Some cooking ideas!

1: Chicken tenders cut into smaller pieces, Celery, Two cups water, one bullion paste serving, and some spicy Mrs. Dash seasoning. Serving size amt of whole wheat toast.

2: Chicken tenders cut into long skinny pieces, Serving size of whole wheat crushed toast with lots of seasonings, raw chicken with breading. Cook at 350 degrees. Make sure the chicken is on a rack, so it doesn’t need any greasing or is cooking in fat. Yellow Squash sliced with Mrs. Dash, salt and a little water. You can choose to cook in micro or stove top, but I love stove top.

3. Onion cut into small pieces (how you like them), seasonings of choice. I really like Cayenne pepper, seasoned pepper, and the table blend of Mrs. Dash. Cook this until just before the onion becomes transparent. Add diced apples and small pieces of chicken… It is best that the chicken is pre seasoned and when you put it into the pan, make sure it’s getting seared right on the pan. If you have it on a med-high setting, it should brown nicely, but will not have a problem sticking without oil. Make sure the chicken is browned on all sides and since the pieces are so small it will be done in just about 2 min! This is my most favorite of all times! Sounds crazy with the apples, but hmmm so good!

4. A bed of spinach, boiled chicken and then a mix of (paprika, cayenne, mustard power, garlic powder, and onion powder) seasonings together. Sprinkle the chicken on both sides so it has some extra flavor. Cut the chicken into bite size pieces and add diced tomatoes, Dressing: lemon juice, cilantro, salt and pepper. So good and I always think it’s better than a restaurants!
There are just a few ideas that I have come up with!

Cheese Pancakes and Celery and Walnut Salad

These cheese pancakes are one of our family recipes – I loved them when I was a kid, and not just because they were quite a rare treat on our everyday menu – yes there were times when eggs and cheese were considered expensive products that couldn’t be wasted just like that.
While some magical childhood memories about certain foods die as you grow up and try those foods (my Grandmother, for example, cherished memories of beetroot leaves soup that she once had during the war, until she finally made it many years later and… the dream got ruined: the soup was not too edible), but I have to say these cheese pancakes taste just as good now as they did in my childhood. They look good, too – golden brown on the outside, fluffy and yellow on the inside. The eggs in the batter make them taste a little bit omelet-y. Well, I think there are some flavours that are just impossible to resist – the flavour of melted/fried cheese is one of them, to me.
But, obviously you will want a counterbalance to these pancakes - something green and fresh and preferably crunchy on the side. From the limited choice of fresh greens and vegetables that we have in this time of the year, celery looked like the perfect candidate. Green, fresh and crunchy. We added some chopped parsley leaves and tossed it all with some minced walnuts and garlic. The walnut-garlic-oil paste is close to what you could find inside Georgian eggplant rolls. I found out it could serve as a standalone dip for crackers/tortillas as well.
The salad came out so good that we thought we’d make it next time we have guests. As for the pancakes… isn’t it great we always have enough cheese and eggs to make them nowadays?



Cheese Pancakes
Ingredients
150g mild-flavoured cheese, grated coarsely
3 eggs
150ml wheat flour
150ml kefir (alternatively, sour yogurt/buttermilk)
1/3 tsp baking soda
Salt
Vegetable oil for frying
Serves 4

Combine grated cheese end eggs, add a pinch of salt, and stir well. Add kefir with baking soda, stir and gradually add flour. Stir through the batter well.
Oil a large skillet with vegetable oil, or use your favourite cooking spray. Cook the pancakes on a medium heat until golden on both sides.



Celery and walnut salad
Ingredients
4 celery stalks
75g walnuts
A sheaf of fresh parsley
Juice of ½ lemon
2 cloves of garlic
4-5 tbsp olive oil
Salt
Serves 4

Chop celery stalks and parsley leaves.
Mince walnuts and garlic. Combine walnuts, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil. Add salt to taste and stir well.
Toss the celery and the parsley with the walnut paste.

Sauteed Chicken with Clementine Salsa

Does everyone  have a little box of Cuties or clementines on their kitchen counter right now?  We've been eating them like candy....a bowl of them on the coffee table in the living room, another bowl in the kitchen, and a stash in the fridge. They’re everywhere right now and absolutely irresistible.  I found this recipe in Bon Apetit magazine a while back and have been meaning to make it and, well, with 4,000 clementines in the house, it seemed like a good time, right?
So the clementine is the hesperidium of a variety of the mandarin orange.  I have no idea what that means, but I found it on Wikipedia.  I was just wondering if the clementine was actually a tangerine, and it turns out it’s a hybrid of sorts, the clementine being seedless.
You don’t really need to know all that to enjoy this dish though.  What we have is a nice organic, free-range chicken breast, topped with a flavorful salsa comprised of chunks of clementine, grape tomatoes, poblano chiles, basil, cilantro, lime juice, olive oil and a little red onion, the flavors of which meld into a very lovely salsa.  The juice of a few clementines are reduced to also create a sauce and it all just tastes dad-gum good together.
At the risk of sounding naggy, I must mention (once again)...DO NOT overcook your chicken breast!!  It’s certain death to any dish no matter how wonderful it’s accompanying components.  For tips on how to cook your chicken perfectly, check this out.
This salsa would also be fabulous over grilled fish or shrimp, and if you added some black beans and jalapenos, it could be a killer salsa with chips.

Sauteed Chicken with Clementine Salsa
Printable Recipe

Adapted from Bon Apetit Magazine
4 5-ounce chicken breast halves
4 clementines, peeled, diced (about 1 cup)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup finely diced red onion
1/2 cup finely diced celery
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 serrano chile, seeded, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup fresh clementine juice (from about 6 clementines)
Pour 6 cups of water (for 3 or 4 breasts) in a large bowl .  Add 3 tablespoons of kosher salt and 3 tablespoons of sugar.  Whisk until the salt and sugar are dissolved and then add the chicken breasts.  Cover and refrigerate for an hour.
Mix clementines and next 8 ingredients in medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Salsa can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover; let stand at room temperature.
Remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry.  Add a drizzle of olive oil to a 12"skillet, and heat to medium high. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and lay them salted side down in the pan.  Drizzle a little more olive over the top of the breasts and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Cook over medium high heat on the first side for about 4 minutes and then turn them.  Cook another 2 or 3 minutes and then cover the pan, remove from the heat and just let them sit covered for 15 minutes.  The residual heat will continue to cook them.
Transfer chicken to platter. Add clementine juice to skillet; boil until reduced to 1/4 cup, stirring often, about 2 minutes.

Drizzle sauce over chicken. Spoon salsa over and serve.

Avacado Salad

• 2-3 mashed avocados
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes cut in halves
• onion to taste
• 1 clove grated garlic
• 1/4 lemon or lime juice
• 1-2 stalks celery

Eat this on either

• 1-2 slices toasted whole grain bread
• several whole romaine leaves as a roll-up

Moroccan-Style Stuffed Acorn Squash found by Colleen Lasko

By: TRUCKERDOO  

"Vegetables, garbanzos, raisins and couscous in a lovely Moroccan broth taste delicious inside butter and brown sugar-brushed acorn squash. You can experiment with different vegetables, or add diced chicken. Feel free to be creative with your amounts - I usually freestyle and end up with leftover stuffing mixture, which tastes great on its own the next day. For vegetarians, substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth."

Prep Time:
15 Min

Cook Time:
45 Min

Ready In:
1 Hr

 

 

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 2 large acorn squash, halved and seeded
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 cup garbanzo beans, drained
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
• 1 cup uncooked couscous

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Arrange squash halves cut side down on a baking sheet. Bake 30 minutes, or until tender. Dissolve the sugar in the melted butter. Brush squash with the butter mixture, and keep squash warm while preparing the stuffing.
3. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, celery, and carrots, and cook 5 minutes. Mix in the garbanzo beans and raisins. Season with cumin, salt, and pepper, and continue to cook and stir until vegetables are tender.
4. Pour the chicken broth into the skillet, and mix in the couscous. Cover skillet, and turn off heat. Allow couscous to absorb liquid for 5 minutes. Stuff squash halves with the skillet mixture to serve. 

Nutritional Information

Moroccan-Style Stuffed Acorn Squash

Servings Per Recipe: 4
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 502

• Total Fat: 11.7g
• Cholesterol: 10mg
• Sodium: 825mg
• Total Carbs: 94g
•     Dietary Fiber: 10.7g
• Protein: 11.2g

VIEW DETAILED NUTRITION
About: Nutrition Info
Powered by: ESHA Nutrient Database