I am a big fan of chicken in all ways. Even prior to becoming such a health nut, I was inclined to order a chicken sandwich over a burger because I thought it was the healthier alternative. However, I've come to learn that most places don't serve very good quality chicken. Don't even get me started about certain places and their willingness to sell us meat that came from headless chickens from all of the junk they're injected with to plump them up! Eww. It's seriously disturbing. So I stick to my homemade creations for the most part. But a plain Jane chicken sandwich can be kind of boring. Well, I started thinking about how I could spice it up a bit. One of the spices in my cabinet that gets overlooked a lot because of it's powerful flavor is smoked paprika. It's really good, but I hadn't quite figured out a good way to incorporate it unless I was making BBQ. Well...You guys! I can't believe how well this worked out. The flavor is amazing and I am really excited to share it with you all. So without further ado, I give you...
Smoked Cilantro Chicken Burgers
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Serves: 3-5 (mine yielded 5, but I ate 2 and my husband ate 2)
Special Tools:
Food processor
Big bowl
Grill
Ingredients:
2 organic chicken breasts
1 medium sweet potato, steamed and skin removed
1 tbsp of garlic powder
2 tsp of smoked paprika
2 tsp of onion powder
1 tsp of paprika
1 tsp of dried basil
1 tsp of fresh cracked pepper
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly chopped
3 oz. of crumbled goat cheese
3 tbsp of fresh cilantro
1 tbsp of chives, thinly chopped
1 lime, juiced
Intstructions:
1. Put the first 7 ingredients into a food processor and turn it on until the ingredients are well combined. *NOTE: I did this in TWO batches so as not to overcrowd the processor.
2. Using a spatula, remove the chicken mixture from the processor into a large bowl and fold in the red bell pepper, goat cheese, cilantro, chives, and 1/2 the lime juice. It looks really gross, but trust me it will turn out GREAT!
3. Put the mixture in the freezer while you go and heat up your grill on about 400. It just makes the chicken a little easier to work with.
4. Remove the bowl from the freezer and make the patties. My meat yielded 5 patties.
5. Put them on the grill and turn every 5 minutes for 20 minutes to prevent sticking. Squeeze some lime juice onto the top of the patties every time you turn them. (Ignore the 1/2 eaten one my husband and I were taste testing!)
6. That's it! Top with whatever you want. I had tomato, avocado, and hot sauce. My husband went all out and put cheese and a bun in addition to what I had. Next time I'm adding bacon and a fried egg!
In our home, we don't get around to eating out much during the week. I've come to realize that I feel so much better after a meal at home than I do at a restaurant. Being mindful about my food consumption has really helped to open my eyes to all of the extra additives most places put in their food. I know that most restaurants and large corporations aren't putting these harmful substances in their food out of malice, but rather are looking to preserve the food, make it with less quality ingredients because it's cheaper to feed the masses, or make it taste "better" by hiding a bunch of sugar in it. Interestingly enough, when we do go out, often times I'll sit there and think You know what? I could probably make this at home, with better ingredients, and probably boost the nutritional value. That's really how my love of cooking healthy started. I would have this constant internal struggle with myself...yes, going out to eat is so much easier, but why am I going to spend money on something that I could probably make myself?! And do you know what? The majority of the time I'm completely content with my version and don't feel like I'm totally missing out. I think we've really got to train ourselves to think about food only as fuel and not as a reward system, or crutch. But!...that doesn't mean the food we make at home can't be delicious and rewarding, in addition to being healthy.
Little known fact about me (unless you're my husband or my friend Bridget who shares this same sentiment)...I absolutely LOVE Greek food. I could probably eat a Greek salad every single day of my life. I especially love feta cheese. And olives, can't forget the olives. Tzatziki sauce has a special place in my heart, though I don't eat that much dairy these days. And I don't know what it is about that phyllo dough, but it is so delicious. I wish I didn't feel so awful after eating it or I'd probably eat a ton more. So I guess it's a good thing I don't!
Here's a recipe for a delicious Greek chicken salad. If my propane tank wouldn't have run out of gas when I made this earlier in the week, I would have totally grilled the chicken instead of baking it. That would have taken the flavor to another level for sure! You know what that means?! I have an excuse to make this again. Round two coming up soon! But even baking the chicken, my husband gave me an "exceeded expectations," so I'll take it! Enjoy everyone! Let me know what you think.
Greek Chicken Salad
Prep Time: 1+ hour, 15-20 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 1+ hour, 55 minutes
Serves 3-5
Special Tools:
Foil lined baking sheet
Large bowl
Ingredients:
For the chicken marinade:
3 organic chicken breasts
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 tbsp of fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tbsp of fresh thyme, chopped
1 tbsp of fresh oregano, chopped
3 garlic gloves, minced
1 lemon, juiced
salt and pepper, to taste
For the salad:
3-4 cups of cooked chicken, diced
3 strips of bacon
1 1/2 cups of cucumber, diced
1 medium tomato, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/4 cup kalamata olives, diced
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1 small carrot, shredded
1 small avocado, diced
3/4 cup of feta cheese (leave out for strict paleo)
3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp of lemon juice
1-2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp of fresh dill, chopped
1 tbsp of fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
2-3 pepperoncini peppers, whole or sliced (optional)
Instructions:
1. Place the chicken and all the marinade ingredients in a plastic bag and marinate for at least an hour or up to 24 hours.
2. Preheat the oven to 415 and cook the chicken on the foil lined baking sheet for 20 minutes.
3. When the chicken is done, set it aside and allow to cool completely on a plate. Don't dice the chicken yet. Allowing it to rest lets the juices sink back into the chicken.
4. Remove the juice from the baking sheet, reduce the oven to 375, and cook the bacon for 13-15 minutes, until crispy. Remove from the oven and drain the bacon on a paper towel.
5. While the bacon is cooking, prepare the the cucumber, tomato, red pepper, olives, onion, carrot, and avocado.
6. Once the chicken has cooled some, like there is no more steam and you can handle it easily, dice it up and put it in a large bowl.
7. Add all of the other ingredients to the bowl, except the avocado and bacon, and toss well.
8. Once everything is combined, add the avocado and carefully mix (if you mix it too much, the avocado can become mushy).
9. Chop the bacon and add it to the bowl.
10. Eat by itself or make some lettuce wraps with it!
If there's one thing that I've come to love doing in recent years, it's cooking. I love that I can combine ingredients, add some heat (usually), and then end up with something new (and tasty!). My mom isn't a huge fan of cooking and I didn't grow up living near my grandparents, so the skills and techniques of cooking and baking were not instilled in me at a young age. Actually, my dad loves to tell the story of how I almost killed them all with undercooked chicken. It was ONE TIME! Haha. But sadly, it did happen. I had the temperature up too high, and so the outside was definitely done, but it never reached that internal temp. of 165. Yikes! Luckily, everyone survived and they live on to tell the tale...again...and again...and again! In truth, I bet they're just jealous of how far I've come and are now sad they don't get to experience the magical creations that come out of my kitchen. Ha! Well, I say all of that to say this, sometimes I just don't have the energy to cook. Especially Fridays. By the end of the week, I'm pooped. Fridays are usually crockpot days! Crockpots are pretty magical in their own right. Take it out, combine the ingredients, turn it on low, and voila 6-8 hours later you have a beautifully prepared entree, side dish, one pot wonder, dessert, etc. One of my favorite things to make in the crockpot is pork tenderloin. With the right ingredients you can turn this nice piece of meat into something really spectacular. I'm a fan of combining balsamic vinegar and maple syrup together, because it gives the meat a lovely sweet and savory flavor. This would also be a great with a beef roast. I actually use beef and pork interchangeably when making this entree.
Balsamic-Maple Pork Tenderloin
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 7 hours
Serves: 5-7
Special Tools:
Crockpot
Ingredients:
2 pounds of pork tenderloin
3 tbsp of maple syrup, grade b
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp of coconut aminos
1/2 cup of low sodium beef broth
1 1/2 tbsp dried thyme
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp of onion powder
1 tsp of paprika
1 tsp of coarse sea salt
1 tsp of freshly cracked black pepper
1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper
Instructions:
1. Put the pork into the crock pot and give it several stabs (but not all the way through). Stuff the minced garlic into the pork where you stabbed it.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients over the top of the pork
3. Turn the crockpot on LOW.
4. At 6 hours, take two forks and shred the pork. It should absorb most of the liquid left in the crockpot. Add a bit of water (maybe 1/4 to 1/2 a cup) to prevent it from drying out.
5. Cook for one more hour until it is super tender. I like to serve mine along side some garlic cauliflower mash and brussels sprout slaw. The leftovers also make a great accompaniment to some fried eggs in the morning!
