Sesame Chicken Bake

Sesame Chicken Bake

This dish has all the flavors of takeout Chinese Sesame Chicken without the fat or work of frying. I like to serve mine over a bed of brown rice and with steamed broccoli for soaking up the extra sauce.

-1/2 c water, mixed with 1/4 c cornstarch
-1 cup chicken broth
-4 Tbsp soy sauce
-2 Tbsp sesame oil
-1 cup sugar
-1 tsp- 1 Tbsp sriracha sauce
-1 lb chicken breasts, cut into bite sized chunks
-1 Tbsp sesame seeds
-4 scallions, sliced

Combine water/ cornstarch through sriracha in a small pot over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes, until sauce has thickened. Stir sauce and cut up chicken together in a greased 13 x 9 pan. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions. Serve over rice.

Red Cabbage Salad with dates and feta

Red Cabbage Salad with dates and feta

After seeing this salad posted on Smitten Kitchen I was super curious and skeptical about the combination of ingredients. Surprisingly, I LOVED this and found that the ingredients work so well together and each one is essential to pull this unexpected salad off. To quickly shred the red cabbage I use my food processor.


-zest and juice of 1 lemon
3Tbsp olive oil
-1 tsp salt
-1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
-1 small head red cabbage, shredded
-1/2 c dates, chopped
-1/2 cup feta
-1/2 bunch parsley, chopped
-1 Tbsp sesame seeds

In a medium to large bowl whisk together the lemon zest and juice through the red pepper flakes. Toss with remaining ingredients and serve.

Bread Pudding

Bread Pudding

This is my twist on the traditional New Orleans dessert. I use whole wheat sandwich bread because I have it on hand and it adds a little nutrition with the whole grains but sliced french bread would be the most authentic option.

Pudding

-2.5 cups milk
-4 eggs
-2 Tbsp butter, melted
-3 Tbsp whiskey, bourbon or rum
-1 Tbsp vanilla
-1/4 tsp salt
-1 tsp cinnamon
-2 c sugar
-1/2 c raisins (optional)
-1/4 c chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
-10 slices bread, cut into bite sized chunks

In a medium bowl, whisk together milk through cinnamon. Add sugar and whisk again. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into a greased 13 x 9 dish and bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes, until set but still moist.

Sauce

-1 stick butter
-1/2 c sugar
1/4 c whiskey, bourbon or rum

While pudding bakes, combine sauce ingredients in a small pot. Bring to a low boil, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes, stirring often. Once pudding is baked pour sauce over top and serve warm.

Fruit and Nut Quinoa Salad

Fruit and Nut Quinoa Salad

This salad is very versatile- you could use almost any fruit or nuts you prefer and have on hand. Serve on its own, over greens or as a side dish to accompany a main entree. You could eat this for breakfast, lunch or dinner. I take a shortcut on cooking my quinoa and cook it in the rice cooker just like I would with rice.

-1 cup quinoa, cooked according to package directions
-2 Tbsp olive oil
-zest and juice of 1 lime
-1-2 Tbsp sugar or honey
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 Tbsp curry powder
-1 cup dried fruit of choice, chopped (I used dates, cranberries, dried coconut  and apricots)
-1/2 cup nuts of choice (I used sliced almonds)
-3 scallions, sliced
-1/2 bunch chopped cilantro or mint

In a medium bowl, whisk together olive oil through curry powder. Toss with remaining ingredients and serve.

Moroccan Carrot Salad

Moroccan Carrot Salad

This recipe was inspired by an instagram post of something Shauna Niequist made. I wasn't even sure that I would like it, but having LOVED all of Shauna's recipes I gave it a try and was pleasantly surprised by this unexpected combination of flavors and textures. I'm not sure if the feta and sunflower seeds classify as Moroccan, but they work with the dish and add a nice flavor and texture- feel free to leave them out if you want to be more on the authentic side.

-1/4 c olive oil
-juice and zest of 1 lemon
-1 Tbsp honey
-3/4 tsp salt
-1/4 tsp cayenne
-1 tsp cumin
-1/2 tsp coriander
- lb carrots, shredded
-1 can chickpeas, drained
-1/2 c feta
-12 dried apricots, chopped
-1/4 c sunflower seeds
-1 bunch mint, chopped

In a medium bowl, whisk together olive oil through coriander. Toss with remaining ingredients and serve.

Baked Chicken Fajitas

Baked Chicken Fajitass

Recently I have started baking my fajitas rather than cooking them on the stove. This works so much easier for me when I have small children running around and can't always baby-sit and stir a pan on the stove. We might even like the end result a little more than when I cook them on the stove. If I'm serving meat eaters and vegetarians I will add extra veggies (like zucchini, squash and/ or tomatoes) and cook the veggies in a separate dish from the meat. I usually have to use two 13 x 9 pans when cooking these so that I don't overcrowd things.

-4 Tbsp olive oil
-2 Tbsp chili powder
-1 Tbsp paprika
-2 tsp cumin
-1 Tbsp sugar
-2 tsp salt
-1 tsp pepper
-1/4 tsp cayenne
-6 cloves garlic, minced
-1 lb chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
-1 onion, sliced
-1 pack mushrooms, sliced
-2 colored bell peppers
-zest and juice of 2 limes
-1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
-desired fajita fixings; tortillas, sour cream, salsa, guacamole, cilantro, hot sauce etc.

In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil through minced garlic. Toss with the chicken through bell peppers. Spread the veggie/ meat mixture into two greased baking dishes or sheet pans. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through. Put under the broiler for 5-10 minutes to give it a good browning/ char. Stir in lime juice, zest and cilantro and serve.

Vegetable Pot Pie

Vegetable Pot Pie

-4 Tbsp butter
-1 onion, diced
-1 pack mushrooms, sliced
-1/4 flour
-2.5 cups vegetable broth
-1 tsp turmeric
-1/2 tsp dried rosemary
-1 tsp dried thyme
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup heavy cream
-1 small bag frozen mixed vegetables
-1 sheet puff pastry
-1 egg, beaten (optional)

Melt butter in a medium to large pot over medium heat. Add onion and saute 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and saute 5 more minutes. Sprinkle the flour into the pan and cook an additional 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Whisk in broth and cook, while whisking 5 minutes, until the mixture thickens. Add the turmeric through frozen vegetables and stir well. Pour into a greased 13x9 pan.

Roll the pastry to fit the top (or you can cut it up and do a lattice pattern on top). Place the pastry over the filling and brush the top with the egg.

Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes, until the pastry is brown and puffed. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.