Garlic Parsley Chicken

It is unbelievable that October is here, and already three days in. Where does the time go? That's rhetorical by the way...lol.

So yes here comes October and so far I have been spending more time in the kitchen. I credit that to me reading all these paleo blogs and recipe websites of late. They are so inspiring and better yet provide me with ideas for alternative ingredients for some of the foods, which I love but couldn't or chose not to have, and for which I just couldn't think of substitutes for. Suffice it to say, my love of food, or rather, creating good food, just TUN UP!! (For the non-Jamaicans that means 'turn up'). Don't mistake me though for wanting to spend hours in the kitchen...hells no! I still can be a lazy ass woman when it comes to anything domestic, including cooking, so I am sure as heck going to find an easier way or shorter way to get food off the stove/out the oven and unto the table. 

And so came about this recipe. Unique by any means? Heck no! Easy as 123? Definitely!

So here's what you need:

4 skinless chicken breasts (bone in)
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp chopped parsley
Salt
1 tbsp evoo
Cooking spray

Sauce:
Fish and meat sauce

How to prepare:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, coat 9x13 glass dish or roaster pan with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Wash chicken breasts with juice from a lime, pat dry with a paper towel and place on a board, sheet or in a bowl.
3. Mix garlic, parsley and salt in a separate bowl then rub all over chicken.
4. Pour evoo and rub into chicken breasts just enough to lightly coat them.
5. Place chicken into lightly greased glass baking dish or roaster pan, bone side down, and place uncovered in oven for 10 minutes.
6. Turn breasts over and cover dish/pan after 10 minutes and roast for an additional 12-15 minutes or until chicken is tender.

Serve over cauliflower and pumpkin mash with a side of roasted/sautéed vegetables (in pic is zucchini). Sauce is optional.

Cauliflower Fried Rice & Pizza a la Cauliflower

You know when a bill comes in the mail, and you quickly put it down without opening because you want to delay the misery you expect to feel from seeing it?  Well, I wasn't spared that with my electricity bill since it came straight to my phone/email (smarty pants requested this service to avoid any delays the postal service may have)! The balance is displayed for all and sundry to see and oh what a balance it was! And even though I expected the change, reflecting my exuberance in the kitchen the past month, I didn't think it was going to be as high as it was! It was so high (for me) that I quickly got over my aversion to gas cooking! Courts....here I come!

But before the nasty email, I did in fact enjoy making two new meals this past weekend. With no one showing up for Bootcamp on Saturday am (need to revisit the sense in doing this) I took the time to visit good ole Coro for some farm fresh goodies. In a addition to the usual staples, I bought a bit more cauliflower instead of buying broccoli since it lasts longer. And when Saturday rolled around I wanted something easy but fun to eat but didn't want to go out to get it. I also wasn't in the mood for cooking anything grand either because homegirl was tired after spending all day on her feet in cooking class. But hunger really took over and I ended up in front of my fridge (and I wonder why my light bill was so high this month) trying to come up with something. What I came up with was deeeeeelish to say the least and involved much of that cauliflower I bought. I can't be given credit for this recipe though since I got the idea from a recipe blog I visit quite often. Check her out here.

Pizza a la Cauliflower

Makes 1 8" pizza pie

Ingredients:

1.5 cups cauliflower rice (pulse raw cauliflower florets in a food processor to a rice like consistency)
2 tbsp almond meal
1 egg (or 2 egg whites)
Tomato basil mrs dash
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp tomato sauce
1/2 tbsp red onions chopped
1/4 cup zucchini (or any kind of vegetable of your choice), chopped or sliced into mini half moons
1/4 cup chicken, cooked and chopped (I used left over chicken)

Direction:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a bowl, mix cauliflower, almond meal, egg white, mrs dash, salt and pepper until combined.
3. Press mixture into a greased pie pan/dish or unto a greased cookie sheet into a round disc
4. Bake in oven for 8-10 minutes
5. Remove crust from oven, spread tomato sauce on top then sprinkle remaining toppings.
6. Return to oven for another 8 minutes or until veggies are heated through and crust edges are golden brown.

Combine all ingredients for crust

Press mixture into pie pan/dish

Let cool before slicing up and sharing it, if its too much for one. Or, you could go ahead and eat it all...I DID! And I have no shame about it...absolutely NONE! :)

Cauliflower Pizza with chicken, red onions and zucchini

Now for meal 2.

So our cooking instructor (yes I am doing a short cooking course) insisted that we go home and practice some of the dishes we learnt in class on Saturday. Right off the bat I knew it would be the fried rice, minus the rice of course. So again, using said cauliflower (was I ever happy I bought more than usual) I  ventured into my version of fried rice. And let me tell you, I would be fresh out of luck if there ever is a shortage of cauliflower because it is certainly going to be a must have in my refrigerator!

Ingredients:

3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 tbsp scallions, chopped
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup chicken, chopped (I used leftovers)
1 egg (or 2 egg whites)
3 cups of cauliflower rice (pulse raw cauliflower florets in a food processor to a rice like consistency)
salt & pepper
mrs dash
worcestershire sauce (or liquid aminos or soy sauce)

Directions:
1. Heat 2 tbsp of evoo in a large skillet and saute garlic and onion for 20 seconds then add scallions
2. Add chicken then egg into the seasonings and continue mixing until eggs are set but still slightly runny.
3. Add remaining 1tbsp of evoo then mix in rice until combined, seasoning with salt, pepper and mrs dash to your liking.
4. Turn heat down low then add as much worcestershire sauce to the rice, mixing it well until rice is brown. Cover skillet, turn heat off and let sit for a minute.

Combined fried ice with worcestershire sauce

Enjoy with a glass of your favourite drink. I had with a glass of moscato....yumminess in my tummy!!!

Cauliflower Chicken Fried Rice

 Who says veggies aren't fun to eat! You just have to get creative with it! And it doesn't take much time.

Zucchini Pasta Chicken

I am a huuuuge pasta fan. Did I say HUGE??? Yep I sure did. I love me some pasta whether by itself or mixed in marinara sauce, it really doesn't matter. What matters however is my stomach no longer liking it. I refuse to think its anything more than my gut just saying, "give me a damn break from the pasta dude!" So I decided to do so.

But what do ya know, I still want me some spaghetti, though I resigned myself to not having it. Like anybody Jamaican, especially one who loves their food, toying with the idea of eating it anyway and contending with consequences later, did cross my mind. But thankfully, common sense prevailed and I went in search of an alternative.

And how happy I am to have found not only a substitute but a fat free, super low carb, eat all you can option! Two in fact! Thanks to paleo blogs like Paleomg, Nomnompaleo, Livinpaleo and others for opening up my eyes to the possibilities...they are ENDLESS!

So, what are these substitutes I am apparently so excited about (I can see you rolling your eyes at me)? Spaghetti squash and zucchini(cucumber cousin). Well, zucchini was obviously the first thing I was going to use, since I didn't have (the time) to go hunting for it. It was already in my fridge.

So how to make zucchini spaghetti? You can use a julienne peeler or a mandoline to slice up your zucchini and in seconds you've got even strips ready to cook up. If you have neither then it will take just a little bit if effort.

To make you'll need:
1 large zucchini, washed and end cut off
Vegetable peeler and kitchen knife and cutting board.

On the cutting board, hold zucchini upright, so it's standing in the flat, cut off end. With the vegetable peeler, or knife, slice down the whole length of the zucchini into pasta thin (think lasagna thick) strips. Then turning strips horizontally onto board, cut along length into 1/4" thick pieces.

Toss with salt and pepper and sauté in olive oil or cooking spray until slightly tender, 1 minute before serving.

To make sauce, you'll need:
1 small red onion (I love red onions)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (optional)
8 oz can tomato sauce
1 tsp dried or fresh herbs (basil/oregano)
1 tsp honey (optional)
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (optional)
1 cup cooked chicken (optional)

Directions:
1. Heat evoo in a skillet on med- high. Add onions and saute until slightly soft.
2. Add chicken to onions, let warm through.
3. While sautéing chicken, mix honey, vinegar, herbs and tomato sauce in a small bowl.
3. Add sauce to chicken and onions, turn heat down to medium, and mix until chicken is coated and sauce us heated through.

Prepare zucchini as directed above and serve with chicken.

Enjoy!

I will go in search of spaghetti squash...eventually. Stay tuned!

Almond Curried Chicken

See what happens when you stay home all day without sleeping? You think about food! Unfortunately (or fortunately depending how you look at it), I don't have snacks so I couldn't past the time munching and watching tv. So I think about ways to create food said food. But again, my refrigerator looks like it went on strike...its empty or rather has the bare minimum to get me through the week (water, lettuce, green beans, those onions I spoke about earlier and eggs), so there went that plan.

BUT....I did get to thinking about dinner and somehow became fixated on curried chicken. Of course I've never made curried chicken and it come out cool or tasty so I decided to do a little research to see if I could find one SIMPLE enough for me. I did see a few but for what I had in my fridge, would not cut it. So once again, I winged it! And let me tell you, it came out better than I expected and totally deeeeee-lish!!! The curry sauce/liquid is so tasty you absolutely need something on your plate to soak it up. If you don't have any such thing, you can do like me and lick the plate! lolol! *licking the plate in front of guests is not suggested, they will certainly think you uncouth and without etiquette!

Loaded Sweet Potato Pie for Breakfast

Whew, its been a hot minute since I've been in here. But I have good reason so don't be mad. A week after my last post, I got hit with the nasty dengue fever. Even now, just typing the term gives me chills. But to make a long story short, it is by far THE worst sickness I have ever gone through. Between the 10 day migraine, 3 day 105 degree fever, psoriasis like itching and redness and the joint pain, I can't decide what made me feel the sickest. I just was thankful for it to pass, but let me tell ya, in its wake was the 10 hour sleeping days and night time restlessness, ZERO appetite (not even through measles and chicken pox did my need to feed go), extreme fatigue and yes that God forsaken itching...arghh! My skin is stil recovering from it, so long pants/tights have been the order for work wear since.

But yes, I am back to my old self, energy has returned, I suspect strength will take some time, and oh how the appetite has charged in like a damn FREIGHT TRAIN!! Dear God! Admittedly for the past week I have been really lazy and not really been eating my usual way and now my body has decided it has had enough! But after my 1st 'official' cooking class since high school yesterday, I got that fire back so here we are. And stay tuned because this space is going to be jumping the next few weeks as my experiments take on a whole new meaning!

I felt for something super delish but had no clue what I was going to make for breakfast today. Felt kinda lazy to be honest, so I dug around in my refrigerator, not that there's much, and found sweet potato and red onions. Even then I was still not sure what to do with them, so I just grabbed the potato, wrapped it in foil and popped it into the oven for about 40 mins. And after an hour, potato has been cooled by then, I still hadn't come up with something, so what do you think I did. I went by instinct. And this is what came out! Of course I ate the whole thing but for you less craven people you can split this in 2 or share it. 

Ingredients:

2-3 tbsp diced red onions

1/2 tbsp evoo (extra virgin olive oil)

1/4 cup cooked chicken (I used left overs)

2 whole eggs + 2 egg whites (beaten)

salt & pepper to taste,

1/2 tsp dried herbs/seasonings of your choice (I used a mix of mrs dash & mccormick perfect pinch garlic)

3/4 cup sweet potato (baked)

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F and grease glass pie dish using non-stick cooking spray. If you bake the potato just before simple leave it on while you prep.

2. Heat your skillet over medium heat, then sauté red onions in evoo, constantly stirring/flipping onions so they don't burn, until slightly tender (I like mine caramelized-ish). 

3. Next stir in chicken until chicken becomes warmed through.

4. Then pour eggs into the pan, adding salt & pepper & herbs, with the chicken & onions and stir with a spatula just until eggs start firming up (they should still be very runny).

5. Remove skillet from heat and mix in sweet potato until combined. 

6. Pour into greased pie dish and bake for 6-7 minutes or until egg is set. 

Enjoy!

Eggs added to mixture

Loaded Sweet Potato Pie fresh from the oven!

Loaded Sweet Potato Pie

Chicken Patty and Fries you say??

Who doesn't want a scrumptious meal that can be done in 20 minutes or less? I know I do. Contrary to popular belief, I do not spend hours in the kitchen making my meals. In fact THAT is the every reason why I like this lifestyle. Not much preparation but with just the right ingredients you can produce meals that are flavourful and delightful to the palette.

So here I've taken chicken mince, tomatoe sauce and sweet potatoes to make a meal that even my 4 year old niece would love. 

Chicken Patty with Sweet Potatoe Fries

Ingredients:

1lb sweet potato cut in 1/4" strips

splenda

cinnamon

1lb chicken mince

1/4 cup chopped onions

1tsp seasoning

1/4 tsp salt (optional)

1/2 cup breadcrumbs or ground oatmeal

1 whole egg

1/2 cup tomatoe sauce

1/4 cup chopped red and green tomatoes

1 tbsp tomatoe paste, 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1/2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sweetener or sugar

seasoning of your choice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray, set aside. Place sweet potato strips on baking sheet, mix splenda/stevia and cinnamon in a bowl, sprinkle over potatoes and bake for 15-20 minutes until cooked.

While fries are being done, grease another baking sheet or glass baking dish with non-stick spray. Combine chicken mince, onions, salt, breadcrumbs, seasoning and egg in a mixing bowl. Form into round patties (to the size of palm), place on baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until patty is cooked through. Mix tomatoes, sauce and seasoning in a bowl, set aside. 

Remove patties and top with salsa and serve with potato fries.

The Chicken & The Egg

Which one came first? To be honest, I have absolutely no idea nor am I even attempting to explore it. What I am attempting however is how to use BOTH of these clean protein sources to create a very simple yet tasty Frittata.

What is a frittata you ask? Well simply put, it is an open faced omelette. However, unlike making an omelette with the additional ingredients added to the already 'cooked' egg mixture, the frittata egg mixture includes all the necessary toppings before it is cooked. In addition, the frittata is cooked on stove top low heat only until the bottom is set (top remains runny) and then placed into an oven to be bake until completely cooked through. Another major difference: while an omelette is usually best served immediately and to 1 person per 2-3 eggs, a frittata can be made and served hot or cold to more than 1 person as slices much the same way a pizza is.

So technically a frittata is an Egg Pizza and with the most important base ingredient in hand, you can make this into a pizza you'll fight to share.

Ingredients:
3 egg whites
1/4 cup chicken (i used tuna but you can substitute with meat of choice)
1/4 cup cooked green beans & carrots chopped (substitute with veggies of choice)
1 tbsp red or yellow onions (diced)
2 tbsp tomatoes (diced)
1/2 tsp garlic
 1 tbsp evoo i.e extra virgin olive oil (olive/canola oil can be used )

Method;
In a skillet that can be used in the oven, heat evoo and add garlic and onions and cook for 1-2 mins. Heat oven 325 degrees F. Mix egg whites, tuna and all other ingredients and pour over onions until it covers base of skillet completely. Turn heat to med and let egg mixture cook by checking (with a spatula) the bottom for being 'set/firm'. Once it is set, transfer skillet to pre-heated oven for 3-5 minutes until top is set, making sure edges do not burn.

Remove from oven, let cool slightly. With a plate face down on to top of the skillet, flip to turn out frittata unto plate. Slice up and serve with your favourite salad, piece of whole grain toast or have by itself!

My very own Egg Pizza