Posts Tagged "Chicken"

Waldorf Chicken

Posted by Rachel Ashley on Apr 3, 2012 in Chicken, Fashionably Organic, Meat, Side Dishes | 0 comments

This yummy salad is perfect for Easter brunch or a bridal or baby shower!  The recipe is very simple and you will have the dish ready  in under 30 minutes!  I love that such a simple salad can be so elegant and the presentation can be just as amazing too!  To be honest, I made this for myself one night.  The night before I had grilled extra chicken breast and because I don’t like to reheat chicken, I asked myself what I could make with cold chicken… a Waldorf Salad was the perfect choice!

Ingredients:
2 celery Stalks
1 cup seedless red grapes
2 grilled chicken breast
1/2 cup of organic light mayonnaise
salt and pepper – to taste
Italian seasoning (optional)
rice crackers (optional)
butter lettuce (optional)

Recipe:
In a strainer rinse your grapes and then make sure to rinse the dirt off the celery stalk too.  On a cutting board halve each grape. Take the two celery stalks and cut long ways down the center and then chop into bite size pieces.  Take the grilled chicken breast and cut into bite size pieces, as well.  You want to make sure all the ingredients are similar in size.  Then in a big bowl mix together the grapes, celery and chicken.  Add 1/2 cup of organic mayonnaise to the same bowl and mix thoroughly, making sure each piece gets coated with the mayo.  Add 1/2 tsp pepper and 1/2 tsp salt and mix.  You can add more salt and pepper if needed.  Store the ingredients in glass Tupperware in the refrigerator, until ready to serve.  You can present the Waldorf salad on crackers for an appetizer or an even healthier option is to make lettuce wraps filled with the Waldorf chicken, instead of a sandwich.

Enjoy!
Xo,
Rachel Ashley

Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Risotto

Posted by Rachel Ashley on Mar 11, 2012 in Fashionably Organic, Side Dishes | 0 comments

Good Morning!  I can’t believe the weekend is almost over!  They go so quickly and are never long enough.  I wanted to share with you a recipe I adapted from Giada De Laurentiis.  She is truly my cooking inspiration and I like to think of her as my coach/teacher.  Her recipes are always full of flavor and delicious!  If you enjoy the flavors of pumpkin and like risotto this dish is for you.  My husband wasn’t a huge fan, but I loved it!  Try it out and tell me what you think!

Enjoy!

XO,
Rachel Ashley

Ingredients
4 cups low-sodium organic chicken broth, plus extra for moistening, as needed
1 cup canned pure pumpkin
4 slices applewood smoked bacon, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1 leek (white and pale green part), thinly sliced
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme (I used dried)
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice or medium-grain white rice
2/3 cup dry white wine, such as pinot grigio
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon (generous) freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/2 cup coarsely crumbled soft fresh goat cheese (about 6 ounces)

Recipe
Whisk together the broth and the pumpkin in a heavy medium saucepan and simmer over medium heat. Cover the pan and reduce the heat to low to keep the pumpkin broth warm.

Cook the bacon in a medium skillet over medium heat until brown and crisp. Transfer to a paper towel with a slotted spoon to drain.

Melt the butter in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add the leek and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Cook until almost tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Mix in the thyme. Add the rice and stir for 1 minute. Add the wine and simmer, stirring constantly, until completely absorbed, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the pumpkin broth and stir until almost completely absorbed, 1 to 2 minutes. Continue cooking the rice, adding the broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each addition to absorb before adding the next. Cook until the rice is tender but still firm to the bite, and the mixture is creamy, 20 to 25 minutes, adding additional warm broth by 1/4 cupfuls if risotto is dry. Mix in the Parmesan, the remaining salt, pepper and nutmeg. Remove from the heat. Fold the goat cheese into the risotto, the heat from the risotto will melt the goat cheese, giving the risotto a creamy taste. Lastly you can either fold in the crumbled bacon or garnish the risotto with it and serve.

Grilled Chicken with Lemon Basil Brown Rice Pasta

Posted by Rachel Ashley on Oct 13, 2011 in Chicken, Fashionably Organic, Grilling, Pasta | 0 comments

Ingredients:
2 – 3 whole Organic Chicken Breasts
1 pound Brown Rice Penne Pasta, Cooked Until Al Dente
1/2 stick Butter
3 whole Lemons, Juiced and 1 zested
1 cup Half-and-half
1-1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese (or Romano)
1 tsp of Herb de Province
Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
20 whole Basil Leaves, Chopped

Recipe:
Take your chicken breast and season with salt, pepper and Herb de Province place in an oiled grill pan over high heat and cook chicken for about 8 minsutes on each side (if need be put the lid on the pan to make sure chicken is fully cooked through).
Cook pasta, reserving 1 cup of hot pasta water when you drain. Set pasta aside in a colander.
In the same pot, melt butter over medium heat. Squeeze in the juice of 3 lemons. Whisk together. Pour in half-and-heat. Whisk until hot. Dump in cheese and whisk until melted. Add salt and pepper. Check consistency, adding some of the hot pasta water to loosen the sauce if needed.
Pour pasta and sauce into a large serving bowl. Sprinkle remaining basil all over the top, then add sliced chicken breasts. Serve immediately!

Serve with sliced bread drizzled with EVOO and a glass of wine (my preference is a sweet wine like Moscato)  and you have yourself an excellent and healthy dinner!

Enjoy!

XO,

Rachel Ashley

Chicken Cacciatore with Brown Rice Pasta

Posted by Rachel Ashley on Jul 19, 2011 in Fashionably Organic | 0 comments

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts cut into bite size cubes
2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1/2 cup all brown rice flour, for dredging
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablesppon of butter
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
1 large yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 ( 28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves

For Pasta portion of the dish:
1 lb bag of brown rice rotini pasta
1 jar of your favorite tomato sauce

Recipe:
Sprinkle the chicken pieces with 1 teaspoon of each salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour to coat lightly.

In a large heavy saute pan, heat the oil over a medium-high flame.  Add the chicken pieces to the pan and saute just until brown, about 5 minutes per side.  If all the chicken does not fit in the pan, saute it in 2 batches.  Transfer the chicken pieces to a plate or bowl and set aside.  Add the tablespoon of butter and the bell pepper, onion and garlic to the same pan and saute over medium heat until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 3 minutes.  Add the tomatoes with their juice, broth, capers and oregano. Return the chicken pieces to the pan and turn them to coat in the sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer.  Continue simmering over medium-low heat until the chicken is just cooked through, about 10 minutes for the breast pieces.

For the rotini brown rice pasta bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, about 8 minutes.  Cook pasta for about 8 minutes and drain.  Add the rotini back to the pan and add the tomato sauce, stir until mixed and keep on low heat until chicken and its sauce has thickened.

Using a slotted spoon transfer rotini pasta to a large  bowl and then scoop the chicken on top with the same slotted spoon spoon.  Boil the sauce until it thickens slightly, about 3 minutes.  Spoon off any excess fat from atop the sauce.  Spoon the sauce over the chicken, then sprinkle with the basil and serve.

Mint and Oregano Chicken

Posted by Rachel Ashley on Mar 10, 2011 in Fashionably Organic | 0 comments

I love making dinner for my husband and I.  I always have so much fun making him food!  Tonight I decided to make  mint and oregano chicken with sweet potato fries.  This dinner is super quick, but so tasty!  I had left over mashed potatoes from the night before so I warmed him up a starch to go with his chicken! The chicken is super easy, pick up some organic chicken breast, drizzle EVOO, season with salt and pepper, then finely chop your fresh mint and oregano leaves.  I have an herb garden, so all I did was pick a few leaves to add a dash of freshness to the chicken.  Fresh herbs always brighten a dish in my opinion and this was a different combination than I had done before so I thought it would be fun to try. Feel free to use your favorite herbs if you would like instead, but you should try this combo, it was delish!

Ingredients
2 Chicken breast
2 tablespoons of EVOO
Season each chicken breast with salt and pepper to taste
Finely chop 2 mint leaves and 2 oregano leaves

Recipe - servings 2
Drizzle EVOO on each chicken breast season with salt and pepper to taste and the sprinkle the finely chopped mint and oregano leaves on top. In a grill pan cook the chicken breast 8 minutes on each side.