I used my husband’s Traeger for the first time yesterday and with him gone – so no supervision. I am pretty darn pleased with myself and he can’t quit raving about our dinner either – that says a lot. He actually told me that my chicken turned out better than any he has ever done. So.. I decided I will share with you all what exactly I did. Also, this will help me remember in the future!
I bought this chicken at our local Frys grocery store. Normally I would go to Sprouts, but I needed a few things they wouldn’t have. This was in their organic section and marked down since the use by date was 2 days away. I was making that day – so even better – I got a great deal on a good size bird! This was about the size of the colossal rotisserie chickens you will find in your grocery store already roasted. It will go far for the 2 of us, but is amazing left over and you also need one big enough to fit a standard can of beer up it’s behind.
After cleaning out the inside of the chicken and thoroughly washing, I made my dry rub. I threw in about equal parts of each (1/4 cup maybe?) kosher salt, black pepper, smoked paprika, dried oregano (from the garden) and lemon powder (also from the garden). Mix everything together well. *If you have never made lemon powder before, it’s amazing and I’ll add the super simple instructions on another page soon*
I don’t want to admit what I did next, but I can’t omit it.. I took softened butter and rubbed that baby down. All over. Then, get really messy, and dump your rub all over the chicken – a little inside, under the wings, every inch of the bird. I then put in the fridge for a couple of hours as I wasn’t ready to throw on the smoker yet.
It took a little over 2 hours on the smoker – so plan accordingly to when you want dinner. Or how long you have to finish. *You can make the same thing on the grill – medium to low heat for approx the same time, probably a little less. Just watch for flare ups. Check on the bird in about an hour for temp.*
When you are ready to get the bird on the smoker, first things first, and this will be as simple as I needed for my first time using the Traeger smoker.. we currently have the small one (I figured out quickly why David wants the big boy). Plug it in. Make sure your pellets are full. Open the door, turn to smoke and turn on. Wait 10 minutes. Turn to medium heat and close the door. Wait 10 minutes. Open your beer, I used a bud light. Prop your chicken onto the beer leaving about 1/2 to an inch showing on the bottom. OR – you can use a handy beer can chicken pan like shown above. You sit the can in the middle and drop the bird on top. If you have the small smoker like we do, really shove that bird down..
Or it might not fit.. the top of my bird was resting against the top of the smoker and yes, I googled if that was ok.. with no results. It was more than fine! Put your bird in the smoker and shut the lid. Another note, it was approx 97 degrees outside so that raises the temp of the grill a bit.
Check on your bird in about an hour, make sure you have pellets still in your smoker and put a thermometer in the deepest part of the breast. You are looking for 165 degrees. You could take out around 160 as it will cook while it rests. After about 2 hours our bird was right around 160. We pulled it out and let it sit for 10-15 minutes.
My husband has these super handy gloves he uses for BBQ that allow you to pull the meat apart while it’s still hot. He pulled this chicken apart for me while I was finishing the rest of our dinner. It literally fell apart – see above. And it was amazing!
Whole smoked beer can chicken
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken organic, good size
- 1/4 cup butter softened
- 1/4 cup salt
- 1/4 cup pepper
- 1/4 cup smoked paprika
- 1/4 cup lemon powder
- 1/4 cup dried oregano
- 1 can beer
Instructions
- Clean your chicken and remove any parts on the inside. Pat dry with paper towels.
- Rub the chicken with softened butter all over.
- Mix together: salt, pepper, smoked paprika, lemon powder and dried oregano. Rub all over your chicken and place in the fridge until ready to smoke.
- Set up smoker on medium heat. Open your can of beer and place your chicken on top of the beer. If you have a beer can chicken pan, those work great!
- Put your chicken on the smoker. Check on it in about an hour and then after as necessary. You want to take it out around 160 degrees – take the temp at the deepest part of the breast.
- Once done, remove the chicken and let it sit for 10-15 minutes before pulling it apart.
- Enjoy!!
Garden Time!
One of my most favorite parts of summer time – or Arizona spring is planting time! We are late here this year – which means it will be tougher to grow things like my heirloom tomatoes that take longer to ripen. This is because it will be too hot for them to keep producing right around the time they should be ready to eat.. so wish me luck! I’m hoping to get it all planted by the end of the week along with some modifications to keep critters out!
Italian Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
We grabbed some great, huge sweet potatoes from the Old Town Scottsdale Farmers market. There are so many different ways you can cook them. We love them, especially on the savory side and they are healthy! I used some things that I typically have in my kitchen for this recipe.
Two large sweet potatoes is way more than enough for the 2 of us. We will have leftovers! I like to rub some sort of oil on the outside to add some flavor while baking. Throw them in a 400 degree oven for about an hour – these actually took a little less. Even as big as they are!
I usually wait until the potatoes are done so they can cool enough to handle when you need them. Then, brown about a pound of sweet Italian sausage.
Once the sausage is almost done, I added in some julienne-cut, sun dried tomatoes and stir together over low-medium heat. Then add in some crushed red pepper – to taste. We like spicy food so probably threw in 2 tablespoons.
I then added some torn salumi that we had on hand. We have this amazing meat market in Carefree that makes some of the best salamis. Well, everything they have is amazing! Then, dump in some organic spaghetti sauce. I love the sprouts brand. I used about 1.5 cups.
Scoop out your sweet potato filling and mix in with everything else. Cook on medium heat for about 5-10 minutes, until well mixed. I’ve saved the potato skins before to “refill,” but this time I decided it was just easier to use ramekins. Scoop your filling into your potato skins or your ramekins and place on cookie sheet in oven for about 10 minutes.
There you have it! A pretty quick, simple, healthy dinner recipe.
Italian Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 large Sweet Potatoes
- 2 tbsp Coconut Oil
- 1 lb Sweet Italian Sausage
- 2 tbsp Red Pepper Flakes
- 1/4 cup Sun Dried Tomatoes Julinne-Cut
- 6 pieces Salumi (or pepperoni, etc) approx
- 1.5 cup Spaghetti Sauce
Instructions
- Coat your sweet potatoes with the coconut oil. Bake on a lined baking sheet at 400 degrees for approx 1 hour. Until they are fork tender. Let them cool enough to handle.
- Brown 1 lb of sweet Italian sausage in a pan over medium heat. Add the Sun dried tomatoes and stir together.
- Add in Red Pepper Flakes and your torn Salumi and mix together well.
- Pour in your spaghetti sauce. Whatever brand you prefer. I used a sweet basil this time.
- Cut your sweet potatoes in half and scoop out the filling. If you want to use your potatoes as your shell be sure to leave a thin wall.
- Mix your sweet potato filling with the other ingredients and cook for approx 10 minutes.
- Put your cooked, combined filling into your potato “shells” or into Ramekins. Put back into your 400 degree oven for 10 minutes.
Pork Lettuce Cups & Spanish “Rice”
It’s not my husband’s favorite thing to smoke, but it’s my favorite thing for him to make – pulled pork! When we lived in Kansas City he and a good buddy started a little competition BBQ team and everyone loved being on that cheer squad. He still loves to use his smoker(s) and we are both always looking for excuses to use them. Last weekend I asked him to smoke a pork butt – mostly because I just love using the leftovers for some of my favorite recipes. So – for this recipe, I used leftover pulled pork. Maybe in the future we will add a “secret” smoker recipe for those of you that want to try it, but I would suggest either making your pork in the slow cooker or you can typically purchase one already done at the grocery store (at least in KC anyway). Seasonings don’t really matter as we are going to change it up in this recipe. If you have one with BBQ seasoning or whatever options there are – it will be okay once we re-heat and re-season.
Let’s start with our pulled pork. I keep quart sized bags in the freezer for things just like this. You want to make sure it’s mostly thawed. Using a medium size pan, throw in a little olive oil and garlic and cook for a few minutes on medium heat, until fragrant. Then, add about 3/4 of a small can of Chipotle Peppers in Adobo sauce. You may want to roughly chop the peppers up before you throw them in the pan. I then toss in my pork. I like to pull it apart with my fingers to make sure it’s shredded and not stuck together too much. Stir this into your sauce and heat through. The Adobo peppers can be pretty spicy so depending on your level of heat tolerance you may want to adjust your amounts. I like to squeeze in 1/2 a lime, about 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, paprika and some ground cumin. Adding in a little bit of dark shaved chocolate gives you taste similar to a good mole. I typically have the Williams Sonoma hot chocolate shavings on hand (I like to use them in a lot of recipes such as chili!) – I added about 1/4 cup. Lastly, add about 2 tablespoons of local honey (maybe more if you need to balance out the heat).
While your pork is heating, grab another pan and heat up some olive oil and minced garlic. Once fragrant, add in a can of diced tomatoes with jalapenos (or green chilis). Add the remainder of your can of peppers and stir together for about 2-3 minutes. Now add your riced cauliflower. I like to buy the Cece’s brand from the grocery store that is already riced for you to save time. You can find it in the refrigerated section, not frozen. Or you can grab a head of cauliflower and rice in a food processor (or chop up by hand). Stir your cauliflower into your sauce, mixing well. Add in the remainder of your small can of tomato paste, some ground cumin, paprika and squeeze in the other 1/2 of that lime. We are almost done!
We love to have some sort of guacamole, avocado or a similar sauce to put on top – you’ll probably want it to balance the heat of the peppers. This time I just mashed up some avocados, added a little lime juice, a dash of garlic and some chopped up cilantro – mixed it all together in a separate bowl.
Next, you assemble. I always use butter lettuce – it’s sweet, it wraps pretty easily and the flavor just goes perfect with this dish! If you can find it, buy the “living” lettuce. It lasts for weeks! Depending on how big your lettuce “cups” are – we usually dish about 3 per person. I scoop the pulled pork into a cup, top with some guacamole and some fresh, torn cilantro. I am a cilantro lover, for me, the more the better!
Pulled Pork Lettuce Cups & Spanish “Rice”
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 4 tbsp Minced Garlic split
- 7 oz Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce
- 1 Quart Pulled Pork previously prepared
- 1 can Diced tomatoes with Jalapenos
- 1 can Tomato paste small
- 1 head Cauliflower riced
- 2 tbsp Paprika
- 2 tbsp Ground Cumin
- 1.5 Limes
- 1/4 cup Dark Chocolate shaved
- 1 head Butter lettuce
- 2 Avocados
- 1 bunch Cilantro
Instructions
For the Pulled Pork Lettuce Cups
- In a medium saucepan, add 1 tbsp olive oil and 1.5 tbsp minced garlic, heat over medium until fragrant.
- Add 3/4 of your can of Chipotle Peppers in Adobo sauce, chop the peppers if you would like. Stir together until heated.
- Add in your pulled pork – shredding by hand to make sure it’s not stuck together in large chunks.
- Add in juice of 1/2 a lime, approx 3/4 can of tomato paste, 1 tablespoon of paprika and ground cumin. Mix well.
- Add in about 1/4 cup of shaved dark chocolate and 2 tablespoons of local honey. You may want to adjust these amounts based on your heat tolerance.
- Whip up some quick guacamole: mash together 2 medium avocados, add the juice from 1/2 a lime, a dash of garlic and a little chopped up cilantro. *If you want it thinner you could add a tbsp of water or some Whole30 mayo.
- Assemble your lettuce cups: scoop about 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of pork (whatever fits in your lettuce), top with a scoop of guacamole and some torn, fresh cilantro.
For the Spanish “Rice”
- In a medium saucepan, add 1 tbsp olive oil and 1.5 tbsp minced garlic, heat over medium until fragrant.
- Add in a can of diced tomatoes with jalapenos and the remainder of your can of Adobo peppers. Stir together for about 2-3 minutes.
- Add your riced cauliflower and mix together well.
- Add in the remainder of your small can of tomato paste, 1 tablespoon of paprika and ground cumin and the other 1/2 of that lime juice.
- Heat through and top with a little guacamole and/or torn cilantro if you like.
Lemon and Rosemary Marinated Olives
The idea for this was introduced to me from another good friend with a Costco membership. At one point, Costco had these wonderful olives that were marinated with lemons and rosemary – that’s about all I can remember. I searched everywhere online to find them so I could try to recreate, but it appears they do not have them any longer. No worries – my husband and I actually enjoyed these much more.
First things first, your olives. I would recommend trying to find ones that are already pitted just to save time. You can choose any varieties you like. For this one I used, whole, plain Kalamata and Castelvetrano (un-brined and un-seasoned), some Picual pieces as well as Spanish Manzanilla. It’s good to get a variety of flavors as well as colors. I placed them all in a bowl draining most of the juices. I squeezed 1/2 a fresh lemon into the bowl and mixed. My lemons are very juicy, so you might want a whole lemon.
I added about 1.5 oz of sun dried tomatoes. I used the bag of dried, julienne-cut. Then, I dug through my stash of garden herbs I dried from last year and added a large pinch of both thyme and lemon thyme. Throw in a little less than than a tbsp of minced garlic and just a couple pieces of artichoke heart (chopped up).
Chop up a few pieces of fresh rosemary and stir in with the other ingredients. Slice a lemon into 1/8 inch thick rounds. Place your lemon pieces, olives and a few sprigs of fresh rosemary into a canning jar and top with olive oil. Shake well. I would let it marinate a couple of days before using. You can put in the fridge if you want, but if you are using a good quality olive oil, chances are it will solidify. I left mine on the counter for the week and turned it over a couple of times to mix it up. I love to eat these with a fork or I also love to make bruschetta with this.
Lemon and Rosemary marinated Olives
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Kalamata olives whole, pitted
- 3/4 cup Castelvetrano olives whole, pitted
- 1/2 cup Picual olives pieces
- 1/2 cup Spanish Manzanilla olives whole, pitted
- 1/4 cup Sun Dried Tomatoes dry, julienne cut
- 1 tsp Thyme dried
- 1 tsp Lemon Thyme dried
- 1 tbsp Garlic minced
- 2 pieces Artichoke hearts diced
- 2-3 sprigs Rosemary fresh
- 1 1/2 Lemon large
- 1 1/2 cup Olive Oil extra virgin
Instructions
- Place all olives, draining most of the liquid into a bowl.
- Squeeze 1/2 large lemon over olives and stir.
- Add sun dried tomatoes, thyme, lemon thyme, garlic and artichoke hearts and stir together.
- Chop a small portion of your fresh rosemary and stir in to the mixture.
- Slice your lemon into 1/8 inch thick rounds.
- Place your lemon rounds, rosemary sprigs and olives into a canning jar and top with olive oil. Shake to mix.
Mushrooms and Butternut Squash “Zoodles”
Vegetables have ALWAYS been my favorite. Cauliflower first. Extremely close seconds are pasta and mushrooms. When I was a kid in 1/2 day kindergarten, my mom had an in-home daycare in our house and therefore was always home with lunch ready when I got off the bus. One of my favorite lunches was her creamed cauliflower. I know, not healthy at all, but oh so good. I always felt extra special when she made me that meal. These days it is a very rare occasion that I eat cauliflower or any veggie prepared that way, but veggies are still my favorite. And once I discovered my body’s dislike to gluten they have become my favorite substitute for pasta as well.
Today, I needed something that would be quick to make and also wanted healthy. I dug through my refrigerator and started pulling out what I had on hand. Luckily I had a few shortcuts to help with the time and mess – I’ll share those here.
My first shortcut today – already “zoodled” noodles. I love the Cece’s Veggie Co options. They save so much time and mess and they are Organic – even better! Don’t get me wrong – once my garden is going with fresh veggies for zoodling and ricing again I will zoodle my own as well. I also had a package of baby bella mushrooms on hand and some already minced garlic. Sitting on my counter were some of the fresh lemons from our tree outback – we still have an abundance.
First things first, I always press any extra moisture out of my zoodles. I love butternut squash because they are denser and typically don’t hold the moisture like zucchini noodles do, but I still want to make sure I get any excess out. So, once I had them pressed in between some paper towels, I melted a little ghee butter in a pan on the stove, added about a tablespoon of minced garlic and sauteed for a couple minutes before adding in my mushrooms. I decided a little extra ghee would be needed as both the mushrooms and squash will really soak it up – so about 2-3 tablespoons.
Then, I squeezed in 1/2 of a fresh lemon (mine are very juicy), and stirred around until the mushrooms were about 1/2 cooked. I then added a couple tablespoons of parsley (I used dried this time – faster!).
I then added in my “noodles.” I like to pull them apart and add a little at a time so they aren’t all stuck together. I then sauteed the noodles for about 5 more minutes. I topped my bowl off with a tiny bit of shredded Parmesan cheese and there you have it – lunch!
Mushrooms and Butternut Squash “Zoodles”
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Ghee Butter
- 1 tbsp Garlic minced
- 1 pckg Baby Bella Mushrooms small
- 2 tbsp Parsley dried
- 1/2 lemon squeezed
- 1 pckg Cece’s butternut squash “noodles”
- 1 pinch shredded parmesan
Instructions
- Melt butter in pan and add minced garlic. Saute for a few minutes.
- Add mushrooms and saute until about 1/2 cooked or more. Sprinkle on parsley and squeeze in lemon juice and stir.
- Add the butternut squash and saute for approx 5-7 minutes.
- Top your bowl with a pinch of shredded parmesan cheese.
Red Skin Spice Cake
This is not something you will see from me often. Cakes and sweets are really not my thing and not typically found in my diet. But – today is my birthday and I’m craving my favorite cake so I thought I would share with you. This recipe is from my mom. I’m not sure where she found this other than while she was living in Texas. It’s not too difficult – mine won’t be the prettiest as I’m NOT a baker, but as long as it tastes good that’s all we really care about in this house.
We start with 2 cups of flour (sifted) and 2 cups of sugar. Add in 1 tsp of ground cinnamon, 1 tsp of ground cloves and 1/2 tsp of nutmeg. Mix the dry ingredients together. Add 1 cup of oil, 1 tsp of vanilla, 3 eggs, 1 tsp of red food coloring (or a touch more for the deeper red color) and 2 jars of baby food. The original recipe calls for baby food plums. I cannot find those for the life of me so really any fruit will do. This time I used apples. Beat all of the ingredients together well in stand mixer or with a hand mixer.
Next, grease and flour your pan. I always use a bundt pan for this and I feel the deeper groves in your pan the better. My mom always taught me to use crisco with a paper towel. Wipe the entire pan and then dump some flour in and shake it over the sink or trash until there is just a very light coating. You don’t want too much flour or it will stick to your cake, yet you want the entire pan covered so that your cake comes out in one nice piece.
Pour your batter into the pan and bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour.
While your cake is baking, make the icing. I use a mixture of powdered sugar, lemon juice and red food coloring. You just have to play with the amounts until the consistency is where you want it. You want it to be pretty thick, but just able to drizzle over the warm cake. I’d start with about 1.5 cups of powered sugar to 1/2-1 lemon (depending on how juicy) or you can use store bought lemon juice if you don’t have lemons. And then the food coloring just until it’s red enough for your liking – remembering this will thin your icing as well. I usually have to keep adding more sugar, etc.
I use the toothpick test to see that my cake is done – if you put a toothpick in the middle, it should come out pretty clean. Give it a few minutes to cool before flipping onto your cake stand or plate.
Now while the cake is still warm, drizzle your icing over and let it melt down the sides. I like a lot of icing!
Red Skin Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour sifted
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground gloves
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup oil
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp red food coloring approx (or more)
- 2 jars baby food (plums or other fruit like apples)
Instructions
- Sift together all dry ingredients through the salt.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and beat well.
3. Optional (add 1 cup chopped pecans)4. Grease and flour pan and pour mixture in.
5. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour.
6. While baking, make the icing mixture of powdered sugar, lemon juice and red food coloring (until just thick enough to drizzle over hot cake)7. Wait just a few minutes, until cool enough to handle and flip the cake onto stand or plate and drizzle icing on top while still warm.
*if not serving right away, wait until cake is cooled to cover, or your icing will continue to melt more as the steam will collect inside your cover.
Grilled Romaine Salad
Before we moved to Arizona, we lived in a neighborhood called Napa Valley. Unfortunately for us, the grapes did not grow there, but thanks to some friends with a great little wine store – our cellar was stocked pretty well. The best thing about the neighborhood was meeting some of the best neighbors! People that enjoy to cook, love to eat healthy, try new things and share the experiences together!
These grilled romaine salads were almost always a hit (you can obviously modify salads easily) and of course the best is when you have garden fresh ingredients to throw in. I know – if you live in the Midwest you are probably rolling your eyes at me right now as I am posting this in January.
Here is my first attempt at walking you through one of my “recipes.”
First – let’s talk about the lettuce. Romaine is one thing I haven’t grown in my garden, yet. Lettuce is tough as it’s a first favorite among bunnies, bugs and other critters and when you are trying to keep it all organic, let’s face it, lettuce ends up being planted more for a barrier or distraction from your other prized plants such as tomatoes! Nothing better than home grown tomatoes! So – a bag of romaine lettuce from the grocery store is perfect for this.
Make sure you wash your lettuce and dry – I use paper towels. Then lightly coat with olive oil and place on a baking sheet to take to the grill. But – let’s grill it last so it’s still warm!
I had the privilege of tasting some of the sweetest corn growing up and although after braces in junior high I typically still take it off the cob, I do still love corn. For this one we are going to grill the corn. Pre-heat your grill to a medium high/high heat. Clean your corn and rinse all of the silks out. If you miss some – one of the best things about grilling – is most of them will char off! Lightly oil the corn and place directly on the grill, rotating about 4-5 minutes – until your corn is about 1/2 charred. Set aside to cool enough to handle. Once it’s cooled – I use a handy corn zipper to remove the corn from the cob.
The remaining ingredients/toppings are up to you, but here are my favorites: Tomatoes, I like a variety of colors, heirlooms from the garden are my favorite. Chop them up into small pieces. Peppers – again, fresh sweet peppers from the garden are a favorite and add even more color. I also like to add diced avocados and blue cheese. You can substitute the blue cheese for feta or in the past I have just left the cheese on the side for others to choose. I also love cilantro if you so choose or any fresh herb is a nice addition.
One really cool thing about living in Arizona are the citrus trees – and fresh lemons picked from your backyard!
The Dressing is totally up to you. Here is an idea for one that is light, easy and goes well with the grilled salad with all of your toppings!
- Lemon Juice (approx 1/4 cup of fresh squeezed)
- Olive Oil (1/4 cup)
- Champagne or White Wine vinegar (1/8-1/4 cup)
- pinch of freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
Place all of the ingredients in a container with a lid, or a salad dressing shaker, shake well. Ta-DA!
Once you have all of your toppings chopped and ready to go, grill your romaine! Medium heat for about 5 minutes should do the trick. You want to start to see a char, but not completely wilt the lettuce so that you leave some crunch. Place your romaine back on your baking sheet (or whatever serving platter you want to use) and start adding your toppings. You could make this a main dish or it’s super easy to cut the romaine into smaller pieces! ~Hope you enjoy!
Grilled Romaine Salad
Ingredients
- Romaine lettuce
- Corn (on the cob)
- Tomatoes – chopped
- Sweet peppers – diced
- Avocado – diced
- Blue Cheese – crumbled
- Cilantro – chopped
Instructions
- 1. Wash and dry romaine lettuce heads.
2. Clean the corn on the cob and grill on medium-high for approx 4-5 min. on each side until about 1/2 charred. Wait for corn to cool enough to handle and zip off the cob.
3. Chop remaining ingredients.4. Grill Romaine lettuce for approx 5 minutes until just starting to char, but not wilted.
5. Place the grilled Romaine on serving dish, add toppings (grilled corn, tomatoes, sweet peppers, avocado, blue cheese and cilantro).6. If serving as a side dish, cut the romaine heads into 3 pieces and serve with the dressing on the side.
Sheet Pan Chicken – Bowls
The idea for these bowls came from our good friends in “Napa Valley.” They introduced us to the wonderful Korean flavors we add to these. My favorite part about this dish is the simplicity. I typically purchase my chicken in bulk, separate and marinade before freezing. There are a lot of marinades that would work well with this (I’ll add some marinade options in the near future) and you can really play with whatever ingredients you like best. Also – isn’t this pan just so pretty?
Ok, so first of all we start with the chicken. For this particular dish I chose boneless, skinless thighs. You can use chicken breasts if you would like, but I would probably cut them in 1/3rds to save on cooking time as your veggies will cook faster than your chicken. Like I mentioned above, I like to marinade and then freeze them.
For this dish I used a sweet chili marinade. The marinade is very simple: homemade sweet chili sauce and coconut aminos. I would use about 2/3 chili sauce to 1/3 coconut aminos.
Last year we had much warmer temperatures early on. I had peppers ripening by late April/early May – and I could barely keep up. I was trying to decide what to do with these beauties before I picked my next batch. I decide to try a version of homemade sweet chili sauce. Hopefully a little healthier for us. So – the majority of these peppers went in. There is a mixture of serrano, banana, shishito, jalapeno and a couple poblanos included. I minced these and left the majority of the seeds. Most of these peppers have a fairly mild flavor so I wanted to leave in a tiny bit of heat.
I used about equal parts sugar to water – so depending on how many “chilies” you have, 1 cup sugar to 1 cup water. And a tablespoon of minced garlic. Boil all of these ingredients (peppers, sugar, water, garlic) and then simmer for approx 5 minutes. In a separate bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water. Whisk the cornstarch mixture in with the remaining ingredients continuing to simmer – it should start to thicken within a few minutes. Once it’s thickened, remove from heat. You can store in canning jars in the fridge as above or use in our chicken marinade once cooled. (you don’t want to cook the chicken with your marinade)
Once you have your chicken marinated (I’d suggest at least a couple of hours or overnight). Chop your veggies. In this dish we used carrots, celery, onions, peppers and broccoli. The denser veggies work well as they don’t overcook as easily with the chicken, but you could add any of your favorites (mushrooms and zucchini are other options) If you add softer veggies I like to put them on the opposite side of the pan from the chicken so the marinade doesn’t take over.
Place your chicken on your jelly roll pan (with an edge), then layer your veggies alongside. Throw the pan in the oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. Depending on how large/which cuts of chicken you use – just make sure your chicken hits the 165 temperature and the veggies will definitely be done by the time the chicken is.
Next you put your bowl together. This is really where personal preference comes into play. I’m going to list the ingredients we usually put out and then we each make our own bowls.
Your base layer – either brown rice, cauliflower rice, soba noodles or even a veggie noodle or sometimes we combine two.
Topping options we include are: cilantro (a favorite and must of ours), kimchi, some additional sweet chili sauce, coconut aminos, homemade sriracha (I’ll post a future recipe that excludes all of the sugar), fried garlic, diced peanuts and I’m probably forgetting some. Let me know if you have other ideas!
Sheet Pan Chicken – Bowls
Ingredients
- chicken (thighs or breasts)
- celery
- carrots
- onion (sweet or red)
- bell peppers
- broccoli
- sweet chili sauce
- coconut aminos
Instructions
- 1. Marinade your chicken2. Chop your veggies.3. Spread your chicken onto a sheet pan including the remaining marinade. Spread your veggies in layers next to your chicken – denser veggies closest to your veggies. Mix some of the remaining marinade through your veggies and/or sprinkle some olive oil or coconut aminos (sparingly) over your veggies.
4. Bake at 400 degrees for approx 30 minutes or until chicken is 165 degrees. You may want to flip your chicken over 1/2 way through cooking.
5. If needed, cut your chicken into smaller pieces – easier for eating in your bowl.
6. Choose your bowl “bottom” and toppings and enjoy!
Simple “Caprese” Pasta
I’m currently preparing my garden for another round of planting. This picture from last year gets me so excited to get to work! I just think there is nothing better than fresh produce from the backyard. Cherry tomatoes are a great option in Arizona as they grow abundantly and don’t take as long to ripen as the large heirlooms. Last year I grew several varieties including the darker ones you see that are labeled as black prince heirlooms. After sitting in my garden and eating quite a few right off the plant these are what I brought inside for the day.
My husband was gone for a work trip and I was craving a light dish for dinner for myself including these beauties. I also have an abundance of fresh basil – you cannot kill basil here in AZ. This one was also before I started trying to eliminate gluten and my biggest weakness is still – PASTA! If I’m not doing gluten free or making my own, I prefer a hearty, whole wheat pasta that’s a little easier to cook to the perfect al dente texture.
This is a super easy and quick, yet satisfying lunch or dinner that anyone can make! First, I would cook the pasta – follow the directions on the box. Again, I would choose a whole wheat option and whatever “shape” you like. While the pasta is cooking, slice your tomatoes in half – this helps incorporate the flavor and juice of the tomatoes into the dish. If you aren’t growing your own tomatoes I would choose the heirloom or organic cherry and I love the multi colored mostly because they are so pretty.
You have several options with the Basil – you can use herb scissors and cut right into the dish, you can chop it up with a knife, tear by hand or if you don’t have fresh basil you can use dried.
Once the pasta is cooked, drain and rinse with cool water. Add some EVOO, a little balsalmic (if you like), your basil and chopped tomatoes. Voila – that’s it. Grab a fork and enjoy!
*A couple of possible modifications are: a gluten free pasta (one that I actually enjoy is the Taste Republic that I find at Sprouts) and sometimes if you are ok with dairy I like to include some fresh mozzarella cheese.
Simple “Caprese” Pasta
Ingredients
- whole wheat pasta
- organic, heirloom, cherry tomatoes cut in 1/2
- fresh basil chopped
- olive oil extra virgin
- balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- 1. Cook your pasta following the package instructions. Drain and Rinse in cold water.2. Cut your cherry tomatoes in 1/2.3. Drizzle EVOO and a splash of balsamic vinegar over pasta and stir together.
4. Add cherry tomatoes to the pasta and using herb scissors (or tearing) add the basil into the pasta mixture.