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Chicken and Potatoes with Mustard Vinaigrette

July 31, 2012 ·
Chicken and Potatoes with Mustard Vinaigrette | alidaskitchen.com
 With temperatures hitting record highs this summer, I am always happy to be able to cook a quick and healthy dinner that does require turning on the oven.  This Chicken and Potatoes with Mustard Vinaigrette can be made on the stovetop in less than 30 minutes.  It’s served over a bed of fresh baby spinach, making it healthy and delicious.  I’d say this dish fits the bill of quick and healthy, making it a perfect dinner!

I actually found this recipe in a magazine at least 10 years ago and gave it to my mom.  She has made it regularly ever since, and everybody is happy when she has it on the menu.  This salad became an instant family favorite!  While the original recipe calls for rotisserie chicken, my mom bakes chicken breasts and shreds them.  In this recipe, I poached the chicken.   The original recipe calls for watercress, but the spinach gives the salad a bit more substance.  Arugula would also be a tasty substitution.  Basically what I’m telling you is that this recipe is flexible.  Go with what works for you to make this a family favorite of your own.

Chicken and Potatoes with Mustard Vinaigrette
 
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Yields: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
  • 1 pound small red potatoes
  • salt
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • black pepper, to taste
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 10 ounces fresh baby spinach
Instructions
  1. Put chicken in a large sauce pan and then add enough water to cover the chicken. Add a couple pinches of salt. Bring liquid to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 5 minutes. Then cover, remove from heat and let sit for 12 to 15 minutes, or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.
  2. While the chicken is cooking, put potatoes and 1 tablespoon salt in a medium sauce pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
  3. While chicken and potatoes are cooking, whisk together mustard, vinegar, garlic, honey, and pepper in a small bowl. Gradually add oil, whisking constantly until incorporated. (Note: I then pour vinaigrette into a cruet for ease of pouring).
  4. Once chicken is cooked, transfer to a separate bowl. Drizzle 2 tablespoons vinaigrette over warm chicken and let sit for a minute to soak in. Then use 2 forks to shred chicken.
  5. Cut cooked potatoes into quarters (or halves, depending on size).
  6. Place spinach in a large serving bowl. Add potatoes and chicken, and toss to combine. Serve immediately, drizzling with additional vinaigrette as desired.
Notes
You can add the vinaigrette to the serving bowl and toss, but I prefer to let others control the amount of dressing on their salad. For me, a little goes a long way!

Adapted from Real Simple

Filed Under: gluten free, healthy, main dishes, Recipes, salad Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
healthy buttermilk banana bread pancakes

Banana Bread Pancakes

July 24, 2012 ·
healthy buttermilk banana bread pancakes

I love having extra bananas around the house because inevitable it means they will be made into something yummy.  In this instance, I turned them into Banana Bread Pancakes.  I have been looking for a good banana pancake recipe for years and, as usual, have never found what I was hoping for.  I decided to modify my go-to pancake base recipe, mix a few things up, go heavy on the bananas and see what happens.  The result are a healthy banana pancake that tastes just like banana bread.   They are delicious plain (that’s how Adam likes them) but for myself, I whipped up a little cream cheese drizzle from my Carrot Cake Pancakes.  No matter how you top them, these Banana Bread Pancakes are simply delicious.  Adam also gives his official toddler seal of approval, which is always a win in my book!

   

Banana Bread Pancakes
 
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Yields: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose flour)
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup low fat buttermilk
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 3 to 4 overripe bananas, mashed (approx 1½ cups)
  • Cooking spray
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
  2. In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, oil and mashed bananas until well-blended.
  3. Add flour mixture to banana mixture, stirring gently until just moistened (batter may be lumpy). Let batter sit for about 10 minutes.
  4. Preheat nonstick skillet to medium heat and spray with cooking spray.
  5. Spoon batter onto skillet by the 2 tablespoonfuls to ¼ cupful, depending on desired size (Note: If batter is a little thick, use the back of your spoon to spread/shape the pancakes). Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until bubbles form and the edges look set. Flip pancakes and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden.

 

Filed Under: breakfast, healthy, kid-friendly, Recipes, vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
healthy buttermilk oatmeal peach muffins

Oat Peach Muffins

July 17, 2012 ·
healthy buttermilk oatmeal peach muffins

One of the first cookbooks I purchased was the Better Crocker’s New Choices Cookbook.  I have found several wonderful recipes in that book, including these Oat Peach Muffins.  These muffins are one of my very favorites from the book, and it’s nice knowing they’re made on the healthier side.

What really makes these muffins amazing is the molasses.  Molasses adds such a delicious character to the muffins and really goes well with the peaches and cinnamon.  The oats give a hearty texture, while the buttermilk yields a moist crumb.  These muffins are a great way to put to use all of those fresh peaches this time of year.   I do often use frozen peaches though, so we can enjoy these muffins all year long.

Oat Peach Muffins
 
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Yields: 12 muffins
Ingredients
  • 1¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
  • ¼ cup canola oil
  • 2 tablespoons molasses
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup chopped peaches (thawed if frozen)
  • Cooking spray
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray (or line with paper liners).
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  3. In a large bowl, combine oats and buttermilk. Add brown sugar, oil, molasses, vanilla and egg, whisking until blended.
  4. Fold in flour mixture with buttermilk mixture until moistened (batter will be lumpy). Fold in peaches.
  5. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes, and then move to a wire rack to cool completely.

 

Adapted from Betty Crocker’s New Choices Cookbook

Filed Under: bread, breakfast, healthy, kid-friendly, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
peanut butter peanut butter chip chocolate chewy cookies

Double Peanut Butter Chocolate Chewies

July 13, 2012 ·
peanut butter peanut butter chip chocolate chewy cookies
I don’t even know where to begin about these cookies. They have the peanut butter and chocolate combination, which we all know and love. But these Double Peanut Butter Chocolate Chewies are truly not any ordinary chocolate and peanut butter cookie. They are amazingly chewy, without being cakey. They have a delicious balance of peanut butter and chocolate. These cookies are made without any butter and have yogurt and oats to add some wholesome goodness (dare I suggest this makes them fit for breakfast?)

A couple tips:  When flattening the cookies before baking, keep in mind they will spread.  Just flatten them a little bit and you will be fine.  Keep an eye on the bake time, because over baking the cookies will result in a less chewy cookie.  I baked mine for 8 minutes and that was perfect with my oven…but definitely keep an eye on them.

Double Peanut Butter Chocolate Chewies
 
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Yields: 36 cookies
Ingredients
  • 1 cup chunky natural peanut butter
  • ¼ cup canola oil
  • ½ cup packed dark brown sugar
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 tablespoons nonfat plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup all-purpose flour
  • ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ¼ cup rolled oats (I used quick oats)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • ¼ cup peanut butter chips
  • ¼ cup turbinado sugar
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, oats, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, beat peanut butter, oil, brown sugar and granulated sugar on medium speed until blended. Beat in eggs, yogurt and vanilla until combined.
  4. Gradually add flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture, stirring until blended. Stir in chocolate and peanut butter chips.
  5. On prepared cookie sheets, place rounded tablespoonfuls of dough 2 inches apart.
  6. Dip the bottom of a class in water, and then dip the class in turbinado sugar. Using the sugared glass, flatten the dough slightly, leaving a thin layer of sugar on top. Re-wet glass, as needed.
  7. Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes (be sure not to over bake!). Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Barely adapted from Eating Well

Filed Under: dessert, healthy, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
healthy grilled barbecue chicken with DIY barbeque sauce

Grilled BBQ Chicken

July 10, 2012 ·
grilled barbecue chicken with DIY barbeque sauce

I can’t believe I haven’t posted this recipe for Grilled BBQ Chicken already!  It’s been almost 2 months since I posted teaser pictures on my Drumstick Party post.  Oops!  Fortunately there is still plenty of summer time left to fire up that grill and enjoy some tasty Grilled BBQ Chicken.

Homemade barbecue sauce is one of the easiest things to make using simple pantry ingredients.  I have several homemade versions that I love.  Each one is a little different and each one has its time and place.  This recipe below is based on the sauce from my Pulled Chicken Sandwiches.  I absolutely love the spice combination in that recipe and thought it would translate nicely to the grill.  We were so pleased with the result, this is now my go-to recipe for any time we want a classic Grilled BBQ Chicken!

Grilled BBQ Chicken
 
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Yields: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 4 4-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • Cooking spray or oil, for grill
Instructions
  1. In a small bowl, mix ketchup and next 8 ingredients (through cumin) until sauce is combined. Set aside.
  2. Put chicken in a Ziploc bag and pour half of the sauce in the bag, making sure chicken get coated. Put in refrigerator for at least an hour (to overnight).
  3. Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Spray the grates with grill cooking spray (or rub with oil), if needed.
  4. Put chicken on grill and discard the bag with marinade. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes per side, or until chicken is cooked thoroughly. Serve with additional sauce, as desired.
Filed Under: gluten free, healthy, main dishes, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

S’more Muffins

July 3, 2012 ·

These S’more Muffins are everything you love about a s’more baked up in a tasty little breakfast treat.  These are made with graham cracker crumbs, chocolate chips and lots of miniature marshmallows.  The marshmallows in the actual muffin melt into the muffin, while the marshmallows on top get sticky and gooey.  The buttermilk lends a moist crumb to these muffins and a bit of brown sugar deepens the flavor.

I recommend not using muffin liners with these, as these muffins live up to the reputation of the campfire treat and can be sticky.  I just used baking spray (the cooking spray that has flour) and let the muffins cool in the pan long enough.  They came out perfectly.  These S’more Muffins are moist and delicious and a fun way to start any morning!

Sâ??more Muffins
 
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Yields: 12 muffins
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup graham cracker crumbs (about 4 sheets)
  • ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1½ cups buttermilk
  • ¼ cup canola oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used mini)
  • 1¼ cups miniature marshmallows, divided
  • Cooking spray
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk flour, cracker crumbs, sugar, baking soda and salt.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, buttermilk, oil and vanilla until combined.
  4. Add buttermilk mixture into flour mixture, stirring gently until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips and 1 cup marshmallows.
  5. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Top with remaining marshmallows (2-3 marshmallows per muffin).
  6. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before gently removing from pan. Move to a wire rack to cool completely.

Adaped from Taste of Home: Cupcakes & Muffins

Filed Under: bread, breakfast, kid-friendly, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,