Whole Wheat Pasta w/grilled chicken & eggplant

Tonight we dine in tribute to Italy. It's not often I cook a meal that requires me never to leave my apartment, but after a dismal outing of my boys today I wasn't really in the mood. And truthfully I might as well toast tonight's dinner to Steve Spagnuolo, a man with an Italian name who single handily cost the giants their season this year (not 100% accurate but his replacement sure did!). Sorry Steve..I'm bitter!

Ingredients

• Half of a box of Whole Wheat spaghetti
• 1 lb of chicken breast (2 halves or prepackaged strips)
• 1 large eggplant sliced in rings
• Olive Oil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Tomato Sauce (homemade or store bought)
• Italian Parsley
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Parmesan Cheese
• Fresh Mozzarella

Preparation

• Grill chicken breasts over medium high heat until completely done. Set aside to cool
• Remove chicken and immediately grill eggplants on both sides until you obtain grill marks on both sides. Remove eggplant and cool
• Once cool slice chicken lengthwise and cube eggplant
• While chicken and eggplant are cooling boil a pot of salted water. Once water reaches boil cook a handful or so of whole wheat pasta (6-7 minutes for al dente)
• Heat a non stick skillet with a tablespoon of olive oil and a clove of chopped garlic.
• Add tomato sauce to skillet and heat over medium-low flame
• Add chicken and eggplant to skillet
• Add pasta and mix well

To plate

• Take a couple slices of fresh mozzarella and top over pasta
• Sprinkle with Red Pepper flakes and Parmigiana cheese
• Top with parsley and serve!

Curried Chicken Salad Wraps

Chicken dinner leftovers equals Curried Chicken salad wraps!

Ingredients

• leftover chicken from last night pulled (both dark & white meat)
• Little bit of Mayo
• Little bit of plain yogurt
• Curry powder
• Craisens
• Celery

Combine all ingredients together and mix well. Season with Salt & Pepper

To assemble Wrap

• 1 whole wreat wrap
• 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard (optional)
• Pickles, red onions, banana peppers, arugula (all optional but I like my veggies!
• Chicken Salad

Combine and serve.

Slow Cooked Chicken in White Wine & Lemon

Christmas Eve in NYC! Unfortunately the space is limited so my aspirations for cooking for 30 on Thanksgiving have been put on hold. So I thought the next best thing. Slow cooking a chicken marinated in white win, garlic & lemon! As usual, my wife has this thing against herbs so had to leave those on the side...as far as she knows:)

Ingredients

1 Large whole Chicken

1/2 bottle of white wine (I used Savignon Blanc)

3 large lemons (zest first and put to the side)

1 head of garlic

Olive Oil

S&P

1 large onion

1 Slow Cooker or large pot to cook in oven

Take entire chicken and rinse in cold water. Pat Dry with paper towel. Take 2 tablespoons of olive oil and coat entire chicken including core with olive oil, salt & pepper. Stuff cavity of chicken with one whole large onion and half a lemon. Drop into slow cooker. Top off with 1/2 bottle of wine or enough until liquid just below covering the entire chicken. Squeeze 1-2 entire lemons into wine and drop lemon into cooker. Top off with 4-5 crushed garlic cloves, skin on.

Set timer to low heat for 7-8 hours. Go sit on the couch and watch 3 of your favorite Christmas movies. Christmas Vacation....Die Hard....??

8 hours later.....

Pull chicken from slow cooker and set on a plate. Cover to cool. Chicken will continue to cook so you'll need to work quickly to prevent chicken from drying out.

While chicken is cooling take the remainder of the liquid and pour gently into large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce heat to medium low. Depending on level of thickness you may need to add some flour and or increase wine content. Strain and serve.

Using a sharp knife remove legs from chicken as well as breasts (white meat). Remove onion from inner cavity of chicken and slice into quarters. Once all the meat has been removed discard the remainder of the chicken. I also prefer discarding the skin since the slow cooker won't create any crispness.

Plate as seen below.

To complete the Christmas Eve dinner accompany chicken with Sauteed Brussel Sprouts

• 1 pack of Brussel Sprouts washed & trimmed
• 1 tablespoon of EVOO
• 1 tablspoon of Lemon zest
• 1 shallot thinly sliced
• 1 minced clove of garlic

Heat garlic & shallots in olive oil. Add in brussel sprouts & cook until golden brown. Add lemon zest and give one final toss. Season to your liking.

And Roasted Potatoes w/Rosemary & Garlic

Voila!!...

Raita

Raita - also known as Indian yogurt sauce.

A staple in all indian food. Some serve with Cilantro...other's like me are forced to leave without. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup of whole milk plain yogurt
• 1/2 english cucumber peeled and chopped
• 2 teaspoons of chopped green onions or scallions
• 1/4 teaspoon of corriander
• 1/4 teaspoon of cumin
• Salt & Pepper

Combine all ingredients and chill in refrigerator for up to an hour. Serve with Chicken Tikka!

Chicken Tikka w/Basmati Rice & Chana Sag

Ok...so we love Indian Food. We love it so much we traveled all the way to India to find the perfect meal! Believe me?? Click here

Well Friday night is here and it's also the first night of Channukah. So what better to do on tonight than make an amazing dinner full of Chicken Tikka, Basmati Rice, and my version of Chana Sag!

Enjoy!

Chicken Tikka

Ingredients

• 2-3 large breast of chicken cut into large chunks
• 1/2 cup of plain whole milk yogurt
• Juice of half lime
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground corriander
• 3/4 teaspoon of garam masala
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 2 cloves of garlic (grate on microplane)
• 2 teaspoons of fresh ginger (grate on micrplane)

Combine all ingredients and marinate with Chicken for 2-3 hours covered and refrigerated

Once the chicken is almost marinated preheat your oven to about 400 degrees. Using a cast iron skillet, preheat the pan in the oven for about 10 minutes. Once the pan is hot, layer the chicken into the pan and bake for 10-15 minutes turning once.

While the chicken is cooking time to make the Chana Sag!

Ingredients

• Can of Chickpeas
• 2 large bags of Spinach (washed)
• Half of one large white onion diced
• 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
• Teaspoon of Corriander
• Teaspoon of Garam Masala
• Teaspoon of Splenda
• Pinch of Salt

Melt butter over medium heat and add diced onion. Cook until translucent. Add spices and stir. Onions should turn brown. Add spinach and cook until wilted down. Reduce flame until liquid disappears. Once liquid is reduced and chick peas and kick up the flame until dish is really hot. Depending on level of sweetness or saltyness you may want to add more spice. Serve immediately.

To plate:

Layer one large plate with Basmati Rice

Top one end with Chana Sag

Top other end with Chicken Tikka

Serve with lemon wedge, mango chutney & Raita!

Brocolli & Sweet Potato Soup

Ok..so I've been reading all these random blogs trying to figure out the best way to write about soup. I'll be honest, I've never made soup..never had the time to make soup...and most important not even sure I really like soup. But living in NY, there is something about waking up on a cold morning and throwing a bunch of "stuff" on the stove top and letting it simmer all day. You may not like the taste of it but it sure smells damn good!

**This may sound odd to some but I came across a post on Gourmet about the best way to get your apartment to smell great after a burnt meal. Real simple...kick up the oven to about 250 degrees for about ten minutes. Take a teaspoon of cinnamon and pour it over the bottom of the oven (yes actually let it light on fire). Let it cook for about 20 minutes and the next thing you know you'll have an apartment smelling like apple pie! Yes Leigh..no comment please.**

Ok back to my soup. For my wedding, one of my relatives decided to send us an immersion blender. Not really sure why on earth I would ever register for this but now that I have it, I feel it is in my power the need to use it. (note to self. Make sure you charge your immersion blender prior to use!)

So..in my search for my first soup concocotion I came across a recipe on my coworkers blog Good Looking Home Cooking. I've made a few variations to it but I must be honest i came out real good. I might decide to stay on the soup kick for a few more posts so keep on reading!

Brocolli & Sweet Potato Soup

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter or Olive Oil
• 1 white onion rough chop
• 2 -3 cloves of garlic chopped
• 2 sweet potatoes or yams , peeled and rough chopped
• 1 large package of frozen broccoli
• 1/2 cup white corn kernels

Spices

• Couple pinches of oregano, black pepper
• 3-4 pinches of red pepper or desired spice level (I like it spicy!)

Wet Ingredients

• 2 cups of water
• 2 cups of vegetable or chicken broth

To Prepare

• Over medium heat, melt butter and then saute chopped garlic & onions until they begin to sweat.
• Add all of your spices
• Add sweet potatoes and stir together for a couple minutes
• Add both cups of water and vegetable broth
• Bring to a boil

Once the soup begins to boil, turn the heat down and bring to a simmer for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. Add the broccoli and let simmer for an additional couple minutes.

Time to blend. Using the immersion blender (or if you don't have one puree in a food processor or regular blender in batches!) You'll know you're done when the soup gets a smooth consistency. See below.

Serve immediately. Top with parmesian cheese & enjoy!

Spicy Chicken Stir Fry w/mixed vegetables

Back on the healthy kick post Thanksgiving weekend. Hit the gym, the grocery store & now back in the kitchen. My wife has me on a strict timetable post work hours this evening so I have to make sure I'm prepped and cooked by the time she gets home. So keeping along with the Asian theme that we've seen over the last few posts, we decide to go big & bold with a Spicy Chicken stir fry with mixed vegetables and a mighty tasty sauce! A special shout goes out to my boys at Huy Fong Foods for making the most AWESOME hot sauce on the planet!

Let's start with the prep..Most important step in the meal in order to time this pefectly.

• 2 chicken breasts or a package of stir fry chicken strips rinsed and set aside in a bowl. Marinate in 3-4 tablespoons of low sodium soy sauce. I prefer Tamari.

While the chicken is marinating

• 1 large purple eggplant rough chop large pieces
• 2-3 handfuls of greenbeans trimmed
• 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
• Handful of your mushroom of choice (i prefer shitaki or white) sliced
• Handful of cashew nuts chopped

Once your veggies are prepped it's time to start cooking. If you have a Wok I suggest you use it but if not any large saute pan (preferably non stick) will do the job.

• 2 tablespoons of vegetable or canola oil over medium heat
• Pour chicken and marinade into hot pan
• Cook 5-6 minutes until tender

• Once the chicken is cooked toss in eggplant, then green beans.
• Cook for about 2-3 minutes or until green beans begin to wilt
• Add mushrooms and chopped garlic and toss for 10 seconds

Now the sauce

• 2 tablespoons of Hoisin sauce
• 2 teaspoons of sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon (or more depending on level of spice) Sriracha Sauce
• 1/4 cup of tap water
• pinch of red pepper flakes
• tablespoon of honey

Combine all ingredients over high heat until reduced.

Finally add in chopped cashews and white sesame seeds and toss for 10-15 seconds.

Serve immediately and enjoy!