Archive for the 'Chicken' Category

It’s September 1^st.  Wait a minute, are you serious?  Where did the summer go?  I swear, the older you get, the faster time flies – it’s scary.  (And I’m about to be one year older…also terrifying…)  But from what I can remember of the blur that was summer, it was all pretty great.  I moved into some new digs (and spent a few months HGTV’ing the place), threw a few dinner parties and BBQ’s with great friends, traveled to Canada, Maine and the Cape, and started a cool new job. Please note, the aforementioned activities can also be subbed-in for my lack of blog posts .

Yes, it’s been a great summer, but I still can’t believe it’s over.  With Labor Day weekend on the horizon, here’s a great recipe to savor the last of those summer flavors: Spice-Rubbed Chicken with Mango Salsa.  Go fire up the grill, pub a lime in that Corona and cheers to one last “summer” hurrah!

Ingredients: (Truthfully, I don’t really measure for this recipe, but these are a good gauge.  Feel free to add more/less as you wish)

Spice Rub Chicken:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cumin
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• Salt & pepper
• 4-6 chicken breasts

Mango Salsa

Directions:

1.)    In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper.

2.)    Place chicken breasts on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Coat both sides of the chicken with the spice mixture.  Cover the baking sheet/chicken with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you’re ready to grill (at least 20 min).

3.)    In the meantime, make the mango salsa and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve – this allows the flavors to meld.

4.)    Remove the chicken from the fridge 10 min prior to grilling to allow for even cooking. (Perfect amount of time to pre-heat the grill and open a bottle of wine, beer, shake up a margarita, etc.)

5.)    Grill the chicken for 7 minutes on both sides, or longer depending on thickness.  Let the chicken rest for 10 min.

6.)    Serve with mango salsa and enjoy!

Bon appetit!

- Christina

Oh heeeyyyy…… absence makes the heart grow fonder?  Better late than never?  Just trying to build the anticipation?  Ok, ok, so I haven’t blogged in about 2 months (yikes) but I also haven’t stopped cooking.  From grilled romaine salads with sweet and spicy shrimp to fresh panko and herb-crusted salmon, my kitchen has been bustling.  And now I’m ready to start sharing those recipes again with you!  Thanks to my friends and family who continued to encourage me to get back on here (shout out to Angela & Shane!), I’m back and ready to give this another go .

To jump start round two I’m presenting one of my favorite creations: Greek Chicken Burgers with Tzatziki Sauce.  To me, tzatziki is similar to hummus – I can put it on anything and everything.  I just didn’t realize how easy it was to make!  I’m sure the best of recipes use fresh dill, but dried is what I had and it tasted pretty darn good .  This is a perfect example of creating something delicious with ingredients you probably already have in your fridge/pantry.  It is a quick meal to make and the chicken burgers and tzatziki sauce can absolutely be prepped in advance.  Word of advice – make extra sauce, you’ll thank me later .

Greek Chicken Burgers with Tzatziki Sauce

Ingredients:

Greek Chicken Burgers

• 1.5 lb ground chicken
• ½ cup finely diced green pepper
• 1 cup finely diced onion
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon minced garlic

Tzatziki Sauce:

• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt (1 small container of plain chobani)
• ¾ cup grated English cucumber; squeeze excess water out with clean towel
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• ¼ teaspoon dried dill
• Zest of ½ lemon
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the chicken burgers.  Divide evenly to form patties.  Feel free to create larger patties for regular-sized burgers or smaller patties for sliders.
2. Pre-heat your grill pan to med-high heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray.  Grill the burgers for five minutes on each side; or more depending on size.
3. Meanwhile, combine the ingredients for the tzatzkiki sauce in a small bowl.
4. Assemble the burgers topped with ripe tomato slices, lettuce and a dollop of the tzatzkiki sauce.

Bon appetit!

-Christina

The sun is finally shinning!  We’ve had 3 days of of cold, rainy weather here in the Bean and sunny skies are a nice change.  To be honest, I really don’t mind rain/snow during the week, so long as my weekends are nice.  I can also say that because I drive to work and park in a covered garage .

As I mentioned last week, I’ve been noticing a real lack of chicken/beef/pork dishes on the blog.  Truthfully, that’s because I don’t eat that much meat during the week.  I’m not a vegetarian by any means (med-rare steak makes me weak in the knees…yum), but between work, the gym and post-5:00 plans, salads and leftovers tend to be my go-to’s.  Also, considering I’m usually cooking for 1, meatless dishes are cheaper.  But lately I’ve been asking myself, “where’s the beef?” (or chicken or pork).  So my friends, I’ll be making a better effort to make and post more carnivore-licious dishes , in addition to veggie fare as well.

This chicken dish, Apricot Balsamic Glazed Chicken from Rachel Ray, is perfect for any day of the week.  Love her or hate her, Rachel’s recipe is super easy and only takes a few ingredients that you probably already have on hand.  The original recipe also includes roasted beets, but I paired my chicken with a roasted autumn fruit and veggie side instead ( recipe to come).

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup apple juice or apple cider (I begrudgingly used apple juice b/c it was all the store had…and now have 1/2 a bottle if anyone wants it )
• 1/4 cup apricot preserves
• 1/4 cup aged balsamic vinegar
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), for drizzling
• S&P

Directions:

1. Pre-heat a grill pan to medium-high.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring the apple juice, apricot preserves and balsamic vinegar to a boil.  Lower the heat and cook until thick and syrupy, 7-8 minutes. 
3. Drizzle EVOO all over the chicken and season with S&P.
4. Grill until cooked through, 6 minutes on each side.  My chicken was pretty thick so I used a make-shift tin foil cover to help them cook through.
5. Using a pastry brush or spoon, coat both sides of the chicken with the glaze, flipping once more on each side.
6. Serve and enjoy!

Bon appetit!

-Christina