Whip it up Wednesday: Italian Chicken in Foil Packets

Tags

chicken, cooking, dinner, food, meal, quick meals, recipes, whip it up wednesday

I’ve fallen into a pattern with these meals where the prep time is under a half hour, but the cook time is longer.

So I’m changing my rules. This is my blog anyway, right?

I ate this meal a lot when I was younger. My mom loved how such simple ingredients, simple prep, and simple cleanup yields a meal that is “soooo good!”

And it’s true. Whoever thought of cooking food in foil packets/was too lazy to get out a pan/didn’t have a pan/didn’t want to clean up was a genius. And is my friend. In spirit.

Also, like most things I make, and in most recipes, you can swap out a lot of ingredients for what you have on hand, and hey, even use fish instead of chicken.

Are you convinced yet?

Italian Chicken in Foil Packets (From my Mom )

Serves 4

Prep: 15 minutes Cook: 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1 to 1 1/2 lbs)
• 2 medium zucchini
• 2 medium onions
• 3 medium red potatoes
• salt and pepper
• Italian seasoning
• garlic powder
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• Parmesan cheese for serving

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lay out 4 sheets of foil (18 x 12 inch pieces). Slice the vegetables in 1/4 inch thick slices.
2. Divide the potato slices evenly on each sheet in an even layer. Top with the slices of zucchini, then the slices of onion.
3. Place the chicken breasts on top of the vegetables. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder. Top the chicken and vegetables with the ketchup (about 2 tbsp per packet — or load it with ketchup if you really love it).
4. Wrap the foil securely, leaving a bit of space at the top to allow steam to escape. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until the chicken is no longer pink in the center. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

My Two Cents: I hadn’t made this meal in a really long time, and today I asked myself “why!!?” It’s so good, and like I said before, so easy.

I find the Perdue chicken that’s individually wrapped tend to be the perfect portions for these meals. If they’re frozen, I suggest partially thawing them, otherwise they may still be a bit pink at the end of cooking for an hour.

I’m partial to the veggies in this packet — the onion gives it a lot of flavor, so don’t swap that one out. But try other veggies — broccoli, green beans, red and green peppers — all of them would be great here.

Enjoy!

Whip it up Wednesday: Spicy Honey Chicken Thighs with Sauteed Chickpeas

Tags

broccoli, chicken, chicken thighs, chickpeas, cooking, dinner, easy, easy dinners, easy meals, food, quick meals, recipes, whip it up wednesday

Today I give you not one, but two recipes you can whip up in under 30 minutes.

Up until Tuesday afternoon, I actually didn’t know what to do for today’s Whip it up Meal. Shh…don’t tell anyone I hadn’t gone food shopping yet for the week. And every recipe I was looking at required one or two ingredients I didn’t have. I was  in a pickle…until I remembered one of my own tricks that I use for cooking.

I looked at what I had to cook with.

I stock my freezer and my pantry well, so I thought, “Gee willikers, there must be something I can whip up in under 30 minutes!” I scoured the freezer. I had 4 chicken thighs, 8 drumsticks, several bags of frozen veggies, 1 pie crust, and some frozen nutella brownies. I decided I wanted to use the chicken thighs. But what to have for a side? Rice seemed bland. No potatoes or sweet potatoes on hand. No fresh veggies. I didn’t want pasta. So I looked through my cabinets. I had a can of chickpeas. I looked in the freezer again. I had a bag of frozen broccoli florets. I had some onions.

I wanted something out of these ingredients.

So I typed in “chicken thighs” into Google–I clicked the recipe tab and up popped Cooking Light’s Spicy Honey Chicken Thigh recipe. Looked divine–and qualified for under 30 minutes. Then I typed in “chickpeas and broccoli” thinking that nothing could possibly come of that, but low and behold, another Cooking Light recipe popped up for Sauteed Chickpea and Broccoli. Cook time 15 minutes? Hell yes.

I was beaming, I tell you. Beaming.

So I preheated the broiler, took out the ingredients, rolled up my sleeves, and got to it.

Spicy Honey Chicken Thighs (Adapted from Cooking Light)

Serves 4

Prep: 5 minutes Cook: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp ground red pepper
• 4 bone-in, skinless chicken thighs
• 3 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Directions:

1. Preheat broiler.

2. Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken to bowl; toss to coat. Place chicken on broiler pan coated with cooking spray OR baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Broil chicken 5 minutes on each side.

3. Meanwhile, combine honey and vinegar in a small bowl. Remove chicken from the oven after the 10 minutes. Brush the honey mixture on the chicken. Broil for 1 minute. Remove chicken from the oven and turn over. Brush the other side of the chicken with the rest of the honey mixture. Broil 1 more minute or until chicken is done. (Chicken is done when the juice runs clear when pierced with a fork. Thighs are darker meat than breasts, so sometimes it’s hard to determine if the meat is pink or not. Go by the juice test for this one.)

Sauteed Chickpeas and Broccoli (Adapted from Cooking Light)

Serves 4 (side dishes)

Prep: 5 minutes Cook: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 1/2 cups frozen broccoli florets
• 1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. After you put the chicken in the oven, take out a large skillet. Warm the oil over medium heat until hot. Add the onion and garlic and saute, stirring often until onion becomes soft and transparent, 4-5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat the broccoli in a microwave safe container for 3 minutes on HIGH. Add the broccoli to the pan; saute for 1 minute. Add chickpeas, broth, and red pepper flakes. Stir once, cover and cook for 3 more minutes.

3. Uncover, season with salt and pepper and stir in Parmesan cheese.

My Two Cents: OK, now if doing two recipes intimidates you for Whip it up Wednesday, it shouldn’t Both of these recipes are incredibly simple if you follow them as directed. For example, if you plan on making this recipe, buy the chicken the day before–or make it early in the week after your shopping trip and don’t freeze the chicken. That way you won’t have to thaw it–because that will take an extra 10 minutes and can fudge up the cook time of it.

If you don’t want to chop onions to save you even more time, you can buy a package of prechopped onions. I’ve never bought them, (because I have a weird obsession with chopping onions), but I hear they’re lifesavers.

If you want to forgo the sauteed chickpeas and broccoli (it does add some extra pans to clean up) and stick with the chicken, that’s acceptable, too. (And I’ll never know.) Other good sides to pair with this would be a spinach salad, orzo, potatoes (the instant kind if you’re really whippin’ it up), and anything else your heart desires.

Oh yeah, and everything was amazing. The chicken had a sweet and spicy combo, and the basting in the honey cider mixture made it incredibly moist. The chickpeas and broccoli saute also had a little kick from the crushed red pepper–and the Parmesan cheese paired well with it. I used the kind in the jar–to cut down on the shaving/shredding.

Enjoy!

Kicking the Heat Cubano Style! Ropa Vieja by Guest Blogger Eat.Live.Blog.

Tags

cooking, dinner, food, guest post, recipe, recipes, ropa vieja. meat, slow cooker

Hello readers! Right now I’m soaking up some sun up at Lake Winnipesaukee in NH for my vacation! (A much needed one might I add!) I hope you’re all staying cool during this hot week, but in case you’re looking to spice things up, I have a great guest post for you! My fabulous friend and organizer of the Boston Brunchers, Renee from Eat.Live.Blog made some great looking Ropa Vieja! Take a look and be sure to check out her blog and the brunchers blog. This girl is amazing!

One of the most fabulous things about running the Boston Brunchers, besides the food, is that I get to meet amazing people, like our fabulous Cooking Whims author Megan! I would never have gotten this far with my personal blog (Eat.Live.Blog) without the motivation I get from the community of bloggers here in Boston!

On my blog, I write about all things food, travel and New England related. I review restaurants and products, I create my own recipes and reproduce others’ recipes, and I roam around the area looking for hidden gems few have found.

By now my regular readers know that I grew up in the heavy Cuban influenced Tampa Bay, FL area. Before my first Spanish lesson in 6th grade I already had a couple of phrases under my belt, cierra la boca, sientate, picadilla and ropa vieja. The last 2 are the most important.

 

Cuban food is like nothing else. It is loaded with flavors and textures that, in my humble opinion, can out taste-bud almost all other ethnic food groups! Cuban recipes are loaded with seasoning and flavor, yet they tend to do so in a way that doesn’t overwhelm. Plus, everything is served with a side of platanos maduras can’t be bad!

I originally posted the recipe for Ropa Vieja back in the early days of my blog. And, rookie mistake, forgot to take pictures!  I thought that with the heat in Boston this past week, this would be a perfect recipe. You throw it in the crockpot and only turn the stove on for a quick browning, perfect!

Ropa Vieja

Ingredients

• Olive Oil
• 1.5 lb bottom roast or flank steak
• 14 oz beef broth’
• 8 oz tomato sauce
• 6 oz tomato paste
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 1 small green bell pepper (seeded & sliced)
• 1 small red bell pepper (seeded & sliced)
• 2 large cloves garlic (chopped)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro or parsley (chopped)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar

Directions

• Drizzle olive oil in a pan and heat on medium-high
• Brown all sides of the meat in the pan
• Meanwhile, pourbroth, tomato sauce, paste, cumin, parsley or cilantro, olive oil and vinegar into your crockpot, stir well, and put temperature on high
• When meat is brown, add it to the crockpot
• Add onions, garlic and peppers to the crockpot
• Cover and allow to cook on high for 4 hours, or on low for 8 hours
• When meat is tender, shred it and place back in the crockpot
• Cook on high for an additional 30 minutes (or longer if desired)
• Serve over yellow rice

Are you interested in guest posting for Cooking Whims? I’d love to hear from you! Shoot me an email at cookingwhims@gmail.com or DM me on Twitter — @cookingwhims

Greek Pasta Salad

Tags

cooking, dinner, easy cooking. easy, food, pasta, pasta salad, recipe, recipes

Nothing says summer like a good pasta salad.

My mom would often whip up a giant batch of pasta salad during the summer months when we were kids and we would eat it for lunch the entire week — Always while watching the Price is Right (which by the way, I wouldn’t define as watchable now without Bob Barker.) Regardless, pasta salad means it’s summertime!

I made up a big batch of this yesterday so I could bring it to work with me for a few lunches this week. It’s pretty healthy. Pretty delicious. And although I didn’t make a vegetarian pasta salad, it’s easily customizable to fit your taste and dietary needs.

Greek Pasta Salad (Adapted from My Baking Addiction)

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 1 (13.25 oz) box rotini pasta
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, cut in half
• 1 large cucumber, seeded and chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 3 green onions (white and green parts), thinly sliced
• 3/4 cup chopped black olives
• 1 (6 oz) package feta cheese
• 7 oz turkey sausage (such as Hillshire Farm) sliced — about 3 links (optional)
• 1/4 cup olive oil dressing (such as Ken’s), more for serving

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to the package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water. While the pasta is cooking, cook the turkey sausage according to package directions.

2. Toss all of the ingredients together and chill overnight (or for a few hours if you’re impatient like me!)

3. Serve cold with additional dressing.

My Two Cents: The sausage is optional here. The original recipe called for pepperoni slices, which was tempting, but I opted for some turkey sausage links instead. It reminded me of mac & cheese and hot dogs. (Please tell me some of you had that wonderful concoction as children!) Anyway, it adds a nice touch and flavor to the dish.

The feta cheese gets nice and creamy in this mixture — that’s why I went light on the dressing. Another reason I went light on the dressing was because the pasta tends to absorb a lot of it overnight, so it’s best to toss with the dressing right before serving, or add it to each individual serving if you plan on eating it all week.

The veggies in here are totally versatile as well. Swap out cucumbers with something else if you don’t like them, etc.

Plus, pasta salads are so easy! Enjoy!

Summery Corn Chowder

Tags

cooking, corn, corn chowder, dinner, food, recipe, recipes, vegetarian

Soup or chowder of any kind is always difficult to photograph

Despite that, this chowda was good.

I know that it’s hot outside, and I know that turning the stove on for any long period of time is ghastly when the humidity outside feels  about the same as a pot of boiling water inside…sometimes it’s worth it to turn on the stove for a delicious meal.

For me, I’m lucky enough to have a pretty good A/C unit. Plus, one of the perks (yes, finally a perk when it comes to cooking!) to living in a basement apartment, is that it stays cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Not much natural light here, but plenty of good food.

This was another recipe I found using gojee.com. This time I typed in corn. Because it’s summer. And corn is showing up in the grocery store for super cheap. I love corn on the cob, but I wanted to do something different with the corn for once, hence, chowder.

Summery Corn Chowder (From fresh365)

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 cups diced red potatoes
• 5 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 tsp salt
• kernels from 5 ears fresh corn
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Add garlic and onions and cook 10 minutes until beginning to brown.

2. Stir in cayenne and potatoes; cook 3 minutes, stirring often. Add the vegetable broth, sour cream, and salt, stirring well. Cook for 20 minutes.

3. With a potato masher, lightly mash about half the potatoes in the pot. (This will create a thicker broth.) Cook an additional 10 minutes, or until the solid potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. Stir in corn and cheddar cheese and cook 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

My Two Cents:

Can you believe this was the first time I ever cut off fresh kernels from an ear of corn? I always eat it straight off the cob, but fresh corn in recipes is amazing. I should use fresh corn more often.

This chowder has a little kick to it, and I’m beginning to like that in my dishes. I try to spice it up a bit for Chris, since he loves spicy food. This wasn’t too spicy, but had just enough cayenne pepper to give it a little zing (and make the soup a pretty orange color!)

The sweetness of the corn and the tanginess of the sour cream played out well together in this recipe.

Also, the more cheese, the better.

And since this only takes about 40 minutes to make, it won’t heat up your place too much (or choose to make it on a cool night!)

P.S. As usual, this is quite healthy. A chowder or soup made without cream is always a winner in my book.

Lemon Spaghetti with Asparagus

Tags

asparagus, cooking, dinner, food, pasta, quick, quick and easy, recipe, recipes, spaghetti

A few things that are true about me:

• I cook a lot
• I enjoy cooking
• I enjoy eating what I cook

A few other things that are also true about me:

• I don’t always know what to cook
• I often don’t go food shopping until there are only a few stalks of celery and mayo in my fridge
• I don’t go to enough farmers markets
• Sometimes I shop on an empty stomach

Something that can help:

• Gojee.com 

I’m seriously disorganized when it comes to making a weekly plan. When my fridge starts to look like I’m living on food stamps, I usually sit down with a pad of paper, a stack of cookbooks, and my Google Reader open on my computer, and frantically look for healthy, easy, delicious, amazing recipes. It usually takes more time than I want it to, and I often wish I had a better system.

But work, life, and laziness get in the way, which is why I was happy I discovered gojee.com last night. Basically what you can do to find recipes is one of two things: type in an ingredient (or ingredients) you have, or type in something you’re craving. Then you can scroll through a bunch of recipes from a bunch of amazing blogs/food sites.

So I did just that. I typed in asparagus and found this beauty.

Lemon Spaghetti with Asparagus (Adapted from Food52.com)

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 pound asparagus
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and smashed
• grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1/2 pound spaghetti
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• juice of 1 lemon
• sea salt and black pepper
• grated Parmesan cheese (for topping)
• ricotta cheese (for topping)

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Trim the ends of the asparagus, then cut them into 1 inch pieces.

2. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute, until softened on the edges. Add the asparagus and season with sea salt. Cook, turning the asparagus frequently until crisp-tender, about 6-8 minutes. Stir in the lemon zest and remove from heat.

3. Cook the spaghetti according to package directions. Set aside 1/3 of the pasta water. Drain the spaghetti and add it to the asparagus along with the butter. Toss to melt the butter, then add half the lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasoning–adding more salt/pepper/lemon juice to taste. Add pasta water if spaghetti is too dry.

4. Top with Parmesan and ricotta cheese. Serve with fresh rolls.

My Two Cents: This meal came together in 15 minutes. 15!! But it tasted gourmet. These two facts could not please me more.

If you have never had lemon with your asparagus or spaghetti, you are missing out on a culinary treat.

Another big plus is how healthy this is. The original recipe called for 3 tbsp of olive oil–I only added 2. I also added all the butter. It’s not a whole lot, and it is the sauce for this dish. So don’t skimp too much.

So if you don’t know what to make tonight, try this quick dish. if you’re not in the mood for this, simply go on over to gojee.com to find something else that suits your tastebuds.

Note: No one told me to write about gojee.com. I’m just a big fan.