Hibernation

Last night, in preparation for a snow storm, I made these (new favorite quesadilla) using leftovers from this. Then I made this for my lunches when we do actually have school this week. I made these for a treat, and they turned out great but cannot stay in our house long. I made this in advance for dinner, but will save those for another busy night this week, and instead, am about to throw this together in the crock pot.

Drive safely, everyone!

Meat & Potatoes

Believe it or not, I actually have a few blogs up my sleeve that I have yet to post. Looking through other blogs, however, I realized that most of what I post here is either a baked good of some sort, or its vegetarian.  While we are not at all vegetarians, we do only eat meat 3 or so times per week - I read an article recently that called this type of diet "flexitarian" - not totally willing to give up meat, but making an effort to eat less of it.  I think there are a few reasons why people are trying to cut meat out of their diets: 1) Its cheaper to eat vegetarian (while this is definintely true, it may be hard to convince some folks that this is reason enough to eat a black bean burger), 2) It is healthier to eat vegetarian (as long as you get your protein from elsewhere, I suppose), or 3) Its more sustainable and eco-friendly to eat vegetarian (having to do with the amount of our agriculture goes towards growing corn to feed livestock. I don't think this is the top reason people eat vegetarian, but it yields a good result in addition to 1 & 2). So, usually half of our meals are vegetarian, as long as you don't count chicken stock, and the other half have a regular protein on the plate.

All that being said, this is a recipe for chicken and potatoes! Usually, when we do eat meat, I don't do anything inspiring to it - some seasonings, olive oil, and lemon juice suffice, if even all that.  But, I decided to try a few recipes that feature a meat and really make it the centerpiece. I wouldn't call the chicken here the "centerpiece", but the whole thing together makes for a good meal.  And as long as you use cremini/baby bella mushrooms, that flavor won't be too strong. So don't let that scare you or any folks in your family from this meal!

Portobello Chicken with Red Potatoes
Adapted from Simple & Delicious, Jan/Feb 2010

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds red potatoes, cubed
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (6oz each)
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon butter
3/4 pound sliced baby portobello mushrooms
1 package (8oz) softened cream cheese, divided
1 1/4 cups chicken broth, divided

Directions
Place potatoes in a large saucepan and fill with cold water until just covered. Salt the water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and cook for 10-15 minutes until fork-tender.

While potatoes cook, in a large resealable plastic bag, combine flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Add chicken, one piece at a time, and shake to coat.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat, and add chicken to skillet. Cook for 5-8 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 170. Remove and keep warm. (I had a hard time getting the meat up to temperature, so I heated the oven to 350, popped the chicken in a baking dish, and let it finish in the oven while I made the sauce.)

In the same skillet, add butter and mushrooms - saute until tender and reduce heat. Add 4 ounces cream cheese, 1 cup broth, and remaining salt and pepper. Cook and stir until cheese is melted.

Drain potatoes; mash with remaining cream cheese and brot. Serve with chicken and mushroom sauce.

Serves 4

One Pot Wonder

One pot meals are a favorite for me. Seeing as we don't have a dishwasher, the fewer pots/bowls/pans I use for a meal, the better. This one comes from Smitten Kitchen (which, by the way, if you haven't discovered yet, you are missing out!) Steve loved it, I loved it, and we both loved how little there was to clean up!

Arroz Con Pollo (Cuban Chicken with Rice)

Adapted from Gourmet Magazine and SmittenKitchen.com 

Ingredients

Chicken

3 large garlic cloves

2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

2 teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled

3-4 large chicken breasts, cut into thirds

Rice

3 ounces Spanish chorizo (cured sausage), skin discarded and sausage cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 medium onions, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

3 large garlic cloves, chopped

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 lb. tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1 12-ounce. bottle beer (not dark)

1 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

2 cups long-grain white rice (14 ounces) 

Directions

Mince and mash garlic to a paste with 2 teaspoons salt, then transfer to a large bowl. Stir in vinegar and oregano. Toss chicken with marinade until coated and marinate, covered and chilled, at least one hour, no more than two hours. 

Cook chorizo in olive oil in a 6- to 7-quart heavy pot (12 inches wide) over medium-high heat, stirring, until some fat is rendered, 2 to 3 minutes. Add onions, bell pepper, and garlic and cook, stirring until softened, about 5 minutes. Add cumin, oregano, paprika, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add chicken with marinade to chorizo mixture and cook, uncovered, over medium heat, stirring frequently, 10 minutes.

Remove chicken from pot and set aside. Stir in tomatoes, beer, broth, and rice and bring to a boil, making sure rice is submerged. Add chicken back into pot.  Reduce heat to medium-low and cover pot with a tight fitting lid. Cook, stirring once or twice, until rice is tender, 20 to 30 minutes.

Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes.

Serves 4