Tropical Chicken Fingers

Tired of the same old fat laden chicken fingers? These are a nice twist. Toasted coconut, sesame oil and sesame seeds add all kinds of flavour!  They are very tasty dunked in sweet plum sauce and served with an Asian noodle salad or even potato salad and fruit.

Adapted from Crazy Plates

1/2 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1/2 cup unseasoned dry bread crumbs
1 egg (the original recipe says 2 egg whites, I'd rather not waste an egg)
2 tsp sesame oil
1 1/2 lbs turkey or chicken breast, cut into strips.

Mix coconut, sesame seeds and bread crumbs into a bowl. Set aside. In a separate bowl, mix together the egg and sesame oil. Pour over the chicken pieces and toss gently. Dredge the chicken pieces in the coconut mixture and place on a greased cookie sheet. The original recipes says to spray them lightly with some cooking spray, but I often skip that step.

Bake at 425 for about 10 minutes, then turn them over and bake for another 5 minutes.

*these are yummy cold in school lunches

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Spice Rubbed Roasted Chicken

Dug out from my archives, this recipe was one of the first new finds that I tried and posted here.

Oh MY.

Served on Hub's birthday with a couple of salads and some roasted yams, this chicken was raved about, the leftovers were fought over, and it was insisted that I must make this again very soon. A spicy rub all over the skin and then right onto the meat, time in the oven to make it nice and juicy with a crispy, flavorful skin, and it was perfection.

Perfection.

For one good sized roast chicken I halved the original recipe. The book says that the rub mixture can be stored in the fridge for up to a month and is a great rub on all sorts of meat for the BBQ, even extra firm tofu. The rub has lots of flavor and yet also has a hint of sweetness.

Adapted from Cook Once a Week-Eat Well Every Day

1/4 cup ground cumin
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp black pepper
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp vegetable oil (I used olive)
2 tsp cayenne pepper (I used maybe 1/8 tsp. It was enough)
2 tsp curry powder
2 tsp salt
1 tsp five spice powder
4 cloves garlic, minced
2-4 tbsp coconut milk (optional-I used it, and it was delish!)

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. With your hands, smear all over chicken that has been rinsed and patted dry. Add the coconut milk for a saucier dish (this tends to bake up in a fairly dry sort of rub). Leave the skin on the chicken to keep the meat moist, but then also smear some under the skin as well for flavor. According to the recipe, you can also smear this all over up to 8 bone-in chicken breasts and either let them marinate in a resealable plastic bag for up to three days or freeze them for future use. Make sure you thaw them completely before you bake/BBQ them.

I smeared the chicken all over with the rub and then roasted it, uncovered, at 350 F for about 2 hours, or until a meat thermometer registered 160 F in the thickest part of the breast meat. I occasionally added a tiny bit of water or wine to the bottom of the pan, but the chicken released a lot of juices that I had to pour off so that they didn't poach instead of roast. As you can see, the outside got very nice and crispy.

We then stripped off all the meat and had a tasty meal with enough leftovers for Jake and I to take to school.

I highly recommend this recipe. And, as a side note, the spice rub made up in a pretty jar might be a nice little gift.

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Brown Rice Veggie Pilaf

Do you buy those silly dried seasoned rice packets? I have. To me, they always taste full of chemicals. So tonight I came up with my own rice dish and it was so yummy Kevin insisted I blog about it. Making rice this way is so much healthier, and you can also control the salt more-especially if you buy low salt chicken broth or make your own.

3/4 cup brown rice (mine takes 45 minutes to cook)
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp butter (or margarine)
1/4 of a red bell pepper, minced
1 carrot, shredded
1 green onion, sliced
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup frozen green peas


In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the garlic and red pepper and saute until the garlic is fragrant. throw in the onion, rice, carrot, marjoram and pepper, stirring to coat the rice. Pour in the chicken stock. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil. When the mixture boils (don't peek!) transfer the pot to another element and turn it on to low. Allow to cook for about 45 minutes.

In the last minute of cooking time, add the peas and remove from the stove. Allow to sit for 2-3 minutes and the dish will cool slightly, as well as warm up the peas.

Serves 2-3 as a side dish.

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Vegetarian Lasagna

I have tried many lasagna recipes, but this one is fantastic. At first, Kevin refused to eat it and would pick out all the veggies so I just served him macaroni and a plain tomato sauce with a sprinkle of cheese. Eventually he wanted to try it, and now he cleans his plate. Who says you can't convince your kids to eat veggies?

Adapted from Crazy Plates

3 cups sliced mushrooms
2 medium zucchini, sliced
1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
1 yellow pepper, seeded and chopped
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp balsamic or red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp each dried rosemary and dried oregano
1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
1 cup low fat cottage cheese
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 egg white
12 uncooked whole wheat lasagna noodles
4 cups pasta sauce (I like Prego original-the recipe says 3 cups, but I like more)
1 1/2 cups part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded.

Spray a large roasting pan with non stick spray. Toss the mushrooms, zucchini, peppers, onion, and garlic together in the roasting pan. In a small dish mix together the oil, vinegar, rosemary, and oregano. Drizzle over the veggies and toss until coated. Roast, uncovered, at 400 F for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile cook the lasagna noodles according to the directions on the box. Drain, rinse under cold water, drain well again, and set aside.

To prepare the cheese filling, combine the cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup parsley, Parmesan cheese, and egg white in a bowl. Mix well. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To assemble the lasagna, spray a 9x13 inch dish with cooking spray. Spread enough pasta sauce in the bottom of the pan to coat the bottom. Arrange 4 noodles (3 lengthwise, 1 crosswise) over the bottom of the pan. Spread 1/2 cheese filling over the noodles, followed by 1/3 of the roasted vegetables. Top with 1/3 of the mozzarella. Repeat layers; 4 noodles, 1/2 cheese filling, 1/3 roasted vegetables, 1/3 mozzarella. Layer final 4 noodles over the mozzarella, followed by remaining spaghetti sauce. Top sauce with remaining roasted vegetables.

Cover with greased foil and bake at 375 F for 35-45 minutes. Remove, sprinkle mozzarella and fresh Parmesan on the top, and return to the oven for 5 more minutes for the cheese to melt. Let cool for 10-15 minutes before serving so it won't fall apart when you serve it.

Serves 6-8

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My Easy Turkey Chili

Chili is a staple in our house, pretty much. I make it a couple of times a month and freeze it in single serving sized containers for a quick thermos lunch. Hubs and Jake like it with ground turkey, but you can substitute extra lean ground beef if you like.

I came up with this recipe when I was 19 years old, living in a tiny basement suite with only a hot plate and a toaster oven to cook with. It's been tweaked here and there through the years but it's pretty much the same thing.

The spices are extremely mild as well and you can add as much chili powder and cumin (as well as hot pepper sauce) as you like.

Serves 4

1 1/2 pounds lean ground turkey (or extra lean ground beef)
1 small onion, diced
1/2 large sweet red or green pepper, diced
3 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
couple of dashes of hot sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 (14 oz) cans of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 jars of passata (strained tomatoes) or about the same of crushed or diced tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste (if it's not thick enough for you)


Saute the meat in the bottom of a large, heavy, pot over medium heat until mostly cooked and no longer pink. Push the meat aside in the pot and add the onion and green pepper, continuing to saute until the onion is soft and translucent. Add chili powder and cumin, continuing to stir and cook for another minute. Stir in the red wine vinegar and then the brown sugar.

Pour in both cans of tomato sauce and the kidney beans, stirring up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Continue to cook over medium heat until the mixture simmers, then turn heat down to about medium low and simmer for another 20 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings to your liking.

I love my chili served with grated cheese and some sliced green onion on top.

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