Category Archives: Dinners

Braised Chicken Thighs with Eggplant and Tomatoes

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This is a super yummy, easy, healthy, one-pot wonder. I first made this because I had chicken in my fridge and an eggplant I needed to use up. Everything else is stuff you would normally find in your pantry. This is also one of those meals you can toss in whatever veggie or herb you have on hand and if you don’t like eggplant, leave it out! The sauce is really tasty as well so make sure to serve it over some cous cous or rice (or pasta!).

Things you’ll need:

  • 1 lb skin-on, bone-in chicken things (or breasts)
  • 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
  • 1 large onion, halved and sliced into thin half-moons
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 large eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 2 tsps chopped fresh rosemary
  • 1 tsp crushed red pepper
  • 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes (with juice)
  • 1 T capers, drained
  • 1 T fresh lemon juice (from 1/2 lemon)
  • Salt + pepper

What to do:

  • Pat chicken thighs dry and season both sides with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat. Place chicken thighs skin side down in an even layer (may need to do in two batches if you run out of room). Cook chicken until skin is brown and crispy, about 5 minutes. Flip and cook on other side for another 2 minutes. Remove chicken from dutch oven and reserve on a plate.
  • Turn heat down to medium and add onions to the dutch oven. You may need to add a little oil if the pot looks dry so that the onions don’t stick and burn. Scrape bottom of dutch oven with a wooden spoon to get all the yummy chicken bits. Cook onions for 5 minutes or until translucent. Add garlic and cook an additional minute. Add the remaining 2-3 tablespoons olive oil and eggplant. Cook for 5 minutes or until eggplant is soft and brown. Add rosemary and crushed red pepper and cook for another minute.
  • Add tomatoes with their juice and the capers to the vegetable mixture and stir to combine. Bring to a boil then turn heat down to low. Return chicken to the pot, skin side up, and cook for 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Check for seasonings and add salt and pepper to taste and finish with the lemon juice.

Collard-Wrapped Chicken Enchiladas

Posted in Dinners, Mexican by

2016 was not a good year for many reasons, and it seemed to impact my ability to post recipes. Not that I didn’t cook often…. Just prioritized my hunger over taking pictures and capturing every ingredient and step :-/ Of all the wonderful recipes I cooked last year and neglected to share, this one stuck with me the most. I first put this recipe together last fall after I received a bunch of collard greens in a produce delivery box. The only time I had ever had a collard was in the south and they had been slow cooked to the point that they hardly resembled the beautiful bright green HUGE leaves that they once were. My raw vegan friend had been using collards to make veggie wraps and that seemed like an interesting – albeit bland – route to go. I decided I would take a stab at using the collards as some sort of wrap but I would definitely be cooking them and definitely be incorporating meat some way. After clicking around through a handful of recipes I landed on enchiladas and I was happily surprised with the end result. I just moved into a new, awesome apartment with my boyfriend and I knew I wanted to recreate this dish ASAP and this time I remembered to take pictures. I love making my own sauce but that’s totally not necessary for this recipe (bottled enchilada sauce works fine, maybe even better).

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Ingredients:

  • 2 T vegetable oil
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp ancho powder
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper
  • 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 red onion, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 cup corn (fresh or thawed from frozen)
  • 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
  • 1 1/2 cups enchilada sauce (bottled or homemade)
  • 6 extra large collard greens, stems removed from leaves
  • 1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
  • 1/2 cup cotija cheese, crumbled
  • Toppings: chopped cilantro, sour cream, cotija cheese

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Heat oil in a heavy cast iron over medium high heat. Combine spices and season both sides of the chicken breasts. Cook chicken through, approximately 7 minutes per side. Set chicken on a plate off to the side. When chicken is cool enough to handle, shred by hand.
  • Add onions to the pan with the chicken drippings and sauté until translucent, approximately 5 minutes. Add garlic and corn and continue cooking for another minute. Add shredded chicken, cilantro and 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce and stir to combine. Remove from heat until ready to assemble.
  • Blanch the collard greens by cooking in boiling, salted water for 15 seconds. Remove to a baking sheet lined with paper towels to dry.
  • Spread 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9×13 dish. Spoon 1/4 cup of chicken filling into each collard green and fold / roll to seal. Place each enchilada in the dish, seam side down. Cover enchiladas with remaining 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce and both cheeses.
  • Bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and melted. Serve with toppings.

Pineapple Glazed Chicken with Mango Avocado Salsa

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There is an amazing Bobbly Flay recipe for Pineapple Mustard Glazed Swordfish in his Mesa Grill cookbook that was my inspiration for this recipe. I decided to omit the mustard and instead use gochujang (Korean fermented chili paste) for a different flavor profile. Gochujang has a very complex flavor – it’s spicy but not overpowering, and savory from the fermentation process. It’s used in pretty much every Korean dish from kimchi to bibambap. Living in San Francisco I can find this pretty easily but it can be replaced with chipotle puree or even ancho chili powder. I served the chicken with cilantro-lime cauliflower rice and a super easy veggie stir fry. Healthy!!

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What you’ll need:

  • 1 cup pineapple juice
  • 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and minced
  • 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons gochujang
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice, divided
  • 1 mango, peeled and chopped into bite size pieces
  • 1 avocado, peeled and chopped into bite size pieces
  • 1/2 jalapeño, minced
  • 1/4 cup red onion, minced
  • 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
  • 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • Salt + pepper
  • Olive oil

Directions:

  • Combine pineapple juice, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, and brown sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer until reduced by half, about 30 minutes. Add gochujang and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add 1 tablespoon of lime juice. Let cool.
  • Combine mango, avocado, jalapeño, onion, cilantro, and remaining 1 tablespoon lime juice in a bowl and gently stir to combine. Set in fridge until ready to use.
  • Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides and place in skillet. Cook on first side for about 2 minutes (until slightly golden brown) then flip.
  • Use a brush or spoon to coat first side of chicken with the pineapple glaze while the second side cooks for a few minutes. Flip and coat the second side with the glaze. Continue flipping and glazing until chicken is cooked through (about 6 more minutes, depending on thickness of chicken).
  • Serve chicken with mango avocado salsa on top. Enjoy!

Better Than Takeout Stir Fry

Posted in Dinners by

{Picture Pending!!}

I love ordering take out like any other city girl but I don’t love thinking about all the unknown ingredients and excessive oils in there (and don’t even get me started on MSG…). I always thought there was no way I could reproduce something as tasty at home but I took a stab at it and was pleasantly surprised! Here’s what I did and as always, modify as you wish 🙂

Here’s what you need:

  • One boneless ribeye
  • 1/2 lb of prawns, shelled and deveined
  • 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 T toasted sesame oil
  • Juice of one lime
  • 3 T chili paste
  • 1-inch knob of ginger, peeled
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 2 large shiitake mushrooms, sliced
  • 6 asparagus stalks, chopped into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 crown broccoli
  • 1 large carrot, sliced
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 large handful (yes this is a measurement…) snow peas
  • 2 green onions, sliced (whites & greens)

Directions:

  • Stick the ribeye in the freezer for 20-30 minutes then thinly slice against the grain (when the meat is super cold it’s much easier to run your knife through!). Place in a large bowl with the shrimp.
  • Whisk together the soy sauce, sesame oil, veggie oil, lime juice, and chili paste. Use a microplane to grate the ginger and garlic cloves into the sauce and whisk all ingredients together again.
  • Pour enough of the sauce over your meat and shrimp to coat them and reserve the rest for later. Let the meat marinate for as long as possible (can be done the night before or if you’re in a time crunch you can let it marinate on the counter while you cook the veggies).
  • Heat a large skillet or wok over high heat. Add a couple tablespoons of a light oil (peanut is the best… Don’t use olive oil as it has a low burning temperature). Once the oil is hot add the mushrooms and cook until they release their juices, about 2-3 minutes. Add in the asparagus and broccoli and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Add the carrot next and continue cooking for a minute before adding the bell pepper. Add your meat and shrimp and cook until the shrimps are almost cooked through (about 2-3 minutes). Finish by throwing in the snow peas, green onions, and reserved sauce. Cook for another minute or until the shrimp is cooked through.
  • Check for seasoning! The stir fry should already be pretty salty from the soy sauce but feel free to add salt if it’s not enough. Definitely add some pepper and maybe some extra chili paste depending on how spicy you like it.
  • Enjoy!

TIPS:

  • I served this with a brown rice medley from Trader Joe’s but it would be delicious with any type of rice or Asian noodles.
  • Use whatever veggies look best! I stared at the bok choy at the store for a while before deciding I had enough vegetables in my basket already. You could also add in a jalapeño or any type of chili pepper for some extra heat and flavor or try mixing in different types of bell peppers.
  • For a vegetarian option use a variety of mushrooms instead or add tofu (I hate tofu but I realize there are many people out there that love it). You can actually marinate the shiitake mushrooms and/or tofu in the sauce the same way as the meat.
  • This ended up being too much food for two people… Maybe more like 3 servings. I would definitely double the recipe if feeding 4 people.