Easy Italian Chicken and Veggies (and Pasta)

This one is easy. The family wants a healthy, hearty, rib sticking dish. Heathy (simple marinara with summer veggies), hearty (whole grain pasta), and rib sticking (chicken) is what they get. Here it is.

Chicken Veggie Marinara

Your basic marinara sauce

1 zucchini squash (quartered and thinly sliced)
1 yellow summer squash (quartered and thinly sliced)
1 yellow onion (quartered and thinly sliced)

1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast

1 lb whole wheat pasta (I use rotini - lots of surface area)

Get 5 qts of salted water to a steady boil, add the pasta and cook till al dente. Drain, lightly cover with olive oil, and set aside.

Prepare the marinara as directed.

Once that is started, toss the squash and onions in 1 tbsn olive oil, add salt and pepper, and place in oven preheated at 375,

Cook the marinara and veggies for 30 minutes, flipping the veggies halfway through.

Add 1 1/2 cups of marinara, 1 cup of veggies, and 1 cup of pasta in a saute pan. Warm through and serve.

A little healthy Asian Chicken Noodle Broth

Inspired by the Chinesebroth pot and noodles, and required by my ladies' request to keep it healthy, I did a little research on he much desired and healthy Soba noodles and my memories of Jinan noodle bowls and Beijing broth pots, I put this together. Obviously, by the fact that I am putting on here, it was well received. Here it is.....

Soba Noodles with Chicken and Broth

• 12 oz dried Soba noodles
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups water
• 1/4  cup yellow miso
• 1 tsp. ginger (I use ginger paste)
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne

•   2 lb boneless, skinless whole chicken breasts (4 oz portions)

•   2 cups packed baby spinach leaves or bok choy, thinly sliced
•   2 green onions, white and light green portions, thinly sliced

Preheat the oven to 374 F.

In a large stock pot, place 4 quarts (at least) of liberally salted water and bring to a boil. Add the Soba noodles and reduce heat. Cook until at (or slight past) al dente (about 5 minutes), rinse with warm water. and set aside. 

In a medium stock pot combine the chicken stock and water. Whisk in the miso and the ginger and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, adding 1 cup of water, and salt and pepper to taste, after 10 minutes.

Bring a saute pan to medium high heat. Liberally season the chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and sear on both sides. Place in oven and cook for 15 minutes, remove and set aside.

Once the chicken is cooked, add cayenne to the broth. Let simmer for 3 minutes and add the spinach (bok choy) and green onions. let simmer for 5 minutes.

Place 1 cup of the Soba in a bowl. Add 1 cup of broth mixture and 3 oz of diced cooked chicked. Top with cilantro for a little sumpin sumpin.

Moroccan Chicken and Dates

Birthday present from the missus – “Try the World” box. The cook’s version of Birch Box. If that doesn’t make sense, you likely don’t have young women in the house.

But back the point – last box had a northern Africa flair. Specifically Kefta rub. Later that month I made goat cheese and almond stuffed, bacon wrapped dates, and I had a boat load of dates left over. Combine the kefta with dates, and you should have a decent start for a chicken dinner. Digging deeper I came up with this. 

Moroccan Chicken with Dates

1 to 1.5 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts

Kefta rub  (cumin, paprika, pepper, mint, etc)

1 large yellow onion, medium diced

1 tablespoon ginger paste

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon ground coriander

2 cups water

6 oz chopped pitted dates

Juice from 1 lemon

Couscous  - prepared as directed

Preheat the oven to 399 F.

Bring a saute pan to medium high heat. Liberally season the chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and Kefta rub and sear on both sides. Remove and set aside.

Add onion to the pan and cook until just starts to turn translucent. Add the coriander and 1 teaspoon of kefta. Stir until combined and add the ginger paste and tomato paste. Let simmer for two minutes and add the water, stir well, and then the chicken. Cook in the oven for 15.5 minutes.

Place the chicken on a plate, cover, and set aside. Place the sauce on high heat to a boil and cook until reduced to 50%. Stir in dates and lemon juice.

Place 1 cup cooked couscous on place. On top place 4 oz sliced chicken breast, and cover with a liberal serving of the delicious sauce.

Thai Inspired Fried Noodles

Thai Inspired Fried Noodles

The trick to cooking decent Asian food is getting the right ingredients. In the JoCo bubble, the only place to go is 888. Get the wide noodles and you are good to go. For my version of Pad See Ew, I make a couple of subs to the original, but the family doesn’t mind. Not at all. To make it a bit (lot) more healthy, cut back on the coconut oil and substitute Soba (buckwheat) noodle.

Sauce

2 tablespoons Hoison

2 tablespoons Katsu

1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce

 3 tablespoons oyster sauce

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon water

Stir all of the above until combined.

 

Noodles

Bring large pot water and heavy pinch of salt to a boil. Cook 10 ounces of wide Asian noodles as directed. Drain, coat lightly with oil, and set aside. (Note: I greatly reduced the calorie count by subbing 10 oz of Soba noodles.They are sold in 12 oz packages. What to do? Since I use these once or twice a week, I store the extra in a zip-loc bag until I get another 10 oz.)

Stir Fry

2 tablespoons of coconut oil (cut calories by using 1 heaping tablespoon)

2 Thai chili peppers

2 cloves minced garlic

1 lb chicken breasts, cut into ½’ strips

3 large eggs

3 green onions, cut in to wide strips

Put the coconut oil and peppers in to a  wok and bring to a medium high heat. Once the oil is shimmering, remove the peppers and add the garlic. Once that starts to turn golden, add the chicken until it first appears to be cooked through. Push the chicken to the edge and add the eggs. Stir until cooked through and add the sauce and the onions. Once thickened, add the noodles and stir until well coated. Serve piping hot!

(Too Easy) Asian Marinated Flank Steak with Stir Fried Brown Rice

What I love about cooking - pretty dang easy but tastes like it took forever. The hardest part of this was steaming the brown rice. It always takes twice as long as I think. And I think it takes forever. But in the end this was the "best dinner in a long time." Complaint or compliment?" Doesn't matter. I've got to capture it before I forget. (Cooks tip - buy sushi grade rice every time you use a steamer. Maybe it's a rip off, but I notice the difference. For real.)

Asian Marinated Flank Steak with Stir Fried Brown Rice

Serves "about" 4

Marinated Skirt Steak

¼ cup Worcester sauce

¼ cup soy sauce

3 Tablespoons honey

3 Tablespoons hot/sweet Thai chili sauce

3 Tablespoons pineapple juice

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1 ½ pound flank steak (or sub skirt steak)

Add the ingredients except the steak to a bowl and whisk until thoroughly blended. Place in a resealable plastic bag with the steak and marinate overnight.  Prior to cooking, set aside ½ of the marinade for the rice.

As you are preparing the rice, cook the steak until medium rare. I use a two burner cast iron griddle, but you can use the broiler or a grill. On the cast iron griddle over medium to medium high heat, cook for about 5 minutes on side, and 4 minutes on the other. Let rest for at least 10 minutes. Slice thinly (AGAINST the grain) and serve with the rice.

Fried Brown Rice

2 cups steamed brown sushi rice (still warm and moist)

2 large eggs

1 Tablespoon + teaspoon coconut oil

½ large yellow onion, finely diced

1 medium carrot, shredded

1 cup thawed green peas

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

S & P to taste

Break the eggs into a small bowl, add a pinch of salt and pepper, and give a slight stir with a fork to break and slightly blend the yolk. This allows for a mix of cooked yolk and whites. Place 1 teaspoon coconut oil in a preheated wok (or deep saute pan) over medium heat. Flip once and cooked until it is just firm. Chop to medium and set aside to cool.

Add the onion, carrot, and peas, and a touch of salt and pepper in the wok and cook until the onions are soft and slightly translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon coconut oil and one-half of the marinade from steak. Cooked until thoroughly heated and just starting to bubble. Add the rice and another touch of salt and pepper,  and cook until hot, about 5 minutes. 

Reduce the heat to low, add the chopped up egg stir well, let simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Stir every few minutes, but let cook untouched for the last 5 minutes or so. I like a little bit of brown crisp to the rice. Not too much, but just enough to add some texture.

Place ¾ cup of rice on a plate and top with 4 oz of the sliced steak. Serve steaming hot.

Sloooooow Braised Beef Ragu

Last week I was in Illinois with my mom. She had an off-week from chemo, and I am lucky enough that I can work from anywhere. After spending two days shoveling the 12+ inches of snow, I was craving a "stick to your ribs" meal. Something with more substance than meatloaf, and fancier than pot roast. My mom brought me a recipe from one of her Ladies Red Home Style magazines, and I saw a version of beef ragu that looks like it fit the bill. I made it tonight, and our guest food critics Maren and Savannah gave it two thumbs up. That's all the approval that I need. In fact, I wish that they would dine here more often. I need to work on that....

Chef's note: How you braise it is up to you. This is written for the crazy working family life in a slow cooker, but feel free to go old school in a dutch oven. I use an All-Clad slow cooker. I love this expensive little gem because I can cook in the crock over the stove to brown and deglaze, and then place it directly in the slow cooker to finish. I highly recommend it.

Sloooooow Braised Beef Ragu
Serves 4

1 1/2 trimmed stalks of celery
1 medium carrot
1/2 medium onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 tsp of olive oil (I use coconut oil)
1 beef chuck roast - 1.5 to 2 pounds (I used center cut)
3 Tbsp tomato paste
1 can (14 oz) crushed tomatoes
1/2 c. red wine
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
pinch of chopped dried rosemary
12 oz pappardelle, egg noodles, or your favorite wide cut pasta, cooked and drained
Parmesan cheese, grated, for garnish
S & P to taste

Clean and cut the celery, carrots, and onion in to medium chunks. Put in a food processor with the garlic, and pulse into it is finely chopped, maybe even very finely chopped, scrapping the sides intermittently.

In a large skillet or dutch oven, heat the oil over medium high heat. Season the roast with salt and pepper and sear the roast on both sides. Transfer the beef to the slow cooker crock (or remove and set aside). Reduce heat to meduim, and add the vegetable mixture and a pinch of S&P (I call it a loose paste) to the skillet and cook until soft and slightly golden, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook about 3 more minutes. Add the tomatoes and simmer for about 10 minutes. Lastly, add the wine and stir in well, scrapping the loose bits of flavor off the bottom of the pan. Pour over the beef in the crock, add the oregano, basil, and rosemary, and cook over low (very low) heat for about 8 hours. You know it's done when you have to carefully remove it to keep it from falling apart.

Set the beef aside, and place the sauce (however much you plan to serve, or about 1 cup per serving, in a skillet and let it simmer uncovered over medium low heat. Remove and fat from the roast and discard. Shred the roast into bite size chunks, and add back in to the sauce after it has slightly reduced, about 30 minutes.

Add the pasta to the pan and toss. Serve with Parmesan and enjoy!