Fettuccine ‘Soyfredo’

Here is yet another adventure into ‘soy-land’.  I figure, the mac and cheese came out well, so why not try alfredo sauce?  Hubs found this recipe on Vegan Dad – which is a really fabulous blog, by the way.  This recipe was easy to follow (my modifications are in italics) and turned out quite well.  We’ll be making this again.

INGREDIENTS:
1/2C Margarine (I only used 1/4C)
2 1/2C plain soymilk
2 Cloves garlic, crushed
1 pkg. Extra firm silken tofu (did not use)
2T. White wine
2T. Onion powder
2t. Garlic powder
2t. Sea salt
1t. Pepper (I used 2t.)
1/4t. Nutmeg (did not use)
2T. Arrowroot powder (I used cornstarch instead)

DIRECTIONS:
Melt margarine in a deep skillet.  Add garlic and saute 2 minutes.  Add the rest of the ingredients, except cornstarch.  (If using tofu, blend it with the milk in a blender before adding to the pan).

Heat over med-lo heat until just about bubbling.

Remove a few T. of the sauce and mix with cornstarch, then add back to the saucepan. Heat, but don’t boil.  Whisk smooth.

Serve over pasta with grilled chicken and steamed broccoli.  Top with dairy-free Parmesan cheese, if desired.

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Chicken Fried Rice

I’ve been craving chicken fried rice for a few days now and decided to see if I could make my own (instead of ordering take out).  I found a great  recipe on Delish.  It’s fabulous…you can basically throw anything and everything you have into this recipe and it’ll work.

Next time I’ll add an extra egg – there wasn’t quite enough egg throughout the rice.  I also completely forgot to make the rice the night before and put it in the fridge…so I had to work with fresh rice.  That made the texture a little more smushy than it should have been with the day old rice.

Otherwise, it was fabulous!

Forgive the photo…my camera wasn’t cooperating tonight.

INGREDIENTS:
4C Cold prepared rice, loosened/crumbled
4T Olive Oil
1Lb. Chicken, chopped into bite size pieces
1 Small White Onion
2C Veggies of your Choice (I used carrots, corn, beans and mushrooms)
1t Sriracha Sauce
3-4T Low Sodium Soy Sauce
3/4t Garlic Powder
2 Eggs, beaten
3 Scallions, trimmed and chopped

DIRECTIONS:
In a hot non-stick wok, heat 1 Tbsp oil. Over medium-high heat, add onions and veggies and saute until softened.  Add chicken and cook until mostly done (will still be a little pink the middle).  This way, you don’t overcook the chicken.

Add Siracha sauce to season veggies. Add crumbled rice and drizzle with remaining oil and soy sauce. Add garlic powder.

Stir rice until even in color and all rice has soy sauce on it. Stir occasionally, while allowing rice to warm up.

Make a well in the middle of your wok and pour in beaten eggs, scrambling the eggs while incorporating more and more rice.

Add chopped green onions. Continue to heat rice until egg is fully cooked.

Season with salt & pepper as desired.

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Whole Roasted Chicken with Vegetables

New Year’s Eve…party of 3.  Hubby and I are staying in tonight with a friend for a low-key evening.  What better, than some good ‘ol comfort food to finish off the year.  The drippings made a fabulous gravy!

I know some of you are afraid of whole chickens.  Don’t be.  Just follow a few simple steps and you’ll be fine.  I promise!

INGREDIENTS
1 Whole chicken (our 4lb chicken fed 3 people nicely, with a little for leftovers)
4 Carrots
4 Stalks of celery
8-10 Small red potatoes
1 Large white onion
4-5 Cloves of garlic
S&P to taste

DIRECTIONS
Remove giblets from cavity of chicken.  Pat dry and place in a large glass dish.

While your oven is preheating to 350 prep the veggies.  Wash everything.  Peel the carrots, onion and garlic.  Cut the potatoes and carrots in half and add everything to the baking dish with the chicken (making sure to put a few pieces of onion and garlic inside the cavity).

Drizzle everything with olive oil and rub with salt and pepper.

If you are using a probe thermometer, insert it into the chicken and set the alarm to go off at 170 degrees.

Put the chicken in the hot oven and bake for about 75 minutes (if your chicken is bigger than 4lbs, add about 10 minutes for each additional pound).

Remove the chicken and let rest 20 minutes before slicing.

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Parsley Chicken

I found this recipe in Good Things Catered.  It was very tasty and an easy weeknight meal option.  I left out the za’atar, but next time I’ll definitely pop by the store to pick some up.  I think it will definitely liven up the dish.  Thanks Katie!

INGREDIENTS
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 c. fresh flat leaf parsley, minced
1 large lemon, washed thoroughly
1/8 c. red wine vinegar
1/8 c. olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 tsp za’atar
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper

DIRECTIONS
Place chicken in a large bowl.  Halve lemon and juice well.  Add lemon juice to bowl and toss in rind.  Add remaining ingredients and use tongs to coat pieces evenly.  Cover with plastic wrap and place into fridge for 30 mins – 1 hour.

Preheat grill (or oven to 375, if you’re an apartment-dweller like me).  Remove chicken from fridge and let rest until grill is up to temp.  With tongs, move breasts around to coat evenly.  Place on grill and cook evenly, about 8 minutes per side depending on size of chicken.
 
Remove from heat and let meat rest, covered, on cutting board for 3-5 mins before slicing and serving.

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Red Rice and Chicken

Hubby found this recipe somewhere online and emailed it to me the other day asking if we could try it.  Sure!  I’ll try anything once.  I was afraid the chicken was going to be dry, but it was actually quite moist.  It’s definitely not a quick-fix weeknight meal, but is good when you have a little time to spare.  Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 medium white onions (2 cups chopped)
4-5 chicken breasts
2 cups basmati rice
6 oz can tomato paste
3 cups water
1/2t. turmeric powder
1/2t. pepper
1/2t. salt

DIRECTIONS
Dice onions and set aside.  Cut chicken (I used tenders) into bite size pieces and lightly season with salt and pepper.

With burners on med-high, add the chicken into a good-size pot with a few T of oil (make sure the pot you use has a good lid).   Lightly cook the outside of the chicken (the inside will be almost completely raw).  Remove from pan and cover to keep warm.

Next, add the oil and onions to the pot and brown evenly.  After 10 minutes or so, add the tomato paste, water and spices.  Stir to combine (I find a whisk works very well to break up the paste).

Now add the rice and mix.  Burners on med-high. Keep mixing at a fast pace. You will notice the rice wants to stick to the bottom of the pot. Keep mixing to avoid this. If the mixture is bubbling so much that its jumping out the pot lower the temp.

The mixture will thicken. When the steam bubbles are having a hard time pushing through the mixture and the surface kinda undulates turn the burner to low. Keep mixing until there are no more bubbles pushing through. The rice should be halfway cooked.

Dump the chicken on the top of the rice mixture.  You are going to want to stir it in, but don’t!  Resist the temptation.

Put the lid on and leave it for 1.5 hours. Don’t lift the lid!

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Chicken Marsala

I love chicken marsala, but have never made it at home because Hubby hates mushrooms.  When he finally agreed to pick around them I was psyched!  I found a good-looking recipe and went shopping.  The final result was perfect!  Absolutely delicious!  Hubs even went back for seconds (avoiding the mushrooms, of course). 

Cook’s note – the sauce wasn’t getting quite as saucy as I had hoped, so I whisked in a little cornstarch.  Worked like a charm.

INGREDIENTS
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used thin sliced)
1 cup flour
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoon oil
3 slices pancetta, cut into pieces
8 oz. white mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 ½ cups Marsala wine
1 ½ tablespoon lemon juice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces (I only used 2 – it was just enough)
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

DIRECTIONS
Pat the chicken breasts dry. Place flour in a shallow baking dish or pie plate. Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. Coat both side of each piece of chicken with flour. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Place the floured chicken in a single layer in the skillet and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a plate and return the skillet to low heat and add the pancetta. Sauté, stirring occasionally and scraping the pan bottom with a wooden spoon to loosen the browned bits, until the pancetta is browned and crisp, about 4 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to paper towels to drain.

Add the mushrooms to the pan and increase the heat to medium-high. Sauté, stirring occasionally and scraping pan bottom, until the mushrooms begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cooked pancetta and cook, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes – do not let garlic burn. Off the heat, add the Marsala.

Return the pan to high heat and simmer vigorously, scraping browned bits from the pan bottom, until the sauce is slightly syrupy and reduced, about 5 minutes. Off the heat, add the lemon juice. Whisk in the butter, one tablespoon at a time, until incorporated. Stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the chicken back to the pan and coat with the sauce.

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Spicy Garlic Lime Pasta with Chicken

I found this in Amber’s Kitchen blog and just had to try it! Unfortunately, Hubs and I were a little disappointed. For all the wonderful ingredients in this dish, it wasn’t all that flavorful. I did make a change, though. Instead of garlic powder and onion powder, I sauteed some real onion and extra garlic cloves I had in the house. I figured … if the powder is good, the real thing will be better, right? Maybe not. Oh well. Better luck next time.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2C Chicken Broth

1t. Lime Juice

1 1/2T corn starch

3 cloves Garlic, minced

1/2t Salt

1/4t Black Pepper

1/8t Cayenne Pepper

1/4t Paprika

1/4t Garlic Powder

1/4t Onion Powder

1/4t Dried Thyme

1/2t Dried Parsley

2 Boneless Chicken Breasts (skinless is best – cut into bite size pieces)

1T butter

Few drizzles of olive oil

1lb. Pasta – whatever you have laying around is fine – I used cavatappi

2C Broccoli Florets

Parmesan cheese for topping

DIRECTIONS

Bring pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. During the last 5 minutes of pasta cook time add the broccoli into the boiling water and drain.

Mix together all the sauce ingredients (chicken broth through parsley) and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat butter and olive oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add bite size chicken pieces into heated pan. Cook chicken until no longer pink. Pour the sauce ingredients into the pan with the chicken and bring to a simmer. Let simmer until chicken is cooked through and sauce has thickened.

Toss cooked broccoli and pasta with the chicken and sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if desired and serve.

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Bourbon Chicken

Wow! I have to say, I had my reservations about this recipe, because I really don’t like soy sauce. But, man, it was SO good! It tasted just like the bourbon chicken you get in the mall food court (but I’m sure this is much better for you). Source – Amber’s Delectable Delights

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs Boneless Chicken Breasts, cut into bite size pieces
2T Olive Oil
1 Garlic Clove, crushed
1/4t Ginger (I used 1/2t)
3/4t Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (I used 1/2t)
1/4C Apple Juice
1/3C Light Brown Sugar
2T Ketchup
1T Cider Vinegar
1/2C Water
1/3C Soy Sauce

1T Corn Starch

DIRECTIONS
Heat oil in a large skillet. Add chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned. Remove chicken and set aside.

Add remaining ingredients (mixing corn starch with water before adding to skillet), heating over medium heat until well mixed and dissolved.

Return chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve over hot rice and ENJOY.

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