Tag Archives: chicken

Big ol’ Rice Bowl

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One of my favorite restaurants serves these delicious rice bowls. Seeing that I’d probably look stalker-ish if I went there every day  to get one, I recreated it for dinner. And as it turns out, it was really easy (but I mean, come on, would we ever post a super hard recipe?), and I learned how to make fried rice. We should all know how to make fried rice.

  • 2 bags of white rice (I use the instant boil-in-a-bag kind)
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/3 cup peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 red pepper
  • 1 medium yellow onion
  • 1 chicken breast, diced
  • 1 container of button mushrooms
  • Salt and pepper to taste

There’s a bit of prep before you begin to combine it together in a bowl. To start, boil the rice according to the box instructions (roughly 10 minutes). In two separate pans, cook the diced chicken and scramble the eggs. (Be careful not to over cook them though as they’ll continue to cook a little longer when combined with the other ingredients.) In a deep wok or skillet heat up the peanut oil over medium heat and add in the peppers, onions, and mushrooms.

Once the rice is done, dump it in to the wok with the vegetables and pour the soy sauce on top. Mix in the chicken and eggs and toss until fully combined. Serve in a big comfy bowl and enjoy!

 

Rice Bowl

 

Happy Eating, XO.

Chicken and Dumplins’ Y’all

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Dust off the crockpot guys, this is a Northerner’s solution to the Southern classic.
  • 4 frozen chicken breasts (I love this, I always forget to defrost my meats and then am stressed out that I don’t have food to make, this can go straight from freezer to crockpot, no defrosting needed)
  • 1-2 cups of the mirepoix mix (See its used for things other than the meatloaf recipe. p/s I added some frozen corn too because I love it and can’t put it enough recipes, Id say 1/2-1 cup)
  • 1 can cream of chicken soup
  • 1 can cream of mushroom soup (if you’re like my sister and hate mushrooms, just use another can of chicken soup)
  • 1 can biscuits (I usually just dice up 4-5 biscuits into small pieces since they expand when cooking, but shit use the whole can if you want, I don’t judge)
  • 1 can of low sodium chicken broth (you can use water instead, but I like the flavor of broth)
  • Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and black pepper (all to taste, no measurements, just eyeball it. I also add a dash of hot sauce to this as well)
Layer the chicken and seasoning at the bottom of the pot. Then toss in the veggie mix and soups. Stir and let cook on HIGH for 6 hrs, yes for that long, remember how the chicken is frozen, remember how undercooked chicken is deathly. However, at about 5 to 5.5 hours in, add the chopped up biscuits (take the biscuit and cut into quarters) throw on top & re-cover with lid for the remaining 30-45 minutes. Yup, total time on high for 6 hrs. take a nap, clean, watch a movie, do whatever you want for those 6 hrs 🙂
Happy Eating, XO.

Pseudo Salad

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Can I just tell you, I freaking LOVE LOVE LOVE the Morrocan chicken salad at CPK (You know California Pizza Kitchen, yes food blog people DO go to chains) Anyway, I am obsessed with it, BUT its SOOO expensive! Literally, I spend $16-$18 on the salad (the range is because the tax/tip usually makes it $17) which is totally cray to spend on a salad and yet I do. A) because of the convenience of grabbing it after work en route to my night MBA class B) because it is beyond delish! It has all the taste bud pleasing elements you can think of: sweet, savory, crunchy, creamy, etc! Anyway work was slow this week and I have an online class this semester so I am not running around as much and I figured its time to replicate this salad. Especially because I need to save my money for pedicures. Oyi my feet are looking rough! woof! Ok back to the tasty salad prep. As always this is going to reuse ingredients from other recipes. At CPK they use a champagne vinaigrette, so I grabbed a bottle of the Trader Joe’s pear champagne vinaigrette used in one of our salad recipes and a chicken dish to toss my greens with. Then the beets were in the last salad recipe as well-ha can you tell I really like them?! Might be the new truffle, lol just kidding that would never happen.

  • 1/3 cup Dates (Sliced in halves or quarters depending on how big yours are, I did mejdool dates)
  • 1/3-1/2 cup Toasted almonds (I tossed them in a pan to toast when I was boiling the eggs)
  • 6 oz. Beets (Drain all the water if using the canned stuff and chop vs. slice)
  • 10 oz. Roasted butternut squash (I just did it with salt, pepper, and paprika)
  • 1/2 cup Cranberries (I bought dried packaged ones from the store)
  • 3 Grilled chicken breasts (I just did it with cayenne pepper, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, cumin, & paprika)
  • 1 Avocado (dice into cubes)
  • 1 medium Red bell pepper (try for the same sizes as the beets and avocado).
  • 1 package or 8-10 oz. Mixed greens (tossed w 1/3 cup of the bottled dressing)
  • Chopped up boiled eggs (I did 2, but 3 without the yellow of the 3rd would be good too)

Heat up a nonstick pan (I used my grill pan since it was washed & ready from the last time I made burgers) with some olive oil and sear the chicken breasts (I had them coated & rubbed in with the spices on both sides of the breasts) until cooked through about 5-7 minutes on each side. Let the meat rest before slicing and adding to salad. While you are cooking the chicken you can toss the squash with some oil & spices as well and roast in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. While the chicken and squash cools, chop the other veggies and eggs and mix well. This is how pretty the colors look:

I called this recipe the pseudo salad because its a knock off of the one from the restaurant and its much more filling than a regular old salad. This is meant to be an entrée and that’s why there is a bit more cooking involved than most salad recipes. Anyway its yummy, don’t worry about what the title means, just devour.

image

Happy Eating, XO.

 

 

Pesto Chicken & Tomato Kabobs

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It’s officially the season to get to grilling and dining alfresco! (Thank God!) And although it’s easy enough to just throw burgers or steaks on the grill with some veggies, it’s time to mix it up a bit. But don’t worry, these kabobs have just as much yumminess in them! They’re perfect and quick for a summer BBQ, right along with this refreshing lemonade spritzer.

  • 1 pack of skewers (if you’re using wood ones, be sure to soak them in water for at least a half hour before grilling)
  • 4 chicken breasts, cubed
  • 1 large package of cherry tomatoes
  • 1 package of pesto sauce (Knoll’s instant pesto sauce is perfect)

Soak the skewers for at least a half hour before grilling. (I know I’ve already said this but it’s super important! I didn’t do this the first time I used skewers and they burnt to ash, obviously…). While the skewers are soaking, mix the pesto sauce according to package instructions. Marinate the chicken in the sauce in a plastic bag for a half hour. (Feel free to do it longer for a bolder flavor.)

When you’re ready to start kabob-ing, layer the chicken and tomatoes on the skewers and put directly on the grill. Let them cook for a total of 20 minutes, rotating every 5 minutes.

Pesto chicken & tomato kabob

Happy Eating, XO.

Date Night Dinner

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We all need a lil night to indulge. Some yummy food, a good bottle of wine, and a night in to cozy up with your hunny. This is the ideal dinner for a candle lit night at home. So get the DVD ready, grab some fresh flowers and get this meal on the table. Lucky for you, there is wine in this recipe so the bottle will be open before your significant other even comes over. I restrained and didn’t use garlic in this dish (for the obvious reasons involving kissing & bad breath), but most certainly will next time. Anyway, Serves 3-4 so you will have left overs unless you double-date it..

  • 4 boneless chicken breasts
  • 3 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
  • 2 Tablespoon of olive oil (I cut down to 1 tbsp. because I figured there was enough butter)
  • 2 Tablespoon of butter
  • 2 tsp. of fresh thyme leaves (you know if you have a herb garden or if you are normal and want to use 1/2 tsp. dried thyme)
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 3 Tablespoons heavy cream (subbed for the half & half I had in the fridge for coffee)
  • 1 1/2 tsp. balsamic vinegar

In a skillet over medium – medium/high heat melt butter and combine with olive oil. Prepare chicken breasts by sprinkling both sides with a little sea salt.
Saute the chicken breasts until golden and cooked through; remove and set aside. In the same skillet, saute the mushrooms until soft and starting to brown (5 minutes). Add the thyme, wine, and vinegar. Let the wine reduce, then add 2-3 Tablespoons of the half & half, and heat until warmed through. You can serve with a vegetable and some rice.

Chicken Marsala

Happy Eating, XO.