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Chicken Parm with Broccoli Rabe Pesto

Chicken Parm with Broccoli Rabe Pesto1

  • 6-8 chicken tenders

Marinade

  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon salt and pepper

Mix the ingredients in a small bowl and marinate the chicken tenders for 4-5 hours.

Breading

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 extra-large eggs
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 1/4 cups panko breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
  • 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup homemade tomato sauce
  • 1 cup shredded low moisture part skim mozzarella cheese

Combine the flour, salt, and pepper on a dinner plate. On a second plate, beat the eggs with 1 tablespoon of water and a pinch of salt. On a third plate, combine the breadcrumbs and 1/2 cup grated Parmesan. Coat the chicken tenders on both sides with the flour mixture, then dip both sides into the egg mixture and dredge both sides in the bread-crumb mixture, pressing lightly. Heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan and cook 2 or 3 chicken tenders on medium-low heat for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until cooked through. Add more butter and oil and cook the rest of the chicken tenders.
Lay the cooked chicken pieces in an ovenproof casserole. Ladle spoons of marinara sauce over all the chicken pieces. Add the shredded mozzarella on top and bake for 5-10 minutes in a 350 degrees oven until cheese is melted. Add some more sauce and keep aside.

Pesto

  • 2 cups broccoli rabe leaves only, roughly chopped
  • 3 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons salt

Process the broccoli rabe and spinach leaves till smooth. While the processor is on, drizzle the olive oil into the pesto. Add the salt and keep aside.

1 pound pappardelle, cooked al dente with some pasta water saved.

Once the pasta is cooked, return it to the same pot with ½ cup pasta water. Add ½ cup broccoli rabe pesto and mix well. Adjust seasonings and serve with chicken tenders on top.

Chicken Parm with Broccoli Rabe Pesto

Roast Chicken Breast with Smoked Paprika

Smoked Paprika Chicken BreastThis recipe is for those of us who want to eat healthier now that summer is over and school has started.I can’t believe summer is all done and my daughter is back to school. Summer was filled with a lot of indulging but I was very good at balancing my day with healthy foods and making sure over eating didn’t happen.

Anyway, it is time to get serious and eat well. This is a simple and healthy dish one can make through the week. I took good quality chicken breasts and roasted them with a lot of flavor- that is my trick when I am eating healthy- I boost the flavor. I mixed up garlic, oregano, smoked paprika and lemon juice with olive oil in a mortar and pestle. I marinated the chicken for several hours and roasted it in the oven.

I served the chicken with a ribbon salad- recipe to come tomorrow…
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Indian Style Spiced Omelet

Indian Style Omelet3 I make this for dinner, lunch or brunch whenever I run out of ideas. Most of the times I forget about this easy to make, spicy omelet. I grew up eating this at home for breakfast. It is flavorful and gorgeous to look at. Indian omelets unlike the french ones are cooked thoroughly and are cooked with all the flavorings and herbs instead of being stuffed with them.

It is also easy to make since most of the ingredients are always available. I have green chilies, green onions, tomatoes and of course cheese at home. I feel lost if there is no cilantro in the house. It is a pantry meal- pair it with a delicious green salad and it is a healthy, balanced meal.

You can make this omelet with almost anything in the fridge. My daughter was eating some leftovers and my husband was going out after work and so I was the only one without dinner plans. I made this delicious meal for myself and enjoyed it with a glass of white wine.

Make this spiced omelet when you run out of ideas…
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Chicken with a Tamarind Glazed on a Crisp Noodle Cake

Tamarind Chicken with Noodle Pancake1One of my favorite places to eat in our area is Khun Thai. It is a Thai restaurant in Millburn, NJ. We have been going there for many years now and all the dishes are really good.

One dish I always get (most of the time) is a grilled beef with a tamarind sauce. It is served with grilled vegetables and sticky rice. I find it very satisfying and relatively healthy. I always ask for extra tamarind sauce on the side. I wish they would sell the sauce in a jar- I would buy tons of it. It is salty, savory with a bit of spice- absolutely perfect in my book.

We went for dinner the other day to Khun Thai and yes I had the same thing. While I was eating it, I decided to make my own version at home. I knew I won’t be able to make an exact replica but it will be make take on the tamarind sauce.

I was reading the latest Food and Wine and a chef was featured who cooks with a lot of Thai and Chinese flavors. He made a chicken with a tamarind glaze on top of a noodle cake. I decided to use that as an inspiration and came up with my own version. I started with chicken stock and tamarind concentrate. I added a bit fish sauce- which is a great thing to keep in your pantry. It gives Asian dishes great nutty, salty flavor.

The noodle cake was very easy to make and a lot of fun to eat. My daughter loved it. I sauteed broccolini to serve with the meal. It was perfect- it looked gorgeous on the plate and the sauce was delicious. It definitely was not the same as the restaurant but it was still good.

Try it- you will love it, guaranteed…

Glaze

  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate (available at Whole Foods)
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons honey (to taste)
  • 2 teaspoons fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce
  • 2 tablespoons cilantro stems, finely chopped
  • 1 medium shallots, finely sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
  • 1 green onion, green and white parts separated

Add the chicken stock, tamarind, honey, fish sauce and chili sauce to a small saucepan. Add the cilantro stems, shallots, garlic cloves and white part of the green onions. Bring to a boil and simmer on medium heat till it reduces to 1 cup. Keep aside.

  • 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken pieces
  • Salt
  • 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil

Tamarind Chicken with Noodle Pancake

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat a large frying pan with the olive oil. Brown the chicken pieces on both sides, about 3 minutes each on high heat. Sprinkle salt generously on both sides. Add the tamarind sauce in the pan and bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes basting once. Take the chicken pieces out on a plate and boil the liquid till thickened, about 3 minutes. Place the chicken back in the frying pan and place it under a high broiler for 2 to 3 minutes, till the pieces are golden brown.
Serve on top of a crispy noodle wedge and some sauce on top. Garnish with the green parts of the green onion.

Crisp Noodle Pancake

  • 4 ounces dried thin egg noodles
  • 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil

Crisp Noodle Pancake

Boil the noodles according to instructions. Drain and spread onto a cookie sheet and pat dry. Heat a non-stick frying with 1 tablespoon olive oil and add the noodles, spreading them thin covering the pan surface. Take a spare lid and press down and cook for 8 to 9 minutes on medium heat. Invert the pancake onto a plate. Heat the same pan with the remaining olive oil and slice the pancake back now browning the other side. Cook for 8 to 9 minutes on medium heat. Once both sides are golden brown and crisp, slide the pancake onto a cutting board. Slice into 4 wedges and serve with the chicken.

Sauteed Broccolini

  • 1 pack or a pound of broccolini
  • 1 tablespoon extra light olive oil
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Sauteed Broccolini

Blanch the broccolini in boiling water for a minute. Take out and shock in cold water to retain the color. Heat a frying pan with the olive oil. Saute the blanched broccolini on medium high heat, about 4 to 5 minutes on each side. Serve with the chicken and noodle pancake.

Egg Spinach and Cheese Quesadilla

test-quesadilla
It was a very hectic weekend. Sia’s school had a fair on Saturday and she was very excited. It was a lot of fun but the food is very unhealthy. I did volunteer at the healthy table and it did have lots of healthy options but my daughter didn’t indulge in any of them. She instead had pizza and cotton candy! Pizza, I guess is okay but that cotton candy really bothers me- just plain processed sugar and some terrible dye. I try to keep Sia away from it but it’s hard at a fair- it’s right in front of your face. Anyway, she had the cotton candy on Saturday and Sunday! We have a May fest in our town every year and this year it was on Sunday- so guess what, we had a lot of unhealthy food there as well. There was a hotdog for Sia and yes, another cotton candy! I, on the other hand, had the best barbecue chicken I’ve had in a long time. There was a vendor called the Coney Island grill company and they were serving 2 big pieces of chicken on top of white or wheat bread topped with the yummiest barbeque sauce I have ever had- and that includes the barbeque place I love to go to in Austin when ever I visit my cousin! My husband was shocked at the amount of food I had bought especially since he had bought quite a bit him self from another vendor. Well, I wasn’t worried since my plan was to devour the whole thing myself- and I almost did… well, I had to share a little bit. I also had a yummy lemon cupcake. I am usually not a cupcake person- not a fan of the icing- this one was delicious! I digress- we got home and I started to wonder what I should feed Sia for dinner?? It had to be something healthy after two days of eating junk! We were not eating out again and I didn’t have much in the fridge and I was in no mood to cook! After some thinking, I came up with quesadillas. I had whole grain tortillas in the freezer and my favorite ‘go to’ frozen vegetable- spinach. I always have some around for times like this when you have no idea what to make and need something quick, easy and healthy. I wanted to give her a healthy grain, protein and vegetable. So, I decided to make scrambled eggs with spinach and add it to the whole grain quesadilla- a perfectly balanced meal that can be prepared in an cinch. Sia loved it and I had a few bites with a salad and it was delicious! Yes, of course I had a salad- I had to- after that monster of a meal I consumed at the fair!

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