Foodie Friday: An Easy Chicken Recipe

Truth be told, I am not a fan of whole chickens. Well, I mean, baby chickens are cute...and if they aren't whole I've seen what they do to them in the chicken barns. (It includes a yard stick with a nail through it and  a large bucket...I'll let you make that connection.) But I digress. In cooking, I am not a fan of the whole chicken.  I know that it is cheaper, that it can add flavor because there is more fat, and it can feed more people.  However, unless it's Beer Butt Chicken, I just can't handle the whole bird.  I think it's the bones that do it in for me.

So, instead, I look for sales on chicken breasts.  When we find them on sale or Keith's store has them on clearance, we will stock up.  We actually have a secondary freezer for such occasions.  It is a great buy for those deals on meat that you just can't pass up, but would otherwise not have room for in your actual freezer.  We won't discuss the number of whole turkeys that are currently residing in there because the deal after Thanksgiving was just "too good to pass up" as per my husband.

The one downside to cooking chicken breasts is that you don't want to under cook them, but a second too long in the oven or on the grill, and they become dryer than the Christmas turkey in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation...for realz.  But the alternative is a baked chicken that has the texture of boiled chicken, and that is just not tasty AT ALL!

The quick fix for keeping your chicken breasts moist and tender is to use mayonnaise as a basting substance.  Have you looked at the nutritional value of mayonnaise lately? Not cool for those who are trying to cook healthy and well balanced meals.  My answer to keep the moisture locked in, yet not give up all the empty calories that come with mayo is simple.  Greek yogurt.  I used Fage plain Greek yogurt in the recipe below and it turned out amazing! So tasty with a really great "crust" on top and there wasn't a lot of seasoning on the veggies other than salt, pepper, and EVOO.  (A side note: No, those are not moth balls in our roast chicken...I'll get to that in a minute.)

Recipe:
As many chicken breasts as it will take to feed your family. If more than three or four, you may need to do less veggies or two separate casserole dishes.
An assortment of vegetables. I felt that simple was better and that by using everyday veggies, it gave the dish more of a "comfort food" feel. I used potatoes, baby carrots, and pearl onions (not moth balls!).

I mixed a small container of Greek yogurt with fresh garlic, turmeric, salt, pepper, and grated Parmesan cheese.  It created a paste of sorts that I dipped each chicken breast in, top and bottom, making sure it was well coated on the bottom before laying it in the baking dish.  Any extra of the mix, I spooned on top.  I cut up several potatoes into a bowl in large chunks, no uniform cuts for me.  I like the rustic feel.  I then added baby carrots and pearl onions.   To the bowl I added EVOO, salt, and pepper.  I then piled the veggies around the chicken. I had preheated the oven to 425 and I allowed the dish to bake for about 25 minutes or until the chicken breast is cooked through and then veggies are tender, but not mushy.

I added a small salad and wheat rolls from the bakery that I had picked up earlier in the week. I just popped the rolls into the oven for about five minutes while the roast chicken was cooling a bit. We added a little real butter to the rolls...not as healthy, but better than margarine. If you are using butter substitute, stop right now!! A little real butter is better than moderate fake butter any day! Anyway, it was a major success! Delicious and devoured! And I heart this CorningWare dish! One of my favorite wedding gifts by far.

You'll find that there are always tricks to try in order to make some of your favorite dishes a little more healthy! Plain Greek yogurt is a great substitute when a recipe calls for mayo or sour cream.  The probiotics alone are a reason to get on the Greek Yogurt bandwagon! Just try it...and don't tell your spouse or your kids what you've used...and I guarantee they'll love it! As a precaution, plain Greek yogurt has a strong sourness to it.  Adding spices cuts down on the sourness.  Be bold and experiment with new tastes! I have also tried this with turmeric and Sriracha.  It's a great way to add some heat! Can't wait to hear your results!
Happy Dining!!

Foodie Friday

I am super excited to add a new fun aspect to my blog! I love to cook, love to share recipes, love to find new and interesting things to make or create, and I love to know what my friends are cooking in their kitchens.  Foodie Friday is my way of sharing with you, my friends, things that are going on in my kitchen.  I promise to include hits, misses, and any hilarity that results from both!

For my first Foodie Friday I am giving you a "twofer"...or two for one!  I can admit, I am a social media addict...I mean, come on, I am writing a blog and hoping that I have actual readers who will enjoy it...I have an active Facebook page, my Instagram is totally cute, and I have several Pintrest boards, although I have been less active on Pintrest since I got married and now have no use for my zillion pins for wedding ideas. Maybe one day I'll have a baby and can resume frantically pinning the cutest nursery ideas EVER!! But I digress.

My first Foodie Friday delight was actually brought to my attention on Pintrest. After my last trip to the local Germantown Farmer's Market, I had most of the ingredients, so I decided to do the unthinkable, and actually make something I had pinned.  My creation: Avocado Salad with homemade croutons.

I know, right? I promise, it was just as yummy as it looks! I started with fresh tomatoes from the farmers market, giving them a rough chop.  I think I used two whole tomatoes. The recipe calls for cherry tomatoes cut in half, but since I had these local beauties, I used them instead.  (A side note, using a full grown tomato does make the salad a bit more juicy...but I didn't mind that.) I bought sweet corn at the Farmer's Market as well. The recipe calls for you to grill the corn...but:

A) We live in an apartment and aren't supposed to have grills.

B) We totally break that rule and have a charcoal grill which I did not feel like lighting and using.

So, I just boiled the corn, cut it from the cob, and then threw it in my cast iron skillet with a little EVOO to char it a bit. I had a fresh avocado, which I diced.  The dressing is the juice of one lime, a clove of garlic - minced, EVOO, salt and pepper.  Whisk that to death and then pour it over the salad mixture.  At the end, you add as much cilantro as you like. For me...that's like, a ton...because I love it so much.  For the croutons I used a baguette that I purchased at the Farmer's Market. I knew that it would not stay soft for more than a day or so, so when it go a little crisp, I cut it into rough slices, coated them with EVOO and some herbs, and baked them for 5 minutes at 400 degrees.  Enjoy! It's a great summer snack!

My second Foodie Friday treat was a happy experiment.  I had several peaches left from my purchase at the Farmer's Market and I knew we were going to be out of town for the weekend and if I didn't use them, they'd spoil.  I had also bought a pint of fresh blueberries at Kroger because they were on sale and because my husband said he loved them.  However, after several days, he hadn't eaten one of them. Therefore, they were fair game! I thought, "Why not make a tartlett?"  Because who doesn't love deserts in mini?! 

I started by slicing the peaches into thick slices, then added the blueberries, some granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and some hot water in order to make a spicy compote.

The bonus of adding blueberries is that the compote takes on this gorgeous magenta-y purple color!

I then took a pie crust, making sure that the top and bottom was well flowered when I rolled it out, and cut it into four pieces. I then rolled the edges up creating a small crust line and filled them with the compote.

I mean, that's totally cute, right?

I made four tartletts and baked them at 425 for as long as it took for the crust to brown nicely. 

The finished product! 

I topped the warm tartlett with two small scoops of vanilla bean ice cream.

It was like heaven. 

Truly.

I am a dessert goddess.

Hmmm...that's probably why I can never quite manage the Paleo lifestyle. And am still chubby. But I have a cute face and a sparkling personality.

But that's a blog for another day.

So, there you have it! My first of many, I hope, Foodie Fridays!!! If you have a love for cooking and great recipes to share, let me know! If there's anything I love more than cooking, it's cooking for and with friends! 

Until next time...

Happy Eating! <3