Strawberry Chicken and Spinach Salad

Posted on July 20, 2016 by Peg

Ha Hump Day! Hooking you up with a delicious nutritious midweek, or anytime really, supper. And at a mere 300 calories per serving, go ahead and have seconds. This works beautifully with blueberries as well. So choose your fruit and race to the kitchen. Leave your love life to chance…but not your cooking!

Entree Salad Strawberry Chicken

Here’s what you’ll need:

2 Tbs olive oil, divided
1 Tbs white balsamic vinegar
1 t honey
1/2 t chopped fresh thyme
1/4 t kosher salt, divided
1/2 t black pepper, divided
2 cups halved strawberries, divided
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/4 t paprika
Cooking spray
4 cups fresh baby spinach
3 Tbs chopped pecans, toasted
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Whisk together 1 Tbs olive oil, vinegar, honey, thyme, 1/8 t salt, and 1/4 t pepper in medium bowl.
Add 1 cup halved strawberries, tossing to coat.
Let stand at room temperature 10 minutes.
Heat medium skillet over medium high.
Brush chicken with remaining oil.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and paprika.
Coat skillet with cooking spray.
Add chicken, and cook 2 to 3 minutes per side.
Remove chicken from skillet.
Let stand 5 minutes.
Cut across the grain into slices.
Divide spinach, and 1 cup strawberries between 4 plates.
Lay chicken evenly across spinach.

Top with strawberry balsamic mixture.
Sprinkle with pecans and feta.

A Fantastic Celebrity and Thai Evening!

Posted on May 6, 2015 by Peg

Brenton and I donned our finest frocks and jewels a few days ago. We were fortunate enough to be guests of Schuyler at the White House Correspondents Cocktail Party, (she’s obviously the most amazing Advertising Sales gal with the Wall Street Journal) . Thank you darling friend for a wonderful evening. It all began with champagne and marvy cheese at Schuyler’s gorgeous condo with a few lucky friends, also attending, due to her graciousness. We walked into the gala on the famed red carpet and were ~~star struck~~ thrilled from the get go, to see so many political and Hollywood celebs.

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Fabulousness and Deliciousness! After we had our fun hobnobbing with the elite we ventured to the newly opened Mango Tree in the striking CityCentreDC. where we ordered a LOT of their offerings to sample. It was all amazingly presented. If you live in the area…get yourself there asap! We had green curry chicken; but I’ll share my red curry chicken recipe, compliments of our chef in Istanbul. We also had their vege spring rolls (the lightest and best ever) and their wonderful tom kha gai (Thai Chicken Soup). I have attempted this recipe twice since I returned home. I think I have it now…altho not nearly as wonderful as Chef Richard Sandoval’s version…I mean he’s rather great, right?!

Pre Red Chili Sauce- perfectly fine served like this if you like a mild soup.

Breast meat of 1 roasted chicken, sliced as thinly as possible
2 cans coconut milk
3 cans reduced-sodium chicken broth
12 quarter-size slices fresh ginger
2 stalks fresh lemongrass, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 Tbs fresh lime juice
2 Tbs fish sauce
2 1 t sugar
2 t Thai chili paste
1 Tb chili oil
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

With Thai Chili Sauce, stirred into Soup…Spicy!

In a medium saucepan, combine coconut milk, broth, ginger, and lemongrass.
Bring to boil over high heat.
Add lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and chili paste, and chicken pieces.
Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.
Discard lemongrass.
Garnish servings with basil and cilantro.
Place in bowl.
Drizzle with chili oil.
Garnish with cilantro

250 calories for 1 1/2 cup serving

Blueberry BBQ Chicken

Posted on October 24, 2014 by Peg

Photo from Southern Season website.

Oh goodness! Vivian Howard of Chef & The Farmer has a scrumptious Blueberry BBQ Finishing Sauce…a unique twist on BBQ sauces. I LOVE that they claim right there on the bottle that the sauce is “great with chicken and pork and grilled veggies and cocktails and friends and weekends.” Well said! Don’t worry if you don’t live in our fab ENC; you may order it from the restaurant or Southern Season. “Take a break from traditional red sauce and go blue!” You do watch A Chef’s Life, right?

2 large organic boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 cup Chef & The Farmer Blueberry BBQ Sauce
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper

Preheat oven to 400°.
Salt and pepper both sides of chicken breasts.
Heat olive oil and BBQ sauce in skillet on medium high until sizzling.
Place chicken in skillet and reduce heat to medium.
Cook 4 minutes til browned on one side.
Turn chicken over.
Place in oven.
Bake 8 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to rest 4 minutes.
Slice chicken on diagonal.
Drizzle with skillet juices.

Serves 4.

Nut-Crusted Chicken Breasts

Posted on October 1, 2014 by Peg

Go ahead and flip for this. It totally works for me, and then some! Plus the prep scoots on along faster than it reads, always a bonus. A perfect midweek dinner, or fine enough to share with friends for a celebratory weekend evening while sipping a little fine wine!

Panko and nuts browning

2 breasts sliced for coating and cooking

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup peanuts, chopped
4 Tbs butter
1 cup panko
Zest of 1 lime
1 t chipotle chile powder
1/2 t ground cumin
1/2 t ground coriander
1 t dried cilantro
3 large eggs
2 t Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 350°.
Place baking rack in rimmed baking pan.
Slice each breast on diagonal into 3 or 4 pieces.
Pat dry with paper towel.
Prick thickest part of each slice several times with fork.
Sprinkle with salt.

Pulse peanuts in food processor about 15 times.
Melt butter in skillet over medium low heat.
Add panko and nuts.
Cook, stirring often, 10 minutes, until golden brown.
Transfer panko mixture to shallow dish.
Stir in lime zest, chili powder, cumin, coriander, and cilantro.
Lightly beat eggs and mustard together in separate bowl.

Dip each piece in egg mixture.
Coat with panko mixture, pressing gently to adhere.
Place chicken pieces on wire rack.
Bake 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes.
Garnish with lime wedge.

Please alert your friends that this contains nuts.
Not everyone can tolerate nuts.

Thank you Andrew Janjigian, Cook’s Illustrated, Best-Ever Recipes. I only tweaked a couple of steps to make it more “Hardee Friendly!”

Serves 8 easily.

Turkish Curried Chicken

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Peg

Tales of the Unexpected! Remember that my fam and I were in Istanbul this past October. Well, our first night there, we were having a perfectly peaceful dinner of curried chicken and other things curry at the magnificent restaurant 360°, enjoying our view of…you guessed it, 360 degrees of Istanbul. And out of the darkness, this creature starts climbing along the walls, and then slinking around the floor. Um hum. Suspended Moments in Time. Even rendered my dear son-in-law speechless for a millisecond; and that ain’t easy (written with true affection!) But back to the food. I entrust you with this marvy recipe. Please take care of it. And enjoy it in good health. Serefe! (you know, Turkish for Cheers).

1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbs curry powder
1 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t grated ginger root
1/2 t white sugar
1/2 can diced tomatoes
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup coconut milk
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat.
Add onion and garlic; turn heat to medium low; sauté for 2 minutes.
Add curry, cinnamon, ginger, sugar, tomatoes, yogurt, and milk.
Stir until well combined.
Add chicken pieces and bring to a boil.
When mixture boils, turn heat to medium low.
Cover skillet and cook 10 to 12 minutes, turning a few times.
Turn heat off and stir all ingredients.
Leave skillet on burner 4 minutes.
Serves 4.

To serve, place bed of rice on plate.
Top with 2 chicken strips, half on and half off rice bed.
Drizzle with pan sauce.
Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Pepper Jack Chicken

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Peg

It’s the freakin’ weekend, baby I’m about to have me some fun! (Thank you R. Kelly!) Mexican tonight? Sounds solid to me. Here’s the yummy entree. Now just add a little salad and mix up a pitcher of margaritas. Then just sit back and let it all slide right on down as smoothly as that Reposado Gold! All of this in the comfort of your own warm home. I’m so happy that I’m having a dizzy spell.

1 recipe Pepper Jack Soup
1 cup uncooked regular long grain white rice
1 can black beans
1 can shoepeg corn
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup shredded cheddar or parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375°.
Spray large casserole dish with cooking spray.
In the casserole stir together soup, water, rice, beans, and corn.
Cut each breast in half on the diagonal.
Place chicken on top of soup mixture and press down a bit to submerge the chicken.
Cover with aluminum foil.
Bake for 50 minutes.
Remove from oven, top with cheese and let stand 5 minutes.

Serves 6 to 8. Just depends on serving sizes!

Pomegranate Chicken

Posted on January 14, 2014 by Peg

Old Town Istanbul, October, 2013

Admittedly, I am more than slightly obsessed with pomegranates. My family will attest that I verged on the side of obnoxious while in Istanbul this past October. But in my defense…there WERE fresh pomegranate carts all over the old towne (Constantinople!) I just wanted to bite right into one, almost did as a matter of fact! Proof you ask; well here ’tis! So this recipe in the new issue of Cooking Light jumped off the page at me. Tweaked it last night to suit our taste buds and haven’t been that delighted with a new entree in a long time! So, spreading the love is what I’m doing. Pomegranate season lasts another 6 or so weeks; so race on down to your local grocer and whip this up. At a mere 458 calories per serving, who can turn this down?! Licking my lips again!

3 cups low fat, low sodium chicken broth, divided
1 cup uncooked long cooking rice
1 medium onion, cut into chunks
1 Tbs chopped fresh thyme
3/4 t salt, divided
1 1/4 t cracked pepper, divided
1 1/4 cup pomegranate juice, divided
1/2 cup pomegranate arils
1 Tbs olive oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 400°.
Combine 2 cups chicken stock, rice, onion, and thyme in medium saucepan.
Bring to boil.
Cover and simmer 15 minutes, until liquid is absorbed.
Remove from heat.
Stir in half of the salt and pepper.
Set aside.
Combine remaining 1 cup chicken broth and 1 cup pomegranate juice in small saucepan.
Bring to boil.
Reduce and simmer 16 to 18 minutes, until reduced to 1/2 cup.
Remove from heat and stir in arils.
Set aside.
Add olive oil and remaining 1/2 cup pomegranate juice to skillet.
Turn heat to medium high.
Salt and pepper chicken.
Add to skillet.
Cook 4 minutes til browned on one side.
Turn chicken over.
Place in oven.
Bake 8 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to rest 4 minutes.

To plate:
Slice each breast on diagonal into 4 or 5 strips.
Spoon a bit of rice onion mixture onto plate.
Place sliced chicken half on and half off rice.
Pour pomegranate mixture over chicken and rice.

Serves 4 to 6.

Mini Chicken Pot Pies

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Peg

Toss out Pretension! This is just as down to earth as it gets. I’m prepping for winter, and there’s nothing more comforting to me on a frigid day than an old fashioned pot pie. These freeze beautifully, two per quart sized freezer Ziploc. If you freeze these little jewels, thaw and make certain the ramekins are room temp prior to placing in oven…Right, you know what happens if you don’t! **Dig this**…Works GRAND with left over turkey. Gobble Gobble Baby!

1/2 package Fillo Dough, thawed
1/2 stick butter, melted (for Fillo)

1/2 stick butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups whole milk
Breast meat from 1 rotisserie chicken, cut into chunks
2 cups frozen peas and carrots, thawed
1 t fresh rosemary, minced
1/8 t garlic powder
1/8 t salt
1/4 t pepper

Preheat oven to 350°.
Melt stick butter in pan over medium heat.
Add onion and cook 5 minutes, until soft and translucent.
Whisk in flour, and cook 2 minutes.
Add broth and whisk until smooth.
Add milk.
Bring to rapid simmer.
Cook 5 minutes, whisking often.
Stir in chicken, peas and carrots, thyme, salt, and pepper.

Divide mixture among 6 8-oz ramekins.
Place ramekins on baking sheet.

Separate Fillo sheets into 2 piles.
Brush melted butter across alternating sheets of Fillo.
Cut into small squares that will rest on top of ramekin, but not cover it.
Cook 20 minutes, until heated through and crust is lightly browned.

Look at that little garden pea peeking out!

Turkey Meatball Marinara

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Peg

Now this is some insane Southern know how folks! And from an Aussie at that. Modified from Curtis Stone‘s What’s for Dinner? A beautiful looking dish…not really. Delish and healthy…absolutely! Now don’t let the rather extensive list of ingredients make you retreat. Just grab everything in the beginning and spread it all out in front of you. I promise it goes lickity split! You will need:

Gray’s Boston kitchen where I first tried this recipe last weekend. Stocked her freezer…yes I did! (Note the family sentiment letters on top of stove…AND the Boston Strong ducks!)

For the Sauce:
3 Tbs olive oil
1/2 Vidalia onion, diced
6 garlic cloves, minced*
4 Tbs chopped cilantro*
1/2 cup loosely packed basil leaves, coarse chop*
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 28 oz cans whole tomatoes, undrained, rough chop
1 t Kosher salt
2 t fresh ground black pepper

*Author’s Note: When in a hurry, I use Gourmet Garden Garlic Paste, Cilantro Paste and Basil Paste. They are all made of fresh ingredients, and I always keep them on hand in the fridge! They come in a tube in the produce section of your grocery. It helps tremendously when your garden is out of season or you need to get the meal prep going quickly!

(Back home in my kitchen where I whipped these little things out again this afternoon!)

For the Turkey Balls:
2 lbs ground turkey
1 cup panko
1/2 Vidalia onion, diced
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
2 Tbs Dijon mustard
1 1/2 t paprika
1 large egg
1 t Kosher salt
2 t fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
Fresh Grated Parmesan cheese for serving

To Make the Sauce:
Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat.
Add onion, garlic, cilantro, and basil.
Cook 1 minute.
Add wine, tomatoes, salt and pepper.
Bring to simmer.
Simmer uncovered 25 minutes, stirring frequently.

To Make the Turkey Balls:
Combine turkey, panko, onion, garlic, parsley, mustard, paprika, egg, salt and pepper in large bowl.
Gently mix with your hands.
Mixture should be soft to retain moisture during cooking.
If mixture is too moist, simply add a bit more Panko.
Form in to 26 balls.
Heat olive oil in large skillet on medium heat.
In batches, add turkey balls to skillet.
Cook 12 to 14 minutes, rotating often to brown all sides.
Transfer to plate while cooking next batch.

Easily serves 8.
Of course you can halve the recipe if you don’t want extras for the freezer!

To plate:
Place sauce on plate.
Place turkey balls on top of sauce.
Drizzle with a bit more sauce.
Top with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

DIG IN!

Tomato Basil Chicken

Posted on July 26, 2013 by Peg

©PEGhardee

Remember that Revealing Supper Party? Well that little royal girl was born this past Sunday morn, healthy, strong, and gorgeous Mackenzie. And with tomatoes still flying in each week from Leggett Farm Organics, and the fresh basil overtaking my garden, I made this delicious chicken entree for the new Mom and Dad Wednesday night. This one is a winner for certain!!

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 8 fillets
1 Tbs olive oil
1/8 t Kosher salt
1/4 t fresh ground black pepper
1/2 Tbs dried oregano
1 lb cherry tomatoes, halved
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs light butter
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped

Drizzle olive oil in skillet on medium high.
Season both sides of chicken with salt, pepper and oregano.
Place into pan and cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until almost cooked through.
Turn heat down to medium.
Add tomatoes and garlic.
Cook 4 minutes.
Add basil and butter, and stir until combined.
Turn heat off and let skillet stay on hot eye for 5 minutes.

Serves an army!

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