Cilantro Lime Chicken and Broccoli // The One Where Crouton Says Goodbye to 2012

Welcome to 2013! I anticipated my first post of the new calendar year to be much more photo-heavy, but someone – ahem, my dear husband – has taken the camera’s memory card reader to work and subsequently left it there … for nearly a week now! Therefore, instead of macaroni and cheese or truffle oil pasta recipes, today you instead receive a recipe for cilantro chicken and broccoli, a not-photographed dinner we tried last week.

But let’s check in with Crouton first, shall we? The little princess received a new calming collar in her Christmas stocking – an invention that actually seems to work on her – so sneak attacks and volatile moods are currently being suppressed. On Dec. 31^st, when I was packing to visit friends in Delaware for New Year’s Eve, she decided to take a little nap – right on the clothes I was packing to wear that night. I know this is a phenomenon not exclusive to Crouton. Why do cats, when given the option of sleeping on an entire king-sized bed or any other myriad places within the house, always have to choose the clothes, book, keyboard, etc., that you’re using? Those sequins could NOT be comfortable!

The One Where Crouton Returns // Slow-Cooker Chicken Cacciatore

It’s been a while. Have you missed me? Probably not, but I know you’ve missed Crouton. I don’t have much time, but she’s been doing a little shopping and learning how to play the piano lately. Really — I have proof. I promise.

She’s also been doing some slow-cooker cooking. Oh, wait, that’s me. Well, Crouton helps by rubbing against my legs, attempting to trip me, and climbing up my clothing whenever possible. So, same thing basically.

Recipe Redux: Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

I’m so excited, I can hardly contain myself. It’s nearly football season!

Yes, it’s going to be a strange college ‘ball season for this Penn Stater over here. New head coach, new uniforms, no chance for a bowl game — but I’m still celebrating all things Blue and White beginning this weekend. And, I’m getting ready for NFL season, too, having just finished my fantasy football draft.

Yep, this girl plays fantasy football. Don’t ask questions.

So I’m returning to a recipe I have shared in the past, but with a much better photo. My husband loves these little saucy meatballs, so there’s a good chance they’ll be gracing our Sunday dinner table quite often over the next few months.

Goat Cheese and Prosciutto-Stuffed Grilled Chicken // The One with Crouton’s New Nemesis

Meet Fleetwood. He’s a five-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel that David and I rescued recently, and he’s a peach. He’s also terrified of Crouton.

Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Pasta // The One Where Crouton Actually Loves Us

As indicated by my last (somewhat brief) post, David and I spent a week in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, celebrating our one-year anniversary. We left Crouton at home, cared for by our neighbor’s teenage daughter. We came home really late Saturday night (or is that really early Sunday morning) and walked into the house, noticing errant cat toys on the living room floor. We stared.

“Did she actually try to PLAY with Crouton?” David asked. Sure seemed like it. That’s probably something we should have included on the instructions sheet — play with cat at your own risk.

As far as we know, the 14-year-old only walked away with minor scratches. And that night we came home, Crouton actually showed affection. The type of affection only reserved for when she actually thought we had abandoned her, and what would she do if she couldn’t get her dry food refilled at any time she desired? (We really need to cut back on that.)

 

 

Grilled Lemon-Pepper Chicken atop Spring Greens Fruit Salad

This recipe is one that my mom and sister have both been making for years, and the general idea first came from a Byerly’s cookbook. When I was searching for a healthy, delicious recipe to feature in this week’s newsletter, I emailed my sister to ask for it. Neither of us were able to find the recipe verbatim online (that tells you how old it is!), so I just took the general concept and ran with it! And while the raspberry vinaigrette is quite a bit more Pepto Bismal-pink that I remember it being, the meal as a whole was just as beautiful as it’s always been.

Creamy Shiitake and Leek Chicken

Prior to this dinner, I had never tried shiitake mushrooms. This was mostly because they can be slightly hard to find or more expensive than portobellos. However, this weekend, I did run across a package that was only 40 cents more expensive than portobellos, so I jumped at the chance to try them. After making this dish, I realized that portobellos could easily be substituted for a similarly delicious and decadent dinner.

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

Buffalo-flavored anything has been a hit for a long time, but I think its popularity is really off the charts now. Of course, there’s the delicious Buffalo Chicken Dip, but now everywhere I turn, I see something new that’s been flavored with Buffalo sauce. And, hey, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

I served these at our Super Bowl party, and people went crazy over them. The photo is horrible, but the recipe is good, so try it anyway.

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Makes about 30 medium-sized meatballs

2 pounds ground chicken
1 white onion, minced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
2 tablespoons parsley, minced
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1 bottle Buffalo wing sauce

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Mince the garlic and onion as finely as you can (or grate it), and then combine it in a large bowl with the chicken. Add the parsley. Making sure your hands are washed well, mix the chicken together thoroughly.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll the meat mixture into small meatballs and place them on the baking sheet, 12 at a time. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through.

Because I needed to keep the meatballs warm for the party, I added combined the butter, wing sauce, and meatballs in a Crockpot and left it plugged in on warm. If you’re serving immediately, combine the butter and wing sauce in a saucepan and cook until the butter is incorporated. Toss the meatballs in the sauce and serve.

Warning: Ugly photo ahead.

White Chicken Chili

One of my responsibilities as the food editor for a local lifestyle magazine is to create a foodie newsletter each week that’s sent out to between 9,000 and 10,000 subscribers. This newsletter includes a kitchen tip, ingredient of the week, local food calendar, and a new recipe every week. This requires me to create, cook, and photograph new recipes constantly. In fact, that’s one of the reasons I started this blog — so I could share these recipes and photographs with people beyond the newsletter subscribers.

So this week, in honor of the Super Bowl, I wanted to make a recipe that would work for a football party. Instead of classic chili, I created a recipe for a dish I like even better — white chicken chili. This recipe isn’t entirely unusual, but it is perfect for both football and a chilly winter day.

White Chicken Chili

3 cups chicken, chopped (I pulled the meat off a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store)
4 cups chicken broth
1 can beer (I used Modelo)
1 can navy beans
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 4-ounce cans diced green chilis
Juice of one lime
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Salt and pepper to taste
Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Heat the olive oil  in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and saute for three to four minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, chili powder, oregano, and cayenne pepper, and cook until fragrant. Add the beer, chicken broth, green chilis, and navy beans. Turn up heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and let cook for 10-15 minutes.

Combine the sour cream and cornstarch in a small bowl. Use a measuring cup to ladle in about half a cup of the hot soup and whisk to combine. This prevents the sour cream from curdling when you add it to the hot liquid. Return the sour cream mixture to the soup pot and stir thoroughly. Add the chicken, lime juice, and cilantro. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Top each bowl with Monterey Jack cheese, if desired.

Buffalo Chicken Cups

It’s not strange to hear Buffalo Chicken Dip referred to as “crack dip.” That’s basically what it is — so good that you just can’t stop eating it.

At my recent holiday party, I wanted to include the dip on the menu. However,  I already had crab dip and spinach dip on the menu, so I needed to do something a little different with it. My solution was to spoon it into phyllo cups, making it into a one-bite appetizer. And because the phyllo cups didn’t use all the dip, I was able to keep the rest of it warm in the oven and pull it out to serve once the other food was running low.

Buffalo Chicken Cups
2 packages miniature phyllo cups (12 to a package)
8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup ranch dressing
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
Frank’s Red Hot Sauce, to taste
2 cups cubed chicken

Mix the cream cheese, ranch dressing, and cheese together. Add the hot sauce until it reaches your desired level of spiciness. Fold in the chicken.

Add a tablespoon of dip to each phyllo cup and arrange on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until the cups are browned. Spoon additional dip into a baking dish and either save for later or serve with tortilla chips.