Roast Chicken with Balsamic Bell Peppers

Adapted from a Ivy Manning recipe from Cooking Light (JANUARY 2010). I really liked this and the chicken was very moist. An excellent meal all around - served with rice and a side of broccoli.

Ingredients
1 tsp Kosher salt, divided
1 tsp Dried rosemary, divided
1/2 tsp Fennel seeds, crushed
3/4 tsp Black pepper, divided
1/2 tsp Garlic powder
1/4 tsp Oregano
5 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut in half.
2 tbsp Olive oil, divided & Cooking spray
1 Red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 Orange bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 Yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 cup Shallots, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cup Chicken broth
1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450°.
2. Combine 3/4 tsp kosher salt, 3/4 tsp rosemary, fennel seeds, 1/2 tsp black pepper, garlic powder, and oregano. Lightly spray chicken with cooking spray or mist with olive oil. Sprinkle spice rub over chicken.
3. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook 3 minutes or until browned. When it is cooking, lightly spray olive oil on the chicken and add spice mix to the top. After the three minutes are up, turn the chicken and cook for one more minute. Repeat for the remaining chicken (adding oil to the pan if needed) and place the cooked chicken in a baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450° for around 12-14 minutes.
4. Heat remaining 1 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat in the same skillet. Add bell peppers, shallots, and 1/4 tsp rosemary to the pan and sauté 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and stir in chicken broth, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Simmer for around 5 minutes.
5. Increase the heat to medium-high and stir in balsamic vinegar, remaining 1/4 tsp each of kosher salt and black pepper. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
6. Serve the bell pepper mixture over chicken & enjoy with rice and some green vegetables.

Corey's Chili

After visiting Cincinnati, I was very interested to try a healthy version of their famous Cincinnati Chili. This is adapted from a few different recipes, including Eating Well's Cincinnati Chili, Cooking Light's Cincinnati Turkey Chili, and a postcard I bought with the recipe (hey - I just love the postcards)!

This came out great and it really is not that bad because we use ground turkey. This makes around 4-6 servings - the picture shows a double batch. I guess the best thing about Chili is that you can come up with a lot of variants. So that will be fun. You can serve it over pasta with cheese - but that is just not my favorite way to eat it.

Ingredients
1 tbsp Olive oil
1 package Ground Turkey (93% lean) - around 19-20 oz.
1 White onion (medium), diced
2 tsp Garlic (or cloves), minced
2 tbsp Chili powder (NOTE: I used one 'regular' and one 'hot' - adjust to taste)
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp Black pepper
1/2 tsp Allspice
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 28oz can Crushed tomatoes
1 15oz can Kidney Beans (use dark red - though any will do)
1 cup Chicken broth.

Directions
1. Heat oil in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat.
2. Add onions, garlic, turkey, and all the spices (through Cinnamon). Cook for around 7 minutes until well browned, mixing thoroughly.
3. Add tomatoes, kidney beans and broth and raise heat to high. When it boils, lower to a simmer, cover and cook for around 45 minutes.

Enjoy!

Chicken, Potato, and Leek Pie

Recipe adapted from Julianna Grimes's great recipe from Cooking Light (August 2012). I need to make this again but I will do it in a bigger dish. Also, I think I will try to adapt this with chicken breast.

Ingredients
2 slices Center cut smoked bacon, chopped
1 1/2 cups cubed red potato (around 7 small red skins)
2 cups chopped carrots
6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
3 tbsp Flour
2 cups leeks (about 1), sliced thin
1 White onion, sliced thin
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 tsp Black pepper
1/4 tsp Paprika
2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
2 cups Mashed Potatoes (enough to cover the baking dish with a thin layer - boxed will work fine)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450°.
2. Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until almost crisp, stirring frequently.
3. Increase heat to medium-high and add potato and carrot to pan. Sauté for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add chicken and sauté for 3 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally.
5. Stir in flour, leeks, onion, kosher salt, black pepper and paprika. Sauté for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
6. Slowly add broth to pan, stirring constantly and bring to a boil. Cook 3-4 minutes (it will become thicker). Then spoon the mixture into a 1 1/2-quart (or larger) glass or ceramic baking dish. Spread the mashed potatoes over the mixture.
7. Bake at 450° for 30 minutes or until potatoes are browned. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Guacamole

This was adapted from recipe in Kris Rudolph's Mexican light (cocina mexican ligera) : healthy cusine for today's cook (para el cocinero actual). This is a really great book and I have always wanted to try making Guacamole. This recipe is on page 55.

Ingredients
3 Avocados
1 Small white onion, chopped
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
3 tbsp Cilantro, chopped
1 tbsp Lime juice
1 Sweet pepper (red or green), chopped

Directions
1. Cut the avocados in half, removing the pit and scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Mash with a fork until smooth.
2. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

Enjoy with chips or as a side with a Mexican dish!