Posts Tagged ‘chicken’

Happy Labor Day everyone! This weekend I made one of my favorite things, homemade pizza! I made the crust ahead of time using a recipe from How to Make Everything Vegetarian.

Pizza Dough
Ingredients: (makes 2 pizza crusts)

• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp instant yeast
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 3 Tbsp olive oil

Combine flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Add 1 cup of water and 2 Tbsp olive oil. Stir to combine. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead by hand into a round dough ball. Put the remaining 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a bowl and turn the dough ball in it. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for 1-2 hours. Split dough in half and roll dough out onto a floured surface into a round crust. Allow dough to rise for another 20 minutes before adding topping and baking.

BBQ Chicken Pizza
Ingredients:

• 1 pizza crust (see recipe above)
• 1/2 cup barbeque sauce
• 2 scallions, sliced
• 1 large chicken breast, cubed and cooked
• mozzarella and parmesan cheese

Cover pizza dough with barbeque sauce. Add chicken and scallions. Cover with mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Bake at 350*F for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Yum! This was one of the best pizzas ever! What’s your favorite kind of pizza?

Enjoy this post? Share it with your Facebook friends!

I cannot believe it’s been a week since my last post, things have been so hectic with school and my internship that I lost track of time! I’m finally back in Chicago, but I have a few more things to share from my visit to Omaha last week; one being my first trip to Chick-fil-A!

Now I know what many of you are thinking, what’s the big deal about Chick-fil-A? And the answer is, nothing. But, in Omaha there is only one Chick-fil-A in the whole city. It’s hidden in the food court of the Mutual of Omaha building which can only be accessed by people who work there. So having the opportunity to go there is a real treat!

I went with one of the healthier items on the menu and got the Chargrilled Chicken Garden Salad with some fat-free Honey Mustard dressing. It was pretty much your basic fast-food restaurant salad.

The salad wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, but I did try one of my sister’s waffle fries which were pretty tasty! Do you have a Chick-fil-A where you live? We don’t have any in Chicago, but I think I’ll be able to live without it!

pictures from chick-fil-a.com

Enjoy this post? Share it with your Facebook friends!

I had a craving for Cobb salad this week and got a great recipe from Smitten Kitchen which I modified slightly! This recipe was enough for two Cobb salads and was absolutely delicious!

Ingredients:

• 1 head romaine lettuce
• 1 chicken breast (seasoned, grilled, and chopped)
• 2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 4 slices turkey bacon, cooked and chopped
• 1 avocado, cubed
• 1 cup blue cheese (I used feta instead because I like it more)
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

For Dressing:

• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 red wine vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 3/4 tsp dry mustard
• 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix ingredients for dressing and refrigerate while preparing rest of the salad. Most of the preparation for this salad can be done in advance to save time – with the exception of cutting the avocado which will turn brown from oxidation and should be cut right before serving. Arrange lettuce on a plate. Cover with toppings: avocado, bacon, cheese, tomato, chicken, and egg (or mix all ingredients together in a large bowl). Sprinkle with green onion, parsley, and freshly cracked pepper. Drizzle dressing over salad and enjoy!

If I have a salad for dinner, it’s got to have all the fixin’s or else I find myself hungry an hour later. This salad is a the perfect mix of protein, healthy fat, and fiber to keep me full to the end of the day!

Enjoy this post? Share it with your Facebook friends!

For dinner last night I made chicken parmesan to enjoy while watching Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution! It was the perfect excuse to use my new meat mallet and it was soooo good! I served the chicken parmesan over some whole wheat pasta with a side of roasted asparagus. This recipe is a similar version derived from Cook This, Not That!

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
• 1 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• Olive oil
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 cups cooked whole wheat pasta

Place the chicken between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and pound with meat mallet until about 1/4” thick. Season with salt and pepper. Combine bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning on a large plate. Dip the chicken breasts in the egg white and then coat with bread crumb mixture. In skillet, heat olive oil and cook chicken on either side for about 3-4 minutes or until a dark golden brown. Place in a baking sheet, spoon tomato sauce over the chicken, and top with mozzarella cheese. Stick chicken in the oven at 300*F for about 5-10 minutes until cheese has melted. Serve atop pasta with a side of asparagus!

For the asparagus I simply coated the stalks in olive oil, salt, pepper, and grated parmesan cheese and roasted in the oven at 400*F for 10 minutes. Be sure to break off the tough woody ends of the asparagus before cooking. To do this, hold the asparagus stalk by both ends out in front of you. Bend until the bottom part snaps off; discard this portion and cook the remaining stalk.

Asparagus is in season for spring so be sure to grab some on your next trip to the supermarket!

Enjoy this post? Share it with your Facebook friends!

Yesterday, I completed my first 2 mile easy run for training. It was nice outside so I decided to run through the city. It ended up taking me 24 minutes, due to a lot of people-traffic and having to stop and jog in place at every intersection waiting for the “walk” sign to light up. While running through the city is fun to people watch and see all the shoppers out and about, the downside is that you often get slowed down by all the traffic.

Anyways, I decided to run to the bookstore to pick up a magazine. I planned my route to be 2 miles by the time I arrived so that I wouldn’t have to run home with my magazine, but could take the el train instead (lazy, I know). At the bookstore I bought the latest issue of Cooking Light. If you haven’t already noticed I have a mild obsession with healthy cooking magazines. I feel like they always have the best recipes because they have to sort through thousands upon thousands of recipes and choose only a select few that are the best to feature in their magazine every month. Also cooking magazines tend to feature recipes that include foods that are in season and recipes that fit the holidays during that month which I love. So I took my Cooking Light magazine home and got to reading. I chose to make the Chicken Carne Asada Tacos for dinner since I had a couple leftover chicken breasts that needed to be used up in the fridge.

Ingredients:

• Juice from 1/2 orange
• Juice from 1 lime
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 chicken breasts, cut into strips
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 corn tortillas
• 1/2 avocado, diced
• Grated parmesan cheese
• 1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
• 1/4 cup vegetable broth
• 1 tsp adobo sauce (from a can of chipotle chilies in adobo sauce)

In a small sauce pan bring some water to a boil. Slice the red onion into thin strips. Bring the onions to a boil in the water. Drain and transfer onions to a boil of ice water to cool. Drain. Combine orange juice, lime juice, and sugar in a small bowl. Add onions and refrigerate until ready to serve. Season the chicken strips with oregano, cumin, salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil on medium-high heat and add the chicken. Cook the strips until the meat is no longer pink and browned on both sides (about 4 minutes on each side). In a small saucepan combine black beans, vegetable broth, and chili sauce. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Mash with a fork. Heat corn tortillas according to package directions. Divide chicken among tortillas. Add black beans, pickled onions, avocado, and parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

I thought I would want to add salsa to these tacos since, to me, that is always a key ingredient to Mexican cuisine, but these tacos had so much flavor on their own that I didn’t even want to add salsa! This “gourmet” taco recipe was absolutely delicious and I will definitely be making it again in the future!

Enjoy this post? Share it with your Facebook friends!