A cooking blog from two everyday cooks with new recipes every week.

Almond-Crusted Chicken and Nectarine Salad with Buttermilk-Chive Dressing

Almond Crusted Chicken and Nectarine Salad with Buttermilk-Chive Dressing
The combination of fried chicken strips and nectarines made this salad a tasty treat after a long day at work. We particularly enjoyed how the sweetness of the nectarines complimented the dressing for this salad, making every bite of the dish a savory and sweet combination that was entirely satisfying. The almond crumb coating for the chicken was also a nice departure from traditional flour breading, providing a nutty crunch to the salad. Despite our satisfaction with this salad, there were a few minor gripes to report. First, our local market does not carry white balsamic vinegar so in our lack of planning we substituted a tradition dark balsamic from our cupboard. Although the taste of the dressing was fine, the appearance was rather muddy looking and slightly unappetizing when compared to the rest of the dish. Secondly, although the end product is delicious, the process of frying the chicken is time consuming and you should be prepared for a bit of a mess in your kitchen.
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Tortilla and Black Bean Pie

Tortilla Black Bean Pie

In search of something different, we came across this recipe for tortilla pie on Marthastewart.com. This pie was full of black beans, providing a meaty texture and much needed protein that was filling and tasty. The texture was further enhanced by corn kernels and cheese, making a crunchy but gooey pie that we enjoyed immensely. An added bonus to this delicious meal was that it held up well as leftovers and we were able to enjoy it two days in a row. Also, the filling that we had left over made for a nutritious side in our lunches the following day. One small note about this dish, if you are a spicy food lover you will likely find this dish a bit mild. Try adding some jalapenos to the filling or upping the cumin for an enhanced smoky flavor.  

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Parmesan-Stuffed Chicken Breast

Parmesan-Stuffed Chicken Breast

One of the areas that roasted chicken recipes tend to lack is the leftover department. This particular chicken recipe was a fairly average roasted chicken which actually tasted fairly good on the first night that it graced our menu. Unfortunately the next day’s lunch was less appetizing. The stuffing turned into a bread-like mush with reheating as a result of the fat released from the skin. Over all though, this was an easy meal that would make a nice chicken dish for a family dinner (as long as you plan on eating it all in one day!).

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Spring Vegetables and White Beans Scented with Fresh Bay

Spring Vegetables and White Beans Scented with Fresh Bay
We keep hoping that the next dish that we try from Lynne Rossetto Kasper’s Weeknight Table newsletter will be better than the last. It seems as if we are crossing our fingers and hoping for a dish to wow us. Unfortunately it was not the case with this spring inspired vegetable dish. Although this dish was very quick and was entirely doable for a weeknight meal, neither of us found the dish very appetizing. We appreciate the concept of fresh spring flavors, but this particular dish will not find a place in our recipe binder.

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Baby Greens with Chicken, Dried Cherries, Pears & Pecans

Baby Greens with Chicken, Dried Cherries, Pears & Pecans

This recipe has been sitting in our pile of recipes to try since last Fall when it appeared in Fine Cooking. A hankering for fruit and vegetables as we put together our weekly menu last week made it an ideal choice because this salad incorporates a healthy dose of both fruit and vegetables into one satisfying meal. The sweetness of the dried cherries and pears shinned when paired with the acidity of the balsamic based dressing. Toasted pecans (which we chopped contrary to the recipe’s directions) are an additional shot of protein that made this a filling meal.

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