Bourbon Chicken with Onion Relish

My mom made this for us when Ellie was first born.  The bourbon has been sitting in our cupboard ever since.  When my mom came through in September for a visit, she asked why I hadn't made it, and I realized that I didn't have the recipe!  With that rectified, I added to this month's menu.  Tonight was the night. 



Bourbon Chicken with Onion Relish
Ingredients:
for the relish:
4 tsp. oil, divided
2 large sweet onions, chopped
1/2 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1 c. cooking sherry or red wine
1 Tbsp. Balsamic vinegar
for the chicken:
3-4 chicken breasts, cut in half long ways
salt & pepper or your favourite seasoned salt
1/4 c. bourbon or whiskey (Jim Beam is best)

Directions:
Cook onions in a large skillet with 2 tsp oil, over medium heat for 15 minutes, or until very soft and starting to brown.
Add brown sugar, and cook until caramelized, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add sherry/ wine and cook until it is soupy thick.
Add Balsamic vinegar and reheat.

Meanwhile, sprinkle chicken with salt & pepper/ seasoned salt on both sides.  In another large skillet, heat 2 tsp. oil, and cook chicken over medium high heat until cooked through, and lightly browned, about 20 minutes.
Pour bourbon over chicken, cover, and cook for 20-30 minutes.

Pour onion relish over top of the chicken and serve with the juices.

This is great with rice or quinoa (or a mix). 

Carrot Cake Muffins (Gluten Free)

For Ellie's 1st birthday, I made these little muffins.  I was not thrilled with the idea of giving her a ton of sugar and processed junk, so I thought I'd do something more healthy.  But healthy doesn't have to mean boring.  These are anything but boring.  They are moist, flavourful, and delicious.  And Ellie loved them. I made another batch today for Bible study, but since they were fresh out of the oven, so I didn't have time to frost them, and they were really good without the frosting too!   Definitely a new family favourite!



Carrot Cake Muffins with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients:

not sure what to do with the candle!

¼ c Coconut Flour
¼ tsp Baking Soda
¼ tsp Salt
2 tsp Cinnamon
½ tsp Nutmeg
5 Tbsp melted Coconut Oil (or other oil of choice)
3 room temperature Eggs
5 Tbsp Honey
2 tsp Grated Ginger (or you can use pre-grated tubed ginger)
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 c lightly packed very finely grated Carrots
¼ c dried grated Coconut (toasted or raw)
¼ cups Currants or chopped Raisins

For the frosting:
1 pkg lite cream cheese (its smoother than the original), softened
maple syrup to taste (approx 1/4 c.)
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Recipe makes 24 mini muffins.
Set your eggs aside to come to room temperature. The quick method would be to place eggs in a warm water bath for 3 minutes. Be sure to dry the eggs off before you crack them.
Mix together the coconut flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg into a medium sized bowl. Sift or use a fork to break up all lumps in the coconut flour mixture. Set aside.
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, room temperature eggs (it’s very important that they are room temperature, or the coconut oil will harden), honey/sugar, ginger and vanilla extract. Whisk till well blended.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet, again using a wire whisk or mixer. Mix well so that there are no lumps in the batter. It will look a bit like melted caramel.
Fold in the carrots, grated coconut and the currants.
Spoon a tablespoon of batter into each mini muffin cup.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes depending on your oven. Just don’t over bake or they’ll get dry.
Cool the cupcakes.

For the frosting:
Soften the cream cheese, mix in mixer with wire whisk attachment until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla and maple syrup.  (I didn't measure, just poured the syrup, until the cream cheese tasted sweet enough).  Mix well.  Separate into 3 bowls (if decorating with carrots), 1 with most, 2 others with a small amount each.  Add a few drops of green to one small bowl, and a few drops of yellow and red to the other, mix until the colour is to your liking.  Frost the muffins with white frosting.  Put orange frosting into piping bag with very fine tip, or put into sandwich bag and snip a TINY corner off with scissors.  Pipe the carrots, then repeat with the green for the tops. 

Enjoy!

Puy Lentils

I'd never heard of Puy Lentils (also known as French Lentils), but I found this recipe in Tosca Reno's "The Eat Clean Diet Cookbook."  They are really great little legumes!  They are not floury like regular green or red lentils, and they keep their shape, even after long cook times, so they are optimal for salads.  We were having friends over for dinner, and as there were some dietary restrictions, I thought I'd give this a try.  Well, there were no leftovers...  so I guess it was a hit!  I didn't get a chance to take pictures, so these are stock photos, so you get the idea.  I'll be sure to take pictures when I make it next time, which will probably be very soon!


Puy Lentils
Ingredients:
1 medium purple onion, chopped
1 large stalk celery, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
1 medium bunch chard, stems & leaves, well rinsed and chopped (stems & leaves separated)
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp oil [recipe calls for olive, I use grapeseed]
1 3/4 c chicken/ vegetable broth or water
1 c Puy lentils, rinsed & drained
1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 tsp fresh oregano, chopped [I omitted for dietary restrictions]
juice of 1 lemon
same amount avocado oil [again, I used grapeseed]
* I also added some chopped baked chicken breasts (seasoned with salt & pepper), just to beef it up a bit and make it a more complete meal.

Directions:
In a large stock pot, place onino, celery, carrot, chard stems, 2 tsp oil, and 1/2 tsp sea salt.  Cover adn cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until vegetables begin to soften (don't over cook them here).
Add broth, lentils, nad herbs.  Bring to a full boil. Reduce heat and cover. Stir occasionally and make sure the lentils are just gettign soft.  This takes about 30 minutes.
Add chard leaves and cook until the leaves soften -- not more than 10 minutes.  Combine lemon juice and oil, season with about 1/2 to 1 tsp salt and pepper, and add to lentils. (I have a small mason jar that I combine dressings in, then put on the lid and shake, shake, shake.)  Stir to combine.

I served this with a sprouted rice & quinoa mix I got from Costco. 

Oatmeal Sweet Potato Muffins

I really like this recipe.  I've made these 3 times now, and every time seems better than the last!  The original recipe came from Tosca Reno's Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook, but what I'm posting is my version, as I made some changes to suit my needs and pantry.  :-)  They are a bit crumbly, but still moist and fluffy, and my daughter and husband love them!  :-)


[*Cook's note:  This recipe lends itself easily to lots of substitution, so feel free to experiment with what's in your pantry.  You'll see some places where I put in some alternatives that I've tried, or what the original recipe called for.  My version happens to be wheat-free, because, why not?  :-)  ]
 
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Oatmeal Sweet Potato Muffins

1 c. old fashioned oats (not instant)

½ c. unsweetened applesauce

½ c. mashed sweet potato* (or canned pumpkin, or banana)

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 Tbsp + 1 tsp coconut oil (or vegetable oil)

½ c. milk or milk alternative, or apple juice [I used whole milk the first time and almond milk the second time and heavy cream the third -- all turned out great!]

1 tsp vanilla

1 Tbsp double-acting baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

¾ to 1 c. oatmeal flour** (ground up oatmeal-- steel cut oats make great oatmeal flour!)

¼ c. maple sugar flakes (I used 2 Tbsp maple syrup and the full cup of oatmeal flour)

½ c. dried cranberries or raisins (optional, I omitted)

1/4 c. chopped nuts of your choice (optional, I omitted)

Preheat oven to 375. Line muffin pan with paper/ silicone liners or coat with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine oatmeal, sweet potato, applesauce, milk/ juice, eggs and oil.  Mix until all ingredients are blended.  Let stand for 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, thoroughly mix dry ingredients (powder, soda, spices, flour, maple sugar).  Make a well in the center, and pour wet ingredients into dry.  Add dried fruit, if using.  Mix until dry ingredients are just moistened.  Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.  Bake 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned on top, and toothpick comes out clean (8-9 minutes if making mini muffins).  Cool on rack.  Refrigerate or freeze if not eating right away.  (They only have about a 2 day life on the counter!)

* Poke the sweet potato all over with a fork, then microwave on high for about 2 minutes, turning over halfway through.  Allow it to cool, and then remove skin and mash with fork. 

** Original recipe calls for 1/2 c. amaranth or quinoa flour or flour of your choice + 1/4 c. whole-wheat flour (I'm guessing they would not be quite as crumbly if using wheat flour)

Harvest Quinoa Salad

Sweet and savory. Light, yet full of flavour.  This quinoa salad is a tasty combination of harvest flavours with a light lemony vinaigrette dressing.  It was simple to make and well-received, even by people who had never had quinoa before.  I used red quinoa this time.  It has a little more crunch/ nutty flavour to it than the standard quinoa.  I would have liked to do a mix of the two, but red was the only type available at the time in the bulk section of my grocery store.  This makes a great side dish for any type of occasion. (FYI: since I was making this for the ladies at church, I had a few dietary restrictions to accommodate, so I omitted the pecans and used pineapple juice instead of orange.)
[Cook's Note  1: For those of you not familiar with quinoa, it is an ancient grain grown in South America that is chocked full of goodness.  It is not only high in fibre, but also a good source of protein.  It is similar to couscous, in that it absorbs the flavours of whatever it is cooked in, so I always use some sort of broth to cook my quinoa (the type of broth depends on the recipe/ flavours I'm going for).  See my note (*) at the bottom for what I did for this recipe.]
[Cook's Note 2: I learned a great trick when using raw onions in a dish.  To eliminate some of the pungent smell, and overwhelming taste, cut/ chop your onion to desired size for the recipe, then rinse in a sieve under cold water for a minute or two, and drain thoroughly.  This 'softens' the punch of the raw onion, yet retains the onion-y flavour and crunch!]

Harvest Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:

FOR THE SALAD:
5 c. cooked quinoa (see Note Below)
2 whole Granny Smith apples
1 c. red bell pepper
1 small red (or sweet) onion, coarsely chopped
½ c. chopped, toasted pecans (optional) 

1 c. corn-- fresh (cut off cob), frozen (thawed), or canned (drained)
½ c. dried cranberries

FOR THE DRESSING:
zest and juice of 1 lemon
⅓ c. apple cider vinegar
½ c. orange juice (or pineapple juice)
⅓ c. oil (not olive)
⅓ c. honey

 

Directions: 

Note: To make 5 cups cooked quinoa, rinse 2 cups of quinoa in cold water for 1-2 minutes.  Add rinsed quinoa to 4 cups of liquid*.  Bring to a boil.  Cook covered for 7-10 minutes, until grain has 'popped' and is cooked to your taste preference  (I like mine a little crunchy).  Drain and cool. 

While quinoa is cooking, core and chop apples, red pepper and onion. Toast pecans and thaw or drain corn. Mix the dressing ingredients together in a mason jar and give it a good shake.  Once quinoa is cool, add all the ingredients together. Stir in the dressing. Chill for one hour prior to serving. Garnish with fresh parsley or mint (optional).

Keeps well in the fridge for up to 5 days.

[*I used 2 c. apple juice and 2 c. water.  I think it would also taste good to make a corn broth by boiling the corn cobs (if using fresh corn) with a good bit of salt, whole peppercorns, and an onion.]

Spicy Roasted Chickpeas

[this is not a great picture, because I cropped it from a larger one...]

These were very easy to make, and a fun experiment.  I've always wondered what else you can do with chickpeas besides make hummus or put on a salad, so this was a nice treat.  They are hard and crunchy, like nuts, and I was tickled when my friend Kathy, who has an air-born nut allergy, took the leftovers into her office, so she could 'munch on them while she worked.'


Spicy Roasted Chickpeas
Ingredients: 
2 (14 oz.) cans chickpeas 
1 tsp curry powder 
1 tsp ground cumin seed 
1 tsp celery salt [I did not have this, so I made my own with celery seed and sea salt- not quite equal parts, more celery seed than salt, then blended them up together in a spice grinder]
1 tsp garlic powder 
½ tsp sea salt 
1 ½ tsp olive oil

Directions:
In a small bowl, mix together the spices and the olive oil. Mix into a paste, adding a bit of oil if need be. Empty the drained and rinsed cans of chickpeas into a medium-sized bowl. Pour the spice mixture in with the chickpeas and mix well with a rubber spatula (so as not to break the chickpeas). Spread on a parchment-lined cookie sheet (single layer) and cook in a 375 F oven for about 1 hour. Because ovens vary, it’s important to know that these snacks should be hard and crisp, not burnt and not soft. You may need to leave them in the warm oven for a bit to harden them up. Enjoy. 

[EJ's notes: these took 2 tries at baking to get them crunchy.  After an hour they were fragrant and dark brown, but not crunchy.  After I finished making the kale chips, I turned off the oven and stuck the chickpeas in, and just left them for about 2 hours while I visited with a friend.  They were much better the 2nd time around.]

Lemon Kale "Chips"

These were SO easy!  A tasty, nutritious alternative to standard chips, even my "sometimes like pulling teeth to get him to eat veggies" husband munched on a handful of these, and commented, "these are really good!"  I'll probably be making them again very soon...  :-)   


[EJ's notes: this recipe makes about a medium-small bowl's worth... perfect if you've never tried kale crisps before and aren't sure if you (and your taste-testers) will like them.  Next time, I will probably double it.  It may seem like a TON when you start, but they cook down quite a bit.  If you're still unsure about it, you could half this recipe pretty easily, although I'd probably leave the salt the same.]

Lemon Kale "Chips"
Ingredients: 
2 bunches kale, washed and de-stemmed
2 Tbsp olive oil 
2 Tbsp lemon juice 
¼ tsp course sea salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.
Chop or tear kale into 1 inch pieces.
Place kale in a large bowl.
In a small bowl, combine oil, lemon juice and salt, then with hands, massage into the kale until evenly coated.
Place kale on parchment-lined baking sheets in single layer.
Bake at 350° for 12 minutes, or until kale is dark green and crispy.  (If cooking 2 pans at once, rotate halfway through-- and you may need a minute or two more)
Cool and serve.

Grilled Mahi-Mahi with Charmoulah

My little brother came to visit a few weeks ago, and it was just wonderful to have him here.  This was a new recipe I tried out on him and Alistair, and they both said it was really good.  In fact, Nathan just reminded me to post it, because he wants to try it out sometime soon.  :-)  I used frozen mahi-mahi fillets from Costco, and just let them thaw overnight in the fridge.  I served it alongside grilled summer veggies.  I think 'charmoulah' might be of Middle Eastern origin.  It is light and fresh, and it is chocked full of flavour. I think this would be good on top of just about any fish for a refreshing summer dinner.  It is quick and easy to prepare, and the whole dinner came together in about 20 minutes.



Grilled Mahi-Mahi with Charmoulah
Ingredients:
1 fillet of fish per person, fresh or thawed, rubbed with course grain sea salt on both sides

Summer veggies- zucchini, peppers, onions, etc-- lightly coated with olive oil and balsamic vinegar

Charmoulah:
1/2 cup each- finely chopped fresh parsley and coriander (cilantro)
2 green onions, finely chopped
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil [I would use less- maybe 1/8 c.-- next time]
3 tbsp fresh-squeezed lemon juice [I used key limes, because that's what I had on hand...]
2 cloves garlic, minced [I used 4]
1 tsp each- ground cumin and paprika
1/4 tsp each- cayenne pepper, salt and pepper

Directions:
Grill fish until it flakes, turning once, about 5 minutes per 1/2 inch of thickness-- be careful not to overcook it!

Add veggies to grill and cook until they are firm-crisp and have grill marks.

In bowl, mix together parsley, coriander, green onions, oil, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper.  Serve on top of fish.

Not-so-spicy Garlic Lime Shrimp

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This was a quick, easy meal that came together in less than 30 minutes from start to finish. I like it because it is a complete meal in a bowl, with tons of veggies and hearty, lean protein.  Like many of my meals these days, I followed a recipe, but tweaked it to what I had available.  I think it was supposed to be an Asian inspired stir-fry, but I couldn't find the right noodles (shiritake noodles- made from tofu), so I opted for bean sprouts instead, which added a pleasant crunch to the meal.  I found I somehow don't have cayenne pepper in my spice cupboard, so I had to omit it, hence the 'not-so-spicy' title.  I will add it next time.  The end result was quite tasty, fresh and light.  A perfect meal for a warm summer evening.

Not-So-Spicy Garlic Lime Shrimp 
Ingredients:
1-3/4 lb (28 oz) large, raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
~OR~
1-1/2 lbs (21 oz) fully cooked frozen shrimp, thawed
2 Tbsp oil (olive or vegetable)
1-2 cloves garlic, minced or finely chopped
1/2 c. green peppers, diced
1 Tbsp lime juice
a large handful (about 2 cups?) of bean sprouts
1/2 c. diced tomatoes, drained (or you could use fresh)
Seasoning Blend:
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder [I had garlic salt, so I did 1/2 tsp and omitted the salt]
1/8 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/4 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp onion powder [mine was generous]

Directions:
If using frozen shrimp, thaw under cold water (de-vein/ peel if necessary).  Make the seasoning blend by combining al the spices in a small bowl.  Heat a large skillet over medium high heat, add oil.  Once oil is hot, stir in garlic and saute briefly, then add peppers.  If using raw shrimp, add with peppers.  If using fully cooked shrimp, allow peppers to cook a few minutes before adding (since the shrimp are already cooked, you don't want them to become rubbery by overcooking, you want simply to reheat them).  Whenever you add the shrimp, also add the seasoning and the lime juice, and cook until shrimp is hot (and cooked through if starting with raw) and peppers are al dente (tender-crisp).  Stir in tomatoes and bean sprouts and mix to evenly coat and warm up sprouts.  Serve immediately.

Shrimp and Veggie Quinoa

Last night, I needed a quick meal that I could make and eat between tutoring sessions. Since its about time for a big grocery run, my cupboards were a bit bare and I was not feeling like an 'easy' meal like mac & cheese, so I started pulling stuff out of the fridge and envisioning how I could combine what I had into a meal. What I ended up with was impressively gourmet, considering that it came together from nothing in about 20 minutes. I didn't take any pictures, because I was in a time crunch (and hungry!) but I should have-- it was very rich and colourful.

Shrimp and Veggie Quinoa

Ingredients:
1 package frozen cooked, peeled, deveined shrimp- thawed in cold water and drained
2 Tbsp butter
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1" pieces
1-2 stalks celery (with leaves), coarsely chopped
about 2 cups broccoli florets
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 cup white wine
1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 1Tbsp water

Quinoa:
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup quinoa

Directions:
*Prepare quinoa by bringing broth to a boil, add quinoa, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, stir and cover, let stand for 10 minutes.
* Meanwhile, melt butter in large skillet, add onions, peppers, celery and garlic and cook until onions and celery are tender.
* Lightly steam broccoli in microwave, and add to skillet with shrimp.
* Add wine, cook until wine is mostly absorbed and everything is hot.
* Add cornstarch mixture to thicken sauce, stir to evenly coat.
* Scoop quinoa into serving dish (I used pasta bowls), spoon shrimp mixture over top.