Honey Mustard Chicken Tenders

 Lately when the kids have "rest time," I've been reading cooking magazines. I rip out the recipes I think I might actually make (read: the easiest ones), and I've been trying to make one or two a week. This is actually starting to pull me out of the three-and-a-half year cooking rut I've been in. (Yes, that number corresponds to the birth of our twins. Coincidence? I think not.)

This recipe was a winner from my magazine recipe pile. I call it "Chicken with Sweet Sauce" for the kids. Sometimes that even tricks them into tasting it. Sometimes. 

Let's get cooking!

Erin

Honey Mustard Chicken

Adapted from EatingWell

1 pound chicken tenders

Salt and pepper

Dry mustard

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon

Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper, and dry mustard to taste. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until browned and it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees, about 6 minutes total, flipping once halfway through. Remove chicken to a plate and cover to keep warm. 

Stir in chicken broth, honey, mustard, and tarragon, scraping the bottom to incorporate any brown bits from the pan. Cook until sauce is reduced by half, about 3-4 minutes. Return the chicken to the pan and stir to coat. 

Serve the chicken with the sauce. 

 

Mediterranean Chicken with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

I am all about making dinner as easy as possible. Marinade the chicken during naptime, prep the sauce and veggies while the kids are eating dinner, then you just have to cook the chicken once they go to bed. Now you're looking at a delicious date-at-home in peace and quiet. You're welcome. 

Mediterranean Chicken with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce 
Serves: 4

Adapted from Eating Well

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Pepper to taste

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (for me, this was 3 large breasts)

1/2 cup water

4 pita breads, warmed in the oven

Shredded green leaf or romaine lettuce

Halved cherry tomatoes

Sliced cucumbers

For the Cucumber Yogurt Sauce:

1 cup shredded English cucumber

3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

Dried dill, to taste

Lemon pepper*, to taste

Salt and pepper, to taste 

Whisk together zest and juice of lemon, oregano, salt, allspice, cumin, garlic powder, pepper, and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Score the chicken in a cross-hatch pattern and place in a resealable bag. Pour marinade over chicken and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. 

When you're ready to make dinner, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat a large skillet over medium high. Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cook chicken for about 4 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Pour water into skillet and scrape with a whisk to deglaze the pan. Pop pan in the oven and cook for 10-15 minutes, until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. (Add additional water while cooking if the pan gets too dry.) Allow chicken to rest for 5 minutes, then slice thinly and return to pan. Toss chicken with remaining sauce in pan. 

Meanwhile, combine sauce ingredients in a small bowl. 

Serve chicken with pita, lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Top with cucumber yogurt sauce. 

*I meant to add about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to this recipe, but my lemon was a dud. So I made due with lemon pepper, and it was delish!

Corned Beef Hash

If you made Slow Cooker Corned Beef for St. Patrick's Day, odds are you might have leftovers.

I used the onions, potatoes, carrots and beef from our Sunday meal to make corned beef hash for dinner earlier this week.

My husband snuck in a few reuben sandwiches, so there wasn't as much corned beef left as I'd hoped, but the hash was yummy and made for a fast weeknight supper.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Corned Beef Hash

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 to 2 cups corned beef, shredded or diced
2 cups cooked potatoes, diced
1 cup onion, diced
Salt and pepper to taste
4 eggs
Fresh parsley, chopped

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add potatoes and onions and cook until browned, stirring often, for 5 to 8 minutes. Add corned beef and cook until meat begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and stir.

Make four wells in the hash. Crack one egg in each well and cook over medium-high heat until eggs are at your desired doneness. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and enjoy!

Pasta with Sausage and Broccoli

When my Grampy turned 90 in 2016, we threw a big party to celebrate, complete with more Italian food than anyone could possibly eat in one day. The event took place at Sal's in Yonkers, my grandfather's favorite restaurant.

One dish blew me away with its simplicity. Orecchiette (little ears) pasta with sausage and broccolini. It was delicious and I've been trying to recreate it ever since.

Thanks to a recipe in the September issue of Family Circle magazine, I finally struck gold.

This meal comes together fast enough for a weeknight and I think it is perfect comfort food for a cool fall weekend, too.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Pasta with Sausage and Broccoli

1 pound rigatoni or orecchiette pasta, cooked al dente
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 pound bulk Italian sausage
4 cups broccoli florets or chopped broccolini
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Additional Parmesan cheese for garnish

Cook pasta according to package directions.

While water boils and pasta cooks, heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add sausage and cook until brown, breaking meat up into small pieces -- about 8 minutes.

Add broccoli and chicken broth and cover pan. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook for 4 minutes. Uncover, add red pepper flakes and cook 2 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper.

Add drained pasta and grated Parmesan and stir to combine. If dish is too dry, drizzle with more extra virgin olive oil.

Serve with additional Parmesan cheese.

Lime & Cilantro Israeli Couscous with Shrimp

You can get this one-pot meal on the table in about 20 minutes, especially if you cheat like I did and use precooked, ready-to-eat shrimp to speed things up.

This was delicious warm for dinner and cold the next day for lunch.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Lime & Cilantro Israeli Couscous with Shrimp

3 cups Israeli couscous, cooked to package directions
1 cup grape tomatoes, diced
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 small bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
Juice from 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined, cooked and chilled

Using a medium pot or saucepan, prepare couscous as directed. Meanwhile, chop the vegetables. Remove couscous from heat.

Add tomatoes, onions, cilantro and lime juice to the saucepan. Gently mix together and season with salt and pepper. Add shrimp and mix again.

Serve on butter lettuce leaves or simply eat as is.

Baked Tomatoes and Chickpeas with Feta

Fast and friendly weeknight meals are on my radar these days. What I love about this dish is that it uses up a good amount of tomatoes. Our garden is being very generous in that department right now.

Don't have fresh tomatoes? You could easily substitute canned.

Add a chunk of crusty bread and you've got a tasty vegetarian dinner with enough leftovers for lunch.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Baked Tomatoes and Chickpeas with Feta
Inspired by this recipe from the Kitchn

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 to 3 pounds of tomatoes, any variety, diced
3 minced garlic gloves
2 teaspoons dried oregano (or use 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano)
3 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper to taste
8 ounces crumbled Feta cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat the oil in a large, oven-safe
skillet. Add tomatoes and cook,
stirring, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute.

Stir in chickpeas, oregano salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer. Cover and place in oven. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until chickpeas have softened and sauce is thickened a bit. Remove cover and top with Feta cheese.

Let bake 5 minutes more, or until cheese melts. Ladle into bowls and serve with bread for dipping.

Picnic Cake

We had a pretty lazy Labor Day weekend, but I did want to mark the unofficial end of summer in some way. So I whipped up this cake. It reminds me of the ambrosia dessert my Aunt Marge always used to have at her big summer parties.

With mandarin oranges and pineapple, this treat definitely tastes like summer – but I can also see using it as a winter pick-me-up when the cold and dreary days drag on – especially since my boys liked it so much.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Picnic Cake
Inspired by this recipe from The Country Cook

1 box yellow cake mix
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 14 ounce can mandarin oranges, plus 1/2 of juice from the can
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 4 ounce box vanilla instant pudding mix
1 20 ounce can crushed pineapple, plus all of the juice from the can
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 (4 ounces) of Cool Whip from a regular sized tub

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

Note: To reserve juices from canned fruit, place a strainer on top of – or inside – a similar sized bowl. Pour contents of can into strainer. The juice will be saved in the lower bowl.

In a large bowl, combine cake mix, butter, mandarin orange juice, eggs and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on medium for about 4 minutes, until everything is smooth. Add oranges and beat to break up orange sections and incorporate into the batter.

Pour into prepared baking dish and use a spatula to smooth the batter out. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the cake is beginning to brown and is set in the center.

Remove from oven and cool about 15 minute on counter. Then transfer to refrigerator for about an hour.

To make the icing, add pineapple juice and pudding mix to a medium bowl. Beat for about 2 minutes. Stir in powdered sugar and beat again until combined. Add Cool Whip and use a rubber spatula to gently fold together. Then mix in drained pineapple.

Spread frosting on cooled cake. Refrigerate until serving. Refrigerate leftovers.