Dumpling Bake

This is another "food from Instagram" / viral food trend that we tried and really liked.  I made it two weeks in a row and we all loved it.  The only issue is that these dumplings are really low calorically  (which is good for me but not great for my young athletes who are so hungry by dinner time) so I served it with white rice (to soak up the sauce), and some frozen veggie eggrolls. I like how versatile this is with adding veggies.  The second time that I made it, I increased the spinach (since it wilts down a lot) and added some zucchini.

Here's a photo of my ingredients and what it looked like before I put it in the oven in case that visual helps:

Thai Curry Dumpling Bake (serves 4)

1 can coconut milk
1/2 bottle Thai Red Curry Sauce (from Trader Joe's)

3 T teriyaki sauce

3 tsp minced garlic

A few handfuls of spinach

1/2 red bell pepper, sliced

other veggies as desired

1 bag of chicken gyoza potstickers (from Trader Joe's)

Chili Garlic Crunch oil for topping (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish, mix together the coconut milk curry sauce, teriyaki, and garlic.  Spread your veggies over the sauce.  Lay the potstickers on top.  Cover the pan tightly with foil.  Bake for 35 minutes.  Uncover the pan and let it cook for 5 minutes more (this will thicken the sauce).  Top with the chili oil if desired

Hot Honey Chicken Meatballs

My family doesn't usually love meatballs but this was a relatively easy weeknight dinner and very tasty.  I froze the extra meatballs to make another batch another time.  It was pretty spicy . . .  you can reduce the sriracha to 2 T - 1/4 cup if you'd like it less spicy (or use a commercially available "hot honey" instead of making your own).  We served it with roasted broccolini and asparagus and white rice and served it sort of like rice bowls.

Hot Honey Chicken Meatballs (serves 4)

Meatball Ingredients1 lb ground chicken
1 egg
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green onion, chopped (plus more to garnish)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil for cooking

Sauce Ingredients
1/3 c. Sriracha
1/3 c. honey
2 T soy sauce
1 T white wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced

Mix all the meatball ingredients together except for the olive oil. Form meatballs the size of golfballs (or slightly smaller). In a separate bowl, whisk together all the sauce ingredients.

Heat the olive oil in a large pan on medium high heat. Add the meatballs and let them cook until brown. Turn / Flip and make sure they are browned on all sides and cooked through. Add the sauce to the pan and cook for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened.

Chicken Milanese

This is a dish that I would often order in a restaurant if it's on the menu and the other night, I wanted to make a version myself.  I used the base chicken recipe and the method from the Chicken Parmesan that I often make but finished it with a lemon butter sage sauce & added an arugula & fennel salad.

Start by preparing the chicken breasts like this Chicken Parmesan recipe but instead of topping it with mozzarella, marinara & basil, top it with the sauce and salad recipes below!

Lemon Butter Sage Pan Sauce

3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons

1 medium shallots, minced
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock or low-sodium broth
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt and freshly ground pepper

In a medium saucepan, melt 1/2 tablespoon of the butter. Add the shallots and cook over moderate heat until softened, 4 minutes. Add the cream, wine and stock and bring to a boil. Simmer over moderate heat until reduced to ¾ cups, 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the remaining 2.5 tablespoons of butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Add the sage, lemon juice and cayenne. Season with salt and white pepper and cover.

Arugula & Fennel Salad

1 5oz container arugula
1 fennel bulb, shaved
 1/3 c. freshly grated parmigiano reggiano + more for shaving over salad
1 large lemon
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp. honey
1.5 tsp Dijon mustard

Whisk together the parmigiana cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, honey & dijon mustard really well and let it stand for 10-15 minutes.  Massage it into the arugula & fennel (you may not use all of it).  Top with some shaved parmigiana reggiano & freshly ground pepper.

Thai Chicken & Rice Bowls (Instant Pot)

 

Instant Pot Thai Chicken & Rice Bowl (4 servings)

 

2 T olive oil

4 chicken breasts (about 2lbs)

1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice

2 cups broth

1 T peanut butter

1/2 cup sweet Thai chili sauce

3 T soy sauce

1/2 T ginger, minced

1/2 T garlic, minced

1 tsp lime juice

1 tsp Sriracha

 

For topping:

Cilantro

Shredded zucchini and/or cucumber

Shredded carrots

Bean sprouts

sesame seeds

chopped peanuts 

In a bowl, mix together the peanut butter, thai chili sauce, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, lime juice and Sriracha.  Select the saute setting on your instant pot and add the olive oil.  Sear the chicken breasts for 2-3 minutes per side to seal in the juices.  You may need to do this in batches.  Once browned on each side, remove from the instant pot and place into a glass dish and pour the sauce over the top, mixing to combine.

 

Place the rice in the instant pot, add the chicken and sauce over the top of it, then pour over the broth and secure the lid.

 

 Select manual pressure setting (high) and set the timer to 12 minutes.  Do a natural release.  Shred the chicken with two forks then mix with the rice before serving.  

 

Garnish at the table with cilantro, shredded veggies, & peanuts.  Serve with extra soy sauce & Sriracha to taste.

 

 

Another Chicken Tortilla-ish Soup

One of my favorite things about winter is making soup and I make it on a regular basis.  I don't often use recipes but just start by sautéing some onion, celery, peppers, & carrot and adding broth, beans, other protein, and other vegetables.  However, I am a big fan of chicken tortilla soup, white chicken chili, and other variations.  

I wrote this one down the other day because I really liked how it turned out - very flavorful & high in protein.  I used a pretty spicy green salsa and the end result was a little spicy (which I like) but you can control the heat by which salsa & chiles you choose and add more spice at the table with hot sauce & jalapeños.

You could also probably dump this in a crockpot after sautéing the onion & bell pepper with good results. I thought the leftovers tasted even better than the first time we ate the soup.

Chicken Chile Verde Soup (serves 4)

1 T vegetable oil
1 onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
3/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
4 cups chicken broth
2 cans cannelleni beans, rinsed
1 cup jarred green salsa
1 4oz can green chiles
2-3 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken

For serving: 
Crispy tortilla strips
chopped fresh cilantro
sliced jalapeños (fresh or jarred)
Sour cream

In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil and saute the onion & green bell pepper until soft.  Add the pepper, salt, garlic, and cumin and sauce for 1-2 minutes more.  Add the broth, 1 can of cannellini beans, salsa, green chiles and shredded chicken.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Mash up the second can of cannellini beans and add to the soup and heat through (this will thicken it).

Serve with tortilla strips, cilantro, jalapeños & sour cream

Baked Chicken Parmesan

Baked Chicken Parmesan (serves 4-6)

4-6 thin cut chicken breasts
1 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1/2 cup whole wheat panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 large egg whites
8 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced
1-2 cups jarred marinara sauce
fresh basil, thinly sliced

 Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with olive oil or cooking spray. In a wide shallow bowl like a pie pan, combine both kinds of breadcrumbs. parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and black pepper.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg whites until foamy.   

Dip each piece of chicken in the egg whites, gently shake off any excess, and then coat with the breadcrumbs making sure it sticks to all sides.  Place on prepared baking sheet.  Lightly spray the top of the chicken with olive oil or cooking spray.  Bake until internal temperature reaches around 165.  The baking time will depend on the thickness of your chicken but mine took about 12-15 minutes.

Remove from oven and top with a few spoonfuls of the marinara sauce and a slice or two of the mozzarella cheese.  Return to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted - about 3-5 more minutes.

Sprinkle each slice with basil and serve with extra parmesan cheese and sauce.

Chicken Ginger Udon

Another birthday in our family - this beautiful girl turned 14 recently.  While Little is always down to try new food, I would probably classify Middle as the biggest foodie in our family.  She doesn't love big social gatherings with people she doesn't know, so sometimes she gives herself pep talk about the good food that will be there.  She usually has a running list of new foods to try or new restaurants to go to.  Recently, it's every kind of Asian / Asian fusion food and Hawaii is a great place for that.  There are all kinds of prepackaged ramens in the grocery store, many of which we don't even see in CA.  

She and Little ate a lot of spam musubi and sushi this summer and one night when the adults were going out to dinner, I offered to pick up a pizza for them.  She said "nah" and made the dinner above - teriyaki tofu, steamed bok chow and fancy drinks (Poppi soda in martini glasses).

When it was time to pick a birthday dinner, she wanted "some kind of soup - maybe soba - that's not fishy."  I read a few recipes online and ended up making this Chicken Udon.  It's light & healthy but tastes like comfort food.  We ate the whole pot and would have had seconds if there had been more.  I liked the pickled ginger on a soup so don't skip that part!  The cabbage seemed like a lot at first but honestly, I'd add more next time - it cooks down to almost nothing.  Also, taste your broth and make adjustments - it's hard to fix if you've made it too salty but I ended up adding  more soy & a little teriyaki right at the end.

Chicken Udon with Pickled Ginger (serves 4)

Canola oil
Sesame oil
1/2 head of Chinese cabbage (Napa cabbage)
2 red thai chiles, thinly sliced (more for serving)
2 T ginger, peeled and diced
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup green onions, thinly sliced (more for serving)
2 cups bean sprouts
2 cans chicken broth
3 T rice wine vinegar
3 T soy sauce 
2 packages of refrigerated Udon noodles (7oz each)
1/2 package firm tofu, cut into small cubes
1 1/2 cup roasted chicken diced
pickled ginger
chopped cilantro
Sriracha

In a large pot, heat a thin layer of canola oil.  Add the shredded cabbage and saute for 4-5 minutes.  Add a drizzle of sesame oil and the ginger, garlic, and chiles.  Saute until fragrant 1-2 minutes.  Add the green onions, bean sprouts, chicken broth, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce and udon noodles.  Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer.  Add the tofu and chicken and stir until it's all combined and the protein is warmed through.  Taste the broth and season with more soy sauce or rice wine vinegar if desired.

Serve in bowls with pickled ginger, cilantro, and toasted sesame seeds on top.  I also like to serve with extra green onions, red chiles, hoisin and Sriracha for people to add at the table (last photo above).