Chicken Mango Chutney Stir Fry

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chicken, cooking, easy, food, quick meals, recipe, stir-fry

How many times have you opened the fridge, sighed, grumbled, growled, and said, “There’s noooooothing to make for dinner.”

I do it a lot, especially when at the grocery store I decide that I don’t need certain things because I’m already spending money on other things — then I’m left with odds and ends in my cabinets that don’t seem to mesh. (Yeah, I’ll admit, for a food blogger, I sure am not the best planner.)

So this past week I opened up my cupboard and saw a jar of mango chutney from Trader Joe’s.

It has been sitting there for months, hidden in the back. I had to brush off some dust.

And I figured, hey. I might as well use this. But with what?

Then I remembered that chicken is super splendid with any fruity combo. I made this blueberry ginger chutney once last year to go with some chicken, and it was finger lickin’ good.

So I had my answer! I had some rice. I had some chicken. I had some chutney. Dinner was on its way.

Chicken Mango Chutney Stir Fry
Serves 4
>> Click here for printable recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 lb chicken, cut into cubes
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 (9 – 10 oz) jar mango chutney (I used Trader Joe’s)
• 1 cup basmati or brown rice

Directions:

1. Cook the rice according to the package directions — either on the stove or in your rice cooker.
2.  Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. When the pan is hot, add the chicken. Cook until the chicken is lightly browned and no longer pink in the middle.
3. Stir the chutney into the chicken and warm through for 2-3 minutes. Serve immediately over the rice.

My Two Cents: The moral of this story is to always have a jar of some sort of chutney in your cupboard. Pour it over some cooked cubed chicken. Serve over rice. Cook up some of your favorite green veggies on the side, or serve with a salad.

You have a meal.

And it always takes under 30 minutes to make.

Quinoa Spinach Salad

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cooking, easy, food, healthy, quick meals, quinoa, recipe, recipes, salad

Quinoa is pretty stellar.

I have a container of it on my shelf that never goes below half-full at all times. It can be used in place of rice, as part of a stuffing for a vegetable (peppers or eggplant), or, my favorite way to use quinoa, as the star of a super healthy salad.

Healthy.

Salad.

Two words that are essentials for my diet in the months leading up to the wedding. I have a severely irrational fear that my dress won’t fit on the day of the wedding. I don’t know if all brides suffer from this, but food has been on my mind way more than usual lately. I’m used to just eating whatever, whenever (all in moderation, of course), but still. Every time I eat a piece of cake, an extra candy, or a side of fries, my brain goes into panic mode: “You’re definitely going to have to work out now.” or “Guess you’re eating a salad tomorrow at lunch.” or simply, “baahhh.”

I’ve realized this is an unhealthy approach to food. I told my sister about this fear and she simply said, “why don’t you just eat normally?”

She’s right.

Plus. I don’t want the opposite to happen. I don’t want that dress to fall off of me!

So I took my straight spinach salad, and spruced it up with some more filling and healthy ingredients — quinoa and black beans — inspired from an awesome cooking class I took last week with Kathy Day from Kathy Can Cook with Chef Bernard.

Quinoa Spinach Salad (Adpated from Chef Bernard)
Serves 4
>> Click here for printable recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 medium red pepper, diced
• 1 1/2 cups fresh spinach
• 1 (14 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup white or red onion, diced
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, smashed and chopped
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

1. Cook the quinoa according to the package directions.
2. Toss the rest of the ingredients together in a large bowl.  When the quinoa is done cooking, toss it into the bowl while it’s still warm.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and olive oil. Toss with the salad. Taste, add salt and pepper if desired and/or more olive oil and lemon juice  to your taste preference.

My Two Cents: This is a great lunch.

However, I must warn you, the onion taste is quite pungent. I recommend using red onions, which are aren’t quite as strong as white onions — or use Vidalia onions, which are sweeter. I only had white on hand, so…good thing I like onions.

The original recipe called for vegetable broth in place of the water, but if you don’t have broth on hand (like me), water is clearly A-Ok to use.

Enjoy this guilt-free, filling, healthy, hearty, super-duper salad

Skillet Lasagna

Tags

cooking, easy recipes, fast meals, food, lasagna, quick meals, recipe, recipes, skillet meal, whip it up wednesday

Making lasagna can be a chore, and it certainly is never an option during the week because of all the labor that goes into it.

So when my mom told me there is such a thing as skillet lasagna, I got a little giddy. Lasagna in less than 45 minutes? Hoo-rah!

Skillet Lasagna (Adapted from Kraft Foods)
Serves 4-5
>> Click here for printable recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 small eggplant, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
• 12 no boil lasagna noodles, broken into quarters
• 1 (24 oz jar) spaghetti sauce
• 1 and 2/3 cups water
• 1 cup shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Brown the ground turkey in a large skillet; drain.
2. Meanwhile, in a separate skillet, cook the onions, eggplant, and pepper until the onion and eggplant is soft and the pepper is crisp-tender. Add the vegetables to the skillet with the ground turkey; stir well.
3. Add the garlic, sauce, water, and Italian seasoning to the skillet; stir well. Bring the mixture to a boil, then stir in the noodles.
4. Cover and cook on medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes, or until the noodles are tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, sprinkle the cheese on top of the mixture — serve and enjoy!

My two cents: Simple, scrumptious, full of flavor, and the essence of lasagna!

Thanks to my mom for the beautiful kitchen and natural light. Also, these meals are now essential to me as the big day draws closer. Instead of coming home and worrying about what kind of big, complicated meal I’m going to cook, I can make something simple and hearty, then sit down with my laptop and plan away

(Though, I will admit that I really love to take breaks on weekends and relax by baking or kneading my own homemade pizza dough…)

It all evens out in the end.

Enjoy!

Whip it up Wednesday: Poached Eggs in Pasta Sauce

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cooking, easy, easy meals, eggs, food, pasta, quick meals, recipe, recipes, skillet meals, vegetables, whip it up wednesday

This is my new favorite way to eat eggs.

I love poached eggs, but I always fail miserably at making them…or at least making them pretty.

However. If you poach them in pasta sauce, you will instantly become a master egg poacher, no matter your expertise with poaching eggs in water.

Don’t believe me? Give it a try.

Plus, if you like runny eggs (if you don’t, we can’t be friends), but if you do, the runny egg acts like an extra, silky sauce that leaves you wondering why pasta sauce isn’t always made with egg yolks…

And, this meal is fast, easy, painless, and all the ingredients are fridge and pantry staples.

aka.

You must make this!

Poached Eggs in Pasta Sauce (Adapted from Cooking Light)
Total Time: 30 minutes
Serves 4
>> Click here for printable recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced into strips
• 1 medium onion, cut in half, then sliced into strips
• 1 (24 oz) jar of your favorite pasta sauce
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 4 large eggs
• 1 box orzo
• Parmesan cheese for serving
• parsley for serving (optional)

Directions:

1.  Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and bell peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions start to get soft and the peppers are crisp-tender.
2. Meanwhile, cook the orzo according to the package directions.
3. Add the pasta sauce and oregano to the pan and stir. Let cook for 3 minutes.
4. Make 4 little wells in the pasta sauce/veggie mix. Crack the eggs and slip them into each well. Cover the pan and let the eggs cook for 6-8 minutes until they have set to your desired consistency.
5. Serve the egg and pasta sauce over the orzo. Sprinkle with pepper, Parmesan cheese, and parsley. Enjoy!

My Two Cents: Can someone explain to me why so many people are afraid of eggs? One week they’re horrible for you, the next, eat ‘em every day, twice a day. I say, eat them in moderation, and don’t worry about it. In fact, eat everything in moderation, and don’t worry about it.

This meal is so balanced. It’s chock full of veggies, the egg gives you your protein, and the pasta gives you your carbs. Add in some cheese, you have the dairy. All of your food groups in one bite? I couldn’t ask for anything more.

Honey Sesame Chicken

Tags

chicken, cooking, easy meals, food, honey, poultry, quick meals, recipe, recipes

I got a frozen package of chicken breasts from Trader Joe’s the other week. It was a steal of a deal. And the sodium levels were quite low. I couldn’t resist, as is usually the case when I step into Trader Joe’s. (“I definitely need 3 bags of chocolate covered pretzels, as well as chocolate covered edamame, a giant package of string cheese, and let’s just throw those chocolate covered potato chips in there, too”)

Well, the low-sodium frozen chicken made up for all that chocolate (maybe — though they’re saying that chocolate is good for you now — which I’m beginning to think is the reason I’m not a complete whale at this point in my life).

Let me get back to what I was really saying.

I used this recipe with frozen chicken, which is 100% totally fine to do, just as long as you defrost it before you bake it.

The Trader Joe’s package might tell you that you don’t have to defrost the chicken before you use it, and I should’ve listened to my inner brain smarts that said, “um, Megan, this is a lie. You are going to be waiting around for this chicken to be done if you don’t defrost it. It will take longer than 30 minutes. This actually has happened to you before. So this is sort of a no-brainer. Will you just listen to yourself for once? Your instincts are usually right, yet sometimes you completely ignore yourself, which can, and frequently does end poorly.”

So what did I do? I prepared the chicken, frozen, and sure enough, cooked it for an extra 15 minutes to make sure it was done.

Which is fine, if you aren’t starving.

If you’re using chicken that hasn’t been frozen into a big ice block yet, then you reading this lead-up to the recipe was completely unnecessary, but hopefully entertaining. Because even 2 + years after I’ve been screwing things up in the kitchen, I’m still far far far away from the term “pro” or “just like grandma” material.

Despite ALL THAT, this chicken tasted good.

Honey Sesame Chicken (adapted from The Healthy College Cookbook)
Serves 4
>> Click here for printable recipe 

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or 5-6 pieces of frozen chicken breasts — which are usually smaller than the packages that aren’t frozen in the meat section)
• 4 tbsp honey
• 3 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (400 if using partially frozen chicken).
2. Spray a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish with cooking spray. Arrange the chicken in a single layer in the dish. Warm the honey for 15-20 seconds in the microwave and brush evenly over the chicken.
3. In a small bowl, combine the sesame seeds, garlic powder, and pepper, and sprinkle evenly over chicken. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through (juices run clear when pricked with a fork).
4. Serve over rice or couscous with a side of your favorite greens.

My Two Cents: Okay, so after waiting around for an extra mere 15 minutes for this chicken to cook, it was PHENOMENAL. Honey works magic on chicken every single time. And the sesame seeds add a nice pop of flavor.

The leftovers are great hot or cold. I sliced mine up, tossed it in with a salad the next night, and tossed in some feta cheese to top it all off.

Enjoy!

Whip it up Wednesday: Sloppy Joes

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cooking, food, ground turkey, quick meals, recipe, recipes, sloppy joe, whip it up wednesday

The classic, comforting, easy, sweet, flavorful Sloppy Joes….

…that I haven’t made in my apartment until just last week.

This is partly due to the fact that I wasn’t a huge fan of Sloppy Joes as a kid. It wasn’t the taste, but the mess. I didn’t like eating something in a sandwich bun with a fork and knife — either that or get the food all over my face when I bit into it. I think the texture weirded me out, too.

But alas.

Just as I got over my strange hummus aversion, I have overcome my mild dislike towards Sloppy Joes. This is partly due to my maturation into my fabulous adulthood, and partly due to the fact that the sauce is 100% homemade. Those McCormick packets are great in a pinch (and to make things even more simple for you), but I promise, making the sauce for this took about 5 minutes of chopping and measuring.

It’s worth it.

Sloppy Joes (Adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food From My Frontier)
Prep: 10 minutes Cook: 20 minutes
Serves 6 -8
>> Click here for printable recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs ground turkey
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 small/medium sized onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 cup water
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• dash of Worcestershire sauce
• dash of Tabasco sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
• 6 – 8 hamburger/sandwich buns

Directions:

1.  Brown the ground turkey in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Drain off the fat.
2. Add in the green pepper, onion, and garlic; stir. Then add in the ketchup and 1 cup of water. Stir to combine.
3. Finally, add the brown sugar, chili powder, mustard, red pepper flakes, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, salt, and pepper. Give it one more stir, then cover, turn the heat down to medium-low and let simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Toast or warm the burger/sandwich buns, then place a heaping spoonful of the ground turkey mixture on the bun. Close shut, try to eat with your hands, resort to fork and knife. Enjoy.

My Two Cents: This is several notches healthier than the Pioneer Woman’s original Sloppy Joe recipe, which called for ground beef, more ketchup, more sugar, and buttered buns.

This is a great, quick meal to make for the family or a hungry (moderately-sized) dinner crowd. To spruce up the meal, serve with a spinach salad (complete with pecans, mandarin oranges, and balsamic vinegar dressing).

But this also makes great leftovers — so if there’s just 1 or 2 of you in the house, half of your meals will be whipped up all week

P.S. Ever wonder why they’re called Sloppy Joes? Much to my surprise, I have never looked this up until now! According to Wikipedia:

A sloppy joe is an American dish of ground beef, onions, sweetened tomato sauce or ketchup and other seasonings served on a hamburger bun. Commercially made sauces are also available. Textured vegetable protein may be used as a vegetarian substitute for the meat. The Original Sloppy Joe Sandwich was invented by a cook named Joe at a cafe in Sioux City, Iowa, as a variation of the popular “loose meat” sandwich (which does not contain tomato sauce).

And there you have it! Thank you, Joe, from Iowa, for inventing such a tasty dish.

Enjoy!