Silky Garlic-Basil and Parmesan Chicken Linguine with Baby Kale

Ah this dinner has been one of my all time fave creations that we have repeated several times already!  It's so silky, creamy and gourmet tasting to me!  I feel like I'm eating at a fancy restaurant!  It's pretty easy to make and you can always use the basic idea of it and recreate it in lots of various ways.  Pretty much it's as simple as cooking some chicken to perfection adding some garlic and a veggie using the fond (brown bits) left in the pan and then adding in some butter, parmesan and reduced chicken stock with water when adding the cooked noodles to the pan!  So here's what we did.

We have been wilting greens for this recipe and in each photo it's either Baby Kale or regular Kale both work well.  Baby Spinach, Baby Arugula and Collard Greens would also all work well for this.  You can either pre-wilt the Kale in a non-stick pan sprayed with a good cooking spray or some olive oil and add a little bit of water as needed to help it steam and wilt down, I also add a lid to trap heat and steam to help it cook faster, season with salt and pepper.  Or you can add it with more water when you add the Knorr Reduced Stock to the fragrant minced garlic in the step below.  I prefer pre-wilting it because it's faster to finish than if I have to wait for it to cook down later on.

We used 2 servings (55g each) of Trader Joe's Garlic Basil Linguine‬ cooked for 6 minutes in salted water.  Once finished reserve about 1/4-1/2 cup of the pasta water.  (Sometimes I forget and have to just use plain water but it's extra nice to use the pasta water.)  Drain and Set Aside till ready to add it to the veggies and sauce later on.

Perfect Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast you make in a skillet so you can get the fond in the bottom of the pan.  Add 1/2-1 Tsp. Olive Oil heat on medium high till hot add chicken loosely cover with aluminum foil to keep in heat and let out steam for 3 minutes and 30 seconds, flip recover and cook for a second 3 minutes and 30 seconds (or until cooked through, that time is usually perfection for us).  Remove from pan and let chicken rest on a warmed plate covered with aluminum foil for at about 5 minutes.

Using the same pan that you cooked the chicken in, heat on medium another 1-2 Tsp. Olive Oil, usually I only need 1 Tsp.  Add 4 Cloves Minced Garlic and cook until fragrant (only about 30 sec. to a minute) then add 1 Tsp. Knorr Reduced Sodium Reduced Stock and the pasta water or plain water.  Let Reduced Stock melt.  Only add just enough water usually about 1/4 cup, if you need more add more and if you add too much just let it reduce.  Add the Wilted Baby Kale, Cooked Pasta, 1 Tablespoon Butter, 1oz. (28g) Grated Parmesan (grated from the wedge is the best kind and worth the effort).  Season with Salt and Pepper to Taste.  Stir till throuoghly combined and till sauce is tightened up.  Divide between two warmed plates.  We love to slice up the Chicken and place it on top.  Usually it's around 2-4 oz. of Chicken each depending on how much I want that day, typically it's 4oz.

Take about a Tablespoon or 2 amount of Fresh Basil Leaves and either chop them or for a more fun and pretty version roll them up and thinly slice to create ribbons.  Top the Chicken with the Basil.

1-2 Tablespoons Fresh Basil Chopped or Chiffonade/Ribbons
2-4 Teaspoons Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter
1oz. (28g) Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 Teaspoon Knorr Reduced Sodium Reduced Stock
4 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
1 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Seasoned with Salt and Pepper
1 Bag or 2 (85g) Servings of Preferred Greens (Baby Kale, Chopped Kale, Baby Spinach, Baby Arugula or Collard Greens)
2 Servings (55g each 110g total) Trader Joe's Garlic Basil Linguine (You could use any pasta you desire in it's place it just won't taste exactly the same as mine did. LOL)

In this photo I reserved some of the Grated Parmesan to sprinkle on the top.

In this photo we used regular Kale chopped up instead of Baby Kale.  Also a note about a nice wine pairing is a good buttery Chardonnay like Kendall Jackson's Vintner's Reserve!  Super yummy!

Cranberry and Pepita Topped Salad with Chicken and Roasted Cauliflower over Baby Arugula

My hubby has perfected the art of cooking the perfect cast iron pan grilled chicken breast! It comes out so fantastic like it's from a restaurant all juicy and tender and flavorful so it's a staple for us either on a salad like this with a roasted veggie (cauliflower tossed in olive oil, salt & pepper, and garlic powder roasted at 400 till tender), some (10g) dried reduced sugar cranberries, and (8g) pepitas or with a couple of veggie sides like asparagus and roasted cauliflower! It always feels so special to eat!

For this salad I dressed baby arugula with Trader Joe's Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar/Olive Oil/Salt/Pepper! Simple and easy to whip up and toss to coat!  For one bag or small box Baby Arugula I add to a extra large bowl 2 Teaspoons Olive Oil, 2 Teaspoons Trader Joe's Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar, a sprinkle of salt and pepper to taste and whisk together and add the Baby Arugula on top then toss to thoroughly coat each leaf.  I divide between 2 plates top with roasted veggie of choice, (cauliflower tossed in olive oil, salt & pepper, and garlic powder roasted at 400 till tender), (10g) dried reduced sugar cranberries, (8g) pepitas, and the chicken sliced up in the amount I want or need usually 2-4oz.

Perfect Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast you can make in a skillet so you can get the fond in the bottom of the pan or in a Cast-Iron Grill Pan.  (Add 1/2-1 Tsp. Olive Oil heat on medium high till hot add chicken loosely cover with aluminum foil to keep in heat and let out steam for 3 minutes and 30 seconds, flip recover and cook for a second 3 minutes and 30 seconds (or until cooked through that time is usually perfection for us).  Remove from pan and let chicken rest on a warmed plate covered with aluminum foil for at about 5 minutes.

For the Cast-Iron Grill Pan, heat on high till hot, spray with High Heat Pam, put the chicken in for 30 seconds then flip to the other side for 30 seconds.  Flip one more time and reduce heat to medium and loosely cover with aluminum foil to keep in heat and let out steam for 3 minutes, flip again and recover and let cook for 3 more minutes or until done, again it's usually perfect for us just like this.  Remove from pan and let chicken rest on a warmed plate covered with aluminum foil for at about 5 minutes.

Savory Chicken and Mushrooms with Grilled Asparagus topped with Quick Kimchi

Last week we made our own variation of the Top Chef Winner's Blue Apron Recipe! We just LOVE that quick Kimchi!
https://www.blueapron.co
m/recipes/seared-chicken-t
highs-kimchi-with-braised-
lettuce-maitake-mushrooms

We used the recipe for the Top Chef Winner Meal, used 4 cloves garlic instead of the amount they say, and followed the recipe for the Kimchi but I used Hot Hungarian Paprika and it tasted the same as the Korean Chili.

We made our grill pan asparagus as always (heat a cast-iron grill pan till hot, spray with high heat Pam and add the asparagus -1 bundle woody parts snapped off, cut, tossed in 1/2 teaspoon olive oil, sprinkled with McCormik's Sweet Onion and Herb Seasoning, salt & pepper, rosemary- cook stirring occasionally tenting with aluminum foil till tender) and hubby made the boneless skinless chicken breast in the skillet so we can get the fond in the bottom of the pan.  (Add 1/2-1 Tsp. Olive Oil heat on medium high till hot add chicken loosely cover with aluminum foil to keep in heat and let out steam for 3 minutes and 30 seconds, flip recover and cook for a second 3 minutes and 30 seconds (or until cooked through that time is usually perfection for us).  Remove from pan and let chicken rest on a warmed plate covered with aluminum foil for at about 5 minutes. 

When you take the chicken out to rest we added another teaspoon or 2 of oil and I added 2 of those small boxes of pre sliced shiitake mushrooms and cooked them until goldenly scrumptious then I added the rest of the white bottoms of the scallions, garlic, ginger. Then after they were fragrant I added 1/2 cup water, 1 tsp. Korr Reduced Sodium Reduced Stock and 1/2 Tbs. unsalted butter. Cook until combined and it tightens up.

One Recipe...Three Spin Offs aka Sweet and Spicy Kumquat Glazed Chicken/Fish With Various Options

Here's the Original Blue Apron Recipe:
https://www.blueapron.co
m/recipes/catfish-with-kum
quat-chili-basil-glaze-wat
ercress-cracked-freekeh

We wanted to make this recipe but didn't want to get the shipment that week so we had to set out to gather ingredients and I was fully prepared to substitute Farro which we have in our pantry for the Freekeh but we just so happened to stop by a Sprouts and find some Cracked Freekeh there and bought some!



For some reason the Kumquats were hard for us to find too and they just so happened to also have them at the Sprouts we stopped at. That store is not nearby us so it was on a day trip outing that we stopped by there like we usually do when out that way. The bad news was by the time we found the Kumquats there was no good catfish so we substituted Tilapia instead. I also just used our Rice Flour instead of Instant Flour because we already know it works perfectly and we have it. We also had to substitute a Serrano Pepper for the Bird's Eye because we couldn't find any and just needed one to add heat and boy did it add heat!!! I would do half a chili next time! OH and I also simply used less Freekeh than called for the recipe asks for 3 servings and I just cut it down to 2 instead and it was just as awesome. Sometimes the Blue Apron Recipes can have Portion Distortion but I've read comments on recipes of people complaining the portions are too small and I'm like REALLY??? LOL So I think they try to give people bigger amounts because of all the complaints...OY! Like one time I saw people complaining over a 4 Ounce Salmon Portion and I'm like if you look it up that IS 1 portion and what they thought of as 1 portion was in fact 2 portions!!! So a lot of things I tweak in all kinds of recipes is some of the ratios to make a better portion size. We also used an actual portion of Tilapia and not a whole giant filet.

When we were eating this the Kumquat Glaze was fantastic!!! I mean it was spicy, sweet, citrusy and just all around wonderful! The taste reminded us of Orange Chicken...which lead me down the road of creative thinking to come up with other ways to use it! The cool thing about having bought the Kumquats is we only used a small amount of the little box of them so we had more to use up! So here come the Spinoffs!!!



Sweet and Spicy Kumquat Glazed Chicken with Garlic Cracked Freekeh and Wilted Baby Arugula!

This time instead of using a fresh chili, since we used the last one and didn't have anymore as well, we used a little bit of Crushed Red Pepper and it was perfect!!! It might have been about 1/8-1/4 tsp. of the Crushed Red Pepper, it just depends on how spicy you like it and how much heat your crushed red pepper has!!! LOL

We cut the chicken breast into pieces and cooked them up leaving the fond in the pan. Then when they went to rest we made the glaze in the pan to use the fond with it. Then we tossed the chicken back into the glaze when done.

For the Freekeh we cooked 2 servings as per the directions then drained and rinsed it then returned it to the pan and added some sauteed garlic with the bit of olive oil it was cooked in, the white parts of a couple scallions, and a large handful of baby arugula. Added salt and pepper to taste and set it aside for the arugula to wilt while we finished up the chicken and glaze.

To plate we split the Freekeh and topped it with our Kumquat Glazed Chicken and sprinkled the green parts of the scallions on top! Oh it was SO GOOD! We will make this again for sure! We are even dreaming of making this with oranges too, it was so easy to make the glaze that if we had known how easy it was a long time ago we would have made something like this back then! The neat thing about the Cracked Freekeh is it's texture is a lot like rice, but really you could use any grain you wish from rice, farro, quinoa, to even couscous or cauliflower "rice"! I just love how interchangeable things can be and it makes it fun and a creative thing for me to play with!

Last Spinoff coming up!!!



Sweet and Spicy Kumquat Glazed Chicken over Baby Arugula!!!

The Baby Arugula (1 box or bag) is dressed in Trader Joe's Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar (2tsp), Olive Oil (2tsp), Salt and Pepper whisked together and tossed to coat. To plate we split the Dressed Baby Arugula between two plates topped it with half the Kumquat Glazed Chicken, then sprinkled the Pepitas (8g per person), Reduced Sugar Craisins (10g per person) and Edible Flowers on top which was mostly marigolds that just so happen to pair wonderfully with the kumquats! Of course the citrusy vinaigrette went perfect with the citrusy glaze!

When we were at Sprouts I had seen Edible Flowers in the section with the little herb boxes so I grabbed some!!! I've eaten some flowers before like pansies and violas and they pretty much taste like lettuce so I didn't have a fear of using flowers. But I've never tried a marigolds before and I was a little scared of them but I cut the large ones in half and then they kinda fell apart but it worked out because they sprinkled nicely over everything. I was the most surprised that the flavor of the marigolds went so well with the kumquat glaze, it really was wonderful! And FUN!

Chicken, Dressed Baby Arugula and Garlic-Lemon Mayo Sauce Flatbread!

Our lastest Culinary Invention is this delish flatbread that we experimented in making!  We absolutely loved it!  It was spectacular!  In fact we are making it again tonight because we can't get enough!  LOL

Do you see that drip of awesome sauce right there!?!  Yup, the white one!  LOL  That is what inspired this dish!  The first time we had it was in a recipe from Blue Apron, the Japanese Okonomiyaki with Dressed Mizuna & Garlic-Lemon Sauce.  We made the Garlic-Lemon Sauce the same way and dressed the 85g Baby Arugula with Lemon Juice and a Drizzle of Olive Oil!  The flatbread is simply 4 oz. of Bread in 5 Master Dough per person formed into a rustic shape aka not perfect round like pizza.  Then I spread a thin layer of olive oil over the dough, sprinkled with salt and pepper and popped it in the oven to cook.  We also added 2 oz. of grilled chicken to each that we cooked while the bread was baking.  When the flatbread comes out of the oven we split the Garlic Lemon Sauce between the 2 breads, topped with half the dressed Baby Arugula each, and then the 2 oz. of sliced Chicken to finish it.  Tonight when we make this again I am going to add some of the green tops of scallions as the final touch!

This was out of this world garlicy goodness!

Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese Two Ways!

First I had found a recipe for Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese with Crispy Sage on Blue Apron.  I printed out the recipe and made it with white pasta, flour, breadcrumbs instead of whole wheat...I'm not fond of whole wheat things and I already had these things in the white variety so I used them!  This turned out really great!  I added the cinnamon they recommended and I really enjoyed this dish it really reminded me of fall and pumpkin things!  The cinnamon really brings out and enhances the squash flavor.  Also the crispy sage is a real treat!  It's fried in the butter so it gets a nice brown butter taste to it as well, it's something I will make again for sure!  After enjoying this recipe I got an idea for another variation and this is what I came up with since I had a half a butternut squash leftover!

Brown Butter Garlic Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese!  I made it very similar to the original except I added 2 cloves garlic microplaned into paste to the butter!  This was really amazing too and it had a nice garlic flavor and you really didn't realize that butternut squash was in it!  It would be a good hidden veggie dish to make for people!

A side note is that with both versions of this recipe we split it into 4 servings instead of 2!  Split into 2 was just way too huge!  I could even see it split into 6 easily and served with a side salad.

Zucchini "Pizza"

Well I had seen an idea for Zucchini "Pizza" on Pinterest but decided to do it my own way instead of following another person's preferred method.  I also had a very LARGE zucchini from the garden that I needed to use up.  You can still use them large though you have to scoop out the more mature middle with seeds.

While the oven was preheating to 400 I simply scooping out the middle, and coated the halves with olive oil, sprinkled with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Then added my fave pizza sauce, Mezzetta, and then added 56g which is 2 servings of shredded mozzarella cheese to each half, then I cut some pepperoni into quarters and only used 3 and a half slices total for each half.  Then I stuck them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and cooked for about 15 min. till the fork could pierce them and then I transferred them to the broiler on low for 2 min.

I tell you the broiler does magical things!  LOL  The result was nice browned cheese, crispy pepperoni, and a nice tender-crisp zucchini flesh!  The favor was amazing, everything you love about pizza but meanwhile transforming zucchini in a new way!  The zucchini flavor was hidden by all the flavors and you just got really yummy pizza to eat!  I would do the same thing for normal size zucchini, simply adjusting the amounts of things, but it's nice that the larger one resembles French Bread Pizza!  And the middle was nice and oooy-gooy cheesy!

I will make this again and again!

Lettuce Cup Tacos

We made Lettuce Cup Tacos the other day and I got some good photos! They are simply leaves of Romaine, Taco Seasoned Lean Ground Beef, Shredded Cheddar Cheese, and Sliced Tomato! Really you could do any variation of Taco that you love! So yummy! The lettuce instead of the tortilla is just so light and crisp and we really love it and don't miss the tortilla at all. In fact if I would have known how much I'd love it this way I would have done it a long time ago!!!

I'm not a big fan of low carb, however I am a fan of If-You-Don't-Miss-It-Skip-It!  LOL  The nice thing about swapping the tortilla for lettuce is it reduces the calories and gives you room for other things like extra cheese!  Most of the time you don't really taste the tortilla anyway and it's simply a vehicle for the stuffing, and so using the lettuce instead is a perfect alternative!  You just get all the wonderful flavors you love about a taco!

I liked the idea of keeping all the components separate and build each one as you eat it. I think it was easier than building them all at once.