Summer Salad with Almond-Crusted Chicken & Yogurt Chive Dressing

Summer Salad with Almond-Crusted Chicken & Yogurt Chive Dressing
adapted from Fine Cooking

Salad
Butter lettuce, torn and washed, or arugula
1 cup sliced Strawberries or 2 sliced Nectarines
1 Cucumber, peeled and sliced
Almond-Crusted Chicken

Dressing
1/4 cup whole milk yogurt or buttermilk
1 Tbs. sour cream
1 Tbs. white balsamic vinegar [I often use plain balsamic]
1/2 tsp. honey
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbs. thinly sliced fresh chives or green onions
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

• In a blender or magic bullet (my fav), combine dressing ingredients. Adjust seasoning to taste
• To make the dressing manually, combine the buttermilk, sour cream, vinegar, and honey in a bowl. Slowly whisk in the oil to blend. Stir in the chives and season to taste with salt and pepper
• Combine salad ingredients and drizzle with dressing

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Almond-Crusted Chicken Strips

Almond-Crusted Chicken Strips
lightly adapted from Fine Cooking

2 large eggs
1-3/4 cups sliced almonds
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1-1/2 lb. chicken breast
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1.5 Tbs. of butter
1.5 Tbs. of coconut oil

• Lightly beat the eggs in a shallow bowl.
• Pulse the almonds and flour together in a food processor until the almonds are coarsely chopped,
• transfer the almond mixture to a pie plate or similar dish.
• Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
• Dip pieces of chicken one by one in the eggs. Dredge in the almond mixture, pressing lightly to help it adhere. Set aside. (I like to use one hand for the egg mixture and one for the almonds so that they don't get caked with eggy almonds)
• Heat the butter and coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
• In batches, if needed, cook the chicken until light golden brown and just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
• Transfer the chicken to a paper-towel-lined plate. Between batches, remove any stray almonds from the pan and add more butter/oil if necessary.
• Serve and store plain for little people or on top of a salad.

Storage:
Refrigerator: 2 days
Freezer: Up to 1 month

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Balsamic Strawberry Mini Crostadas

Fall. Winter. Spring. All these seasons I wait. I wait for strawberry season. My favorite season. After a recent trip to LA and a love-at-first-bite encounter with Huckleberry, owned by baker Zoe Nathan, I returned home with an irresistible urge to bake something. Something fruity, buttery and sweet. Not exactly nutritious, but certainly yummy.




Balsamic Strawberry Mini Crostadas
inspired by Zoe Nathan's apple crostada

6 individual crostadas
1 large crostada

The Dough

4 oz butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces and chilled
1 cup flour
2 Tb sugar
1 tsp sea salt
3 Tb plus ice water
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

The Filling
20 strawberries (approximately a quart)
2 Tb sugar
1-2 tsp balsamic vinegar

• In food processor, pulse flour, sugar, baking powder and salt
• Add the butter and pulse until pea size
• Add the water and pulse until the dough just comes together
• Wrap the dough in plastic, flatten and refrigerate for at least 2 hours
• Hull and quarter strawberries and combine with sugar and balsamic vinegar
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough in to a 12 in square. If making individual crostadas, cut in five inch circles or squares
• Arrange dough on a greased cookie sheet
• Add ~1/4 cup of strawberries in the center of the first pastry. Turn up the sides of the dough and fold it over a bit of the fruit. The center will be open. Repeat for remaining pastries. If making one large crostada, distribute the fruit evenly leaving 2 inches around the edges. Fold the edges of the dough over some of the fruit
• Add a thin pat of butter to top of each pastry and sprinkle with sugar
• Bake at 375 degrees. Individual: 30-35 min; Large: 45min-1hr
• Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes

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Mini Empanadas

My first empanada was in Bolivia. It was 1999. The summer I met and fell swiftly, wholly, irreversibly in love with him. The him who is now my husband. One afternoon, we ate empanadas from every street cart we spotted, and shared oranges in a park. It was an adventure. He didn't know I liked him. That's another story. One that's not about food. I think you're here for food.

There's much to love about these mini empanadas. In fact, what's not to love? Warm filling inside flakey, crisp pastry - whole wheat, of course - hand-held pockets perfect a proper mealtime or one on the go. The filling is the result of my ongoing stuff-veggies-everywhere-I-can campaign and is a winner, but I plan to experiment with others. I'll keep you posted.

This recipe was designed with a toddler in mind [read: healthy + yummy], but I'll let you in a secret. If you're in the market for a not so healthy empanada, grab some store bought puff pastry, lots of cheese (cheddar and jack), shredded chicken, onion, and some seasoning (salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin). Assemble and bake as outlined below. Simple, quick and so good.



Mini Empanadas

The Dough

2 cup Whole Wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1 cup cold water
Extra whole wheat flour for rolling out dough

The Filling

1 chicken breast fillet, meat remaining from chicken stock (optional)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons minced red bell pepper
2 tablespoons minced green onion
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4-1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1/2 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

• Combine flour and salt. Stir well
• Cut in 4 tablespoons of butter, crumbling it into the flour and mixing well with fingers.
• Begin adding cold water 1/4 cup at a time until the mixture forms a dough. Add a little flour if it's sticky
• Form into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes
• Pan-sear or grill chicken
• Preheat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium-size skillet over medium-high heat. Add red pepper and onion to pan and sauté for a couple minutes until tender
• Dice or shred cooked chicken into small cubes and add it to pan. Add corn, black beans, spinach, jalapeno peppers, parsley, cumin, chili powder, salt, and cayenne pepper
• Cook for another 4 minutes, combining thoroughly.
• Remove pan from heat and add cheese; stir until cheese is melted
• Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface, and cut in 4" circles (I use these handy tools)
• Spoon filling into the center and seal
• Bake at 375 degrees for 10-20 min, until golden. The filling is already cooked so you don't need to worry about the internal temperature
• Serve with sour cream and avocado. [I often substitute yogurt]

Storage
Refrigerator: up to 4 days
Freezer: up to 1 month. First freeze on a cookie tray until firm and then store in a zip lock bag. Thaw in the fridge and warm in the toaster oven



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Chicken Stock

Few things offer a higher nutritional return on your time and money than homemade stock. Before I post any recipes that call for it, I'll share my recipe, which is lightly adapted from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. It's incredibly easy to make, particularly with a slow-cooker.  Read more about the nutrition benefits of homemade stock here. While store bought stock can substitute in a pinch, it can't compete with the health benefits and flavor of the real deal. For the best results, use a high quality, organic chicken. Generally, factory chickens do not have the nutrients necessary to produce a good gelatinous stock.

Word of warning: the stock aroma will permeate your home while it is cooking. I generally crack a window in the kitchen and shut the doors to the rest of our apartment.

Chicken Stock

1 whole chicken or the carcass from a roasted one, preferably pastured or free-range, organic
Roughly 4 quarts of water, preferably filtered
2 Tb vinegar
1 large onion, large slices
2-3 carrots, roughly chopped or a handful of baby carrots

• If using a whole chicken, break it down into pieces (wings, legs, back and breast)
• Add the chicken, vegetables, vinegar and water
• Bring to a boil. With a slow-cooker, use the high setting
• Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 12-24 hours. Use low setting on a slow-cooker
• Using a large colander, separate the broth from the bone, meat, etc into a large, lidded container and put in the refrigerator
• Set aside meat to be using in soup, enchiladas, empanada, etc. 
• Once cooled, skim fat from the stock and discard.  

Storage
Refrigerator: up to 5 days, or so
Freezer: up to 1 month. Freeze in ice cube trays and store in a large zip lock bag

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Sweet Potato Cookies

Yummy, wholesome little treats. While I wouldn't dole them out for dinner, these cookies are fairly nutritious - no refined sugar, whole wheat.



Sweet Potato Cookies
adapted from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon

3 dozen mini cookies

1 cup cooked sweet potato
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup maple syrup
1 egg
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup raisins

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees
• Place all ingredients expect raisins in a food processor and process until well blended
• Transfer to a bowl and mix in raisins
• At this point, I divide the dough into thirds, wrap two portions in plastic wrap, and freeze them.
• Using the remaining portion of dough, form into small balls and place on greased cookie sheets
• Bake at 325 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. After approximately 5 min baking, press cookies down lightly with a fork
• Let cool completely
• Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator

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Spinach Gnocchi

In my search for veggie-heavy recipes, I uncovered these gems. They are jam-packed with spinach, and Little Man approved.



Spinach Gnocchi
from weelicious

10 oz Block Frozen Chopped Spinach

1 Cup Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese

2/3 Cup Parmesan Cheese, plus 2 tbsp for sprinkling before serving.

1 Egg Yolk

2 Tbsp Flour, plus more for dusting your hands while rolling

• Defrost the brick of frozen spinach
• Drain and squeeze ALL of the water out of the spinach in small handfuls.
• Place all of the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until throughly combined
• Roll the mixture into teaspoon-sized balls. Place on waxed paper or parchment
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil
• Add the gnocchi to the water in batches and cook for 3 minutes or until they rise to the surface.Using a slotted spoon, remove the gnocchi to a plate or bowl
• Serve plain or with parmesan cheese or spaghetti sauce

Storage
Refrigerator: up to 2 days, or so. Reheat in the toaster oven or microwave
Freezer: up to 1 month (possibly more), take a few days worth out at a time to thaw in the refrigerator

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