Tag - recipe

Spicy and Sweet Roasted Nuts

I’m giving you a fair warning. These are addictive. They have everything you want… sweet, savory, spicy, and salty. I highly suggest portioning these out or you’ll go through half the batch before you realize it.

Spicy and Sweet Roasted Nuts
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground chipotle chile pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 large egg white
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup unsalted cashews
1 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
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1. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, salt, chipotle, cumin, oregano, and chili powder.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the egg white until it begins to get foamy. Pour the nuts into the egg and mix until they’re evenly covered.
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3. Mix in the spices. Lay the nuts out on a baking pan lined with parchment. Cook in a 325 degree oven for 15 minutes, tossing in between. Shut the oven off after the timer goes off and leave the nuts in the oven for another 15 minutes.

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Easy Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Jason and I went to an event at a Senegalese restaurant in Oakland this afternoon. We were invited by a friend who is from New Jersey too. I met her through someone back home who introduced us because we moved to the Bay Area around the same time. It’s lovely talking with people who are experiencing similar trials and tribulations of moving across the country. It can sometimes be challenging to get familiar with a new area, build a network, make new friends, etc. There were quite a few people at this event who are NY/NJ transplants so it was lovely reminiscing about the things we miss about the East Coast and relish in the things that are much better out West.

Since I knew that we were going to be there for a few hours today, I wanted to make something in the Crock Pot for dinner so it could cook while we were out of the house. We have a lot of butter lettuce ready in the garden so it seemed like a nice time to try out a chicken wrap recipe. These have the right amount of heat that’s nicely balanced with the blue cheese. The snap of the celery gives enough texture so that there’s some crunch to it too. I created my own seasonings mixture in this recipe, you can always replace the spices with a pre-packaged Ranch dressing mix instead. Either way, this is a simple recipe with lots of leftovers.

Easy Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps
2 Tablespoons dried parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons dill, chopped
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons dried onion flakes
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried chives
1 teaspoon salt
6 chicken breasts
1 12-ounce bottle Frank’s buffalo sauce
1/2 cup chicken stock
Carrots, shredded
Celery, sliced thin
Butter lettuce leaves
Blue cheese dressing

1. In a small bowl, combine the first eight ingredients.

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2. Place the chicken on the bottom of the slow cooker. Sprinkle spice mixture on top of the chicken. Pour in the buffalo sauce and stock. Mix the chicken together. Cover and cook on LOW for 5-6 hours.

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4. Remove the chicken from the Crock Pot and place in a large dish. Shred the chicken using two forks. Add some of the sauce to the chicken until you’ve reached the exact about of spice you’re looking for.

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4. Serve with shredded carrots, celery, and blue cheese.

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Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

This could be a one pot dish if I had a oven safe pan big enough to fit all the chicken I wanted to make for this week. If you only make this with four thighs, it can totally be done and you don’t have to use a casserole dish. I also learned from my Chicken Stroganoff recipe that everything is better with wine. This is one of those dishes. You can certainly omit it, but it gives it a nice boost.

Roasted Chicken and Vegetables
8 chicken thighs, skin on
Salt and pepper
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 smal red onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves of garlic, diced
1 can of artichoke hearts
1 cup white wine
16 oz baby spinach

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1. Heat olive oil in a large pan, salt and pepper both sides of chicken and place skin down in hot oil. Brown both sides and set aside.

2. Add carrots, onions, garlic, artichoke hearts into hot pan. Cook until slightly browning. Add white wine and cook for 6-7 minutes until wine cooks off a bit. Ensure the veggies don’t get too tender, they’re going to finish off in the oven.

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3. Add spinach to pan and cook until slightly wilted.

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4. Place chicken on the bottom of a casserole dish, pour vegetables on top. Cook in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.

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5. Check to makes sure that the chicken temperature reaches 165 degrees before serving.

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Homemade Granola

I’ve been buying granola at the farmers market the past few months. It’s a nice addition to my work-breakfast routine of greek yogurt and berries. The only downfall is that it’s fairly expensive and a little too sweet sometimes so I decided to make it at home this week! This is a great base recipe for you to add any nuts, dried fruit, sweetener, or oil. Mixing and matching encouraged.

Homemade Granola
3 cups gluten free oats
3 Tablespoons flax seed meal
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
3 Tablespoons agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 Tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup almond slivers

1. Mix oats, flax seed, and cinnamon in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mis the agave nectar, vanilla, and oil. Combine the two until all of the ingredients become moist. Add in the seeds and almonds.

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2. Spread granola mixture on a cookie sheet in a thin layer.

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3. Cook in a 300 degree oven for 20 minutes until golden brown, tossing every few minutes, ensuring the granola doesn’t burn or stick.

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4. Enjoy with greek yogurt and berries!

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Chicken Stroganoff

Just like the pizzagaina was reminiscent of home, this recipe is too. My mom used to make chicken stroganoff all the time. It was one of the first recipes I knew how to cook. This is a lighter take on it, but was a nice way to feel closer to family. This is definitely good but next time I plan to add some white wine, possibly instead of the chicken stock — mostly because wine makes everything better.

Chicken Stroganoff
4 chicken breasts, cut into slivers
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
3 cups crimini mushrooms, sliced
1 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons corn starch
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup sour cream

1. Cut the chicken into slivers and toss in a bowl with the spices. In a dutch oven, heat the oil and place in the seasoned chicken, cooking for a few minutes on both sides. Just enough to brown the chicken, not fully cook it. Be careful not to crowd the chicken, I did this in three batches. Once all the chicken has been browned, remove from pan and set aside.DSC_0119b

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2. Leave all the good brown bits in the dutch oven. Add a little more oil if you need it and bring to temperature, then add the onions and garlic. Cook and stir until they become translucent. Add the sliced mushrooms and cook down.

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3. Once the mushrooms have begun to brown, make a small area in the middle and add the butter. Once melted, add in the corn starch and stir. This will help thicken the sauce. Stir the mushrooms into the butter/starch and then add the Worcestershire sauce and chicken stock.

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4. Add the chicken and cook for about 7 minutes until cooked through. Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream.

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5. Serve with pasta (usually egg noodles, but I can’t find those in GF) and vegetable of your choosing!

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