Healthy Smoothies and Salad

Hey all!  So classes started right after Labor Day and since I'm a full time student I've been doing a lot of homework and studying and less baking. :-( I also just recently started a part time job, so my social life and personal time will be extremely limited.  I'll bake and cook whenever I can find the time, and I will find time because this is the best season for baking!  Pumpkins, apples, and holidays galore!

So for this post, I have three smoothies to share and my go-to salad recipe.  The next few posts will be baking because I did manage to get some time in a few weeks ago.  So expect to see a granola recipe, a coffee cake, and pound cake.  :-)

The first smoothie is a berry one, here's what you'll need:

• 1 cup water
• 1 container of Fage fat-Free Greek Yogurt, or 3/4 cup of your favorite yogurt
• 1 cup frozen or fresh berries
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1 packet of Stevia in the Raw

Blend until smooth.

The second smoothie is a green smoothie, here's what you'll need:

• 1 cup milk, I used non-sweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 handful of spinach
• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup strawberries (frozen or fresh)

Blend until smooth.

And lastly, another green smoothie, you'll need:

• 1 cup water
• 1 handful spinach
• 1/2-1 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1 banana
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds

Blend until smooth.

For the salad, I got the idea from those Eat This Not That! books as well as a local restaurant's menu. You will need:

• Spinach or Romaine lettuce 
• Strips of cooked chicken
• 1 apple cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup crumbled cheese, feta or goat works well

Enjoy! 

Raspberry Chipotle Marinaded Chicken

Once again, it's been a while since I last updated my blog.  A lot has been going on in my life, so I apologize if some of my posts are a month late on here.  This recipe comes from Penzey's.  It comes from a person named Fran Timme.  The marinade is very versatile, it can also be used on pork tenderloin or pork chops.  Since I don't eat pork I couldn't tell you how it turns out on it.  It did turn out very well though on my chicken.  It was sweet and a little spicy but not overly sweet or spicy, it was just right. 

Here's what you'll need:

• 1/2 cup raspberry vinegar or wine vinegar (I used wine)
• 1/2 cup oil
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 5 tablespoons Raspberry Enlightenment (Penzeys)
• 5 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon (I used regular Penzeys, but the recipe calls for Vietnamese Cinnamon)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Penzeys Minced Garlic or 1 clove fresh garlic (I just used granulated garlic)
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Penzeys Pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon Regular Mustard Powder

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  Pour over 3-4 lbs. of your meat of choice and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. 

Grill the meat to your desired level of doneness over medium high heat. 

We live in a one bedroom apartment, so we have no real girll.

Enjoy!

Greek Yogurt Chicken

Sorry for the blurry picture, I used my iPad to take it.

This was Friday night's dinner.  I asked my husband to get me some Fage Greek Yogurt so I can put it into my smoothies, I thought he'd buy a few small containers or the next size up.  He came home with 35 ounce container!  That's a lot of Greek yogurt for one person, since he doesn't usually eat any of it.  So I started searching the internet for Greek yogurt recipes, turns out there's more than I thought.  I found a ton on Pinterest alone.  I found a few from food blogs I follow and one new blogger (well, new to me) I found.  This recipe was influenced by Life of Meg's blogspot.  I changed some of the spices since I have a lot of Penzeys' spices, I figured I'd use them. I used Ruth Ann's Muskego Ave. Chicken & Fish Seasoning which consists of salt, black pepper, garlic, lemon peel, and onion.

Here's what you'll need:

• 4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup of plain Greek yogurt (I used Fage)
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1-2 tablespoons Ruth Ann's Muskego Ave. Chicken & Fish Seasoning (Penzeys')

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  In a small bowl combine the Greek yogurt, cheese, garlic and spices.

  Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly spray with cooking spray.  Coat chicken breasts in the yogurt mixture.  Bake for 35-45 minutes depending on thickness of chicken breasts.

Pair it with your favorite veggies or couscous (which would go well with it too).  Enjoy!

Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo

This recipe comes from a back issue of Bon Appetit, I found the recipe on Epicurious.com.  I typed in "chicken and broccoli" and found this recipe to be appealing.  I got to use my new Le Creuset Dutch (or was it French) Oven that I got for my birthday!  I was excited to use it (if you couldn't tell my the exclamation mark) and I like it a lot more than my non-stick cookware.  The only down side to Le Creuset is you have to be very careful when cleaning them (as you would with any enameled cookware), but you can use them anywhere, on top of the stove and in the oven up to 800 degrees.  I don't know what food substances need an 800 degree temperature, or even if my oven goes up to 800, but if you find some, let me know.  I'm very curious.

Anyway, this was our dinner last night, and it was very easy to make, and it came out delicious.  I haven't been eating a lot of pasta lately, so while eating this dinner, I was getting really full fast.  I also think we used brown rice penne, which to me, is more filling.

Here's what you'll need:

• 4 to 5 cups broccoli florets (1 large bunch)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut crosswise into 1/2 inch strips
• 1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 2/3 cups whipping cream
• 1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
• 3/4 pound penne or mostaccioli, freshly cooked

First cook the penne, while slicing chicken, pepper, and broccoli.  Set aside when finished.

Steam florets for about 3 minutes.  Preheat broiler.  I set mine to high, but I think  lower setting would be better.

Butter a 13x9x2" baking dish.  Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy large Dutch oven over medium high heat.  Working in batches, saute chicken strips until just cooked through, about 4 minutes.

Transfer to a bowl.  Add pepper slices and saute until just tender, about 5 minutes.

Add whipping cream, 1 cup Parmesan and all Monterey Jack cheese.  Simmer until sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.

Add chicken, pasta, steamed broccoli and toss until sauce coats mixture, 3 minutes.  Season to taste if you wish.

Transfer to dish and sprinkle with the 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese.  Broil until just golden on top, about 3 minutes, and serve.

Enjoy! 

Peanut-Crusted Chicken Breasts with Cilantro-Garlic Sauce

Sorry for the bad lighting in all of the pictures for this post, but I have finally replaced the light bulbs in my kitchen.  For the longest time I was using only one light bulb in the ceiling fixture when I'm really supposed to have three!  I know, I'm lazy when it comes to the simplest of things.  I'd also like to apologize for not posting as often as I'd like.  I'm back in school now, and some of the classes I am taking require a lot of studying, like my Financial Accounting class.  My professor for that class thinks he's such a great teacher, but really all he does is reread from the text, and won't explain things further than that!  As for my other classes, one of them is on-line, and the other is a computer class which I thought I would hate, but so far it's my favorite.  The last class I have I still have not met with due to the class being on a Monday and classes officially started on 1/22 which was a Tuesday.  Also this past Monday, our classes were canceled because of the snow/ice storm.

Now onto the chicken recipe, also another apology, I'm on a diet and you'll probably be seeing a lot of chicken and fish recipes because I need to lose this extra weight I've been carrying for the past four years.  This recipe came from my Robin Takes 5 cookbook.  Each recipe has five ingredients (sometimes six), and they are all very simple and quick to do.

I wasn't a big fan of this chicken recipe, I still ate it all, but I don't think it's a recipe I will ever make again.  I don't know what I didn't like about it, the peanuts or the sauce.  I think it was the sauce, I really hated the texture and the blandness that came with it.  But hey, you might like it! 

Here's what you'll need:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 5 ounces each)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup finely chopped dry-roasted salted peanuts
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
2 cloves garlic, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Brush the chicken all over with the oil and transfer the chicken to a shallow baking dish.  Season the top of the chicken with salt and freshly ground pepper.  Arrange the peanuts all over the top of the chicken.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.
Meanwhile, combine the broth, cilantro, and garlic in a blender and puree until smooth.  Transfer the mixture to a small saucepan and set the pan over medium heat.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.  Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Serve the chicken with the cilantro sauce spooned over the top.

Enjoy! 

Chicken Fajitas

One of my New Year's resolutions was to post more on my blog, sorry that hasn't been happening.  I've been very busy and I'm only going to get busier starting next week when I go back to college.  I'm going to try to blog at least one new recipe a week, whether it's dinner, a snack or even a smoothie.  Between school and my weekly skating/roller derby stuffs going on, my husband might be in charge of dinner most week nights.  I'll be here on the week ends though.

I forgot to mention that one of my holiday gifts that my mom and mother-in-law got me were some attachments to my Kitchen Aide stand mixer.  One is a pasta maker, another is a grinder.  The pasta maker is what I'm most excited about because my mom used to have one when I was a young kid.  She didn't have a stand mixer, but the one time she used her pasta maker, I just remember that being the best spaghetti I have ever eaten.

Now onto the chicken fajitas.  I made these last week for dinner, the recipe comes from one of my Cook This Not That! cookbooks.  I've made them before, they're simple and quick to make.  You just have to remember to marinate the chicken prior to putting it on your grill pan...which I kept forgetting to do.  So if you forget, you'll have to wait at least an hour before cooking it.

Here's what you'll need:
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons chopped chipotle pepper
juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
2 onions, sliced
8 small flour tortillas, warmed
Guacamole (optional)
Salsa (optional)
Shredded Jack or Cheddar cheese (optional)

First, combine the orange juice, chipotle, lime juice, cumin, salt, pepper in a sealable plastic bag.  Add the chicken and marinate in the fridge for an hour.

Preheat a grill or stovetop grill pan until hot.  Remove the chicken from the marinade and discard what's left in the bag.  Grill the chicken for 4 to 5 minutes per side, until lightly charred and cooked all the way through.  Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

                                         (My husband handling the chicken.)

While the chicken cooks, heat the oil in a large cast-iron skillet over high heat.  Cook the bell peppers and onions until charred and caramelized on the outside, about 10 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.

Slice the chicken into thin pieces.  For a dramatic presentation, place the chicken on top of the hot peppers in the skillet and bring the skillet sizzling to the table.  Serve with warm tortillas, guacamole, salsa, and cheese.

Enjoy! :-)

Penzeys Chicken and Broccoli with Raspberry Enlightenment

 Hey all!  Hope everybody's weekend is going well, and I'd like to wish all my Jewish readers (whoever that might be) a Happy New Year.  In case you didn't know, to those who don't practice Judaism, Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown tonight. 

When I received this month's Penzeys catalog, it was dedicated to their Raspberry Enlightenment, which isn't a spice, it's a jam.  There were many recipes featuring this jam as an ingredient in a wide variety of food.  A lot of them were dinner/lunch recipes that featured it.  I would never have thought you could put a raspberry jam on a cheeseburger, chicken or green veggies like asparagus and broccoli.  When I made the chicken and broccoli recipe on Thursday evening, I was pleased by the outcome, and so was my husband.

I also just want to say "sorry" for the blurry pictures, I usually take pictures from my iPad using Evernote.  Since the lighting in my kitchen is bad when the sun goes down, this is the best my iPad can do.  I'll try to used a camera when it's darker out next time.


What you'll need for the Chicken with Raspberry Enlightenment:

2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
1/2 tsp. Ground Pepper (I used Penzeys, and it did make a difference in taste as compared to my table pepper.)
1/4 tsp. Granulated Garlic Powder (Again I used Penzeys, I'm not sure if there was that much of a difference though.)
1/4 tsp. Powdered Ginger (I used the one that came with my spice rack.)
1/4 tsp. Thyme (From my spice rack.)
1/4 tsp. Kosher-Style Flake Salt (I just used regular sea salt, which is flaky.)
1 TB. Olive Oil
1 TB. Raspberry Enlightenment
1 tsp. Soy Sauce

What you'll need for the Broccoli with Raspberry Enlightenment:

3 Cups cut broccoli
2 tsp. Olive Oil
1 tsp. Raspberry Enlightenment
1/2 tsp. Mural of Flavor (One of my favorite Penzeys Spices.)


First, rinse the chicken and pat dry.  Season with pepper, garlic, ginger, thyme, and salt.  Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large heavy pan.  Cook the chicken breasts for 10-12 minutes, depending on how thick the breasts are, turning every few minutes so the chicken is browned on both sides.

While the chicken is cooking, cook the broccoli in a pan with 1/2-inch of boiling water until done, 3 minutes or so, depending on how soft you like it.  It will continue to soften a bit after cooking.

  Drain the broccoli very well.  Return the pot to the stove over medium heat and add the olive oil.  When hot, add the broccoli and then drizzle with Raspberry Enlightenment.  Sprinkle with Mural of Flavor, toss and serve.


Just before removing the chicken from the pan, take the pan off the heat and drizzle the chicken with Raspberry Enlightenment and of soy sauce, turning to coat both sides.  Serve with broccoli.

I realize that the chicken doesn't look evenly coated but I kept turning all the pieces over to get an even coat.

You can serve this dish over rice as well.  Enjoy! 

Braised Chicken with Asparagus and White Wine

Hey everybody, sorry it's been a few days but it's been a busy week at work.  The week before After School starts is always the busiest I've been told, and it definitely was.  I made this recipe on Monday or Tuesday, I can't remember it's been a long week, from my cookbook Robin Takes 5.  One thing to remember always cut the hard stalks off of your asparagus!  I must have been tired that day because I completely forgot, after all it's not the first time I've worked with asparagus.

This is also the very first blog with poultry.  I don't usually like to handle raw chicken so I try not to make it too often.  However, making chicken is very easy and quick, and with the right seasoning, tastes great.  So enjoy!

What you'll need:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon lemon and herb seasoning ( I used Penzeys Spices' Mural of Flavor)
1/2 cup dry white wine or vermouth
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 bunch asparagus, stem ends trimmed and spears cut into 2-inch pieces (I didn't cut them into pieces...oops.)

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until golden brown on all sides, stirring frequently.  Add the seasoning and cook for 1 minute, until the seasoning is fragrant.  Add the wine and cook for 1 minute.

Add the broth and asparagus and bring to a simmer.  Simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the asparagus is crisp-tender.

Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper before serving.

Note:  Depending on how thick your chicken breasts are, it might take longer to cook than state above.