Cooking Basic

This is a great chicken dish! Between the marinade and the sauce this dish hits the mark for flavor. The chicken can be served with rice, couscous or even your favorite pasta tossed with olive oil.

Ingredients

Sauce:

• 1/2 Cup coarse-grained mustard
• 1/4 Cup water
• 1/2 Cup heavy cream
• 1/4 Cup olive oil
• 4 Teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 Cup chopped fresh dill

Chicken:

• 1/4 Cup white wine
• 2 Teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 Teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2/3 Cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 Cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Shallots, minced
• 4 (1/4-inch thick) chicken cutlets (1 1/2 lbs. total)
• 1-2 Tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

In a bowl, combine well all sauce ingredients and season with pepper. Let sauce come to room temperature and whisk before serving.

In a small bowl, whisk together the wine, mustard, salt, and pepper. Next whisk in oil. Stir in garlic and shallots. Place the chicken in a glass pan, pour the marinade over, cover, and refrigerate for 2-4 hours.

Remove the chicken from the marinade (discard the marinade). Pat the chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Grill on an oiled rack set over glowing coals 1-2 minutes on each side, or until just cooked through. You can also cook the chicken in a pan over medium-high heat. Serve chicken with the sauce.

Recipe adapted from Robin Miller. The almond-parsley pesto makes the dish absolutely delicious. However if you were allergic to nuts you could leave the almonds out. I used a whole wheat pasta when I made this dish but you can use what you like best.

Ingredients

• 2 Teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 Cup chopped onion
• 1 1/4 Lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 10 Ounces angel hair pasta, cooked
• 1 Packed cup fresh parsley leaves
• 1/3 Cup sour cream
• 1/4 Cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/8 Cup Olive oil, or more as needed
• 2 Tablespoons toasted slivered almonds
• 3 Cloves garlic
• 1/2 Teaspoon salt

Directions

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown on all sides, about 5-7 minutes.

In a blend, combine the remaining ingredients, except the pasta, and process until smooth, adding more oil if necessary to create a sauce-like consistency.

Add the sauce to the chicken in the skillet and cook for 1 minutes to heat through. Serve the chicken and sauce over the pasta.

This recipe came from EatingWell.com. The sweetness of the potato really compliments the warm black bean salad. This is sure to leave you full but still healthy. Make sure when you buy the sweet potatoes you are really buying sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes and yams are often mixed up and even your local grocery store produce person might not know the difference. I like to eat this with some guacamole and chips as a side. You can also add your favorite hot sauce to the black bean salad to kick it up a notch.

Ingredients

• 4 Medium sweet potatoes
• 1 15-Ounce can black beans, rinsed
• 2 Medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 Teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 Teaspoon ground coriander
• 3/4 Teaspoon salt
• 1/4 Cup reduced-fat sour cream

Directions

Prick sweet potatoes with a fork in several places. Microwave on high until tender all the way to the center, 12-15 minutes. (Alternatively, place in a baking dish an bake at 425 degrees F until tender all the way to the center, about 1 hour.)

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium heat, combine beans, tomatoes, oil, cumin, coriander and salt. Heat until warm, around 5 minutes.

When just cool enough to handle, slash each sweet potato lengthwise, pres open to make a well in the center and spoon the bean mixture into the well. Top each with a dollop of sour cream and serve.

The lemon combined with the flavors of the capers and artichoke hearts make this chicken dish very fresh and light. The term “piccata” refers to the sauce containing lemon and spices. For this recipe you only need one medium sized lemon for both the zest and the fresh juice. Enjoy!

Ingredient

• 4 (4-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• Salt and ground pepper
• 1/3 Cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 Teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• 1/2 Teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 Teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 Cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 Cup dry white wine
• 1/2 Cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, quartered and drained
• 1/4 Cup drained capers

Directions

Place chicken in zip-lock bags and pound with a meat mallet or polling pin until 1/4-inch think. Remove chicken from bag and season all over with salt and black pepper. In a shallow dish (or plastic bag), combine flour, lemon zest, paprika, and garlic powder. Mix well. Add chicken and turn to coat. Remove chicken from flour mixture and shake off excess flour.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and saute 3 minutes per side, until golden brown and cooked through. Add lemon juice, wine and chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Simmer 5 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and sauce thickens. Add artichoke hearts and capers and simmer 3 minutes to heat through.

Serve with your choice of rice or couscous.

I’m starting to make more dishes with chicken and this one tops the charts. The creamy vegetables really compliment the chicken. This dish is even great as left-overs.

Ingredient

• 4 Chicken cutlets (about 1 1/4 lbs), patted dry
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• All-purpose flour, for dredging
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 2 Scallions, thinly sliced
• 8 Ounces mushrooms (button, cremini, shiitake or a combination), quartered
• 1 1/4 Cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 3/4 Cup heavy cream
• 2 Cups sugar snap peas, stemmed and halved lengthwise

Directions

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet. Dredge 2 chicken cutlets in flour, shake off any excess and place in the skillet. Cook until golden, about 1 1/2 minutes per side; transfer to a baking dish. Repeat with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and the other 2 chicken cutlets. Cover the dish loosely with foil; place in the oven while you prepare the vegetables.

Add the butter to the hot skillet; then ad the scallions and mushrooms; cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms brown, about 4 minutes. Pour in the broth and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Cook until the liquid is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the cream and boil until the sauce thickens slightly, 5 more minutes. Stir in the snap peas and heat through; season with salt and pepper. Serve the chicken topped with the creamy vegetables.

I found this recipe in the June 2009 edition of, Cooking Light. Make sure to get all of the seeds out of each pepper or you will cause your guests to sweat a little. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup (4 ounces) soft goat cheese
• 1/2 Cup (4 ounces) fat-free cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 Cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 Cup finely chopped seeded tomato
• 2 Tablespoons thinly sliced green onions
• 1/2 Teaspoon salt
• 16 Jalapeño peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded (about 1 1/2 lbs)

Directions

Prepare grill to medium-high heat. Combine first 7 ingredients in a bowl, stirring well. Spoon about 2 teaspoons cheese mixture into each pepper half. Place pepper halves, cheese side up, on a grill rack coated with cooking spray or lined with aluminum foil. Grill peppers 5 minutes or until bottoms of peppers are charred and cheese mixture is lightly browned. Remove and serve.

Believe it or not this recipe was found at Fry’s Grocery store in their produce section. While I am not a fan of rare onions and celery I did keep them in and to my surprise they were wonderful. Paired with the oranges, sugared almonds and sweet vinaigrette dressing this dish is refreshing in the summer heat.

Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup sliced almonds
• 5 Tbsp. sugar, divided
• 6 Cup torn romaine lettuce
• 1 Cup sliced celery
• 2 Green onions, sliced
• 1/4 Cup olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. dried parsley flakes
• Dash hot sauce
• 1 (15oz.) Can mandarin oranges, drained

Directions

In a small skillet cook almonds and 3 tablespoons of the sugar over medium heat, stirring frequently until sugar melts and coats nuts. Immediately remove from heat and spread on foil. Set aside to cool.

In a large salad bowl combine romaine, celery and onions. Cover and chill. For dressing, in a medium bowl whisk together olive oil, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, vinegar, parsley, hot sauce and salt and pepper to taste until sugar dissolves. Add dressing, oranges and reserved nuts to chilled salad; toss gently and serve.

This is a great smoothie for the summer time. It’s not too sweet but enough to make your taste buds happy. The almond milk can be found in the health food section of your local grocery store. Unlike animal milk, almond milk contains no cholesterol or lactose and can be used as a substitute for animal milk in many recipes.

Ingredients

• 2 Large ripe bananas, peeled & sliced
• 2 Cups almond milk or whole milk
• 2 Cups ice cubes
• 2 Tablespoons, packed brown sugar
• 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
• Ground nutmeg

Directions

Blend the first 5 ingredients in blender until smooth. Divide among 4 glasses and sprinkle lightly with nutmeg. Pretty simple!

Parmesan Star puffs are a fast and light appetizer for any occasion. If you have a flavored olive oil, I highly suggest you use it. I brushed garlic olive oil over a few of mine and it gave them a very nice hint of garlic without being too overwhelming.

Ingredients

• 1 Sheet of puff pastry
• Grated Parmesan cheese
• Olive oil
• Ground pepper
• Flour, to dust your surface with

Directions

Cut a sheet of puff pastry with a star-shaped cookie cutter. Arrange the stars on a parchment lined baking sheet; brush with olive oil and sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and pepper. Bake at 400 degrees until puffed and crisp, about 12-15 minutes.

This dish tames the richness of avocado wedges with a smoky bacon, sweet vinaigrette sauce. It is a very refreshing appetizer in 80 degree weather just before you cook up some vegetable fajitas! Olé!

Ingredients

• 1/3 Lb. bacon (around 5 strips)
• 2 Avocados, each pitted, peeled, and cut into 4-6 wedges
• 3 Garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1Tsp. sugar
• Kosher salt and ground pepper
• 2 Tbsp. chopped parsley

Directions

Cook bacon in a large frying pan over medium-low heat until crisp. Drain on paper towels; let cool. Remove pan from heat and discard all but 2 tbsp. of bacon fat. Divide avocado wedges among 4 plates.

Heat reserved bacon fat over medium heat. Add garlic, 1/4 cup water, the lemon juice, and sugar ands immer 1 minute, stirring. Season with saslt and pepper. Stir in parsley and crumble in bacon. Immediately pour over avocado wedges and serve.