Creamy Roasted Green Chile Chicken

It's Hatch chile time! Last year, I created this recipe for Green Chile Sauce. When I saw the huge display of Hatch chiles at the grocery store, I wanted to do something similar but kick it up a notch, so I jazzed up last year's recipe a bit by creating a creamy consistency with Greek yogurt and then baked chicken in the sauce and topped it off with pepper jack.

Ingredients:
3 hatch green chiles
2 jalepenos
2 T olive oil, divided
1 T flour
3/4 cup chicken stock
1/8 t ground cumin
1/8 t cayenne pepper
1/8 salt
1/3 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1-2 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning
3/4 cup pepper jack cheese, shredded

First you need to roast the chiles and jalepenos. Green chiles can have a bitter taste in the skin, so roasting the peppers first will get rid of that taste because you'll remove the skin. To roast, you can either hold the peppers over your gas stove, throw on the grill or broil in your oven. You'll want to roast the peppers until the skin blisters and chars. If roasting in the oven, preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a foil lined sheet pan, drizzle peppers with one tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast for twenty minutes, flip chiles and jalepenos and roast for an additional 20 minutes. Place the charred chiles in a brown paper bag and allow to sit for 10 to 15 minutes. This will allow them to steam and will make the skin come off easier. Cut off stem, slice lengthwise and gently peel the skin off and remove seeds. Chop into small pieces.

In a pan over medium, heat olive oil. Add onion and garlic to the pan and sauté for two minutes. Add green chiles and jalepenos and sauté another two minutes. Add flour and stir to distribute. Cook out raw flour taste for about one minute. Add chicken stock to the pan, scraping up and browned bits from the bottom. Stir until smooth. Add cumin, cayenne and salt.  Bring to a low boil, stirring occasionally. When it comes to a boil, reduce to a low simmer. Continue to simmer for about 20 minutes.

If you'd like a smoother texture, blend with an immersion blender until you get your desired consistency . If  you don't have an immersion blender, cool sauce and pour in your blender and blend until you get your desired consistency. Make sure to cool the sauce or you might blow the top off your blender and have a giant mess! :)

Remove sauce from heat and stir in the Greek yogurt. Taste and check the seasoning and adjust to your liking.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Season chicken on both sides with homemade taco seasoning. Place chicken in your choice of baking dish, sprayed with nonstick spray. Spoon chile sauce all over chicken and top with pepper jack. Bake for about 30-35 minutes (depending on the size of your chicken).

Enjoy!

Feta Stuffed Crispy Pesto Chicken

I don't know about you, but I love pesto! It has a great color and flavor and it smells great when you cook with it. If you love pesto too, then you will love this easy and delicious recipe that is perfect for weeknight dinners!

The chicken will come out juicy and flavorful with just the right amount of crunch. And it looks pretty too!

Ingredients
4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
4 tablespoons feta, crumbled
8 tablespoons store bought pesto
1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 cup panko bread crumbs (Japanese style bread crumbs)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Trim excess fat from chicken, if needed. In order to stuff the chicken, you will need to create a pocket. To do so, hold your knife parallel to the counter and carefully slice through the middle of the chicken pulling the top back as you slice until it lays almost flat but is still in tact. Repeat with all chicken breasts. Using two tablespoons of pesto per chicken breast, spread one tablespoon on the inside of the pocket and one tablespoon on the entire outside of the chicken. Repeat with remaining chicken. Stuff each chicken breast with one tablespoon of feta crumbles. Secure each chicken breast with a toothpick or small skewer.

In a shallow dish, mix together the panko and parmesan. Throughly coat each chicken breast on both sides with the panko/parmesan mixture, pressing the mixture into the chicken. Place chicken breasts in a greased baking dish or sheet tray. Bake for 30 minutes and then broil on high for one to two minutes until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Football Food Friday! Chipotle Chicken Taquitos with Smoky Sour Cream Sauce

One of the great things about having a husband that loves to eat is that in addition to loving almost everything I make (except for that one time I made fried rice...that's a story for another day) he also, on occasion, helps me think of ideas of stuff to make--and for him to eat!

This recipe is one of those occasions. Last Saturday, as we were driving to the city he asked the weekly question,
S: "What are you going to make for the game?"
C: "I don't know, any ideas?"
S: "How about those taquitos that I love that you never make anymore."

haha

I preceeded to tell him that I would make his beloved taquitos but that I thought we should make a new type of taquito. So, what follows is what we came up with as we crossed the Causeway bridge....24 miles of talking about food...Gotta love my huz!

Ingredients
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped as finely as possible
Salt
Pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 poblano pepper, minced
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 7 oz. can of chipotle peppers in Adobo Sauce
4 oz. pepper jack cheese, grated
6 tortillas

Heat oil in large pan over medium heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Saute garlic and poblano pepper for about one minute. Add chicken and cook until browned. Spoon out about half of the can of chipotles and sauce and chope finely. Add to pan and stir to combine all ingredients. Cook another minute or so and then remove from heat to cool before assembling the taquitos.

Meanwhile, heat oven to 450 degrees. Remove chicken mixture from pan to a cutting board and chop chicken as finely as possible. Return to pan. Cut each tortilla in half. Starting with one tortilla half, spoon about two tablespoons of chicken mixture into the tortilla. Top with a pinch of cheese, roll tortilla up, wrapping as tightly as possible, secure with a toothpick and place on a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas or until you run out of chicken. Top each taquito with a bit of cheese, if you still have extra cheese leftover. Bake for 7-9 minutes and then broil for one minute. Serve immediately with Smoky Sour Cream Sauce, recipe below.

While taquitos are cooking, make the sauce.

Smoky Sour Cream Sauce
1/3 cup nonfat or light sour cream
1 chipotle pepper plus 1 1/2 tablespoons Adobo sauce
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 teaspoon honey

In a food processor (those mini ones are perfect for something like this), combine all ingredients and process on high until well blended. Serve with taquitos.

I hope you enjoy these homemade taquitos! I have to warn you that these babies are hot, so if you don't like spicy food, I recommend cutting open the peppers and removing the seeds before chopping them and adding them to the chicken. This will cut down on the heat.

Jambalaya

Jambalaya is definitely one of the standard cajun cuisine dishes; however, just like many other cajun favorites, when it comes to recipes there is probably nothing standard about it! There are probably thousands of variations for jambalaya and I am sure every Cajun family has their own "perfect" recipe, but the following recipe is how I make it and I think it is pretty darn good...for a Texas girl! So give my variation a try, but to all you locals, please go easy on me! Afterall, I am just a Texas girl in a Louisiana world!

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
1 lb. andouille sausage, casings removed, cut into bite sized pieces
1 large yellow onion, diced*
1 large green bell pepper, diced*
6 celery ribs, chopped*
2 cloves of garlic, minced*
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon cajun seasoning
2 cups uncooked white rice
4 cups chicken broth (2 cans)
1 dried bay leaf
1-2 tablespoons Worchestershire sauce

Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Brown chicken and sausage until lightly browned, about five minutes. Add onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, cayenne pepper and cajun seasoning. Saute until onions are translucent. Pour in chicken broth and add the rice and bay leaf to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat and simmer for approximately 20-25 minues or until the rice is cooked through. Check the liquid level towards the end of cooking, adding additional water or broth if the mixture is getting too dry. Stir in worchestershire sauce and serve.

Although it is probably not the proper cajun way, we like it with cornbread. Jiffy, of course.

Enjoy!

*For those in Louisiana, feel free to use Guidry's Fresh Cuts if you don't want to/don't have the time to chop the onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic.

Apple, Walnut and Blue Cheese Salad with Cider Vinaigrette

A few months ago, I posted this recipe for Strawberry Feta Salad with Sweet and Spicy Pecans and Balsamic Vinaigrette. I hope you all love that recipe as much as we do. It is definitely a staple at the Patterson's; however, strawberries are sadly going out of season... :( 

But the silver lining is that I have come up with a new fall version! Hooray! I wanted to come up with something that showcases the flavors of the season and I think this recipe does the trick! This version utilizes apples instead of strawberries, walnuts instead of pecans, blue cheese instead of feta and a new vinaigrette recips. If you've made the Strawberry version, then this will be a snap for you!

Dressing:

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 shallot, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons dijon mustard

1 teaspoon honey

Salt 

Pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Whisk the vinegar, shallots, mustard, garlic, honey and salt and pepper in a small bowl. While continuously whisking with one hand, very very slowly drizzle the olive oil into the bowl. It is important to continue whisking and drizzle as slowly as possible so that the dressing will emulsify and not separate on you. If it easier for you, you can easily do this in the blender, drizzling the olive oil slowly through the top opening. Chill the vinaigrette until you are ready to assemble the salad.

Walnuts:

1 c water

1/4 c sugar or Splenda*

1 cup pecan halves

3 T sugar or Splenda*

1 T chili powder

1/2 t cayenne pepper

1 t cajun seasoning

Preheat the oven to 350. Microwave the water in a microwave safe bowl until the water boils. Remove from microwave and dissolve the fourth cup of sugar in the water. Soak the walnuts in the sugar water for about 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the remaining sugar, chili powder, cayenne and cajun seasoning in a plastic baggie. Drain the walnuts and toss in the sugar mixture to coat. Spread onto a foil lined baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes. Immediately spread the walnuts onto wax paper to cool. Do NOT let them sit or the sugar will harden and all the walnuts will stick together!

Salad:

3-4 chicken breasts

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Powder

3 hearts of Romaine, rinsed and torn into bite sized pieces

2-3 oz. blue cheese, crumbled

1 tart apple, rinsed, cored and sliced or chopped into bite size pieces**

Heat grill to medium high heat. Season chicken on both sides with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Grill chicken breasts until cooked through, about 7-10 minutes on each side depending on size. Remove from grill, cool and cut into strips or bit size pieces.

In a large bowl, toss lettuce with desired amount of dressing. Add apples, blue cheese and walnuts tossing gently. Serve with chicken on top. 

Serves 4, as a main dish.

I hope you enjoy this fresh and delicious fall version!

*I have tried the pecans (from the strawberry version) with Splenda but they do not turn out as sweet or crunchy.

** My absolute favorite apple is the Honeycrisp apple. They are sweet and tart and in peak season, they are about the size of a grapefruit! yum! They can be a little pricey though, so other favorites of mine are Granny Smith, Gala and Pink Lady if you don't want to get the Honeycrisp.

Crispy Ranch Chicken

Looking for a new twist on boring ol' chicken? Well here is a healthy and flavorful chicken recipe that is super easy! You'll never think chicken is boring again!

This chicken is baked so it is healthier than typical crispy chicken but the Panko gives it the crunch of fried chicken, so you won't miss out on the flavor and you definitely won't miss the extra calories and fat of typical fried chicken!

If you are not familiar with Panko, it is a Japanese bread crumb and is drier, lighter and flakier than a typical store bought bread crumb and provides the perfect crunchy coating. Once you try Panko bread crumbs, I can promise you that will be hooked!

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Salt

Pepper

2 egg whites, lightly beaten

1 package of dry Ranch dressing mix

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Season both sides of chicken breasts lightly with salt and pepper. Lightly beat the egg whites in a shallow bowl. Combine ranch mix, parmesan and Panko in another shallow bowl or plate. Dip one chicken breasts in the egg whites, coating both sides and then dredge in the ranch mixture, patting the mixture into the chicken to completely coat the entire chicken. Repeat with remaining chicken breasts.

Place chicken breasts in an oven proof baking dish. Allow to sit for about 10 minutes. This will allow the coating to dry out a bit and will give you a crunchier coating.

Bake chicken for approximately 30 minutes or until cooked through. If desired, turn your broiler on high and brown the tops of the chicken for one to two minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Strawberry and Feta Salad with Sweet and Spicy Pecans and Balsamic Vinaigrette

I started making this salad in early spring and it has become one of our absolute favorites! And let me please note that my husband, a self-proclaimed "meat-a-tarian," does not and I repeat, does not consider salad as a meal, but he LOVES this salad and so will you! It is great as a main dish, but you can easily ditch the chicken and make it as a side salad or serve it at a party with the dressing on the side so it doesn't get soggy.

We're a bit on the tail end of strawberry season, so I probably should have posted this when I originally made it, but oh well! You can still easily find strawberries for a good price so don't worry about that! Considering I have made this salad probably every week since I first made it up, I really don't know why I am just now posting it. I clearly dropped the ball! :)

Dressing:

1/2 c balsamic vinegar

3 T Dijon mustard

3 cloves garlic, minced

Salt

Pepper

About one cup of extra virgin olive oil

Whisk the balsamic, mustard, garlic and salt and pepper in a small bowl. While continuously whisking with one hand, very very slowly drizzle the olive oil into the bowl. It is important to continue whisking and drizzle as slowly as possible so that the dressing will emulsify and not separate on you. If it easier for you, you can easily do this in the blender, drizzling the olive oil through the top opening. Chill the vinaigrette until you are ready to assemble the salad.

Pecans:

1 c water

1/4 c sugar or Splenda*

1 cup pecan halves

3 T sugar or Splenda

1 T chili powder

1/2 t cayenne pepper

1 t cajun seasoning

Preheat the oven to 350. Microwave the water in a microwave safe bowl until the water boils. Remove from microwave and dissolve the fourth cup of sugar in the water. Soak the pecans in the sugar water for about 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the remaining sugar, chili powder, cayenne and cajun seasoning in a plastic baggie. Drain the pecans and toss in the sugar mixture to coat. Spread onto a foil lined baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes. Immediately spread the pecans onto wax paper to cool. Do NOT let them sit or the sugar will harden and all the pecans will stick together!

Salad:

3-4 chicken breasts

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Powder

3 hearts of Romaine, rinsed and torn into bite sized pieces

4 oz. feta crumbles

1 carton of strawberries, rinsed and sliced

Heat grill to medium high heat. Season chicken on both sides with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Grill chicken breasts until cooked through, about 7-10 minutes on each side depending on size. Remove from grill, cool and cut into strips or bit sized pieces.

In a large bowl, toss lettuce with desired amount of dressing. Add strawberries, feta and pecans, tossing gently. Serve with chicken on top.

Serves 4, as a main course.

I hope you enjoy this fresh and delicious salad as much as we do!

*I have tried the pecans with Splenda but they do not turn out as sweet or crunchy.

California Chicken Sandwiches

Not that this should be a surprise to anyone to knows me, but for most of my life I wouldn't have anything to do with avocados unless they were smashed up in guacamole. Bizarre, I know. But really, that's how a lot of my pickiness goes...its selective and avocados were no exception. Until recently.

Somehow I must have missed those big green chucks floating in my tortilla soup, but one spoonful of soup (avocado in tow) and I was hooked! What have I been missing all these years? Lots of things I presume.

Anyways, now, I love putting plain avocados on anything and everything. But I have to admit that a favorite combo of mine has to be avocado and bacon! YUM! Not the lowest fat combo, I know, but at least avocados have the good kind of fat. Wink, wink.

So, with that in mind, I was thinking of something to make for dinner last week and I whipped up with this little gem. I hope you like it!

Ingredients:
1 package of dry Ranch dip mix
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt
Pepper
4 buns of your choice
4 slices thick cooked bacon (or more, if you want)
1 ripe avocado
1/2 sweet yellow onion, very thinly sliced
About 2 teaspoons flour

Sprinkle both sides of chicken with ranch packet seasoning as well as season with salt and pepper. Heat grill to medium high heat.

While grill is heating, cook the bacon until brown and crisp and remove from pan. Drain off all except for about 1 tablespoon or so of the bacon fat and add onions to the pan and saute. Continue to saute the onions until they are fairly brown and then sprinkle the onions with the flour and continue to cook until they are crispy then remove from heat.

Grill chicken for 5-7 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Toast buns, if desired.

Allow chicken to rest a few minutes and the slice it diagonally. Assemble sandwich with chicken on the bottom and then pile on the bacon, avocado and crispy onions.

Since this is a big and rich sandwich, I recommend serving it with a small salad or fruit salad as I did.

Enjoy!

As always, let me know what you think or if you have questions!

Football Food Friday! Baked Taquitos with Chicken, Carmelized Onions, Lime and Cilantro

You will love this homemade version of the frozen food classic! These taquitos are easy, healthier and more flavorful than the kind you buy in the grocery store. I can promise you will love them! (The actually came from an idea that my husband gave me, so he technically deserves the credit!)

Ingredients

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, sliced very thinly.

Salt, pepper and garlic power, to lightly season

1 cup very loosely packed cilantro leaves

2 medium limes- zest of one, juice of both

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

5 medium sized tortillas

Cilantro Lime Sour Cream

About 2-3 tablespoons of sour cream (light or non fat is fine)
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro
zest and juice of 1/2 of small lime

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Preheat two skillets with one tablespoon each of olive oil over medium heat. Add onions to one pan and allow to carmelize. Caramelizing takes awhile (about 20 minutes), so be patient and allow the onions to cook down to a deep golden-brown color, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, season cubed chicken with salt, pepper and garlic. Add chicken to the other pan and saute until cooked through, five to seven minutes.

When the chicken is cooked and the onions are carmelized, remove both from their pans to a cutting board. Finely mince the cilantro, and chop the onions and chicken as small as you can. Add the chicken, cilantro and onions back to one pan and heat on low. Add the lime zest and juice, cumin and chili powder, stirring to incorporate.

Cut the tortillas in half. Starting with one tortilla half, fill place a "tong-ful" (meaning the amount you grasp with tongs) :) of filling about 1/3 of the way up the tortilla. Roll the tortilla around the filling and secure with a toothpick. Place on a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas or until you run out of filling.

Bake for seven minutes. Broil on high for two minutes.

Prepare the sauce in a small bowl by combining the sour cream, zest, juice and cilantro. Sprinkle a tiny bit of the cajun seasoning. Taste a bit of the sauce to see if it needs to be adjusted. It should taste light and fresh with a touch of lime. If it is too much cilantro, add some lime and vice versa if it is too limey.

Remove from the oven and serve with cilantro lime sour cream or your choice of salsa.

Enjoy! Happy Gameday!

Chicken Piccata

Ingredients

2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied and then cut in half

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to season chicken

All-purpose flour, for dredging

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup chicken stock

2 tablespoons capers

To butterfly chicken, hold the knife parallel to the counter and carefully slice through the middle of the chicken pulling the top back as you slice until it lays flat. Cut the two pieces apart.

Lay a large piece of plastic wrap on the counter or your cutting board, placing one chicken piece on top. Lay another piece of plastic wrap on top. With a large heavy skillet or meat mallet, pound the chicken until approximately 1/2 inch thick and more uniform in thickness. Repeat with other three pieces.

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Lightly dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate and cover with foil. Melt 1 more tablespoon butter and add another tablespoon olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the other 2 pieces of chicken and brown both sides in same manner. Remove pan from heat and add chicken to the plate.

Into the pan add the lemon juice and stock. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Reduce heat to a simmer, check for seasoning and allow to simmer for five to seven minutes. Add capers return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for two minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Pour sauce over chicken.

Enjoy!

Let me know what you think!

Honey Glazed Sesame Chicken

Sorry for the long break without any new recipes! I hope you missed me! ;)

This is a VERY simple recipe that is delicious and healthy! I was going for something similar to PF Chang's or Pei Wei without frying the chicken, so I hope you like this lighter but just as tasty version!

Serves 2 (but you can easily double!)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup soy sauce (low sodium)
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 chicken breasts, cut into one inch pieces
1/4 cup sesame seeds

Whisk first five ingredients together in a small bowl. Put chicken pieces a shallow dish or bow and pour half of the mixture over the chicken. Reserve the rest of the mixture for later. Cover the chicken and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to two hours. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat and cook chicken pieces until cooked through. Remove chicken from pan.

Meanwhile, toast sesame seeds in a small skillet over light heat or on a sheet pan in the oven. This will bring out the flavor of the sesame seeds.

Add remaining soy sauce mixture to pan and bring to a light simmer. This will allow the sauce to thicken. Once the sauce has thickened a bit, add chicken back to pan, tossing to coat. Sprinkle sesame seeds over chicken and serve over brown rice and/or with steamed vegetables.

As always, leave me a comment if you have any questions or just to let me know what you think!

Pad Thai

Love pad thai? Well, now you can make it at home with ingredients you probably already have and stop spending money on take-out!

1 package of flat rice noodles (Chinese section of the grocery store)

1 lb. choice of beef, chicken, pork, shrimp

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves

2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger (in the produce section)

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons ketchup

1/2 teaspoon fish sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

1 head of brocoli, cut into florets and lightly steamed*

2 green onions, cut into one inch lengths

1 can of water chestnuts, drained and roughly chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Bring pot of salted water to a boil. In a wok or large saute pan, heat olive oil on medium high heat. Add ginger and garlic and cook for one minute. Add meat of your choice and saute until cooked through and remove from pan. Drain fat from pan, if necessary. Deglaze pan with chicken stock, scraping browned bits from the bottom, bring to a simmer.

Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions and drain.

In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, ketchup, fish sauce, sugar and hot sauce and add to the pan. Simmer for about 5-7 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken and the flavors to incorporate.

Add steamed brocoli, green onions, water chestnuts to the pan and toss in sauce. Add meat and noodles to the pan tossing well. Before serving, stir in the fresh cilantro.

*If you don't have a steamer, a very easy and quick way to steam vegetables is to put them in a microwave safe bowl and tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Microwave in 30 second intervals until desire doneness--about one minute and a half for very crisp, al dente, which is the way I like it.

I hope you enjoy this homemade version of pad thai! As always, leave a comment with questions or to let me know what you think!