garlic basil chicken with caprese salsa

Posted on September 1, 2011 by natalie @ wee eats

When it’s hot out, sometimes you just want something light and refreshing. Something that will fill you up without weighing you down. I realize it’s cooling down for the rest of the world, but here in AZ we’re still breaking triple-digit records. In fact, we just had the hottest August on record (go us). This dish fits the bill perfectly – the mozzarella salsa is simple and refreshing and tastes great alongside its basil chicken companion. I should have taken pictures of the dish assembled, or at least better pictures of the individual items, but it was an especially hectic day when we had this for dinner. Honestly, I am surprised I was able to snap any pictures at all.

Mom saw this recipe in Sunset magazine, and doggy-eared it for us to make together. I planned to pick mom up, stop by the store, and get to work cooking. Unfortunately, things don’t always go to plan. Mom decided she would meet at my house, so I went to the store solo after work. When I arrived home from the store, BF needed a ride to the car shop to pick up his car. When I called mom to tell her, turns out her hubby needed a ride to the Harley shop over there as well. So it turned into more of a pick BF up, pick mom’s hubby up, drop at respective shops, get home and then get to work… Oh crap, someone go pick up mom!

When I finally started cooking, I was already famished. I threw together a quick meat and cheese platter for me everyone to snack on while preparing dinner, since it was much later than we were used to eating. Thank goodness this meal came together so easily. It was surprisingly flavorful and filling, but without feeling heavy.

I halved the recipe because there were only four of us, and swapped boneless skinless chicken for the bone-in/skin-on that the original recipe called for. Also, since I was delusional with hunger, I only cut a few of the tomatoes and left the rest of them whole. Serve the salsa on top of (or under) the chicken, it’d also make a great caprese salad side all on its own.

Garlic Basil Chicken with Caprese Salsa
[Printable Version]
For the chicken:

1 cup fresh basil leaves
6 garlic cloves
¼ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon pepper
8 boneless skinless chicken breasts

For the “Salsa”

1 qt. mixed colors cherry and/or grape tomatoes, halved
2 cups (12 oz. drained) fresh mozzarella balls (or torn mozza if you can’t find them)
1 cup roughly chopped fresh basil leaves
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Make rub for chicken: Pulse basil, garlic, oil, salt, and pepper in a food processor until roughly chopped and rub all over chicken. Let sit about 30 minutes (or just while you make your salsa).

Make “salsa”: Stir together tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl to combine; let stand 30 minutes.

Grill chicken over med-high heat until cooked through (about 10 – 15 minutes) and transfer chicken to a platter. Tent with foil, and let rest 5 minutes. Serve chicken on top of or covered in salsa.

[ Adapted from Sunset Magazine, July 2011 ]

simple hoisin noodles

Posted on August 28, 2011 by natalie @ wee eats

Boyfriend absolutely loves asian food. I don’t mean to generalize, I know there is a lot of variation between the different asian cuisines, but I’m telling you – this boy has never met an asian dish he didn’t devour. So, naturally, I’m always on the lookout for new recipes. I don’t know what it is about asian cuisine, it’s just one thing I can’t seem to conquer at home. Yeah I can make something that tastes good, but it doesn’t taste like it came from an asian restaurant. Maybe I’m lacking some mystery ingredients or special cooking technique, maybe I need to not be too lazy to break out my wok, I don’t know.

This particular recipe stood out because of its simplicity. Of course, I have to make everything complicated, so I provided extra steps that you’re welcome to do if you also enjoy making things more complicated. 🙂 It’s the first time I’ve ever used ground chicken in a recipe, I’d recommend making it in a stainless steel pan (in batches, if necessary) as it has the same issue as ground turkey (it doesn’t like to brown), or you could use diced chicken if that’s what you have on hand. I can’t imagine it’d really matter.

The original recipe called for ramen noodles, which I thought had a funny taste to them. (Maybe it’s just how they taste and I just haven’t eaten them enough since college to know). Either way, I would recommend yakisoba or even thin spaghetti in its place. BF thought the green beans were “unnecessary”, but they were a bit over-cooked so I think if I had put them into an ice bath to keep them crisp (like I usually would do) they would have been better. I also think the dish would benefit from the extra flavor of sauteed onion and/or red pepper, so feel free to saute those along with your chicken if you like. I definitely will next time.

Hoisin Chicken Noodles – adapted from Kitchen Simplicity

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2 C (handful or two) green beans, cut in half (+ additional stir fry veggies if desired)
1 package yakisoba noodles or thin spaghetti
1/2 C hoisin sauce (you’ll find this in a jar in the “asian food” section)
1 small lime, juiced
3 Tbs thai sweet chili sauce
1 lb ground chicken
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 green onions, sliced

Bring salted water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add green beans and cook for 10 minutes until tender-crisp. Immediately use a spider to transfer the green beans to an ice bath, but keep water boiling.
Add noodles to water and cook according to package to directions.
Mix together hoisin sauce, lime juice and chili sauce. Set aside.
Cook chicken over medium-high heat in a small amount of oil until cooked through.
If you’re adding extra veggies, transfer cooked chicken to a large bowl, and sautee veggies in small amount of oil. Reduce heat to medium-low, add garlic and cook one minute or until softened.
Add chicken back into the pan and stir in hoisin mixture. Cook until bubbly and sticky. Stir in cooked noodles, green beans and green onions. Serve immediately. (This is easiest to do with tongs)

*Tips

*Reducing the heat before you add the garlic will help you avoid burning the garlic, which will make it bitter and yucky-tasting.

*If you add a lot of extra veggies, make double the sauce recipe so you can add more if your stir fry looks too dry.

*I served this with quick-pickled cucumbers (+ red onions) to give it a refreshing crunch.

spice rubbed chicken tacos

Posted on August 14, 2011 by natalie @ wee eats

I know it’s hard to believe, but humans cannot run on sugar alone. Despite my best efforts, once in a while I am required to actually make something of some nutritional value. It sucks, I know, but you gotta do what you gotta do I guess. And apparently my nutritional needs require more than just adding fruit to whatever I’m baking. (Darn!)

This recipe was actually recommended to me by my boss. Every week he has “taco night” with his family and they try out new taco recipes. On the weeks his wife cooks, she will usually bring me some of the tacos for lunch. His wife is the sweetest person in the whole wide world, but that’s another story.

Unfortunately, the other week it was his son’s turn to cook, which means no leftovers for me. 🙁 They made a Bobby Flay recipe with grilled poblanos and chicken; Tom came into work just raving about how good they were while I rocked myself back and forth with a weird tear/drool combination running down my face. It wasn’t pretty.

tacos are not the most photogenic food

I was intrigued by the recipe’s use of brown sugar and cinnamon… in tacos? Weird. But, I tried it out anyway and they turned out great! I didn’t follow the recipe exactly, but more or less used it as a jumping-off point. These tacos are spicy, but not hot, with just a slight hint of sweetness to them. Served with grilled poblanos and onions, these tacos were a hit.

I’ve been really into using slaw on my tacos, and pretty much everything lately. I spent the last 25 years of my life hating mayo and everything it touched. Just within the past year or so I started really giving it a chance. I really wish I hadn’t. All these things that I used to “hate” are things I should probably not be eating so much of anyway: butter, cheese, cream, mayo… Kind of makes me wish I was still picky.

Apparently I need to make up for missing out on coleslaw all these years by eating it on anything and everything I can, tacos included. If you haven’t tried it yet – DO IT! The cool creamy slaw cuts through the spice just enough to give it the perfect balance of flavor, while adding just a hint of “crunch” to whatever you’re eating. It’s great on tacos, sandwiches, and just about everything in between.

Spice-rubbed Chicken Tacos with Grilled Poblanos and Slaw

Printable Recipe

Grilled Poblanos:

3 large poblanos (my store only had pasilla, they looked the same so that was good enough for me)
Canola oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Coleslaw:

3/4 cup mayo
1 tablespoon oil (olive oil or vegetable oil)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 small head cabbage, cored and finely shredded
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

Chicken:

2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon chipotle powder (optional)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Canola oil
8 tortillas
2 grilled sliced poblanos
Coleslaw

For the poblanos:

1. Rub poblanos with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill over high heat or broil in the oven until skin is blackened ( a few minutes per side ).

2. Once blackened, put in bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit about ten minutes, this will allow the skin to soften enough to be removed.

3. Once the skin has softened, peel off skin and remove seeds from peppers. Slice or chop peppers to use for tacos. Set aside.

For the coleslaw

1. Whisk together all but the cabbage and onion. Add the cabbage and onion; stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Chill in fridge until time to serve.

For the chicken:

1. Mix together seasonings in a small bowl. Heat grill to high.

2. Rub chicken breasts with spice mixture and let sit for 20-30 minutes. Drizzle with olive oil grill until it has distinct grill marks and a slight crust has formed, about 3 minutes. Turn the chicken over, close the lid and continue cooking until just cooked through, about 6 minutes longer. Once cooked through, tent with foil and rest 5 – 10 minutes.

3. While the chicken is resting, heat the poblanos and tortillas on the grill. (I put the sliced poblanos with sliced onions on foil and grilled until the onions were lightly browned).

TO serve tacos: put diced chicken, grilled poblanos and onions, and cole slaw on taco. Eat and enjoy 🙂

[ Adapted from Here ]

Creamy Cheesy Pasta

Posted on July 30, 2011 by natalie @ wee eats

I never realized how often I make pasta until I saw the number of pasta recipes in queue for this site. I don’t feel like we eat pasta that much, I don’t even particularly like pasta. It must just be that it’s so easy to just boil some water and throw a sauce together after 8 hours of work, 2 hours of commuting, and an hour of gym time. When all I want to do is just go home and crash, apparently pasta is my go-to dish.

While I usually will make pasta with a red sauce or just some fresh sauteed veggies, it’s always good to change it up now and then with something new. This particular recipe comes to us from a recent issue of Cooking Light. I used skim milk and added some shredded chicken for extra protein.

Creamy Cheesy Pasta

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· 8 ounces uncooked pasta
· 1 cup milk
· 2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil, divided
· 1/2 tsp salt
· 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
· 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
· 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
· 1/2 C (2 oz) shaved fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
· 1 1/2 Tbsp mascarpone cheese
· ½ – 1 C cooked, shredded chicken* (optional)

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and keep warm.

2. While pasta cooks, whisk together milk, 2 teaspoons basil, salt, and pepper in a bowl.

3. Heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add flour to pan, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

4. Add milk mixture; cook for 3 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring frequently. Remove from heat, and add 1 1/2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano and mascarpone cheese to milk mixture. Add pasta and chicken to pan and toss with tongs to combine.

5. Sprinkle with remaining 4 teaspoons basil and remaining 1/2 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano. Serve

[Adapted from Cooking Light]

chicken tikka masala

Posted on June 30, 2011 by natalie @ wee eats

I was not a fan of Indian food when I first tried it. My college room mate and I ordered from a campus Indian restaurant one summer and I probably ate about three bites before I gave up. I have no idea what I ate that night (my guess: rice?), but many years later BF took me to Tandoori Times Too and introduced me to chicken tikka masala, and naan, and fluffy basmati rice, and how great Indian food really can be.

For those of you who haven’t had it, this dish starts with chicken that has been marinated in a yogurt mixture, which is then cooked, chopped, and added to a tomato sauce. But not just any tomato sauce. This sauce is creamy, spicy, and features the infamous Garam Masala. The garam masala is so integral to this dish that the average grocery store spice was not enough for me. I refused to make my tikka masala with anything less than authentic Indian garam masala. Lucky for me, my good friend Pooja had some from her home in India that she was willing to share with me. Ain’t she a doll? 😉

Normally the sauce is more brown than red, Pooja said that’s because I need to cook the onions longer next time. They should be brown and caramelized instead of translucent. (Oops – still not bad for my first try!) So make sure you brown your veggies very well so that you have lots of flavorful brown bits to scrape up from the bottom of your pan for both color and flavor. I know this tikka masala isn’t the most photogenic thing I’ve ever made- but I promise your belly won’t be disappointed.

Chicken Tikka Masala – Adapted from Pioneer Woman

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3 whole (to 4) Chicken Breasts
Kosher Salt
Ground Coriander
Ground Cumin
½ C plain yogurt
2 Tbsp butter
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 piece (2 inches) fresh ginger, peeled & minced
Garam Masala
1 can (28 Ounce) Diced Tomatoes
1 Tbsp sugar
1 – 1 ½ C heavy cream
2 cups Basmati Rice, cooked to package directions

OPTIONAL:

Chili Peppers
Turmeric

Place chicken breasts on a plastic cutting board or in a bowl. Season chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper. Sprinkle lightly with coriander and cumin. Add yogurt and toss to coat.
Broil chicken 10-12 inches below a broiler for 5-7 minutes per side until it is slightly blackened. Set aside until cool enough to handle.
Melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat, add diced onion and saute until browned. Once the onions are browned, add the garlic, ginger, and 1 tablespoon of salt.
Once combined, add 2 1/2- 3 tablespoons Garam Masala. Yes, I know it seems like a lot. Just do it. If you want spice, throw in a diced chili pepper.
Add tomatoes (juice and all) and continue cooking and stirring, scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar and allow the sauce to simmer about 5 minutes. (I tented mine with foil to avoid a tomato-y mess)
While the sauce is simmering, cook your basmati rice according to package directions. You can add turmeric or saffron if you wish.
After the Tikka Masala sauce has had a chance to simmer for a little bit, add in the 1 – 1 ½ cups of heavy cream. If desired, you can now puree the sauce in a food processor, blender, or with an immersion blender to make it smooth. Chop your chicken breast into desired size and stir into the sauce. Let simmer a few minutes longer.
When ready, serve with naan (I get mine frozen at Trader Joes), and/or basmati rice.

*TIPS

*Don’t be afraid to spice liberally, depending on your preference.

*My oven was being a big, fat jerk, so my chicken took longer to cook. Just use your eyes and your nose to know when it is done. Don’t forget to flip it half-way through!

*If you wanted, you could use leftover cooked chicken breast in place of the freshly-broiled chicken breast. No worries.

*I get my naan at Trader Joes in the freezer section, but many grocery stores have it located near the pita bread.

*Make sure to brown your onions!!!

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