Salsa Verde Turkey Burger

...hello?...hello? Is this thing on?

Yes, I haven't been around in awhile, but that doesn't mean I haven't been thinking of recipes I could talk about. Honestly, I'm not sure why I haven't posted in awhile, but I have been trying new recipes, and will hopefully be getting around to posting them soon.

I digress, I'm supposed to be talking about turkey burgers.

I found this recipe while I was browsing on pinterest (which I still don't really get, honestly). I was looking for something different to make for dinner, and was specifically looking for a recipe that I could use with the frozen chicken in our freezer. So of course I picked the recipe that had the ground turkey, not the one with chicken breasts (well, I did, but I wanted to try these first).

When I think of burgers, I really don't think of turkey burgers all that much. I love a nice rare red meat burger, loaded with cheese, tomato, extra pickle, and bacon (if I'm feeling ambitious enough to make the bacon). I may be one of few these days that enjoys my red meat on the rare side-though I don't often eat them that way if I'm with people who I know don't like rare meat. I know it grosses some people out, so I compromise, and order it medium rare, which is still pretty tasty. We grew up eating burgers pretty rare, so that's what I'm used to.

Turkey, on the other hand, can't be eaten rare. Y'know, salmonella and all.

When I stumbled across this recipe, I decided it was going to have to be something I wanted to try. I quite enjoy salsa verde (maybe more than regular salsa?) and this looked like it would have a nice kick to it. At the very least, I was pretty sure that at least Adam might enjoy the heat in this burger, so at least we might be one for two in the dish satisfaction department, since I'm still getting used to a lot of heat in my dishes (spice wise, not temperature wise).

There is a lot of heat in this one. I only found salsa verde with jalapeno, so there's that. I was looking for whole wheat breadcrumbs at the store and came home with chipotle panko crumbs instead. The burger's topped with pepperjack cheese, which added even more bite.The original recipe called for green tomatoes, but they're not in season yet, so I went with a regular tomato. I topped it with an avocado "mayonnaise" that was in the recipe, but made it with greek yogurt since that's what I had. I put it in between two slices of whole wheat pita (so that I could taste the burger but still get a good crunch), and I made my trusty sweet potato fries and a salad to have alongside it.

I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this burger. I tasted the heat throughout, like  the spice would come back around and hit me again after I'd swallowed each bite. The avocado "mayo" gave it a buttery, cooler afterthought. I really liked this one. The only drawback was that the original recipe said to broil it in the oven, and I am constantly burning things I mean to broil, so I grilled it on the stove instead, and watched the thing fall apart when I flipped it over. The good thing is that cheese hides a lot of those errors, and also holds it together! It made sense though-the burger is pretty wet to start when raw, and I may not have let it sit for long enough (though in my defense, I had it on the grill for about ten minutes a side on high heat). In the end, it was all about easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy, which is what I need on a Friday night after a long week. This recipe fit that bill, and then some. Good thing I have more patties stored in the freezer right now so I can have this again for lunch tomorrow and dinner tomorrow night.

Salsa Verde Turkey Burger (recipe adapted from www.closetcooking.com)
1 pound ground turkey (I was looking for the italian ground turkey, but had trouble finding it. I bet it would make it even spicier!)
1 egg (lightly beaten)
1/4 c. bread crumbs (I used chipotle panko)
1/2 c. salsa verde (jarred is okay)
pepper jack cheese, one slice for each burger
1 avocado
1/2 c. mayonnaise (I used plain greek yogurt)
1 clove garlic (grated) (I used a small amount of minced garlic)
pita bread, toasted
green tomatoes (sliced) or pickled green tomatoes (sliced) (I found none of these tonight, and so a regular tomato did just fine)

Directions:
Mix the turkey, egg, breadcrumbs and salsa verde in a bowl. Form 4-5 patties and place them on a hot griddle on the stove (alternately, make the patties and freeze them individually, on a sheet pan in the freezer, then put in separate freezer bags. This way you have burgers anytime you want them. They can either be defrosted in the fridge or, if you are short on time, place the freezer bag in a bowl of cold water for about ten-fifteen minutes). Grill for about ten minutes a side on high heat. Put the cheese slices on the patties and melt for 2-3 minutes more. In the meantime, combine the avocado, greek yogurt, and garlic in a bowl, and mash together until you have a nice spread. Slice the tomatoes to your desired thickness, and split and toast the pita. Spread some of the avocado mayo on the bottom half, and top with a burger and a slice of tomato. 

Heirloom Tomato Pie

For our CSA share last week, we received lots of good things, but one of the things I noticed the most were the tomatoes.

So help me, I swear we got two pounds a metric ton of tomatoes. Though I love tomatoes, I was a little scared-I needed to figure out a way to use all of these tomatoes. A lot of people would have told me, "make sauce!" which would have been fine, except that I really wanted to use them in different ways (look for another tomato related post coming up!). Knowing we were going to have friends over this past weekend for dinner, and knowing that I wanted to make something summery, and knowing that this meal is incredibly simple and one of our favorites, heirloom tomato pie was a no brainer.

I began making this pie last year when I saw it in the Food Network magazine (and, ironically, the recipe showed up as a recipe of the day in my email inbox when I went to make it on Sunday. Coincidence??). I loved tomatoes, and it looked so good on the cover (isn't that always how it goes?) that I had to make it for us for dinner.

And then I made it again. And again. And again. Every time I saw heirlooms, I knew we were having pie. I knew Adam wouldn't mind, because I think he liked it even more than I did. Maybe it reminded him of pizza, but whatever it was, I knew I had a dish that I could make every day if I wanted and we would eat it.

Now, heirloom tomato season is back, and when I got those tomatoes last week, I knew exactly what to do (though admittedly, the tomatoes we got weren't heirloom. I did have a few extra of those already. Regular tomatoes work just as well in this dish).

I will admit that I cheat a bit on this dish. The recipe calls for a homemade cornmeal crust, and I use a storebought pie crust. I use basil instead of the herbs it calls for, and I use greek yogurt as the binder because I usually have a ton of that lying around, and I don't always have mayo (though admittedly, I have done it with mayo, and the pie does become a bit richer. It tastes fantastic either way.).

Heirloom tomato season is short. Putting this dish together is fast and easy. Eating it is awesome. I suggest you get on this one immediately.

 *This is in a tupperware dish to go in my lunch. Not on the bare counter!

Heirloom Tomato Pie (recipe adapted from foodnetwork.com)

• one storebought pie crust
• 3/4 c. shredded pecorino romano cheese
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 6-8 mixed heirloom tomatoes
• 3/4 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 c. greek yogurt
• 3 Tbsp. panko breadcrumbs
• 5 Tbsp. fresh chopped basil
• Freshly ground pepper and salt
• 
  

Directions

Saute onion in a large skilled over medium heat with 1 Tbsp. olive oil until soft and opaque, about ten minutes. Slice the tomatoes; toss with 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and drain in a colander until fully drained, about ten minutes (if you get impatient, skip it. I often do. It makes the pie a little soupier but still just as good).

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine both cheeses, greek yogurt, breadcrumbs, the basil, 1/4 teaspoon each kosher salt and pepper, and the sauteed onion in a bowl. Take the pie crust and unfold it into a standard pie dish. Spread the cheesy onion yogurt mixture in the crust. Arrange the tomatoes on top. Drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with pepper. Bake until the tomatoes are browned, about 50 minutes. 

Quick Paella

Paella is a special dish for me. It's a dish that reminds me of my grandmother (though she would make arroz con pollo more than this, but that's neither here nor there) and it's a dish I make and eat on special occasions.

When I first started making this myself, I'll admit that I was hesitant to make the full-blown version. I love eating mussels and clams, but I'm not a fan of cooking them, for some strange reason. They're not hard, but it's just not my thing to cook. Then there's the issue of saffron. I love the way saffron tastes, but I hate the way it kills my wallet. Saffron is one of those weird spices that costs so.much.money, but yet you only use a little bit at a time. I don't make enough dishes that have saffron in it (maybe I should start?) so it doesn't make much sense to buy a bottle of it.

I don't remember how I found this recipe, but I do remember thinking it looked easy enough and got good reviews. I made it for myself and loved it, remembering that I needed to make it more often. It took some shortcuts, but it was totally worth it. I am also not ashamed to admit that I actually bought a paella pan with which to make this. Thanks, Amazon.

This has some good memories for me too. This paella was the first dish I ever made for Adam, and though I totally wasn't paying attention that day and got unpeeled shrimp so we had to peel it as we ate it, it still makes both of us smile. I also made it for his birthday last year, and for both of our families as they met for the first time. It's something that makes it seem like you spent a lot of time preparing it, but instead it's so simple you can throw it together, let it cook, and have a glass of wine with people while you just wait. It's also great for hot summer days; it's a hot dish, but it feels very light and summery. You can also mix things up: add some chicken if you want, or onions or some other vegetable. This time around I added scallops in addition to the shrimp. Perfection. Please make sure you make this quickly. You're welcome.

Quick Paella (recipe from Epicurious.com)
3/4 lb. cooked chorizo, cut into bite-sized pieces
4 Tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. saffron rice (Stop and Shop sells it in 9 oz. packets, and I've seen it in Whole Foods, boxed)
1 package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and drained (I use jarred marinated artichokes-I like the way they taste better in this dish. Feel free to use what makes sense to you)
1 8 oz. jar roasted red peppers, drained and sliced
2 cups chicken or fish broth, or wine
1 lb. large shrimp, peeled
1 c. frozen peas, defrosted (you can also use fresh-pop them in with the rice if you do)


In a large pan or a paella pan, brown the sausage in the oil until crispy, about 5 minutes.
Add the rice, artichoke hearts, peppers, broth or wine, and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes.
Stir in the shrimp and peas. Cover and continue cooking until the shrimp are opaque, 5 to 7 minutes.

Mushroom Stroganoff

The temperature in Boston today hovered between 92 and 100 degrees today. In my car, the temperature gauge went from 103 to 105 and then back down to 100. What it actually was is anyone's guess, but no one is denying the obvious: it was hot today.

So of course, what's a girl to do but make a dish typically seen in colder weather: mushroom stroganoff. I'm not sure why, but I have been craving pasta recently, and trying to figure out the best way in which to get my fix. On Sunday morning, I was watching TV while drinking my morning coffee, and a show that I haven't seen in awhile came on, called "The Best Thing I Ever Made" (on Food Network, obviously). One of the dishes I saw on there was mushroom stroganoff, and I was hooked. I had to do it. Every now and then I'd see beef stroganoff in the store, and I wanted to get it but for some reason always talked myself out of it. This seemed like a pretty decent compromise-and it wasn't even as bad for you as the original recipe! After looking at the recipe it also seemed like I could get it done pretty quickly too, which was a huge plus. Add to that I had nearly everything needed for the recipe except the mushrooms, and I was sold.

Unfortunately, my stomach today was all, "pasta! Now!" while my body was all. "Too hot. Need water and melon.". Cooking this meal didn't seem like the brightest idea at this temperature, until I remembered one thing: I now live in a home with central air. It could be 3,000 degrees outside and I'd be cool as a cucumber in the house. So I went to the store after work, picked up some portabella caps, and came home to get started.







This was very quick to throw together: slice the mushrooms, let them saute, cook the noodles, and make a sauce in the pan. Really no big deal. I was pretty excited too-the recipe called for sour cream and goat cheese. I had plenty of goat cheese leftover from that tart I posted about yesterday, and I had a whole boatload of greek yogurt, which is pretty similar to sour cream and I have it in the fridge more often than sour cream anyway. It took about a half hour, maybe 45 minutes, tops. Most of that time was just waiting-it's very low-effort, as meals go.





I do think the end result was tasty, but it was probably missing a bit more of salt and pepper-it was a little on the bland side for me. On "The Best Thing I Ever Made", one of the things I heard was that this dish tasted just like beef stroganoff. I don't necessarily agree-it tasted like mushrooms. But it was still pretty decent. I ate it with some wilted kale on the side, since I need to use enough of the CSA share from last week to make room for our next share tomorrow. I could definitely taste the goat cheese (I used a bit extra than the recipe called for) and the mushrooms were nice and tender, just the way I like them. Dare I say that this recipe might even be improved by a bit of bacon? But I may say that only because I think bacon makes everything taste better. :)

Mushroom Stroganoff (recipe obtained from foodnetwork.com)

12 oz extra-wide egg noodles (I used whole wheat wide noodles-kind of like egg noodles in shape)
3 Tbsp. butter
5 portabella mushroom caps, sliced
1 tsp. salt
1 bunch green onions, sliced
1 Tbsp. flour
14 oz. beef broth
8 oz. sour cream (I used plain greek yogurt instead)
4 oz. fresh goat cheese (I used crumbled goat cheese instead of a log)
1/2 tsp. pepper

Add the noodles to cold water in a large pot (enough to cover the noodles). Turn the heat to high and cook 18 to 22 minutes, stirring every so often.

Melt the butter in a large pan set over medium-high heat. Increase the heat to high, add the mushrooms and sprinkle with salt. Saute for about 5 to 6 minutes or until the mushrooms have softened a bit and released their juices. Add the white bottoms of the green onions (sliced!) and saute 2 to 3 minutes more.

Sprinkle in the flour and cook about 1 minute, creating a bit of a roux. Add the beef broth and bring everything to a simmer. Cook for about 10 to 12 minutes, and then add the sour cream (greek yogurt), goat cheese and black pepper. Stir to combine and warm through, about 2 to 4 minutes.

Drain the noodles, add to the pan and stir to combine. Garnish with the green onion tops if you desire and additional black pepper if you want it. Serve immediately.

Beet Tart with Goat Cheese and Walnuts

We got our first CSA share last week. Adam and I have been really excited for the share to start, since we'll get a ton of good, fresh veggies out of it, and we'll get the opportunity to try new things that we might not otherwise.


The one thing I was wondering whether or not we'd get was beets. Beets, for me, are kind of the bastard stepchild of the veggie world (or is it a fruit? Those weird veggie/fruit things sometimes confuse me.). I'm not really sure what to do with them. I remember having them once years and years ago, but they weren't all that memorable. My most recent memory of them is my grandmother's potato salad, which was really store-bought potato salad with a can of diced cooked beets. To me, the taste of them is kind of nondescript. I don't crave beets and I'm really indifferent about them in general. So of course we got some, and to see them lying in the fridge kind of intimidated me.

But as they say, when in Rome, you make lemonade out of lemons, or something like that.




I began to hunt around for ideas. One friend told me to roast them, peel them, and eat them as is. I found a bunch of recipes that said to do the same thing. I liked the idea of the simplicity of it, but I really wanted to do something different. I found this recipe on epicurious (a site that I really should frequent more often) and thought I'd give it a whirl. I decided to use store bought pie crust though, since I just didn't have the energy to make a tart dough and besides, we didn't have any dried beans to weight it anyway. I also bought crumbled goat cheese instead of a log to make it easier to spread around. The recipe told me that when I was peeling and chopping the cooked beet to be careful, because beets stain EVERYTHING. It's true-and as I sliced my finger on the peeler it was hard to determine what was beet juice and what was blood (not to worry, nothing was tainted). But my hands were stained for at least a day.


Don't worry, I'm fine. Got a good nick with a vegetable peeler, but I used the closest thing I could find to cover it up.







The tart itself though? Not too bad. I'd definitely make it again (if someone decided to give me some beets) and although I've been eating it as my lunch the past few days I think this would really go well with some grilled chicken or something. I was pretty happy with the results. It was tart (ha! Pun intended!) and the crust was nice and flaky against the beet and onion filling (never you mind that it was store bought. It's a well known fact that I hate making my own dough). I could have probably cooked them for about ten minutes longer to take away a bit more of the bite, but I liked the twang I got from the beets and the goat cheese, and I really liked the texture of the chopped walnuts. I'm especially happy that I tried something I normally never would and I wasn't disappointed.




Next week in the CSA though? I'm hoping for tomatoes. :)

Fresh Goat Cheese, Roasted Beet, and Walnut Tart (recipe from epicurious.com)

2 to 3 small beets (I used 4 medium sized ones)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons dry white wine (I actually had none in the house-don't judge, it was a long week at work last week!-so I omitted this step)
1 recipe tart dough (found here) , shaped and blind-baked according to the directions (I took a shortcut and used store-bought pie crust, not blind-baked-use whatever your heart desires, but I quite enjoyed the pie crust!)
3 large eggs
3/4 c. heavy cream
4 oz. goat cheese (I used crumbled goat cheese, which worked really well)
1 c. chopped walnuts
1 Tbsp walnut oil (optional-I had none, so I left it out)
About 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley (I actually always forget about parsley and I think there's not much taste to it anyway, so I had none and left that out too)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Rinse the beets well and dry them with a paper towel. Place the beets in a small pan (a square brownie tin worked well for me), and season with the olive oil and the salt and pepper. Cover the pan with aluminum foil. Bake about 1 hour, when you can easily pierce the beets with a knife.

Let the beets cool (quick cool tip? Put them in the fridge for about ten minutes). Peel the beets and chop roughly, into medium sized pieces. Watch out where you do this, as beets really do stain everything. I decided to dice them on a foil wrapped cutting board to make for easier clean up and less chance to dye my kitchen counter and my cutting boards. My hands, however, stayed a slight shade of pink for a day and a half.

Saute the onion in a pan with the melted butter until the onions are soft and cooked through-about 5-7 minutes. If they wind up slightly caramelized, not to worry! Add the white wine and cook out for another minute, deglazing the pan in the process. If you have no wine, you can either leave it be or add some chicken stock.

Mix the beets and onions together and put them into the pie shell.Whisk the eggs and cream together and season well with salt and pepper. Add the egg mixture to the beet and onion mixture in the pie shell, making sure to make things even in the pie plate. Sprinkle the crumbled goat cheese all over the top of the tart. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees, then remove and sprinkle the chopped walnuts on top of the tart and drizzle the walnut oil over it, if using. Return the tart to the oven and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until it's just been set. If using parsley, sprinkle on top after removing from the oven and before serving, but really, it's not imperative that you use it. If you're eating as a main dish, it would be great with a nice simple salad, but as a side, it would be perfect with some chicken. Epicurious recommends using pork as well.

Chicken Pot Pie

I love Chicken Pot Pie. It's really a shame I don't have it more often. There's a place near me that has Chicken Pies that I absolutely *love*, and bonus, they'll even have it hot and ready for you if you call in advance.

I have been on a mission since then to find the perfect pie that might be suitable to make at home. Someone here isn't a fan of potatoes in pie (I'll forgive him) but I wanted to find something that we both would enjoy and one that would make me not even think about the fact that it didn't contain my favorite starch.

A few months ago, I had an abundance of broccoli, so I decided to look up pies that had broccoli in it, and lo! I found the jackpot. Of course I modified it, using rotisserie chicken and a whole boatload of vegetables, even more than what was in it already, and came up with a winner. You know what I really think the key ingredient here was? Cheese. Weird. But it totally works.







I'll admit that the pictures I took in this post were from a few weeks ago (yup, I've
got an arsenal of pictures for recipes I haven't blogged about yet. There's more fun stuff coming! :) ) but thinking about it makes me wish I hadn't made chicken with rice tonight. It pales completely in comparison. Most everything I eat this week will. It is that good.







The beauty about this pie is the ability to put whatever you want in it. I kept the carrots and broccoli the same, but I added peas once. Another time, I put in cream of chicken and mushroom soup. I love sauteed onions and celery in here. It uses a double crust, which is really the only way to eat pie. Also, the recipe says to use two cooked chicken breasts. Thumb your nose at that one and use shredded rotisserie chicken. It could be the best decision you've ever made.



Chicken Pot Pie (recipe adapted from allrecipes.com)
1 box of ready made pie crusts (Pillsbury makes them, and so do most store brands. Make sure you get a package that contains at least two pie crusts)
1 carrot, chopped (I've used a handful of carrot shreds, or several chopped baby carrots, or some pre-chopped carrots. Whatever floats your boat)
1 head fresh broccoli, chopped
2 boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and chopped (or take a fresh rotisserie chicken and shred the breasts, removing the skin first)
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup or cream of chicken and mushroom soup, whichever you choose
2/3 cup milk
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste

other vegetables to add (pick and choose or put them all in):
one chopped onion, sauteed
several celery stalks, chopped and sauteed
a handful of mushrooms, chopped
a cup of frozen peas (added frozen, they'll cook in the pie)

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Steam carrots and broccoli in a covered pot for 3 minutes. They will still be slightly firm, and that's okay. If you don't have a steam insert for a pot, ball up several pieces of tin foil and line the pot with it. Then put in some water and make sure it won't touch the vegetables when you put them in, so maybe enough to have about an inch of water.

In a large bowl, mix together carrots, broccoli, chicken, soup, milk, cheese, salt and pepper, and any of the vegetables you choose. Put mixture into an already pastry lined pie pan and cover it with the top crust. Crimp edges together to form a seal and cut steam vents in top.

Brush the top crust with an egg wash: one egg beaten with one tablespoon of water.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, until golden brown.

Goulash

I know that this recipe is not completely authentic. I am well aware that goulash is a Hungarian dish (right? Someone back me up on this) and I'm fairly certain that the real version does not contain Velveeta. In fact, I'm not sure that goulash contains cheese at all, but I digress. This is the name of the dish I know, and that's what sticks. It's like fat pie. Or oreo balls. You don't try to fix what isn't broken.

I grew up on goulash. My dad made it quite often on the weekends, and I'm not sure if it was because it was a) filling, b)fast, c) extremely tasty, or d) all of the above. At any rate, every time I eat it, I'm reminded of eating this on blue plastic plates, with a little bit of toasted french bread on the side. Sometimes a salad too, because, well, it made us all feel like we were eating somewhat healthy. This is something that very much reminds me of my childhood.

As adults, my dad will still make this dish for us on rare occasions. I wonder if it's because his wife won't let him have it on his own, but I'm glad he'll wait for me to come up there to make it. Awhile back I asked him how he did it. He replied, "I just brown meat, saute an onion, add some velveeta and sauce, a pound of pasta, and frozen peas."







(my father is the king of simplicity when it comes to food. Remember these?)

I made him write it down, since I didn't want to leave room for error the first time I tried it for myself, but it really is as easy as it sounds. It's pure comfort in a bowl. It's great in the wintertime, but I'll eat it any time of year. Like tonight, when it's pouring rain out.



These days, it's gotten several requests. We have switched it up a bit, substituting ground chicken or seasoned ground turkey, whole wheat pasta, and most recently we added red peppers and mushrooms. This is a fun dish to play with.


You really ought to try this. Especially if you're short on time. It's awesome. Everyone who's tried it has given this dish it's due. Go on. You won't be sorry.

Goulash (recipe courtesy of my dad)
1 lb. meat (I grew up on ground chuck. Nowadays, I'll try turkey or chicken-dare I say it tastes almost better than ground beef?)
1 onion, finely diced
1 lb. pasta (the recipe calls for angel hair-I've also made it with fettucini and it's just as good)
a small spoonful of minced garlic
1 jar of Ragu sauce (pick whatever variety you prefer most)
1 box of frozen peas
1/3 block of Velveeta cheese (we use almost a half block these days, because we like more cheese. I once totally forgot and used an entire block. Not only did it just make it totally uncooperative to mix together, it was really unappealing for leftovers. Use judgement, but if you prefer more cheese, stick with measurements closer to a half block.

Saute the onions in a pot for several minutes over medium to medium high heat. Add the meat and brown all over. Drain the liquid well, then return the pot to the stove.

In the meantime, cook a pound of pasta according to the directions on the box. Drain well, then add to the meat mixture.

Put the entire jar of sauce into the pot. Put the frozen peas in the mixture at this point as well. While the goulash is heating through (continue to mix well) add the Velveeta in small chunks so it melts easier and faster. Mix until fully incorporated together, then serve it in bowls. Or hell, just take a fork to the pot. You may save some dish washing that way.

Chicken with Tomatoes

I needed something for dinner tonight. Weird, I know. You'd think with all the food I had made over the past week I'd have something I could work with.

Sure, I could work with some leftovers. But I needed something I hadn't seen before. I wanted something that was savory, that would taste familiar, that had things in it that I knew and I trusted.

I know I had done that with other dishes and failed miserably. I was putting a lot of weight on making this dinner work.





Chicken with Tomatoes was something I had seen in the Whole Foods website, in their recipes section. The picture looked so good and the recipe seemed really easy and really good tasting that I had to try it.



This time, I was not disappointed by a new dish. This was fantastic. This was filling. It was savory, it was tangy, it definitely came through as a go-to dish. I really could have licked the bowl clean (I actually could have, given that I'm the only one here. But I restrained myself). I loved this. It will go into my regular rotation, I'm pretty sure. I think it should go into yours too.




Chicken with Tomatoes (recipe from Whole Foods Market)

2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup flour (I used spelt flour-trying to get rid of it! and didn't actually notice any difference! I hate to say it but I'm starting to get used to spelt!)
sprinkling of salt, to taste
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces (get the raw chicken tenders-you'll save time chopping them)
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
3 to 4 cloves garlic, crushed (I used a spoonful of minced garlic)
1 (15-oz) can crushed tomatoes, drained
1 c. low-sodium chicken broth
2 tbsp butter (or a bit of spray)
1 large portobello mushroom (about 1/2 pound), diced
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 c. basil leaves, torn
3 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
Method

Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Mix together flour, salt and red pepper flakes in a medium bowl then coat chicken with flour mixture. Make sure to shake off any extra flour. Transfer chicken to pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned (don't do something like I did and crowd the pan-it will take much longer to cook!); transfer to a large plate and return pot to the stove. Reduce heat to medium, add onion and garlic and cook until soft and opaque. Add tomatoes, broth and browned chicken back to the pot and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes.

While chicken mixture is cooking, melt butter (or spray butter spray) in a large pan over medium high heat, add mushrooms and cook until tender, about 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle with lemon juice and set aside.

Add cooked mushrooms, basil and parsley to pot with chicken mixture a few minutes before the mixture is done cooking and continue simmering just until heated through. Serve.