Wednesday, July 23, 2014

hey hey Hey Hey

Hi. Its weird coming back to the blog after having been absent for so long. There is a lot that I could get caught up on, but at the same time I don’t even know what to start with…
For this edition of the blog I’m going to talk about food. Are you surprised?
John and I have eaten really well this last week with very few ingredients in the house. Its been fun playing “Chopped” with what there is in the house.
This weeks ingredient has been Chicken Tenders.

Yummy Meal #1:

Taco-ish Salad

Chicken Tenders
Wild Rice (I use Lundberg Wild Blend)
Chopped Green Leaf/Romaine Lettuce
Salad Dressing of your choice
Corn (Steam-ables)
Corn Tortilla Chips

How To:
Cook Wild Rice according to package directions.
Microwave corn according to directions.
Heat a few tablespoons of Olive Oil in your nice cast iron pan. Sprinkle chicken tenders with taco seasoning. Rub it in really good. When oil in skillet is hot add chicken and cook for 6 minutes on each side letting it get all browned and yummy. Once they’re cooked through remove chicken from pan and let rest while you assemble salads.
Toss lettuce with a small amount of dressing until it is evenly coated.
Make a pile of lettuce on plate. Top that with a few big spoonful’s of Rice. Then add Corn. Chop chicken to bite size pieces and divide equally between plates. Serve with corn tortilla chips.
Eat and Enjoy.

Yummy Meal #2:
(adapted from THIS recipe. Mine is simpler.)

Fruity Balsamic Chicken

Chicken Tenders
Balsamic Vinegar
Fruit Jam/Preserves (I used Orange Marmalade)

How To:
Prepare Quinoa according to package directions. Replace water with chicken stock for more flavor.
Salt and pepper your chicken.
Heat a few tablespoons of Olive Oil in your skillet. When oil is hot add chicken and cook for 6 minutes on each side letting it get all browned and yummy.
When chicken is nearly cooked add to your pan several tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, and a few tablespoons of jam. Let it cook for a few minutes until jam is melted and incorporated into the vinegar. Turn your chicken over a few times to get it coated good.
I served this on a bed of Quinoa and drizzled the extra sauce from the pan on top. Easy and yummy. No frills, but it looks fancy.

Yummy Meal #3:

Taco Chicken with Marinara & Quinoa

Red Bell Pepper diced
Green Bell Pepper diced
Onion diced
Zucchini Diced
14 oz. Can Petite Diced Tomatoes
Chicken Tenders

How To:
Prepare Quinoa according to package directions. Replace water with chicken stock for more flavor.
Sprinkle chicken tenders with taco seasoning. Rub it in really good. Let the chicken marinate while you cook your veggies.
Heat a few tablespoons of Olive Oil in your pan.
When oil in skillet is hot add onion and peppers and a generous sprinkle of salt. Let veggies cook until tender. (Mine were frozen so I had extra liquid in my pan. If they’re looking dry add some chicken stock.) once the veggies are soft add the Zucchini and then push your veggies to the side of the pan.
Add chicken and cook for 6 minutes on each side letting it get all browned and yummy.
Add Tomatoes. Cook until it is all warmed through. Remove chicken and let it rest.
Add the cooked quinoa to the marinara sauce and mix in completely. Cut chicken into bite size bits and serve over a generous helping of the Marinara Quinoa.

Just an FYI – The marinara sauce is delicious the next day too. I had my leftovers for lunch with a fried egg.


Well there are the food adventures for this week. I really do promise to come back and do some overviews of how our life has been, it’s just not going to be today.