Cook Once, Eat Twice: Baked Honey Chicken

Thank you Kelly Swartz Photography for this photo!

It’s only August but the start of school is upon us!  This return may mean more routine to your week and more regularly-scheduled meals at home. Are you wondering where you’ll find the extra time for everything?  Hopefully I can help you with an easy dinner recipe or two!

This Baked Honey Chicken is a recipe for success: cook once, eat twice.  First, the chicken marinates before it’s baked in the oven.  Half of this cooked chicken is then saved in the refrigerator for the next night’s dinner, Key West Chicken Salad Wraps. The remaining half of the Baked Honey Chicken is served for tonight’s yummy Honey Chicken Rice Bowls with Steamed Broccoli.    

Photos of these recipes are the ones featured on my new website.  This new website is launching in just 4 days!  Watch for my big announcement later this week!

Baked Honey Chicken (makes double 4-serving portions)

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 teaspoon ground ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup sliced scallions

Spray a 9×13 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Arrange the chicken thighs in a single layer.  Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl and pour over chicken.  Cover dish with foil and marinade in the refrigerator for 1-4 hours.  Turn chicken once midway through marinating time.

When ready to cook, preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Place chicken, covered, in oven for 20 minutes.  Remove chicken from oven, uncover and turn chicken pieces over, and bake for another 15 minutes, until internal temperature is 165 degrees.

Remove half of the chicken to a covered storage dish.  Refrigerate and save for Key West Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps.

Use remaining chicken and sauce for the Honey Chicken Rice Bowls with Steamed Broccoli.

Honey Chicken Rice Bowls with Steamed Broccoli (serves 4)

1 pound Honey Baked Chicken, sliced

Honey Baked chicken sauce, about 1 cup

2 cups cooked brown rice

1 head broccoli, cut into florets and steamed

1/4 cup shredded carrots

1 scallion, sliced thin

Divide rice into each of four serving bowls. Top with equal portions of broccoli and sliced chicken.  Spoon generous amounts of sauce on top of bowl contents. Garnish with shredded carrots and scallions.  Serve and enjoy!

Key West Chicken Salad Wraps (serves 4)

(these wraps can be served in lettuce leaves- as pictured- for a lighter meal or in heartier whole grain tortillas)

1 pound Honey Baked Chicken, diced

1 ripe mango, diced

1 avocado, diced

1 small jalapeño, minced

1/2 jicama, peeled and diced

1 head Boston leaf lettuce, separate and clean and dry leaves (or 4 soft whole grain tortillas)

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

Dressing ingredients:

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon honey

1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon white ground pepper

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

For the dressing: combine lime juice, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper.  Whisk in olive oil.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine avocado, mango, jicama, and jalapeño. Add dressing to taste.  Fold in chicken.  Season, as needed, with more dressing.

When ready to serve, arrange lettuce leaves or whole grain tortillas on a platter.  Divide Key West Chicken Salad amongst leaves or tortillas.  Garnish with cilantro and serve.  Enjoy!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

I first posted a recipe with the same name five years ago.  This new version boasts bigger flavor with a few additional ingredients and new sauté procedure.  Slow cooking is perfect for this busy spring season. Simply start this in the morning to cook on low for 7-8 hours or at lunchtime, to cook on high for 5-6 hours.  If your slow cooker does not have a sauté function, simply prepare the first part of this recipe in  a skillet on the stove top and transfer to the slow cooker when ready.

If you are not familiar with Chihuahua cheese, please try it.  It is wonderfully creamy and is often used in quesadillas, too.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup (serves 6)

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoon chili powder

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced

1 onion, cut into eighths

1 clove garlic, minced (about 1 teaspoon)

1-1/2 cups corn from cob (or 1 can sweet corn)

1 can fire roasted (15 ounce) canned tomatoes

4 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon oregano

2 corn tortillas, torn into 1-inch pieces

1 can (15 ounce) black beans, drained and rinsed

Salt to taste

Garnishes: non fat plain Greek yogurt (or light sour cream), shredded Chihuahua cheese, sliced avocado, fresh lime.

Heat oil in slow cooker set at 400 degrees on ‘Sauté’. Add pepper, onions, garlic and corn, sauté for a few minutes. Add chili powder and stir to coat vegetables and heat until chili powder is fragrant. Place chicken on top of veggie. Add tomatoes, broth, oregano and tortillas. Adjust slow cooker setting to low,  cover and cook for 7-8 hours. (Or set on high for 5-6 hours). At the end of cooking, remove chicken breast to a plate. Add black beans to the slow cooker to heat while shredding the chicken with two forks. Add shredded chicken back to pan. Serve soup in bowls topped with garnishes. Enjoy!

 

5-Spice Glazed Chicken and Rice Bowl

Sometimes I want a meal that boasts big flavor.  This one does!  If you have ever cooked with Chinese Five Spice (typically a blend of cinnamon, cloves, fennel, star anise, and Szechwan peppercorns), you know it is a culinary treat.  I learned that a few years ago with one of my slow cooker recipes, Chinese Five Spice Pork.  This will be a great recipe to reference if you like the flavor of 5-Spice Glazed Chicken and Rice Bowl.  The ingredient list may look long in this new recipe, but I’ve bolded the ones that get repeated in both the marinade and the glaze.  It’s really very manageable… I made it again for dinner this past weekend!  Enjoy!

5-Spice Glazed Chicken and Rice Bowl (serves 4)

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs (at least 4 pieces)

Marinade ingredients:

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon mirin*

1 teaspoon GF soy sauce

1-1/2 teaspoons sugar

Glaze ingredients:

1/4 cup mirin*

1/2 cup GF soy sauce

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup chicken stock

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1/2 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice

 

2 cups cooked brown rice

1 cup shredded carrots

1/2 cup shredded scallions

1 cup frozen, shelled edamame, thawed

Sesame seeds, for garnish

In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, mix the marinade ingredients. Place chicken in a ziplock bag and coat with the marinade. Place in fridge to marinade for 15 minutes, up to one hour.

To make the glaze, combine the first four ingredients in a small saucepan. Gently heat to dissolve the sugar. Mix cornstarch with 3 tablespoons water. Add to the saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, then simmer. Add the rice vinegar and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon 5-spice and cook for 5 minutes or until the mixture is thickened, stirring occasionally.

In a 10 inch skillet with medium high heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Pan fry the chicken, 5 minutes on both sides. Baste chicken with sauce before turning and again on other side. Cook until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

To assemble bowls, spoon rice into the bottom of each serving bowl and drizzle sauce on top. Stripe with shredded carrots, green onion and edamame. Slice chicken and place on top and drizzle with more sauce. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.  YUMMY!!!

*Mirin is a Japanese rice wine that provides a mildly sweet acidity to a recipe. It’s used in many Asian-inspired dishes. Mirin is easy to find in the Asian food section of conventional grocery stores.  But if you need a substitute, you can use dry sherry, dry white wine, and rice vinegar by adding 1/2 teaspoon sugar for every tablespoon needed.

Savor the Flavor of Eating Right!

March is National Nutrition Month and this year’s theme is ‘Savor the Flavor of Eating Right’.  I believe that’s what we do everyday at Myplate2yours and it’s as easy as 1, 2, 3!

1. Start with real, whole food.
2. Create a dish that suits your palate.
3. Slow down to enjoy your meal and the people you are eating with!

What I love about eating right is the array of colors and the sheer beauty of many of these dishes … and this one is no exception!  This is the salad I made for a family birthday celebration this weekend.  I searched for the recipe on my blog, but I was surprised to find I have never shared it with you.  Well, here it is today….enjoy!!

Citrus Salad with Baby Greens, Cucumber and Avocado (serves 6)

4 cups baby arugula, spinach and/or romaine

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

1 cup (about 1 large) English cucumber, diced

3 clementine oranges, sectioned

1 pink grapefruit, sectioned with knife

1 ripe avocado, diced

2 tablespoons roasted, salted sunflower seeds

Dressing: Mix together 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice, 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar, 2 teaspoons honey. Whisk in 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil. Season with dash cayenne pepper; salt and pepper to taste.

Spread greens on a serving platter. Top with cucumbers, tomatoes and avocado. Arrange orange and grapefruit sections on top.   When ready to serve, toss salad with dressing and sprinkle with sunflower seeds.

Ancho Pork and Hominy Stew

When the weather gets cold, I love to make soups and stews. Typically, stew takes a few hours to cook because moist heat is needed to tenderize the meat traditionally used in stew.  But start to finish, Ancho Pork and Hominy Stew from Cooking Light, cooks in less than one hour.  This is because this stew starts with an already tender cut of meat, a pork tenderloin.  The pork is seasoned with spices resembling Mexican pork stew, Posole, with ancho chile powder at center stage.

Ancho chile powder can be found in many grocery stores but can also be made at home.  For DIY ancho chile powder, purchase dried whole ancho chiles (2 ounce package yields 1/4 cup powder). Slit peppers with a paring knife, and shake out seeds. Remove stem. Tear skin into 1 inch pieces. Using a coffee grinder, place pieces into a coffee grinder and process until finely ground (you may have to process in batches). Store in airtight container until ready to use.

Ancho Pork and Hominy Stew (serves 4-6)

2 tablespoons ancho chile powder

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1-1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 large onion, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2-1/2 cups chicken stock

1-28 ounce can hominy, drained

1-15 ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes

Chopped cilantro, for garnish

Shredded Mexican cheese, as desired

Combine chile powder, oregano, paprika, cumin and salt in a bowl. Set 1-1/2 teaspoons aside. Toss pork pieces into spice mix. Coat evenly.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add pork and cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the meat is browned and fragrant. Remove pork from pan. Add remaining olive oil. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Sauté 5 minutes until tender. Return pork to pan. Add broth, hominy, tomatoes and reserved spices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and partially cover to simmer for 25 minutes. Serve with cheese, if desired, and garnish with cilantro. Enjoy!

Adapted from www.CookingLight.com

 

Marinated Salmon with Mango-Kiwi Salsa

Dinner in less than 20 minutes?  It is possible with fish!  I tasted this recipe for the first time in Florida.  My mom made it for dinner when my oldest daughter and I were visiting.  We loved it!!! Since then, I’ve tweaked it a bit and made the recipe several times and even taught it in one of my classes.  I thought for sure I’ve posted this recipe on my blog but found out today (while I was searching for the recipe on http://www.myplate2yours.com) that I haven’t published it yet.  So, HERE IT IS!  Make it soon while mango and kiwi are affordable, ripe and yummy!

Marinated Salmon with Mango-Kiwi Salsa (serves 4)

4, 6 ounce salmon filets (about 1 inch thick)

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Salsa:

1/2 cup diced mango (1 small)

1/2 cup diced kiwi (2 whole)

1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro

1/4 cup orange juice

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Mix honey, soy sauce, oil and pepper in a ziplock bag. Add fish. Marinade for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, mix salsa ingredients in a small bowl. Season with salt, to taste.  Refrigerate.

Heat a large non-stick skillet on medium high. Cook fish, 5 minutes and flip for an additional 5 minutes, until fish is cooked through.

Serve salmon with salsa on top of each filet. Enjoy!

Salade Nicoise

Produce and eggs fresh from the farmer’s market last weekend sparked my desire to make this beloved salad.  Its roots are in Provence and traditionally is made with tomatoes, anchovies, black olives, capers, French beans and lemon juice. I prefer tuna to anchovies in my version and have opted for the olives but not the capers.  It is slightly labor intensive but so worth the effort for this main dish salad. And, because I don’t use lettuce, leftovers of this dressed salad keep nicely in the fridge for a few days.  This salad is one of the many reasons I don’t want summer to end!  Enjoy!

Salade Nicoise (serves 6)

1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed

1 pound tiny new potatoes, scrubbed

1 yellow bell pepper, sliced into thin strips

2 or 3 medium ripe tomatoes, quartered

2 or 3 baby cucumbers (or 1/2 large English cucumber), sliced

3 scallions, green and white portions sliced

2, 5 ounce cans water-packed albacore tuna, drained

3 eggs, hard cooked and peeled

1/2 cup black olives

Vinaigrette:

3 tablespoons good quality cider vinegar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup flat leaf parsley leaves. chopped

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Prepare the vinaigrette by whisking the first 3 ingredients in a small bowl.  Slowly whisk in the oil.  Stir in garlic and parsley.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Set aside.

Steam green beans for 5 minutes or until tender crisp.  Rinse cooked beans immediately under cold water to quickly cool.  When drained and dry, combine beans with the bell pepper and toss with a few tablespoons of the vinaigrette to lightly coat.  Set aside.

Cook potatoes in a pot of salted boiling water until tender, about 15 minutes.  Drain and while warm, add a few tablespoons of vinaigrette.  Toss and set aside.

To assemble the salad, use a large platter.  Place potatoes on the platter and top with the beans/peppers.  Flake the tuna on top of the salad and add scallions and olives.  Arrange the cucumbers and tomatoes around the salad and add quartered eggs.  Drizzle the final creation with a few tablespoons of vinaigrette.  Bon Appetit!!

Meatless Monday: Sweet Butternut Squash and Chick Pea Curry

You’ll enjoy the heartiness of this meatless recipe with its slightly sweet and savory flavor.  The sweetness in this curry dish originates from a small butternut squash and a pinch of cinnamon. Prep time and cook time both require 15-20 minutes.  You can save some prep time by purchasing squash that is already peeled and diced (only 12-16 ounces needed).  You may just need to adjust the dice to make smaller.  Enjoy this delicious dinner!

Sweet Butternut Squash and Chick Pea Curry (serves 6)

1-1/2 pound butternut squash, peeled and diced (1/2 inch)

1 tablespoon coconut oil (or vegetable oil)

1-14 ounce can ‘lite’ coconut milk (unsweetened)

1 medium sweet onion, diced (about 1 cup)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons minced ginger

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 tablespoon tomato paste

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1- 15 ounce can chick peas, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup sweet green peas (fresh or frozen)

Basmati rice or Naan bread

In a large skillet, heat oil and sauté onion, ginger and garlic for about 3 minutes until onion becomes translucent. Add coconut milk, curry, tomato paste, and cinnamon. When mixture boils, add squash and sweet green peas. Cover and simmer on low until squash is tender, 10-15 minutes. Uncover skillet and add chick peas. Heat through and taste. Adjust flavor with a sprinkle of curry powder, salt, and/or a pinch of sugar. Serve on a platter surrounded by triangles of toasted naan bread or over basmati rice. Enjoy!

Roasted Asparagus with Creamy Yogurt Ranch Dressing

Springtime means asparagus is in season.  My family always enjoys roasted asparagus for a quick side dish.  We eat it right from the oven or drizzled with balsamic glaze.  And now, thanks to Midwest Dairy, we are also enjoying our roasted asparagus topped with delicious Chive Yogurt Ranch Dressing.   This dressing is very versatile.  Just last night, we enjoyed it in a cucumber and tomato salad (Combine 1 peeled and sliced cucumber with 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes in a medium bowl.  Top with desired amount of dressing.)

Back to asparagus…here is the recipe!

Roasted Asparagus with Creamy Yogurt Ranch Dressing (serves 4-6)

Dressing:

3/4 cup low-fat plain Greek yogurt

1 cup low-fat buttermilk

1/4 teaspoon each: garlic powder, onion powder, ground pepper

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup fresh chives, finely chopped

Combine yogurt with garlic and onion powder, ground pepper, and salt in a medium bowl.  With a whisk, slowly blend in buttermilk.  Mix in chives.  Chill or use immediately.

Asparagus:

1-1/2 pounds fresh asparagus, trimmed and cleaned

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Toss asparagus spears with olive oil and place on baking sheet.  Grind salt and pepper over the spears and roast for 5-7 minutes until the spears are bright green and tender crisp.  Remove immediately from oven and allow to cool.

When asparagus has cooled to warm or room temperature, serve the asparagus on a platter topped with the desired amount of dressing.  Enjoy!

Portobello Pesto Egg Bake

My husband is a big Costco shopper.  And I have learned to enjoy creating a meal from the new items he brings home.  This was a yummy dinner we had this week… all of these ingredients came from Costco!  Who knew?!

This recipe works for breakfast & brunch, lunch or a light dinner.  

Portobello Pesto Egg Bake (serves 4)

4 portobello mushrooms, cleaned with stem removed

1/4 cup pesto (try my pesto recipe!)

4 eggs

1 cup baby spinach

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

2 green onions, sliced

4 slices provolone cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Brush caps lightly with olive oil.  Place cap side down on a baking sheet.  Spread a tablespoon of pesto on the gills of each mushroom.  Bake 10 minutes.  Crack egg on top of mushrooms.  With the raw egg on top, carefully return to oven for 5 minutes for soft yolk or 10 minutes for solid yolk. (For the egg to rest on top of the mushroom, the surface of the mushroom needs to be concave and at least 4 inches wide.  Another option to is to crack each egg into a non-stick fry pan and cook to desired doneness and add to mushroom cap after a total of 15-20 minutes in oven). When the mushroom and egg are cooked, add 1/4 cup spinach to each and top with a slice of cheese.  Return to oven for 2-3 minutes, until cheese melts and spinach wilts.  Serve immediately garnished with grape tomatoes and scallions.  Enjoy!