Chicken Burger with Parsnip "Fries"

In my ever quest to use leaner meats in my cooking I atempted my first chicken burger.  Yes the chicken is a better option then beef, however I'm not saying this is the perfect healthy burger as it has nice bits of bacon throughout!  The use of shredded apple and honey keep the burger moist a little sweet.  We found that a little honey mustard on this burger with some spinach worked very well.  To give the affect of french fries with all that fat we made parnsip fries.  These were seasoned and tossed with a little olive oil and roasted in the oven.  All around a very flavorful meal.

Burger:

1 lb ground chicken

1 stalk of celery finely chopped

1 tablespoon of poultry seasoning

1 apple shredded (medium sized, I used mactintosh but granny smith would work well)

2 tablespoons honey

salt and pepper to taste

4 strips of cooked bacon crumbled

Toasted buns

Optional Toppings:

dijon or honey mustard

spinach

cheddar cheese

In a medium bowl combine seasoning, celery, apple, bacon, honey.  Add in chicken and mis to just combined, don't over mix.  Form into four patties.  Cook on grill or griddle, about 4-5 minutes each side.  Place on bun and add optional toppings.

* Since this recipe makes four patties I did freeze two cooked patties between parchment paper for another night.

Keep scrolling for Parnsip Fries recipe

Parsnip Fries:
2-3 parsnips peeled and sliced into sticks
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon dried thyme crushed (or Rosemary)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place parnsips on a foil lined baking sheet.  Toss to olive oil and all seasonings.  Bake 10 minutes then turn parsnips over. Bake another 10 minutes.  Should be golden brown and fork tender.

Leftover Roasted Chicken

This past Sunday my husband and I enjoyed a delicious roast chicken.  However we are only two people with a 7lb chicken! So needless to say over the next few days we saw that chicken used in a few other ways.  I think leftover roast chicken or a rotisserie chicken is one of the easiest things to use.  Below are three ways we used the chicken.

A delicious chicken salad sandwich: chicken, mashed avocado, little olive oil, salt and pepper.  Topped with spinach, tomato and a slice of cheddar cheese.

BBQ Chicken Taco:  Mix some leftover chicken with your favorite BBQ sauce and warm in microwave.  Warm tortilla in a pan. Add some cheese, avocado slices, and fresh cilantro.



Open Face Chicken Sandwich:  In a pan heat gravy and chicken together.  Meanwhile toast some bread topping with little olive oil and garlic powder.  Place chicken and gravy on top of toast.

Roast Chicken with Vegetables

Ahhh nothing more satisfying then the smell of a chicken roasting in the oven on a cool Autumn day.  A recent trip to a fall festival meant that we came home with a bountiful of apples and vegetables.  A sale on whole chickens at the grocery also spurred this meal on! And this chicken will feed us for a couple of days, as it is just my husband and I.  I think one of my favorite vegetables roasted has to be carrots.  I love this meal also for the fact that onions on the bottom of the pan give everything a hint of the sweetness that comes from onions caramelizing.  This was the first time I roasted radishes and we enjoyed them greatly.  Some potatoes round the group being roasted.  

With a chicken like this I look forward to using leftovers for different sandwiches for lunch in the up coming days.  But I think tomorrow night will be some open faced chicken and gravy sandwiches!

Recipe:

5-7 lb chicken

1/2 lemon

3-4 garlic cloves

olive oil

1 tablespoon of herbs de provence

salt and pepper

Vegetables:

1 onion cut in wedges

5-6 red potatoes quartered

4-5 radishes halved

3-4 carrots cut into chunks

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon herb de provence

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Remove giblets, rinse chicken inside and out.  Dry with paper towels.  Season inside of chicken with salt and pepper.  Place garlic cloves and lemon inside chicken.  Season outside of chicken with herbs de provence and salt and pepper.  Drizzle with olive oil and massage oil and herbs into chicken.  

On a ridged baking sheet place onion on bottom.  In a bowl mix remaining vegetables with herbs and olive oil.  Place chicken on top of onions with breast side up.  Arrange vegetables around the chicken.  Place in oven.  Cook 1/2-2 hours depending on size of chicken.  Cook until meat thermometer measures 165 degrees.  If chicken starts to brown too much tent with foil.  Allow chicken to rest about 15 minutes before slicing.  

Tasted great served with pan gravy or pan juices.  Get all that yummy flavor from the chicken and the vegetables.

A Take on Chicken Cordon Blue

Recently I had come across a few recipes in the plethora of magazines I subscribe to about chicken cordon blue.  It made me crave it.  Knowing that I am trying to eat healthy I want a lighter version.  I found one. I made my grocery list and I went shopping. However as often things happen my husband and I ate all the ham before I actually had the opportunity to make this dish.  so I got a little resourceful.  My husband had purchased an Italian meat sample pack.  So instead of traditional ham we went with prosciutto.  I had Swiss on had, but since I also had some provolone I went with that instead.  To keep it a little healthier it is all baked and not fried. Also I used a mix of whole wheat bread crumbs and panko. I served the chicken with a spinach salad and some smokey roasted potatoes.

Chicken:

4 thinly sliced chicken cutlets

4 or 5 slices of prosciutto (depending on size)

4 or 5 thinly slices of provolone

1 egg and 1 egg white beaten

1 cup of bread crumb mixture (about equal parts of flavored whole wheat and some panko)

           **I usually add a little extra flavor to my breadcrumbs some garlic powder, onion powder

Rinse and pat dry the chicken.  Lay on a flat surface.  cut the prosciutto so that it will lay flat along the chicken. Repeat with the provolone.  Tightly roll chicken securing end with toothpick.  Dip rolled chicken in egg and then into breadcrumbs.  Place on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. 

Potatoes:

4-5 small potatoes quartered (* small red or baby Yukon gold work well also just halve)

Olive oil

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon of garlic powder

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

salt and pepper to taste

In a small casserole dish place the cut potatoes. Drizzle with olive oil.  Sprinkle all spices on top.  Toss potatoes to coat.  Roast in oven.  *I kept oven at 350 since that is what chicken needed so it took about 30 -40 minutes for potatoes to cook.  Once easily pricked with fork and golden they are ready. 

Crockpot Salsa Chicken

This is one of the easiest and yet tastiest recipes I have tried in a crockpot.  We love tacos in this house and with just six ingredients these chicken tacos come out with much effort.  I've already passed this on to a few friends and they are all surprised how easy and delicious this turns out. Pretty much you just dump everything in the crockpot and turn it on, let it do its magic, and then enjoy!  Sounds good to me.

We added some shredded cheese and fresh guacamole to our tacos feel free 

to use whatever toppings you like and have on hand.

Ingredients:

2 boneless chicken breast

1 jar of salsa ( I used archway farms traditional from Target)

1 4.5 oz can of green chilis (old el paso worked for me)

1 packet of taco seasoning

1 can of black beans rinsed and drained

1 cup of frozen corn

Pour the entire jar of salsa into the bowl of the crockpot, add the green chilis, and taco seasoning stir to combine.  Add the chicken breast (mine were even still partway frozen) Cover chicken with mixture.  Turn crockpot on low and let cook for 6 hrs.  (or high for 4hrs)

About 45 minutes prior to the end of cooking time add the corn and black beans.  Take chicken out and shred.  Return to bowl and allow to cook at least another 1/2 hour.  

Can be enjoyed inside taco shells, burritos, or over rice!  As a side note one evening when my husband prepared this he used a small can of diced jalapenos instead of the green chili (he wasn't paying attention) and it gave the meat a nice spicy flavor.  If you like spicy throw them in the bowl too.

Simple Fresh Chipotle Chicken Sausage Tacos

Easiest Chipotle Chicken Sausage Tacos

This meal kind of got pieced together but it came out fantastic with great flavor.  For these tacos it really is the super fresh salsa and guacamole that made it all come together.  Again trying to choose healthier protein options I brought home a package of chipotle chicken sausage.  And yet again I got skeptical looks from my meat loving husband.  Earlier in the day I have been out in the vegetable garden and besides a huge bounty of eggplant (which I will have to find recipes to use it all up) there were a few small red bell peppers and a couple more big tomatoes.  Knowing we were going for tacos this evening I decided to try my hand at a homemade salsa.  A quick trip the grocery store for some cilantro (sadly that did not want to grow in our garden) and a jalapeno pepper and we were set.  A few pulses of the food processor later and our kitchen smelt great!

This started after picking a few more tomatoes and a few little bell peppers from the garden probably some of the last ones for this season.  

Salsa:

Two big tomatoes roughly chopped

1 bell pepper

1/2 or 1 jalapeno pepper (depending how spicy you like it)

1 yellow onion roughly chopped

1 handful of cilantro

1 juice of a lime

2 teaspoons of honey

2 teaspoons of cumin

salt and pepper to taste

Quite simply put all ingredients into the food processor and pulse until desired consistency.

Fresh Guacamole: 

One ripe hass avocado pitted and roughly chopped

1/2 lime juiced

approximately tablespoon chopped cilantro

salt and pepper to taste

In a bowl mash the avocado.  Blend the rest of the ingredients.

Chipotle Chicken Sausage Tacos:

1 package of chipotle chicken sausage chopped(from Fresco or Johnsonville)

1/2 bell pepper cut into thin strips

1/2 scallion finely chopped

1 teaspoon cumin

Crispy taco shells

shredded cheese

In a heated pan of little olive oil cooked chopped chicken sausage until it starts to brown and crisp.  Add cumin and let cook about a minute.  Next add the scallion and bell pepper and cook another 2 minutes.  Heat taco shells on a cookie sheet in a 325 degree oven for about 5-7 minutes.  Place chicken sausage mixture into taco shells, top with fresh salsa, guacamole, and shredded cheese.  

**Easy side: I served my tacos with a side of canned black beans and frozen corn I cooked in a small pot with a sprinkle of cumin and some of the leftover scallion and bell pepper I can chopped for the tacos.  Easy and delish!

Chicken Potpie Cupcakes

One of the best comfort foods is chicken potpie.  I came across this idea online and tweaked it a bit and love this super easy chicken potpie cupcake.  Just a few simple ingredients are needed and about only 20 minutes from start to finish make this an easy weeknight meal.  Serve with a simple tossed salad.

Recipe:

Ingredients-

2 Cans of biscuits (I used Pillsbury's grands)

1 Chicken breast cooked and diced (rotisserie works well)

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1 cup of mixed frozen vegetables

1 cup shredded cheese

1tsp Italian Seasoning

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl
3. Place biscuits into lightly greased muffin pan.  Spread biscuit up sides and gently press down into pan.
4. Scoop chicken mixture into each prepared biscuit.  
5. Cook in oven for 15 minutes.
6. Let rest a few minutes as filling will be very hot!
7. Enjoy!