer. I didn’t want a bean soup (although leftover ham bones make beans taste delicious), nor did I want a potato or greens soup. Instead, I opted to go rogue, and create a random soup using a chicken that was also in my freezer, dried shiitake mushrooms, and whatever veggies were knocking about in the fridge. I wanted it to be creamy and comforting, but I didn’t want it to be heavy.
What resulted as a humble soup relying mostly on long-simmered, pureed vegetables as the “cream”, plus more veggies for texture and interest. Not to mention tasty bites of chicken and a lovely ham flavor accenting throughout. It wasn’t beautiful, and it wasn’t fancy, but it warmed my belly and satisfied my soul. (It didn’t hurt that it was a bit nutritious too.)
Creamy Chicken and Vegetable Stew
1 ham bone with a bit of ham left on it
1 whole chicken
1/2 yellow onion, peeled but left in one piece, studded with 6 cloves
2 carrots, scrubbed and cut into a few pieces (don’t bother to peel)
1 stalk celery, cut into a few large pieces
1 bay leaf, 1/2 t coriander seeds, and 1/2 t peppercorns, tied into a bag with a small piece of cheesecloth
1 oz dried shiitake mushrooms
2 c vegetable broth
1 lemon, sliced
2 T olive oil
2 T arrowroot starch
1 c non-dairy milk (I used So Delicious unsweetened coconut milk)
2-3 c water
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 zucchini, chopped
3 c chopped kale
1/4 t cayenne pepper
salt and pepper tp taste
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 c chopped flat-leaf parsley
Place ham bone, chicken, onion, carrot, celery, bag of spices, mushrooms, and vegetable broth in a slow cooker. Lay lemon slices on top. Cook on low for 5-6 hours.
Strain broth from meat and vegetables. Skim fat from broth, and place broth and the carrot, celery, and mushrooms (as many as you can pick out, don’t get too worried about getting every last one of them) in a blender and puree. Set aside. Pick meat from bones and tear into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
In a large Dutch oven or soup pot, add olive oil. Heat to medium heat and whisk in arrowroot starch. Add non-dairy milk and whisk in. Bring to a slow boil, whisking frequently, until thick. Add broth mixture from blender, water, and carrots. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add meat, zucchini, kale, and cayenne. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add more water if needed. Adjust seasoning to taste, adding more salt and pepper as needed. Just before serving, stir in lemon juice and parsley.
Serves 6.
This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays at Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free.
At the Gluten-Free and Allergen-Free Expo in Dallas last month, I had the privilege of meeting Laura B. Russell, author of The Gluten-Free Asian Kitchen. While I’m no stranger to making some Asian dishes gluten-free, (wheat-free tamari is a staple at our house, as are other gluten-free Asian pantry items, like fish sauce, coconut milk, curry pastes, ginger, garlic, sesame seeds – the list goes on.) there are gaps in my knowledge. For instance, I’ve never made dumplings or fried egg rolls, and I’m limited on my knowledge of Korean and Japanese cuisine. I tend to stick to South Asian curries and an occasional stir-fry. Well, friends, I’m here to tell you, not anymore. I’m branching out. After seeing recipes for gluten-free dumplings, bibimbap, and crispy spring rolls, I’m strongly considering making an Asian treat as often as possible. Laura definitely delivers, bringing foods back to my plate that I’d long since written off as one of those items I “used to eat”.
Have you ever done that? You’re sitting around chatting with a group of people, and the subject of food comes up. Someone mentions a restaurant or a food item that contains gluten. This restaurant has the best fried chicken, or OMG, homemade lasagna is the best are examples of such talks. And while you might not truly pine for the aforementioned fried chicken or lasagna, you join in the conversation, remembering that you “used to eat” it too, and you agree – it was good. I find myself in these conversations a lot – and find that I “used to eat” a lot of stuff, both good and bad. While 99% of the time, I’m much, much happier eating in a way that jives with my body (and over time, my body is thanking me for this – I’m feeling healthier every day), but there is that other 1%. That moment when the pining actually hits, and I truly miss one of those items I “used to eat”.
Laura helps fill that little void with her book. If you’ve ever missed your Chinese take-out, or long for crispy spring rolls, then pine no more, and grab yourself a copy of The Gluten-Free Asian Kitchen. The pictures alone will make you drool, but don’t stop there. Make something. You certainly won’t be sorry.
After bookmarking half the book when trying to decide what to make, I opted for quick-and-easy. I made Laura’s Kung Pao Chicken, substituting arrowroot starch for the cornstarch. It didn’t disappoint – it was full of flavor, but not so spicy that it wouldn’t be kid-friendly. (You can certainly add more red pepper flakes if you need additional heat.) This Kung Pao Chicken delivers that delicious, Chinese take-out fix you need, without all the MSG and gluten, and it can be prepared in about the same amount of time it would take for the Chinese food delivery guy to arrive at your door.
Just because Ten Speed Press and Laura B. Russell are so awesome, they’ve graciously offered to provide a copy of The Gluten-Free Asian Kitchen as a giveaway for one of you. You could be cooking your very own Asian favorites in just a few weeks! Here are all the details on how to enter to win:
1. Leave a comment telling me what Asian food favorite you’d love to see made gluten-free.
2. Subscribe to Tasty Eats At Home and leave me a comment telling me you did so.
3. Visit Laura B. Russell’s website and subscribe, and leave me a comment telling me you did so.
4. “Like” Tasty Eats At Home on Facebook and leave me a comment telling me you did so.
5. “Like” Notes from a Gluten-Free Kitchen on Facebook and leave me a comment telling me you did so.
Best of luck to you! This giveaway closes on Friday, November 11, 2011. I will randomly draw one lucky name on Saturday, November 12.
Kung Pao Chicken, Reprinted with permission from The Gluten-Free Asian Kitchen: Recipes for Noodles, Dumplings, Sauces, and More. Copyright © 2011 by Laura B. Russell. Published by Celestial Arts, an imprint of Ten Speed Press and the Crown Publishing Group, Berkeley, CA. Photo Credit: Leo Gong.
11/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch dice
4 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari , divided
1 tablespoon sake or dry sherry
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
21/2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
21/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
8 cloves garlic, minced
6 green onions, white and green parts, sliced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup coarsely chopped roasted peanuts or cashews
Steamed rice, for serving (optional)
In a medium bowl, stir together the chicken, 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce, the sake, salt, and pepper. Set aside until ready to use.
In a small bowl, stir together the warm water and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Add the rice vinegar, sesame oil, and the remaining 3 tablespoons soy sauce.
In a large frying pan or a wok, heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add half the chicken to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned but not all the way cooked through, about 2 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a large bowl. Repeat with the remaining chicken and 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the cornstarch to the chicken. Toss to combine. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add the ginger, garlic, green onions, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the chicken back to the pan and stir to coat. Stir in the soy sauce mixture and bring to a simmer. Cook until the sauce coats the chicken and everything is heated through, about 2 minutes longer. Stir in the peanuts; serve hot with steamed rice.
It was almost a year ago when I was first in touch with Hallie Klecker, the author of the beautiful blog Daily Bites and The Pure Kitchen to start testing recipes for her book. I was excited to test them – Hallie’s blog was full of delicious, easy-to-make, wholesome recipes. Long ago I’d fallen in love with her carrot cake bites, and I knew only tasty things could come from this book!
But it’s most exciting to see the final product. This is Hallie’s first book, and it couldn’t be more wonderful. In addition to 100 gluten-free, dairy-free recipes, she guides the reader on how to transition to a more wholesome, pure way of living that can result in relief of a lot of nagging health issues and pave the way for a healthier life – without a lot of clutter, confusion, and junk. She suggests planning, and gives ideas of healthy pantry staples and kitchen utensils to use. While it might sound like a lot, the entire process is extremely approachable. Hallie has a wonderful way of making everything seem simpler and easier.
That approachability doesn’t stop with her recipes. Many gluten-free and dairy-free recipes list tons of ingredients. I’ve been guilty of this – I have a very well-stocked pantry and so for me, it’s nothing to grab just one more spice or ingredient to make my dish “perfect”. This sometimes results in a really long list of ingredients! In The Pure Kitchen, however, Hallie has a perfect balance of flavor and restraint. She carefully selects her ingredients, never including more than necessary, and the end result is a delicious, clean, pure dish.
Case in point: Dark Chocolate Brownie Balls. These are simple, and require no cooking. They only require a handful of ingredients, and in much less time than it would take you to make brownies (even those old brownies from a box!), you could have healthier, delicious brownie balls like these. They aren’t overly sweet, are full of dark chocolate goodness, and really satisfy that brownie craving in a small bite.
If chocolate’s not your thing, then she has another no-bake treat that is just as simple to make: Peanut Butter Freezer Treats. These little balls include peanut butter, applesauce, sunflower seeds, chocolate chips (which you can exclude if you’d like), and raisins, rolled and frozen. She describes them as a cross between peanut butter ice cream, chocolate fudge, caramel candies, and date balls. After trying them, I can totally agree. You can keep these babies out of sight, and grab one out of the freezer for a sweet treat that satisfies without a ton of sugar or empty calories.
Hallie does more than just dessert, however. She has a lovely slow cooker recipe, perfect for a weeknight. I made her Slow Cooker Indian Chicken, throwing everything into the crock for my slow cooker the night before, sticking it in the refrigerator, so I would only have to pull it out and turn it on before I left for work that morning. It smelled delicious when I walked in the door that evening, and within 15-20 minutes, dinner was ready. I call that a success. I did opt to make mine with a cauliflower “rice” instead of quinoa, but I can imagine quinoa would do an excellent job of soaking up the sauce, which was a definite highlight of this dish.
Regardless of whether you are new to gluten and dairy-free eating or have been cooking this way for years, The Pure Kitchen is definitely a resource to have at your disposal. I know I’ll return to this book time and time again.
Slow Cooker Indian Chicken with Quinoa, reprinted with permission from Hallie Klecker, The Pure Kitchen
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups cremini mushrooms, quartered (I left mine whole so I could fish them out more easily – I’m the only mushroom-lover in the house)
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (About 1 1/4 pounds)
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/3 cup canned coconut milk (full fat)
2 teaspoons arrowroot starch
1/3 cup raisins or dried currants (I used raisins)
1 1/4 cups quinoa
2 1/2 cups water
Chopped cilantro, for garnish
Place the bell pepper, carrots, onion, and mushrooms in the bottom of a large slow cooker. Rub the chicken thighs with the curry powder, garlic powder, and salt. Arrange on top of the vegetables. Pour the broth over the chicken. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4 hours.
In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut milk and arrowroot starch to combine. Stir the mixture into the chicken and vegetables along with the currants. Use 2 forks to shred up the chicken thighs in the bottom of the slow cooker. Cover and continue to cook on low for 30 minutes or on high for 15 minutes.
While the chicken finishes cooking, make the quinoa: bring the quinoa and water to boil in a medium pot over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook untilthe water is absorbed and the quinoa is fluffy, about 15 minutes.
Serve the chicken and vegetables over the quinoa. Garnish with the cilantro.
I hope everyone had a lovely Labor Day weekend! We certainly did here. Not a lot of plans, really – just hung out with family, relaxed, and enjoyed the fact that finally, we’re not having 100+ degree days. We’re still continuing to be in one of the worst droughts that I’ve seen (the wildfires all over the state are terrible), but at least the weather is starting to change. It’s amazing how much the heat can impact your mood. I find it so much easier to relax!
It also makes it easier to grill outside. While I have been using the grill a lot throughout the summer (and really, Texas is just about a year-round grilling state) simply so I could keep the house cool, it’s actually a joy to do so when it’s not 105 degrees outside. Tonight, I made a simple grilled chicken. Nothing fancy, no intricate flavors – just a pleasantly sweet sauce over a juicy grilled chicken breast.
The source of the recipe? Gwyneth Paltrow. In case you haven’t heard, she has a new cookbook out. I don’t own it – yet – although it’s on my wish list. When I saw the article in Bon Appetit a few months ago on her new book, I was eager to try her recipes. They were simple, straightforward, and with lots of fresh, seasonal ingredients. I have a tendency to overcomplicate things at times, so I’m always drawn to people who can pull together a delicious dish and keep the ingredient list short. At a glance, Gwyneth’s recipes seemed promising. I bookmarked several, and then, as it inevitably does, time passed.
Until this week, when I looked back through my bookmarked recipes for some menu inspiration. That’s when it jumped out at me: grilled chicken with peach BBQ sauce. You see, a few weeks back, I bought half of a bushel of peaches at the farmer’s market, and put them up in my freezer (and made some jam). I was dying to use some in a savory dish, and this would be perfect.
It was. While it wasn’t the best barbecue I’d ever had, it was perfect for today. It was approachable; perfect for kids, family, and easy, laid-back entertaining. The recipe was simple, so that if you had a busy day, were hosting a barbecue or party, or just were too pooped to execute a complicated meal, you could pull this one off. And since this weekend was all about relaxation and saying farewell to summer (and possibly a “good riddance” to the heat!), a simple, delicious recipe was definitely just the thing.
Peach BBQ Chicken, adapted from My Father’s Daughter
1 c chopped peeled fresh peaches
1/2 c sugar-free ketchup (I used Organicville, but I know Amy’s would have been great as well!)
2 1/2 T fresh lemon juice
3 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper to taste
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Combine the first 5 ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Transfer to a blender and puree. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Spoon half of the sauce over the chicken breasts in a shallow glass baking dish. Toss chicken breasts to coat with sauce. Divide remaining sauce into two bowls. Allow to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes to marinate, or alternatively, refrigerate, covered, for 8 hours or overnight. (I only marinated for 20 minutes.) Refrigerate sauce if not using within the hour.
Prepare the grill for medium heat. Brush grates with oil. Grill chicken until browned and almost cooked through, 4-5 minutes per side. Brush some of the remaining sauce over chicken and continue to grill until cooked through, 1-2 additional minutes per side. Allow to rest for 5 minutes, and slice. Serve with remaining unused sauce.
Serves 4.
Menu for September 6-10
Monday
Breakfast: Coconut flour pancakes, scrambled eggs, fresh raspberries
Dinner: Peach BBQ chicken, garden salad
(no lunch, as breakfast was late)
Tuesday
Breakfast: leftover pancakes, steamed spinach with a bit of leftover ground turkey taco meat, plum
Lunch: leftover paleo lasagna with zucchini (still working to perfect that recipe!)
Dinner: leftover chicken, sausage, shrimp chili (working to perfect that one too!)
Wednesday
Breakfast: smoothie with spinach, peaches, protein powder, and a hard-boiled egg
Lunch: garden salad with leftover peach BBQ chicken
Dinner: chicken satay with cucumber salad and steamed green beans
Thursday
Breakfast: scrambled eggs with leftover green beans
Lunch: leftover chicken satay and cucumber salad
Dinner: grilled chicken-basil sausages, baked sweet potatoes, and steamed broccoli
Friday
Breakfast: smoothie with blueberries, spinach, mint, and protein powder, and a handful of macadamia nuts
Lunch: leftover grilled sausages, sweet potatoes, and broccoli
Dinner: fridge clean-out! We’ll be eating whatever needs to be eaten that day!
Have a great week, everyone!
This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays at Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free.
Do you know what this is?
It’s zucchini noodles!
What are zucchini noodles? Well, they’re not really noodles, but rather, they are very thin strips of raw zucchini. I have a spiral slicer, and thought I’d put it to use making noodles. I wanted something grain-free to eat with a chicken curry, and this was just the thing.
The spiral slicer does make this super-easy, but if you don’t have one, you can use a vegetable peeler to make wide, flat noodles. Just peel the zucchini lengthwise into long strips, rotating as you go, until you get to the seeds. If you want, you can saute the noodles really briefly (like for a minute, tops), but I even enjoy them totally raw. They make the perfect base for any saucy dish. While I enjoy spaghetti squash as well, zucchini is a lovely change. (and since zucchini is in season, why not?)
So how about that curry?
This is definitely an easy weeknight curry. I didn’t make the curry paste from scratch. (shocker, I know) I used Thai Kitchen red curry paste. This made the whole dish come together much more quickly. While it’s not a traditional Thai curry (I haven’t seen many Thai curries with red cabbage and yellow squash…I just threw them in there because I had a ton of vegetables in the house that needed to be eaten, and it sounded tasty to me.), the flavors still worked well together. It was warm, slightly spicy, and comforting – all great attributes in a curry. (Aren’t saucy curries like, the ultimate comfort food? They are to me – and it doesn’t matter if it’s an Indian curry, a Thai curry, a Jamaican curry, or a totally-new-invention curry. They all make my belly happy.) And those zucchini noodles? They kept it from feeling heavy. In the summer, that’s a definite plus.
Thai-Inspired Chicken Curry
2 T coconut oil, divided
1 T Thai Kitchen red curry paste
1 ½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces
Salt and pepper to taste
1 c coconut milk
1 5-inch piece lemongrass, smashed with side of knife (you can find this at Whole Foods or an Asian grocery, or omit)
3 Kaffir lime leaves (you can find this at Whole Foods or an Asian grocery, or sub a bit of lime zest)
1 medium yellow squash, sliced
1 ½ c sliced red cabbage
1 tomato, chopped
2-3 T cilantro, chopped
Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of the coconut oil. Swirl to heat, and add curry paste. Stir the paste around for a few seconds to get it sizzling. Season the chicken with a bit of salt and pepper, and add to the skillet. Stir until the paste is evenly coating the chicken, and cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is browned, about 3-4 minutes. Add the coconut milk, lemongrass, and Kaffir lime leaves. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Allow to simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened well and flavors have melded. Adjust seasoning to taste.
While the curry is simmering, heat another skillet to medium heat. Add the remaining coconut oil and swirl. Add the squash and cabbage and saute, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes or until the squash is lightly browned and the cabbage is starting to wilt. Add the tomatoes and stir for a moment. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the vegetables to the curry and stir. Serve on top of zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash, or steamed rice. Garnish with chopped cilantro.
Serves 3-4.
This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays at Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free.
There’s more than one way to skin a cat, they say. Okay, perhaps that’s not such a great cliche for a food blog. Don’t want any negative mental images in your minds, dear readers! So scrap that. Instead, how about this:
There’s more than one way to stuff a chicken.
Yeah, that doesn’t have the same ring to it. Oh well.
The point of my saying this is that when I was testing out recipes for the Gluten-Free Summer Cooking Event with Lindsay Olives, I actually made this recipe first. Why? Well, honestly, because I didn’t completely read the part where “summer cooking” was involved. Roasting a chicken? Not exactly summer cooking. But I love roasted chicken so much, that I immediately gravitate towards it at any given opportunity. That includes incorporating green olives into a recipe.
So the pistachio, green olive, and raisin stuffing I made for these curried chicken breasts? It works perfectly stuffed inside a whole chicken as well. The curry seasoning works too, and rubbed all over, makes for a deliciously flavored chicken skin. (Our favorite part of the chicken in the Tasty Eats At Home household.) Normally, I dislike stuffing whole chickens. Stuffing, in the traditional sense, is some bready concoction that ends up drawing juices from the bird. This makes for dry meat that you can barely choke down. But a stuffing made from pistachios, olives, and raisins? Not the same. The stuffing and the chicken work synergistically – the stuffing is more intensely flavored from the juices, and the bird gains some flavor from the stuffing. Yes, it has to cook longer (so if you wish to wait until the weather cools to crank up the oven, I don’t blame you), but it’s so worth it.
Here’s how to do it. Not hardly any different than those chicken breasts. Don’t have any Lindsay green olives? Check out my giveaway here!
Roasted Curried Chicken with Pistachio-Green Olive Stuffing
1 chicken, 3-4 lbs, patted dry (smaller is better here)
1 ½ T Madras curry powder
1 t salt
½ c roasted unsalted pistachios
2 medium garlic cloves
1 c Lindsay Naturals green olives
½ c raisins
1 T olive oil
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix curry powder and salt together in a small bowl. Rub spice mix inside and out of the chicken, including between the skin and the breast meat.
Pulse pistachios in food processor until coarsely chopped and place in small bowl. Pulse garlic and olives in food processor until chopped (not finely). Stir in pistachios along with the raisins and olive oil.
Stuff the chicken with the stuffing. Secure legs with twine and tuck wings under the body, and place on a roasting pan.
Roast for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 and continue to roast until juices run clear when a thigh is pierced, 40-60 minutes more. Transfer to a carving board and tent with foil. Allow to rest 10 minutes and serve.
This summer has been hot. If you live in just about anywhere in the U.S. (Pacific Northwest excluded), you’d agree with me. We’ve been hitting 100 degrees or more for nearly a month straight here in North Texas, but we’re not alone – the heat seems to be causing us all quite a bit of discomfort across the country. The last thing a great many of us want to do when it’s so hot is turn the oven on, so we head out to the grill. I’ve definitely been taking advantage of our grill this summer – it seems that most every night I’m firing it up. In addition to keeping the kitchen cool, it’s definitely easier for cleanup. So when Wendy of Celiacs In The House invited me to participate in a Gluten-Free Summer Cooking Event with Lindsay Olives, I jumped at the chance.
I was inspired by the opportunity. I was to create a recipe using Lindsay Olives that involved summer grilling. I love olives. Not everyone in the house agrees – Brandan and I are the only ones that are interested in olives. But the Lindsay olives were different. They were less briny, and more buttery than the typical green olives. These olives would pair perfectly with some unlikely companions, I decided – madras curry, pistachios, and raisins.
I opted to make a stuffing with the olives, combining pistachios, garlic, and raisins, and rolling chicken breasts seasoned with the curry around the stuffing. Secured with a toothpick, the rolled chicken breasts held the stuffing quite well, even through turning on the grill. The presentation on the plate was quite a bit “fancier” than what is typically served at our house, but the beauty of the dish was that it was simple to make. I could find many an excuse to make this again and again over the coming months. It’s a great dish for company (or even for making your family feel special). A bonus? Even my husband and my sister (she was visiting one night when I trialed the stuffing), who both typically snub olives, enjoyed the stuffing.
Because I enjoyed these olives so much (Thank you, Lindsay Olives, for sending them to me!), and because Lindsay Olives must be in a particularly generous mood, I’m also giving away a sampler of Lindsay Olives Naturals and Re-closeables to a lucky winner! To enter, leave me a comment telling me what you’d like to make with Lindsay Olives. The giveaway will end Saturday, July 30, 2011, so hurry!
And now, onto the recipe:
Curried Grilled Chicken Breast with Pistachio-Green Olive Stuffing
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 ½ T Madras curry powder
1 t salt
½ c roasted unsalted pistachios
2 medium garlic cloves
1 c Lindsay Naturals green olives
½ c raisins
1 T olive oil
Place a chicken breast under a piece of plastic wrap and pound until about ½ – ¾ inch thick with the bottom of a heavy skillet or saucepan. Repeat with each breast.
Pulse pistachios in food processor until coarsely chopped and place in small bowl. Pulse garlic and olives in food processor until chopped (not finely). Stir in pistachios along with the raisins and olive oil.
Mix curry powder and salt together in a small bowl. Season each chicken breast with a generous amount of the spice mix. Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of the pistachio-olive mixture into the center of each breast. Carefully roll up the breast to encase the stuffing, and secure with a toothpick or two.
Prepare grill for indirect heat – if gas grill, turn all burners to high and close the lid. When the temperature reaches 400 degrees, lift the lid and turn off half of the burners. The area over the turned-off burners is the indirect heat area. If using a charcoal grill, light briquettes and let burn until covered with ash. Mound them on one side of the grill. The area over the section with no coals is the indirect heat area.
Brush the grates in the indirect heat area with oil. Place chicken down on the oiled grates. Close lid on gas grill. Cook for 10 minutes. Turn chicken, close lid and allow to cook for another 10 minutes. Check for doneness, and if necessary, turn again grill until chicken is cooked through and the stuffing is hot. Remove and cover loosely with foil to allow to rest for 5-10 minutes. Serve.
This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays over at Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free.
Where have the menu plans gone? You might be asking. They haven’t been posted on my blog for a few weeks now. Well, long story short, I was on vacation for 2 weeks. While I had vague ideas of what I planned on cooking, I was in the midst of testing so many recipes for my upcoming book, and our schedule was so lax, that I didn’t have an actual “plan.” (In fact, there were evenings where, after hours of cooking and testing recipes, my husband asked what was for dinner, and my only plan was something like “There are brownies, a cake, crackers, bread, some tomato jam, and I’m working on a meatloaf. Would you like any of that?” I had tons of food around, but often, there wasn’t a cohesive meal in sight.) Last week, I was still in post-vacation recovery mode, and a lot of the meals were last-minute compilations of what we needed to use up. Finally, this week, we’re back into the swing of things.
One of the recipes I was testing during my time off was a recipe I debuted last year, albeit in a slightly different form, as an appetizer for a crowd of guests (gluten and dairy eaters) that were visiting. Originally it was called an “appetizer square”, and was made with zucchini and crumbled pork sausage, rather than summer squash and chicken. It obviously went over well, as the pieces were gobbled down fairly quickly. When I came across it again, I remembered the abundance of squash in the refrigerator, and decided to make a different version. It turned out to be even better than the first, in my opinion.
What’s lovely about a recipe like this is that it’s versatile. Zucchini or summer squash can be used – and this time of year, most of us have more of both of these veggies than we’d like, so it’s a great way to use it up! Any leftover cooked meat can be used – or even beana (I could imagine black beans tasting scrumptious here!). Spice it how you’d like. Serve it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or as an appetizer. The sky is the limit here.
Summer Squash Chicken Frittata (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
½ c olive oil, divided
½ c diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t minced fresh sage
½ lb diced cooked chicken
½ t ground cumin
1 t herbs de Provence
1 t chile powder
4 whole eggs
½ c almond flour
¼ c coconut flour
1 T baking powder
3 c grated summer squash or zucchini
½ c Daiya cheese (or other non-dairy cheese)
1 T nutritional yeast flakes
½ t salt
¼ t ground black pepper
Heat a skillet to medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add onions to skillet and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add garlic, sage, and chicken and sauté for another minute. Remove and allow to cool while you prepare the rest of the dish.
Grease a 13X9 baking dish and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk eggs until blended, and add the rest of the oil and whisk. Add in the flours, baking powder, onion-garlic-chicken mix, grated squash and remaining ingredients. Spread into prepared baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until browned on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool for 5 minutes and cut into squares. Makes 16 appetizer servings.
And now, for the menu for this week!
Monday
Breakfast: Healthy chocolate zucchini muffin, scrambled egg whites with spinach and tomato
Lunch: Roasted turkey breast, leftover veggies from Sunday dinner (grilled asparagus, green beans)
Dinner: Chicken with mole sauce, steamed brown rice, steamed broccoli
Tuesday
Breakfast: Smoothie with strawberries, spinach, protein powder, almond milk and chia seeds, scrambled egg whites with Daiya cheese
Lunch: Roasted turkey breast with baby carrots and steamed spinach, unless there are leftovers from dinner
Dinner: Garden salad, Meatballs
Wednesday
Breakfast: Healthy chocolate zucchini muffin, scrambled egg whites with spinach and tomatoes
Lunch: Garden salad with roasted turkey breast or tuna
Dinner: Brined pork chops, roasted sweet potatoes, steamed cauliflower and spinach
Thursday
Breakfast: Smoothie with acai berry, protein powder, banana, spinach, and chia seeds, scrambled egg whites
Lunch: Tuna, shredded carrots, and spinach in a brown rice tortilla wrap
Dinner: Grilled salmon, okra and tomatoes, grilled potatoes
Friday
Breakfast: Healthy chocolate zucchini muffin, scrambled egg whites with spinach and tomatoes
Lunch: Creamy tomato tofu soup, gluten-free crackers
Dinner: Fried brown rice with shrimp, green beans
Snacks this week will include fresh peaches, black bean dip on brown rice cakes, and apples with peanut or almond butter. I also have Tanka bars on hand if I need a bit of protein.
Want more great menu ideas? Check out Celiacs In The House and the Gluten-Free Menu Swap!
This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays at Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free.
