Tag Archives: chicken

Chicken with Sauteed Spinach and Gingery Peanut Sauce

3 Replies

This is another crowd pleaser at my house.  Even though I sneak spinach in there!  Hey, what’s not good smothered in a peanut sauce??

I originally got the recipe from Real Simple’s “10 things to do with rotisserie chicken”  It’s the last one “Gingery Peanut Noodles with Chicken”, but made a few changes.  One of which is that I don’t use a rotisserie chicken.  I’m not a big fan of the dark meat, so I only use the breasts.  To each his own though!Blog Chicken With Sauteed Spinach and Peanut Sauce-1Ingredients

    • 1/2 cup peanut butter
    • 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
    • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
    • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
    • 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (I cheat and use this)
    • Box of Pasta or use Quinoa or…nothing at all.  It’s great on it’s own!  This time I used quinoa.
    • 4-6 Chicken Breasts.  Depends on how many people you have and how soupy you want it.  I use 6 and either cube it and then cook or have the Huz grill them on the BBQ and then cube after (this is obviously my preferred choice :))
    • 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
    • Salt and Pepper to taste
    • 5-6 cups of spinach.

2 green onions sliced (optional)

Directions

  • Either cube the chicken breasts and cook in a large pan with a little olive oil, salt, and peopper or toss the breasts in olive oil, salt, and pepper and BBQ it and then cube.
  • Start to cook the pasta/quinioa/whatever you want to use/not use.
  • While all of that is cooking…
  • In a blender, combine 1 cup water with the peanut butter, rice vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, and ginger. Blend until smooth.
  • Add the peanut mixture to the cooked chicken, and toss in the spinach.  Serve over the pasta, quinoa, rice or serve alone!  Garnish with the green onions.  DELICIOUS!  I add Siracha on mine too~mmmmm.Blog Chicken With Sauteed Spinach and Peanut Sauce-2dit-elle-Lauren

Paleo Chicken with Sauteed Apples and Onions

Leave a reply

I got this recipe from my Real Simple magazine back in 2008 (LOVE IT!), and you can check out the original recipe here.  It’s one of those go to recipes that is not only simple, but healthy and delicious.  Or as I like to call it…the trifecta 😉  I really haven’t messed with the recipe much, because it is so good as is.  My notes are in italics 🙂Blog Chicken Sauteed with Apples and Onions-1

Serves 4 Hands-On Time: 25m Total Time: 25m

Ingredients

  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken-breast halves
     (I frequently use 5 or 6 chicken breasts and then use 2 apples/a really big onion and use the same of everything else if I have more people to feed)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 firm apple, such as Braeburn, cored, halved, and cut into 1/4-inch slices (original recipe calls for 1/2 inch slices, but I think those are too thick)
  • 1 cup apple juice
  • 1 large onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 garlic clove, minced (I cheat and use 1 tsp from the jar of crushed garlic :))
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Directions

  1. Place each chicken-breast half between 2 sheets of wax paper and pound with a meat mallet until about 3/4 inch thick (Ok, I tried to use parchment paper and the chicken breasts went flying, so now I put them in a large zip lock for containment 🙂  And…I can never get them to 3/4 inch thick, so I’m happy with 1 inch.  I just cook it a little longer)
  2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and saute the chicken until golden, about 3 minutes per side (I do 4 minutes per side since my chicken breasts are usually bigger).  Add the apple slices, apple juice, onion, garlic, thyme, and salt. Cover and simmer 6 to 8 minutes or until the chicken is fork-tender.  Again, since my breasts are usually bigger, I don’t necessarily simmer.  I just cover and keep on medium heet for the 6-8 minutes.  Because they are cooking in liquid, the chicken breasts don’t get dried out.
  3. Remove the chicken, apple slices, and onion to a serving platter and keep warm.
  4. Bring the sauce to a boil for about 5 minutes or until slightly reduced. Whisk in the mustard. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve

It’s Paleo if you stop right here, but I usually serve it with bread or quinoa to make it more filling.  Tonight I used quinoa, which I LOVE!  It’s so easy, good for you, and yummy.  I cook it in my rice cooker, but you can cook it in a sauce pan too.

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup quinoa
  • 2 Cups Water
  • 7-8 slices of apple diced
  • Tsp of garlic (or a clove minced if you have the time :))
  •  Few grinds of sea salt or sprinkle of regular salt
  • 1/4 C of diced onions
  • 1 Tblsp of olive oil

Directions

  1. Put all this into the rice cooker and hit cook-DONE!  Or….combine all in a sauce pan, bring water to boil for 5 min or so til most of the water evaporates.  Then let it simmer til it’s fluffy.

dit-elle-Lauren

Curry Cashew Chicken Salad

1 Reply

So yummy! A great variation to basic chicken salad.currychixsalad2

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cooked and diced chicken
  • 3 stalks celery
  • Handful of frozen peas (optional)
  • Handful of cashews, chopped (toasted, optional)
  • Handful of raisins, chopped dates and/or grapes

Dressing

  • 1/2 cup mayo
  • Juice from 1/2 lemon
  • 1 tsp curry powder
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed

Directions

  • Toss salad ingredients in a large bowl
  • Whisk dressing ingredients in a separate bowl
  • Toss salad with dressing
  • Serve warm or chilledcurrychixsalad1dit-elle-Esther

Chicken Chili

1 Reply

First of all – what’s easier than awesome Chicken Chili? I don’t know.. Little prep, super easy, slow cooker Chicken Chili! This is a fantastic slow-cooker/crock pot recipe! And let me say that I haven’t always been a huge fan of the crock pot (let’s just say we have a love/hate relationship). I’ve had many recipes turn out as just a pot of mushy vegetables (well what do you expect after 8 hours of cooking?). BUT – there’s hope – some recipes lend themselves very well to the crock pot and you can rest assured that I’ll be sure to try them before posting here! I also put them to the toddler/husband test and will give options for adjusting spices, etc. 🙂 blog chicken chili

Ingredients

  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 4 chicken breasts
  • 2 c chicken broth
  • 2 green, yellow or red peppers, seeded and chopped
  • 2 tsps ground cumin
  • 1/4 tsp chili powder or cayenne (careful, as this adds heat!)
  • 1 can diced fire roasted tomatoes
  • 1 Tbsp chopped jalapeno (careful, this also adds heat)
  • If you are not doing the paleo thing, a can of corn and one of cannellini beans are an excellent addition

Garnish/topping

  • Shredded cheese
  • Sliced avocado or guacamole
  • Chopped cilantro

Directions

  • In the slow cooker, combine onion, chicken, chicken broth, tomatoes, peppers, and spice
  • Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 6 hours
  • Once cooked shed the chicken with two forks
  • If you are adding corn and beans, do that now
  • Return lid and let the soup heat
  • Sprinkle desired toppings on individual bowls of soup and serve hot

So easy, so yummy!

Super mom tip: the recipe above makes a large batch. Ladle into freezer containers and store for easy re-heating!

Paleo what? What’s up with the whole Paleo thingy? Read more about my journey and some great resources on my food blog, Les Petits Pois!

dit-elle-Esther

Chicken parmesan with pesto

Leave a reply

IMG_6106This is a super easy-to-make chicken parmesan. Pesto is a delicious addition to this classic dish.

Ingredients

  • Coconut or olive oil
  • Crushed fresh garlic or garlic powder
  • Red pepper flakes
  • 4 chicken breasts
  • Marinara or tomato sauce, enough to cover chicken
  • Pesto
  • Mozzarella cheese
  • Parmesan cheese

Directions

  • Put olive oil or coconut oil in large baking dish (e.g. pyrex glass dish) and heat up in oven till it melts or warms slightly
  • Add red pepper flakes and freshly minced garlic or garlic powder, the heat will start to release the aromas of the spices
  • Place chicken breasts side by side in dish
  • Sprinkle on some mozzarella and parmesan
  • Cover with marinara sauce and a dollop of pesto
  • Sprinkle on rest of cheese
  • Cover dish with tinfoil and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes, then remove tinfoil and bake for another 10 minutes at 375 or until meat thermometer registers 160 degrees.

Serve with ceasar salad and broccoli for an almost-paleo dinner (omit cheese to make it strict paleo).

Super mom tip: Double, triple or quadruple this recipe and freeze in smaller batches. Those nights when you don’t want to cook – whip out of the freezer, thaw on the defrost setting on the microwave, steam some veggies and voila, dinner is served!dit-elle-Esther