Chicken Provencal served with Asparagus Spaghettini

Ingredients

1.5 cups black olives 

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence

Juice from half of a lemon

1 teaspoon lemon zest

3 garlic cloves

1/4 teaspoon hot pepper flakes

2 chicken breasts, cut in to 3 pieces each

6 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

Directions

1. In a food processor, add all of the ingredients except for the chicken and tomatoes. Pulse until you get a pesto-like texture. Taste and add more spices/olives/lemon juice if needed.

2. In a bowl, add olive paste to chicken, making sure to entirely cover chicken with paste (you should only be needing about half of the prepared olive paste). Marinate for about 1 hour in the fridge.

3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Transfer chicken to a glass dish and bake for 15 minutes. Add sun-dried tomatoes, and bake for another 15 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink. 

4. Serve chicken with a salad, or like in this case, Asparagus Spaghetti

If you want to see original recipe, click here

Olympic TV Dinner

So a couple of weeks ago I was watching Best Recipes Ever, where the best Canadian Living recipes are presented by Kary Osmond. On that day, they were making the ultimate TV dinner, which looked so good. Since the only thing on TV for the last two weeks were the Olympics, I thought that I should make an ultimate olympic TV dinner. Unluckily for me, the only thing on during dinner time was women's curling, and we lost the gold medal to Sweden.  Anyhow, I carefully followed all three recipes on the website, and two of them turned out to be really good, while the corn-zucchini saute was so-so. I would suggest stir-frying or steaming your favortie veggies.

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

2 garlic heads, roasted

4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes

Some milk

Salt and Pepper

Olive oil

1 green onion, chopped

1. Roast garlic in the oven. Follow this link to learn how to do so. 

2. Meanwhile, peel and quarter potatoes. In medium pot of boiling water, cook potatoes until very tender, about 25 minutes. Drain water and leave potatoes in pot.

3. Squeeze roasted garlic over potatoes. Add milk, salt, and pepper and mash until desired texture. If too dry, add more milk. Top off with chopped green onions.

*This is what your roasted garlic should look like when done:

Chicken Fingers with Peanut-Apricot Sauce 

2 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts (about 1 pound)
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1 cup dry breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons chopped coriander
1 tsp cajun seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt

Sauce:

1/4 cup apple juice

1/4 cup peanut butter

2 tablespoons apricot jam

1 large garlic clove, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoon vinegar (cider, rice, or white)

1. Slice chicken breasts into small strips. Set aside.

2. In a small bowl, whisk egg and water. In another bowl, combine bread crumbs, coriander, cajun spices, salt. Dip chicken strips in egg, then in bread crumbs, and coat well. Place chicken strips on a greased baking sheet.

3. Bake at 350 degrees F, until crispy and well cooked, about 15-17 minutes.

For Sauce 

1. In a microwaveable, add all ingredients for sauce. Microwave for 2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute.

2. Serve sauce with chicken strips...mmm...

Note: If you have left overs, simply heat chicken in oven and microwave sauce for 1 minute. 

Corn and Zucchini Saute  

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 green onion, sliced

3 small zucchinis (or 2 medium), cubed

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

salt and pepper

2 cups frozen corn

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Fry green onions for about 2 minutes. Then add zucchinis, oregano, salt and pepper and saute until zucchini is tender-crisp.

2. Add frozen corn and cook until hot.

Click here for original recipe

Citrus Chicken Stir Fry

Ingredients 

• 350g whole wheat spaghetti
• 1/3 cup tamari (soy-sauce)
• 1 inch knob ginger, peeled and left whole
• 1/2 cup orange marmalade
• Ground black pepper
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1.5 pounds chicken breasts, cut into strips
• 3 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 5 scallions, sliced on bias
• 1 cup  defrosted shelled edamame
• 2 small red peppers, thinly sliced
• 1 cup green beans, snow peas, or sugar snap peas
• 1 cup shredded carrots

Directions

1. In a small pot, over medium-high heat, combine stock, tamari, ginger knob, marmalade and pepper. 
2. Bring to a bubble, then reduce heat to medium and cook until sauce has thickened, about 20 minutes.
3. Remove sauce from heat, add lemon juice.
4. Over medium-high heat, heat olive oil in a wok. Add chicken and cook, tossing frequently, until golden brown and completely cooked, about 8 minutes. 
5. Remove chicken from wok and reserve.
6. To the same wok, on medium heat, add some more olive oil. Saute garlic and scallions for about 1 minute. Add remaining vegetables to the wok and cook, stirring frequently, for about 7 minutes.
7. Add the reserved chicken, sauce and pasta to the pan. Toss and heat through.
8. Serve!

Recipe taken from Rachel Ray

Rosemary Potato Gratin with Pesto Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Ingredients for Rosemary Potato Gratin

• 5 medium Yukon Gold potatoes
• 2 sweet potatoes
• 1 small onion, coarsely chopped
• 1/3  cup butter
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 teaspoons dried rosemary
• pepper
• 3-3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup grated cheese

Directions

1. In a small pot, over medium heat, melt butter. Then add flour, rosemary, salt and pepper. Cook for one minute, stirring constantly.
2. Gradually whisk in milk; cook, whisking constantly, until boiling and thickened, about 15 minutes. Set aside.
3. Peel, wash, and thinly slice potatoes. Layer half of the Yukon Gold potatoes in a greased 13x9 inch glass baking dish. Spread with half of the onions. Layer with sweet potatoes, remaining onions, and Yukon Gold potatoes. 
4. Pour sauce over top of potatoes. Cover dish with greased aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees F for about 1 hour. 
5. Sprinkle with cheese and bake uncovered, until tender and brown, about 15 minutes.
6. Enjoy!

Recipe taken from here

Ingredients for Chicken Breasts

• Chicken breasts
• Pesto
• Goat cheese
• 1 egg white
• Bread crumbs
• Olive oil

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. On a plastic cutting board, use a very sharp knife and open up chicken breasts like a book.
3. In a small bowl, mix the same amount of goat cheese and pesto. Add some olive oil if mixture is too dry.
4. With chicken breasts opened up like a book, spread some of the cheese-pesto mix in the center of the chicken. Close the breasts over the filling and press the edges together to seal.
5. In a medium bowl, beat egg white. Place breadcrumbs in another bowl. Dip chicken breasts in the egg, then dredge in the breadcrumbs.
6. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts and cook until browned on one side, about 4 minutes.
7. Place chicken, brown-side up, on a baking sheet. Bake until the chicken is no longer pink, about 15-20 minutes. 

For original recipe, click here 

Coq Au VIn

After watching Julie and Julia over the Christmas holidays (I was disappointed with the movie) I felt the urge to make Boeuf Bourguignon. When I finally had found a recipe for it on-line, I got discouraged by the amount of time it takes to cook. With the school semester just starting, I had to find something faster to make. Then I remembered seeing a recipe of Coq au Vin in a Coup de Pouce magazine I had at home.  I know it is not Boeuf Bourguignon, but wow, this tastes really good, and it is so easy to make. And plus, this recipe has chicken, which is my favourite meat.

Prep and cook time: 1h20
Serves 4 hungry bellies


Ingredients 

• 2 tablespoons butter (or olive oil)
  
• 9 chicken thighs, cut in half
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced
• 150g white pearl onions
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped red onions
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• salt and pepper
  
• 3/4 cup red wine
• 1 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 3-4 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
  

Directions

1. In a large enamelled cast-iron pot (or a regular pot), melt 1 tbsp butter on medium-high heat. Add chicken to pot and cook until browned, about 10 minutes.
2. Remove chicken from pot and set aside.
   
3. Melt remaining butter in pot and reduce heat to medium. Add carrots, pearl onions, chopped onions, mushrooms, thyme, salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes or until vegetables are lightly browned.
4. Put chicken back into pot. Pour in red wine, chicken broth, bay leaves, tomato paste and parsley.
5. Bring sauce to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 50-60 minutes, always leaving the lid on.
6. Once ready, the chicken should be tender and the sauce will have thickened. 
7. Serve with basmati rice or potatoes.