Tag Archives: main dish

January 17, 2012 · 10:14 am

Dinner in under 30 minutes: Southwest Chicken and Zucchini Sauté

Sometimes we all need a quick fix dinner that can be on the table in under 30 minutes. But we still want something healthy and delicious. This sautéed chicken and zucchini meal satisfies our entire family: I love that it is quick and healthy, and everyone loves the taste.

Don’t have zucchini? Or have too many zucchini-haters? Use any other vegetable of choice: asparagus is very nice, or green beans. You can even throw in a bag of frozen vegetables if you are short on fresh ones.

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Serve on its own, or over cooked rice or pasta. With or without cheese.

Recipe:

Southwest Chicken and Zucchini Sauté

Servings: 6
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2 Tbs olive oil
4 chicken breasts (about 1 lb), diced
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp salt
2 cups sliced zucchini (about 2 medium zucchini)
1 can yellow corn (or 2 ears fresh corn)
1 can chili seasoned tomatoes
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, for garnish

Heat oil in a large skillet. Sauté chicken and onion until browned. Sprinkle with chili powder, cumin, and salt. Add zucchini to skillet and cook until chicken is cooked through and zucchini is crisp-tender. Stir in corn and tomatoes. Cook, uncovered, for 7-10 minutes. Stir in cilantro. Garnish with shredded cheese, if desired.

Serve alone, or over cooked rice or pasta.

NoEmptyChairs.me

4 Comments

Filed under Main Dishes

Tagged as 30 minute dinner, chicken, fast and easy, main dish, recipe, stir fry, zucchini

November 22, 2011 · 12:15 pm

Thanksgiving Turkey Leftovers

Just a few ideas for using your leftover Thanksgiving Turkey. Most of the recipes below call for cooked or shredded chicken, but work just as well with turkey.

My best wishes for a day full of family, friends, faith and gratitude. And lots of leftovers.

Southwest Turkey Vegetable Chowder

Turkey and Black Bean Chili

Enchiladas Verdes

Cream of Broccoli Soup with Shredded Turkey

Chinese Vegetable (and Turkey) LoMein

Turkey Pot Pie

Turkey and Cheese Enchiladas

Baked Taquitos

1 Comment

Filed under Main Dishes

Tagged as entree, leftover turkey, main dish, recipe, Thanksgiving

September 6, 2011 · 10:26 am

Grilled Chicken with Mint Chutney and Indian Spiced Cauliflower

Most of my garden is finished now: just a few lingering tomatoes and herbs. And mint. Lots and lots of mint. Mint is an indestructible herb; plant it once, and it will be with you for life. Like it or not. Thanks to this mint chutney recipe, I really like the mint in my garden.

There are actually both mint and cilantro in this chutney, but the mint is definitely the star player here. Chutneys are an Indian condiment that are usually a combination of both sweet and spicy elements, and often preserved with vinegar. This chutney does not have a strong sweet component, as it uses mint and cilantro as the base instead of fruit, but it does have a slightly sour tang from lemon juice. The heat comes from onion and hot peppers. I make it pretty spicy, but you can tone it down by using less hot pepper.

Mint chutney is a great accompaniment to grilled chicken, or more traditional Indian foods, like Samosa, tandoori chicken, or Naan.

I used THIS RECIPE for the grilled chicken, which is called “Spicy Grilled Chicken”, but really isn’t all that spicy. It has a little bit of mint in the marinade, so it pairs really well with the chutney. The Roasted Indian Spiced Cauliflower was also great eaten with the mint chutney.

RECIPES:

Mint Cilantro Chutney

1 cup packed fresh mint leaves
1 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
½ of a small onion
½ – 1 fresh hot chili pepper (remove seeds if desired)
6 cloves garlic
1 tsp fresh ground ginger
3 Tbs fresh lemon juice
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp garam masala
¼ tsp ground cumin (or 1 tsp whole cumin seeds)

Using a blender, food processor, or mortar & pestle, blend all ingredients until finely chopped. Add water 1 Tbs at a time (usually about 2-3 Tbs total) until chutney is desired consistency.

Serve with Grilled Chicken or roasted vegetables, or more traditional Indian foods, like Samosa, tandoori chicken, or Naan.

Makes about 1 cup chutney

NoEmptyChairs.me

Roasted Indian Spiced Cauliflower with Yogurt Dip

Servings: 6
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1 head cauliflower, cut into bite-sized pieces
3 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 tsp turmeric
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp garam masala
¼ tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 425°F.

In a Ziploc bag, mix spices with the olive oil and lemon juice. Add cauliflower to bag. Mix well and allow the dressing to coat cauliflower evenly. Spread the cauliflower in a roasting dish (line with foil for easy cleanup) and bake for 20-30 minutes.

While cauliflower is cooking, prepare mint chutney or yogurt dip, and chill until serving time.

When cauliflower is crisp-tender, remove it from the oven, and serve immediately with chutney or yogurt dip on the side.

Recipe adapted from Sassy Radish

Yogurt Dip

1 cup plain yogurt (for a thicker dip, use Greek yogurt or strain yogurt in cheesecloth lined colander)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh dill, or 1 tsp dried dill
1 Tbsp minced fresh mint (or use cilantro without the dill and mint)
½ tsp cumin (optional)
½ tsp salt

Combine all ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes 1 cup dip

NoEmptyChairs.me

Baked Chicken Taquitos with Cilantro Ranch Dressing

Finger foods with dip are always popular around here. These chicken taquitos can be served with sour cream, salsa, guacamole, or our favorite is this creamy Cilantro Ranch Dressing. It is hard to say whether it is the chicken taquitos or the dip that is most popular. We use this dressing for all kinds of things: on taco salads or tostadas, for dipping quesadillas, as a regular salad dressing, over grilled chicken. Some little people around here have even been known to eat a vegetable or two if I serve this dip along side. It is also great as a dip for raw vegetables. The recipe below makes a dressing that is pourable, like a creamy salad dressing. If you want a thicker dip, substitute sour cream for half of the mayo, and use a little less buttermilk.

I prefer to use flour tortillas for these, but you can also use corn tortillas. If you are using corn tortillas, place 2-3 tortillas between damp paper towels and microwave for 20-30 seconds to soften them before filling with chicken mixture. Corn tortillas tend to crack easily, so only work with a few at a time. Flour tortillas can be rolled easily at room temperature. Try to use the small fajita-sized tortillas; it is easier to get a tighter roll.

Brush the filled and tightly rolled tortillas with a small amount of olive or vegetable oil and then sprinkle lightly with a coarse salt (like kosher salt). Bake for 15-20 minutes and serve with your favorite dip.

These make a great main dish or appetizer. Cut in half on an angle for a nice appetizer-sized portion.

RECIPES:

Baked Chicken Taquitos

Servings: 6-8
Print

4 oz (½ pkg) cream cheese
¼ C green salsa
1 lime, juiced (about 2 Tbs)
½ tsp ground cumin
1 Tbs chili powder
1 tsp onion powder
½ tsp garlic powder
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 green onions, sliced
3 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1 ½ cups grated Pepper Jack or Monterey Jack cheese

12-18 small flour or corn tortillas
kosher salt
olive oil or vegetable oil

sour cream, salsa, guacamole or Cilantro Ranch Dressing (for dipping)

Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray (or use non-stick foil).

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds, until soft. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion and garlic powders. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well. (You can prepare this mixture ahead of time and keep it in the fridge until you are ready to cook.)

If you are using corn tortillas: Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave between damp paper towels for about 20-30 seconds until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. Flour tortillas can be worked with at room temperature.

Place about 3 Tbs of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges. Roll it up as tightly as you can. Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other.

Using a pastry brush, brush the tops of the uncooked taquitos lightly with oil. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake at 425°F for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends just begin to brown.

Serve whole, or cut taquitos in half on an angle (this is a nicer size for appetizers).

Serve with sour cream, salsa, guacamole or Cilantro Ranch Dressing for dipping.

Makes about 12-18 taquitos (using small flour tortillas); amount will vary depending on the size of the tortillas

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Cilantro Ranch Dressing

1 package ranch dressing mix
1 cup mayonnaise
½ cup kefir or buttermilk (or regular milk)
2 tomatillos** or 4 Tbs green salsa
½ bunch of cilantro (about 1 cup chopped)
2 cloves garlic
1 lime, juiced
1-2 jalapenos (with or without the seeds; with seeds=spicier)

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend until well mixed. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours before serving for optimal flavor.

**Optional: Roast tomatillos for 20 mins at 400°F before adding them to the blender. If you are using a spicy green salsa instead of the tomatillos, go easy on the jalapenos.

FOR A THICKER DIP: Use 1/2 cup mayo and 1/2 cup sour cream, and reduce the kefir/buttermilk to 1/4 cup.

Recipe adapted from OurBestBites

NoEmptyChairs.me

6 Comments

Filed under Appetizers, Condiments/Sauces, Main Dishes, Salads

Tagged as Appetizers, cheese, chicken, cilantro, cilantro ranch dressing, creamy chicken, dip, main dish, Mexican, salad dressing, taquitos

April 28, 2011 · 10:39 am

Chinese Vegetable Lo Mein

For Book Group this month we read Wild Swans, by Jung Chang, which chronicles the lives of a family of 3 generations of women in modern day China, It is an amazing look at the history of modern China and the rise of Communism under Mao Zedong. As I was hosting this month, I made this Chinese Vegetable Lo Mein, Chinese Almond Cookies and Homemade Fortune Cookies (I will share these recipes later).

This Lo Mein recipe is adaptable to a wide variety of vegetables and can be made with or without chicken (or other cooked meat). I served it cold, but it can also be served hot. When I am making this for a main dish, I usually serve it hot with both chicken and vegetables. When serving it as a side dish, I usually make it with just vegetables and serve it cold.

This time I used broccoli, asparagus, sliced carrots, red pepper, snow pea pods, and green onions. I like to slightly blanch the broccoli and asparagus by placing them in a large colander and pouring the hot cooked noodles and water over the broccoli and asparagus in the colander. Then rinse immediately with cold water to cool the noodles and vegetables. The other vegetables I leave raw and stir into the cold noodles with the sauce.

When I am serving it hot, I like to lightly sauté all of the vegetables until crisp-tender and then add the sauce and noodles to the skillet.

I prefer to use Chinese noodles, usually labeled Chow Mein or Lo Mein, but I have also used regular packaged linguine or spaghetti.

RECIPE:

Chinese Vegetable (and/or Chicken) Lo Mein

Servings: 6-8
Print

1 lb dried Chinese lo mein or chow mein noodles (or use packaged linguine)
1 Tbs sesame oil
1-2 cups cooked, chopped chicken (optional)
1-2 cups chopped raw vegetables (broccoli, asparagus, thin sliced carrots, snow peas, green beans, sliced mushrooms, green onions)

Sauce:
½ cup chicken broth
¼ cup soy sauce
3 Tbs Hoisin sauce
1 Tbs rice vinegar
1 Tbs sesame oil
1 Tbs honey
½ Tbs cornstarch
½ tsp chili paste (or more to taste)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp minced fresh ginger

FOR COLD NOODLES: Combine sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and heat until sauce begins to boil. Stir and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until sauce begins to thicken. Cool slightly while noodles cook.

Chop vegetables. If using, place broccoli, asparagus and/or green beans in the bottom of a large colander. Cook noodles according to package directions. Pour cooked noodles and water into the colander with the vegetables (to lightly blanch these vegetables). Rinse with cold water until cool; drain well. Transfer to a large serving bowl. Stir 1 Tbs sesame oil into noodles and vegetables. Add remaining raw chopped vegetables and cooked chicken. Stir sauce into noodles. Refrigerate until cold. Serve cold.

FOR HOT NOODLES: Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and stir 1 Tbs sesame oil into noodles. Set aside.

In the pot that you cooked the noodles, heat 1 Tbs vegetable oil. Lightly sauté chopped vegetables until barely crisp-tender. Add cooked chicken and heat through. Stir together sauce ingredients and pour over chicken and vegetables in the skillet. Cook for 1-2 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Add noodles to pot and stir to combine. Serve immediately.

NoEmptyChairs.me

5 Comments

Filed under Main Dishes, Side Dishes

Tagged as Asian, chicken, Chinese, cold noodle salad, entree, lo mein, main dish, noodles, recipe, side dish, stir fry, vegetables

November 18, 2010 · 8:29 pm

Thanksgiving Meal Prep Planning

For me, an enjoyable, stress-free Thanksgiving is all in the advance planning. Best plan: pot-luck meal where you have limited cooking responsibility! But it is still possible to have a low-stress day and prepare the entire meal yourself. With one oven. Here is our menu this year, and the plan for getting it done with the least amount of Thanksgiving Day chaos.

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Our Thanksgiving Menu:
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Herb Brined Roast Turkey

Gravy

Rolls

Cranberry Sauce

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Roasted Garlic Stuffing

Green Beans with Bacon and Almonds

Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Mushrooms

Pumpkin Pie

Cherry Pie

Lemon Meringue Pie

—

Thanksgiving Gameplan:

Monday (or earlier):
- Make rolls; parbake and freeze
- Cube bread for stuffing, set out on trays to dry; roast garlic for stuffing and potatoes, refrigerate (see Roasted Garlic Stuffing for full recipe)
- Eat all of the leftovers in the fridge so you have room for all of your advance preparations and Thanksgiving leftovers! Keep eating leftovers Tuesday and Wednesday until your fridge is empty; no more leftovers? Order pizza.
Tuesday:
- Prepare brine (see Turkey Timetable below)
- Prepare Make-Ahead Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes; refrigerate
- Make cranberry sauce; refrigerate
Wednesday:
- Add turkey to brine (see Turkey Timetable)
- Chop vegetables for stuffing; place in Ziploc bags; refrigerate
- Prepare veges for Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Mushrooms (this is a new recipe I’m trying this year from Kalyn’s Kitchen. It sounds great, but does require a lot of oven space and time, so I am going to try to roast it for half the time on Wednesday, refrigerate, and then finish on Thursday)
- Cook bacon and toast almonds for the Green Beans with Bacon
- Make pies
Thursday:
- Prepare stuffing. Cook for 30 minutes in oven. Transfer to crock pot. Keep warm on lowest heat. **Do this before putting the turkey in the oven
- Prepare and roast turkey (see Turkey Timetable)
- Remove mashed potatoes from fridge; place in covered casserole dish; let potatoes come to room temperature (I am going to reheat the potatoes in the oven; you could also reheat them in a crock pot on low for several hours)
- Remove sweet potatoes from fridge and place on baking sheet;cover and let come to room temperature.
- Remove rolls from freezer. Place on a baking sheet and cover with foil or plastic wrap.
- Sit and enjoy family for the next hour or two while the turkey cooks!
- When turkey is done: remove from oven and let rest for at least 30 minutes.
- As soon as turkey comes out of oven: mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes go in the oven
- Make gravy; keep warm on low heat
- Steam green beans; stir in bacon and almonds (see Bacon Beans for full recipe)
- While you are preparing beans, have someone else begin to carve the turkey, and kids begin to put food on the table
- Remove potatoes and sweet potatoes from the oven. Bake rolls for 5-7 minutes, until hot and golden brown.
- Relax and enjoy!

Thanksgiving Turkey Timetable:

Tuesday evening: Prepare brine. Cover and let it sit overnight.
Wednesday morning: Add turkey to brine; Let it sit in a cool place (below 40°F) for 12-24 hours (I usually go with close to 24 hours)
Thursday (Thanksgiving!):
- 4 hours before you plan to serve the meal: Remove turkey from brine. Let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes
- 3 ½ hours before eating: Prep turkey and put in the oven. Roast until cooked through (about 2 ½ to 3 hours total)
- 30 minutes before eating: Remove turkey from oven and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Serving time: Carve and serve turkey.