Feta and Spinach Dip or A New Spin.

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog, today's dinner is
Feta and Spinach Dip.

     As usual this last post of the month is a snack recipe. Every so often a new food will pop up out of seemingly no where, examples are nachos, frozen yogurt, buffalo wings, key lime pie, and spinach and artichoke dip. These foods mysteriously turn up, everyone starts talking about them, people come up with their own versions of them, and finally they are everywhere until the next fad food comes along.
I'm not saying that this is bad but I sort of see a cycle here and I kind of wonder if there is a correlation between the lifespan of fad foods and the lifespan of boy bands, but I digress.
     One of the foods that I mentioned, spinach and artichoke dip, is very similar to our new snack and I believe is possibly the inspiration for it. Both dips are cheese based and have spinach in them, the difference is that one has artichokes and the other has watercress(keep reading, you'll see). I remember the first time I ate spinach and artichoke dip and I am a fan but I'm also a fan of putting a new spin on an old trick.
     Now that we have a context for today's snack let's take a look at the recipe.

                                      Feta and Spinach Dip

Prep time   12 Min.     Cook time   1 Min.     Serves   8

Ingredients

4 cups fresh spinach, chopped (about 2 ounces)

8 ounces watercress, drained

1/2 cup low fat cream cheese

1/2 cup fat-free sour cream

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/4 cup chives, fresh,  minced, divided

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt or less to taste (optional)


Instructions

Place spinach in a small saucepan with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil over high heat and then cook for 1 minute; drain well.

Place spinach, watercress, cream cheese, sour cream, feta cheese, 2 tablespoons of chives, lemon juice and pepper in a blender; puree. Taste dip and add salt if desired. Spoon dip into a serving bowl and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon of chives.

This recipe yields about 3 tablespoons of dip per serving.


     This is a great dip that can be served with tortillsa chips and veggies or, if you are adventrurous, I can imagine it in finger sandwiches with cucumber slices.
If you try this snack, check back here and leave a comment to let me know how it turned out.


     Next week - Seasoned Pork Tenderloin or Prepping For The Holidays.

Crock Pot Chicken Burritos or The Value of Freezer Bags.

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog, today's dinner is Crock Pot Chicken Burritos.

   

      A few months ago I posted a recipe for spicy beef tacos, today's dinner is similar in it's simplicity but different in that it's a crock pot dinner. The simplicity comes from the ingredients, most of which you probably have in your kitchen right now. If you cook on a regular basis (especially the recipes I post) you probably have onion, canned tomatoes, beans, cumin and onion in your kitchen and chicken & chicken broth in your fridge.

     One habit that I have gotten into that lends itself to this type of recipe is preparing chicken ahead of time. The way I do this is I buy chicken in quantities of 3-4 pounds. When I get home from the store I trim the chicken breasts down to 4 ounce pieces and package them four to a bag in freezer bags. I will then save the smaller pieces that I have trimmed off in a separate freezer bag until I have enough to make a recipe. This process is also great for other recipes that I've posted like chicken cacciatore, cashew chicken(coming soon) and Italian-style chicken. If you cook regularly try this process, it will save you time and trips to the store.

     One nice thing about this dinner is that when you are ready to eat you can put out the burrito wraps, cheese and other ingredients buffet style and let your family make their own burritos.

     Let's jump into today's recipe.

                                Crock Pot Chicken Burritos

Prep time   15 Min.     Cook time   300 Min.     Serves   12

Ingredients

1 clove garlic, minced

1 small red onion, chopped

14-1/2 ounces canned diced tomatoes, with chilies

15 ounce canned kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 pound skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces

3/4 cup canned chicken broth

12 whole wheat tortillas

3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat mexican-style cheese

Instructions

Place garlic, onion, tomatoes, beans, chili powder, salt, oregano and pepper in a crock pot; stir well. Add chicken and broth. Cover and cook on low setting for 5 hours; drain off liquid (there should be about 6 cups of burrito mixture.

To serve, spoon about 1/2 cup of burrito mixture down center of each tortilla; top with 1 tablespoon of cheese. Fold bottom 1/3 of tortilla to center. Fold left and right side over, covering filling. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

This recipe yields 1 burrito per serving.

     This is a simple and delicious dinner that your whole family will enjoy. Although this is a diet recipe you can add things like salsa and sour cream to your burritos but beware that some of these items may affect the healthiness of the burritos.

What I do suggest is that if you want to use additional ingredients try to use fat-free or low fat ingredients. If you try this dinner, check back here and leave a comment to let me know how it turned out.

     Next week - Feta and Spinach Dip or A New Spin.

Mixed Grill with Apricot-Soy Sauce or Back To Basics.

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog, today's dinner is Mixed Grill with Apricot-Soy Sauce.

     Over the last few months I've been posting dinners in what I'm calling the grill series. The intent of the grill series is to get you outside and to get you to experiment with new foods on your grill. Most of the dinners in the grill series so far have had an ethnic flavor and I've chosen them to get you to think outside the box when grilling. Today's dinner is a little more mainstream and should allow us to move back into our comfort zone.
     Mixed grill with apricot-soy sauce is very similar to the grilling that we are used to in that it's meat and sauce over an open heat source, the twist is that instead of one type of meat we are grilling three meats and instead of using the standard barbecue sauce we are making our own apricot-soy sauce. The three meats that we are grilling- pork, chicken, and turkey sausage are all easy to cook, work well together, and all have their own flavors and textures. The big variable here is whether you want to use spicy turkey sausage or sweet turkey sausage; if you're feeling adventurous I say try both. Until recently I have not been one to invest too much time and effort in learning how to make sauces but as I work through these recipes I'm realizing that they are not as difficult as I thought they were. This apricot-soy sauce is very easy to make and has many applications beyond this recipe. I can imagine it on other meats on the grill including ribs and hamburgers, pineapple and other fruits on the grill, and baked ham in the oven.
     If you are a guy this is a great recipe for you. In the past men typically didn't cook but in our more modern times of people staying single later into life, dual career families, and the recent phemonenon of cooking becoming a "cool skill" men are cooking more than ever before. Grilling is a very manly form of cooking; there's fire, there's meat, and you can do it while drinking beer outside and swapping stories with your friends. By this point in the grilling season you've probably perfected your steak, burger and chicken skills, now's the time to take it one step further and add the wow factor to your grilling.
     Let's take a look at today's recipe.

                         Mixed Grill with Apricot-Soy Sauce

Prep time   12 Min.     Cook time   19 Min.     Serves   8

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

3/4 cup apricot preserves

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp ground ginger

3/4 pound lean pork tenderloin, cut into 8 cubes

8 skinless chicken thighs

1-1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

12 ounces turkey sausage, sweet or spicy (4 links)

1/3 cup fresh cilantro, minced or torn


Instructions

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; add preserves, soy sauce, vinegar, mustard and ginger. Cook until bubbly, stirring frequently, about 5 to 7 minutes; remove 2 tablespoons of glaze to a small bowl, set both saucepan and bowl aside and cover to keep warm.

Thread pork onto two metal skewers; season pork and chicken thighs with salt and pepper.

Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. Grill pork, chicken and sausage until finished, turning once or twice and brushing meats frequently with glaze during last 2 minutes of cooking, about 8 to 9 minutes for pork, 10 minutes for chicken and 12 minutes for sausage. Make sure to flip meats often during the last 2 minutes of cooking to help the glaze stick. Just before serving, brush meats with 2 tablespoons reserved glaze, sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

This recipe yields 1 chicken thigh, 1 pork cube and 1/2 sausage per serving.


     Over these summer months I've posted some interesting and hopefully challenging grill recipes, now as we move into our fall routines it's time to wind down the grill series. I will be putting up the last post of the grill series on October 9th but if you are a year-round griller like me I'll post a couple of grill recipes during the fall-winter season.
     As always, if you try this dinner, check back here and leave a comment to let me know how it turned out.


     Next week - Crock Pot Chicken Burritos or The Value of Freezer Bags.

Italian Chicken with Potatoes and Peppers or Hold The Pasta

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog, today's dinner is
Italian Chicken with Potatoes and Peppers.

     In the past I have voiced my affinity for Italian food, today's dinner although somewhat new to me is no exception. When we think about Italian food images of various types of pasta and tomato sauces come to mind; spaghetti with meatballs, chicken parmesan on a bed of capellini, and tortellini swimming in alfredo sauce. The one thing that struck me about Italian chicken is that even though it has a rich tomato sauce, it doesn't predominantly feature pasta. I'm not saying that you can't serve pasta with it, I am saying that the recipe doesn't call for it and including pasta wouldn't necessarily enhance it.

     Beyond it's taste the one thing I like about this dinner is that it's an easy to make, one pot, delicious stew. The two most difficult steps in making Italian chicken are cutting the vegetables and deciding which pot to use. The results are delicious chicken, potatoes, and peppers bathed in the most amazing tomato concoction which could be a soup all on it's own. This is a wonderfully hearty meal that is perfectly suited to cold fall and winter days but can be enjoyed any time of year.

     Now that we know that this isn't the typical pasta-based Italian food, let's dive into today's recipe.

                    Italian Chicken with Potatoes and Peppers

Prep time   15 Min.     Cook time   35 Min.     Serves   4

Ingredients

2 sprays cooking spray

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-1/2 inch pieces

1/4 tsp table salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 large sweet red pepper, or yellow pepper, thinly sliced

1 pound yukon gold potatoes, cut into 3/4 to 1 inch pieces

1/2 cup red wine, dry

1-1/2 cups store bought marinara sauce

1/2 cup water

Instructions

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Add to skillet and saut'e until golden brown and almost cooked through, about 4 to 6 minutes; remove from skillet to a plate.

Off heat, coat skillet with cooking spray again. Add peppers and potatoes; saut'e until vegetables are lightly browned, about 4 to 6 minutes. Add wine; simmer 1 minute.

Add marinara sauce and water to skillet; increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until potatoes are almost tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in chicken and any accumulated juices.

Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender and chicken is cooked through, about 7 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, if desired.

This recipe yields about 1-1/2 cups per serving.

     This dinner is a great way to introduce your family and friends to another side of Italian food. I can picture this as a delicious fall-winter dinner, a wonderful Buffet item at a football party, or simply as a tasty year-round dinner to gather your family around. I did state that you don't have to serve it with pasta, I'm not saying you can't, you can if you are so moved. What I do recommend is that you serve it with a hearty whole-wheat bread. If you try this dinner check back here and leave a comment to let me know how it turned out.

     Next week - Mixed Grill with Apricot-Soy Sauce or Back To Basics.