Blackened Chicken with Avocado Cream Sauce

I cannot say enough good things about this recipe!  I would happily eat it every week!

4 (4 ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 tablespoons blackened seasoning

For the sauce:

1/3 cup plain 0% Greek yogurt

1/2 avocado

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1. Place the chicken breasts and blackened seasoning in a large resealable bag.  Seal and shake a few times to evenly coat the chicken.

2. Lightly coat a large skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken and cook until cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes per side.

3. In a food processor, combine the yogurt, avocado, lemon juice, garlic powder, and salt and pulse until smooth and creamy.

4. To serve, top each chicken breast with 2 tablespoons of the creamy avocado sauce,

From Skinny Suppers cookbook.

Turkey (Chicken) Wild Rice Casserole

 When I recently went home to visit my mom, I "stole" many of her cookbooks, with her permission of course.  The first thing I made from those cookbooks was turkey with wild rice casserole.  We used chicken though because it is easier to find!  This recipe was probably more of a comfort food and less of the healthier foods I am going for.

4 slices of bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 lb turkey breast tenderloins, cut into 1/2-1 inch pieces

1 cup coarsely chopped carrots

1/2 cup coarsely chopped onion

1/2 cup sliced celery

1 cup uncooked wild rice

1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup

2 1/2 cups water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1. In 10 inch skillet, cook bacon over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until almost crisp.  Add turkey, carrots, onion, and celery; cook about 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until turkey is browned.

2. Spray 3 1/2 to 4 quart slow cooker with cooking spray.  Spoon turkey mixture into cooker.  Add remaining ingredients; stir to combine.

3. Cover; cook on low heat setting 5 to 6 hours.

From Pillsbury Pot Pies & Casseroles.

Chicken and Tarragon Pesto Pasta

 10 oz dried penne pasta

1/2 cup olive oil

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup pan-toasted pine nuts

1 large bunch of fresh tarragon, leaves stripped from the stem and chopped

1 unwaxed lemon, grated zest and freshly squeezed juice

1 garlic clove, chopped

3 cooked chicken breasts, sliced

4 oz arugula

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1) Cook the pasta for 8-9 minutes, until al dente.  Drain and refresh the pasta in cold water, then drain again and toss in half the olive oil.

2) To make the pesto, put the parmesan, pine nuts, tarragon, lemon zest and juice, garlic, and remaining oil in a bowl and puree until smooth with a stick blender.

3) Put the pasta, pesto, chicken, and arugula in a serving bowl, season, and toss well, coasting the pasta and chicken evenly with the pesto.

4) If you're taking this on a picnic, don't add the arugula until just before eating or the oil will make it wilt.

This pesto didn't really seem to come out how it should have, but it was decent anyway.

Recipe slightly adapted from Lazy Days and Beach Blankets.

Sheet Pan Chicken and Broccoli and Mushrooms with Rice

 1 (3.5-4 lb) whole chicken, cut into pieces

1/3 cup olive oil

3 teaspoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper

2 (8.5 ounce) pouches microwavable ready to serve rice (We used cheese flavored rice)

1 pound fresh broccoli

2 (8 ounce) packages fresh cremini mushrooms, sliced (We only used one package)

1) Preheat oven to 425F

2) Rub the chicken pieces with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil; sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of the salt and 1 teaspoon of the pepper

3) Spread the rice in an even layer on a heavy duty aluminum foil lined baking sheet, breaking up the clumps of rice

4) Cut the broccoli into florets.  Toss together the florets, 2 tablespoons of the oil, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a medium bowl; spread in an even layer over the rice.  Toss together the mushrooms and the remaining oil, salt, and pepper, and spread over the broccoli and rice.

5) Place the chicken pieces, skin side up, 1.5 inches apart on the broccoli and mushrooms.

6) Bake at 425F until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the chicken registers 165F, about 1 hour.

7) Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe slightly adapted from One Sheet Eats cookbook.

New Year's Resolutions

Every January, I try to start blogging again, but life gets busy and it doesn't last for long.  So for this year, I just want to get my New Year's resolutions down.  Even if I don't write another post all year, I at least want to have this one. So without further ado, here are my resolutions:

1) Read 100 books


2) Go through all of the boxes in my house and garage, at least one per week


3) Exercise regularly and walk the dog regularly


4) Cook some new recipes


5) Spend more time taking my little animals (guinea pigs and leopard geckos) out of their cages




What are your resolutions this year?  Do you usually stick to them?

Cheesy Cheddar Quick Bread

I really enjoy making quick breads.  Because I made a resolution to cook a new recipe every week, I went searching for a recipe for one, and this one from Crafty Cooking Mama looked delicious.

Cheesy Cheddar Quick Bread

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar
1 cup milk
1 large egg beaten
2 tablespoons butter melted

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350°
Grease/spray a loaf pan.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, garlic powder and salt. Stir in shredded cheese. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, egg, and butter.
Add liquid ingredients to bowl of dry ingredients. Stir until just combined. Do not overmix. Spoon/pour into loaf pan.
Bake for 45-50 minutes. Top should be a golden brown.
Cool on wire rack.
Remove loaf from pan, slice, and serve.

The dry ingredients

The wet ingredients

The batter all mixed up

The finished product! :)

I am bringing this to work in the morning to share with everyone, so I haven't tried it yet.  It looks really good, and I hope it tastes as good as it looks!

Back to Blogging / New Years Resolution / Two Recipes

I love blogging, but I seem to do a bad job of being consistent with it.  But...my New Year's resolution is to cook at least one new recipe per week.  My blog seems like the perfect way to hold myself accountable to that while sharing good recipes with everyone!

This week I made Easy Cheesy Chicken in the Crockpot from Go Grow Go blog and Lemon Cake Cookies from A Cowboy's Wife blog.

Easy Cheesy Chicken in the Crockpot

Ingredients: 
4-6 Boneless Skinless Chicken breast halves
Salt and pepper to taste (I only did pepper because the soup is salty)
1 Teaspoon of garlic powder
1 can of Cream of Chicken Soup
1 Can of Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 can of Cream of Cheddar Cheese Soup (I couldn't find this so I used Campbell's Cheddar Cheese)
8 oz Sour Cream

Preparation:
Sprinkle the chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place the chicken in the crock pot. Mix together the three cans of soup and pour over the top of the chicken. Cook on low for about 6-8 hours. Stir the sour cream in right before you serve.

I forgot to take pictures while cooking, but you can see how the chicken just falls right apart.

Lemon Cake Cookies

Ingredients:
1 box lemon cake mix
2 eggs
⅓ cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon lemon extract
⅓ cup confectioners' sugar

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375
Mix cake mix with eggs, oil and lemon extract until well blended.
Drop dough by the spoonfuls into a bowl of confectioners' sugar.
Roll them around until they're lightly covered.
Place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 6-9 minutes, til golden.

I only tasted one because I am bringing the rest to work tomorrow.  They are delicious and lemon-y!

What are your New Year's resolutions?  Have you kept to them so far?