Shredded Pesto Chicken, Spinach & Mushroom Crepes with Fontina Cheese

A couple weeks ago, while on my life changing yoga retreat (I'm so that girl), we made buckwheat crepes as one of our DIY dinners. It reminded me how much I used to like making and eating crepes. After searching back on this blog, I see that the last time I made crepes was in February, 2012! So tonight I invited one of my best friends and long lost roommate over for dinner to try my hand at crepe making again.

The original plan was to make buckwheat crepes with shredded chicken in a pesto sauce. The buckwheat nor the pesto was executed (TJ's didn't have any buckwheat flour, and my existing jar of pesto had gone moldy), but the crepes turned out pretty crepe-like! One of my favorite parts about cooking is that you can reinvent a dinner menu on the spot if necessary and no one really has to know the difference. Unless you feel like telling everyone on your blog.

We both liked the final product, but I'm going to put the recipe I intended on making because I think it would have been pretty darn good. Also, these were done is an everyday, starter-kitchen skillet - no crepe pans here. It worked out just fine. 

Shredded Pesto Chicken, Spinach & Mushroom Crepes with Fontina Cheese
(3-4 servings)
1 pound chicken thighs or breasts
olive oil
2 tablespoons basil pesto (or more to taste)
2 cloves garlic
2 cups chopped mushrooms
2 cups packed spinach

1 cup all purpose flour (or buckwheat flour)
2 eggs
1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup Fontina cheese, grated
2 cups arugula
lemon juice
olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400. If using chicken thighs, coat with olive oil, salt and pepper in a baking dish and bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool before shredding with fork and knife. Move chicken into a mixing bowl and stir in pesto and 1-2 teaspoons olive oil until chicken is well coated.

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add garlic and let cook for about 60 seconds until aromatic. Add in mushrooms and stir until they begin to release liquid. Add spinach and cook briefly until spinach starts to wilt. Remove from heat and add to bowl of shredded chicken.

In another mixing bowl, whisk together flour and eggs. Slowly whisk in milk and water until a runny consistency. Stir in oil and salt. Clean the large skillet (or crepe pan if you're fancy) and return to heat. Coat the pan with oil or butter. Scoop about 1/3-1/2 cup crepe batter into the pan and spread around with spatula. Allow to cook for a couple minutes until the sides start coming up from the pan. Flip over and cook another minute or so. Repeat with batter until you have desired quantity of crepes. Stuff with chicken mixture and shredded cheese.

Serve with a little Fontina cheese on top and simple side salad of arugula tossed in lemon juice and olive oil. Give it all a few grinds of salt and pepper.

SND ~ Chicken Tortilla Soup

Sunday night dinners have been an important ritual in my life since senior year of college. The tradition was first instituted when my long distance boyfriend would visit me in Chapel Hill, and my Sunday anxiety would creep up and take over in the hours before he had to drive back to DC. I needed a little Sunday somethin' to look forward to. Up until this point, cooking was not something I took seriously. (I could throw a rock from my living room door and hit Panera, so cooking was not necessary). 
Image of said college house below for reference.

I still remember the first meal I made: Ina Garten's Herbed goat cheese stuffed chicken. After a few dinners, I got hooked. I started spending tons of my free time on Google Reader, watching Barefoot Contessa, and planning for the next one. 

Yadda, yadda, yadda... I have a four year old cooking blog. 

So, bringing us back to this Sunday Night Dinner. My roommate, Lauren treated me and our friends Peter and Caroline to a big crock pot full of chicken tortilla soup. It's important to ease yourself back into the hamster wheel. Friends and tortilla chips help. (*Image cred: Skinny Taste). 

Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
32 oz low sodium chicken broth
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can black beans
1 can garbanzo beans
1 can corn
1 small white onion, diced
1-2 tbsp chili pepper
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 lime, juiced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Toppings:
grated cheese
avocado
Greek yogurt
hot sauce
cilantro
tortilla chips

Throw in all ingredients above into your crock pot. Cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for 4 (check if chicken is cooked through before shredding, as different crock pots cook at different speeds). Once chicken is cooked through, pull out breasts and shred with a fork. Place chicken back in the crock pot and keep on "warm" until ready to serve. Serve with any or all of the suggested toppings above. 

Chef Appearance: Gazpacho with Summer Salad, Grilled Chicken in Tomato & Olive Sauce, Stone Fruit Galette

This past weekend my parents and our family friends were in town visiting San Francisco. Sunday night Marty, the chef of the group, and I cooked dinner for everyone. This was an all day affair involving a delicious trip to the farmer’s market and Whole Foods. The menu was extensive:

Blue Cheese, Fig & Salami Crostini

Gazpacho with Summer Salad

Grilled Chicken in Tomato & Olive Sauce over Creamed Corn and Sautéed Kale

Stone Fruit Galette

He worked as a chef works – from memory and taste – so unfortunately, I do not have recipes for these. However, similar versions can be found via Google. Let these be inspiration to try something you’ve never tried. They were a lot easier than you might think!

Pumpkin and Blue Cheese Pasta with Asparagus and Chicken Sausage

Sometimes you just need to eat vegetables. And only vegetables. I’ve been trying to work within my constraints of cheap, healthy and relatively quick. I gave the cauliflower pizza phenomenon a try:

As well as Greek vegetable tacos comprised of sautéed broccoli slaw in balsamic topped with mint garlic yogurt sauce and avocado:

When cooking for others, it’s harder to get away with throwing a lot of vegetables on a plate and calling it dinner. Last night I made a couple girls a pumpkin blue cheese pasta dish for our catch-up dinner. It that was inspired by the type of recipe I used to cook with my old (soon to be new again) roommate who loves pumpkin as much as I do.

Pumpkin and Blue Cheese Pasta with Asparagus and Chicken Sausage

1 pound whole wheat penne (or other small pasta)
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced and divided
1 bunch asparagus, chopped into 2” sections
2 chicken sausages, sliced (I used TJ’s spinach and fontina version)
½ can pumpkin puree
½ cup white wine
½ cup chicken stock
scoop Greek yogurt
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese (more or less to taste)
salt, pepper and red pepper flakes
parmesan cheese and/or parsley to finish

Boil penne per instructions until al dente. Sautee asparagus, 1 clove of garlic and chicken sausage in 1 tablespoon of olive oil until cooked through and set aside. In the same pan, heat remaining tablespoon of oil and stir in garlic. Add pumpkin, white wine and chicken stock and cook down for about 5 minutes. Stir in yogurt and blue cheese for another few minutes. Finish with spices and add sausage and asparagus, before adding in pasta. Top with parmesan.

Wild Rice Soup with Vegetables & Chicken Sausage

I saw this meal as a benchmark in my culinary career, took the extra step. I made homemade vegetable stock for my soup! It’s a lot quicker and easier than I thought.

Toss a ton of vegetables in a pot, sauté for a bit, then dump some water in and cover for 30.

Then for the soup. There were a lot of vegetables harmed in the process of making this soup. And maybe a chicken. But their sacrifice was not in vain as it has resulted in a ton of leftovers, making my life really easy for the next few days.

Wild Rice with Vegetables & Chicken Sausage

1 cup wild rice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 shallot, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 spicy chicken sausage, diced
1 cup cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 head broccoli, diced
1/2 bell pepper, diced
1 zucchini, sliced
1 cup rainbow chard, diced
3 carrots, diced
1 can crushed tomatoes
3 cups vegetable stock (ideally homemade)
1/2 cup red wine
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
handful fresh parsley, diced
red pepper flakes
salt and pepper

garnish: Greek yogurt, parmesan, green onion

Cook wild rice per instructions. In a large pot, heat olive oil and sauté shallot, garlic and chickens sausage for a minute until aromatic. Add in mushrooms, broccoli, bell pepper, zucchini, chard and carrots. Sautee while stirring for 6-8 minutes or until vegetables begin to soften. Pour in crushed tomatoes and wine, stir 2 more minutes. Lastly, add in broth and seasonings. Simmer for 15-20 more minutes. Serve with desired toppings.

Asian Chicken Tenders with Peanut Sauce

So far I’m not 100% for my new year’s resolutions. Working out everyday - unrealistic. Talking to my sister every other week – actually on target, so far. Cooking more Asian – struggling. So, maybe the Asian categorizing of these chicken tenders just comes from the sesame seeds in the breading…It counts.

I’d venture to guess that 97% of of all resolutions are forgotten by February 1. Asian or not, these were yummy!

Asian Chicken Tenders with Peanut Sauce

1 pound chicken breast, sliced into tenders
1 egg white
1 cup panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
salt, pepper, cayenne

2 tablespoons peanut butter
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1-2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1 clove garlic, minced
dashes hot sauce/sriracha
1 tablespoon maple syrup/honey
fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and spray with nonstick spray. Stir together bread crumbs, sesame seeds and spices and spread on a plate. Salt and pepper chicken strips. Dredge through egg whites and bread crumbs. Lay strips onto baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, or until cooked through.

While chicken cooks, stir together ingredients for peanut sauce. Taste and add ingredients as needed.

Chicken Rosemary Kabobs & Whipped Sweet Potatoes (+ Brian’s Buffalo Chicken Dip)

This is usually one of those days you chalk up as a loss food-wise. You will inevitably have extra snacks around work and a pumpkin dessert also goes without saying. So at 10am, my coworker, Brian (token male in the office) brought out the buffalo chicken dip and it was all downhill from there. I requested the recipe to share on The Plate…and to see how sinful it actually is.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

4-5 split chicken breasts - cooked and shredded (3-4 whole chicken breasts)
1 jar Marie's Blue cheese dressing
2 - 8oz packages of cream cheese – softened
4-5 stalks of celery chopped
1 - 12oz bottle Frank's Hot sauce (or to taste)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Bake/grill/sauté chicken until cooked and shred with a fork  Mix all the ingredients and place in a baking dish. (One recipe makes 2-3 pie dishes depending on the size) Top with more shredded cheddar cheese and bake at 350 until hot and bubbly, 20-30 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips and/or celery stalks.

We all popped out at lunchtime to watch the Giants parade. This city’s spirit wear is impressive. So was our spirit wear for that matter…

For a low-key but still festive Halloween night, I made dinner for friends. Our fall menu was as follows:

~Chicken kabobs on rosemary skewers, baked in lemon, garlic and white wine over rice
~Cinnamon, orange mashed sweet potatoes
~Garlic sautéed spinach
~Pumpkin spice cupcakes *Courtesy of Sarah*

When skewering the onion and chicken, I found it a lot easier to thin the rosemary stalks of a lot of their leaves first. The flavor was still incredible.

The white wine bath kept the chicken really moist as it baked and made a great sauce for over the rice. Beforehand I had whipped together mashed sweet potatoes which is inevitably a crowd pleaser and it’s so easy and healthy.

Instructions: microwave 3 sweet potatoes until soft (about 5 minutes each). Peel off skin and place in large bowl. Mash sweet potatoes with fork, adding almond milk (or regular) until smooth. Zest and juice 1 orange into mixture, along with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon maple syrup, salt and pepper.

Chicken Rosemary Kabobs
Serves 4

2 chicken breasts, cubed
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 lemon, thinly sliced
cherry tomatoes, halved
1 onion, cut into large chunks
4-5 rosemary with strong stalks, thinned out and cut into 4” long sticks
1/2 cup white wine
salt and pepper
1 cup wild rice

Preheat oven to 375. Coat chicken in garlic and olive oil. Alternate chicken and onion on rosemary stalks “skewers.” Arrange in a large baking dish and layer lemon slices on top of skewers. Pour white wine into dish and bake for 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Prepare wild rice rice per instructions and serve under chicken with pan sauces.

Homemade pumpkin spice cupcakes with cream cheese pumpkin frosting and vanilla ice cream to finish. Happy Halloween, indeed.

Broccoli, Chicken Sausage & Goat Cheese Quiche with Potato Crust

As I’m sure everyone is aware, the Giants are in the middle of the world series and it is taking control of all of our lives. It’s been a marathon of game watching/happy houring/orange wearing for the past two weeks and its making it difficult to lead a productive life. So this Sunday, in spite of the 5:07 start time and a brief cameo appearance at The Brick Yard down the street, I decided I was cooking dinner, dammit.

My roommate, Virginia, was generous enough to provide the groceries in exchange for my culinary skills (JK– this was a cinch). We served it up with green beans sautéed in garlic… in front of the television.

Broccoli, Chicken Sausage & Goat Cheese Quiche with Potato Crust

1 russet potato, very thinly sliced
2-3 tablespoon olive oil
1 head broccoli, diced into small florets
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1 1/2 chicken sausages, sliced
3 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
2 ounces shredded mozzarella
4 eggs
1 cup almond milk (or regular milk)
salt, pepper, cayenne

Preheat oven to 375. Layer potato slices on bottom of cake pan and drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil on top, and sprinkle with salt. Toss broccoli and onion in remaining olive oil and layer on sheet pan. Roast both potato and vegetables for 13-15 minutes or until tender. In a small bowl, whisk egg and milk together and sprinkle salt, pepper and cayenne. Spread vegetables and chicken sausage over potato crust, top with cheese and pour egg mixture over top. Press mixture down into the egg and bake for 30-35 minutes or until cooked through.

Spinach, Artichoke & Chicken Lasagna

I’ll admit it was risky to make up a recipe for a dinner party… but Quin and I were feeling confident. We got the idea for it on Pinterest (our obsession) and picked it for our next dinner party because spinach and artichoke-anything sounds amazing to me.

Does it qualify as lasagna if you don’t add ricotta? We left it out and didn’t miss it.

Spinach, Artichoke & Chicken Lasagna

1 rotisserie chicken, shredded
1 box no boil lasagna noodles
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups low-fat milk
1 can artichoke hearts, diced
1 32 ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 cups packed fresh spinach
8 ounces shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375. In a large skillet, heat olive oil and add garlic. After a minute, add flour and whisk until cooked through. Whisk in milk and continue whisking until sauce thickens. Remove from heat and mix in chicken, artichokes, salt and pepper.

In a 9x17 pan, cover bottom with a layer of crushed tomatoes, followed by a layer of pasta, 1/2 the chicken artichoke mixture, 1/2 spinach, 1/3 mozzarella cheese, then repeat with final layer. Top with a layer of noodles, cover with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, bread crumbs and parmesan. Bake for 50 minutes, until pasta is bubbling. Let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Basil & Goat Cheese Chicken

Goodbye summer hours and casual dress code. Hello little kids running around and lots of work. I couldn’t be happier. This also means a lot less time to putz around on the internet looking for a dinner recipe, so I turned to an oldie goldie…

When Evan moved to DC and I was still a senior in college, he would come back to Chapel Hill to visit about once a month. Anxiety would always start creeping up inside me after lunch on Sunday, knowing he would have to leave soon to drive back. So we came up with a plan (really, an excuse) for him to stay a tiny bit longer. We would cook Sunday Night Dinner. I kid you not, I hardly ever cooked before these dinners. Yes, I watched Food Network, but living in a house of four girls with minimal refrigerator real estate, I didn’t go there. So we were breaking new ground. And the first recipe I made us was Ina’s Herbed Goat Cheese Chicken.

Basil & Goat Cheese Chicken

2 chicken breasts, bone-in, skin on
4 ounces goat cheese
4 basil leaves
olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Place chicken breasts in baking dish, and loosen skin from meat with your fingers. Place slices of goat cheese with basil leaves under the skin, then rub with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake for 40 minutes, until cooked through and let sit for 5-10 minutes.

Broccoli Chicken Pasta Bake

How to avoid going to the grocery store? Listing the ingredients you and your roommate have via text during work to put the pieces of the dinner puzzle together. Frozen broccoli, chicken breast, marinara…bake it! It was quite good. It may not look like a whole lot, but we both couldn't stop eating it...so, believe it.

And this weather right now? Someone up there was listening to me when I prayed for cooler weather. Highs in the low 80’s, wahoo!

Broccoli Chicken Pasta Bake

1 chicken breast
1/2 pound small pasta
1/2 eggplant
1 cup frozen broccoli
1+ cup of fontina cheese, grated
1 1/2 to 2 cups marinara sauce
bread crumbs
parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Cook chicken and eggplant, boil pasta and thaw broccoli. Dice chicken, and cut egg plant and broccoli into bite size pieces. Combine ingredients in a large bowl with fontina cheese and marinara sauce. Spread into 8 x 8 baking dish and top with bread crumbs and parmesan. Bake for 15 minutes.

Chicken Salad & Veritable Quandary

Meet Stella.

She’s basically the best dog ever. Her breath could be improved, but besides that she’s perfect.

At approximately 11:36 this morning I made my lunch. Luckily I have the excuse of time zone change on my side. Plus, there was leftover chicken salad chilling in the fridge just waiting to be turned into a sandwich.

I had to take advantage of a refrigerator stocked with fruits and veggies, so I loaded those onto my small plate. Haven’t you heard? Small plates = portion control. Though they probably don’t account for my overloading technique.

Lemon Tarragon Chicken Salad

4 cups diced cooked chicken
1 rib minced celery
1/4 cup chopped fresh tarragon
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

In a medium bowl, combine chicken, celery, tarragon and almonds. In a small bowl, combine yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add to chicken mixture and toss to coat. Chill.

This also pushed up happy hour on the deck to 4:45.

Thank goodness Sophie and I fit in a yoga + improv-zumba session this morning or I would be feeling pretty darn guilty about my indulgent dinner at Veritable Quandary.

John and I both opted for the salad (ha!) that consisted of a poached egg atop butter lettuce, crispy cornbread, smoked bacon, pickled onions and buttermilk white cheddar dressing. I love eggs in strange places.

Sophie got the ravioli with lemon and fromage blanc, summer vegetables, basil, arugula pesto and toasted hazelnuts.

Mom chose the blackened cod with pineapple, slaw and Yukon gold potatoes. Dinner was great, but the highlight was dessert.

The peanut brittle banana split with Belgium chocolate hot fudge, Chantilly cream and homemade peanut brittle ice cream.

And the peach blackberry crisp with frozen lemon custard. There were threats of licking the plates in public. Serious threats.

When I got home, I immediately put on a pot of tea – not before changing into loose PJs– to help settle my stomach. All symptoms of a fabulous dinner.

Chicken with Apricot-Shallot Sauce & Tabouli

Finally, after weeks of trying to get together, Melissa fit me into her busy schedule . We made dinner at her apartment. Luckily, both of us suffer from small-kitchenitis, so we were used to stacking dishes on top of any and all surfaces while we prepped our delicious dinner of chicken with apricot-shallot sauce and tabouli on the side.

I found the recipe for the chicken on Apartment Therapy The Kitchn. It was quick and easy – so imagine how simple it would be in a real sized kitchen!

(Serves two)
You will need:
2 chicken breasts
salt and pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

2 shallots, pealed and sliced thin
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 heaping tbsp apricot preserves
salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add chicken and cook until cooked through. Remove chicken and cover with tin foil while you prepare the sauce. Add 1 tbsp of oilve oil to pan that cooked the chicken. Add shallots and cook for about 5 minutes until soft. Add chicken broth and scrape up brown bits from bottom of the pan. Once most of the broth has reduced, add the preserves and salt and pepper. Serve on top of the chicken.

Tabouli:
1 cup bulgur, cooked per instructions on package
cucumber, diced
grape tomatoes, halved
red onion, diced
feta cheese
mint, chopped
lemon juice

Mix all ingredients together and enjoy!

Cannoli from Whole Foods for dessert…yum! It was nice to catch up about trashy British novels to events coming up at work to questionable Greensboro weddings, all the while post dinner snacking on honey goat cheese and crackers. I even came home with leftovers!

Chicken Nachos and DC Adventures

I took full advantage of this spring Sunday. First stop was the Palisades farmer’s market, which is a lot smaller than the Dupont Circle market but with better vendors.

There’s a lot less produce but a lot more prepared foods like chocolates, cheeses, breads, bakery items, and THE BEST BELGIAN WAFFLE STAND. The stand also has paella and turnovers. 

I’m obsessed with it. I wouldn’t shut up about it. These waffles are made on the spot for each order and are doughy and hot with crystalized sugar bits inside the waffle so it’s amazing without any toppings. Just another reason I <3 the Palisades.


Afterwards, Evan and I decided to finally visit the DC Zoo. It’s a magical place (and like most things in DC, would have been even better without the crowds). This little guy greeted us as we walked in.

I must say my favorite animal that I saw – and maybe even of all time – is the Orangutan.

They’re so human-like, it’s great. Sometimes I worry that they get self conscious from having everyone stare at them all the time. Then there were the spooning lizards.

The agile chameleon.

The biggest turtles I’ve EVER seen.

This sweet little monkey who was chomping on a snack and watching everyone very intently.

My second favorite animal, the Gorilla.

They were looking a little bored.

A small mammal with serious personality. I think he was posing for pictures.

We made our way out through the Asia section, where we saw three elephant buddies. They kept huddling up like they were on a football team. Quite precious.
It was a good day in the District. It’s nice when you can get out and take advantage of where you live, so today was a success.
For dinner I made an oldie goldie recipe that I started making in college. Shredded chicken nachos. They never disappoint.

Ingredients:
1 lb chicken breast, cooked and shredded
tortilla chips
1/2 can black beans
1/2 can yellow corn
cheddar cheese, grated
avocado, chopped
salsa
green onions
lime

Preheat oven to 400. Squeeze lime juice over shredded chicken. Arrange chips (so the scoops face upwards!) on a sheet pan covered with tin foil, cover with cheese, chicken, beans and corn. Bake for 7-10 minutes, until cheese is melted. Top with remaining ingredients.

On the side, we had delicious and cheap pineapple. Some people fear buying pineapples because they seem tough to cut. Here are some simple directions for cutting up a pineapple:

Chop off the top, the bottom and the sides of the pineapple.

Cut it into fourths, then remove the hard inner core. Slice lengthwise and cut into cubes.