Thai style ground chicken and green beans

Whenever we go out for Thai food my husband orders one of two things, ginger chicken or, green bean chicken. He absolutely loves these two dishes, and rarely ventures out to try anything else on the menu– unless venturing out is tantamount to him taking a few bites of my dish. I love ginger chicken, but I have yet to ever try this green bean dish that he loves so dearly. However, the ever ambitious girl that I am in the kitchen, decided to try to recreate this dish for him at home the other night. I can not say whether or not I hit the mark on what he has in the restaurant, but this dish definitely hit the mark for me! I loved it! My husband did too. He said “Mmmm…this is delicious” after every bite. You can substitute any ground meat that you choose in this dish.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minute
Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:
1 lbs of ground chicken
2 cups of chopped fresh green beans
1/2 cups of green onion chopped
2.5 Tablespoons of low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup of cilantro chopped
1 teaspoon of grated ginger
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 tablespoon of flour optional
1-2 teaspoons of chili pepper flakes
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 cup of water
Sea salt to taste.

Directions:
Heat oil in a skillet. Add ginger, onion, and garlic, and saute for 1 minute, stirring so that the ginger and garlic don’t burn. Add in the ground meat, cook until browned. Add in the soy sauce, toss, then add in the flour if using. Toss again, add in the green beans, and water, cover and cook for 5-7 minutes, or until the green beans are fork tender. Remove from heat, add cilantro, serve over brown rice, and enjoy!

What restaurant meals have you had success recreating at home?

Chicken with Lemon Caper Cream Sauce

I am always trying to come up with fresh ways to make chicken. Luckily for me there are 1001 ways to make chicken.  I Love a cream sauce, and if you follow my blog you know that I love Lemon too.  This recipe comes from a love of both.  If you love something why not marry the two?  Although this is a cream sauce, it’s not heavy on the palet at all.  The Lemon really lightens this dish.  Add in some capers and some kalmata olives, and the dish becomes even lighter.

Here’s what you need:

1 Cup of heavy cream
The juice of 1 Lemon,
2 cloves of garlic
1 cup of chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup of green capers liquid drained
1/4 cup of Kalmata Olives, pits removed
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 of boneless skinless chicken cubed and seasoned with sea salt

Directions:
Add oil to the pan, once hot brown the chicken on both sides for 2-3 minutes. Remove and set aside for later.

 Add in the sliced garlic, and let cook until you smell the garlic about 10 seconds:

Add in the cream stir, then add the olives, capers, tomatoes, lemon juice, and the chicken:

Cook stirring constantly you don’t want the cream to boil over.  Once the chicken is cooked through( about 7-9 minutes) turn off the fire and serve.  I serve over a bed of sauteed spinach, but I have also served this over pasta, if I do, I add the spinach for a green.  Enjoy! What is your favorite cream sauce?

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Grilled flank steak with Chimichurri sauce

Summer is here which means a lot of grilling at our house. Steaks tend to get boring and I’m alway looking for ways to jazz them up a bit. Enter Chimichurri sauce. It’s a Brazilian condiment, and when it’s made properly it can turn the most mundane dish into something truly spectacular! I love chimichurri on a nice peice of toasted crusty french bread. Chimichurri is also fabulous on grilled chicken, or baked fish. I’m also told that chimichurri is great on eggs, I don’t like eggs, but I bet I would with chimichurri on them. Chimichurri is so versatile I can’t imagine that there is a meat that it doesn’t go well with.

Here’s what you need:
1 lb of skirt steak
3 cloves of garlic pasted
Sea salt

Here’s what you need for the Chimichurri sauce:
2 cups of fresh parsley
1 cup of fresh cilantro
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 teaspoon of red chili pepper flakes
1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
1//2 cup of olive oil
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
Sea salt to taste

Directions: rub the pasted garlic on both sides of the skirt steak, season with sea salt, black pepper and grill for 3-5 minutes on each side.

Place all of the ingredients for the Chimichurri in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve on top of grilled steak.

Now how easy was that? Chimichurri is so delicious and it makes everything taste better. What are you going to have with this sauce?

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Parmesan Chicken with Caesar Roasted Romaine

Parmesan chicken is one of my favorite meals. This particular Parmesan chicken recipe is so easy to make, and it’s paired perfectly with roasted romaine. It is like eating a Caesar salad, but kicked up a few notches! This particular Parmesan chicken recipe speaks to my inner lazy girl, because it’s a one pot wonder! You read it right, everything cooks in one pan, and in 20 minutes! It doesn’t get better than that! If you’ve never tried roasted romain, then you’re in for a treat with this recipe. Romaine takes on a rich, warm, and soulful texture when you roast it. Everyone who tries this, always mistakes the romaine for a sturdier green, like a kale, or collard…without the bitterness of course.  Most Parmesan chicken recipes include bread crumbs, this one does not, so it’s gluten free. If you want to add bread crumbs then be my guest, just swap out 1/2 a cup of the cheese with 1/2 cup of either Panko, or bread crumbs. 
Here is what you need
1 lbs of  skinless, boneless chicken (4 breast or 5-6 chicken thighs)
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 cup of grated Percorino or Asiago cheese
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 garlic cloves, chopped, divided
2 large hearts of romaine, halved lengthwise
4 anchovy fillets packed in oil, drained, chopped
1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450°. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil. Season chicken with salt and pepper; place on prepared sheet.

Combine cheese, 2 Tbsp. oil, parsley, and 1 garlic clove in a medium bowl.

Pat mixture onto breasts.

 Roast chicken until crumbs begin to turn golden, about 10 minutes.

Drizzle romaine with 1 Tbsp. oil and sprinkle with remaining 1 chopped garlic clove. Season with salt and pepper. Remove sheet from oven; place romaine around chicken.

 Roast until chicken is cooked through and lettuce is browned at edges, about 5 minutes.

Divide among plates. Top lettuce with anchovies; garnish with lemon wedges for squeezing over. Enjoy! 

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Memorable Lamb Kabob’s with Rosemary and Garlic

It’s Memorial Day weekend, which probably means that most of us will be firing up the grill in preparation for a barbecue. I, for one, love to barbecue! Not just because it means that my husband will be doing most of the cooking, (although, it is a nice benefit.), but because it’s a great way to change up our diet with something smokey, and tangy! Who doesn’t love a nice grilled rib with tons of barbecue sauce on it?  Barbecuing is also a great way to spend time with friends and family. Some of my most sacred memories are housed around barbecue’s with family! At my house we like to mix it up a bit and grill lamb instead of beef, chicken, or pork. Beef, chicken, and pork have their place at our barbecue’s, ( Lemon, Garlic, & Thyme Chicken Kabobs), but every now and again, we love to grill lamb.  These lamb kabobs are perfect for a lazy barbecue, they don’t take a long time to marinate or cook on the grill, from start to finish these are done in 20 minutes!

Here’s what you need:
1.5-2 lbs of lamb loin chops, taken off the bone and cubed
3 cloves of garlic pasted
Sea salt
Juice of half a lemon
1 teaspoon of Rosemary
1 Tablespoon of olive oil

Directions:
Season the lamb generously with sea salt:

Add the garlic, olive oil, rosemary,and lemon juice to the lamb, and mix well:
Add lamb to metal skewers, or to wooden skewers that have been soaked in water:

Grill for 2-3 minutes on a hot grill, and enjoy!  What is your favorite meat to grill?

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