JANUARY 3, 2014
First off – Happy New Year! Looking forward to more good things in the coming year. With that said, the aftermath of the holiday season keeps me as far away from the kitchen as possible. My days are filled with very, very long walks, yoga classes, and seeing every movie that is up for any and all awards. With four mouths to feed and my end goal of getting something nutritious on the table, 15-minute meals are high on my list.
This is one of those meals. The key…simple ingredients. The original recipe from Bon Appetit, gets a little modification each time I make it. And never disappoints. One of my goals as we head into 2014 is to continue on my journey of providing whole and unprocessed meals, using nutritious ingredients, to my family and friends. This dish, consisting of a few herbs, spices, vegetables, and a protein is my latest go to on those nights when I am pressed for time. It is now in my arsenal and it should be in yours as well.
Here are a few more quick and economically friendly meals that can often be found on my dinner table:
Homemade Chicken Tenders – serve with mashed sweet potatoes and green bean “fries”
Grass-fed Burgers – serve with yam fries and cucumber spears (a little vinaigrette for dipping)
Pasta Bolognese (one can always find a few servings in my freezer) – serve with Caesar salad
Homemade Tacos (I keep a jar of my spice mix in my pantry -super easy weeknight meal) – serve with all the fixings
Lemon-Garlic Grilled Drumsticks – serve with roasted broccoli and cauliflower
A Savory Bread Pudding – I call this my “use it up meal”. Get creative and use whatever you have on hand
Chili (Like my Bolognese, I keep a quart or two of this in the freezer) – serve with all the fixings
Not only are all of these meals easy, especially if you double (and freeze additional portions), but I can generally feed my entire family of five for about $12.00 – $14.00 per meal. Healthy, nutritious, whole, and affordable. And…there are always plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day!
My Version of Poulet Provencal
ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds grape tomatoes (if you can find both the yellow and the red – all the better)
6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 1/2 tablespoons herbes de Provence
1 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
1/4 teaspooon fresh, ground pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 organic, boneless chicken breasts
2 shallots, minced
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons capers with their juices
3 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley leaves
instructions:
• preheat oven to 450*.
• in a small bowl, combine tomatoes, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and herbes de Provence. toss. season with a pinch of both salt and pepper and toss to coat.
• in cast iron skillet (or heavy ovenproof skillet), heat one tablespoon of olive oil until it shimmers. add tomatoes (the oil may spatter). toss gently. transfer skillet to the preheated oven and roast for 15 minutes (toss once or twice during the 15 minutes).
• transfer tomatoes to a glass bowl and add Worcestershire sauce and toss. set aside.
• cut chicken into large chunks. season with salt and pepper. using the same skillet (I wipe it out with a paper towel), heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. sear chicken for 4 minutes before turning over. sear the other side until you do not see any pink exposed (about 6 minutes).
• transfer pan to the oven and roast for about 10-12 minutes. you know when it is done when you cut into the largest piece of chicken and the inside is no longer pink. transfer chicken to a serving bowl, cover with foil and let rest while you make the pan sauce.
• if needed, add the last one tablespoon of olive oil (to the same skillet), and sauté the minced shallots until slightly translucent, about 3 minutes. deglaze the pan by adding the red wine vinegar and the capers with their juices. let juices slighlty bubble and then add the tomatoes and their juices. simmer for a few minutes. season with salt and pepper.
• spoon tomatoes over chicken and sprinkle with parsley.
• serve hot with a side of roasted brussel sprouts with this dressing.