Summer in DC and Fresh Summer Pasta with Lemon, Chicken and Peas

June 8, 2014 by Mackenzie

What a wild last 2 1/2 months I have had… I think my last recipe post was back during spring break, which is pathetic considering that was back in mid-March. Although I had every intention to continue blogging through the end of the school year, as it seems to happen, school, work, golf and whatever small social life I had got in the way of cooking and writing. As soon as my finals were over, I took off to Madagascar for almost a month! You can read all about my trip here.

I came back from Madagascar, packed up my apartment in St. Louis and moved to DC! I’m interning for Senator Maria Cantwell this summer and am so thrilled to have the opportunity to experience the ins and outs of politics, the bustle of DC in the summer, and have some time to myself to read, write and cook!. I’m living in a house near the Capitol with several other young adults and am looking forward to everything this summer will bring.

Although I have a big kitchen, it’s not exactly fully-stocked with my usual cooking gadgets. Yes, I know I’m spoiled in St. Louis to have an ice cream maker, a crock-pot, a waffle maker, a food processor, and the likes… But this kitchen doesn’t even have a cheese grater! (Found that out while I was in the middle of making this recipe ha!) I also don’t want to buy too many ingredients – spices, oils and such – because I’m only here for ten weeks and will have to fly everything back home. So my recipes are going to be simple this summer. Easy, simple, healthy recipes are what you’ll see in the coming weeks!

And to start – I’m sharing this simple, fresh summer pasta. I made it last week after work – and find it perfect for the hot summer days out here. The lemon juice serves as the main punch of flavor and also as any semblence of a sauce (lemon juice, water and some butter serve as the sauce – so it’s light, fresh, flavorful and incredibly easy to make!) I’ve enjoyed it both hot and cold – hope you enjoy!

Fresh Summer Pasta with Lemon, Chicken and Peas
Recipe adapted from PureWow
Serves 6

1 lb spaghetti noodles
2-3 cups fresh or frozen peas
1 bag fully-cooked chicken strips
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese + more to serve
Juice of one lemon
Salt
2-3 tablespoons freshly chopped mint
Zest of one lemon

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta to al dente, according to package directions. About a minute or two before the pasta is done, add the peas. While pasta is cooking, heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and a few pinches of italian seasoning spice and saute for 4-5 minutes.

2. When the pasta is done, ladle out one cup of the liquid and set aside. Drain the remaining liqud through a colander and return the pasta to the pot. Add the heated chicken, butter, grated cheese, and salt to taste. Toss to combine and then add the reserved liquid and the lemon juice. Toss to coat. Add the mint and lemon zest, toss it to combine one last time and serve immediately.

Leftovers can be eaten hot or cold – it’s delicious both ways!

Southwestern Black Bean and Grilled Chicken Salad

September 2, 2013 by Mackenzie

Okay, this salad is so good that I ate it for dinner one night, and then lunch and dinner the next day. Ha! Fine, I’ll admit that I was going out of town the following day so needed to get rid of it and I had nothing else to eat. But… I still really enjoyed it every single time and look forward to making it again!

I love that this salad has a southwestern flare, but isn’t overloaded like a taco salad is. It’s perfect for late summer with the refreshing cherry tomatoes and vibrant colors from the avocado and tomatoes. I adjusted the original recipe to make it “clean-eating” complaint and I don’t think you’d ever notice the changes! It is a bit more time consuming than your average salad – but it’s easily filling enough for a main dish so it’s worth the extra effort!

Southwestern Black Bean, Tomato, and Grilled Chicken Salad
Serves 3
Recipe adapted just slightly from CookFresh Magazine 2011

Ingredients:
2 organic, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt
2 teaspoons maple syrup
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 lime
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons honey
Freshly ground black pepper
1 can black beans
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 large scallion, thinly sliced
1 package of pre-washed romaine lettuce, chopped
2 medium firm-ripe avocados

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine the chili powder, coriander, cumin, 3/4 teaspoons salt and maple syrup. Then, cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise, creating four thin, chicken cutlets. Rub both sides of the chicken with the spice mix. You can cook the chicken either by grilling it or in a skillet (I’ve done it both ways, since I don’t have a grill at school). If you’re grilling it, heat grill to medium-high heat and grill chicken for three minutes on top side and about two minutes on bottom side. If you are cooking it in a skillet, head some olive oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat and cook, flipping occasionally until done, about ten minutes.

2. While the chicken cooks, prepare the dressing. In a glass jar with a lid (if you don’t have one, a small bowl works fine too), combine the olive oil, lime juice, 1 tablespoon of the cilantro, the honey, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Whisk or shake well to combine. (I’ve found this makes extra dressing so I do it in a glass jar so I can save the extras for another salad!)

3. In a separate bowl, combine the black beans, tomatoes, scallion and remaining 2 teaspoons of cilantro and a pinch of salt. Add about 2 tablespoons of the dressing and toss gently.

4. In a large bowl or on a serving platter, toss the lettuce with a little bit of the dressing to lightly coat. Slice the chicken breast very thinly and pit and slice the avocado. Arrange the chicken, avocado and black bean/tomato mixture over the lettuce. Drizzle more dressing over salad if desired.

Avocado Chicken Salad

August 28, 2013 by Mackenzie

This recipe has been one of my go-tos all summer – I’ve probably made it at least five times in the last month! It’s super easy, super fast, summery, and made with all “real food.” Can’t get any better than that!

This recipe is great because you can scale it up or down very easily depending on how many people you are feeding or how much leftovers you want to have. I go with a 1:1 ratio of avocado to chicken breast and usually do half a chicken breast per serving. It’s also a great recipe because of how versatile it is – you can eat it hot or cold, plain, in a wrap, in a sandwich… I’ve tried it all these ways – and loved it each time!

Avocado Chicken Salad
Serves 2 (easily scaled up or down)
Recipe from Gina’s Favorites

Ingredients:
1 organic, boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 tablespoons coconut oil (or olive oil)
1 avocado
1/4 red onion, chopped
Juice of 1/2 a lime
2 tablespoons cilantro
Salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Dice chicken into 2-inch pieces (doesn’t have to be exact, you’ll shred it later). Heat the coconut oil in a medium-sized skilled over medium heat. Add the chicken, sprinkle some salt and pepper of it and begin to cook it. When the chicken is almost done, add the red onion and let them soften. Take a wooden spatula or a fork and shred the chicken into smaller pieces. Cook the chicken and onion together until the chicken is cooked through.

2. In a medium bowl, mash the avocado. Add the chicken and onions, the lime juice, cilantro and salt and pepper to taste. Mix it all together and enjoy! Keeps well for up to two days in the fridge.

Lemon Dill Chicken

July 11, 2013 by Mackenzie

For the month of July, I’m doing a “real food” challenge! I’ve cut out all processed food, grains and dairy. I’m twelve days in and I feel fantastic! I’ve got much more energy (even with no coffee!), I feel strong and lean and I’ve learned so much about real food and how much better it is for your body.

This is the reason I haven’t posted a new recipe in awhile… I’ve been eating pretty simple meals and lots of fruits and vegetables – nothing too exciting to post here. However, on the Fourth of July, we made a fantastic meal and all of it was “real food”! We made this Lemon Dill Chicken and a potato salad (which I’ll post tomorrow!) – both definitely blog-worthy, so here you go!

This chicken tastes so fresh and summery with the lemon grilled onion and asparagus topping. Plus, it’s easy and quick – so a perfect summer meal on a hot night!

Lemon Dill Chicken
Serves 5
Recipe from Cooking Light Magazine

Ingredients:

2 lemons
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
8 4-oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced horizontally to make cutlets (pasteurized is best)
4 red onion slices, each 1/4 inch thick
1/2 lb asparagus, trimmed
4 tablespoons olive oil, plus 4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:

1. Marinate chicken: Zest and juice two lemons. In a small bowl, whisk together lemon zest and juice, dill, 2 tablespoons olive oil and pepper. Place chicken in a medium baking ban and add 2 tablespoons of the lemon mixture. Coat chicken pieces evenly then allow to refrigerate for 30 minutes. Add salt to remaining lemon mixture and set aside.

2. Heat an outdoor grill or grill pan to medium high and lightly brush grate with olive oil. Place chicken, onions and asparagus on grill and brush all with olive oil. Grill onions and asparagus for 5-10 minutes, removing them from the grill when they are cooked through. Grill the chicken for about 5 minutes on both sides, or until no longer pink in the center.

3. Coarsely chop the grilled onions and asparagus and add them to the bowl of remaining lemon mixture and toss to coat. Place chicken on a serving platter and spoon the lemon vegetable mixture over the chicken to serve.

Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas

June 10, 2013 by Mackenzie

Although there are some amazing restaurants here in Jakarta, Mexican food is a rare find. I find this is quite tragic because I love Mexican food – ah, my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Well, to solve this dilemma, we made enchiladas for dinner last Friday and boy, were they good! We combined several recipes to make these – an old enchilada sauce recipe that Tom had, a Rick Bayless enchilada recipe, Grandma Olga’s enchiladas and our own creative whims 😉 They turned out exactly how we wanted them and our Mexican cravings were satisfied.

Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas
Recipe adapted mostly from Rick Bayless
Makes one 9×13, serving 8-10

Enchilada Sauce

Ingredients:
4 14oz cans tomatoes, drained
2 green chilies
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 cups vegetable stock

Directions:

In a small skillet, char 2 green chilies until black over medium heat. Place in a blender, whole, with the drained canned tomatoes and blend until smooth. Transfer to a large pot, add spices and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer and reduce for 30-40 minutes, until it reaches a soupy consistency. Then, add 1-2 cups vegetable stock and again, simmer for 30 minutes or so, until it reaches a pizza sauce consistency.

Black Beans

Ingredients:

Olive oil
1 onion, diced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups black beans, soaked overnight and cooked for 2 hours in water
Same spices as above

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a medium fry pan and add onion and garlic. Cook for five minutes until onions are softened. Add spices in same proportions as enchilada sauce. Add black beans and cook for 15-20 minutes.

Enchiladas

Ingredients:

1 recipe for enchilada sauce, above
1 recipe for black beans, above
1 rotisserie chicken, meat shredded
16 flour or corn tortillas, 8-inch, warmed in the microwave so they are more pliable
Mexican cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread 1/4 of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9×13 glass baking dish. Then mix in some of the enchilada sauce with the chicken.

2. Take one tortilla, spoon a couple tablespoons of sauce down the middle, then some black beans, some chicken and some cheese. Roll one side over the filling and tuck it under then roll it up and place seam side down in the pan. Repeat with all tortillas or as many as you can fit in the baking dish.

3. When all the enchiladas are prepared, spread the remaining enchilada sauce over the top and cover with cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Caprese Grilled Chicken

May 14, 2013 by Mackenzie

One of the things I look forward to most in the summer is having family and friends over and grilling on the back deck. The weather is warm, there is lots of good conversation and of course, lots of good food! This past weekend Suzy and Steve came over and we made a delicious dinner – this Caprese Grilled Chicken and a Lemon Couscous Salad with Asparagus and Tomatoes (it’ll be my next post!). It was a perfect Saturday evening in my mind!

This chicken was light, fresh and full of summer flavors! Once the chicken was grilled, I spread a homemade pesto on it, layered some tomatoes and topped it all with mozzarella cheese. We closed the lid of the BBQ to let the cheese melt and voila! A healthy, delicious dish!

Caprese Grilled Chicken
Recipe adapted from Skinnytaste
Makes 8 chicken cutlets (serves 6-8)

Ingredients:
Pesto:
1 cup basil
1 large clove of garlic
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts (optional)

Chicken:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced in half horizontally (or 8 chicken breast cutlets)
salt and pepper to taste
1 medium tomato, sliced thin
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Pesto: In a food processor, pulse the basil, garlic, parmesan, salt and pepper until smooth. Add the olive oil in a slow drizzle while pulsing, then add the pine nuts and pulse to desired consistency. Transfer to a small bowl and refrigerate until ready to put on the chicken. You can store the extra in a sealed container in the refrigerator or freeze for later use (although we didn’t have much left)

2. Chicken: Wash and pat dry the chicken with a paper towel. Slice breasts in half horizontally and season with salt and pepper. Grill chicken over medium heat on both sides until just cooked through. Lower heat and then spread 1-2 teaspoons of pesto on one side of the chicken, top with 1-2 tomato slices and mozzarella cheese and then close the lid of the grill to let the cheese melt. Enjoy!

Mackenzie

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