Chicken Meatball Parmigiana

 

This is one of those recipes that saves you when you are in a what-to-make-for-dinner rut or running late and still want to place a home cooked meal on the dinner table. From start to finish, it only takes about 30 minutes. And this is really kid pleasing dish. So what more do you want?!  I know the dinner time rush as I come home from work at 5.30 PM every day and going crazy to bring the food on table in 40 minutes. I normally do prep work in the weekends like chopping vegetables, boiling pastas to al-dente and making sauces for pasta. This comes in handy because we all know that boiling water for pasta takes forever!

 

This dish is very hearty and is a full meal when served with spring green salad.

 

Here’s how I made it.

 

Chicken Meatball Parmigiana

 

Ingredients

2 cups cooked pasta, Penne or Rotini

3 cups marinara sauce

1 lb. frozen meatballs

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp Italian seasoning

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

 

How to:

Pre heat oven to 400° F.

Mix all the ingredients in an oven proof dish, except cheese.

Sprinkle cheese on top of pasta.

Cover tightly with aluminum foil.

Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes.

Uncover, and bake for 10 more minutes or so until cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

Mixed Veggie Red Curry with Tofu and Chicken

Well, this is what I call everything but the kitchen sink dish! Literally, when you have a little bit of the vegetables, chicken and tofu(sometimes) remaining in the fridge, that you can’t use them to prepare a single dish out of, what a girl to do? Well, a girl, especially me, would throw everything in one pot and make another dish out of it. That’s exactly what happened with me and this dish was born. I am not going to say this is Thai recipe just because I used red Thai curry paste in it. I HAD to use it up as well so I just dumped in the pot. And again, the end product was simply awesome. We all enjoyed it so much with fragrant Jasmine rice.

Here’s how I made it.

Mixed Vegetable Red Curry with Tofu and Chicken
 

Ingredients

½ cup boneless chicken cubed

½ cup tofu pieces

Vegetables of your choice, I used broccoli, red pepper, green pepper, carrot and celery

2-3 tbsp red Thai curry paste

4-5 small pieces of dry red chilies

¼ cup oil

1 small onion, diced

3-4 cloves garlic, chopped

How to:

Heat the oil in a wok.

Add onion and garlic and saute till fragrant, for about 3 minutes

Now add red curry paste and dry red chilies and saute till oil floats on the top.

Add chicken and cook till almost done. paste should coat the chicken pieces.

Now add all the veggies alongwith tofu and about ½ cup of water and cover.

Let it cook for about 3 minutes or until veggies are crisp tender.

Immediately remove from heat.

Garnish with cashews, cilantro etc.

Enjoy!

 

Teriyaki Glazed Chicken

This was my first attempt to make Teriyaki sauce and glaze from scratch. Until now, I have been using bottled teriyaki sauce and for some reason I never really liked it. I saw this recipe on a TV cooking show and very next day gave it a try. And it really didn’t disappoint. It came out perfect, slightly sweeter for my taste so next time I have to reduce the amount of sugar. That’s abut it. I don’t think I would change anything in this recipe at all. The chicken came out very juicy and moist and we all enjoyed it with Jasmine rice and glazed mixed vegetables.

Here’s how I made it.

Teriyaki Glazed Chicken

Ingredients

½ cup soy sauce

¼ cup water

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp granulated sugar

About 2 tsp each minced ginger and garlic

Glaze:

1 tbsp cornstarch

1 tbsp water 

How to:

For sauce:

Mix all the ingredietns in a sauce pot on medium heat and cook until the sugar is dissloved.

At this point, you can use the sauce as a marinade for chicken, beef, tofu or any other protein or as a dipping sauce.

Glaze:

Mix cornstarch with water and add to the boiling sauce. Simmer till thickened.

I used this glaze to marinate my chicken, grilled the chicken and then serve with sprinkles of toasted sesame seeds. Used the same glaze to marinate and roast the vegetables.

Chicken in Spinach Pesto

Remember last week's quick n easy spinach pesto? This is what I used it for. I needed to make something quick and tasty and all I did was to throw in some chicken breast, salted and peppered in an oiled baking dish, smeared them with presto, top it off with some grated mozzarella cheese and baked at 400° F for about 25 minutes. And yes, don’t forget to cover the baking dish with the aluminum foil for the first 20 minutes. This speeds up cooking of the chicken as well as it prevents the cheese from burning. And the last 5 minutes, take off the foil cover, let the cheese bubble and brown up and then enjoy the hot and oh so tasty chicken on a sandwich or with your choice of pasta!

Chicken in Red Sauce

 

Yet another easy peasy recipe that for sure makes you and your family bring to the dinner table faster and happier.  I was kind of bored with pasta. I knew I was making roasted potatoes and chicken. So to go with potatoes, I made this saucy chicken. And I thought it was a smart move because not only did it paired great with roasted potatoes, the leftovers made a great sandwich.

 

Here’s how I made it.

 

Chicken in Red Sauce

Ingredients

4 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 can pasta sauce

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

A few basil leaves, julienned

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tbsp oil

4 slices of Provolone cheese

 

How to:

Heat oil in a skillet on medium high heat.

Sprinkle salt and pepper on chicken breasts.

Sear the chicken in hot skillet until nice brown crust is formed

Remove from the heat, keep it warm.

Heat another pot and add 1 tbsp oil.

Saute onion and garlic for 2 minutes.

Add pasta sauce and bring it to boil

Heat oven to 400° F.

Place chicken in an oven proof dish, pour sauce over chicken.

Place cheese slices on chicken and cover and bake for about 15 minutes.

Uncovered and bake for 5 minutes or until the cheese is browned.

Garnish with basil leaves.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

Chicken in Mushroom Cream Sauce

 

This is another dish if you want to make a healthy and feel good dinner in a jiffy. I love the simplicity of this white sauce. And it’s very versatile. I’ve used it with different ingredients to make different sauces. This chicken in mushroom cream sauce served with smashed potatoes was truly another soul food. Served with a cup of hot tomato soup. Exactly what we need to warm us up in this freezing cold.

 

Here’s how I made it.

 

Chicken in Mushroom Cream Sauce

Ingredients

1 can (370 ML) Carnation evaporated milk

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

1 cup slices mushrooms

2 cloves garlic, chopped

4 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tbsp oil

 

How to:

Heat butter and flour in a sauce pot on medium high heat.

Roast the flour until raw smell disappears

Now add mushrooms, salt, garlic and cook for about 2 minutes.

Add evaporated milk and cook till the sauce thickens. It usally coats the back of the spoon, a very good indicator that the sauce is ready.

 

In a hot skillet, add oil.

Salt and pepper the chicken breast and sear to get the brown crust on both sides.

Pour sauce on top of chicken, cover and cook on medium heat for about 5 more minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Enjoy!

 

Pesto Stuffed Chicken with Rosemary Potatoes

 

The story goes something like this. Every Summer Wednesday, we have a farmer’s market across from the building I work. I try to go there almost every Wednesday, to pick up freshly baked breads and herbs. I especially look for basil. Love those  fresh, huge basil plants. I’ve tried so many times to plant Basil in my back yard- in the ground and in the pot. But those squirrels. They seem to be liking my basil. I plant today and tomorrow it’s gone. So I’ve stopped planting basil and since I love to use it in salads, I buy them. Well, I learned a trick about the farmer’s market. They start at 9 am. They close down at 2. So if I go after 1 pm, bingo. I am in for a big saving. Basil plants are normally $2.50 per plant. At 1, they give away 2 for $3! Now that’s a bargain. Last Wednesday, I was a bit late. Got there at around 1.30. no one had  basil plant left. Finally a farmer girl offered me to pick the leftover basil leaves from the huge box that they use to put their plants. I was so glad as it was for free! I picked up as many basil leaves as I could possibly find and guess what, I got a bagful of them. And no, I am not going to do this every week! I will go at 1 yes, to get the bargain though for sure.

So I brought the basil home, right away made pesto and in the weekend, had this wonderful chicken dinner.

Here’s how I made it.

Pesto Stuffed Chicken with Rosemary Potatoes

Ingredients

1 cup Basil Pesto(2-3 cups loosely packed basil leaves, 6-9 cloves garlic, 1 hand ful walnuts, ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese, 1 cup or so extra virgin olive oil- give them a zip in a food processor. Store in an airtight jar in a refrigerator for about 2 weeks.)

4 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2-3 tbsp Italian seasoning

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp freshly chopped rosemary

Salt and pepper as needed

1 lb baby red potatoes

 

How to:

Place chicken breasts in between 2 plastic sheets, smooth side down and with a mallet, pound them as thin as possible.

Spread both sides of the breast with salt, pepper and italian seasoning as required.

Place all chicken breast on each other, overlapping slightly so that you can have about 8” large chicken breast circle.

Spread pesto all over it.

Roll it up tightly.

Bake it hot oven till chicken is done.

In the mean time, microwave baby potatoes for about 3 minutes, toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and chopped rosemary.

Spread the potatoes on a baking tray and bake in hot oven with chicken(at about 400° F.) until the potatoes are golden brown.

Serve with salad or your choice of steamed vegetables.

Enjoy!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Over summer, I always grill about 3-4 lbs of chicken breasts, cut them in the strips and store them in freezer safe bags. They are ready for wraps or fajitas. One less thing for me to worry about. Come home, pull out the bag, in the morning, assemble wraps and lunch is ready to go.

This time around, I used the same grilled chicken strips for pizza. I wanted to make bbq pizza for a long time now and didn’t get to it. Finally over the weekend, I just threw in some peppers and onions and saute them with chicken. Quickly made pizza dough and we had a satisfying supper with lots of greens on the side ready for us.

Here’s how I made it.

Bbq chicken pizza

Ingredients

½ lb grilled chicken breast strips(salt and pepper the chicken breast and grill it till it cooks. Cut into strips)

1 medium onion, julienned

1 each medium red and green pepper, sliced

1 cup marinara sauce

½ cup bbq sauce

About 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Basic Pizza Dough
1 pkg. dry yeast
3/4 c. warm water
1/4 tsp. salt
1 T. oil
1 tsp. sugar
3 c. flour

Mix ingredients together, adding flour last. Cover and let rise 1 hr.

How to:

Pre heat oven to 450° F.

Roll the pizza dough into 12 “ circle.

Place it on a greased pizza pan.

Spread marinara sauce(or your favourite pizza sauce) on top of the rolled dough.

Scattered chicken, peppers and onions on top.

At this point, I like to sprinkle some garlic powder on top of the chicken and veggies as well.

Now sprinkle liberally with cheese.

Finally, drizzle with bbq sauce and stick the pan in the oven.

Bake till about 20 minutes, or the bottom is nicely golden brown and cheese is melted.

Pull it out of the oven.

Cut into slices and serve.

Enjoy!

Nacho Chicken Strips

We all as mothers are very well aware of that 4 PM hunger pang of our kids. As soon as they come back from school, all they want is to eat something. We don’t want them to fill up on snacks as dinner will be ready in 2 hours or so , right? And we want to prepare a quick and satisfying snack for our kids. Well, this recipe fits the  bill. All it takes is a few frozen chicken strips, baked till done. Serve with any kind of dipping sauce and the kids are set.

Here’s how I made it.

Nacho Chicken Strips

Ingredients

6-12 frozen chicken strips(cooked as per directions)

1 cup sour cream

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

½ cup bottled salsa

Bacon crumbles and more cheese and pickled jalapenos for garnish, totally optional

 

How to:

Easy, just mix the ingredients for dip and pour over the chicken strips or serve it on a side as a dip.

Enjoy!

Mediterranean Pizza

Remember my grilled chicken and veggies, Mediterranean way? Well, I call this pizza Mediterranean as all the leftovers from that grill landed on this pie! It’s that simple. Pile up any veggies with lean protein on a pizza crust and even the pickiest eater would gobble it up. Pizza is the best way to get your kids eat their vegetables! No kidding. So this is just the basic idea. Make your pizza dough and bake your own pizza with whatever you have on hand or whatever you would like to eat. I bet you won’t pick up that phone to order delivery!

Basic Pizza Dough

1 pkg. dry yeast
3/4 c. warm water
1/4 tsp. salt
1 T. oil
1 tsp. sugar
3 c. flour

Mix ingredients together, adding flour last. Cover and let rise 1 hr.

Now, spoon your favourite pizza sauce on top, pile up all the leftover chicken and veggies and top off with loads of shredded mozzarella and cubed feta cheeses.

Bake in a very hot oven till the crust is golden brown and cheeses are melted.

Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken and Vegetables

 I wanted to go Mediterranean with this grilling. So I chose chicken, peppers, potatoes and feta. Of course with lots of Greek Oregano.  The beauty of Mediterranean cuisine is that it is very simple and yet very very delicious. You don’t have to labour over the hot stove for hours, no need to gather lots of spices and herbs. Just a few simple ingredients, a few simple steps and voila, dinner is served!

Join me at my table today for this flavourful Mediterranean meal.

Here’s how I made it.

Grilled Chicken and Vegetables

Ingredients

1 lb. bonelss, skinless chicken breasts, cubed

2-3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

¼ cup olive oil

2 tbsp oregano, crushed between your palms to release the flavour

1 each red, orange and yellow pepper, medium sized, cubed

3 russet potatoes, washed and thinly sliced

How to

Marinate peppers and potatoes separately using oil, salt,pepper and oregano for about an hour.

Marinate chicken as well. Overnight is the best.

Preheat the grill.

Skewer chicken or just leave the cubes as it is and grill chicken and peppers and potatoes until vegetables are tender and chicken is cooked through.

Arrange on a serving platter and garnish with chopped parsley(optional) and feta cheese crumbles and serve.

Enjoy!

Chicken Parmigiana Meatloaf

I must say when I first saw this recipe in some random magazine at the doctor’s office, I was confused and intrigued by the name. I thought wow, it would be a real deal if our favourite chicken parmigiana can be turned into a meatloaf! Meatloaf is such a great comfort food. What’s not to like in it? It’s moist, juicy and loaded with flavour. So I decided to give that recipe a try(of course after sneaking in my own twists!) and served it with balsamic glazed tossed vegetables and roasted potato wedges. That was one heck of a tasty meal!  This meatloaf is a bit different that the regular meatloaf as there is a good healthy dose of marinara sauce mixed into the meat, then spread on the top with ooey gooey mozzarella cheese! It’s a good thing. Another good thing is that you can turn the leftover meatloaf into equally delish sandwiches the next day, or the day after or…oh you get it!

Chicken Parmigiana Meatloaf

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground chicken

2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 eggs

1 cup panko bread crumbs

1 cup marinara sauce

½ cup each grated Parmesan and Asiago cheeses

1 cup shredded mozzarella

Fresh parsley, a handful, chopped for garnish

Salt and pepper

How to:

Mix everything together with ½ cup sauce and ¼ cup Parmesan and Asiago cheeses and ½ cup mozzarella cheese.

The rest of the sauce and cheeses will be required to top the meatloaf of with.

Bake at 375°F hot oven for about 40 minutes.

Pull ot the loaf, spread with the leftover sauce and cheeses and bake for 20 minutes more.

Garnish with fresh parsley.

Enjoy!

Chicken in Thai Red Curry

I love the fragrant Thai basil. And that's why I like to incorporate it with different dishes. I make soups and curries, with lots of basil in it. The aroma of the dish fills up the entire kitchen! And this basil freezes well too. So that's an added advantage. Can't believe there are so many potent herbs out there waiting for us to experiment with. And we Indians only use cilantro and mint!

I eat this curry a lot at the Pan Asian restaurant near my work. It's truly a wholesome dish that is so fragrant and aromatic. You can literally smell the basil and the coconut and the spices in the red curry. Red curry is also hotter than the yellow curry, milder than the green. I don't bother to make the pastes at home as it's always time consuming to make it from scratch and so many times, it's difficult to find the fresh ingredients like lime leaves and galangal in the regular grocery store.

I was making this curry for Sunday dinner and hubby came running in the kitchen. His nose is very powerful! He can smell all the different spices at the same time. He can tell which vegetable is being cooked just by the smell! I can't really differentiate between aromas. It has to be very strong for me to tell what's on the stove! So anyways, he asked me what I am making with coconut, red chili paste and basil?! Read on, as this is what I was preparing!

Thai chicken in red curry
Ingredients
1 can coconut milk(14 oz)
1/3 cup coarsely chopped Thai Basil(Vietnamese basil will do as well)
2 tbsp red curry paste
2 tbsp brown sugar
Juice of one lime
1 lb chicken breast, cubed
Carrot, broccoli florets, celery, red pepper all as needed
Salt
About 1/4 cup oil



veggies are being sauted!

 How to:

Simmer the coconut milk for about 15 minutes. Heat oil in the wok. Cook chicken until no longer pink. Take it out of the wok, keep it aside. Now add remaining oil, sauté carrot until crisp tender. Now add other veggies and cook till crisp tender. Add chicken, red curry paste, brown sugar, lime juice, salt and coconut milk. Cook on medium heat till chicken is cooked through. Adjust the seasonings and serve hot curry with scented jasmine rice.



ready in red hot sauce!



Mediterranean Light Chicken with Tomato Mango Salsa

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I call this chicken Mediterranean because it is merinated in lots of fresh oregano, thyme and rosemary with lots of olive oil and fresh lemon juice, and it is topped with feta cheese. I call this chicken light because other than marination, no oil has been used anywhere, it is grilled and it is a perfect accompaniment for any salad.

Again, no recipe required. Just a method. Marinate boneless chicken in EVOO, lemon juice, salt, pepper, fresh herbs all chopped – for about 2 hours. Again, overnight is the best as it developes great flavour in chicken. When ready to use, grill it. When ready to serve, top it with crumbled feta and place the chicken under broiler so that the cheese gets a little brown hue.

This is my 30 minutes recipe, perfect for weeknight supper as well as an elegant weekend dinner.

And now onto Salsa. This was the quickest and tastiest salsa I ever made. Chopped tomatoes and mangoes, a pinch of oregano, lemon juice, EVOO, salt and pepper and green onions with some chopped cilantro. done. here it is...

Chicken Chili Masala

5

One side note: I hate when I am posting comments and I get to enter all those silly codes just to prove I AM NOT A ROBOT!

This is another one of our favourite when we go to the neighborhood Pakistani restaurant. The thickly rich and aromatic sauce, succulent pieces of chicken and fresh herb garnish ---simply mouth watering and lip smacking. I wanted to recreate this dish at home and after a few trial and error, I believe I got it just right The restaurant we go to, they serve it with red sauce with chicken tikkas precooked in tandoor, with some sautéed peppers and onions added to the sauce. They call it chicken chili masala Pakistani style! Whatever style it is, the focal point is: the dish is outrageously good. It is a perfect dish for chilly winter weather, with hot n steamy rice or flaky parathas or buttery naans, whichever your preference is.





  It is not regular Hakka style chili chicken. They use regular South Asian spices, tomatoes and lots of fresh ginger, garlic and red chiles. No soy sauce, no corn starch, no gimmick. Pure, simple, true to its roots- pleasure.

Chicken Chili Masala

Ingredients
For chicken:

1-1/2 lb. boneless chicken breast, cubed(Vegetarians can use paneer, tofu I am not sure!)
Salt and pepper to taste
A pinch of red color
1 tbsp each ginger & garlic paste
Juice of 1 big lemon(about 2 tbsp)

How to :

Marinade chicken pieces with the spices and color and lemon juice for about an hour. Overnight is the best.
Roast the chicken in 400° F. oven for about 15 minutes.
Keep aside.

For sauce:

Ingredients

1 cup tomato sauce
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup water(or as required to adjust the consistency of sauce)
Salt to taste
1 tbsp each of ginger & garlic paste
1-2 green chilies, chopped
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
8-9 pepper corns
1 big cardamom
A pinch of cardamom powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp cumin powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 cup oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 small green pepper, diced,optional

How to:

While the chicken is being roasted in the oven, prepare sauce by heating up the oil in a sauce pot.
Add cinnamon stick, bay leaf, pepper corns,big cardamom and cumin seeds.
Once the seeds start crackling, fish out the whole spices, add cumin powder, ginger garlic paste, green chilies, turmeric powder, tomato sauce and tomato paste, cook on medium heat till the oil separates.
Add onion and pepper,cook till onion is tender and pepper is crunchy.
Add roasted chicken, cardamom powder and water and stir to coat the chicken pieces with spice mixture.
Simmer on a very low heat for about 15 minutes.
Serve.