What I’m cooking this week…

April 20, 2020 ~ jenthornfit ~ Leave a comment

In an effort to maintain some level of sanity (and let’s be honest, avoid having to clean my kitchen again), I’m only going to cook 3 nights a week and we will make do with leftovers now and again! I had a ton of chicken in our deep freezer so it will be a week heavy on chicken but that’s okay! It will still be easy and delicious. Here’s what’s on the menu:

Monday: Roasted Chicken with White Beans served with Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Wednesday: Beer Brats with Roasted Onions & Peppers served with Caesar Salad

Friday: Linguini Alfredo with Italian Chicken served with Green Beans

Here’s the first two recipes!

Photo courtesy of Olive & Mango

Roasted Chicken with White Beans served with Roasted Brussel Sprouts
Recipe from Olive & Mango

Ingredients

2 (15-ounce) cans white beans, drained and rinsed

2 tablespoons capers with brine

8 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

½ tsp oregano

8 skin-on bone-in chicken thighs (about 2 pounds)

1 large lemon, zested then thinly sliced, seeds removed, plus extra for serving

1-2 whole heads of garlic cut in half horizontally

4 tbsp of white wine (optional)

⅓ cup of chicken broth or water

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh parsley

2 tsp chopped scallions

2 tsp chopped dill

Directions

Preheat to 425°F. Toss beans, and capers and lemon zest in a 13×9” baking dish and spread out evenly on bottom of pan and season with salt and pepper.

Pat chicken dry and season with salt, pepper and oregano. Spread 1 tsp. mustard on skin of each chicken thigh and nestle, skin side up, into beans and capers. Arrange lemon slices under and around chicken then arrange garlic head halves in pan and add enough water (about ⅓ cup) to come up sides of chicken by ½”. Drizzle chicken with oil and season whole dish with a little more salt and pepper.

Roast chicken, stirring and shaking dish halfway through, until skin is browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 165°F, about 45-50 minutes.

Transfer chicken, beans, lemon slices, and capers to a serving platter. Toss the beans with the fresh parsley dill and scallions and serve with chicken and extra lemon wedges.

Bonus – serve with chopped preserved lemon for more lemony zing

Beer Brats with Drunken Peppers & Onions and Caesar Salad
Recipe courtesy of my husband – it’s his favorite

For Brats:
– 3-4 cans of beer (we prefer lager)

– 1-2 packages of beer brats

– 1 red pepper sliced

– 1 green pepper sliced

– 1 onion sliced

Put everything together in a large sauce pan. Bring to a boil and then turn down heat and let simmer for 45 mins. Meanwhile, heat grill and grill outside of brats or fry on stovetop until brats reach desired crispness. Drain veggies from beer liquid and sauté in brat pan until edges are just browned. Serve with your favorite toppings – sauerkraut, relish, ketchup, mustard, bbq sauce. We paired with a Caesar salad and our favorite litehouse organics Caesar salad dressing!

Waste not, want not…

April 20, 2020 ~ jenthornfit ~ Leave a comment

We all have them, those random baggies and tupperwares of food leftover from recipes where we didn’t quite use everything…half a cucumber, a few stray carrots, maybe some random slices of cheese, and leftover salmon from dinner the night before. On their own it doesn’t seem like much, but together (strategically plated), it can make for a delicious, nutrient dense meal for your family – enter the snack lunch or snack dinner! And don’t worry about things that seemingly “don’t fit together,” consider this your art project for the day: there are no rules, just make it look pretty.

Typically when creating a snack lunch or dinner, I pull everything out of my fridge that doesn’t really have much leftover or that I’ve used a portion of. I’ll lay it all out on my countertop and think about what pairs together well. For example, yesterday I had some leftover smoked salmon, half a cucumber, and some cream cheese. I spread the cream cheese on the slices of salmon, then wrapped them around narrowly sliced and peeled cucumber.

When I served this at lunch time, my son Ethan proclaimed “cucumber in a blanket!”. I also threw some random leftover fruit, nuts, pita chips, and anything else I could find to make it look pretty (that’s a key element here).

In an effort to not throw away any food, we’ve been trying to repurpose any stray leftovers for our snack lunch trays. The kids love it because it creates a family dining experience and encourages them to play with their food. When creating a healthy relationship with food, it’s important as parents we teach our children that food should be FUN! I love serving my kids this way because we talk about the textures, the hard foods, the soft foods, the colors, and then I get to watch their creativity come alive! Last week we sliced up leftover cucumbers and halved grape tomatoes – they decided to make “cucumber hats” and completely devoured the entire plate of veggies. If there’s anything I’ve learned about instilling a healthy relationship with food in your children and ensuring that they have a broad and healthy nutrient-rich diet, it’s to serve foods creatively. Perhaps they don’t like tomatoes in a salad, but “cucumber hats” are fun for everyone!

Remember, especially during our current circumstances, no fuss meals are a great way to ensure your family is eating nourishing food without much effort!

Fluffy Pancake Secret Weapon: Buttermilk

April 20, 2020 ~ jenthornfit ~ Leave a comment

If you follow me on social media, you have probably been watching our adventures through pancake land. We’ve found 100 different ways to make a pancake, but here’s the recipe we’re currenty using as our base. We change the toppings, add fruit, even veggies (we made a spinach pancake two weeks ago, but shhh, don’t tell my kids I snuck spinach in there, wink wink). The secret to the best, fluffiest, delicious pancakes ever??? Buttermilk? Don’t have any? No problem! Substitute regular milk, and for every 1 cup of milk add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or distilled white vinegar.

Best Buttermilk Pancakes
Recipe from Mom on Timeout

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

2 tbsp granulated sugar

2 cups buttermilk

2 large eggs lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract optional

Instructions

Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl or, as I frequently do, a large glass measuring cup. Whisk in the buttermilk, eggs and vanilla extract just until combined. Some small lumps are okay.

Let pancake batter rest for 10 minutes. Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray OR brush with butter or oil. Ladle 1/3 – 1/2 cup batter onto the griddle for each pancake. Flip the pancakes over when small bubbles appear on the surface and continue cooking on the opposite side until golden brown. Serve with butter and syrup. Enjoy!

Number one rule of making a salad….there are no rules!

May 17, 2016May 17, 2016 ~ jenthornfit ~ Leave a comment

Whoever coined the term “Culinary Arts” was on to something…

Mother Nature has blessed us with a colorful bounty of nutritious and delicious goodness and when it comes to salads, more is better…as in more color, more ingredients, and therefore more nutrients. This week I was feeling inspired by the rainbow of hues at our local market and, as I always do, was trying to find new ways to make my meals go the distance. I only have one day a week available for meal prep and therefore I employ the KISS method (Keep It Simple Sweetheart); a side of quinoa from dinner the night before becomes a “thickener” in an egg bake the following morning; leftover roasted vegetables become the topper on a rich green salad; leftover cut fruit is frozen into single serving size bags and used in our daily Shakeology smoothie. You get the idea. So, in an effort to make my leftover “grains” go the distance, and incorporate the beautiful spring fruits and vegetables in season, I went to my most reliable resource for food inspired works of art: www.halfbakedharvest.com . I can’t take credit for these recipes but I can share them with you and encourage you to create your own works of art, making substitutions based on what you currently have in your fridge/pantry – just as I did. I cannot stress enough, do not stress by what (ingredients) you don’t have….use it as an opportunity to get creative and make it your own.

First off: The Mean Green Detox Salad

Ingredients
Lemon Tahini Dressing
2 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon low sodium soy sauce or tamari
juice + zest from 1 lemon (use only half of the zest)
2 cloves garlic, grated
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated
salt + pepper, to taste

Directions: Add all the ingredients to a bowl and whisk until combined. Taste and adjust salt + pepper to your liking. Alternately you can add the ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. The dressing can be made a week in advance and stored in the fridge until ready to use.
Salad
2 cups cooked chickpeas
1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
2 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce or tamari
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 cups Tuscan kale, roughly torn
2 cups fresh broccoli florets
1/4 head purple cabbage, shredded
1/2 cup fresh parsley + cilantro, roughly chopped
hemp seeds + chia seeds, for topping
2 red grapefruits, segmented
2 ripe, but firm avocados, sliced or chopped

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Spread the chickpeas out on a towel and dry them completely. Add the chickpeas and coconut to a baking sheet and toss with the soy sauce, sesame oil and cayenne pepper. Toss well to evenly coat. Roast for 20 minutes and then stir the chickpeas around and roast another 10 minutes or until the chickpeas are browned and the coconut is dark brown. Remove from the oven. Save any leftovers for snacking on later! Add the kale to a large bowl and drizzle with 1 teaspoon olive oil and a big pinch of salt. Using your hands, massage the kale for 2-3 minutes until the kale is well coated and has slightly softened. To the bowl add the broccoli, cabbage, parsley and cilantro. Toss well. Add the dressing and continue to toss until all the veggies are coated. Add the grapefruit segments and avocado. Gently toss to combine. At this point, you can cover and store the salad in the fridge for up to 24 hours or continue on with the recipe. Divide the salad into bowls. Top with the crunchy coconut chickpeas and the vegan parmesan cheese (recipe below) and a sprinkle of chia + hemp seeds. EAT!!!
Vegan Parmesan
1/2 cup raw pine nuts
2 teaspoons raw sesame seeds
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
Salt, to taste

In a food processor or blender, combine the pine nuts, sesame seeds, nutritional yeast and a pinch of salt. Process until you have fine crumbs that resemble parmesan cheese. Taste and season with more salt if desired. The vegan parmesan can be made a week in advance and stored in the fridge until ready to use.

*Vegan Parmesan adapted from The First Mess.

And second…Very Berry Dream Salad with Chili Mango & Peanut Vinaigrette

Chili Mango and Peanut Vinaigrette
1 ripe medium mango, peeled + diced
1 inch knob fresh ginger, peeled + diced
1 fresno chili pepper, seeded + diced (we omitted this for the kids’ sake) 🙂
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons sweet thai chili sauce
1/2 cup canned coconut milk (we used lite)
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
In a blender or high powered food processor, combine the mango, ginger, fresno chili pepper, peanut butter, sweet thai chili sauce, coconut milk, olive oil and rice vinegar. Blend until smooth and creamy. If the vinaigrette seems a bit thick, thin with water. Stir in the chopped basil and season with salt + pepper. Store in the fridge for up to 1 week in a glass jar.

Salad
4 cups baby spinach
4 cups mixed berries (I used raspberries, blueberries and blackberries)
2 cups cooked grains (I used barley and quinoa)
2 cups fresh sprouts
1/2 cup toasted peanut, chopped
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1/2 mango, peeled + diced
2 tablespoons chia seeds
1 avocado, pitted, peeled + sliced
4 ounces goat cheese or feta cheese, crumbled (omit if vegan)
1/2 cup edible flowers (optional)

Directions:
Combine the spinach, berries, grains, sprouts, peanuts, pine nuts, mango and chia seeds. Top with avocado slices, goat or feta cheese (If using) and edible flowers. Drizzle generously with the mango vinaigrette. Serve with extra vinaigrette.

I will continue to be on the hunt for delicious salads that also serve as a work of art and share them with you here! In the meantime, please do yourself a favor and go follow @halfbakedharvest on Insta for some serious cooking motivation and inspiration!!!