What's for dinner: Chicken in salsa, spicy chick peas and asparagus in feta vinaigrette

Chicken in salsa is one of our favorite ways to cook chicken. Like many of my recipes it was born from an idea I got while perusing another recipe. I wanted to cook chicken one night and was stuck between two recipes. One recipe was for a baked chicken with lemon and olives. The other one had something to do with marinara sauce. I liked the idea and thought about merging the two recipes together. But I had no marinara sauce and didn't really have the patience or the desire to whip one up from scratch. What I did have, what was staring me in the eye from a shelf in the pantry was a jar of salsa. I looked at the recipes, I looked at the salsa. A new recipe was born!

Salsa Chicken
4 chicken breasts, trimmed, filleted and cut in half
1 large jar of mild or medium salsa
1/2 can of pitted olives, or 1/4 cup of pitted Kalamata olives
2-4 tbs good olive oil
garlic salt, sea salt and ground pepper to taste

This could not be an easier meal to cook on a week night or even at the end of a long weekend day. I have a thing with chicken. It simply must be browned. I cannot eat pale chicken. So while I bake this in the oven,
I do brown the chicken on the stove before hand. I am careful about the mess I create and the clean-up involved since it inevitably falls back on me to clean up the mess that I've created. I lightly sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic powder on each piece of chicken. The chicken then gets sauteed for a few minutes each side for a nice golden, brown color. From there it goes into a shallow, oven safe baking dish, that has already been filled with the salsa. I place each piece of chicken (1 breast cut into 4 pieces) in the salsa and place the dish in the oven at 375 for anywhere from 15 - 30 minutes. The chicken will not over-dry. The salsa  will keep the meat nice and moist. If you are worried, feel free to cover the top of the dish with aluminum foil or such.

Once the chicken has all been cooked and placed into the oven, place the chick peas, into the already hot pan. They will pick up some of the flavor and turn a pretty brown color. Season with cumin, garlic powder and sea salt to your liking. (Taste as you cook to see how you prefer to adjust the flavors.)

Spicy Chick Peas
2 cans of chick peas, drained and rinsed
cumin, garlic powder and sea salt to taste
1 -2 tbs good quality olive oil

When the chick peas are cooked, remove from heat and place into the serving dish you plan to use. You can always reheat in the microwave if necessary.

In the same pan, add the olive oil. (You can boil or steam the asparagus) fill halfway with water and add 1 tsp of salt. Bring to a boil. Place the asparagus in the pan and cook for 3 - 5 minutes. While the veggies are cooking you will prepare the Feta Vinaigrette. The asparagus should be tender enough to pierce through easily with a fork. When the asparagus is cooked, drain the hot water and plunge them into an ice bath for about 30 seconds. Removed the asparagus and drain to dry on a kitchen towel.


Asparagus with Feta Vinaigrette (from The Naptime Chef)
2 pounds fresh asparagus, peeled and trimmed
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
1 1/4 teaspoons Kosher salt plus more as needed
2 tablespoons good quality olive oil
1/2 cup ( 2 oz) crumbled feta cheese

Chicken in Salsa

Spicy Chick Peas

Asparagus in Feta Vinaigrette

Bon Appetit!

Jessica

Apple Pie Pancakes

Ingredients:
Serves 4

3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, seeded
4 tbs granulated  sugar or brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Juice from 1 lemon
1 box of your favorite pancake mix or your favorite pancake recipe

Pancakes are a family favorite here. I make batches and serve them up and freeze them up. Truth be told I prefer the boxed variety (Aunt Jemima) over the home made. I really can't taste the difference. And they're a bit easier to make. (Everything's in the box. If the recipe calls for milk I'll make buttermilk.) My toppings can range from sliced bananas or strawberries or fresh, plump blueberries. Sometimes I cook the fruit inside. Sometimes I cook it and toss it on top. These baked apple like pancakes are a favorite of ours.

To serve 4 people, to generously cover 6 - 8 nicely sized pancakes, you'll need 3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, seeded and cored, thinly sliced as though you are making an apple pie.

Place apple slices in a large bowl or dish and cover with about 4 tbs of brown or granulated sugar and 1 tsp of cinnamon. Cover dish with plastic wrap and shake so that the mixture covers the apples well. Pour the lemon juice over the apples and let sit a few minutes.

In a non-stick pan add your apple mixture and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Turn heat off or to low and keep on the burner.

Meanwhile in another pan prepare your pancakes.
When the pancakes are ready, place on warm plates. (I like to place plates in oven to warm prior to serving.) Place a generous amount of the cooked apples on top and then drizzle syrup lightly over the top, careful not to add too much. You really need just a small amount.

A bite of heaven, right?!

Sauteed Chicken Fettuccine with Creamy Lemon and Olive Pesto

This recipe was born from a mistake. Pesto was planned all along, but somehow this version was creamier than the rest. Perhaps because I was not really paying attention, perhaps because I eyeballed instead of following the recipe I usually use... whatever reason, the pesto was less green than it usually is and seemed much creamier. It was outstanding so I'd made a mental note of what I had done. And the good news is there's a ton leftover for another day!

Creamy Lemon and Olive Pesto

1 large package of basil (close to 1 fully packed cup)
1 1/3 cup of olive oil
4 cloves of crushed garlic
1 cup of pitted or canned Kalamata or black olives
3/4 cup of toasted almond (pine nut or walnut) pieces
Juice and zest from 2 large lemons
1 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese (My use of shredded as opposed to grated, could that be what made this recipe so thick and creamy?)
Freshly ground sea salt and pepper to taste

I made this is my blender but I should have done it in my food processor. It was too thick for my blender to handle.

In a food processor add the basil, olive oil, lemon and zest, toasted nuts (optional) and Parmesan. Blend until you get a thick (like a milkshake) consistency. Add the olives and pulse so that they are chopped but you can still see small pieces. When you've achieved the mixture you've desired take a taste and add the salt and or pepper to taste. Admittedly this looked a lot like a Shamrock shake!

Cook the fettuccine per instructions on your package, drain and reserve a little of the pasta water, a few tablespoons' worth. Add the desired amount of pesto (about 1 cup) to the pasta and mix well.

The rest of the pesto will keep in the fridge for a week. It freezes beautifully as well.We'll re-use the pesto one night with sandwiches as a substitute to mayonnaise. Also is great tossed into chicken salad!


Sauteed Chicken


This is my no-fail, standby. It's quick and easy and goes with anything. I use this as a base for many chicken recipes.

Trim and clean chicken pieces. Filet each breast and then cut each fillet in half. Cover each piece of chicken, both sides, with generous amounts of garlic powder, sea salt and cracked pepper. (If having chicken 2 nights in a row or twice in the same week I will often go ahead and prepare the chicken for the next night's recipe and place the chicken, already seasoned, into a Ziplock bag.)

In a large skillet, place 1 to 2 tbs of olive oil, and heat pan on high heat. When hot, place as many chicken pieces into the pan as you can fit, leaving a little space next to each piece. Turn heat to medium-high. If the pieces get too brown turn it down to medium. Brown each side and and turn, cooking for a total of about 10 minutes. When thoroughly cooked place on a plate and keep in warm oven until ready to serve. Yield 1/2 breast, or 2 pieces per person and serve with the pasta.

Pink Soup!

Ok so the Pink Soup is Borscht... but before you all stick your noses up at this notion, please hear me out!
I had never had this soup before. In my mind I saw those Manischevitz jars in the grocery store. All purple-y and stuff. Not really appetizing. I try all sorts of new things. I've always loved sampling new flavors and cuisines. Borscht, however, was never on my list of things to try. 


A few of my girlfriends and I were invited over for a small luncheon after our yoga class the other day. My friend Lisa had prepared a wonderful meal... I noticed something very pretty simmering on the stove. It was pink, nearly purple but mostly pink. She had asked if any of us liked, or had ever had Borscht before. None of us had. A couple even wrinkled their noses at the idea. 


"I want you all to try this," she said. In a motherly way she assured us we didn't have to like it and she wouldn't be offended if we didn't. There were a couple non beet eaters among us. We were instructed to take a dollop of sour cream and a squeeze in some lemon. We hadn't realized that the lemon was for the soup so we all squeezed ours in to our Evian waters!


We did as we were told. I stirred in the sour cream. The soup was an amazing color. I cut a thick slice of baguette. I took a spoonful... a little earthy... a bit tart... I could taste the cumin and coriander, and very slightly the beets... mostly it seemed like a menage of vegetables. We all scraped our bowls dry! You could hear the silver spoons feverishly scraping against the pottery. Eventually, I ripped off a piece of the crusty baguette and wiped the bowl dry! 


So here is the recipe for Borscht, with a Lebanese twist!


1 lb. Raw beets ( usually 3 or 4 medium beets)
1 large cooking apple (I use 1 medium granny smith and 1 medium honey crisp or gala)
1 medium onion
2 stalks celery
6 oz white mushrooms
1tsp. Ground cumin
1tsp caraway seed ( I used fennel seed because it's what I had available)
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp thyme
Salt and pepper
Juice of 1/2 of fresh lemon
1 box of low sodium chicken stock 32 oz.)
2 cups water( add a little more water if veggies are not covered)

Scrub beets so they are clean. Peel any cracked or dirty areas. Chop beets into 2 to 3 inch pieces
Cut onions and mushrooms apple and celery into similar size pieces.

Add 3 tblsp of olive oil and 1 tblsp of butter in a heavy stock pot, add veggies and 1/2 tsp salt
Sweat the veggies over medium heat until they start to release juices. ( about 20 minutes)

Add spices,stock,water and lemon juice, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1 tsp salt
Bring to a boil, then simmer,covered, for 45 min. Or until veggies are soft but not mushy.

Usually I cool overnight but if you want to use right away please be careful when you purée the hot veggies,(remove small opening on top of blender to let steam escape when blending hot veggies. Hold top of blender tight when blending hot veggies.

Scoop or strain veggies into blender or processor and reserve cooking liquid in stock pot.
You will have to blend veggies in a few batches. After veggies are pureed add back into reserved cooking liquid and mix to incorporate purée. Taste for salt.
Reheat if blended cold.
Freezes well.

Serve with a wedge of lemon and dollop of sour cream, cracked black pepper.
Delish 

Nutella Pinwheels

Source: instagr.am via Jessica on Pinterest

My 10 year old was intent on making breakfast on Christmas morning. He wanted to create something resembling a sticky bun... he wanted something cinnamony. He flipped through his cookbooks - Yes, he has several - and found a recipe using puff pastry sheets. It looked delicious and simple enough for him to do alone.

We had an extra sheet of puff pastry dough... and then I got this idea. An awful idea. I got this wonderful, awful, idea! Wouldn't these be simply divine with Nutella inside?


Ingredients:


2 frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed
Nutella, enough to generously spread over rolled out sheets
Confectioners sugar, optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375


Lay the pastry sheet on your counter, flour side down. Add more flour if desired.
Use a rolling pin to roll out pastry dough.
Spread generous amounts of Nutella to the corners.
Carefully roll into jelly roll.
Cut into 1/2 in slices and place on cookie sheet 1 inch apart.


Place in oven and bake for about 14 minutes until lightly golden brown and puffy.
Remove and let sit about 10 minutes before serving.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar for a festive look!

Brown Butter Sugar cookie

Just a little bit nutty from the browned butter and a little hint of caramel from the brown sugar, this sugar cookie needs no enhancement from any icing... perfectly delectable by itself or paired with a warm cup of tea or coffee.

Ingredients:

1 cup of butter
1/2 cup of light brown sugar
1 cup of granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups of flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Melt butter over medium to high heat until it bubbles and browns. You are looking for a nice golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

In your mixing bowl, beat together sugars and the egg, then slowly add the melted butter. Add vanilla, then gradually add the flour until all is well mixed.

Scoop batter and place on cookie sheet, about an inch apart. Flatten with tines of fork or spatula.

Bake about 12 minutes... let cool... Enjoy!

Triple Chocolate Chip Espresso Cookies

I haven't done much creatively in the kitchen in a long time. But the Christmas season is upon us and our ovens are fired up,  the KitchenAid beater is in overdrive and the aromas are putting me in the spirit of the season!

Triple chocolate chip espresso cookies

2 C butter

1 ½ C sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 C flour
1 C white chocolate chips
1 C semi sweet chocolate chips
1 C milk chocolate chips
1 ½ tsp espresso powder (I used grinds)

1 tsp baking powder

Mix together sugar and butter til fluffy – add eggs beat together
add vanilla and baking powder – beat
add flour – beat
fold in chocolate chips

Scoop out onto cookie sheet

Place in preheated 350 degree oven for 12 minutes

Let cool if you can!

They are crispy and chewy deliciousness!