My "go to" easy meals...

...always seem to start with poached chicken breast these days.  Simply because it's easy, I don't have to turn on my oven or really even pay that much attention as I am cooking them (which is good because my eyes are on my ever-discovering, ever-wandering around every drawer and cabinet, toddler!)
So I have promised many of you that I'd post how I poach chicken, and perhaps a few ideas of what to do afterward...so here goes.

I take two boneless skinless FOA chicken breasts, rinse, place them in a large saute pan and cover with water.  I will also add some leftover white wine (if it happens to be open in the fridge and needs finishing), lemon juice, garlic (unless I am really crunched for time, then it's organic garlic powder), herbs de Provence, perhaps a bay leaf or two, sea salt and fresh cracked pepper.  Bring to a boil, cover and turn off the heat.  Set a timer for about 10 minutes (this is trial and error based on number of breasts, thickness, etc...)  I then remove the chicken and set on a plate to rest about 5-10 minutes.  Once cooled, I cut it up into pieces for my little one to toss with some salad or cooked veggies with sea salt and EVOO.  For me and my husband, I typically make chicken salad to put over greens.  As of recent I am not using mayo (because of an egg white intolerance) and I have come up with some delicious alternatives.  Today I was about to rush out the door, telling myself I would just pick up lunch at the Wine Kitchen but then that little voice said to me "walk your talk!"  I knew I had one last chicken breast in the fridge and plenty of things to complete a quick meal.  So I took five, yes only five, minutes and made myself a delicious lunch.  I chopped the chicken into bite-sized cubes, coarsely chopped some pecans and dried cherries, sprinkled some sunflower seeds, cut up apple, all tossed with a good balsamic vinegar, sea salt, fresh pepper and good EVOO.  In another bowl I threw some pre-washed organic spring mix.  When it was time for lunch I tossed the chicken mixture with the greens, added a little more sea salt and EVOO and WOW!  It was delicious, I just finished and had to write this post.  So quick, so last minute, so random and sooooooo yummy!
Don't make the excuse of no time to cook or prepare your own foods...you just have to make a plan, shop for the right ingredients to have on hand and start!

Greens, grains and squash- it sounds delicious!

I did not make this up, nor did I make it yet. But I can't wait to and I thought I'd share.

Let me know if anyone tries it first.

Roasted Delicata Squash with Quinoa Salad Recipe - Michael Symon | Food & Wine

***Update!
I made it.  It was in fact delicious.  A few changes, I didn't have delicata squash, so I used acorn squash.  I love delicata squash and you can even eat the skin, but acorn is also one of my favorites and worked perfectly with the flavors of this dish.  I also didn't have any fresh parsley, didn't miss it.  And lastly, I tossed the arugula with a little EVOO and sea salt before plating the dish.  It was wonderful!

Unchartered Territory

I remembered to defrost something last night (a first for this week...it's been a crazy one since getting back to work after all the snow!)  And because I have little experience cooking pork tenderloin, I decided to actually use a recipe.  Well, my husband recommended I use a recipe (thanks honey, I get the hint.)  I did not plan/shop well before the week began so I found a recipe that I already had all the ingredients for.  A second dish in less than a week that includes cooked apples and onions, oh well, they do work really well together and it sure saves money on ingredients.  I had exactly two apples left!  So it's in the oven as I type and I will be done with the dishes before the timer goes off.  It was fast, easy and smells delicious (I'll have to update once I actually taste the dish.)
So here is the recipe.  For those who have never seared meat or cooked pork tenderloin, neither had I and voila!  I did it and so can you.
Enjoy!

***update
The pork was cooked perfectly, a gentle pink in the middle and not dry at all (as some pork dishes can be.)  My husband, the baby and I all enjoyed it.  Highly recommended!

Monday Night Chicken

Chicken with Onions & Apples
Fast, easy, completely made up (I'll do my best to recreate) and delicious!
You'll need the following...
2 boneless/skinless split chicken breasts, sliced into strips (whatever size you like)
1 can coconut milk
1-2 onions (depending on how much you are cooking, I'd say 1 onion per 2 people)
1-2 apples (peeled, cored and diced)
garam masala * or can simply use the spices that follow
cinnamon
corriander
cayanne
cumin
sea salt
ghee or coconut oil
Directions:
Coat chicken pieces in garam masala or a combination of spices
Heat oil in large pot on medium to medium/low heat (I used a Le Creuset cast iron oval french oven)
Cook onion and apples until tender (around 5-10 minutes) adding a few more spinkles of spices and salt.
Remove mixture from pot.
Add a little more oil/ghee to pot if necessary and add chicken, cook a few minutes until mostly done.
Add back in the onions and apples and 1 can of coconut milk.
Cook on medium to medium/low until chicken pieces are cooked through and sauce reduces and thickens a bit.
Serve alone or over some brown basmati rice.
I wish I had taken a picture but alas, it was gone to quickly!
The baby, my husband and I all enjoyed for dinner that evening and lunch the following day.  I didn't even heat it up!

Steak and Eggs

Well, Korean steak and eggs to be precise.  My husband made a delicious and different dinner on this snowed in Saturday night.  I know this blog is about easy dinners I made, but I must share his recipe.  It looked easy enough from my seat in the kitchen. 
Ingredients:
2 chopped scallions
2 chopped shallots
coconut oil
2 cups cooked brown rice (ensure the rice is dry before you stir fry)
1 1/2- 2 cups Kim Chee chopped fine
2 Tbsp mirin
1 flank or skirt steak (ours was a grass-fed flank from Fields of Athenry)
Ghee or lard (we used pork lard we picked up from a farm market)
course sea salt
fresh ground pepper
1 egg per person
butter or ghee
Directions:
Rub steak with sea salt, pepper and set aside. 
For the rice...
Saute scallions and shallots in coconut oil.  Add cooked rice, stir for a minute or two.  Then add Kim Chee and again, stir for a minute or two.  Finally add mirin and scrape down the rice sticking to the pan.
In a hot cast iron skillet heat oil or lard and add steak.  Cook until desired doneness and let rest before slicing.  Be sure to slice across the grain of the steak. 
In the hot skillet drop a bit of butter and fry an egg right on top of sizzling butter.
Plate the rice, then the sliced steak and top with the fried egg.  Sprinkle a little sea salt on top and viola, a warm and filling meal for a cold wintery night.

Lentil Soup

Here is a wonderful and hearty soup that has sustained the whole family (baby included) for the past three days (and two nights.)  Great for the winter weather this soup includes protein (from the lentils) and plenty of nutrients from the vegetables and the turkey stock.

Ingredients:
1 c. red or green lentils
4-5 c. water, broth or a combination
(I used 2 cups homemade Turkey stock, frozen from my Thanksgiving turkey and 2 or so cups of water)
1 5" (spprox.) strip of Kombu (it's a seaweed, find at your local health food store, Whole Foods or MOM's)
a variety of chopped vegetables, use what you like.
I used...
celery (a few spears)
onions (1 large)
garlic (2-3 cloves, finely minced)
carrots (2-3)
parsnips (1-2)
brown button mushrooms (1 pint)
1 zucchini
chopped lucinda kale
1 can of organic diced tomatoes (I used the juice as well)
a splash of apple cider vinegar
sea salt
fresh ground pepper
cumin (1-2 tsp.)
a dash of cayenne (or to taste)
1-2 bay leaves
Any other fresh/dried herbs you enjoy

Cook lentils in water/broth according to directions with a strip of Kombu in the pot as well.
Add vegetables and cook until they are done to your liking.
Remove strip of kombu and bay leaves.
I like to add a swirl of EVOO and some coarse sea salt  upon serving.
Enjoy!

Fish in a Flash

SO I went from never cooking fish, to almost never cooking fish, to rarely cooking fish, to fish twice a week.  I never used to even like fish...until I really tried.  Little bites here and there and eventually I grew to enjoy certain fish.  There are a lot of mild fishes out there for beginners.  I like halibut, cod, mahi mahi and haddock.  Salmon is still not my favorite (I'm a nutritionist, I KNOW it's good for me!) but I will have it on occasion with the right sauce.  I choose to cook fish tonight simply because tomorrow is Thanksgiving (i.e. lot's of rich foods, and basically lots of food!)  So in a pinch (nothing was defrosted) I ran into Target, yes Target, and bought some frozen wild-caught mahi mahi filets.  They defrost in 20 minutes, or while you are bathing your baby and getting him to bed.  Out of the package, a quick rinse, pat dry and here goes the rest...

Preheat broiler with rack placed so fish will be 6-8 inches from heat*

Ingredients:
Wild caught mahi mahi filets (or any other wild mild fish you choose)
EVOO
sea salt
fresh ground pepper
herbs de Provence
zest and juice from half a lemon
Kale, washed in hot water, torn in pieces with stems removed
toasted pine nuts
a good aged parmesan cheese

Brush pan or foil with a little EVOO, place filets on pan also brushing with a little EVOO (I used my fingers, few utensils to clean)
sprinkle each filet with salt, pepper, lemon zest, lemon juice and herbs
broil 12-14 minutes or according to package

While the fish is broiling, wash and tear kale.  Dry in a salad spinner or by hand.
Toast pine nuts over med/low heat being very careful not to burn (keep moving them around, they will burn very quickly.)
Shave pieces of parmesan, set aside for final plating.

In a bowl, toss the washed and dried kale leaves, EVOO, some lemon juice and lemon zest, salt and a little pepper.
Plate the kale leaves and top with a few pine nuts and some cheese shavings.
Slide next to that a piece of fish, garnish with a little more lemon zest and Viola!  Dinner in 30 minutes or less.

*I used aluminum foil on my broil pan for a fast and easy clean up.

From start to finish this dinner took me less than an hour to cook, eat and then clean up.