Greek Chicken

Sometimes I get into a creative mood where I feel like doing some meal prepping, it doesn’t happen all the time but I try to set aside time about once a month for this. Last time I decided to make these marinated chicken breasts and popped them in the freezer for a quick week night meal; this process of meal prepping is especially helpful in the summer when it’s to nice out to spend a lot of time preparing and cooking dinner. You simply have to thaw your chicken, pop it into the oven and then come up with some type of side! I generally make something easy, like roasted broccoli or Creamy Parmesan Rice for a healthy side.

I really liked this marinate because the prep was almost non-existent (I just had to peel and mince 6 cloves of garlic) and then it was ready to be poured onto the chicken! You can also prepare this chicken many different ways, we don’t have our BBQ yet so I baked it, but if you could grill it as well. And the leftovers would be perfect for a nice chicken Caesar salad for the next day’s lunch! Either way you’ll enjoy the light flavour of this chicken!

Greek Chicken

A flavourful marinade that will keep your chicken moist and tender, perfect for a quick weeknight meal!

Time:

Prep Time: 10 minutes // Cook Time: 30-35 minutes // Yields: 2 Servings

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 TBSP Olive Oil
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Zest of 1/2 lemon
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. Dried oregano
• 1 tsp. Dried basil
• 1 tsp. Garlic powder
• Black pepper

Directions:

• Mix all ingredients, except chicken breasts, in a freezer safe Ziploc bag; set aside.
• Trim fat off chicken breasts and scored them, then place in the marinade; shake to coat, and seal the bag, pressing as much air out as possible; freeze.
• To thaw, simply place bag in a shallow dish in your fridge overnight
• Preheat oven to 375°F, place chicken on a rimmed baking sheet and pour remaining marinade over top, bake for 30 – 35 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked with no pink in the middle.

*I made this marinated chicken ahead of time and froze it for about a month, but if you are looking to have it that night I recommend letting it marinate in the fridge for at least an hour before cooking – the longer it marinates, the more flavour it will have!

*recipe adapted from http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2006/03/very-greek-grilled-chickenfrom-recipe.html

Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce

What an incredibly exhausting and busy long weekend we've just had, accompanied by some very random weather! Sometimes I wonder about the weather here in Calgary, it can be hot and 20+ and then thunder showering/hailing.. oh well, I suppose we will just have to keep extra layers with us at all times! We played in a tournament this weekend, and with three games on the first day I knew I wasn't going to feel like cooking dinner; so I decided to make my favourite dish: Pasta with meat sauce. I decided to make it in the slow cooker so I could come home, cook up some noodles and enjoy a hearty, warm meal after a long day of playing ball.

Making meat sauce in the slow cooker is probably one of the easiest things to do, with the exception of browning the meat there is virtually no work, and the clean-up is minimal. Best of all, you get a hot, carb-loaded meal that makes you feel warm from the inside-out; its comfort food at its finest! I served it over rotini with fresh biscuits and you can bet we were both stuffed after devouring generous helpings of this delicious dinner

Rotini with Slow Cooker Meat Sauce

Time:

Prep Time: 10 minutes// Cook Time: 8 hours, 15 minutes// Yields: 6-8 servings

For the Sauce.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 medium bell pepper, diced
• 1 medium yellow onion diced
• Garlic to taste, minced (I used 6 cloves for the sauce)
• 1 package mushrooms, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 medium zucchini, diced
• 2 cans crushed tomatoes
• 1 TBSP vegetable oil
• 2 TBSP Garlic powder
• 1 TBSP Chili Powder
• 2 TBSP dried oregano, finely crushed
• 2 TBSP dried basil, finely crushed
• 1 TBSP Franks Red Hot Sauce
• 1 tsp anchovy paste
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

• In a large pan over medium heat, heat oil and add onions and garlic, sauté until translucent, about 3 - 5 minutes.
• Add beef and pork to the pan and brown evenly
• Add the meat, all the chopped veggies, crushed tomatoes, garlic powder, salt, pepper, chili powder, oregano, basil, anchovy paste and franks red hot to the slow cooker and stir until thoroughly mixed.
• Cook on low for 6 – 8 hours.
• 30 minutes before serving, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook rotini (or pasta of your choice) according to package directions.
• Serve over pasta, topped with fresh parmesan, if desired.

Baking Powder Biscuits

Time:

Prep time: 5 minutes// Cook time: 12 - 15 minutes // Yields: 6 biscuits

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c chilled butter, cubed

1 cup milk or more if needed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°F

Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl, whisk to combine.

Cut in the cold butter with a pastry knife, fork or your hands; until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Slowly add the milk, stirring as you go, until the mixture is sticky and slightly wet.

Drop the batter by spoonfuls onto a baking sheet, and bake for 12 – 15 minutes until the tops are slightly golden.

Hoisin Pork Lettuce Wraps

Every since we moved to Calgary I've been inspired by all the ethnic restaurants to break away from my more traditionally Canadian cooking and experiment with other flavours. Lately I've been very influenced by Asian flavours, which led me to attempting these lettuce wraps. And am I ever glad I did! These wraps make a delicious, light dinner that’s just bursting with flavour!

 {A delicious, pork-hoisin combination wrapped in crispy fresh lettuce and so fun! I mean, who doesn't love eating with their hands!}

 {Get those veggies nice and tender}

 {Stir in the cooked pork, the hoisin sauce and the remaining spices}

 {You should be getting really hungry now! Stir all that sauce in and let it simmer away..}

I've had lettuce wraps at a Thai restaurant before, but these were so much better! The light, sweet Hoisin flavour against the crispy pork and tender veggies make these the perfect summer meal, especially when accompanied by delicious, mouth-watering coconut rice! (I love coconut anything, but coconut rice might be one of my favourite treats! I could eat the whole pot for dinner, no joke!) And they are, I'm sure, much healthier than the take out version! Who knows what goes into those?!

 {Ta-Da!!! Now that is a dinner you can be proud to serve to anyone and everyone! Plus it was super easy to make, everyone's a winner!}

Hoisin Pork Lettuce Wraps

A light, refreshing meal that will leave you feeling guilt-free after you stuff your stomach full of these! Don’t expect any leftovers with these bold flavours!

Time:

Prep Time: 10 minutes // Cook Time: 25 – 30 minutes // Yields: 2-4 servings (4 if you serve with a side of Coconut Rice)

For the Hoisin Sauce

Ingredients:

• 4 TBSP soy sauce
• 2 TBSP peanut butter
• 1 TBSP honey
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1-2 tsp Srirachi sauce*, or to taste
• 1/2 tsp ginger powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• Pepper

Directions:

• In a medium, microwave safe bowl soften peanut butter in microwave for 10 – 15 seconds.
• Whisk all ingredients together; set aside.

* Srirachi sauce is a spicy chili sauce that can be found in the Ethnic section of most grocery stores, it packs quite a bit of heat so if you don’t like spicy I would recommend starting with 1 tsp.

For the Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

• 2 - 3 lbs ground pork
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 orange pepper, diced
• 1/2 jalapeño, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp sesame oil, separated
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1 head iceberg or butter lettuce, washed and leaves separated

Directions:

• In a large pan, heat 1 tsp sesame oil over medium heat; add pork and cook, breaking up the pork, until it is fully cooked, about 5 – 7 minutes; remove from pan and set aside.
• Drain pan, then add remaining 1 tsp sesame oil and heat, then add onion, pepper, jalapeño and garlic until softened, 1-2 minutes; add pork, Hoisin sauce, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to the pan and stir to combine; reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer for 5 - 10 minutes or until the sauce is mostly reduced into the meat mixture.
• Top with toasted sesame seeds, crispy wonton strips and green onions, if desired, and serve on a bed of lettuce, with more lettuce on the side as your wraps.

To make this a complete meal, I serve it with coconut rice!

*this is a base recipe, but you could substitute any protein with the pork; tofu or ground turkey would be great with these flavours.