In My Kitchen - January 11, 2015 and January 17, 2015

I have been spending more time in the kitchen and cooked up a few more recipes from my Pinterest boards that have caught my eye.

On January 11, we made two recipes. The first was Skinny Thai Chicken Meatballs by Jo Cooks and the second was Carrot Ginger Dressing for Everything by the Nutrition Twins. We pretty much had all of the pantry ingredients needed for both of these recipes and just had to pick up the ground chicken, greens and a fresh ginger root (I wasn't sure the frozen one we had would work with the dressing).

The meatballs came together quickly. I used my #70 disher to make sure they were all the same size and ended up having enough to fit on two baking sheets. The recipe calls for 30 minutes banking time and I think this could be reduced by a 1/3. 

Before

After

The sauce was very easy to make - next time I would use a bit less (or perhaps no) brown sugar because I think that the coconut milk added plenty of sweetness. I added almost double the called for peanut butter and it was perfect for us. We served the meatballs and sauce over rice and had enough left-overs for me to take to work a couple of times the following week. 

Yummy!

We were less enthusiastic about the dressing - I was hoping for that great Japanese steakhouse dressing but didn't really get that taste/texture with this recipe. It didn't taste bad, it just didn't meet my expectation. 

From Thai to Cheesy Quinoa

This past weekend my parents visited from PA so we could have a delayed Christmas celebration. I decided to try Cheddar Chicken Quinoa Bake by Running to the Kitchen. It was too hectic to take pictures while trying to serve hungry company so I pulled one from Running to the Kitchen (which I will happily remove if you object, Gina!). Clearly it isn't mine - it is so much more professional than the photos I take - someone in our family is always to hangry for me to compose a decent food shot. 

Photo Source

I didn't really make any changes except to increase the recipe to serve 6 and added extra scallions - because I love scallions. This could easily be done meet free with added veggies and perhaps beans. I plan to add corn next time we make it - no doubt this recipe goes into the regular rotation. Seriously - try it!

My parents gave us a Vitamix - so I see some smoothie experimentation in our future.

Cheers! Kim

Productive day in the kitchen

Before my husband and I had kids, we loved cooking together. Saturdays and Sundays we usually entertained friends with yummy meals. Our speciality was good foods lovingly prepared - mostly healthy but sometimes indulgent. We love our veggies and lean protein - but we also love the pork ribs that fall off of the bones after spending 8 hours in the smoker.  

Now that the kids are a bit older and often like to be part of the food prep, I have enjoyed spending more time in the kitchen on the weekends - making good use of my recipe Pinterest boards (Hi, my name is Kim and I'm addicted to Pinterest and 60% Cacao Ghiardelli chocolate chips). Baking is still my favorite thing to do in the kitchen (mmm chocolate cup cakes), but lately I have been sourcing more soups, salad (thanks #HolidaySweat) and simple vegetable laden main dishes to make for the family on Saturdays and Sundays (or leave for my loving husband to find for a weeknight meal).

Today I made Almond Cherry Pie Oat bars from the book I just finished: Build Your Running Body by Pete Magill, Thomas Schwartz and Melissa Breyer. 

These bars include oats, almonds, dried cherries and enough chocolate chips to make them decadent. They are sweetened with a bit of apple sauce, brown sugar and honey. 

They crumbled a bit when I cut them so half are nice bars and the other half is more like granola (which will be so yummy on Greek yogurt for breakfast). Next time I make them, I will use a deeper baking dish (8x8) and bake them a bit longer. 

These are seriously yummy!

For dinner, I made a slightly modified Israeli Couscous with Chicken and Peas by a Family Feast. This meal came together very quickly and like the author suggests, could be made even quicker with a store bought, pre-cooked rotisserie chicken. I had time to bake a couple of skinless beasts in the oven. Rotisserie chickens from the market are great - but a little salty for our family's taste and something we reserve for when we really don't have time. 

My modifications: 

• Sauteed a leek while the cous cous browned in the olive oil. Ever since I put leeks in the stuffing on Thanksgiving this year, I have been obsessed and put them in anything I can.
• Used my own turkey stock from Thanksgiving (we roasted a fresh, pastured turkey and I used every bit of it!)
• Substituted frozen mixed vegetables for the peas and doubled the amount. 
• Topped it with toasted pine nuts

The best way to describe this dish is a cross between a deconstructed pot pie and a loaded risotto. Cooking the couscous in the broth (and the cheese) made it creamy and the lemon really brightened up the flavor. I wish I took a picture - but our bowls didn't stay filled for too long. 

Check out the recipe at a Family Feast and let me know if you try it!

I hope you are having fun in the kitchen this weekend!

Kim