Mustard Roasted Chicken with Vegetables

Adapted from Real Simple, 2007

Interested in a tasty, simple week night meal that should yield leftovers? This is your dish! I have been aiming to make this for some time now, but finally got around to it! It was easy to prepare and really good -- the recipe called for a while chicken cut up into 8 pieces, but I just used a package of chicken thighs that I had on hand - would highly recommend since that's an easy route! I also switched up the vegetables, so this is my twist on the recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
6 chicken thighs, skin removed (or you can use a whole chicken cut into pieces)
3 tb whole ground mustard
2 tb reduced sodium soy sauce
salt and pepper
handful of small carrots (sliced in half if they're thick)
handful of broccoli florets
handful of cauliflower florets
1 cup yellow onion, diced into wedges
8 sprigs of thyme, or however much you prefer
2 tb olive oil

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400° F.
2. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Combine the mustard, soy sauce, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl. Add the chicken and stir to coat.
3. Combine the carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, onion, thyme, oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a roasting pan.
4. Nestle the chicken among the vegetables. Roast until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender, 45 minutes worked for chicken thighs.
5. Divide the chicken and vegetables among individual plates.

Sauteed Soft Shell Crab

Adapted from Emeril Lagasse

Soft shell crabs are one of my favorites, and I finally attempted them myself! I try to lay off a lot of fried food, so this recipe struck my eye since it was sauteed! It was really yummy, and was a great appetizer! Hurry and get some of these before the season ends!

Ingredients:
3 soft-shell crabs, cleaned and patted dry
salt + pepper
1 cup flour
2 tb olive oil
3 garlic cloves, diced
2 tb capers, drained
1/2 cup white wine
1 tb butter
few chive blades, chopped

Directions:

Season crabs with salt and pepper and dredge in the flour, shaking off excess. Set aside.  In a large skillet over medium high heat, add the oil and saute the crabs until soft, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove the crabs and set aside. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Then add the capers and white wine. Cook until wine has reduced to about 1/2. Swirl in the butter and the chopped chives. Season with salt and pepper.  Transfer crabs to a plate, spoon sauce over the crabs.

 

Scallops Piccata

Courtesy of Plated Perfection

Whenever scallops are fresh, I buy them. They are one of our favorite seafood dishes to cook, and I also love anything piccata! I served these alongside my family's green beans out of the garden -- so the focus of this recipe is on the scallops. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound scallops
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoons butter
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 1-2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 cup chicken broth or stock
• 2 tablespoons capers, drained
• 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped (optional)

Directions:
Pat the scallops dry with a paper towl. Season each side with salt & pepper. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tb olive oil to the pan. Sear the scallops on each side until browned, approximately 2 minutes per side. Remove the scallops and set aside on a plate, covered with foil.

Reduce heat to medium. Add the other tb olive oil and 1/2 tb butter, the garlic and shallots to the skillet. Sauté garlic and shallots three minutes. Add flour and cook two minutes. Whisk in wine and reduce liquid one minute. Whisk lemon juice and broth into sauce. Stir in capers and parsley. When the liquid comes to a bubble, add remaining 1/2 tb butter to the sauce.

Add scallops back to the pan and heat through, 1-2 minutes. Serve the scallops with a little sauce spooned on top!

Cauliflower Fried Rice - Paleo Style

Adapted from Nom Nom Paleo

Yesterday was Nick's birthday, and generally, we'd go out to dinner. However, we're trying to start the week off right by working out and cooking (and not drinking). So, I decided to cook and try this new recipe I stumbled across. I'm usually not a huge fan of Paleo meals, but this one really caught my eye because of the cauliflower. I made several changes, so the below is my adaptation of the recipe. You could switch this up with veggies and meat as much as you want, so get creative! This was a huge hit! He even said it was in his Top 10...kind of a big deal ;)

Ingredients:

• 1 head of cauliflower, separated in florets (I only needed half; reserved the other half)
• 2 large eggs
• 1-inch knob of ginger, grated with a microplane
• 1/2 small onion, minced
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• small bag of stir fry mixture (snow peas, broccoli, carrots)
• 1/2 bell pepper (color of your choice)
• approx. 6 oz. of cooked turkey/steak (I used Whole Foods Thai Turkey Salad and Spicy Thai Steak Salad from their salad bar -- fantastic)
• 2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro leaves
• 1 tablespoon of chopped mint
• 2 tablespoons of coconut aminos
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Splash of coconut vinegar
• Splash of Red Boat Fish Sauce -- this stuff is great!

Directions:
Pulse cauliflower in food processor until it's the size of rice.  Chop up your veggies if necessary.  Whisk 2 eggs together with salt and pepper. Scramble the eggs with a tad of coconut oil, set aside when done. Heat a skillet to medium-high heat and add the chopped onion (along with a dash of salt and pepper). Once the onion is softened, toss in the garlic and saute for about 1 minute. Then add the vegetables, but hold off on the cauliflower for a few minutes. Stir-fry everything until the veggies are a bit cooked. Add the ginger and stir it around for 30 seconds, then add in the cauliflower and even more salt and pepper. Put a lid on the skillet and lower the heat to low and cook it covered for about 5-7 minutes. Throw in the cooked meat, to mix up with the cauliflower mixture -- warm for 1-2 minutes. When the cauliflower is tender, add the coconut aminos, the herbs, and the scrambled egg. Add a little coconut vinegar to add a dash of taste, and then splash on some fish sauce for good measure!

Porchetta Style Pork Chops

Courtesy of Rachael Ray

Let me start by saying these were the biggest pork chops I have ever purchased...and I am so glad I did! These were delicious! They did take a while to cook since they were pretty thick, but so worth it. This was also a quick and healthy recipe, so that's an added bonus. If you see good quality chops, definitely give this a try! I subbed the fennel out for zucchini, which is not in the picture. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 4 thick-cut, bone-in pork chops
• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 6 cloves garlic, 2 chopped, 4 crushed
• 1 tablespoon fennel seed
• 2 tablespoons rosemary, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest plus 4 lemon wedges
• 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
• Kosher salt
• 2 bulbs fennel, trimmed and cut into 8 wedges each (I left this out -- used zucchini)
• 8 large shallots, quartered lengthwise
• 4 medium potatoes, cut into wedges
• 1/2 cup dry white wine or chicken stock

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place chops in shallow dish with 2 tablespoons olive oil, chopped garlic, fennel seed, rosemary, lemon zest and pepper. Season chops with Kosher salt and slather the porchetta seasoning all over the chops evenly, turning to coat both sides.  Let stand 30 minutes. 
Coat zucchini, shallots, crushed garlic cloves and potatoes lightly in remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast 35-40 minutes until potatoes are crispy and fennel and shallots are caramelized at edges. Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add chops to hot pan and brown 3-4 minutes on each side. Transfer to oven and roast about 8 minutes more. Remove from oven and douse pan with wine or stock.

Mustard-Roasted Chicken with Vegetables

Adapted from Real Simple

Some folks think that chicken is boring, but I disagree. I'm always on the lookout for good chicken recipes because they're generally healthy, and also simple most of the time. I'm always surprised at how tasty chicken can be -- this is another example of that. I switched up the vegetables because I am not a big fennel fan...and I also had different veggies on hand. It came out great! This is a great week night meal. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 4-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces (I just used 4-6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs)
• 3 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• kosher salt and pepper
• 1 bag of sugar snap peas
• 1/2 red onion, chopped roughly
• 8 sprigs thyme (I used 4 since portion was smaller)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil 

Directions:

Heat oven to 400° F. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Combine the mustard, soy sauce, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl. Add the chicken and stir to coat. Combine the sugar snap peas, red onion, thyme, oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a roasting pan. Nestle the chicken among the vegetables. Roast until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender, 45 to 50 minutes. Divide the chicken and vegetables among individual plates.

 

Greek Chicken with Sauteed Broccoli

Greek Chicken Courtesy of Pinterest - brendahealthydinnerrecipes.blogspot.com
Sauteed Broccoli Courtesy of Plated Perfection

Continuing with the healthy kick this week -- chicken! I'm a sucker for anything Greek, and I've been looking for a good marinade. I think I found it! This was delicious. I marinated the chicken for 4 hours, but it easily could've gone a bit longer...it was still extremely moist and yummy. This recipe makes a ton of chicken -- I actually plan to have leftovers this week for lunch, and it would be great on salads or pita bread! You could also freeze it! Definitely give this a go -- very tasty. I served it with some sauteed broccoli that I threw together -- super easy, but also lots of flavor!

Ingredients:
Greek Chicken
1 cup plain yogurt
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 Tbsp dried oregano
1 medium lemon zested
juice from 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp salt
freshly cracked pepper (to your liking)
1/4 bunch fresh parsley
3 1/2 to 4 lbs chicken pieces (I used a mix of thighs and breasts)
Sauteed Broccoli
4 heads of fresh broccoli, cut into pieces
1-2 tb olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
dash of salt and pepper (or red pepper if you want) 
dash of Worcestershire sauce
dash of water

Directions:
Chicken
Combine marinade. Place pieces in marinade in a gallon ziploc bag or container. Bake at 375 for 45-60 minutes.
Broccoli
While the chicken is cooking, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Saute the garlic for a couple of minutes. Toss in the broccoli with the rest of the ingredients. Saute for approximately 5-10 minutes, depending on how crisp/tender you'd like the broccoli. I cook them until they're bright green personally.

 

Honey-Mustard Salmon

Adapted from Cooking Light

Vegas in May = diet needs to start now. We generally cook and eat healthy, but this week we are really making it a point not go out to eat for dinner, so I stocked up at the store on Sunday! I was able to find fresh salmon which looked really good, so I gave this recipe a try. I love salmon with mustard and lemon -- so this caught my eye quickly! If you've ever had Trader Joe's marinated salmon, this actually tastes really similar. I definitely recommend!!! The only note I have is that the salmon steaks we bought were very thick, so broiling them did not cook them enough. I ended up having to bake them off for about 15 minutes as well -- and that was just to get them medium, so the cooking time may vary. If you do bake it, I put them in at 375 so they wouldn't cook too fast.

Ingredients:
2 tb dijon mustard
1 tb honey
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 lemon, thinly sliced and seeded
4 (6-ounce) skinless salmon fillets (mine were a bit larger)

Directions:
Preheat broiler with oven rack 6 inches away from heat. Stir together first 5 ingredients in a small bowl. Arrange salmon fillets on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Brush salmon with honey-mustard sauce. Broil for approximately 8 minutes, rotating halfway in the middle of cooking.  NOTE: I topped the salmon with thin lemon slices for the last few minutes of cooking. Personally, I needed to bake these at 375 for an additional 10-15 minutes to get them to medium.

Pan Fried Trout with Tomato Basil Saute

Courtesy of Cooking Light

Rainbow trout is one of my favorite types of fish -- I know it's simple and basic, but when you can find it fresh, it's so yummy. This recipe looked light and healthy, so I thought I'd give it a go. It was fantastic! I could've easily eaten seconds -- and thirds. The pancetta really makes this a delicious dish. This would be great with a side of vegetables or rice. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces chopped pancetta (I used Boar's Head -- always a great choice)
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic 
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/4 cup small basil leaves
• 1 tablespoon canola oil, divided 
• 4 (6-ounce) trout fillets, divided
• 4 lemon wedges

Directions:

1. Heat pancetta in a medium skillet over low heat. Cook 4 minutes or just until pancetta begins to brown. Add cherry tomatoes, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon salt; cook for 3 minutes or until tomatoes begin to soften. Remove from heat, and stir in basil leaves.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Sprinkle fish evenly with remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper and remaining 3/8 teaspoon salt. Add 2 fillets to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Remove fish from pan; keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil and remaining 2 fillets. Top fish with tomato mixture. Serve fish with lemon wedges.

Poached Halibut with Lemon-Herb Sauce

Halibut Courtesy of Cooking Light
Snap Peas Courtesy of Plated Perfection

Greetings! I hope everyone is off to a good 2014! What better way to kick it off than cooking healthy, light meals for dinner? Now that we have a wedding on the horizon, we're really trying to make an effort to be healthy -- at least during the week ;) I saw some fresh fish today and had to have it. This recipe had been on my mind, so I figured it would be a good chance to try it out! At first, it sounded kind of strange to me, to be honest, but it ended up delightful! Definitely give this a shot :) I had some of the sauce left over, so I'm going to save that and put it on some other things this week -- it would be great on scallops, or any other seafood! I served this with some sauteed snap peas. Enjoy!

Halibut Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped seeded jalapeño pepper
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 4 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 4 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 lemon sections, finely chopped 
• 6 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 2 green onions, coarsely chopped
• 1 parsley sprig
• 1 cilantro sprig
• 4 (6-ounce) halibut fillets 

Snap Peas Ingredients:

• Package of snap peas 
• dash of salt and pepper
• dash of Italian seasoning
• 1/4 cup chicken broth (low sodium)
• dash of lemon juice

Directions:

1. Combine first 8 ingredients.
2. Combine water and next 5 ingredients (through cilantro sprig) in a large skillet; bring to a low simmer (180° to 190°). Add fish; cook 10 minutes or until desired degree of doneness.
3. Heat 1 tb olive oil in a saute pan and add the peas. Add in the rest of the ingredients and stir. Cook on medium heat for about 5-10 minutes, depending on how you like them.
4. Remove fish from pan with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels. Serve with sauce and peas.

 

Prosciutto Wrapped Cod

Adapted from the Rachael Ray Show (Serrano Wrapped Fish Recipe)

This recipe caught my eye on TV one day b/c I love fish, and I'm always looking for new ways to make it. I also love prosciutto -- who doesn't?! I didn't have serrano, which is why I swapped it out for prosciutto. I'm sure either would be good! I strayed from using her sides in the recipe b/c we were trying to be more healthy, but I'm going to post her recipe as she made it so that you can make it her way! Just note that my picture is my way.

Ingredients:

• 4 8-ounce portions thick cod or other sustainable white fish 
• Salt and pepper 
• Granulated onion
• Paprika or smoked paprika 
• Minced parsley and thyme 
• Lemon zest 
• 8 thin slices Serrano ham 
• 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 16 small white or gold potatoes (about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds), halved and chopped  
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, chopped 
• 2 Serrano pepper, finely chopped 
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste  
• 1/2 cup chicken stock 
• Chopped flat-leaf parsley
• Lemon wedges

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Season fish with salt, pepper, granulated onion, paprika, minced parsley, thyme and lemon zest. Wrap each piece in 2 slices of ham that are slightly overlapping to cover fish. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil, 4 turns of the pan, in a cast-iron or other skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Season potatoes with salt and pepper, and lightly brown for 10 minutes, turning occasionally. Add onions, celery, pepper and garlic, and cook to soften, 10 minutes more. Add tomato paste, stir, then add stock to loosen pan bits. Toss with a handful of parsley.  Meanwhile, heat remaining tablespoon of oil in a medium, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish and crisp the ham, 2 minutes on each side, then transfer to oven and cook through, 8-10 more. Douse with lemon juice and serve with hash alongside.

 

Orange Mustard Glazed Pork Chops with Roasted Brussel Sprouts & Carrots

Courtesy of Cooking Light

I love pork chops, especially thick cut pork chops, with the bone-in. That's the only way to do it! They do take longer to cook, but they come out with much more taste and aren't as dry. Give it a whirl next time! This recipe was really tasty -- at first I thought the onions was a weird addition, but they ended up going nicely once they're soaked in sauce and cooked :) I served this with roasted brussel sprouts and carrots! Enjoy.

Pork Chop Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice (about 2 oranges) 
• 2 tablespoons orange marmalade
• 1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
• 1 tablespoon canola oil 
• 4 (6-ounce) bone-in pork loin chops (1 inch thick) 
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 rosemary sprigs
• 1 medium red onion, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 

Veggie Ingredients:

• small package brussel sprouts (sliced in half)
• small package carrots 
• couple swirls of olive oil
• few dashes of Italian seasoning, salt & pepper
•  dash of balsamic vinegar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°. 
2. Toss the carrots and brussel sprouts with all ingredients and place in a lightly greased baking dish (on top of foil if you'd like). Bake for approximately 25 - 30 minutes. Stir halfway through.
3. While the veggies are baking, combine juice, marmalade, and mustard in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until syrupy.
4. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Add to pan; cook 5 minutes or until browned. Turn pork; add rosemary and onion to pan. Pour juice mixture over pork; bake at 425° for 10 minutes or until a thermometer registers 140°. Place onion and rosemary on a platter. Return pan to medium-high heat; add lime juice. Cook 4 minutes or until liquid is syrupy. Add pork to platter; drizzle with sauce. Serve with veggies on the side. 

 

Garides Saganaki (Shrimp Saganaki)

Courtesy of Closet Cooking 

If you've ever had this in a restaurant, well, a good restaurant, you'll want to learn to make it yourself! It's so delicious. I first had this at Zaytinya, which is one of our favorite restaurants in DC. They also do a broccoli saganaki which is delicious. In any event, definitely give this a shot. The original recipe categorizes this as an appetizer portion, but I doubled the recipe for dinner. I think next time I will add bay scallops as well just to add some variety! It would also be good over some pasta -- I could just keep on going. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup onion (chopped)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 clove garlic (chopped)
1/2 cup tomato (chopped)
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1 splash ouzo (or mastic liqueur, optional) -- I left this out b/c I didn't have any on hand
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 pound shrimp
1 handful parsley (chopped)
1/2 cup feta (crumbled) -- mine had Mediterranean spices in it, even better!

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a pan.
2. Add the onion and saute until soft, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the red pepper flakes and garlic and saute for 30 seconds.
4. Add the tomato, oregano and ouzo and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes.
5. Add the shrimp and simmer for 30 seconds per side.
6. Remove from heat and stir in the parsley.
7. Transfer to a baking dish and top with the feta cheese.
8. Bake in a preheated 425F oven until the sauce is bubbly, about 10 minutes.