#24 Not Your Average Chicken Stir-Fry

Tonight, my mom came over for dinner (and to watch Survivor, obviously).  We decided on a chicken  stir-fry for dinner, so I wanted to do one that had a bit more... zip.

Seeing as I didn't have the majority of ingredients, I whipped on over to the grocery store, only stand in the aisle, googling "What is the difference between clear honey and yellow honey", and also "Sunflower oil vs vegetable oil".

Sadly, this is not my first time having to google something since I started this challenge, but it's all part of the learning process!

I settled on this "Zingy Chicken Stir-Fry" from the BBC Good Food site (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/8260/zingy-chicken-stirfry ), but as usual, I tweaked it for my own dinner.

You'll need:
Egg noodles (I used 3 bundles of them, per the photo below)
2 tsp sunflower oil
2 boneless chicken breasts, chopped
1 cup shredded carrots
2 tbsp honey
3 - 4 splashes of lime juice
Coriander leaves

1. Boil the noodles, then drain - add 1 tsp of oil
2. Heat 1 tsp of oil into a pan and add the chicken.  Brown.
3. Add the carrots, honey, soy sauce and lime juice, letting it bubble
4. Add the noodles, mix well
5. Sprinkle some coriander on top and serve!

First tulips of 2015! Thanks, Mom :)

Easy and delicious!!

xo

#23 Sweet & Sour Extravaganza

I may have mentioned in a previous post that I am not the hugest fan of chicken.  I'm not sure what it is, but I would take a steak or ribs over chicken, any day!

But, as I don't steer clear of it... I just try to spice it up!  

I came across this Sweet & Sour Chicken recipe from the food blog, Natasha's Kitchen (http://natashaskitchen.com/2014/12/11/sweet-and-sour-chicken-recipe/) and figured I'd give it a go.  I did tweak it a bit, as there are only two of us.

Well, it was pretty awesome!

You'll need: 

Chicken Prep
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2 cup cornstarch
3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 cup vegetable oil

For the sauce
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
4 Tbsp ketchup
1 Tbsp soy sauce
3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp garlic salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.


1. Ok, so first - take your 2 chicken breasts and cut them into squares.

Easy, right?

2. Add your cornstarch into a large ziplock, and slip the chicken inside, sealing the bag.

3. Give it a shake and get the chicken all covered with the cornstarch

4.  Crack your eggs into a medium sized bowl and mix.
5. Add the chicken into the bowl, completely covering them with egg

6. Add your oil to the pan, and get it hot!  Very hot!
7. Transfer the chicken into the oil, and keep it in there for only approximately 30 seconds.  You'll know to take it out when the chicken is golden - not brown

Once all the chicken is golden, put them in a 9 x 13 pan (or whichever size fits them all..) and have them wait for the sauce.


And now for the sauce!

8.  Mix together all the sauce ingredients: apple cider vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, granulated sugar & garlic salt

9.  Drizzle the sauce mixture over the chicken and put into the oven.
10. Bake for 1 hour, flipping the chicken once to ensure both sides are coated with the sauce. 

 Not pictured below is the rice, that wasn't ready in time.  I'm still struggling on everything being done on time, but getting there!  Slowly, anyhow...

Lately, I've been loving asparagus with just olive oil drizzled on top, with a good shake of parmesan cheese on top.  I put it in the oven for the last 8-10 minutes of whatever is baking in there!  


The next post will be the Fitness post featuring Ash!  Her and I have been "competing" on FitBit, and she is really kicking my butt.  Personally, I am LOVING the fitbit and it really has been motivating me to get going.  It is eye opening how little you move, when working a) at a desk for 8 hours a day, and b) at home.  Now, I have Ash keeping me gear, and also my wedding day - coming up in 8 months!  

xo Jess

#22 Mamma Mia, Pizzeria!

A few months ago,  I was lucky to go to Italy on a work trip, bringing along Ken for the first week, and my dad on the second week.

In addition to the the fact that Italy is such an incredible country, the food was just how I expected it.

Everywhere we went, we heard 'Mamma Mia!' So, after the first several times of hearing this phrase, we added on '.....Pizzeria!' which we thought was a nice touch.  Well, maybe for us....

We didn't eat too much pizza while in Italy (ok, maybe we enjoyed our fair share...), but the pizza that we did have was incredible.

Since then, we've been working on perfecting our homemade pie, and tonight, I think we finally did it.

You'll need:

Pizza dough - we used a generic kind from the grocery store
Can of tomato sauce
Pepperoni
2 cups of s
hredded mozzarella cheese
Red Pepper
1/4 chopped white onion
Parsley
1 tbsp olive oil
Flour (to help roll the dough out)

Preheat the oven to 475 degree F

1. Sprinkle some flour onto a pan, and on the dough - to eliminate it sticking as you roll out the dough

2.  If you're fancy, throw'er up in the air!

2.  Pour the sauce into the stretch out dough and spread around to cover the base

3. Sprinkle some shredded mozzarella cheese on the bottom

4. Add your sliced pepperoni, chopped onion

5. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella overtop the pepperoni (but not too heavy, too much isn't a good thing!)

6.  Glaze the crust with a light covering of olive oil

7.  Bake in the oven for approximately 15 minutes, or until the the cheese is completely melted and the crust is slightly browned

Bongiorno, delicious!!!

xo Jess

#20: Sassy Homemade Lasagna

I jumped into the deep end with this one.  I have never made lasagna, nor could I even guess at how to make it [oh hi, thanks Google!].

Thanks to Allrecipes.com, I used the 'World's Best Lasagna' as a guideline, and tweaked it as necessary.

You'll need:

1 lb extra lean ground beef
1/2 cup minced onion
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 can crushed tomatoes (28 oz)
2 cans tomato paste (6 oz)
2 cans tomato sauce (6.5 oz)
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp white sugar
Sprinkle of basil

Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
4 tbsp parsley
12 lasagna noodles (I used raw, then cooked them, but you can buy them fresh as well)
16 oz ricotta cheese
1 egg
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese


Directions

1. Pour a touch of oil into a frying pan and add the onions and garlic.  Add in the ground beef and brown
2. Add in the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce and water.  Stir in the sugar and basil.
3. Simmer for 20 minutes

4. In another pot, bring 4 cups of water to a boil before adding in the lasagna noodles (if you bought the noodles fresh, ignore this step!)
5. Once the noodles are cooked, drain and rinse with cold water

6. In a mixing bowl, mix the ricotta and egg together.

Now, pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees F.

7. In a 9x13 pan, put a cup of the tomato meat sauce on the bottom of the pan

8. Lay the noodles down lengthwise

9. Spread about a cup of ricotta cheese mixture on top of the noodles
10. Sprinkle some mozzarella cheese on top
11. Repeat steps 8-10

12. Put in oven and bake for 25 minutes, with foil on top.  After 25 minutes, take the foil off and bake for 25 minutes more

I sprayed the bottom of the foil with bakers spray, just so it wouldn't stick to the cheese.

Get in our bellies!  I wish I caught Ken's face on camera when he took a bite.  I was quite proud that this turned out so well!  I could chalk it up to beginner's luck, but I guess we'll find out next time...

xo

#17 Glazed Honey Balsamic Chicken Thighs

Before I get started on sharing the recipe, I just have to say how much I love, love, LOVE this.  I had a friend over for dinner the other night, and so this was perfect to prepare the night before, allowing the chicken to marinate thoroughly. 

Ok, so - I find that when I use boneless chicken thighs, it's just so much easier, so let's start with that!

You'll need:
6 chicken thighs (seems like a lot for 2 people, but this is perfect for leftovers)

Marinate
1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 cup Honey
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
4 Minced Garlic Cloves
2 tsp Ginger

Glaze
(from the leftover marinate, while the chicken is baking)
1 tbsp Cornstarch
1/2 tsp Salt

The Night Before (or at least 3 hours before cooking)

1. First, add in all the ingredients of the marinate into a large ziplock bag
2. Add chicken, shake around until it's completely covered, then store in the fridge until it's ready to be cooked (approx 3 hours before)

The Day Of..

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
4. On tray, put chicken into oven for 30 minutes.  Make sure any excess marinate is dripped off the chicken before putting in the oven.

The Glaze

5. While the chicken is in the oven, pour the marinate into a pan on the stove, medium heat
6. Add cornstarch and 2 tbsp of water to marinate, continually stirring to thicken
7. The marinate/glaze must come to a boil, in order to remove any bacteria from the raw chicken
8. Remove chicken from oven, brush with glaze and serve!

Oh, and check out these awesome teas and gift package that my friend, Taryn, gave Ken and I for our engagement!  How sweet is she?!

#15 Ja, Schnitzel Time!

Who doesn't love a good schnitzel (unless you're a vegetarian, of course!)

With some family in town, Ken and I decided to host them for dinner.  Of course, being pretty new to hosting, and cooking an actual full meal for them...was pretty daunting!

Originally, we were going to have some glazed chicken thighs, but when the grocery store didn't have enough to serve anyone, I piled up on the chicken cutlets for some schnitzel.

Normally, I do schnitzel with pork or veal, but not everyone is a fan of those choices, so, we opted for chicken.

You'll need:
Your choice of chicken/pork/veal cutlets (the number will depend on how many people you are serving...)
Breadcrumbs
Eggs (I used 3 eggs for 12 cutlets)
Splash of milk
Flour (I used approx 2 cups for 12 cutlets)

1. Pound the meat so that it becomes quite thin
2. Cover each piece of meat into the flour, dusting it off after it's fully covered
3. Dip the meat into the egg, completely covering it
4. Cover the meat with the breadcrumbs
5. Heat oil into a frying pan (I use vegetable oil)
7. Once the oil is heated, fry the meat until it is browned
8. Voila!!  Done!

#13 [oh she glows] Broccoli & Cashew Cheese-Quinoa Burrito

Tonight for dinner, was straight from the Oh She Glows cookbook.  It was delicious!

There are two parts to this:

Cashew Cheese Sauce
3/4 cup raw cashews
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1.5 tsps Dijon mustard
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt

For the Burrito
1 cup quinoa
1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1.5 cups diced sweet onion
sale and pepper
3/4 cup diced celery
2 cups diced broccoli florets
tortillas

*the recipe calls for 3-4 tbsps of sun-dried tomatoes and 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, which I didn't include.


First, you'll need to make the Cashew Cheese Sauce.

1. Put the cashews into a bowl and cover with water.  This will need to soak for 3.5 hours.
2. Combine the soaked cashews (after draining!) with the garlic, almond milk, yeast, mustard, lemon juice, onion powder and salt/pepper.

Moving onto the burrito bits...

3. Cook the quinoa and put aside..
4. Heat the oil in a pan, and add the garlic and onion until the onion is clear.
5. Add the celery, broccoli (and tomatoes, should you wish!).  Saute over the heat until the broccoli is soft.
6. Add the quinoa and sauce and stir to mix it in with all the veggies and quinoa.  Cook until it's all heated through.

Voila!  Spoon into tortilla wraps and enjoy!

Ken and I were brainstorming some extra things we could add in, and were thinking some peppers or some type of meat.  However, it definitely doesn't need it as it's very tasty already!

Meal 10: Avocado Pasta

I've seen this recipe floating around the internet lately, and I was really excited to try it.  I broke out the brand-spanking new Kitchen Aid Mixer, which was a gift for my birthday.

I find that avocados are so hit and miss, meaning that they are too hard for several days, then they all ripen at the same time - getting maybe 2 days (or 3 at most) of use.  As the avocados I have were ripe, I dove into this new and simple recipe.

You'll need:

• 12 ounces spaghetti 
• 2 ripe avocados, halved, seeded and peeled  
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice 
• Salt & pepper, to taste 
• 1/3 cup olive oil

(Love a nice avocado!)

Combine the avocados, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper into a large bowl, getting ready to mix it.

Add the cooked spaghetti to the avocado mixture, and serve!

I liked this meal, but unfortunately, Ken wasn't a huge fan.  I can understand why as it wasn't as flavourful as I thought it may have been.  I will need to find some ways to pack some punch to this meal, otherwise this could be a one time thing!