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

A New Year's Lunch

Not sure why my husband came home with a roaster the other day when my arm was still in a sling, but he did. Today I woke up to snow streaming down from the sky so peacefully and magically I knew we would all be hunkering down at home. And I knew it would be a perfect day to roast my chicken. No longer in a sling, and a good bit of mobility back I stepped back into the kitchen again. Really stepped in. And did it ever feel good. Does it ever feel good!

I had the Brussels Sprouts and carrots left over from last weekend -- our Christmas that wasn't. And I really hate to waste such good food so I made my Perfectly Roast Chicken with a Dijon Mustard Sauce, a Warm Brussels Sprout Salad, Carottes au Beurre and a warm loaf of French bread. We ate lunch late, at nearly 2:00 and we lingered and relaxed and really enjoyed the delicious meal in front of us!

At 4:30 we had our dessert, vanilla ice cream, home made hot fudge sauce (a Christmas gift from friends) along with sweet fresh strawberries and blackberries. Yum!


I wish every day could be like this!



Warm Brussels Sprout Salad


Serves 6

This is a labor intensive dish, but unlike cooking Brussels sprouts whole, the cooking time here is very short. And the work is so very worth it!

2 containers of fresh (must be fresh) Brussels Sprouts, or 1 stalk
2 - 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, plus 1 tbs for the pan
freshly ground sea salt

Using a good knife cut the bottoms off of each Brussels sprout. You will then start peeling the leaves away one by one. Have a large bowl beside you and as you peel you can toss the leaves in to the bowl. When all the leaves have been peeled add the olive oil and the salt to the bowl and mix well.

In a skillet or pan, heat up the olive oil. When it is hot, you will see it start to smoke ever so slightly, toss the leaves into the pan. You will hear a nice sizzle and crackle. Cook, stirring carefully for about 5 minutes so that the leaves can get a nice light brown color which will cause them to carmelize nicely.

Serve immediately or reheat in the microwave briefly prior to serving.

The Brussels Sprouts leaves are sweet and tender and any hint of bitterness has gone!


Carottes Sautees au Beurre


Serves 6

Carrots, 2 to 3 per person
Butter, 2 - 3 tablespoons
Sea Salt to taste

Peel and trim ends of carrots. Using a good Chef's knife cut carrots into slices, not too thick, and as evenly as possible.

Retrive a large pan, fill about 1/3 to the top with water and bring to a boil. When water is boiling add carrots for about 3 minutes. You want them to be soft yet still firm and not fully cooked. Remove from water.

In a large sauce pan add about 2 tablespoons of butter. As soon as the butter starts to bubble, just as it is about to brown, add the carrots to the pan. Stir the carrots so that they each get a chance to brown. Add salt to taste. Cook for about 3 minutes. Serve immediately. This dish may be microwaved for reheating prior to serving if necessary.


Dijon Mustard Sauce


Serves 6

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
1/4 cup light mayonnaise, preferably Hellman's
1/4 cup light sour cream
2 tablespoons water
1 green onion finely chopped

In a mixing bowl add mustard, mayonnaise and sour cream. Mix well. Add water and mix well. Fold in green onion.

May be made ahead of time and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before serving with chicken.


Perfectly Roasted Chicken

Click here for recipe

Spicy Artichoke Dip

I scoured the internet looking for a good recipe for artichoke dip. It amazed me how simple this was to make. For the most part mayo, cheese and artichokes. I even found some great looking recipes that also called for crab. Divine! But I needed something that would appeal to my children too since it was New Year's Eve and we would be feasting on finger foods until the clock struck Midnight and the Ball dropped in Times Square. I would try the crab another time. Meantime I needed a dip with a little extra Umph! And I wanted to cut out some of the calories. So I created my own. And it was OUTSTANDING!

I apologize for not having a picture. I have one actually but it is not good. I've been practicing with my new camera, but it seems the older one is actually a bit better for capturing food. But you know what artichoke dip looks like and I assure you this looks like all the rest, only it tastes better!

Recipe:

1 14. oz can of artichoke hearts
1/4 cup light mayonnaise (Hellman's)
1/4 cup light sour cream
1/4 cup whipped cream cheese
1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbs of Dijon mustard
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 - 2 good dashes of Worcestershire sauce, add more if you desire

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Drain (really well!) artichoke hearts and chop them finely. Place into mixing bowl.
Add mayonnaise, sour cream and cream cheese. Mix well so that all is well blended.
Add Parmesan, Dijon, cayenne pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Mix Well.
Place in an oven safe baking dish.
Bake for about 20 minutes until the top starts to bubble and turn light brown.