Recipe of the week: Moroccan Chicken Salad

I'm a big fan of California Pizza Kitchen, I've been eating there since the late 80's when they first opened in Beverly Hills.  I lived by the one in Marina del Rey when I was first married and it and The Cheesecake Factory were our go to places for dates.  One of my favorite items on their menu is the Moroccan chicken salad, it's full of rich flavors and hearty vegetables and very easy and affordable to make at home.  I used left over chicken tonight but if I were to make some for this I'd grill or bake 2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts seasoned with some Moroccan spices.  Or I'd use a little olive oil, coriander, cinnamon, salt, and pepper.  Just make sure the chicken is cooled off a bit when you add to the salad so it doesn't wilt.  I added the chicken and hard boiled egg after I served a plate to my hubby since he doesn't eat those....this is one of those recipes that's easy enough to modify for a vegetarian or a vegan.  Let me know what you think.  A Votre Sante!

1 bag of mixed organic salad greens (most bags are 8oz)
1 large head of romaine, chopped
16 oz or 2 cups butternut squash, diced and roasted
2 -3 large beets, diced and roasted (or 1 can of beets drained and diced)
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1 to 2 avocados, diced (depending on size)
1 large carrot shredded
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
4-6 large dates chopped depending on size
1/3 cup toasted almonds
2 hard boiled eggs diced
2 cooked boneless skinless chicken breasts

For the dressing:
1/4 cup champagne vinegar
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 honey
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper



Toss everything (minus the chicken and egg if you're making it vegan) in a very large bowl.  In a small bowl add the vinegar, mustard, and honey, drizzle in the oil add salt and pepper to taste.  Once the salad is toss you can add the dressing and toss or dress on your individual salads, that's what I usually do in case I have leftovers....I don't want it soggy.

Recipe of the week: Chicken Tortilla Soup

I love tortilla soup and have for years, I think the first time I had it I was in high school and I've been trying to perfect the recipe ever since.  You can very easily make this vegan, which I sometimes do for my husband....instead of the chicken I will use more beans and more corn (1 can of kidney beans, 1 can of pinto beans, and the entire bag of corn and obviously vegetable broth).  I use Trader Joe's taco seasoning because there's no MSG or junk in it.  I have a friend who hates beans so she uses zucchini and yellow squash instead, if you want to do that, you just need to add them towards end so they don't get mushy.  Let me know what you think.  A Votre Sante!



Chicken Tortilla Soup

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
32oz/1qt chicken or vegetable broth
1 onion diced
2 Tbsp olive oil
3-4 carrots chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced
2-3 small zucchini chopped
1 can black beans
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 bag of frozen corn
1/2 package taco seasoning
1 tsp sugar (optional)
1 tsp salt
1/4-1/2 bunch cilantro

Toppings:
cheese
lime
sour cream
avocado
salsa
tortilla chips

Cut chicken into small pieces. In a large soup pot, saute with onion, carrots, and garlic until almost done.  Add broth, tomatoes, black beans, taco seasoning, salt, sugar, pepper, and corn.  Bring to a boil and turn down to very low, after about 10 minutes and add zucchini and cilantro.  Simmer for about 20 minutes, serve with your choice of toppings.  Enjoy.

Recipe of the week: Chicken with artichoke hearts and sundried tomatoes.

This past weekend a friend of my dad's sent me home with homemade dehydrated apples and sundried tomatoes.  Heaven!  If you're lucky enough to have some of these tomatoes on hand use them otherwise you'll have to make do with store bought.  I served mine with a salad, you could add rice, pasta or potatoes if you like.  Let me know what you think.  A Votre Sante!

1.5 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 lemons juiced
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
a dash of basil
a dash of mint
a dash of red pepper

I can of artichoke hearts drained
1/2 cup-1 cup of sundried tomatoes

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix all of the spices with the lemon juice and olive oil...pour over chicken breasts.  Marinate in a dish or a large plastic zipper bag.  Marinate for at least an hour, the longer the better.  Bake in covered pan at  375 degree oven for 20 minutes.  Add artichoke hearts and sundried tomatoes and cook uncovered for another 20 minutes.  Enjoy!

Recipe of the week: Marinated Carne Asada

I haven't been cooking a whole lot lately...lots of salads and easy to do stuff. I went to a wedding last month and the meat that was served was fantastic! Marinated carne asada and chicken, I asked what the marinade was and was shocked....orange juice, Pepsi and garlic. Weird I know, it's the sugar in the soda that breaks down the fat in the meat making it moist, juicy and tender. (I've used coffee as a marinade for beef for a long time, it also breaks down the fat in the meat making it super tender). I've tried it now a couple of times on both the meat and the chicken and it's fantastic. You can use as much or as little garlic as you want, I used about 6 cloves or 2 tsp of the chopped jarred kind. The secret is letting it marinated overnight, the longer it sits the more tender the meat will be. So, let me know what you think. A Votre Sante!


2 lbs of carne asada (flap steak or thin top sirloin)
3/4 cup orange juice
1/2 can of Pepsi about 6 oz or 3/4 cup
garlic as much as you like
salt and pepper to taste

Marinate meat overnight. You can cook this in the broiler or on the grill, it only takes about 12 minutes to cook, 6 minutes on each side, if you like it rarer, less time, more well done more time. If you're doing chicken, then the cooking time would be a little longer, you want to make sure the juice runs clear.

Quick Chicken Tikka Masala

I really enjoy some Indian flavors and this was delicious, fast and easy to make. The original recipe didn't have the sugar snap peas in it, but I thought it was add some color and some crunch. I used chicken from a rotisserie chicken that I bought at Costco, but you could easily use boneless, skinless chicken breast, you would just add them with the onion. I had mine by itself but you could serve it with rice, flat bread or naan. Let me know what you think. A Vorte Sante!


Ingredients:

4 teaspoons garam masala
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
2-3 cups diced cooked chicken breast
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large sweet onion, diced
4 teaspoons minced fresh ginger or 2 tsp ground ginger
1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
3 cups sugar snap peas, ends trimmed
1/3 cup half and half
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro for garnish optional

Preparation:
Stir together garam masala, salt and turmeric in a small dish (and ginger if you're using dried). Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic, onion and ginger (if you're using fresh) and cook, stirring often, until starting to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add snap peas. Add the spice mix and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add tomatoes and their juice. Bring to a simmer, stir in half and half. Add the chicken. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with rice, flat bread or naan.

Recipe of the week: Mango Chicken Curry

This is pretty easy to make and has lots of flavor.  I use red curry paste but I'm sure you could use another color if you like it more mild.  I made it once with zucchini instead of the peas, it was good but I like the peas better.  If you try it, let me know what you think.  A Vorte Sante!

1 Tbsp coconut oil or olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast cut into small pieces

2 cups chopped cauliflower

1 cup peas (I used frozen)

1 cup chopped mango (I used frozen)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp red curry paste

1 can light coconut milk

In a large skillet saute onion in oil, add chicken and cook over medium heat until the chicken is mostly done.  Add cauliflower cook for 2-4 minutes, then add peas and mango.  Stir in red curry paste, then add coconut milk and salt, stir until the curry paste is combined.  Cook until the cauliflower is tender.  Serve with rice or flatbread.  

Recipe of the week: Kosher Cajun Gumbo

I made gumbo for Mardi Gras with just chicken because we were having friends over and they don't like fish. The last few times I've made it this is what I've done. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! A Vorte Sante!


Kosher Cajun Gumbo

1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp oil (half olive oil half canola oil)
1/4 cup unbleached flour
2 cups onion chopped
1 cup celery chopped
1 small green bell pepper chopped
1 cup okra chopped
2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 can diced tomatoes
3 bay leaves
4 cups chicken broth
1-2 cups dry white wine
1 lb chicken Cajun sausage or other chicken sausage
5-6 filets of red snapper or other fish
fresh ground pepper to taste
red pepper to taste
Louisiana hot sauce
rice

In a dutch oven or large pot combine the oil and the flour over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly at first then occasionally for 35 to 45 minutes, to make a dark brown roux, you want it to be somewhere between the color of carmel and chocolate. (I cooked mine for about 40 minutes). Meanwhile, chop all your vegetables. Brown the sausage in another pan, then slice into 1/2 inch thick pieces.
Once your roux is the desired color add the chopped onion, celery and bell pepper stirring until the vegetables are slightly tender. Add the sausage, okra and bay leaf. Stir for 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes, chicken broth and wine. bring to a boil. (Taste and adjust pepper, red pepper and Cajun seasoning.) Cut fish into small pieces and add to soup mixture. Add Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 35-45 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Serve with rice and Louisiana hot sauce. Enjoy! (Serves 4-6)

Recipe of the week: Chicken and vegetable gumbo

We don't eat pork or seafood so finding a recipe that didn't have either was difficult. I like lots of vegetables, including okra and tomatoes in my gumbo....this is what I came up with. A Votre Sante!


Chicken and vegetable gumbo

1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp oil (half olive oil half canola oil)
1/4 cup unbleached flour
2 cups onion chopped
1 cup celery chopped
1 small green bell pepper chopped
1 cup okra chopped
2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 can diced tomatoes
3 bay leaves
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
1 lb chicken Cajun sausage or other chicken sausage
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
fresh ground pepper to taste
red pepper to taste
Louisiana hot sauce
rice

In a dutch oven or large pot combine the oil and the flour over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly at first then occasionally for 35 to 45 minutes, to make a dark brown roux, you want it to be somewhere between the color of carmel and chocolate. (I cooked mine for about 40 minutes). Meanwhile, chop all your vegetables. Brown the sausage in another pan, then slice into 1/2 inch thick pieces. Cut chicken breasts into small pieces and brown in sausage grease, season with salt, pepper and Cajun seasoning.

Once your roux is the desired color add the chopped onion, celery and bell pepper stirring until the vegetables are slightly tender. Add the sausage, chicken, okra, bay leaf. Stir for 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes, chicken broth and water, bring to a boil. (Taste and adjust pepper, red pepper and Cajun seasoning.) Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for one hour. Discard bay leaves. Serve with rice and Louisiana hot sauce. Enjoy! (Serves 4-6)