This week, I wanted a traditional chicken, potatoes, and green beans meal. So, I searched online for good, simple chicken and green bean recipes, and I found one for each that are fabulous:
Chicken: Baked Chicken with Olive Oil and Fresh Lemon
2 chicken breasts, halved (I just bought the chicken breast fillets)
2 tbsp. safflower oil (I used canola oil, and I'm sure it worked just as well. If i can avoid spending $4 on something food related, I do.)
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 c. fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. tarragon
Remove skin from chicken breasts; debone (if needed). Combine safflower oil (or canola oil), olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, and tarragon; pour over chicken. Marinate 20 minutes. Bake 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until done. Baste frequently during baking (I did every 7 minutes).
Mistakes I made during this process: If you buy fillets, then they're already "halved." You don't need to cut them in half. Also, get a baster (brush) to actually be able to baste during the cooking process. I poured instead, which worked just fine, I'm sure the correct way of doing things is better though.
Green Beans: http://dinner-recipes.suite101.com/article.cfm/fresh_green_beans
-1/2-1 lb Fresh Green Beans
-2 tbsp olive oil
-2 cloves garlic
-2 tbsp minced onion (I didn't have onion when I made them, so I added a little onion salt. They were just fine.)
-salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
Fill a large pot with water, and bring it to a boil.While it is heating prepare the green beans for cooking.I like to do so by simply snapping off both ends and leaving the beans whole.If you prefer smaller pieces, snap the beans into inch-long, bite size pieces.When the water is boiling, turn the stove to medium-high and add the fresh beans.Boil for no more than 45 seconds if you are making ½ lb of beans or if the pieces are very small, and no more than 2 minutes if there is a larger quantity or the beans are whole. Drain the beans in a colander. If you are not sautee'ing them immediately, rinse them under ice cold water to stop the cooking process.
In a large sauté pan or a wok, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.Add the garlic, onion, and green beans together and sauté only 2-3 minutes, or until the garlic and onion are lightly cooked.The beans should still be tender-crisp and retain a fresh flavor.Add salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat.Serve while still hot.Enjoy!
Potatoes:
2lbs red or new potatoes
Boil in boiling water for 10-20 minutes
It took me about 2 hours to cook all of this, but then again I'm new to this whole cooking process. Your place of residence will smell like garlic for the remainder of the evening, but the dinner is FABULOUS. My favorite thing I've made so far!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Recipes, Part 1
As I've said before, I've been making one main dish at the beginning of the week for me to eat every day. Here are the two recipes (kinda...) that I've used:
Week One-Chicken Soup Recipe
Ingredients:
• One pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenders
• One large carton chicken broth or stock (I prefer Swanson)
• One cup of water
• 3-5 carrots, peeled and diced
• 3-4 stalks of celery, no leaves
• 2-3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks
• One medium onion, diced (I prefer red onion)
• 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
• A half teaspoon of garlic salt
• Salt and pepper to taste (go easy on the salt because there’s salt in the garlic salt)
Directions:
First, place chicken in a small pot and cover the chicken with water. Boil chicken until fully cooked (about ten to twenty minutes). While chicken is boiling, prepare vegetables as directed above. Put all of the vegetables in a large pot. Pour chicken broth and one cup of water on top of the vegetables, add seasoning, and boil the vegetables until the potatoes are tender (about ten to twenty minutes). When the chicken is done, set it on a plate and shred it with two forks. Add the shredded chicken into the vegetable broth mixture when the vegetables are done cooking. Simmer on low for about ten minutes.
If you want more veggies in your soup, add some sweet corn. It’s good for up to four days in the refrigerator, and can be frozen.
Week Two- Chicken Fajitas
Ok, I cheated on this one and didn't make it completely from scratch. **Remember, key is to check ALL ingredients to make sure its safe!
John Soules Foods: Restaurant Quality Chicken Breast Fajitas, 8 oz.
One Red Bell Pepper
One Green Bell Pepper
One can Pinto beans (I actually made 2, but this ended up being way to much.)
One bag mexican rice (I got the uncle bens kind, but didn't enjoy it very much.)
One bag 30 corn tortillas (Mission is legit)
One jar salsa
Slice up the chicken as directed on the bag, and slice up the bell pepper (without the seeds or stem). Cook in a covered skillet 4-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Cook beans until simmering, as directed.
Cook rice as directed.
Heat up corn tortillas on a skillet as directed.
I would recommend wrapping fajitas as well as everything else in 2 corn tortillas, as they are more thin than flour and tear more easily. I also would recommend 3 wraps per day; I found that after only eating two, I was hungry again about an hour and a half later. This will feed you for about 3-5 days.
And now for something sweet: Cinnamon Sugar Pecans
Ingredients
* 1 egg white (I use Ener-G Egg Replacer-worked just as well)
* 1 tablespoon water
* 1 pound pecan halves
* 1 cup white sugar
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Grease one baking sheet.
2. In a mixing bowl, whip together the egg white and water until frothy. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
3. Add pecans to egg whites, stir to coat the nuts evenly. Remove the nuts, and toss them in the sugar mixture until coated. Spread the nuts out on the prepared baking sheet.
4. Bake at 250 degrees F (120 degrees C) for 1 hour. Stir every 15 minutes.
Week One-Chicken Soup Recipe
Ingredients:
• One pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenders
• One large carton chicken broth or stock (I prefer Swanson)
• One cup of water
• 3-5 carrots, peeled and diced
• 3-4 stalks of celery, no leaves
• 2-3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks
• One medium onion, diced (I prefer red onion)
• 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
• A half teaspoon of garlic salt
• Salt and pepper to taste (go easy on the salt because there’s salt in the garlic salt)
Directions:
First, place chicken in a small pot and cover the chicken with water. Boil chicken until fully cooked (about ten to twenty minutes). While chicken is boiling, prepare vegetables as directed above. Put all of the vegetables in a large pot. Pour chicken broth and one cup of water on top of the vegetables, add seasoning, and boil the vegetables until the potatoes are tender (about ten to twenty minutes). When the chicken is done, set it on a plate and shred it with two forks. Add the shredded chicken into the vegetable broth mixture when the vegetables are done cooking. Simmer on low for about ten minutes.
If you want more veggies in your soup, add some sweet corn. It’s good for up to four days in the refrigerator, and can be frozen.
Week Two- Chicken Fajitas
Ok, I cheated on this one and didn't make it completely from scratch. **Remember, key is to check ALL ingredients to make sure its safe!
John Soules Foods: Restaurant Quality Chicken Breast Fajitas, 8 oz.
One Red Bell Pepper
One Green Bell Pepper
One can Pinto beans (I actually made 2, but this ended up being way to much.)
One bag mexican rice (I got the uncle bens kind, but didn't enjoy it very much.)
One bag 30 corn tortillas (Mission is legit)
One jar salsa
Slice up the chicken as directed on the bag, and slice up the bell pepper (without the seeds or stem). Cook in a covered skillet 4-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Cook beans until simmering, as directed.
Cook rice as directed.
Heat up corn tortillas on a skillet as directed.
I would recommend wrapping fajitas as well as everything else in 2 corn tortillas, as they are more thin than flour and tear more easily. I also would recommend 3 wraps per day; I found that after only eating two, I was hungry again about an hour and a half later. This will feed you for about 3-5 days.
And now for something sweet: Cinnamon Sugar Pecans
Ingredients
* 1 egg white (I use Ener-G Egg Replacer-worked just as well)
* 1 tablespoon water
* 1 pound pecan halves
* 1 cup white sugar
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Grease one baking sheet.
2. In a mixing bowl, whip together the egg white and water until frothy. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
3. Add pecans to egg whites, stir to coat the nuts evenly. Remove the nuts, and toss them in the sugar mixture until coated. Spread the nuts out on the prepared baking sheet.
4. Bake at 250 degrees F (120 degrees C) for 1 hour. Stir every 15 minutes.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Sugar fix!
FLAVORED TEA!
I've never been much of a tea drinker, but lately I've discovered the joys of peach tea, raspberry tea, and my personal favorite, the arnold palmer (lemonade+tea). It is perfect for when I need a sugar fix.
Also, JELLO! For $1 a box, you can have enough jello to last you a good 2-3 days. And don't let the snack packs fool you, homemade jello tastes MUCH better.
I've never been much of a tea drinker, but lately I've discovered the joys of peach tea, raspberry tea, and my personal favorite, the arnold palmer (lemonade+tea). It is perfect for when I need a sugar fix.
Also, JELLO! For $1 a box, you can have enough jello to last you a good 2-3 days. And don't let the snack packs fool you, homemade jello tastes MUCH better.
Impossible? PSH!
I found out I had celiac disease in August of 2009. Up to this point, I had intestinal issues accredited to "IBS" and lactose intolerance, occasional depression/anxiety issues, and frequent fatigue, all for 3 years. Once I cut wheat out of my diet, everything changed for the better- the pain was gone, I could think more clearly, and I didn't need a nap everyday. It was a miracle!
Unfortunately, I soon started noticing similar intestinal pains I had experienced before I gave up the wheat. After personal experimentation, I found these were attributed to eggs and soy, as well as cheese and chocolate, my two favorite milk products that I had refused to give up. I decided one day that enough was enough, I was tired of being in even the slightest pain, so I wholeheartedly dedicated myself to a wheat, milk, eggs, and soy-free diet. Impossible right?
Nope.
All it means is more home cooking and baking on my part. No more fast food, and I'm limited on my choices of restaurants (although Mexican food places are mostly ok- corn tortillas and tamale's all the way!). Central Market, Whole Foods Mart, and HEB all have gluten free sections-and lucky for me, a lot of gluten free products are also "all" allergens free (Ener-G breads and Enjoy Life! products, just to name a couple). Amazon.com sells a lot of products in bulk, so I can get, for example, $6 loaves of tapioca or rice bread for $3 each.
Mostly though, I cook my own food. I'm currently on a mission to cook one dish that will last me for the entire week-ie soup, spaghetti (rice pasta!), fajitas (corn tortillas!), chicken and potatoes/vegetables, etc. I don't have time to cook every night, so if I make it all in bulk on Sunday and refrigerate/freeze the rest for the week, I'm good. I've done this for one week so far. We'll see how the rest of the semester goes.
When it comes to baking, I use Egg Replacer or Applesauce instead of eggs, and rice or almond milk instead of milk. I use canola oil or corn oil instead of vegetable oil, as vegetable oil usually has soybean oil in it. I have successfully made a chocolate cake, rice crispy treats, and cinnamon/sugar pecans.
Most fruit candies are ok- Starburst, Skittles, Sour Patch Kids, Gummy Worms/Bears.
For my chocolate fix, Nana's No Gluten Chocolate cookies are AWESOME.
It is important to read labels and be very cautious when eating out.
It is vital to keep a positive attitude and focus on what I can have instead of what I can't.
I'll keep you posted!
Unfortunately, I soon started noticing similar intestinal pains I had experienced before I gave up the wheat. After personal experimentation, I found these were attributed to eggs and soy, as well as cheese and chocolate, my two favorite milk products that I had refused to give up. I decided one day that enough was enough, I was tired of being in even the slightest pain, so I wholeheartedly dedicated myself to a wheat, milk, eggs, and soy-free diet. Impossible right?
Nope.
All it means is more home cooking and baking on my part. No more fast food, and I'm limited on my choices of restaurants (although Mexican food places are mostly ok- corn tortillas and tamale's all the way!). Central Market, Whole Foods Mart, and HEB all have gluten free sections-and lucky for me, a lot of gluten free products are also "all" allergens free (Ener-G breads and Enjoy Life! products, just to name a couple). Amazon.com sells a lot of products in bulk, so I can get, for example, $6 loaves of tapioca or rice bread for $3 each.
Mostly though, I cook my own food. I'm currently on a mission to cook one dish that will last me for the entire week-ie soup, spaghetti (rice pasta!), fajitas (corn tortillas!), chicken and potatoes/vegetables, etc. I don't have time to cook every night, so if I make it all in bulk on Sunday and refrigerate/freeze the rest for the week, I'm good. I've done this for one week so far. We'll see how the rest of the semester goes.
When it comes to baking, I use Egg Replacer or Applesauce instead of eggs, and rice or almond milk instead of milk. I use canola oil or corn oil instead of vegetable oil, as vegetable oil usually has soybean oil in it. I have successfully made a chocolate cake, rice crispy treats, and cinnamon/sugar pecans.
Most fruit candies are ok- Starburst, Skittles, Sour Patch Kids, Gummy Worms/Bears.
For my chocolate fix, Nana's No Gluten Chocolate cookies are AWESOME.
It is important to read labels and be very cautious when eating out.
It is vital to keep a positive attitude and focus on what I can have instead of what I can't.
I'll keep you posted!
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