Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Can I tell you how much I love Pinterest? I spend waaaaay too much time on there each week, scrolling through everyone's pins, repinning them to my own boards, looking for images to pin from other websites. I have been known to even have dreams about pinning. It's an addiction I tell you. But one I'm not looking to break anytime soon.

Most of my pins are food-related (of course!), which is how I came across this recipe for cashew chicken. A few days after I repinned it to my board, I cooked it up in my kitchen. Both the husband and I loved it, and wished I'd made more, practically licking our plates clean. The original recipe calls for butter leaf lettuce, but I couldn't find any, so I used iceberg since I already had some in the crisper. I think I added a bit too much cayenne though, as this dish was a tad spicy for the two of us, however, it didn't take away any of the yum. :)


Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Source: She Wears Many Hats
Printable Recipe

Ingredients for Chicken Cashew
2 chicken breasts (about 3/4 lb. total), diced
8 leaves of greenleaf or iceburg lettuce
3 tablespoons canola oil (or oil of choice)
1 cup onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 cup cashews, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
basil, for garnish

Ingredients for stir fry sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Directions
For the stir fry sauce mix all ingredients together, making sure to dissolve the brown sugar. Set aside.

Heat canola oil in pan over medium to medium high heat. Add diced chicken and brown (about 4-5 minutes). Remove chicken from oil.

Add onions, garlic and 1 teaspoon soy sauce to pan; brown.

When onions and garlic are brown and tender, add the stir fry sauce, browned chicken and cashews. Saute mixture for a few minutes and remove from heat.

Spoon chicken mixture into individual lettuce leaves. Add your favorite hot sauce, more cashews or basil.

Jalapeno Chicken Salad

This hardly qualifies as a recipe, in my opinion, since you basically just mix a few things together and then eat. :) But it's something I've been eating a lot of lately since it is South Beach-friendly, and friends have asked for the recipe, so I decided to go ahead and blog it after all.

The jalapeno and lime give a spicy-tart kick to the chicken, while the olive oil leaves a very distinct (in a good way!) taste. I like to eat this on its own or with some sliced cucumbers and red bell peppers, but I bet it would be great as a sandwich or on some whole wheat crackers.

I don't actually measure out the ingredients for this when I make it, so the following recipe is a rough guideline. You can add or subtract to suit your tastes. :)

And just in case you're keeping count, the total weight loss is now at 16 pounds! Woooooo!

Jalapeno Chicken Salad
Source: an awesome co-worker
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
one 12.5-ounce can chicken breasts, packed in water
1-2 Tablespoons reduced-fat mayo
1 teaspoon olive oil
juice from 1/2 a lime
2 green onions, diced
1 jalapeno, diced (remove the seeds and ribs if you don't like a lot of heat)
1-2 Tablespoons cilantro, minced
garlic salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix together with a fork.

Serve immediately, or chill until ready to eat.

Almond-Encrusted Chicken Nuggests

I recently began following the South Beach Diet, so I've been looking for recipes that fit in with those restrictions. I want to be as healthy as I can, so of course, I'm changing my eating habits. As a result, I won't be blogging many sweet treats or carb-heavy recipes anymore, since I'm not going to be eating them. I know, I know. We'll deal with this together though, ok? There might be some every now and then, but those treats will be quickly packed up for friends and co-workers to enjoy. :)

On the upside, I've lost 13 pounds in my first week of following the South Beach Diet!

So as I was searching for a tasty recipe that didn't contain carbs, sugars, or unhealthy fat, I found this homemade chicken nugget recipe. The almond meal (just grind up slivered almonds in your food processor) replaces bread crumbs to cut out the carbs and add in some healthy fats.

The husband and I both loved these nuggets and can't wait to eat them again. The few seasonings in the recipe pack quite a punch of flavor! The husband dipped his nuggets in BBQ sauce, while I ate mine plain; we both had oven-roasted broccoli and shallots on the side and felt quite satisfied when we were done eating.

Almond-Encrusted Chicken Nuggets
Source: Kalyn's Kitchen
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
4-5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or 2 breasts)
1-2 Tablespoons olive oil (enough to coat the baking sheet)
3/4 cup almond meal (ground up almonds)
1 1/2 teaspoon paprika (not smoked or hot)
3/4 teaspon poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions

Turn on your oven to 400 degrees. Brush a baking sheet with the olive oil and place the sheet in the oven while it preheats.

Trim all visible fat and tendons from the chicken, then cut each thigh into 4 or 5 nugget pieces of about equal size. You can use a mallet to pound out any nuggets that are too thick.

Combine the almond meal, paprika, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl, or pie pan and mix together with a fork. Dip each nugget piece into the almond meal mixture, pressing onto the chicken with your fingers so the mixture coats the chicken. Coat all the nuggets before you remove the baking sheet from the oven.

Once each nugget is coated, lay them on the hot baking sheet and cook 8-10 minutes, or until the side touching the pan is lightly browned. Remove pan from oven, turn the nuggets, and bake another 10-12 minutes on the second side, until nuggets are lightly browned and cooked through. (Don't overcook.)

Serve hot, with mustard or ranch dipping sauce if desired. If you're not following South Beach or a low glycemic diet, dip them in whatever your heart desires! Just don't tell me about it. ;)

Spicy Oven-Fried Chicken

I love browsing blogs and discovering new (to me) blogs during my down time. Seeing the creativity of others on the internet -- and not just in the food bloggosphere, but in the crafting, decorating, and other creative blogs as well -- inspires me to try new things, both inside the kitchen and out.

Recently while browsing through blogs and following links to other people's favorites, I found Everybody Loves Sandwiches. I just had to click on the link because, well, I love sandwiches! :) I was so excited to see what they had to offer and definitely was not disappointed with their plethora of posts. As I scrolled down through their older entries, I found the offering that sealed the deal for me; I added I Love Sandwiches to my list of favorites before I even finished reading.

What is it that could have me so smitten with a website, you ask? Oven-fried chicken. Wait, not just oven fried chicken, but SPICY oven-fried chicken. I love oven-fried chicken. Make that LOVE. It is so freaking good, and I always feel like I am cheating the evils of fat since oven-fried chicken doesn't even come close to a fryer. Add in a layer of spice, another foodie love of mine, and you had me at hello. (Ok, I abhor Rene Zellwegger, so I am really ashamed to have used that line. Also, abhor is one of the vocabulary words I taught my Language Arts Review students last week. Teaching them new vocabulary words makes me feel smarter. heh. However, as always, I digress.)

Where was I?? Oh yes, my love of oven-fried chicken and spicy foods. Add a spice component to oven-fried chicken and I've found my new favorite meal. This is also a healthy alternative to buffalo wings during Monday Night Football.

Don't be scared by the adjective spicy in this recipe though. We all know that the husband is a total wuss when it comes to spicy foods, yet, he loved this chicken as much as I and asked me to make it again soon. The spice comes through in the flavor without burning off your tastebuds. More of a daredevil in the heat department? You can easily up the amount of hot sauce and cayenne to set your mouth aflame.

Spicy Oven-Fried Chicken
Source: adapted from Everybody Loves Sandwiches
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
1 container plain non-fat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup skim milk
Juice & zest of 1 lime
3 Tablespoons hot wing sauce
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon ground black pepper
5 chicken boneless chicken thighs

1 cup dry breadcrumbs (I used the herbed breadcrumbs)
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 Tablespoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3 Tablespoons butter

Directions
Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the first 8 ingredients (Greek yogurt through the pepper) and stir until smooth. Add the chicken to the mix and turn to coat. Let marinate for 15 to 30 minutes.

In a shallow pie pan, combine the breadcrumbs, flour, thyme, paprika and cayenne. Stir with a fork to combine.

Pick up one chicken thigh at a time and dredge in the breadcrumb mixture, coating both sides. Set the chicken in the baking dish and repeat with the remaining chicken thighs.

Dot the chicken with butter (don't skip this step, or your chicken won't come out with a crisp coating). Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

Tequila Chicken Burgers

I was recently searching for some black bean burger recipes when I found this chicken burger recipe on Cara's Cravings. I love this blog because she keeps her focus on healthy, flavorful food and I have yet to be dissapointed with anything I've tried. So when I saw these burgers I decided to put the black bean burgers on the back burner for a bit and make these instead.

The husband and I were both really happy with the way they turned out as well, though I think next time I might add a bit more salt and some dried crushed jalapeno (or some of the jalapeno ribs ans seeds) for a touch more heat. The burgers were incredibly moist and filling and they were a great way to use chicken without tasting boring.

I'm thinking about making a big batch of these burgers, then freezing them individually for quick weeknight dinners, or easy-to-grab lunches, once the school year starts up again, especially once my Masters program begins at the end of September.

Tequila Chicken Burgers
Source: adapted from Cara's Cravings
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
4-5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, ribs and seeds removed, roughly chopped
4 green onions, roughly chopped
zest of 1 lime
juice of 1 lime
dash of lite soy sauce
1 shot tequila
freshly ground salt & pepper
1/4 cup plain oatmeal

Directions
Turn on the broiler to High. Spray a sheet of foil with non-stick spray and set aside.

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until chicken is ground.

Form into 4 uniform patties. Set each patty on the foil and broil for 10-12 minutes, flipping over halfway through.

I served my burgers on sandwich thins with tomato slices and Dijon mustard.

Chicken and Basil Stir Fry

This is the second summer I've planted a little container garden on my patio. We don't have much: a tomato plant, a dying crook-neck squash plant, a Meyer lemon tree, and two boxes of herbs, including basil, oregano, sage, rosemary and thyme.

I planted in June rather than April or May this year, and we had really cool weather this spring and early summer, so most of my plants haven't been too prolific this year in their offerings. In fact, my basil plant was yellowy, with only a few bug-eaten leaves for most of the summer.

But then the heat hit in mid-July and all of a sudden it's like someone transplanted a new basil plant into my garden over night. The leaves are large, vibrantly green, and sweetly fragrant. I have to keep on top of it daily now to stop it from flowering.

Other than the usual pesto, I wasn't sure what I wanted to make with all my basil (though I've been dreaming about basil ice cream), until I came across a recipe for Chicken and Basil Stir Fry. I made a few minor changes, including adding broccoli (the husband's fav stiry fry ingredient), crushed dried jalapeno and salt and pepper and upping the amount of basil. Overall this was a good dish, though I would have preferred it to be a bit more spicy and the sauce a bit thicker, though I did double the sauce ingredients (which is reflected below).

Chicken and Basil Stir Fry
Source: Adapted from Casual.Concotions
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
3/4 cup chicken broth

4 Tablespoons fish sauce

4 teaspoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon cornstarch

2 Tablespoons canola or vegetable oil

2 large red bell peppers, seeded and cut into large chunks

1 small head of broccoli, cut up

1 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into wedges

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and cut into small pieces

2 cloves minced garlic

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 cup chopped fresh basil, plus additional for garnish

3 green onions, chopped
1/4 teaspoon crushed dried jalapeno, optional (you can sub cayenne)
salt
pepper

Directions

In a small bowl, whisk together the chicken broth, fish sauce, ginger and brown sugar. Add the corn starch and whisk until cornstarch and sugar is dissolved. Set aside.

In a wok heat the oil over high heat until it is hot. Add the bell peppers and zucchini and stir fry for 1 minute. Add jalapeno and garlic and stir fry until fragrant, about 20-30 seconds.

Add the chicken and stir fry until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Stir in basil and green onions and stir-fry until the green onions are just wilted.

Whisk the sauce mixture in bowl again and pour into pan. Cook until the liquid comes to a boil and thickens slightly.

Serve over rice, if desired.

Chicken and Mushroms in a White Wine Sauce

Summer break is a great perk of teaching. After waking up at 6am all school year, I relish sleeping in until 9am every morning. Even then, I set my alarm or I'd easily sleep much much later.

Once I finally do roll out of bed, I usually settle into the couch with my laptop and check out my favorite websites, one of which is Annie's Eats. She always has such beautiful pictures, so even if I'm not too interested in the recipe I love seeing her photography.

I haven't blogged too much this summer, mainly because the husband and I have been eating a lot of stuff that I've made several times before. I feel like we often find a new dish we love, but then never eat it again because I want to make something new to feature on my blog. But then a few days ago, Annie's Eats posted a recipe for Chicken and Artichokes in White Whine Sauce, served over rice, that looked especially good. A quick browse through the recipe and I saw I had nearly all of the ingredients, except for the artichokes, and that it wouldn't take too long to make, so I quickly decided to cook it for dinner that night.

I didn't want to run out to the store, so I just omitted the artichokes, and I used two large portabella mushrooms, rather than the baby bellas the original recipe called for. I also doubled the sauce ingredients, as I planned to serve the chicken over fettucini instead of rice. And my last change was using 5 or 6 boneless chicken thighs in place of the breasts; that was an unintentional change (I thought I grabbed breasts from the freezer), but the results were great.

I loved this dish, though the husband thought it was just ok. He felt like the wine flavor was too pronounced, but I disagree. I felt like it was a good balance of flavors, though I did add a sprinkle more salt at the table.
Chicken and Mushrooms in a White Wine Sauce

Source: adapted from Annie's Eats
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
2 servings dried fettucini noodles
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons herbes de provence
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
5-6 small, boneless skinless chicken thighs, sliced in half lengthwise
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons butter
2 portabella mushrooms, quartered, then sliced
2/3 cup dry white wine
2/3 cup chicken broth
Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

Directions
Bring a large stockpot of water to boil on the stove. Once the water comes to a boil, add the fettucini noodles and cook until they are al dente, about 12-13 minutes.

In a pie plate or shallow dish, combine the flour, herbs de provence, salt and pepper and stir with a fork to blend. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the flour mixture.

Coat the chicken thighs in the flour, shaking off the excess.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the pan and cook until golden brown and cooked through, about 8-10 minutes, turning halfway through cooking. Remove the chicken to a plate; cover and keep warm.

Add the butter to the same skillet and warm until melted. Add the mushrooms and cook until most of the liquid is released from the mushrooms and they are tender, about 5 minutes.

In a liquid measuring cup, combine the white wine, chicken broth, and reserved tablespoons of flour; whisk until smooth. Add the mixture to the skillet, cooking until it is warm and slightly thickened.

Return the chicken to the pan to warm through and cover with sauce. Serve the chicken over fettucini with sauce spooned over the top, and garnish with grated Parmesan as desired.

Tequila Marinated Chicken Thighs

I recently bought a bottle of tequila to make a batch of margarita cupcakes (which were a fail, by the way :/), but I really only needed a few tablespoons, so I had pretty much a full bottle sitting around. I *really* just wanted to make a blender full of potent margaritas with it, but I can't handle a tequila hangover during the week, so I marinated some chicken in the boozy goodness instead.

Ohhhh, such a good idea! This chicken came out super tender and flavorful. I upped the amount of tequila from the 2 Tablespoons called for in the original recipe to 4 Tablespoons - I wanted to make sure the tequila flavor would come through in the cooked chicken. This was definitely a good choice--we could taste the tequila, but it didn't overwhelm the rest of the flavors.

I have to admit a bit of a flub on my point though. I didn't check the amount of charcoal I had on hand before getting started. When I went to fire up the grill my charcoal bag had maybe 10 briquettes in it! I didn't have time to go buy more, so I tried to make do with what I had. Yeah, that didn't work; the grill didn't get hot enough to cook the chicken. After about 10 minutes on the grill, the meat all had nice grill marks, but was still completely raw, so I cranked the broiler up to high and threw the chicken in there to finish cooking. Annoying, but a good solution to my dilemma. :)

Tequila-Marinated Chicken Thighs
Source: Adapted from The Mexican Cookbook
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
12-15 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
11 garlic cloves, finely chopped
juice of 2 limes, plus 1/2 a lime
juice of 1 orange
4 Tablespoons tequila
1 Tablespoon New Mexico chili powder
1 Tablespoon chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sugar
pinch of ground cinnamon
pinch of ground cumin
3-4 springs oregano, leaves stripped from the stems
2 teaspoons pepper

Directions
Pour all of the ingredients, except for the half lime, in a large ziplock bag. Add the chicken and turn the bag to coat.

Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, or overnight.

Preheat the barbecue until hot. Cook the chicken, turning once, until cooked all the way through (165 degrees).

Remove from grill and let sit, covered, for about 5 minutes to reabsorb the juices.

Squeeze the juice of the remaining half a lime over the chicken and serve.

Grilled Yogurt Chicken

I was recently housesitting for my parents while they enjoyed a 7 day Mexican Rivera cruise. *sigh* How nice. Anyway, my mom left me a big stack of magazines to go through, as she was planning to throw them away. She had Women's Day, Martha Stewart Living, Southern Living, and Sunset, none of which I subscribe to. I eagerly begin flipping through the magazines, looking for new recipes and ideas, when I found this chicken recipe. I headed out to the grocery store, bought the ingredients and fired up the grill.

This is a quick and easy dinner that I could see myself making even on a hectic weeknight. Don't be intimidated by pounding the chicken out, it's simple and even kind of fun! :) I do think the marinade could use a bit more flavor, so I might add some sliced green onions and possibly a bit of lime juice or garlic powder next time.

Grilled Yogurt Chicken
Source: adapted from Sunset Magazine
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup plain yogurt (I used Greek yogurt)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoon lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon salt (I used garlic salt)
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
1/4 teaspoon ground tumeric (I omitted)
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions
Rinse chicken and pat dry. Layer chicken breasts between plastic wrap and pound to an even thickness (about 1/4 of an inch). I used a large cast iron skillet, whacking the chicken, to accomplish this.

Prepare a grill to high heat.

Meanwhile, combine the yogurt, cumin, lemon, salt, pepper, tumeric, and chili flakes in a medium bowl. Dip the chicken in the bowl, one piece at a time, coating both sides with the yogurt mixture. Let sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Throw out the remaining marinade.

Pour the oil on a paper towel and rub the grill grates with it to help prevent the chicken from sticking.

Grill the chicken for about 3-4 minutes per side. Season with additional salt and pepper, if desired, and serve.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

It's been awhile since I've made pizza, so when I recently made a new batch of dough, I wanted to try some new toppings. The husband and I like to pick up a box of CPK's frozen BBQ chicken pizzas every now and then, so I figured why not try out a home made version?

I used a half wheat, half white flour crust (only because I ran out of whole wheat flour and didn't want to run to the store), spread with a sweet BBQ sauce, and topped with a mix of cheese. This pizza was delicious! And it was a nice break from our usual tomato sauce pizzas. You can see some turkey pepperoni in the picture up there; I didn't feel they really added anything to the flavor (I couldn't even really taste them, actually), so I've omitted them from the ingredients list below. You could certainly experiment and add them to your pizza though.

I can't say that this BBQ pizza is better than CPK's, but it was a good at-home alternative. I even made a few extras to freeze for later!

BBQ Chicken Pizza
Source: A Cooking in Cucamonga originial
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

Olive Oil Pizza Dough (grab a piece about the size of a grapefruit)
1 chicken breast or 2 thighs, grilled and cut into small chunks
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2-3/4 cup mozarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce
cornmeal for dusting

Directions

Pre-heat the oven, with a pizza stone on the middle rack, to 525 degrees.

Sprinkle a piece of parchment paper with cornmeal to prevent the dough from sticking. Using your hands, stretch out the pizza dough to your desired size and thickness; the husband and I prefer a thinnner crust.

Note: I've found this dough is easiest to work with if I coat my hands in olive oil first-it prevents the dough from sticking to my skin.

Spread BBQ sauce all over the pizza, leaving about a 1/2" border all around the edge--this will form the crust. Top with both cheeses, the sliced onions, and the chicken.

Bake on the pizza stone (you can leave the pizza on the parchment) for about 8 minutes, or until the cheese is melted, golden and bubbly.

Chicken and Veg Stir Fry, Version 2

I recently made this stir fry, using bags of frozen veggies I had on hand. We thouroughly enjoyed it, and since stir fry is an easy (if a bit time consuming) dinner, I decided to make it again. This time I had a bunch of different fresh veggies in the crisper, a can of baby corn in the pantry, and chicken breasts rather than thighs, so it was practically a whole new dish.

Start a pot of brown rice (I use my rice maker) while you chop up the veggies and the rice will be done right about the time you are ready to plate your stir fry.

On another note, I've been showing Jaime Oliver's Food Revolution to my journalism students lately, and they are loving the show. I gave them some time in the computer lab to check out his website and many of them were searching for the stir fry recipe Jaime made on the show! Too cute.

Chicken and Veg Stir Fry
Source: A Cooking in Cucamonga Original
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
2 Tablespoons sesame oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cups green beans, cut in half
2 cups asparagus, cut into thirds
1 can baby corn, drained
1 can bamboo shoots, drained
1/2 teaspoon chili paste
1 cup water + 1 teaspoon chicken or vegetable bullion

Directions
Cut up the chicken breasts into small chunks and put into a ziplock bag. Add the cornstarch and shake, ensuring that all chicken pieces are coated. Add the rice vinegar, soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, ground ginger, minced garlic, and pepper. Shake to coat and let marinate 10-30 minutes.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large wok until hot. Add the chicken and cook about 4 minutes, until chicken in no longer pink.

Remove chicken from the wok and set aside.

Heat the remaining 1 Tablespoon sesame oil in the wok. Once it is hot, add all of the vegetables, sprinkle with garlic salt and add the chili paste . Stir fry until heated through and crisp. Add the chicken back to the wok, pour in the water with bullion. Cook for another 3-4 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened.

Serve over rice.

Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry

This was another one of those "end of the month, end of the money" meals. Rather than go to the grocery store to pick up random ingredients for a dish, I pawed through the freezer, pulling out what we already had on hand. When I found a package of chicken thighs and assorted frozen veggies, I knew a stir fry would be the perfect meal.
Though the ingredient list is long, this meal comes together quickly and easily. The marinade is pretty simple, but adds a ton of flavor to the chicken. I squirted a bit of sriracha sauce on my plate (after photographing it) for a bit more heat, but you can also up the chili paste in the stir fry itself if you want.

Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry
Source: A Cooking in Cucamonga Original
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
5 small boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
2 Tablespoons sesame oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 cup sliced bell peppers (I used a bag of frozen multi-colored peppers)
1 cup corn kernels
1 can bamboo shoots, drained
1 can water chestnuts, drained
1 cup water + 1 teaspoon chicken or vegetable bullion
additional pepper to taste
1 dash/smidge of chili paste, add more or less depending on how much heat you like (mine was not spicy at all, so add more like a 1/2 teaspoon if you want spicy)

Directions
Cut up the chicken thighs into small chunks and put into a ziplock bag. Add the cornstarch and shake, ensuring that all chicken pieces are coated. Add the rice vinegar, soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, ground ginger, garlic powder, and pepper. Shake to coat and let marinate 10-30 minutes.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large wok until hot. Add the chicken and cook about 4 minutes, until chicken in no longer pink.

Remove chicken from the wok and set aside.

Heat the remaining 1 Tablespoon sesame oil in the wok. Once it is hot, add all of the vegetables, sprinkle with garlic salt and add the dash of chili paste . Stir fry until heated through and crisp. Add the chicken back to the wok, pour in the water with bullion. Cook for another 3-4 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened.

Serve over rice.

Chicken Tacos

I made these tacos using leftover meat from my oven-roasted chicken. This was a great way to use up some leftovers, without having the same meal twice! Not only that, but this also brought the cost of the chicken down to pennies per meal (we got 3 meals each out of one bird!)--always a bonus when you're trying to save money.

Chicken Tacos
Source: A Cooking in Cucamonga Original
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
corn tortillas
leftover roasted chicken, shredded
crema or sour cream
chunky salsa
shredded cheese
green onions, diced

Directions
Heat the tortillas in the microwave for about 30 seconds, or until they are soft. Heat the chicken for a minute or so, until heated through.

Pile the chicken into the tortillas and drizzle with crema, salsa, diced green onions and the shredded cheese.

Grilled Rosemary Chicken Thighs

I came across this recipe from Pink Parsley Catering recently and immediately bookmarked it. I love grilling chicken thighs and the marinade sounded delicious. Well, just like everything I've made from Pink Parsley, this was fabulous! The flavors melded together perfectly, with none overwhelming the others.
The marinade is slightly sweet because of the honey, but the rosemary and red vinegar round out the savory end of the flavor spectrum here. That, combined with a slight char from the grill, created a wonderful entree. The husband even commented that it was too bad I didn't make more, and he rarely wants seconds! This might even be our new favorite chicken recipe, which is saying a lot considering how often we eat chicken.
I love chicken thighs because they are still a lean meat, even if they are a bit fattier than breasts, and they are incredibly moist and flavorful. So if you normally eat chicken breasts, I suggest you give boneless, skinless chicken thighs a try soon. You might be surprised at how tasty they can be!

Grilled Rosemary Chicken Thighs
Source: Pink Parsley Catering
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons dijon mustard (I used Grey Poupon's coarse ground mustard)
2 Tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar (you can sub apple cider vinegar)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary (I used 1 1/2 teaspoons dried)
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat
1/2 lemon (I omitted)

Directions

Combine the garlic, oil, mustard, vinegar, honey, salt, and rosemary in a large ziploc bag. Add the chicken and turn to coat. Allow to marinate chilled for at least one hour or up to 24 hours.

Prepare a charcoal grill. Grill chicken thighs 3-4 minutes per side, or until they reach an internal temperature of 165.

Remove from grill and cover with aluminum foil. Allow to rest 10 minutes, to reabsorb the juices.

Serve and enjoy!

Citrus Marinated Grilled Chicken

I whipped this dish up on the spur of the moment recently and was really pleased with the way it turned out. The husband commented that it has just the right amount of lime and garlic, with none of the flavors overwhelming the overall dish.
I am excited to make this chicken again soon, especially with the weather nice enough to grill every day. We served it with avocado slices and gussied up instant potatos (gasp!).

Citrus Marinated Grilled Chicken
Source: A Cooking in Cucamonga original
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
5-6 small boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3 limes
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 green onion, diced (white and green parts)
dash salt
1-2 teaspoons pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
dash garlic salt
1 green onion, green part only, diced for garnish

Directions
Squeeze the lime juice in a medium bowl. Mix in the garlic, onion, salt, pepper, chili powder, and garlic salt. Add the chicken to the marinade; turn the chicken over a few times to ensure it is completely covered by the marinade.

Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for an hour.

Heat a charcoal grill (a grill pan would work too, but you'll lose the grill flavor). Once the coals are ready, place the chicken on the grill and cover for 3-4 minutes. Turn the chicken over and finish grilling until the meat reaches 165 degrees.

Plate and sprinkle with the diced green onions.

Oven Roasted Chicken with Thyme

See that picture up there? Notice anything about the wings? Yep, I did it again; I cooked my chicken upside down. Honestly, I still wasn't sure which side was the breast, but remembering how moist my upside-down Thanksgiving turkey turned out, I really didn't care. Once, the turkey came out of the oven and it was time to carve it up, I realized that it's actually not that hard to figure out which side is the breast...it's meatier.

Back to this recipe though, it was really moist and flavorful. It wasn't as lemony as I'd hoped, but I think I am the only one who expected a lot of tang here. I served the chicken with oven-roasted broccoli for the husband and a spring salad with homemade croutons for me.

Oven Roasted Chicken with Thyme
Served with Wilted Spring Greens and Homemade Croutons

Source: adapted from Martha Stewart Everyday Food (March edition)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients for the Chicken
1 whole chicken, 3 1/2 to 4 pounds
1 lemon, halved
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme + 3 whole sprigs
1 teaspoon dried thyme
salt
pepper (I used a combination of regular black pepper and freshly ground citrus pepper)

Salad Ingredients
8 ounces crusty bread (I used a leftover hoagie roll)
12 ounces spring mix salad
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar (I used peach champagne vinegar)
pan juices from the chicken
garlic salt
pepper
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Directions for the chicken
Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees.

Remove any gizzards from your chicken. Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Set the chicken on a rimmed baking sheet, or in a roasting pan, breast side up.

Squeeze the juice of half a lemon inside the chicken cavity; place the rinds inside, along with the springs fresh thyme.

Squeeze the juice of the other lemon half all over the chicken. Rub the chicken with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle with the fresh and dried thyme (I like using both, but you can just use one or the other if you prefer), salt and pepper.

Roast in the oven until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh reads 165 degrees (about 45 to 50 minutes). Remove the chicken from the oven and transfer to a rimmed platter to rest. Do not cut into the meat right away as it will cause all of the juices to run out, leaving your meat dry.

Directions for the salad



Tear the bread into chunks.

Once you've transferred the chicken to a platter, toss the bread in the pan juices in the roasting pan. Season with garlic salt and pepper.

Bake until the croutons are golden and crispy, about 7 minutes.

Pour any accumulated chicken juice from the resting platter into a bowl. Add the croutons, spring mix, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and vinegar. Toss and serve with the chicken.

Thai Red Curry Chicken

After a week of no cooking and dinners of pizza, sushi, In-N-Out, and other junk, I finally returned to the kitchen and cooked the husband and I a real dinner. After looking at some of my favorite blogs, and a link to recipes using coconut milk, I eventually decided to make a simplified version of Thai chicken, using red curry paste. Unfortunately, when I went to my local grocery store they didn't have any curry paste, but they did have a bottle of pre-made red curry sauce; I quickly tossed it into the cart along with some jasmine rice and headed home.

I sauteed my chicken thighs in coconut milk to help layer the flavors since I used a pre-made sauce. The chicken browned up a bit as the milk thickened and evaporated a little, which I enjoyed. I added a few diced green onions on top for a little color and extra flavor to the meal, but you can leave them out if you like.

I was worried about the husband's reaction to this dish; he doesn't love Thai food the way I do and has had some dishes in the past that remind him of the Pakistani food he ate growing up-in a bad way. But I was pleasantly surprised when he said I should definitely make this again and that it tasted like "real" Thai food.


Thai Red Curry Chicken
Source: Inspired by The Rookie Chef
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
4 small boneless chicken thighs
4-6 cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 can coconut milk
Thai red curry sauce (or red curry paste mixed into coconut milk) to taste
1 tablespoon oil
salt and pepper
cooked jasmine rice
2 green onions, diced (green tops only)

Directions

Bring the coconut milk to a simmer in a saucepan and add the chicken thighs. Sautee until chicken is cooked through. Let sit for 5 minutes to reabsorb the juices. Cut the chicken into bite sized chunks and set aside.

Heat a the oil in a large saucepan. Once it is hot, add the sliced mushrooms and sautee until tender. Add the chicken chunks and curry sauce (I used about 2-3 tablespoons), stir to combine. Cook until the sauce is heated through.

Serve the chicken and mushrooms over jasmine rice and top with diced green onions.

Parmesan Stuffed Chicken Breasts

This was the main dish at my recent dinner party and was the crown jewel of the meal. Pardon my cliche terminology, but this chicken was fab! Everyone commented on the huge size of the breasts, but all the plates were clean by the end of dinner. It looked really fancy, with the green parsley tucked underneath golden crispy skin, but it was actually incredibly easy.

Definitely use a meat thermometer here. My chicken was done in 30 minutes, as noted below, but I actually relied on my thermometer to let me know the meat was cooked all the way through, without having to cut into the chicken. The benefit to this is, you *know* the meat is done, and it gets a chance to reabsorb all the juices, creating an even moister, juicier hunk of meat.

Also, you do need to use skin-on, breast halves on the bone for this recipe; boneless, skinless chicken won't cut it in the flavor department here.

Parmesan Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Source: Martha Stewart's Great Food Fast
Printable Recipe
Ingredients
1 cup fresh flat-leaved parsley, chopped
¼ cup plain dried breadcrumbs
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon lemon zest (about 1 lemon)
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees.

Mix the parsley, breadcrumbs, Parmesan and lemon zest together in a small bowl. Season the mixture with ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

Divide the parsley mixture into 4 piles. Carefully loosen the chicken skin from the meat, using your fingers; tuck the parsley mixture under the skin. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.

Place the chicken in a 9 x 13” pan (spray the pan with nonstick spray first) . Bake until the skin is crispy and a meat thermometer (stuck in the thickest part of the meat) reads 165 degrees; about 30 minutes. Let the chicken rest for about 10 minutes before serving to allow the meat to reabsorb the juices.

Chile Chicken with Rice and Black Beans

Do you ever click on any of those blogs on the right over there? I love browsing through the new entries every day and seeing what other bloggers are coming up with, and those are some of my favorite blogs. You all know I love Annie's Eats, but another big fav of mine is Pink Parsley. I made her tomato-mozarella tart with basil crust this summer, which we loved, so I had a good feeling about this recipe.
One of the best things about this meal, besides the fact that is is pretty healthy, is that it is made in just one skillet! I love one pot meals because it means less clean up, lessening the chance that my kitchen will look like a tornado swept through. This also makes the husband happy, as he's usually the one who cleans up after dinner. (Yeah, I'm an advocate of "I cook, you clean!")
Despite the jalapeno and chili powder this was not spicy at all-just really flavorful. The husband even gave it his ringing endorsement: "Add it to the rotation."

Chile Chicken with Rice and Black Beans
Source: Pink Parsley
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
2 Tablespoon canola oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (I used boneless, skinless thighs)
2 1/2 Tablespoons chili powder, divided
1 medium onion, large dice
1-2 jalapenos, diced
1 cup rice
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups chicken broth (I used homemade turkey stock)
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/2 to 1 cup salsa, for serving
lime wedges and sour cream, for serving (optional)

Directions
Season chicken with salt, pepper, and 1 Tablespoon of chile powder. Preheat a large skillet with oil until shimmering. Brown chicken on both sides, about 2-3 minutes per side (the chicken will not be completely cooked through at this point. That is ok.).

Remove chicken from the skillet and place on a plate, leaving behind as much oil as possible.

Sautee onion, rice, and jalapeno in the same skillet until the rice is toasted and is no longer translucent. Add the remaining chili powder, the garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cook 1 minute, then stir in the broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cover.

Simmer 10 minutes.

While the rice simmers, cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Add the chicken and the black beans to the pot, stir, cover, and cook for another 10-12 minutes.

Taste a grain of rice. It should only have a slightly chalky texture in the middle. If it is at this point, remove the pot from heat, stir in the green onion and cilantro, and let sit, covered, 5 additional minutes. If the rice is not cooked through (more than slightly chalky), re-cover the pot, and cook for an additional 5 minutes, or until done.

Fluff rice with a fork, and serve with salsa, sour cream, and lime wedges.

Ginger-Mango Chicken in Parchment

I've been cooking my way through Martha Stewart's Everyday Food-The Light Issue lately, and have really enjoyed the recipes I've tried. I was particularly intrigued by her tip on cooking in parchment, and fueled by the success with salmon cooked in parchment, I decided to give this recipe a try.

While the final results were delicious--slightly sweet, almost tropical--the recipe had one major annoyance for me. It calls for the chicken to be cooked at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Well, after 20 minutes my chicken was still raw! Now, I did use boneless chicken thighs, instead of the chicken cutlets Martha calls for (I don't even know what a cutlet is!), but thighs are small, and without bones, don't usually take long to cook. I kept checking the chicken for doneness every few minutes, until it was finally cooked all the way through after 35 minutes.

Either my oven temp is off (always a possibility) or Martha just got the cooking time wrong here. Despite that annoyance, I still enjoyed this recipe and highly recommend it. The mango flavor is absorbed into the chicken and the parchment makes for easy clean up. Don't be scared by the jalapeno...it added depth of flavor without being spicy. It also helps that I removed the seeds and white membrane, where most of the jalapeno's heat resides.

Ginger-Mango Chicken in Parchment
Source: Martha Stewart's Everyday Food
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
1 large mango
8 chicken cutlets (I used 6 small, boneless, skinless thighs)
1 piece fresh ginger (about 1"), peeled and cut into matchsticks
1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1 medium jalapeno, thinly sliced (remove the seeds and membrane if you don't like a lot of heat)
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil, divided (Martha actually calls for 2 Tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons, but I found 1 teaspoon to be enough)
lime wedges, for serving

Directions
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Peel the mango and slice into bite-sized chunks. Divide the mango chunks in half, and place them in the center of 2 large sheets of parchment paper.

Top the mangoes with chicken, ginger, jalapenos, and cilantro. Drizzle 1/2 a teaspoon oil over each packet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bring the edges of the parchment up to meet in the middle, and then fold them over, creating a seam. Twist the open edges, sealing the packets shut. Place each packet on a cookie sheet
and bake for 18-20 minutes (mine actually took 35 minutes to cook).



Plate the chicken, including the cooked mango, and serve with lime wedges.