Sunday 11 November 2012

Super-easy chicken and glazed carrots

So, for two months, I was doing the Insanity workout and following the Insanity diet. Here's one of our favourite recipes, courtesy of Shaun T.

Ingredients (for 2 people):

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. paprika

2 whole carrots, washed and peeled
2 tbsp. honey

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350'.
1. Mix olive oil, lemon juice and paprika together in a bowl.
2. Place chicken breasts on a baking sheet (I put them on aluminum foil in the pan).
3. Use a spoon to pour paprika mixture over chicken breasts and gently rub in (on both sides).
4. Place chicken in oven and let cook for 20 minutes (or until chicken is fully cooked).
5. While chicken is cooking, bring a pot of water to a boil. Chop carrots and boil in the water for ~15 minutes (or until carrots are soft -- when you can poke into them with a fork).
6. When carrots are done, remove from heat and stir in honey, coating the carrots.
7. Serve chicken and carrots, and enjoy!


Nana's Shrimp Curry

So, first thing's first, I must apologize for my complete absence since the end of June. I graduated with my Bachelor of Education degree and was offered a job teaching high school French in Saskatchewan, so I moved back home for July and August before moving across the country. When I lived at home, I had the luxury of not having to cook (and when I did, it was recipes that I have already posted, or one's that were lazy enough that it wasn't worth posting). I moved out here mid-August and have been soo busy with planning and teaching, I haven't really had the time to update this blog.

To make up for my complete absence, I'm going to share my FAVOURITE recipe for shrimp curry -- the one my nana used to make. She passed away almost 7 years ago, and I was the only one in the family who was able to get this recipe from her. So let's get cooking!

NOTE: As is with most recipes from grandparents, measurements are usually eyeballed out and it was tough to be exact with most of this recipe. So the only thing that I have really left "blank" in terms of measurement is the water, just because people have different likes/dislikes when it comes to thickness and amount of curry (and quite frankly, I just kept adding water, little by little, until it looked right, which I know is awful to say when you're trying to keep a cooking blog).

Ingredients:


1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. garlic
1 tsp. saffron
1 tsp. paprika
½ tsp. dill powder
½ onion
1 lb. shrimp, thawed and deveined
2 medium potatoes, peeled
½ cup vegetable oil (can substitute with olive oil)
½ can coconut milk
2 tbsp. soya sauce
"1 cup" water (I don't think I used more than a cup of water, so again, add what makes you happy)

Directions:

1. Mix salt, ginger, garlic, saffron, paprika, and dill powder in a bowl. Add water (to your liking, depending on thickness and amount of curry you want, I used about 1/3 cup). Set aside.

Spices!
Spices mixed with water -- see the thickness I went for?

2. Cut up onion. Peel and cut potatoes (let them soak in water to make it easier to peel).

3. Add ¼ cup vegetable oil to frying pan and bring to medium heat. Add shrimp and cook until shrimp are pink (“C” for “cooked”, “O” for “overcooked”).

4. Strain shrimp and put cooked shrimp in a separate bowl.




5. Fill bottom of cooking pot with ¼ cup vegetable oil. Bring to low heat. Put in onions and cook until onion begins to turn brown.

6. When onions turn brown, add spice mixture. Let cook for 5 minutes on medium heat. (You might find that you want to add more water here, since the water will begin to boil off).

7. Add shrimp and sautée until mixed with spices.

8. Add coconut milk and soya sauce. (Again, you might want to add more water to get the thickness you desire, I probably added about 1/2 cup).
I added enough water so my potatoes were still visible, if that helps.

9. Add potatoes, cook on medium heat until potatoes are fully cooked (about 25 minutes).

10. Serve over basmati rice.
I didn't have basmati rice :(
But it was still super-delicious!














Sunday 24 June 2012

Pesto Chicken and Asparagus

At first, I was a bit apprehensive about this dish, but it was so good, I made it again this week! Plus, this is another easy and fast meal.

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts (thawed, boneless, skinless)
2 tbsp. Pesto
1/4 cup Mozzarella cheese

Asparagus (I make 4-6 stalks per person)
1 tbsp. Olive oil
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Pepper
1 tsp. Garlic powder
1 tbsp. Parmesan cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

1. We're going to start by getting the asparagus ready. Wash and trim the asparagus. Get a baking pan ready by layering it with tin foil. 

2. Lay asparagus on tin foil. Drizzle with olive oil, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. 

Asparagus, cooking

3. Place in oven and let bake for 15 minutes. When done, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

While that bakes, we're going to work on the chicken.

4. Bring non-stick skillet to medium-high heat. Cook chicken for 5 minutes per side, or until fully cooked.

Chicken, cooking


5. Place cooked chicken on plate. Spread pesto onto chicken. Then, cut the chicken into slices and drizzle with cheese.

Chicken and pesto

6. Remember to take out the asparagus! Serve and enjoy.


Voila!

Sautéed Shrimp

First, I must apologize for my complete absenteeism these past two weeks -- my online courses caught up to me and it was tough finding the time for myself, let alone this blog.


Anyways, these shrimp were absolutely AMAZING and easy to make!!!! So let's get to it!


Ingredients
1 lb. Shrimp, thawed, peeled and deveined (I usually make 8-10 medium-sized shrimp per person)
1/4 cup White wine
1 tsp.Thyme
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Pepper


Directions


1. Bring skillet with non-stick spray (I use 1 tbsp. olive oil) to medium-high heat. 


2. Add shrimp. Sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper. Let cook on one side for about 2-3 minutes.


Shrimp in wine mixture




3. Flip the shrimp and add white wine. Let cook for 2-3 minutes on this side.


4. Voila! You're done! See, I told you it was super easy! 


Although it was a no-carb day, I totally made some rice to go with this, since I've grown up with the idea that rice and shrimp are a match made in heaven (I served it with some peas, too, since I needed my greens) :)


Yummy!

Thursday 14 June 2012

Chicken Nuggets and Berry Salad

This meal is super yummy and great for summer!

Ingredients
Chicken Nuggets
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 whole egg
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. oregano
Berry Salad
1 cup spinach
4 fresh, sliced strawberries
1/4 cup blueberries
1/4 cup raspberry vinaigrette
2 tbsp. orange juice


Directions


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

1. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces.

2. In a large bowl (or tupperware container), crush tortilla chips. Add breadcrumbs, paprika, garlic powder and oregano. Mix well.

3. Dip chicken in egg and then mix in tortilla mixture, a few pieces at a time. Place on aluminum foil in a baking sheet. Place in oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until chicken is fully cooked.

Bread crumb mixture
Coated nuggets


4. Meanwhile, serve spinach onto each plate. Decorate with berries. Combine raspberry vinaigrette with orange juice in a bowl, then drizzle over salad (or leave on table for each person to drizzle the amount they want).
Berry salad

Cooking nuggets

Finito! (Although no picture of the salad dressing)

Veggie Alfredo

I LOVE pasta and I LOVE alfredo, so for my pasta day (once a week), I decided to use up the rest of the veggies that I had left over from the week. So here we go...

Ingredients
Pasta (I use linguine)
Assorted veggies, however much of each that you want (I used about 1/4 cup of each).
   - broccoli 
   - mushrooms
   - onions
   - tomatoes
   - spinach
Alfredo sauce (however much you need, depending on how much you want)
Garlic powder
Pepper

Directions
1. Bring water to boil. Cook pasta according to given directions.
2. While pasta is cooking, start cooking veggies in 1-2 tbsp. olive oil. Start with thicker veggies (cook broccoli for about 3 minutes before adding mushrooms and onions. Cook until mushrooms begin to turn brown. Add tomatoes and spinach. Cook for 2 minutes, then add alfredo sauce (I add 1/2 jar of Classico alfredo sauce).  Simmer on low until pasta is ready.
3. Serve and enjoy.



The website rotates it this way, I don't know why :(



Monday 11 June 2012

Weekly menu: June 10-16


This is a sample of what this week looks like for dinner:

Sunday
Veggie alfredo
     Pasta
     Any leftover veggies from the week before (spinach, broccoli, mushrooms, onion, tomato)
     Alfredo sauce

Monday
Chicken Nuggets and Berry Salad
     2 chicken breasts
     Tortilla chips (or cornflakes, or breadcrumbs)

     Spinach
     Raspberry vinaigrette
     Orange Juice
     Strawberries
     Blueberries

Tuesday
Sauteed shrimp (and scallops, although I didn't buy scallops this week)
     1 lb. shrimp
     White wine
     Thyme
     Salt
     Pepper

Wednesday 
Pesto chicken and asparagus
     2 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
     Pesto
     Mozzarella cheese

     Asparagus
     Olive oil
     Italian seasoning
     Salt
     Pepper
     Garlic
     Parmesan cheese

Thursday
Shrimp curry
     1 lb. shrimp
     Curry powder
     Diced tomatoes
     Sour cream

Friday (out of town)
Saturday (out of town)