Apricot Chicken

This recipe is easy to make and helps mix up "chicken dinner" night. I had some apricot jelly that I had left over from holiday cooking and decided to try to incorporate it into dinner. You can use this recipe with different jellies and cheeses. I'm sure it would be great with pepper jelly and pepper jack cheese, apple jelly and brie, etc.

Recipe:

2 chicken breasts

1 slice swiss cheese

4 tbs apricot jelly

Cayenne Pepper powder

Salt

Pepper

Pat chicken dry and then sprinkle both sides with salt, pepper, and cayenne powder. Cook in an oiled skillet over medium heat until chicken is cooked through. Top each chicken breast with jelly and half a slice of swiss. Remove from heat and put pan top on to hold in heat to melt the cheese. Serve when cheese has melted.

Jake has been trying to help out in the kitchen and committed to make a side to go along with our apricot chicken and salad. He tackled the Kraft Home Style Mac and Cheese kit :)

Pretty delicious. Can't go wrong with mac and cheese topped with toasted bread crumbs.

Chicken and Dumplings.. and the importance of first-year-o-marriage back ups

So this week I figured out I like the idea of chicken and dumplings way more then I liked the actual dish. I came across an interesting recipe on the Pink Parsley blog. It is a chicken and dumpling dish that uses Salsa Verde which adds a kick and herb cornmeal dumplings which adds more flavor.

It took about an hour to put together but I had been cold all day and had the motivation to make a super comforting food.

        Recipe found here.

The first few bites tasted awesome. It had a lot of flavor, spice, and was incredibly rich. However, it was way too heavy for Jake and I to eat as a meal. We had ate about 1/4 of our plate and agreed that the rest was going to have to go in the fridge for another time.

In came my first-year-o-marriage back up food. Since I like to try new recipes quite a bit, it is crucial I have back up food in case the recipe is a flop. Some of these back ups include hot pockets, chicken pot pies, skillet meals, and of course toasted PB&J.

I think I got way more compliments on my 3 minute PB&Js then the hour long chicken and dumplings with fresh cut herbs, but I'll take what I can get :)

Lemon Pepper Chicken Home Made Crouton Salad and Fresh Bought Ravioli Ridiculousness

One of the things I will miss about my old job is its close location to Eastern Market. They have a large indoor market with all sorts of fresh and hand made foods. I particularly love the home made pasta section. Earlier this week I bought these little beauties:

Hand made cheese ravioli with pretty stripes.

I boiled them for about 3 minutes and they were done! Fresh pasta has so much more flavor then store bought pasta and cooks in about a third of the time. I try to buy it anytime I come across it.

I topped it with my home made marinara sauce and....

Yummmy ridiculousness!

I know Jake doesn't consider food a meal without a meat so I grilled up some easy lemon pepper chicken.

Recipe:

4 chicken strip cuts

Lemon pepper seasoning

2 tbs olive oil

Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Remove chicken strips from package and pat dry. Season both sides with the lemon pepper seasoning. Cook for about 8 minutes flipping chicken half way through. Remove once chicken is fully cooked through. Makes 2 servings.

I topped mine with a raspberry walnut light dressing and Jake went with the light ranch. I forgot to buy croutons at the store so I thought I would give home made croutons a shot.

Recipe:

4 pieces of Healthy White or Wheat bread cut into bite sized cubes

2 tbs olive oil

1/2 tbs of salt

1/2 tbs of pepper

1/2 tbs of garlic powder

1 tbs dried parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss bread cubes with oil. Add seasoning and gently toss again. Arrange on tin foil lined baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until bread is golden brown. 

They turned out pretty good and definitely more healthy then store bought croutons. I might try adding Parmesan cheese next time as well.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Kind Of Night

Our neighbors are moving out soon and they gave us their bedroom set! We are so excited and matching Ikea  furniture is a definite upgrade from our college "set" :) I'll post some pics once the bedroom make over is done.

I knew tonight we would be busy assembling dressers and moving furniture upstairs so I wanted an easy and tasty dinner to make tonight. I came across a Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe and since I've never made this before, thought it would be a good opportunity.

I came across a recipe which looked awesome especially since it included a white wine sauce.

I served it with some brown rice and called it dinner :)

Recipe from http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/chicken-cordon-bleu-ii/Detail.aspx

Ingredients

• 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 6 slices Swiss cheese
• 6 slices ham
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions

1. Pound chicken breasts if they are too thick. Place a cheese and ham slice on each breast within 1/2 inch of the edges. Fold the edges of the chicken over the filling, and secure with toothpicks. Mix the flour and paprika in a small bowl, and coat the chicken pieces.
2. Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the chicken until browned on all sides. Add the wine and bouillon. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.
3. Remove the toothpicks, and transfer the breasts to a warm platter. Blend the cornstarch with the cream in a small bowl, and whisk slowly into the skillet. Cook, stirring until thickened, and pour over the chicken. Serve warm.

Jake's Take: Liked it a lot but want to add a bread crumb crust next time. I agree with that as well.

Emily's Peanut Chicken Noodles

Thanks to Emily for making such a great dinner! This dish makes a great dinner since it has a lot of flavor but is still pretty healthy.

Sorry for the bad picture quality! My real camera was MIA for this meal..

Emily's Recipe:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup smooth natural peanut butter
2 T soy sauce
2 t minced garlic
1 1/2 t chile-garlic sauce, or to taste

1 t minced fresh ginger
8 oz whole wheat spaghetti (i used a whole 13 oz box and the ratio still seemed okay...up to you- more for leftovers!)
12 oz bag fresh or frozen vegetable medley, such as carrots, broccoli, snow peas, etc.

Put a large pot of water on to boil for pasta.
Meanwhile, place chicken in a skillet or saucepan and add enough water to cover; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer gently until cooked through, 10-12 minutes. Transfer chicken to cutting board. When cool enough to handle, shred into bite size strips.
Whisk peanut butter, soy sauce, garlic, chile-garlic sauce and ginger in a large bowl.
Cook pasta in boiling water until not quite tender, about 1 minute less than specified in package directions. Add vegetables and cook until both pasta and vegetables are just tender, 2 minutes more. Drain, reserving 1 cup of cooking liquid. Rinse pasta and vegetables with cool water to refresh. Stir reserved cooking liquid into peanut sauce, then add pasta, vegetables, and chicken. Toss well to coat.
Serve warm or chilled.
Makes 6 servings, 1 1/2 cups each