Category Archives: Dinner

Cheesy Chicken Bacon Cabbage Casserole: it’s a mouthful and some

Posted on by

0

CheeseChickenCasserole

This dish is an easy and hearty dinner creation. The cabbage is buttery and understated while the bacon and jalapeño punch up the flavour in an awesome way. I love the combo of cheesiness with bite and this dish is packed with both. Feel free to lessen the spice, half a pepper will do the job, but it is pretty glorious. Also feel free to punch of any of the flavours with a few more slices of bacon or a second pepper! This dish is flexible and a two-pot creation worthy of a weeknight dinner schedule. This easily serves 4 people with a side salad.

Cheesy Chicken Bacon Cabbage Casserole with ranch dressing

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 lbs chicken, cubed (three large breasts)
  • 4 slices bacon
  • 2 cups cabbage, chopped
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 jalapeño, minced
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 2 oz cream cheese
  • 1 cup cheddar (or mozzarella, or both), shredded
  • 3 tbsp creme fraiche (or sour cream)
  • 1 tbsp ranch dressing

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a large pot (dutch ovens are great), cook the bacon. I cook my bacon with a little bit of water to keep it from getting too crispy while I am preparing everything else. 
  2. Once the bacon is slightly crisped and cooked through, 5-8 minutes, chop up.
  3. Add the cubed chicken to the pot with the bacon and sauté over medium-high heat for 8 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.
  4. In another pan, melt the butter and sauté the cabbage over medium-high heat for 10 minutes until it starts to become translucent.
  5. Back in the large pot, add the jalapeño and sautéed cabbage, stir well.
  6. Stir in the salt and pepper, onion powder, and cream cheese, letting the cream cheese melt into the mixture.
  7. Spread the mixture evenly across the bottom of the pot and sprinkle with the shredded cheese. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 15 minutes.
  8. While the chicken mixture is cooking, stir together your creme fraiche and ranch dressing. Set aside.
  9. Serve up on a plate and drizzle with the ranch dressing.
These are the GIANT chicken breasts I picked up at the market. They were bone-in, but still remarkably huge.

These are the GIANT chicken breasts I picked up at the market. They were bone-in, but still remarkably huge. P.S. My hands are not tiny.

Sautéed cabbage added to the pot (jalapeño below).

Sautéed cabbage added to the pot (jalapeño below).

Topped with cheese and ready for it's 15 minutes.

Topped with cheese and ready for it’s 15 minutes.

Massaged Kale Salad

Posted on by

0

MassagedKaleSalad

This recipe was sent to me some time ago by our wonderful friend Evi. She always sending me delicious recipes and I finally got around to making this one! I am sure I’ve mentioned it before, but I love kale, so does Gen. So finding new ways to integrate it into our diet is always great! This salad is super simple. Really, it is 5 or so ingredients, and a few minutes of your time. I’ve actually come to the conclusion that this would be a wonderful way to start an even more complex salad, a great way to integrate the benefits of avocado for the Apple Dijon Kale Salad. Really, the possibilities are endless and this is both an awesome salad on its own and really snazzy jumping-off point for many delicious variations. 

Massaged Kale Salad

Adapted from The Wannabe Chef.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 cups kale, roughly chopped
  • 1 large avocado
  • juice of 1/2 lemon or lime
  • 2 stalks of celery, diced
  • 2 green onions, diced
  • 1 medium tomato, diced (optional, we didn’t have any at the time, still turned out delicious)
  • pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • pinch of black pepper

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a large bowl, toss the kale with your lemon juice. 
  2. Cut the avocado up and plunk onto of kale.
  3. Remove any finger jewelery… it’s about to get messy.
  4. Massage the avocado into the kale for 5-8 minutes, until the kale is evenly coated in avocado and looking vibrantly green.
    You are looking to essentially mash the avocado into the kale leaves.
  5. Toss in your onions, celery, and tomato. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and cayenne (if using).
  6. Serve alongside something hearty.
Pre-avocado rubdown!

Pre-avocado rubdown!

The terrible final image of a very tasty salad.

The terrible final image of a very tasty salad.

 

Almond Parmesan Crusted Chicken Strips

Posted on by

0

I have lots of parmesan floating around in my fridge right now from the flax crackers I made last week. I didn’t feel like whipping up crackers but was hurting for some chicken strips. After cleaning out my coffee grinder, I went to work grinding up almonds and parmesan, and I was on the road! You can definitely use pre-ground almonds and kraft parmesan, but I was using the fresh deliciousness on hand. These are crunchy and satisfying and definitely higher on the health scale than the regular breaded version! They also cook up in a jiffy, making for an easy dinner on a busy night. Serve with salad, or braised brussels sprouts (at Gen’s desperate request).

Almond Parmesan Crusted Chicken Strips

INGREDIENTS

  • 1.5 lbs chicken tenders (or 3 chicken breasts, sliced into strips)
  • 1 cup blanched almonds, finely ground
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, ground
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder (optional)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 eggs, whisked 

DIRECTIONS

  1. Heat oven to 350°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
  2. Grind up your almonds and parmesan and toss them together in a bowl. Stir in the spices and whisk until well combined.
  3. Whisk your eggs in a shallow bowl.
  4. Dip each strip into the eggs and then toss in the almond mixture and set on a plate.
  5. Let the strips rest in the coating for 5-10 minutes.
  6. In a large pan heat some oil and cook the strips for 3 minutes each side.
  7. Lay the strips on the prepared cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes, until cooked through.

Let the chicken strips rest in their coating for a few minutes.

WARNING: MONSTER POST—Steamed Mussels three ways: Butter & Garlic, Curry, Spicy Coconut

Posted on by

2

My husband brought home a big box of live mussels on Thursday and I started planning the best way to cook them up this weekend. When I went to open them I noticed that their expiry date was the same day that Gen had bought them, two days before. Well, in an ignorant and hopeful moment, I opened the container and tested the mussels for liveliness. Unsuccessful. Time of confirmed death, 5:00pm. Gen immediately called Costco about the possibility of an exchange for mussels that haven’t already expired and they agreed! Problem: they close at 6:00pm. So, my wonderful husband who was desperate for some mussely goodness hustled his butt down to Costco, they took in our dead mussels and gave us a brand new batch and I went to work preparing them three ways! This was a delicious treat for us and we happily have some leftovers to munch on today (pluck the leftover mussels out of their shells, seal in a tupperware and eat cold, or just warmed the next day. They can get quite hard if you heat them too much the next day). The Butter & Garlic batch has a little kick from some apple cider vinegar, Gen went WILD for these, possibly because they were the first batch. He slurped back the sauce from his bowl, my bowl, and the pot. The Curry & Kale mussels are simple and tasty. The kale soaks up the curry flavours wonderfully. The Spicy Coconut version was the big winner. Coconut milk enhances the sweetness of the mussels while the chili flakes and chilis add a kick to balance it out. Winner, winner, mussel dinner. 

I’ve put the recipes and a special mussel eating tip behind the jump so that my front page is manageable to scroll!

Continue reading →

Cheese and Walnut Stuffed Chicken

Posted on by

0

Oh sweet goodness, this is amazing. The stuffing adds texture and flavour that can’t be beat. I served the stuffed chicken breasts with some roasted broccoli that is similarly out of this world. I am going to throw some words out there to describe this dish: succulent, tender, scrumptious, flarghingyum. That’s right, I lost my ability to articulate at the end. The chicken breasts I had were really large, so you can easily stuff three or four regular-sized breasts and have a little less in each. OR double the stuffing and don’t fool around.

Cheese & Walnut Stuffed Chicken

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 large chicken breasts
  • 1 cup of dry curd cottage cheese (or use regular cottage cheese and omit the crème fraîche)
  • 1 tbsp crème fraîche
  • 2 1/2 tbsp cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup toasted walnut halves, crumbled (heat oven to 350°F, lay walnuts on a baking sheet and bake until toasted and fragrant, 5-10 minutes, stirring every few minutes)
  • 1/4 cup of yellow onion, diced
  • 1 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1/2 tsp thyme
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp crushed red chili flakes (optional, we like spice)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tbsp butter

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a medium bowl cream together the crème fraîche and cream cheese.
  2. Mix in the dry curds, walnuts, onion, and spices.
  3. Slice the chicken breasts length-wise through the centre, from the side. You are looking to create a pouch of sorts that is the length of the breast.
  4. Stuff the breasts with as much stuffing as you can manage. Sprinkle both sides of the breasts with salt, pepper, and paprika. Mine stayed together without assistance, but feel free to secure with a toothpick.
  5. Melt the butter in a medium pan over medium-high heat. Place the breasts in the pan and cook for 6-8 minutes per side until browned and cooked through.
  6. Serve with roasted broccoli.

Chicken breasts are stuffed and ready for the pan.

Nestled in, browning nicely.