Coq Au Vin

this may not be the fastest dinner, but it is definitely one of the most delicious.  

even better next day.  

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• salt and pepper
• 3-4 pound whole bone-in, skin-on chicken cut-up (I used 2 breasts, 2 thighs, 2 drumsticks.)
• 3 tablespoon butter (or more olive oil)
• 1 pound mushrooms, sliced (I only used 8 oz.)
• 3 cups chopped onion
• ½ pound carrots cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 1 cup chicken stock
• ¼ cup minced fresh parsley
• 1 bay leaf

Directions:

1. (**For an easy make-ahead meal, dice all of the veggies beforehand and store until ready to use.)  
2. Preheat oven to 325-degrees F.
3. In a dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat.
4. Liberally salt and pepper chicken on both sides. Lightly dredge chicken in flour. When oil is heated, add chicken to pan; brown each piece for about 1-2 minutes each side. Remove chicken and set aside.
5. Add butter to pan, scraping up any bits from bottom of pan.
6. Add mushroom and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
7. Add onions, carrots, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
8. Stir in wine, chicken stock, parsley, and bay leaf. Add chicken, tucking into sauce.
9. Cover and transfer to oven. Cook at 325-degrees for 2½ hours.
10. If sauce is not thick enough, remove chicken and cook sauce on stovetop over medium-high heat until slightly reduced and desired thickness.

(I served mine with mashed potatoes.)

*www.shewearsmanyhats.com

Easy Lemon Chicken

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup vegetable oil 
• 1 cup Italian bread crumbs 
• Zest of 2 lemons, plus more, for garnish 
• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast fillets, cut crosswise in half 
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 
• 2 large eggs, beaten

Directions:

• Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. 
• In a large bowl, combine bread crumbs and lemon zest; set aside. 
• Season chicken with salt and pepper, to taste. Working one at a time, dredge chicken in flour, dip into eggs, then dredge in bread crumbs mixture, pressing to coat. 
• Working in batches, add chicken to the skillet, 2 or 3 at a time, and cook until evenly golden and crispy, about 3-4 minutes on each side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. 
• Serve immediately, garnished with lemon zest, if desired.

*www.damndelicious.net

Southwestern-Spiced Pork Tenderloin

delicious.  yah.

If you have time, you might also try brining the pork loin before roasting it. Even just a half hour soak gives the pork more flavor and ensures juiciness after cooking. (Click on link to see brining instructions.  It doesn't give specific ingredients to use in the brine, so to the warm water, I sprinkled in some black peppercorns, cumin seeds, three smashed cloves of garlic, a few bay leaves, and six fresh thyme sprigs.  They were all ingredients I had on hand, so don't make a special trip to use the same ingredients.  I also used a 9 x 13 pan to brine.)

Serves 6, so halve the recipe if you're feeding less people and don't want leftovers.  I could eat this every day, so I made the recipe in full.

Ingredients:

2 to 2 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin (usually 2 tenderloins)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly-ground black pepper
1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Place a cast iron skillet or roasting pan in the oven as it is heating.

Pat the pork dry and cut off any large pieces of surface fat. Mix together all the spices in a small bowl and rub them into the surface of the pork on all sides.

Remove the hot pan from the oven and swirl the oil to coat the bottom. Set the pork in the pan and return the pan to the oven. Roast for ten minutes, then flip the pork to the other side. Reduce the oven temperature to 400°F and continue roasting another 10 to 15 minutes (CHECK IT AFTER 10!), until the internal temperature of the pork registers 140°F to 145°F in the thickest part of the meat (20 to 25 minutes total).

Transfer the pork to a cutting board, tent with foil, and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing. For extra-thin slices for sandwiches, cool the pork completely, then refrigerate before cutting.

Leftovers will keep for one week refrigerated.

*www.thekitchn.com

Simple Minestrone with Gnocchi

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
6 cups broth (I used 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth and 2 cups veggie broth. Original recipe called for water, not broth.)
1 15 -ounce can diced tomatoes
1 small sprig rosemary
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus 1 small parmesan rind (optional)
2 cups spinach or kale, chopped (original recipe called for one head of escarole, chopped)
1 16 -ounce package gnocchi (9 oz. package of tortellini would be great too!)
(I added 1 small rotisserie chicken.)


Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the celery, carrots, onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes; cook 1 minute.

Add 6 cups broth (or water), the tomatoes, rosemary, and parmesan rind.  If using water and not broth, add 1/2 teaspoon salt to the pot. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium and cook until the vegetables are very tender, about 15 minutes.  Stir in the spinach (or whichever green you use) and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in the gnocchi (or tortellini) and cook, gently stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3 minutes. Discard the rosemary sprig and parmesan rind.  If using, add chopped rotisserie chicken.  Ladle the soup into bowls; top with the grated parmesan.

*Adapted from Food Network Magazine, April 2015

One Pan Mexican Quinoa

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno, minced
• 1 cup quinoa, uncooked, but rinsed 
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14.5 oz) can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes (These are most common in grocery store.)
• 1 cup corn kernels (I used frozen, but let them sit out to defrost.)
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 avocado, diced
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add garlic and jalapeno, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about one minute.  (I minced mine in mini food processor.)

Stir in rinsed quinoa, veggie broth, beans, tomatoes, corn, chili powder, and cumin; season with salt and pepper, to taste.  Bring to a boil; cover, reduce, heat, and simmer until quinoa is cooked through, about 20-25 minutes.  Top with avocado, lime juice, and cilantro.  (I did not think it needed juice of entire lime.  Gradually add.) 

Serve immediately.

*www.damndelicious.net

"Easy Version" Spinach and Ricotta Calzones

Ingredients:

• 10 oz. frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 8 oz. (1 cup) whole milk ricotta cheese
• 4 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded 
• 1 oz. Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• (I added chicken sausage.  Trader Joe's has an excellent 4-pack of sun-dried tomato and basil chicken sausage.  I only used two of the four.  There is minimal fat in chicken sausage so you don't have to drain fat before adding to the calzone mix.)
• 1½ tsp. minced fresh oregano (I did not use because of the herbs in the sausage.)
• ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 lb. pizza dough (Use Trader Joe's pizza dough; it's perfect!!)
• 1 large egg lightly beaten with 2 tbsp. water, for egg wash
• pizza sauce, for serving

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 500˚ F. In a bowl, combine the spinach, ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, olive oil, egg yolk, garlic, cooked chicken sausage, optional oregano, and red pepper flakes. Stir well until evenly combined.

• Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and divide the dough in half. Working with one piece of dough at a time, use a rolling pin to flatten the dough into a 9-inch round. Repeat with the other portion of dough.
• Carefully transfer the dough rounds to a large piece of parchment paper-lined baking sheet.  Spread half of the spinach filling over half of each dough round, leaving a 1-inch border at the edge. Brush the edge with the egg wash. Fold the other half of the dough over the filling. Press the edges of the dough together and crimp to seal.
  
  Using a sharp knife, cut 5 steam vents in the top of the each calzone. Brush the tops with the remaining egg wash.  Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through the baking time. Transfer the calzones to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Serve warm with pizza sauce.
  
  Notes:
  I had a lot of filling left over, probably because my dough rounds were difficult to roll to 9 inches.  Next time, I will buy two bags of pizza dough so my filling doesn't go to waste.
• *www.annies-eats.com

Zucchini & Carrot Turkey Meatballs

another great bite to eat for kids.  hidden veggies!  super yummy!

Ingredients:

1 pound ground turkey

2 teaspoons garlic powder

3/4 cup grated zucchini

1/4 cup grated carrots

3/4 breadcrumbs (seasoned or unseasoned)

1 large egg

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
Line a large baking sheet with wax paper.  

Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix together with your hands.   Do not overwork the meat!

Using a medium cookie scoop, (or about 2 tablespoons), form the meat into individual balls and place onto prepared baking sheet.  

In a large skillet over medium heat, add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  

Once the oil is hot, carefully place the meatballs into the skillet and let them brown on one side.  Turn  over carefully with tongs.  Continue cooking until meatballs are cooked through, about 7-10 minutes.  Remove from skillet and place on paper towel-lined plate.  Cook in batches if all meatballs don't all fit at once.  (*These can be frozen for later!  Allow meatballs you plan to freeze to cool, then place in a Ziplock bag to store in freezer.)

While meatballs are cooking, heat your favorite spaghetti sauce in a saucepan. Transfer cooked meatballs (that you plan to eat that night) to spaghetti sauce to warm through.  

Serve with pasta or zoodles (zucchini noodles).  

*Adapted from www.tablefortwoblog.com