Italian Chicken with Summer Vegetables

Summer is almost here, yet spring just doesn’t want to let go. So why not embrace both seasons by cooking a meal that is hearty enough for a cool evening yet fresh and light enough for those long summer nights. For me, nothing screams hearty and fresh like Italian food. If that sounds like you…or a culinary aspect to spring/summer you want to check out then you need to try this Chicken with Summer Vegetable recipe. I paired it with a side of rice and some garlic sauteed kale. For those watching their figure or trying to get ready for the summer swimsuit season this recipe is light on calories and worth only 7 WeightWatcher points per serving!

Chicken:

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 (4-oz) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Preheat the broiler. Mix together the garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle over the chicken breast (reserving half for reverse side) and place on broiler pan that has been coated with nonstick spray. Broil around 6 minutes then flip, sprinkle with remaining spice mixture and broil another 6 minutes until done. Place in warm oven until ready to plate.

Summer Vegetables:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 8 oz mushrooms, sliced (or as much as you want)
• 1 zucchini, cut lengthwise into quarters and then sliced
• 1 summer squash, cut in half lengthwise and then sliced
• 4 garlic gloves, minced
• 2 cups fresh tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 cup red onions, diced
• 1/2 fresh basil, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium/high heat. Add mushrooms, zucchini, squash, garlic, and salt, saute 3 minutes or until they begin to soften. Add tomatoes, onions, and basil, continue to to saute another 3-5 minutes or until it reaches your desired softness. You can add more or less vegetables, as you desire. I always think more vegetables the better! Serve the vegetables on top of chicken and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Adapted From:

The best of Cooking Light. Edited by Holley C. Johnson. Birmingham, Al: Oxmoor House, 2004

Hummus (or, as it’s known in much of the world, Houmus)

Continuing on with the Middle Eastern motif, I want to share with you a great recipe for hummus. Now, for years I ran in the other direction anytime someone brought out the hummus or even mentioned it may be in a dish. All I could see was a pile of pasty, chalky tasting ground chickpeas. Chickpeas were those things your mother put on her salad at the buffet and not good for much more. O how I was wrong. As you have seen with the falafel, the chickpea can satisfy even the most deeply entrenched meat-eater, like me.

Hummus is a tasty and nutritious dish that can be served as an appetizer or part of a main dish. It is an amazing dip for flat bread, pita, or chips, and is part of most falafel and gyros. It’s high in iron, vitamin C, and vitamin B6, as well as being a great source of protein and dietary fiber. But most of all… it tastes amazing! Think of it as a flavorful foundation that can be creatively built upon. I have seen it topped or flavored with roasted peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, cucumbers, cilantro, lemon, paprika, chili, garlic, eggplant, and basil. Start with a basic recipe and the sky’s the limit… or, at least build to your personal taste. Below is a basic recipe that I like just the way it is. And it’s EASY. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked (canned) chickpeas (keep reading, I’ll tell you why)
• 1/2 cup tahini paste (roasted and ground sesame seeds)
• 3 garlic cloves (or, to your own taste)
• Juice of two lemons
• 4 tbsp cold water
• Cayenne pepper (just a little)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Garnish or top with:

• Olive Oil (a drizzle over the top is amazing)
• Chopped parsley
• Paprika (just a dash will do you. I love the smoked Spanish kind)
• Olives (We love kalamata)
• Anything else that strikes your fancy.

Drain your chickpeas and place then in the food processor with the tahini, garlic, lemon juice, what ever seasoning you like, and 1 tbsp of water. Blend and add more water as needed or to the desired smoothness. Place in a bowl and serve.

You may have some dried chickpeas left over from making falafel but I do not recommend using them for your houmus. I it comes out grainy and a bit chalky tasting… which may have been my problem all those years. Whatever happens to the chickpeas in the cooking/canning process makes all the difference in the final product.  Note: I’ve heard that, after soaking dried chickpeas, pressure cooking them may be the trick. I haven’t tried that yet. If I do, I’ll update the blog post. In the meantime, I’m going to keep using canned. I promise, it’s the best I’ve had (and I’ve had plenty).

As always, I hope you enjoy and if you have any thoughts, comments, or suggestions, just let me know.

Adapted From:

Around The World In 350 Recipes. Edited by Sarah Ainley. London: Hermes House, 2005 

 

Christmas Crock Pot Hot Chocolate

On Christmas Eve as a child there were a few simple things you could not forget. First, the reindeer loved carrots (unpeeled) and second, Santa liked either Chocolate Chip or Sugar cookies with his hot chocolate. Now as an adult I think the big man might rather have a great cup of single origin coffee to break up the rich chocolaty flow, but it is Christmas Eve, so lets keep with childhood traditions and set out some amazing hot cocoa!

Weather it’s leaving cocoa for Santa or making it for loved ones on a cold winters day, I have found the perfect, most amazing recipe. Well, in all honesty, my wife found the perfect recipe and had me make it. So, having been the one who made it, I feel justified in writing about it. It solves two of the most important cocoa questions. How do you make amazing hot chocolate…and equally as important, how do you keep it hot? Simple. The crock-pot!! This is not your freeze dried, processed packe of Swiss Miss. It’s astronomically better!

Now, a simple disclaimer. I’m not the Hot Chocolate conorsure in the family,  my wife is. And she says this is AMAZING! Others have described it “sipping chocolate” or drinkable pot de crème. And coming from a coffee lover – me – this is some great stuff.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 can of sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups chocolate chips (I like Ghirardelli semi-sweet. The better the chocolate the better the drink)
• 6 cups of whole milk
• 1 tsp vanilla

Place all ingredients in the crock pot and stir together. Cover and cook on low for two hours. After 2 hours, whisk together. I like to use the emulsifying wand (i.e. Immersion Hand Blender) and whip to a nice creamy, frothy, consistency. Ladle into cups and enjoy the hot rich goodness. One warning, the longer your cocoa sits in the crock-pot the thicker it gets! Not really a problem for me but the purest might take issue.

Adapted From:

the blog, http://www.mrshappyhomemaker.com